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First up we bring you the frighteningly titled 'Red Mask Girl'! Yeah, ok, doesn't sound that menacing, but you wouldn't want to meet this lady on a dark night. The story goes that this young woman underwent plastic surgery, however something went wrong and the surgeon cut her mouth from ear to ear. Sexy… To cover her face, the woman wears a red mask and now stalks the night for unsuspecting passers by and harasses them by asking if they think she's pretty. The dreaded question! But wait, this tale gets scarier than that. If you say 'no', she'll get angry and give you a matching smile. If you say 'yes', she'll accuse you of lying and cut your throat. There's just no pleasing some people! WHY SO SERIOUS? (you see what we did there?)
If you're walking at night and manage to avoid the 'Red Mask Girl', you're not safe yet! There's an octogenarian who's lost her cat. Yup, more terrifying tales. 'Hong Kong Grandma' was on her way to Hong Kong with her beloved moggie when the plane crashed and poor beloved Hong Kong Grandma and her cat died. But her love for her cat was so strong that their spirits merged creating a catwoman (not the sexy leather clad version but a half and half face version…) and now she wonders the Earth trying to locate her beloved pet. (Hint: You ARE the cat, Grandma!) Never fear though, there are some fail safe rules to follow if you're confronted with this confused woman:
"If you go outside your house after sunset, you will meet the ghost of the Hong Kong Grandma. If she asks you a question you must always make sure to add "Hong Kong" at the end of your answer. If she asks to see your fingernails, you must never show the white part, you have to turn your fingers the other way. Sometimes she also calls your name from outside the window, in which case you must never open the window." Quote from this website.
Source: Korean Class Massive
Following the release of the still cut photo for Yoo Seung Ho, MBC‘s ‘I Miss You‘ has released still cuts of main characters Yoochun and Yoon Eun Hye.
The photos show the two standing in dark settings, sometimes next to a rainy window. In all photos, both look sorrowful, expressing their sadness of their past pains.
Yoochun surprised the staff because he was able to cry on the spot as he was filming. Yoon Eun Hye has expressed her resolve to leave her cute, bright image behind to perform a more serious, heavy role.
The first episode of the drama will air on November 7th, but check out the still cuts in the meantime below.
‘Strong Heart‘ revealed that there are nearly 40 idols looking to audition for Leeteuk‘s now vacant spot on the show.
A representative from the show stated, “There’s an active search to fill Leeteuk’s vacant spot. We’re thinking of idol members with various charms that also have variety skills.” They will be going ahead with the ‘variety intern’ strategy, letting various idols film for the spot and choosing out those who have good feedback from the staff and public.
The representative continued, “There are 30 to 40 idols who are actively trying out for the spot. We haven’t filmed anything yet, but there will be something set up where they can battle for Leeteuk’s vacant spot, and that will also be aired on the show.”
Who would you like to see take over Leeteuk’s spot?
Singer Lee Seung Chul recently shared a photo of his family in celebration of Halloween.
On October 30, Lee tweeted a photo of his family with the caption: “My daughter, Won and her buddy, along with my wife.”
In the photo, Lee’s wife, his second daughter Won, and her friend strike a pose. Lee’s daughter and her budyy are dressed as princesses in celebration of Halloween.
Lee’s missus, in a witch hat, and her cute daughter are all smile.
The singer is currently appearing in Super Star K4 as a judge.
Korean American singers Brian Joo and Heather Park collaborated with a team of Oscar, Grammy, Tony and Emmy winners in the new US-produced Broadway-style musical, Loving the Silent Tears. The musical was held on October 27th at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and raised $300,000 which will be donated to three organizations: Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS, Animal Defenders International, and Worldwide Veterinary Service.
More than 6,000 people were in the audience and the huge cast also featured Tony-winning Broadway stars, Grammy-winning pop music icons, and international stars: 2-time Grammy Award-winning music icon Jon Secada, Grammy winner R&B/pop star Jody Watley, Tony winner Debbie Gravitte, Tony nominee Patti Cohenour, and Emmy winner and Tony nominee Liz Callaway.
Also adding their unique voices were many top international singers: Grammy-winning reggae legends Black Uhuru, Arab singer Camellia Abou-Odah, French singer Flo Ankah, actor Junior Case, award-winning actor Luke Eberl, Vietnamese pop star Hồ Quỳnh Hương, Italian tenor Mark Janicello, award-winning Israeli singer Liel Kolet, Irish soprano Katie McMahon, award-winning Brazilian singer Fabiana Passoni, Persian superstar Siavash Shams, and Chinese platinum pop star Kay Tse.
In a statement, Brian said, “I’ve never imagined to be a part of a production of this caliber. Music has always been the main reason for who I am and to be able to perform and share the stage with these many talented artists is like meeting the Supreme Master Ching Hai herself. I am honestly more humbled than ever before, and cannot wait to see where this night will go. Let the journey begin!”
Heather also stated, “It’s an incredible honor to be included among such a diverse, talented, beautiful cast. I’ve been a personal fan of Jon and Jody since I was younger, as well as Black Uhuru.”
“Loving the Silent Tears” told the story of an older, bereaved woman named Joy (played by Patti Cohenour from “The Phantom of the Opera”) and an ambitious young man named Pete (played by Luke Eberl from “Planet of the Apes”) who are both struggling in ways that we all could relate to. They go on magical train ride through 16 countries as they also embark on an inner journey toward peace.
“The musical’s message is faith, compassion, gratitude, finding your way out of despair, and finding your inner peace and joy,” explained the legendary Jody Watley.
When the train stopped at a beautiful Korean winter scene, Brian and Heather, in roles that simply represented their culture, performed a moving song titled “Singing Praise.” Their song stood out as one of the softer and more ethereal songs in the whole show. The music was by Oscar and 2-time Grammy winning composer David Shire, who scored famous Broadway musicals like “Baby” and for movies like “Saturday Night Fever. Two-time Oscar-winning composer Al Kasha (“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” “The Poseidon Adventure”) was inspired to bring Supreme Master Ching Hai’s poetry collection, “Silent Tears,” into a musical medium. A team of eminent composers including Kasha and Shire set the poems to music, including 6-time Grammy winner & 2-time Oscar nominee Jorge Calandrelli (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Emmy winner Doug Katsaros (“Footloose”), 2-time Grammy winner & Oscar nominee Henry Krieger (“Dreamgirls”), Tony and Emmy winner Don Pippin (“La Cage aux Folles”), and Grammy winner Nan Schwartz (“Harry Potter”).
As Heather Park sang a line in English, Brian echoed her words in Korean; their voices were both clear and harmonious together. They were dressed in ancient traditional Korean costumes but with fantasy-like details.
Check out some photos from the special night below.
Lee Seung Gi will be making his comeback as a singer in late November!
A representative from Hook Entertainment stated, “Lee Seung Gi will be making a comeback with his 5.5 mini-album on November 22.“ The as-yet-unnamed mini-album is his first release since his 5th album ‘Tonight‘ last year.
Lee Seung Gi himself is reported to have asked Epitone Project to work with him on the upcoming mini-album. Though the album will feature the singer’s trademark ballads, it will steer away from the rock ballad genre to a more soothing sound.
He’ll also be holding the ‘Lee Seung Gi Hope Concert‘ at Seoul’s Olympic Park Gymnasium on December 1 and 2 KST.
AA (Double A) has revealed another audio teaser for their upcoming album!
AA previously announced they would be releasing numerous teaser videos for their comeback. The teasers will include previews of 12 songs, which will go untitled until the release of AA’s new album.
After having revealed the first eleven audio teasers and bonus teasers, they have released the 12th one featuring member Aoora.
Listen to the teaser below!
On the October 30th episode of SBS‘ ‘Strong Heart‘, A Pink‘s Eunji featured as a guest and revealed how she received an angry phone call from her CEO and dad following her kiss scene with co-star Seo In Guk in the hit drama ‘Reply 1997‘.
Eunji shared, “First off, people around me were surprised by the kind of role I was given. I am a girl group member, I just turned 20 years old, and [it was unusual for me] to play a 33-year-old mature character. To put it simply, people around me were flabbergasted, especially by my kiss scene with Seo In Guk.”
She continued, “After watching that scene, my dad called in from abroad. He doesn’t usually make international calls, but he called and said, ‘What are you doing on the stairwell without my permission?’ and expressed his anger. I think he was shocked to see his daughter doing that in public. So I explained to him that she is ‘Sung Shi Won’ and I am Jung Eunji, but he replied, ‘Either way, that’s your face’.”
Check out the “stairwell kiss” scene that caused her dad’s reaction below!
Leeteuk recently gave his thoughts on starting his army service.
On October 30, Leeteuk tweeted, “Please send me lots of letters so that I don’t get lonely! Take care! I’ll be back soon! Please wait for me just a little bit.”
On October 29, Leeteuk uploaded a picture of his bedroom on his Twitter account with the comment, “My room. I liked this room a lot, so I didn’t go back to my parents’ house often. I’m showing you my room for the first time.”
At this, Leeteuk’s fans replied: “Take care of yourself.” “I’ll wait for you and send you lots of letters.”
Leeteuk has been suffering from his back pain, which worsened after he got into a car accident in 2007. However, he got to serve in the army as a full-time soldier after receiving constant hospital treatment. Leeteuk enters the 306 boot camp on October 30, receive basic military training for five weeks, and serve in the army for 21 months.
Super Junior’s leader Leeteuk and Mighty Mouth’s leader Sang Choo start their army service on October 30.
They’re both entering the 306 boot camp on October 30. Receiving basic military training, they will serve in the army for 21 months.
Leeteuk will say goodbye to reporters and his fans before entering the boot camp. To see him off, all Super Junior members will come with Leeteuk. Because Super Junior are popular all over the world, many overseas fans are expected to be there.
Sang Choo is also entering the boot camp on the same day. Shorry, another member of Mighty Mouth, will come to the boot camp to see him off.
On October 30 at around 7:00 a.m., Sang Choo tweeted, “I’ll take care of myself well! I feel so happy now. It was great to see that there are so many people who care about me and love me. I could also look back into my life, reflect on myself, and realize how valuable every moment was. I tried to spent this month well not to regret. I’m Mr. energizer Sang Choo! I Love You! Please take care of Shorry and Duck&Chichen! Sang Choo is coming back soon!”
Sang Choo also uploaded a picture of himself with Leeteuk on his Twitter account with the comment, “Leeteuk and Sang Choo yesterday. Everything has become a reality now. Let’s smile.”
They were allowed to work as public service workers at first, but they decided to serve in the army as full-time soldiers after receiving hospital treatment.
Super Junior’s Leeteuk attracted attention by saying his last goodbyes with his fingers before entering the army.
On the afternoon of October 29, Leeteuk uploaded a picture on his Twitter, “I promise to meet again in 21 months. Good Bye.” In the picture, the letters of ‘Good Bye’ are written in each of his fingers. Leeteuk expressed his heart through this greeting.
Fans responded, “I will wait for you.” “Your goodbye makes me feel sad and a little big bitter.” “I will definitely wait for you.”
On October 30, Leeteuk will be entering 306 replacement depot of Uijeongbu and receive the basic training as a military soldier. He will then be serving the army for 21 months thereafter.
Super Junior‘s Siwon has asked fans to support his decision on his next hairstyle.
He tweeted earlier on the 26th, “I have something to discuss with ELF today. Please anticipate it”, leaving fans in suspense as they wondered what the singer had in store.
A few hours later, he announced the topic of discussion, shocking many of his fans as he tweeted, “My dear ELF. I have heard that you are strongly opposed to me growing out my hair. However, I will not yield and I will grow out my hair like the picture. So could you support [my decision] now ^^? My beautiful ones *_*”
친애하는 앨프님들. 제가 머리기르는거에 대해 강력히 반대하신다는 얘기를 들었습니다. 하지만 전 굴하지 않고 사진속 저 머리만큼 기를것입니다. 이제 그만 서포트하시죠^^? 이 아름다운이들이여 *_* twitter.com/siwon407/statu…
— SiwonChoi (@siwon407) October 26, 2012
So what do you think about his next hairstyle? Does he have your support?
[Thank to everyone who sent this in!]
Singer John Park shared his concern as he confessed, “I’m not very popular among men.”
In the episode of KBS’s Yoo Hee Yeol’s Sketchbook that aired on October 27, John Park shared, “Most of men don’t like me. If I have 100 fans, only two of them are male. I have no idea why there’s such a big difference in the male and female ratio.”
On hearing this, the host Yoo Hee Yeol started to encourage men in the audience to ask him questions in the hope of providing solution to his “problem.”
The first question he received was, “Since when did you become aware of your good looks?” Park answered, “My first appearance in TV helped me realize that.”
Then second question followed, “Do you tend to have naughty thoughts when you feel lonely?” The star candidly replied, “Actually, I do. A lot.”
The episode also covered Park performing “Falling” and his new track “Childlike.”
Leeteuk was a guest on MBC Music‘s ‘All the K-Pop‘.
On the show, he talked about his upcoming enlistment, stating, “I’ll safely finish my army life and come back as a man.” He tried to be stoic, but couldn’t help but tear up when Boom and Shindong showed up. However, he got up immediately and managed to brighten up the mood of the show again with his usual variety skills.
A few hours before the episode aired, Leeteuk tweeted, “I’m going to shave my hair now.. I thought of this song.. It was a song I sang a lot when I was little.. Shave your hair bald……. I only look good with my hair.. I’m ruined kekekekekekekekekekekekeke“.
Leeteuk will reveal his shaved hair during the filming for ‘Star King‘ on the 29th, which is also Kang Ho Dong‘s return episode.
JYJ’s Jae Joong recently showed off his face without makeup.
On October 25, Jae Joong uploaded a picture of himself on his Twitter account with the comment, “My day passed all right today. Let’s cheer up, again! Good night.”
In the picture, Jae Joong is exposing his forehead without wearing makeup. However, his skin is very clean. He even looks prettier than girls.
People responded: “He’s prettier than I am.” “Are you going to upload another picture next morning?” “Jae Joong is so nice to his fans.”
Park Si Yeon blamed Song Joong Ki about leaking confidential information.
On the thirteenth episode of Good Guy that aired on October 24, Jae Hee(played by Park Si Yeon) blamed Maru(played by Song Joong Ki) about leaking confidential information.
Jae Hee even forged and made up evidence to blame Maru.
The blame was that Maru, who used to be an information broker, leaked confidential information about Taesan Incorporation to its competing agency.
When Maru came to her after hearing the charges against him, Jae Hee warned him, “I assure you that you won’t be able to get out of this one easily. The fact and evidence that you did it is all over, but it will be hard to find proof that you did not do it.”
She added, “So drop everything and go right now. If you do so, I’ll contact a prosecutor I know and cancel all the charges against you.”
Super Junior leader Leeteuk shared his feelings as his enlistment date quickly approaches.
Leeteuk tweeted on October 23rd, “D-7. I will try to make this the happiest week of my life.”
Leeteuk will film his final episode of SBS‘s ‘Strong Heart‘ on the 25th and conclude all of his broadcast commitments. On the 30th, he will report to Gyeonggi-do Uijeong-boo to join the 306 unit for his enlistment. Leeteuk will take part in basic training for 5 weeks and then serve the remaining 21 months as an active duty soldier.
Netizens who saw Leeteuk’s comment wrote, “You are really going to leave in one week“, “Who will fill the void that is made once he leaves“, “I hope you truly make the happiest week of your life“, and “Please keep us updated on how you are doing while you are in the army.”
Source: Leeteuk’s Twitter
Super Junior and Psy will perform at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards, which will be held in Hong Kong on November 30.
Super Junior topped the charts with their sixth album early this year, and their music videos are also popular in many Asian countries, North and South American countries, and Australia.
Psy is currently popular in such countries as the U.S., the UK, Australia, and the Netherlands with his song, “Gangnam Style.”
Han Dong Cheol, a director of the 2012 MAMA, says, “Super Junior and Psy are all world-famous singers. After we announced that the 2012 MAMA will soon be held, many people from such nearby Asian countries as Hong Kong inquired about Super Junior and Psy’s appearance. They have already given high-quality performances for their fans on music awards held by Mnet. They’re expected to give upgraded performances for the audience at the 2012 MAMA, so please look forward to them. More world-renowned singers will perform at the awards. We’ll announce their names one by one.”
Names of the nominated singers will be released on October 23 at 5:00 p.m. on Mnet’s WIDE.
The 2012 MAMA will be held on November 30 at HKCEC (Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center).
The official poster for the new film Jackal is Coming, the first film for JYJ’s Jae Joong, was recently released.
On October 22, Lotte Entertainment released a poster for Jackal is Coming. In the poster, killer Bong Min Jung (played by Song Ji Hyo) and top celebrity Choi Hyun (played by JYJ’s Jae Joong) are in contrasting poses. Bong Min Jung is drinking water, leaning against a refrigerator, and Choi Hyun is staring at her with fear in his eyes.
Song is showing off a charismatic look in a black outfit, holding a gun in her hand and wearing heavy eye makeup, and Jae Joong is reading Song’s countenance, tied by sticky tapes.
The film Jackal is Coming is about killer Bong Min Jung who kidnaps top celebrity Choi Hyun as her last mission. It will be released on November 15.
All actors and actresses are ready to shoot MBC’s new Wednesday-Thursday series Missing You, which will start airing in November.
On October 22, an official for the series said that Yoo Seung Ho decided to appear on the series with JYJ’s Park Yoo Chun and Yoon Eun Hye. Child actor and actress Yeo Jin Goo and Kim So Hyun will appear as a young Park and Yoon.
Park, Yoon, and Yoo will create a love triangle in the series and are drawing considerable attention.
Park will play the role of a detective named Han Jung Woo, who still misses his first love. He is delightful but chases criminals like a fierce animal.
Yoon will play the role of a fashion designer named Lee Soo Yeon. She is always bright and confident in herself, but she is also hiding her sadness deep inside her mind.
Yoo will play the role of an asset manager named Kang Hyung Joon. He looks gentle but he seeks vengeance upon Han Jung Woo.
The series is written by writer Moon Hee Jung, who wrote Can You Hear My Heart and The Last Scandal Of My Life. Producer Lee Jae Dong, who produced Thank You, will work with the writer together for the new series.
Super Junior’s Choi Siwon recently received a lot of attention by delivering flowers to his fans as an event.
The surprise event was conducted by cosmetic brand Mamonde to celebrate the release of their new product First Energy Serum and opening the Siwon and Yuri’s Flower House.
Among customers, who participated in the event, Choi chose one and delivered a bunch of flowers.
He also gave the customer the First Energy Serum and took pictures together. He also communicated with his fans by giving flowers to them on the street.
The event will continue until November 18. You can participate in the event on the Mamonde website (www.mamonde.co.kr) and through the Siwon and Yuri’s Flower House (phone 010-4040-0202/010-4748-0204).
Choi will appear on SBS’s new Monday-Tuesday series Lord of the Drama with Kim Myeong Min and Jung Ryeo Won. Through the series, he will show off his great sense of humor.
The pictorial of Super Junior’s new unit, K.R.Y(Kyuhyun, Ryuwook, and Yesung) is creating a stir.
K.R.Y revealed their sentimental pictorial on Men’s Magazine, L’Officiel Hommes.
K.R.Y is a new unit of Super Junior’s vocals: Kyuhyun, Ryuwook and Yesung. The name of the group means that it is an extension of Super Junior’s activities and is an abbreviation of each member’s initials.
Fashion photographer Bori shot the pictorial, revealing different charms for each of the members.
Kyuhyun gazed about with a gloomy look and Ryuwook revealed sharp yet indifferent charms. It has been said that Yesung amazed the staff by making a fancy and sexy ambience throughout the shooting.
This coming activity of the new unit will likely be loved by many fans who are waiting for Super Junior’s new album and activities.
The pictorial of K.R.Y will be available on the November edition of L’Officiel Hommes.
Singer Kim Hyun Joong revealed the main jacket of his first Japanese album.
On the morning of October 22, Kim’s agency, Key East revealed a teaser image of his first official Japanese album, Unlimited that will be released on December 12.
Holding a guitar, Kim is showing off his mature looks with cold eyes. He looks tough yet carefree because of his tattoo.
The title song of the album, Unlimited that contains 14 new songs and hit songs, is “Your Story.” Modern rock band, Daybreak’s bassist Kim Sun Il played and rearranged the song. In the album, “Save Today” is a collaboration of Korea’s popular rock band, Pia, Downhell, and Daybreak.
It seems like Japanese record media is paying attention to the news of Kim Hyun Joong’s upcoming album. An acquaintance of Japanese media says, “Kim Hyun Joong has high achievements such as ranking the top in the Oricon charts and various other charts with both his singles. He really is the leading K-pop star. He already is a big threat to other K pop artists and even Japanese artists.”
Currently, Kim is busy shooting for KBS 2TV’s upcoming TV series, Conquest of The City and preparing his upcoming album.
The members of JYJ have once again left fans smiling over the display of their friendship.
Junsu revealed a conversation exchanged between himself and Yoochun through smartphone app Kakao Talk on Twitter with the words, “The ordinary, everyday conversation between two 27 year old men.”
The first screen shot showed Junsu commenting “The response to my Kakao Talk [message] came this fast? I’m touched”. Yoochun replied, “Hahaha. What are you doing??” to which Junsu teased, “Thinking of you…”
However, Yoochun was quick to shoot back, “Get out”, which left Junsu to send a crying emoticon in response. The two then went on to exchange various emoticons with one another as shown in the second screen capture and both ended the conversation with laughter.
Lee Seung Gi’s agency is displeased about the rumor that Lee will host a variety show, which is scheduled to air after SBS TV’s Go Show goes off the air.
On October 18, Hook Entertainment, Lee’s agency, reported, “Lee Seung Gi is willing to do variety shows as long as they’re good. SBS has been asking him to host a variety show since he left Kang Shim Jang. He was also asked to do a new variety show, which will be produced by Seo Hye Jin.”
The agency went on saying, “We said we will make a decision after reading a program proposal of the show, but we haven’t received it yet. Many TV stations are trying to cast Lee Seung Gi on their variety shows, but we wonder why all the rumors about Lee Seung Gi and variety shows are always related to SBS.”
Lee’s agency also said, “We feel displeased when such rumors come out. We’re afraid that Lee Seung Gi is seen as a person who often changes his mind. The case of 100 People’s Table was also the same. He decided not to host the show after reading a program proposal of the show, but it was reported that the show was canceled to air because Lee Seung Gi changed his mind. We’re displeased when this kind of news gets reported before Lee Seung Gi makes a decision.”
SBS said they asked Lee to host a variety show, but he hasn’t made a decision yet.
Super Junior’s Leeteuk will invite his friends to his last episode of SBS TV’s Kang Shim Jang.
Before joining the army, Leeteuk will shoot his last episode of Kang Shim Jang on October 25. Leeteuk’s friends will also appear on the show as guests.
On October 18, a spokesperson for the show reported, “We’ll hold a special event for Leeteuk in his last shooting of Kang Shim Jang. Leeteuk’s friends will come and see him. We haven’t decided who to invite, but we’ll try to create a friendly mood for Leeteuk, who has done so many things for the show.”
Leeteuk has been active not only as a leader of Super Junior but also as a host or a guest of many variety shows.
Leeteuk has appeared on Kang Shim Jang as a regular guest along with Boom and comedian Yang Se Hyung. He also appeared on Star King as a regular guest. He used to appear on MBC TV’s We Got Married with Kang Sora but left the show on September 8.
Leeteuk will enter the 306 military training camp on October 30, receive basic military training for five weeks, and serve in the army for 21 months.
Singer and actor Lee Seung Gi and producer Na Young Seok recently said that they are not planning a return to variety shows.
On October 19, a spokesperson for Lee’s agency said, “We’ve never heard of it. Yesterday, they said that Lee will appear on SBS’s variety program, and today, they say Lee will appear on KBS’s variety program. We have to check why these rumors are spreading.”
A spokesperson for KBS also said, “We’ve never heard of it. Producer Na is working in another department.”
A media outlet previously reported that Lee will return to a variety show with producer Na.
Lee, however, recently decided to appear on a historical TV series, in which he will play the role of a half human and half animal character.
Producer Na took some time off to rest after leaving the show One Night And Two Days. There was a rumor that he would return to a variety show with Kang Ho Dong, but it was revealed to be just a rumor. Kang is currently preparing for a new variety show with producer Lee Ye Ji.
B2ST’s Yoon Doo Jun was recently cast in the TV series Iris 2.
Taewon Entertainment, the production company for TV series and movies, announced on October 19 that Yoon will appear on the series Iris 2.
Yoon will play the role of Seo Hyun Woo, who is very self confident and bright. He is like a vitamin of NSS and an elite agent, who is good at shooting, martial arts, code breaking, and speaking foreign languages. He will also be involved in a love triangle with Jang Hyuk and Lee Da Hae.
Yoon previously appeared on the movie Married to the Mafia 5: The Return of Family as a grandson named Young Min and he proves himself to be a strong actor.
The series Iris 2 is receiving considerable attention by casting Jang Hyuk, Lee Da Hae, Lee Beom Soo, Oh Yeon Soo, Kim Young Chul, Kim Seung Woo, and Lim Soo Hyang in. Producers Pyo Min Soo and Kim Tae Hoon will direct the series together. They will start shooting the series in November to air it in the half of 2013.
As previously reported, Kim Jong Kook is finally making his return to the music scene with the release of his 7th full length album!
Although the release date has not yet been officially announced, it is expected to drop at the end of this month with a song being pre-released on the 23rd!
The singer has been serving as a member of variety show ‘Running Man‘ as well as ‘Crisis Escape No. 1‘, building up his reputation as an all-around entertainer, so his return to the music scene is something that many of his fans are looking forward to.
His comeback is becoming more and more of a reality as he has released a video teaser for a song called “Men Also Feel Sad“, which is presumed to be the pre-release track coming up.
Check it out below!
The multi high-end lifestyle concept select shop ‘Koon With a View‘ held an opening party for its flagship store on October 18th.
The store opened in Seoul Shinsadong Garosu-gil, a street well known for it’s high end fashion. The store rose up five floors and even had a basement floor, opening 6 floors for shoppers to enjoy.
Girls’ Generation‘s Jessica, Super Junior‘s Siwon, 2AM‘s Seulong, 2PM‘s Junho and Chansung, Honey Lee, Park Hyo Shin, Lee Jong Suk, Go Joon Hee and others attended the opening party.
[Images credited as tagged]
The JYJ members made their fans giggle with their funny selca photos.
On October 18th, Jaejoong tweeted, “Junsuya ha” and shared the top picture of all three JYJ members. The picture showed Jaejoong and Yoochun smiling brightly while Junsu stared at them with his mouth open as if he were a vampire.
Jaejoong revealed another picture of him and Yoochun as he tweeted, “He came up all of a sudden and said ‘Hyung, let’s take a selca!’ and it turned out like this.”
The second picture showed Jaejoong and Yoochun making funny expressions.
After seeing the pictures, the netizens commented, “The three brothers that allows us to have healing“, “I like this kind of smile so much“, “It’s been a long time seeing Yoochun on Twitter“, “Are they filming for an advertisement?“, and “It’s nice to see them smiling so brightly.”
Source & Image(s): Jaejoong‘s Twitter
The boys of JYJ were recently named the ambassadors for the ‘2012 Korea Brand & Entertainment Expo (KBEE)‘.
They had already been selected, but were formally appointed on the 17th through a press event. On appointing JYJ as ambassadors, KOTRA, the KBEE 2012 host, said, “JYJ have been selected as the ambassadors for ‘KBEE 2012′. We’re looking forward to them becoming the icon of exchange between Japan and Korea because they are Hallyu stars that are well loved in both countries.“
[Images credited as tagged]
Super Junior’s Kyuhyun recently released a photo of the emcees of MBC’s Radio Star in celebration of the first anniversary of his emcee work.
On October 17, Kyuhyun tweeted a photo with the caption “It’s been a year since I joined this show. Tune in for Radio Star on Wednesday nights, please~ Happy Anniversary!”
In the photo, the four emcees of Radio Star―Yoon Jong Shin, Yoo Se Yoon, Kim Gook Jin and Kyunhyun― strike a friendly pose.
The hilarious foursome are all smiles, sitting side by side.
The youngest and fairest-looking host joined the group of the emcees of the show in October 2011, replacing Super Junior’s Heechul.
Lee Byung Hun is expected to receive more than 1 billion won for appearing on the movie, Gwanghae.
The 378th episode of SBS’s Night of TV Entertainment that aired on the afternoon of October 17, talked about money in the entertainment industry.
Especially, the show attracted attention by revealing that Lee Byung Hun, who starred on the movie, Gwanghae, received 600million won as his basic fee for his act. On top of that, Lee will be receiving more guarantee fee, totaling up to 1 billion won.
The show also introduced Han Seok Gyu as the first person to receive guarantee fee. Han is known to have received 950million won as his guarantee fee with his movie, Swiri.
The guarantee fee means the incentive an actor receives if the movie exceeds its expected profit margin.
It has been announced that Kim Hyun Joong has decided to renew his contract with Key East Entertainment.
The singer and actor previously signed with the agency back in June 2010 and upon the nearing of the expiration date, Kim Hyun Joong has opted to renew his contract.
An insider revealed, “Kim Hyun Joong is following the footsteps of Bae Yong Joon and is being recognized as a Hallyu Star. Kim Hyun Joong regards highly Key East’s ability and know-hows of how to enter the market in Japan and across Asia.”
Meanwhile, Kim Hyun Joong is currently filming for his upcoming drama, ‘City Conquest‘, which will premiere at the start of 2013.
Source + image: Hankooki via Nate
Tip: Muriel
The first still cuts of MBC‘s drama, ‘I Miss You‘, showcase the two main characters acted by JYJ‘s Yoochun and Yoon Eun Hye.
Yoochun and Yoon Eun Hye participated in their first filming for MBC’s new Wednesday-Thursday drama last weekend.
The two stars were able to express the touching romance between Han Jung Woo (acted by Yoochun) and Lee Soo Yeon (acted by Yoon Eun Hye) with their meaningful glances towards each other.
The still cuts portray Han Jung Woo’s attempt to hide his sadness, while Soo Yeon sheds tears as she looks towards Jung Woo, previewing the melodrama tone of the drama.
A representative of ‘I Miss You’ stated, “As Park Yoochun and Yoon Eun Hye are able to act together for the first time through ‘I Miss You’, they are perfectly expressing the emotions of their characters.”
‘I Miss You’ will air next month after ‘Arang and the Magistrate‘ and will tell the story of a man and woman who fall in love as teenagers but are torn apart and later run into each other again as adults.
JYJ‘s Jaejoong made a shocking confession about his love life.
On October 16th, Jaejoong attended a press conference for his movie ‘Code Name Jackal‘. In the movie, Jaejoong plays top star Choi Hyun that is incredibly popular with his beautiful looks and nice manners. However, behind the scenes, he enjoys annoying his manager, ignores his fans, and has no morals. He is kidnapped by Song Ji Hyo‘s character Bong Min Jung, a famous killer, and is faced with incredible danger.
After a question was asked what he would if he were Song Ji Hyo’s character, Jaejoong confessed, “If I became a killer that kidnaps people, there are a lot of people who I would want to kidnap. I like a lot of people, so there are a lot of people I want to kidnap. If there’s a woman I like and she keeps pushing back marriage or doesn’t want to date me, I think I would want to kidnap her. I want to date her by kidnapping her.”
On October 16, JYP Entertainment broke the news that miss A had gotten into a car accident on the morning of the day.
The girl group was reportedly on its way to the set of MBC Music’s Show Champion.
From the accident spot, the group members were immediately taken to a hospital nearby for a close examination. However, just after the examination, the idol stars jumped back to their work to compete the schedule.
The result of the examination hasn’t come out yet, but all the members are purportedly in a good condition without major injuries.
The formidable foursome will return to performing on October 18 on Mnet’s M!Countdown with the single “I’m Fine without a Guy,” from their new EP.
The return of Kang Ho Dong on SBS’s Star King has been confirmed for October 29.
A publicist of SBS Entertainment industry revealed to Starnews on October 15, “Kang will be coming back on Star King starting with the recording on October 29. There might be changes but as for now, the date has been set.”
Kang returning on Star King is creating a stir because this will be his first show as his comeback. Not only that, as the popular producer Jang Hyuk Jae who directed the variety show, Family Outing held hands with Kang, people are paying attention to the upcoming changes.
The variety show, Star King has been emceed by Kang Ho Dong since its first broadcast on January 2007 and has grown into one of the major shows. After the absence of Kang in September of last year, Boom and Leeteuk has been emceeing for the show ever since.
The friendship between JYJ’s Jae Joong and Psy recently attracted a lot of attention.
On October 14, Jae Joong tweeted, “It’s really interesting,” mentioning KBS 2TV’s drama series Nice Guy. At this, Psy replied, “I think the song that you wrote is more interesting.”
Jae Joong replied to Psy, “I wrote a different song eventually. I’ll let you listen to it later. The interruption to the inspiration made me to write a better song. ‘Gangnam Style’ is the best.”
People responded: “The friendship between Jae Joong and Psy is quite unexpected.” “Are Jae Joong and Psy friends? That’s great.” “How did they meet each other?” “I cannot imagine Jae Joong and Psy listening to the same song.”
On October 16, Jae Joong will attend a press conference and a showcase for the production of the film Jackal is Coming, and Psy went to Australia on October 15. Psy showed off a cute look in a Mickey Mouse T-shirt at the airport.
Some snapshots of JYJ’s Yoo Chun and Yoon Eun Hye shooting MBC TV’s new drama series Missing You were recently released.
In the snapshots, Yoo Chun and Yoon are facing opposite directions with tears in their eyes.
This is the first time for both of them to work together. However, their teamwork was good in the first shooting. Yoo Chun plays the role of Han Jung Woo, and Yoon plays the role of Lee Soo Yeon.
In the snapshots, Yoo Chun seems to try not to express his sadness, and Yoon is standing next to him with tears in her eyes.
A spokesperson for the series says, “Yoo Chun and Yoon Eun Hye perfectly understand their characters, so they know how to express their emotions.”
Missing You is a melodrama about a man and a woman who live with painful memories about their first love. Yeon Jin Goo and Kim So Hyun play the childhood of the man and the woman.
The series is written by Moon Hee Jung, who wrote Can You Hear My Heart and Smile, Love, and directed by Lee Jae Dong, who directed Can’t Lose and Thank You. It will start airing in November.
Son Dam Bi is set to show her comedic acting skills on the upcoming episode of tvN‘s ‘SNL Korea‘.
Contrary to her sexy image on stage, Son Dam Bi will transform into laugh-out-loud characters for the show, increasing viewers’ anticipation for the singer’s comedic side.
Son Dam Bi stated, “This is my first time doing comedic acting, and it’s a live broadcast, which makes me nervous and excited. Please look forward to it as I’ll be showing another side of Son Dam Bi with the help with the show’s solid staff.”
Tune in for this hilarious episode on October 20 KST!
Source + image: TV Report via Nate
Popular group Big Bang successfully completed their first concert in Indonesia. Their ‘Alive Galaxy Tour 2012‘ brought 30,000 fans to Jakarta’s Mata Elang International Stadium. reportedly the largest Indoor Stadium in South East Asia.
YG Entertainment stated that Big Bang succeeds popular Indonesian boy groups Hitz and XO IX, girl group PRINCESS, male solo artist Gadaffi Ismail Sabri, and actor-model Ryzal Jaafar as performers in the stadium.
On October 12th and 13th, Big Bang opened with “Still Alive“ and continued with hit songs “Lies“, “Haru Haru“, “Heaven“, and “Fantastic Baby“, performing a total of 23 songs for fans.
Indonesia SCTV‘s Liputan6, as well as several online news sites, covered the group’s arrival in Indonesia plus their concert rehearsals and events on October 11th.
Big Bang will continue their tour in October in Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia; Los Angeles, New Jersey, and Peru in November, and Hong Kong then a Japan dome tour in December, as well as an additional concert in Osaka on January 12th and 13th.
JYJ’s Kim Jae Joong has over one million followers on Twitter.
On October 11, Kim’s agency, C-JeS Entertainment, said, “Kim has had over one million followers on Twitter since October 10.”
The news received considerable attention on Twitter and Twitterians from all over the world sent him celebrating messages. The ‘#Jaejoong 1Million’ also appeared on the world issue words list.
Kim is an active Hallyu star who uses Twitter to stay in touch with his fans. He talks about his group members and releases pictures of himself. Since he has many fans all over the world, his followers have increased.
Besides Kim, there are many idol stars who have over one million followers on Twitter. Super Junior’s Choi Siwon was the first star, who had over one million followers in December of last year. He currently has over 2.7 million followers on Twitter, which is the highest record in Korea.
Super Junior’s Donghae, Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Eunhyuk, Shindong, and Kyuhyun also have over one million followers on Twitter.
miss A’s Suzy is the first female star to get over one million followers on Twitter in Korea.
The movie Jackal Is Coming, starring Kim and Song Ji Hyo, will be released soon.
The beautiful Kim Tae Hee was captured wearing a hanbok for the Chuseok holiday and many fans were mesmerized at her beauty in traditional clothing.
A photo of Kim Tae Hee modeling in a hanbok was recently uploaded onto an online community site and shows Kim Tae Hee greeting fans through a warm smile while wearing a brightly colored hanbok which accentuates her milky skin.
Upon seeing the photo, netizens commented, “She is so pretty”, and “Her hanbok is gorgeous too.”
In related news, Kim Tae Hee was recently chosen as the endorsement model for cosmetics brand, ‘Allerman‘.
Having various teasers for their newest album, U-KISS has finally brought out their 7th mini album, ‘STOP GIRL‘ and its music video for the title track of the same name.
The group previously had fans waiting in suspense while teasing with their latest digital release, “Cinderella”, and their teaser photos and video. The wait has finally come to an end and the MV and album for ‘STOP GIRL’ have been released.
Check out the ‘black & white’ version of the music video below!
Yoon Seung Ah sits on Donghae (of Super Junior)’s lap.
On September 7, Channel A released some snapshots from the next episode of Panda and Hedgehog.
In the snapshots, Yoon is whispering something in Donghae’s ear, sitting on his lap. They’re even looking at each other tenderly. According to the production team of the series, Yoon was very shy on Donghae’s lap when she was shooting the scene, and Donghae was considerate of her throughout the shoot.
Panda and Hedgehog is a drama series about young people’s growth and love with a bakery as a setting. A genius patissier named Go Seung Ji (played by Donghae) and a positive girl named Pan Da Yang (played by Yoon Seung Ah) are the main characters.
In the previous episode, Go Seung Ji and Pan Da Yang create macaroons for lovers. At the same time, they feel something for each other. In the seventh episode of the series, which will air on September 8, Pan Da Yang gently sits on Go Seung Ji’s lap in a romantic mood.
It’s also revealed that both Go Seung Ji and Choi Won Il (played by Choi Ji Hyuk) have been trying to take revenge on Choi Jae Gyum (played by Hyuk Suk). The series airs every Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on Channel A.
A doctored image of singers Psy and IU titled “Psy U” has created a stir on the Internet.
Recently, a picture titled “The appearance of Psy-U” was posted on an online community board and gave a big laughter to netizens.
The picture is a jacket image of IU’s album in which Psy’s face is photoshopped into IU’s. It looks as if Psy has done his hair into two pigtails and sitting modestly. His smile even makes him look like a shy girl.
At a side of the picture, “PSYU” and “Gangnam Fantasy 2” are written, supposedly referring to the name of the singer and the title of the album respectively.
Netizens who saw the posting commented: “It cracked me up.” “Psy’s face and style go well with the image.” “I want to see PSY-U in real life.” “It looks like there is a person who looks exactly like him.” “Gangnam oppa, you look like an innocent girl.” “The meeting of two great musicians, Psy and IU.”
On August 30th, JYJ‘s Yoochun received the ‘Outstanding Hallyu Drama Male Actor Award’ at KBS‘s ‘2012 Seoul Drama Awards‘ for his performance on SBS drama ’Rooftop Prince‘.
Yoochun saddened viewers when he stated with a hint of tears in his eyes, “I am glad to have received an award for such a great drama. I want to dedicate this award to my father, who was not able to watch“.
Yoochun’s father unfortunately passed away this past March. Yoochun participated in filming ‘Rooftop Prince’ after the funeral service.
In addition to the ‘Outstanding Hallyu Drama Male Actor Award’, Yoochun also received the ‘Netizen Popularity Award’.
Source & Image: Ilgan Sports via Nate
Psy‘s “Gangnam Style” phenomenon has hit the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. The artist previously posted on Twitter hinting at his possible appearance at the baseball game.
On the 20th PST, Psy did indeed attend the Dodgers vs. Giants baseball game with his acquaintances. After the end of the 5th inning, “Gangnam Style” was played across the stadium after which Psy jumped up to perform his signature “horse riding” dance in front of 43,000 people who cheered him on.
It’s reported that when the song first came on, Psy seemed to hesitate for a brief second, but as soon as his face appeared on the giant screen, he whipped out his sunglasses, put on a comedic facial expression, and started dancing, providing an entertaining show for the whole crowd. The Dodger Stadium is known for playing the most popular songs during “dance time” for the baseball fans to sing along to and enjoy.
Check out a clip from the event below (Psy’s appearance ~30s)!
Source + Image: Joongang Ilbo Via Nate
Video tip: Kenny
Rock band CNBLUE will be holding a live concert in London this September!
‘CNBLUE IN LONDON‘ will be organized by CJ E&M‘s global concert brand M-Live alongside AEG. AEG Vice President, Susan Rosenbluth, stated that she was impressed by CNBLUE and F.T. Island‘s joint concert in Los Angeles held this past March.
This is definitely another chance for CNBLUE to hit the global market. It’s been reported that the LA concert set a high record in sales and that 80% of the audience was non-Korean, so there’s a lot of anticipation about how the band will fare in London.
Check out the details for the concert below!
CNBLUE LIVE IN LONDON
Date: September 22, 2012 at 7PM
Venue: IndigO2 in Greenwich
Ticket Prices:
Floor Standing- ₤ 45
King’s Row- ₤ 55 (Seating)
Front Balcony- ₤ 35 (Seating)
Rear Balcony- ₤ 35 (Seating)
Big Bang‘s G-Dragon has updated his Twitter with a link to a mysterious countdown timer.
The time ticks off every second, and it seems the countdown will hit 0:00 on August 18th at 12AM (KST), which happens to be the day of his birthday. Although nothing else has been revealed and despite rumors of a possible delay, fans have been speculating the countdown to be the release date of his 2nd solo album.
Stay tuned to allkpop for more updates!
Source: G-Dragon’s Twitter
Tip: Emily
B1A4′s Gong Chan shows off his humorous side.
In the episode of B1A4′s Hello Baby that will air on August 1, B1A4 members play a quiz game to know about Seoul. Many questions, which range from general information about Seoul to a Seoul accent, are given to the members. The members, who are mostly from local areas, compete against each other with their knowledge about Seoul.
Gong Chan especially shows off his humorous side throughout the episode and gets praised by the special host Jang Dong Hyuk. In an interview, Gong Chan says, “80 points out of 100,” to the question, “What score would you like to give to your sense of humor?”
B1A4 members also surprise the crew by giving weird answers to some of the given questions.
Based on a result of the quiz game, B1A4 members will be divided into two groups, one with the best scores and one with the lowest scores, and experience Seoul in two opposite conditions. At this, the members try their utmost to win the game.
B1A4′s quiz game, B1A4! Ring the Golden Bell, will air on August 2 at 12:20 a.m. on KBS Joy’s B1A4′s Hello Baby.
After making a grand entrance to the cheers of 3,000 fans on their first visit to Thailand, EXO has been enjoying widespread popularity and support as they finish up their promotional activities in the country.
Their four day stay made it hard for anyone to believe that the group was just four months into their debut, as every place the boys stepped in, fans swarmed in to catch a glimpse. EXO managed to meet with about 10,000 fans in just one day alone, as they completed a fan signing, mini-live, and TV appearances.
EXO opened up their fan signing at the Siam Paragon mall on the morning of July 28th and gathered 1,200 fans for a memorable event. During the afternoon, they opened a mini-live outdoors at the Siam Discovery Plaza which brought in over 5,000 fans despite the heat. The boys performed “MAMA“, “History“, and a special Thai commentary that earned an enthusiastic response from the audience.
Their appearance on ‘Asian Lover Special‘ will broadcast for the next eight weeks, starting August 4th, further solidifying their popularity in the country.
Having successfully completed their debut promotions in Thailand, the boys will be focusing on their new upcoming album release.
Source + Photos: Sports Chosun via Naver
In response to his rising popularity all over Asia, JYJ‘s Yoochun has announced that he’ll be setting off on an Asia fan meet tour.
On July 27th, C-JeS Entertainment confirmed, “‘Rooftop Prince’ concluded two months ago, but Yoochun’s popularity both in Korea and overseas leaves no rest. Yoochun began earning widespread popularity through his 2010 drama, ‘Sungkyunkwan Scandal‘, so we felt that it was time to decide on a fan meet tour for his Asian fans.”
Starting with Shanghai on August 25th, he’ll be traveling to Taiwan and Thailand, as well as one or two more countries depending on the number of fan requests. According to officials, Yoochun’s popularity in China, Taiwan, and Thailand has been the highest yet, especially with the broadcasting of his past dramas like ‘Miss Ripley‘ and ‘Rooftop Prince’.
Recently, a Taiwanese entertainment outlet polled 22,000 viewers asking who their favorite male drama lead was, and Yoochun came out on top with 71% of the votes.
Yoochun stated, “I’m really thankful for receiving so much love from Asia. I believe that this will be a fun opportunity to share my time with my international fans and talk about my memories with Lee Sun Joon, Song Yoo Hyun, and Lee Gak.”
Source + Photos: Sports Seoul via Naver
Big Bang’s G-Dragon is creating a stir by posting a product review.
Recently on an online community board, G-Dragon’s product review was uploaded. This was originally posted on the internet shopping mall of organic dog food, which he bought for his loyal dog, Gaho.
G-Dragon uploaded a picture that displayed his backside and posted, “Hello, this is Gwon Ji Yong. I carefully selected this organic food since Gaho will be eating it. Have a good and healthy summer!” His muscles that were exposed created a stir among netizens.
Netizens commented: “G-Dragon’s product review is awesome.” “Is he really G-Dragon? He’s cute.” “I didn’t know he was this witty.” “I bet that product will become a hit thanks to G-Dragon’s product review.”
JYJ‘s Yoochun has been chosen as the hallyu star that could promote the city Seoul the best.
The city of Seoul held a survey titled ‘Seoul’s Hallyu Story Survey’ and Yoochun was selected by foreigners as the star that could best promote Seoul . Runner ups in the survey were Lee Minho and Kim Soohyun.
The survey was held from June 20th to July 3rd through Seoul’s official homepage and 2,474 foreigners along with 326 Koreans participated in the survey totaling 2,800 participants in all. Out of those 2,800 participants, 326 were men, and 2,747 of them were women. 1,920 participants were in the age range of 10-20s, 761 participants were in their 30s-40s, and 119 participants were 50 and over.
Some of the reasons given on why they chose Yoochun include that he is a person who works hard to thrive for success, he has handsome looks along with a soft image, and his acting / singing skills.
Yoochun has many fans for his music through his activities as a member of JYJ and he has also proven to be a successful actor by receiving best new actor awards for his work in KBS’ ‘Sungkyunkwan Scandal‘ and MBC’s ‘Miss Ripley‘. He has further shown his acting skills through his role of Crown Prince Lee Gak in his most recent drama ‘Rooftop Prince‘.
On another note, native Koreans chose Girls’ Generation as the star(s) that could best promote Seoul.
NU’EST has finally returned with their latest single “Action“!
Fans have been anticipating NU’EST’s comeback ever since a teaser photo was released at the end of June.
The wait is finally over now for fans and NU’EST definitely did not let anyone down. They came back with fierce dance moves and the title of the song says it all, it’s filled with action.
Check out the boys dominate the stage below, and be sure to catch the rest of today’s performances here!
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Super Junior has revealed that they’ve employed the use of matrix cameras for their “Sexy, Free & Single” music video!
The music video was shot at a set in Gwangju mid last month and was directed by Hong Won Ki. To capture as much of the boys’ powerful performance as possible along with their group jump shot, the director brought in matrix cameras, amplifying the energy factor.
The video will be released for the first time through the boys’ comeback press conference on the morning of July 3rd and will be released later on the day through their official homepage and YouTube.
Their teaser video alone has amassed over two million videos three days into its release, and the album ranked at the top of iTunes Japan‘s combined album and pop album chart, as well as ranking first on China’s ‘Ting‘, signifying the group’s global popularity.
Super Junior will mark their comeback through Mnet‘s ‘M! Countdown’ on the 5th.
Source + Photos: TV Report via Nate
After revealing the first teaser photo featuring Eunhyuk, Super Junior has unveiled their second teaser photo for their upcoming 6th album featuring Donghae!
Donghae is seen in a see-through black top with a white veil-like piece flowing down his back, giving off a soft yet mysterious feel to the teaser photo.
As announced previously, the group’s 6th album ‘Sexy, Free & Single‘ will drop on July 1st online and will be followed by the offline release on July 4th.
Stay tuned for the release of other teasers to come!
Source + photo: Osen
A past photo of miss A‘s Suzy sporting a daring haircut is garnering a lot of attention online.
On May 16th, the above photo was posted on a Korean portal site bulletin with the title, “Suzy took on a wild wolf haircut in the past“.
Suzy flashed an awkward smile towards the camera, wearing a pink sweatshirt that contrasted with her layered, boyish cut. The hairstyle gave her a tougher, more rugged look, causing netizens to compare this photo to more recent photos of the singer. It looks like Suzy’s style has come a long way as she currently has a more girly image with long, straight hair.
Netizens who saw the photo commented, “Her face is gentle, but her wild side is seriously overflowing,” “Suzy looks pretty no matter what she does, but she looks so different now,” and “It’s okay because it’s Suzy’s wolf cut.”
Source & Image: Ilgan Sports via Naver
Actor Lee Byung Hun will appear in movie Red 2 (directed by Dean Parisot) with Catherine Zeta-Jones.
On May 10 (local time), Summit Entertainment, the production company of Red 2, reported Lee was cast in Red 2 as one of the main characters. It will be released in February 2013.
Red 2 is a sequel to Red (directed by Robert Schwentke), released in 2010. Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, and Helen Mirren, who appeared in Red 1, will also appear in the sequel. The movie is especially attracting attention as it’s reported that Catherine Zeta-Jones, the heroine of Chicago and No Reservations, will also join the film.
Red 2 is about retired CIA agents fighting against their enemies. It attracted attention as it was written by Jon Hoeber of Man On A Ledge and Battleship.
Lee won confidence of Hollywood produces as his power in Asia was acknowledged by them when he appeared in G.I. Joe.
G.I. Joe 2 will be released on June 21, and Lee’s currently shooting movie King of Chosun (directed by Choo Chang Min), which will be released in fall.
Casual clothing brand ‘Omphalos‘ has just released their newest S/S pictorial featuring their endorsement models, B1A4!
Since their debut, B1A4 has turned heads for a fashion style they could confidently call uniquely their own. From bold prints to loud patterns, B1A4 has covered almost everything on stage, attracting the attention of officials from the advertisement and fashion industry.
For ‘Omphalos’, the boys toned it down with a vivid yet casual look that still retains their boy-next-door charm in preppy collared shirts and basic shorts.
‘Omphalos’ will be coming up with a variety of fun events for consumers and fans, so if you’re in Korea, be sure to look out for B1A4′s fan sign events as well.
Source + Photos: Newsen via Nate
MBC Everyone‘s ‘Weekly Idol‘ revealed the results of a newly conducted poll where they asked idols to choose the idol they most want to bring into their own group.
miss A, FT Island, TEEN TOP, B1A4, and more participated in the poll and selected the idol they most wanted in their own group for various reasons such as entertainment skills, musical abilities, good looks, and more.
The one idol that was selected the most by his own peers was none other than SHINee‘s Taemin. “He’s young but he sings and dances really well,” they said, and also selected his ‘pretty’ appearance as another reason why he would be a good addition to their team.
MC Jung Hyung Don was surprised after looking at a photo of Taemin dressed as a female, and remarked that even he was momentarily attracted to Taemin’s good looks.
f(x) member Sulli and miss A’s Suzy were also selected as lovely girl group members to have in your own group. Other male idols that ranked in the top were fashionista and song-writing genius G-Dragon, and JYJ‘s Junsu for his amazing vocals.
The results of the ‘BEST 10 Idols We Want to Steal for Our Own Group’ will be revealed on the April 18th episode of MBC Everyone’s ‘Weekly Idol’.
Source: SportsWorld via Nate
SHINee released their mini-album “Sherlock” and fans have been anxious for the music video. Well, the wait is finally over!
True to the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ theme, the MV has a bit of a detective story and in true SHINee fashion, the choreography is outstanding. Additionally, Jessica of Girls’ Generation makes a cameo appearance!
Check out the MV for “Sherlock” below.
Don’t forget to support the group’s hard work by purchasing the album!
Bindaetteok Gongdeok Market established itself in the early 1970s but is currently struggling after discount retailer E-mart opened only 200 meters away early last month. According to Gongdeok Market Association, having E-mart just around the corner has been a challenge for the more than 400 people within the market.
One portion of the market that is still thriving, however, is an alley lined with bindaetteok restaurants.
The market became famous for bindaetteok during the 1980s and Mapo Grandma, merchants say, was the first to open.
According to its owner, starting the restaurant wasn’t an easy task.
“I tried selling ice cream and fruit but nothing worked and bindaetteok was my last option,” said Seo Mun Jung-ae, owner of Mapo Grandma.
Seo is now in her 70s and still makes the bindaetteok herself. “For more than 25 years, I’ve woken up around 5 a.m. to prepare the ingredients,” Seo said.
Seo said the number of bindaetteok restaurants has increased on the back of the creative innovations of the restaurant owners as they tried to beat their competition.
“New ideas for bindaetteok come along and that’s how the number of bindaetteok restaurants has increased over the years,” Seo said.
Seo’s edge lies in the color of the bindaetteok she makes. She serves 20 types of bindaetteok, made from diverse ingredients such as mung beans, oysters, fish cake, shiitake mushrooms, sesame leaves and more. These ingredients give her bindaetteok its unique color.
“I don’t like artificial coloring, so the colors are made naturally with the vegetables I use,” Seo said.
Mapo Grandma
Mapo Grandma offers a colorful selection of bindaetteok (right) made from fresh vegetables and other ingredients and a range of equally colorful fried foods that together form an eye-catching display in the restaurant’s front window.
Price: 2,000 won to 19,000 won
Hours: Open 24 hours
(02) 715-3775
Actor So Ji Sub recently released his mini album Corona Borealis.
The songs from So’s album were released online on March 20 at midnight. So transforms into a rapper through the album.
Popular songwriter Kim Kun Woo, who has written songs for many singers, including, Supreme Team, Jewelry, and SG Wannabe, produced the album. The album portrays a variety of aspects, including break ups between lovers and it also includes songs that the public can easily relate to.
He included more songs in the album than his last single album Pick Up Line, which was released in 2011. Many artists, including, Bobby Kim, Huh Gak, and soprano Han Kyung Mi, who is a jury member for tvN’s Opera Star, helped him to make the album perfect.
Famous vocal trainer Mellow, who has worked with Huh Gak, Lee Hyo Ri, Baek Ji Young, and Ivy, was featured in the title song “Some Kind of Story” from So’s album.
The song is about a man who wants to leave and a girl who doesn’t want him to leave. Many people are saying that the song feels like a TV drama. Bobby Kim also sang the duet “1 Year Ago to the Day” with So and drew a lot of attention.
So decided to appear on SBS’s series Ghost (working title), which will start airing in May. He will make his comeback to the small screen through the series in 2 years.
Recently, five men idol group Big Bang is attracting worldwide attention.
Big Bang is attracting public gaze because they ranked the top of iTunes Chart in various countries including
Britain, France, and Brazil. Not only that, many news regarding Big Bang were broadcast on America’s popular music shows and award ceremonies.
On March 13, Big Bang has been introduced to world-famous music chart, Billboard. Billboard introduced Big Bang with the title, “Big Bang is Unstoppable.”
Billboard also mentioned, “Big Bang’s fifth mini album, Alive ranked 150th place on Billboard 200. The music video for one of the album’s songs, ‘Blue’ exceeded 14 million views.”
The show also introduced Big Bang’s world tour. Billboard stated, “The first day of world tour, Alive Tour 2012 in Seoul, was a great success. Thirty thousand fans visited the site. They will be performing in 25 capitals of 16 countries including Asia, North and South America, and Europe.”
The MC of the show added, “Almost all the songs from the album Alive entered top ten of the K Pop Charts. Big Bang will make a tremendous change in the upcoming K Pop Charts.”
Last month, Arirang TV‘s ‘Showbiz Korea‘ opened up a three week long poll on their official homepage that asked international netizens to pick their most favorite Korean drama.
According to 2,024 international participants, the drama that won over the most hearts was none other than SBS‘s ‘Secret Garden‘, which came in at first with 16.1% of the votes.
Following in the ‘Top 7′ were ‘Boys Over Flowers‘, ‘You’re Handsome‘ ‘Coffee Prince‘, ‘Goong‘, ‘Sungkyunkwan Scandal‘, and ‘Full House‘.
When asked to choose a male actor that they would like as their boyfriend, 15.3% chose Hyun Bin while 13.9% chose Ha Ji Won as the female character they would like to be reborn as.
Source + Photos: Mydaily via Naver
The Korea Times Korean Music Festival, undoubtedly one of the most anticipated events for kpop music fans in North America, has just announced the first batch of artists that will be performing at the event!
After bringing huge artists like TVXQ, the Wonder Girls, Big Bang, Girls’ Generation, Super Junior, 2PM, KARA, BEAST, SHINee, G.NA, U-KISS, SISTAR, DJ DOC, SECRET, K.Will, Jay Park, and 4minute and more in past years, the concert will be back for its 10th year on April 28th, 2012.
After much anticipation, the first batch of artists for the concert has been revealed:
Nam Jin
Im Tae Kyung
Love & Peace
The Korean Music Festival tends to draw a crowd from all across the continent, as well as some from overseas, who make the journey to see their favorite kpop artists live at Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
It hasn’t been confirmed when the second batch of artists will be announced, so in the meantime, let’s take a trip down memory lane and reminisce on last year’s Korean Music Festival through allkpop‘s extensive coverage, complete with an event recap, high-definition photo sets, videos, and more.
And of course, expect to see me and the other allkpop staff at the concert again this year – we’ll have more surprises planned for both concert attendees and allkpop readers around the world!
SBS ‘K-Pop Star‘ has finally narrowed the competition down to the Top 10, and is now officially starting their search for the top star. The show has been popular not only because 3 of Korea’s top agencies are represented (SM, YG, and JYP), but also because the 3 judges’ tastes are so easily distinguishable and it is fun to watch and listen to them and the contestants.
The viewers’ anticipation and curiosity is growing over the results of the “real” competition and who the winner will be, especially since the contestants who made it to the Top 10 are all very talented.
The contestants who passed through multiple auditions and made it to the live broadcast are Baek Ji Woong, Baek Ah Yeon, Kim Na Yoon, Lee Jung Mi, Lee Ha Yi, Yoon Hyun Sang, Lee Michelle, Park Ji Min, Park Jae Hyung, and Lee Seung Hoon.
The three vocal coaches who are training these contestants are Jang Jin Young from SM, Choi Won Suk of YG, and Song Yumi from JYP, and they have called the Top 10 contestants “diamonds in the rough.” The contestants need to have the courage to prepare a new stage which shows the judges a different side of them, and the vocal coaches are advising the contestants to take care of themselves so they can be in good condition for the live broadcast mission.
Here are the Top 10 contestants who made it to the live broadcast mission, which will air on March 4th:
◆ Kim Na Yoon = Excellent performance in both song and dance
Kim Na Yoon was able to land a spot in the Top 10 through her confident expression and steady vocals on stage. She has also shown advancement in skill, and her efforts have not gone unrecognized. Her singing and performance style are all or nothing.
Choi Won Suk of YG said regarding Kim Na Yoon, “She has the exceptional skill to pull off the retro concept. If not done well, the person can look corny, but she has a feel for it and can pull it off. She also doesn’t have any preconceived notions about a song, so she has the ability to put her feelings and spin on songs. Maybe it’s because she has experience being a cheerleader, but she is very expressive in her performances.”
◆ Park Jae Hyung = Unique voice and classy Korean sensibility
Park Jae Hyung, the “guitar boy” who came over from America, was able to secure his spot in the Top 10 through his distinctive acoustic songs. He possesses good looks, sensitive guitar playing skills, and a unique voice color.
SM’s vocal coach Jang Jin Young praised Park Jae Hyung, stating, “First and foremost, his voice is unique. He has the kind of look that girls and women like, and his expression of feelings when singing is excellent. His strong point is that because he’s not from Korea, he conveys a unique but classy Korean sensibility. He has his own color which can’t be pigeon-holed.”
◆ Park Ji Min = A diamond in the rough who possess different colors and unlimited potential
Park Ji Min was able to show her huge potential of being a singer, despite her young age. Her range is wide and clear, and her voice tone is charming. Her vocal ability and skills are a given, but she also possesses a great sense of rhythm, which makes her a diamond in the rough with just the skills she has alone.
JYP vocal coach Song Yumi said of Park Ji Min, “As much as Park Ji Min is young, she has that much unlimited potential. When you let her do whatever she feels like doing, she shows her different charms. She already has so many talents, so she has the ability to make many different songs her own. So far, she’s received praise just from performing songs that have groove or possess high notes, but she is also able to sing simple, refreshing songs extremely well.”
◆ Baek Ah Yeon = Excellent fundamentals expressed through keyboard playing
Baek Ah Yeon moved to the Top 10 live broadcast through her keyboard-backed, emotional rendition of Big Bang‘s “Day by Day” (“Haru Haru“). Her charm lies in her pure voice, and her control of feelings and expressiveness are also key.
Jang Jin Young (SM) said of Baek Ah Yeon, “Her knowledge of musical fundamentals are strong, so she doesn’t waver when performing any song. As a vocalist with a strong foundation in music, she knows how to sing songs crisply and cleanly. She can sing a wide variety of genres, play the keyboard, sight read, and her clear voice is excellent.”
◆ Baek Ji Woong = Charm of a sweet voice
Baek Ji Woong, who captured women’s hearts with his soft voice, joined the Top 10 with his rendition of Kim Jo Han‘s “I Love You.” After receiving coaching for his rigid facial expression while singing, he was able to show a more developed image and expressed more emotions during his audition for the Top 10, making viewers anticipate his further developed image.
Jang Jin Young (SM) described Baek Ji Woong as “possessing a soft and sweet voice. His strong point is a clean, refreshing voice that many women would like, and his voice color is soft. I’m anticipating him singing something with more groove and a more sticky feeling. However, he needs to work on managing his high notes.”
◆ Yoon Hyun Sang = Singing/songwriting skills with wide range of expression
Yoon Hyun Sang, who poured out his emotions to his lyrically sensitive keyboard-playing every week, was able to catch the judges’ attention through his songwriting ability. He was also noticed because of his deep understanding of music.
Song Yumi (JYP) said Yoon Hyun Sang, “has a lot of interest in music. Rather than just singing well, he knows and understands how to make songs his own, maybe because he is good with instruments. He is very expressive, and has a sense of adventure when it comes to wanting to win. It’s not just his expressiveness that is excellent, but also his sense of rhythm.”
◆ Lee Ha Yi = Passionate, energetic charisma
Lee Ha Yi was able to capture viewers’ attention with her unique voice color and her stage manners. She has the ability to sing rhythm-filled pop, standard ballads, and a wide variety of genres. She advanced to the Top 10 amidst praises from the judges and was overwhelmingly voted #1 during the pre-vote.
Choi Won Suk (YG) praised her, saying, “Her passion is amazing. She has the exceptional ability to put her own color into the songs she sings. Her lower range is almost like that of a man’s, but she can also hit the high notes, which means she has great range. She is also very expressive, and when you look at her stage manners or expression, she seems to have an energetic charisma. She can also sing trendy music, which was unexpected, and she has a wide musicality.”
◆ Lee Michelle = Vocalist with excellent skill and expression
Lee Michelle is one of the favorites to win. She was able to overcome the obstacle of vocal chord nodules, but maintaining top condition is key. Her ability to sing soul is excellent, and she sings it in a way that is hard to find in Korea.
Choi Won Suk (YG) said, “She had a hard time because of her vocal chord issues, but her ability to hit the high notes and her expressiveness is the best. More than anything else, she is special because she can sing soul-style music. Perhaps it’s because she systematically studied music, but her range of expression is very wide, and her singing creates a unique atmosphere where Korean sensibility and R&B mix.”
◆ Lee Seung Hoon = Rap and choreography that goes beyond imagination
Lee Seung Hoon has confidently made it to the Top 10 of an audition program whose key criterion is singing skills, through dancing and rapping alone. He has been called the “Idea Bank” and expresses himself in songs through choreography, showing viewers a “lyrical hip hop” stage.
Choi Won Suk (YG) praises him, saying, “He gives off an extremely creative feel. He has so many ideas that he shows us things most of us have never even thought of, and he is an exceptional choreographer with his unique imagination. He has his own unique style of thinking and expressing music.”
◆ Lee Jung Mi = Understanding of songs, exceptional feeling in ballads
She had a miraculous recovery and was able to make it to the live broadcast. She can expressively sing ballads, and possesses an ability to understand songs very quickly.
Song Yumi (JYP) said of Lee Jung Mi, “She is very smart. She is quick to understand, and is quick to try to fix her weak points. Although her voice color isn’t too unique, she gives off a sad feeling when she sings, making her very good at expressing herself with ballads. She can sing sad songs, but she can also sing up-tempo songs as well.”
Catch the broadcast of ‘K-Pop Star’ on Sundays on SBS to see the fate of these Top 10 contestants!
Source + Image: Star News via Nate
Group Big Bang will appear on SBS’s Running Man.
In the March 4 episode of SBS’s Running Man, Big Bang members surprised the entire crew by appearing in a helicopter wearing red leather jackets. Then the show members appears in a jeep wearing black leather jackets.
The show members arrive in Jamsil first and they hear the sound of helicopter. They say with surprised faces, “Today’s guests are coming in a helicopter?” Then when the helicopter lands and Big Bang members appear, the show members look so excited and say, “Big Bang is really hear!”
The show members say, “Since we have been running and racing every week, we have acquired the know-how.” Big Bang members, however, replied, “We are younger than you.”
The group members and the show members will be divided into two teams, attack team and defend team. Each team has to bell each other’s shoes. Big Bang members will analyze characters of the show members to plan their strategy.
The show will air on March 4 at 4:50 p.m.
Recap for the hottest articles. This will help catch up what happened during last 12 hours.
Despite some tough competition, to no one’s surprise, the boys of Big Bang came out on top to claim this week’s #1 on Billboard‘s ‘K-Pop Hot 100‘ chart.
The March 1st list shows Big Bang‘s “Blue” topping miss A‘s “Touch” and Lyn‘s “To Turn Back Hands of Time“. Other notables on the top 10 include K.Will with “I Need You” at #4, Ailee with “Heaven” at #5, John Park with “Falling” at #6, Davichi with “I’ll Think of You” at #7, and F.T Island with “Fiercely” at #10.
Congratulations to Big Bang and you can find the full top 10 below!
Source: Billboard
Tip: hellokaylie
Earlier today, allkpop reported that rookie girl group EXID would be performing their own rendition of B2ST‘s hit “Shock” on today’s episode of ‘M! Countdown‘.
The girls showcased their poignant charisma through their fierce performance of “Shock” for the special stage segment of the show, which gives rookie artists an opportunity to perform their interpretation of a former #1 song.
Although cut a bit short, their performance was definitely intriguing, displaying their dancing, rapping, and singing skills all in unison.
Check it out below, and be sure to view the rest of today’s ‘M! Countdown’ performances here.
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Recently, MBLAQ’s Mir has made a confession that he broke up with his ex-girlfriend by sending her a text message because he was afraid of getting slapped.
In the episode of JTBC’s Idol Quiz Show which is to air on March 2, Mir of MBLAQ will make an appearance sharing some of his personal stories.
On March 1, the production crew of Idol Quiz Show unveiled some of what Mir had shared in a recent shooting: the reason why he broke up with his ex-girlfriend. He had a girlfriend when he was still a trainee. Because he spent a long time with her, he began to feel weary of the relationship and acted like a “bad boy” to break up with her. When she knew about this, she put out her rage saying, “Can I slap you?”
Mir said, “When I heard her saying that she wanted to slap me, I couldn’t see anything but her hand. I told myself, ‘No. I can’t get hit,’ and pretended to be a weak guy.’”
When Mir got back to his dormitory, he sent her a text message to break up with her, eventually succeeding the “breaking-up without getting slapped” project.
Towards the end of the shooting, Mir sent his ex-girlfriend a video message. He said, “Hey friend, I’m sorry that I avoided getting slapped. Now I became less afraid, so do slap me whenever you see me on the street,” giving a good laugh to the audience.
There’s been a lot of news in the past about 2NE1 working with Will.I.Am on their US album.
Well, according to this fancam, 2NE1 made an appearance at the famous Club Answer in Seoul and Will.I.Am had played a snippet of their upcoming track at the club!
Check it out below, from what we can hear so far, it sounds pretty damn awesome.
2PM member Chansung talked about how close the 2PM members really are.
On the February 29th episode of MBC‘s ‘Radio Star‘, Chansung who served as a guest remarked, “We have about 3 years left on our contract with JYP.”
“Whether we renew our contract or not, we’re always going to be together.” He continued, “We are even planning on enlisting in the Korean military together.”
The surprised MCs then asked if Thai-citizen Nichkhun would be enlisting as well, and Chansung answered, “Nichkhun hyung will be actively promoting here in Korea.”
Source & Image : MyDaily
MBLAQ’s Lee Jun shares his unusual motto of his frugal life.
Recently, Lee appeared in a recent shooting of JTBC’s Idol Quiz Show and shared some of his stories.
On March 1, the production crew of the show revealed that Lee Jun has recently purchased a house and talked about some unusual frugal principles he has which made the purchase possible.
According to staff, other members of MBLAQ who appeared in the shooting exposed Lee’s frugality saying, “I’ve never seen Lee Joon shopping.” “He always sees the sponsors in person and greets them.”
In fact, Lee tends to write letters to his lover instead of giving her expensive presents when involved in a love relationship. Lee explained, “Because it’s not about marriage and we might break up, I think it’s a waste of money. I simply give her my heart.”
Also, Lee confessed that he becomes very obsessive in love relationships. He said, “When I’m doing something on my computer, I put my phone on speaker and redial.”
Towards the end the shooting, Lee ended up sending a video message to his ex-girlfriend saying, “I’m very sorry for what I’ve done. I’ve learned a lot and please forgive me.” Yet, he still refused to buy expensive presents if he starts dating again, inspiring laughter from the audience. The broadcast will be on March 2.
A friendly photo of actor Kim Soo Hyun and singer Huh Gak has been receiving attention.
The photo recently appeared on an online Korean community. Both stars are seen wearing well tailored suits looking sharp and handsome.
The netizens were mostly amazed at the similar sizes of Kim Soo Hyun, who is known for his extremely small head, and Huh Gak’s head. They commented with, “How do they know each other?” and “I knew Huh Gak’s head was small but I didn’t know it was to this extreme.”
Source + image via Naver
As you all know, Block B has been swept up in controversy over their behavior during an interview in Thailand. Their carefree behavior in front of cameras has been criticized as disrespectful and insensitive towards the people of Thailand. Both the Korean and Thail media have been reporting up a storm about this issue, and as such, the boys found themselves in the headlines, and the subject of fury amongst netizens all over the world.
Although it seems clear that the boys never intended to offend anyone, it seems their actions are seen as unforgivable by many. Petitions have been going around insisting on Block B’s retirement and blocking their appearances from broadcasts, and have gained 10,000 signatures so far.
However, there are also plenty who sympathize with the boys and have been speaking out against these petitions, especially after seeing how truly sorry the boys were and realizing that they had never intended any harm – since part of Block B’s charm lies in their carefreeness.
The boys have already written apologies, bowed 90 degrees on their latest music show appearance, and Zico shaved his head in remorse.
In addition, they have released another apology today, this time in the form of a video on their YouTube page with subtitles in Korean, Thai, and English. The boys’ remorse and pain are visible on their faces as they apologize once again to the people of Thailand, and bow to show their sincerity.
2PM’s Taec Yeon recently showed off his perfectly sexy abs for a men’s health magazine..
Men’s Health, an international men’s lifestyle magazine, is well known for choosing stars with perfect figures, as their cover models.
They carefully selected a star who will be featured on the cover for their special edition to celebrate the 6th anniversary of their creation. Since 2PM’s Taec Yeon is well known for his manly and charismatic charms, he appeared on the cover of the magazine.
In the pictorial for the magazine, Taec Yeon is not wearing a shirt and is only wearing a pair of training pants. He also talked about the secrets for a firm body.
The pants that Taec Yeon is wearing are already getting a lot of attention. They are from Freddy, a famous Italian sports brand, which is very popular among male idol stars.
The pants have a band attached at the waist part and it makes them look like underpants. They complement the abs very well and make men look sexier. The pants are a big issue among lots of men.
A spokesperson for the magazine says, “Even though he is very busy doing his oversea schedules, he shot three different styles of covers. He will also tell you how to make your body handsome. You can see Taec Yeon’s variety of charms and strengths through the magazine.”
Girl group 2NE1 has revealed a preview for the Japanese version of “Love is Ouch” through a CF for ‘CanCam‘ magazine.
‘CanCam’ is a popular women’s magazine in Japan that focuses on fashion and lifestyle. With 2NE1 being at the forefront of both fields in Korea and Japan, CanCam decided to utilize a song from the girl group for their new CF.
“Love is Ouch” was originally part of 2NE1′s 2010 album, ‘To Anyone‘. The Japanese version of “Love is Ouch” will be included in 2NE1′s new Japanese album, ‘Collection‘, scheduled to hit shelves on March 28th.
Check out the CF below!
Recently, Kara’s Goo Hara has denied the report that she was going to transfer to a different agency.
On February 22, Kara’s agency clarified, “It is not true that the exclusive contract between Goo Hara of Kara and her agency, DSP Media, expires in August.
But the thing is the contract with Universal Music, Kara’s music distribution industry in Japan, was signed in August 2010 and is to be expired this year in August. But DSP Media and Universal Music are showing positive regard toward signing another contract. In the matter of exclusive contract of Goo, all members of Kara have two or more years left under the contract with DSP Media.”
In the early February 22, a newspaper press reported, “Among all five members of Kara, Goo Hara will be the only one out of contract in August, therefore entering FA market.”
Yesterday, Big Bang kicked off their comeback by unleashing their music video for “Blue“, their first single from their 5th mini-album, ‘Alive‘.
In just 24 hours, the MV drew over 1.5 million views on YouTube, and the numbers are still going strong. It’s very likely that the video will hit over 2 million before the day is through.
Additionally, Big Bang released ‘Part 2′ of their mini-series describing the song, “Blue”. The boys said that it was a “new style of song” for them and that listening to it would help “recall memories and feel sympathy.” They concluded with the observation that it was a great song to usher in the Spring.
Check out their interview below!
FT Island’s Lee Hong Ki recently transformed into a traffic police.
On February 22, Lee tweeted, “We just recorded a show! I couldn’t sing very well because my vocal cords had some problem. We are now singing the traffic safety song for SBS’s Inkigayo!”
Then about 30 minutes later, he tweeted pictures with the comment, “I’m a police officer! This club is for performing the song.”
In the pictures, Lee is wearing a police uniform. He is making a cute face while wearing sunglasses and pouting his lips. He looks like he is saying “Be careful” to people while holding a red club.
People responded: “You are cute.” “Is it okay if a police officer is that handsome?” “They way you act looks like you are a gangster.” “You are a bad cop.” “I can’t wait to listen to the song.” “People will believe if you say you are a police.” “Please don’t be sick.” “Take a good care of your throat.”
FT Island is keeping busy with their new album Severely.
World renown hip hop producer Swizz Beatz expressed his hopes to one day see a collaboration between Rihanna and 2NE1.
On February 20th, Swizz Beatz held a press conference at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul to discuss the growing impact of K-Pop on the global music industry.
Swizz Beatz revealed,
“I think Korea’s K-pop is a kind of expression. The world is looking for something new and K-pop is a new trend. I want to play a part in making Korean music known worldwide.
As I travel around the world, I learn about the sound of each country. I’m not only interested in hip hop, but other musical genres as well. For Korean artists, I think KARA, Big Bang, 2NE1, and BoA (among other musicians) have many strengths. K-pop is an opportunity, and the future is bright.“
When asked about the potential for K-pop in the American pop music market, Swizz Beatz said,
“Although Korean people are accustomed to American pop music, K-pop may be unfamiliar to American people. However, the world’s hearts are open to music. K-pop has great potential. I think if 2NE1 and Rihanna got together, the effect would be great.“
Swizz Beatz has worked with top-tier artists such as Jay-Z, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Kanye West, U2, and many others. He currently has a business partnership with Korea’s Omen Media and has a new project in the works.
Source + Image: Star News
Earlier, Se7en gave fans a sneak peek into his photoshoot with ‘Dazed & Confused‘. Now he’s followed up by unveiling his cover shot for the magazine’s March issue.
Se7en shared the cover shot through his personal Twitter on February 18th under the caption, “SE7EN – DAZED Korea March 2012!!!”
The singer brought out a look with tons of personality, from his self-assured expression to his big blow-out hairstyle. Fans can look forward to a pictorial with tons of quirky elements that deviate from Se7en’s more soulful image.
Stay tuned for more cuts from Dazed & Confused’s March issue!
Source + Image: Se7en’s official Twitter
Editor’s note: Pedram Keyani has been an engineer at Facebook since 2007. He is a manager on the Site Integrity team, the inventor of Keg Presence and a Hackathon enthusiast.
Looking for internships and jobs after college can be exhilarating, especially for people with engineering and other technical expertise. In an otherwise tough job market, demand for software engineers is higher than ever right now. You may find that companies are actually competing to pay you for the knowledge you worked so hard to acquire in school.
But as pumped as I was when I started out, I also felt a lot of stress: the uncertainty of facing an interviewer; the big differences between companies; the difficulty of deciding which company would be best for me.
Companies, like people, have distinctive personalities. Just as you won’t get along with every person you meet, you aren’t going to get along with every company that offers you a job. And vice versa. To figure out your best fit, you’ll need to ask some meaningful questions to help you figure out what you value beyond the salary. What is the pace of work? What kind of bosses would you like to have? Will that fast-growing start-up be around a year from now? Will that big, established company be boring?
I would love to say that if you are a talented engineer, Facebook is the obvious place for you. But it wouldn’t be true, because the fit between a person and a company is more complicated than that. It’s not just about matching up technical skills and money. It’s also about whether a company’s culture and mindset resonates with you. In other words, you should be interviewing the company at the same time they are interviewing you.
But since you have to get an internship offer before worrying about which company to pick, let’s go over the nuts and bolts of that process.
What They Didn’t Teach You in School
When you solve problems for school, you’re usually writing on paper or using your keyboard. But if you’re given a problem to solve in an internship or job interview, you will be doing something more: you’ll be projecting the kind of person you are. Your words will indicate what you know, and your demeanor will indicate how you think and what kind of disposition you have. Are you calm and patient, or restless and energetic? Confident, cocky or humble? Can you communicate with those around you? There isn’t a “right” or “wrong” type, but the interviewer will be taking it all in.
To prepare yourself, I have three words for you – practice, practice, practice. Interviewing well is a skill they don’t teach you in school, but it’s crucial. Fortunately, you can gain the basic skills you need in a Saturday afternoon.
Start by picking a few fun programming problems, printing them out and taking them to a whiteboard. To simulate the stress you might feel in an interview, time yourself as you write the solutions and talk them out. Don’t worry if you get tripped up — interviewers are more interested in how you wrestle with the problem, and whether you keep working at it, than whether you come up with a perfect answer. Doing this a few times should make the format feel more comfortable so when you get to the interview, you’ll look less stressed because you will be less stressed. That’s important, and it will give your interviewer a better sense of who you are.
Sampling the Buffet
Assuming you passed your interviews, you may have several different internship options. This is when the fun begins. My advice is that you should never intern at the same place twice, even if it’s a huge company and you can try a different group. Why? Because internships are like appetizers — you get to try out different bite-sized morsels and see which ones you like best before diving in to the main course. Before starting my first real engineering job, I had internships at four great companies, from Sun Microsystems to Google, and each gave me a very different taste. Sure, you may like the company you were at last summer, but you might love the next company. Use internships to go to big companies, small companies, companies near home and companies in different states or even countries. Why not? What do you have to lose?
The Main Course
If you do well in your internship, you may very well get a job offer at the end of the summer. If so, great! But if not, don’t worry. You now have strong work experience and will know what to expect in the interview room.
But since even the most thorough practice can’t fully prepare you for interviewing at your dream job, my advice is to line up interviews for companies from least desirable to most desirable. By the time you are at that last interview, you’ll be a pro.
In that interview, it may help to act as if you already have the offer. You shouldn’t be arrogant, but it may be helpful to pretend that you have to decide by the end of the day if this is where you want to work. This is when it gets interesting, because now you’ll be interviewing the company instead of the other way around. It can be tough to get the answers you need, so ask questions that can reveal concrete details about how the company works. Here are some questions that worked for me. See which ones are important to you:
The Negotiation
Let’s assume that you got the offer (hopefully multiple offers). Before I get started with specifics, let’s deal with the elephant in the room: money. Most of us don’t like talking about money or acting as if it’s important. That’s fine, but you should be prepared for that conversation because the only time you can negotiate your compensation is before you start. Once you have signed on, your pay is entirely based on your performance and you won’t have much opportunity to re-negotiate (other than by being promoted).
Your offer will likely consist of a salary component and an equity component, and both parts are fair to negotiate. Each company will have its own range for new hires based on factors like the candidate’s school, degree, and interview strength. It’s hard to advise exactly how to
negotiate, but don’t be afraid. If you think you want more salary, ask for it and see what they come back with. You can negotiate until the recruiter says, “this is our final offer” or “this is the best we can do.” At that point, you have to decide whether to take the offer or politely decline.
Equity is a bit more nuanced. You can’t simply look at the number of shares a company is offering, or even their current value. The big question is how much you think the company will grow in the future. This is the classic risk/ reward calculation, and it’s a judgment you have to make for yourself. Big, established companies usually offer less equity than small startups because their futures are more secure. A startup has to offer you more stock because it may be gone in a few months. You face two questions. First, how bright do you think the company’s outlook is? Second, what’s your appetite for risk versus reward?
During this process, you will be talking to a recruiter who serves as the company’s ambassador to you. Even if he or she casually asks how much salary or equity you want, know that this isn’t a casual question, and it’s not wise to throw out a number in that kind of conversation. You haven’t had a full-time job, so you can’t be expected to have a reasonable sense of what’s fair. It’s better to tell the recruiter that you haven’t thought about exact numbers but are excited to see what your offers look like. The recruiters aren’t trying to cheat you, but you are both part of a negotiation and each side has its own interests.
Your First 100 Days
A new job can be rough because you are starting from scratch and have to prove yourself. Don’t worry, this phase will pass. With every task and project, you will learn something new and start to take on bigger tasks. It’s important to remember that the people around you are there to support you and help you get up to speed (if you’ve picked correctly). You are going to make mistakes and it’s going to suck, but you will learn from the mistakes and keep going.
When things get tough — and they will — don’t beat yourself up with thoughts like, “I’m not smart enough” and “everyone around me knows more.” The truth is that everybody was new at some point, and everybody has strengths and weaknesses. If you are having a hard time, ask your manager or mentor to tell you about their first jobs or internships and the issues they dealt with. A little perspective goes a long way. Instead of agonizing over your stumbles, focus on doing what you enjoy and give it your very best shot. Trust me, the rest will follow.
[image via Flickr/felixtsao]
Editor’s Note: Contributor Ashkan Karbasfrooshan is the founder and CEO of WatchMojo, he hosts a weekly show on business and has published books on success. Follow him @ashkan.
Last week, Forbes contributor Eric Jackson published a list on the 9 lessons that Jeremy Lin can teach you; number 2 on his list was “Seize the Opportunity”. Lin’s not the first, and he won’t be the last, but his meteoric rise has reminded us once again that anything is possible if you seize the opportunity.
In this article, we’ll expand on that and discuss how you can seize your opportunities. It is, after all, easier said than done.
Carpe Diem Is More Than Words
Jackson rightfully pointed out that Lin “got to start for the Knicks because they had to start him.” Indeed, with Toney Douglas, Mike Bibby, Iman Shumpert, Baron Davis and Carmelo Anthony all injured – and the Knicks playing abysmally – Lin got the call (the Knicks even considered releasing him to sign another player). What makes Linsanity truly insane is that Lin pounced on his opportunity like a cold-blooded and calculated assassin.
All Overnight Successes Are Years in the Making
While to most onlookers Lin was the “overnight success”, he was anything but. In fact, while it’s debatable whether leaders are made or born, they don’t appear overnight, so don’t get disappointed if you don’t have a breakthrough moment. Successes are rarely the result of hail marries, but rather, successive 10-yard gains as you march down the field, with the occasional setback (there will be setbacks).
Build on a Strong Foundation
For what it’s worth, Lin comes from a solid family (his father taught him the sport at the Y). He was the editor of his school paper. As a high school senior, he captained Palo Alto High School to a 32–1 record, winning the state title.
In other words, don’t expect to slack off all of your life and then be handed an opportunity on a silver platter. It actually does take years of work and sacrifice.
Even When You’re Good, You May Not Be Lucky
Lin wasn’t unknown. ESPN’s Dana O’Neil reported that Lin “was the runaway choice for player of the year during high school by virtually every Californian publication,” with the “instincts of a killer” according to then-Harvard assistant coach Bill Holden. ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla picked him among the 12 most versatile players in college basketball while Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun added: “I’ve seen a lot of teams come through here, and he could play for any of them. He’s got great, great composure on the court. He knows how to play.”
Take the Road Less Traveled
Despite all of the praise, at 6 feet 3 inches, Lin didn’t get any scholarship offers and attended Harvard University, which hadn’t produced an NBA player in 50 years!
Undrafted by the NBA, he signed a two-year deal in July 2010 with the Golden State Warriors, his favorite team growing up, becoming the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent in the NBA.
You Can Only Succeed If You’ve Failed
His stint with Golden State was unsuccessful, by his second year he was in the NBA’s D-League. In December 2011, Lin was cut on training camp opening day.
The Houston Rockets claimed him off waivers only to cut him on December 24th. Merry Christmas, indeed, to the Evangelical Christian whose ancestors emigrated from China to Taiwan in the 18th century (Lin himself was born in California).
The good news is that in life, you get more than one opportunity. The bad news is that you don’t get that many, so don’t think that patience is necessarily a virtue, either.
No Flash, All Substance
Part of what made Lin unsuccessful at the draft explains his success with the Knicks – his third pro team.
University of San Francisco coach Rex Walters opined that the NCAA drafting rules hurt Lin: “Most colleges start recruiting a guy in the first five minutes they see him because he runs really fast, jumps really high, does the quick, easy thing to evaluate.”
Lin didn’t disagree: “I just think in order for someone to understand my game, they have to watch me more than once, because I’m not going to do anything that’s extra flashy or freakishly athletic.”
In other words: keep it simple.
Make Your Doubters Pay At Every Level
After being outscored 38-34 by Lin and losing to the Knicks, LA Lakers Kobe Bryant noted: “Players playing that well don’t usually come out of nowhere. It seems like they come out of nowhere, but if you can go back and take a look, his skill level was probably there from the beginning. It probably just went unnoticed.”
Warriors’ owner Joe Lacob added that “Stanford’s failure to recruit Lin was really stupid. The kid was right across the street. If you can’t recognize that, you’ve got a problem.”
People are driven by fear and greed. Make the fear of them doubting or not backing you haunt them, forever.
Loyalty Matters
Despite effectively filling the injured Carmelo Anthony’s role, it was he who suggested to coach Mike D’Antoni that Lin should play more. In other words, you need to be humble and understand the dynamics of loyalty.
Respect the Chain of Command
Yes, before drilling that game-winning three-pointer against the Toronto Raptors, Lin held on to the ball to kill time. It was a gutsy move; but if you look at the footage, Lin clearly turns to the coach and gets clearance. Strategically it was a sound move, tactically he nailed the shot, and yes, luck was on his side, but luck is required to succeed in life – along with vision, ambition, execution, determination and timing.
No Risk, No Reward
Ultimately, he took the risk, he prevailed. That’s how you seize the opportunity. As they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Everything happens for a reason: maybe it was a good thing that he had a chance to fail in a smaller market before hitting the prime-time in the Big Apple.
Jeremy Lin didn’t just give hope to the Knicks and the NBA, he made underdogs around the world walk taller.
Image credit to nikk_la
With the recent influx of singing competition shows sprouting faster than Jeremy Lin fans, I try avoiding them like people with bad breath. However, it wasn’t until I saw a preview of ‘SBS KPOP Star’ at the conclusion of a hilarious ‘Running Man’ episode that baited me to check out a few clips of the auditions. One YouTube clip led to another and another (curse you ‘Recommended Videos’ section!), and before I knew it, I was watching full episodes of the show from its inception.
As Michelle Lee appeared before the judges for the first time, she stood anxiously grabbing the mic with both hands and introduced herself. She spoke in fluent Korean, throwing the judges and myself off guard, because she was… different. The curvy, darker skinned contestant in frumpy attire revealed that she is half black and half Korean, born and raised in Korea. She then delivered an impressive acapella of “Chain of Fools” that Aretha Franklin herself would approve of, immediately garnering the respect of the judges.
‘Wow,’ I thought to myself. ‘She’s gooooood… But in the back of my mind I also thought that she’ll never win.’
O_O
Some of you might be saying ‘WTF’, but the rest of you who live in the real world were probably thinking the same thing. However, for the sake of argument, I’ll be the one to tell the kids that Santa isn’t real. I don’t mind being the bad guy, I’ll say what no one wants to: Michelle Lee will not win KPOP Star because of her appearance.
Before you go logging into your 6Theory accounts to curse my unborn child, hear me out. My deduction may seem cold and racially insensitive on the surface, but I’m merely relaying the status quo of nationalism in South Korea and the standards of beauty as promulgated by K-pop fans and the media. Yes, we’ve seen the atypical underdogs win these competitions before (see: Susan Boyle), but the requisites are different here, as indicated by the literal title of the show in big, bold, pink font. This show is looking for a K-pop star.
WHAT IS A KPOP STAR?
Let’s be real. We all know there are more than a few idols out there with mediocre singing ability. With respect for the wrath of the K-pop netizen, I won’t name names for fear of my own safety, but I will say that almost every group has at least one. Entertainment companies cleverly conceal this lack of talent by designating specific roles to group members like ‘main vocalist,’ ‘sub vocalist,’ ‘dancer,’ etc., or the most creative one I’ve seen yet, ‘sexy charisma’. L-O-L.
While exceptional vocal ability is not common in every idol, the ideal physical idiosyncrasies are – the crescent-shaped eyes complimented with double eyelids, the cute button nose, the milky-soft skin, and the S-line figure forged from the perfect ratio of athletic tone and starvation—whether they’re God-given or not.
The point is, that in K-pop, image takes precedence over talent. Is it justified? I’ll be the first to admit that I often fall victim to the pretty face. I rotate crushes on female idols like Big Bang members change their hairstyles. But to answer the question, hell yes. The voice might sell the 99 cent song on iTunes, but it’s the face that sells the posters, clothes, cosmetics, and bottles of soju. We, the fans, the consumers, the drooling dupes who are attracted to shiny things, are the ones to blame for the perpetuation of this criterion.
As the future idols of K-pop now endure the battle auditions and prepare for live performances where elimination is partially influenced by viewer voting, we should start seeing the development of the inevitable transformations in aesthetic presentation. My inner nerd can’t help but compare this to the recent Captain America movie, where a scrawny Steve Rogers is injected with the ‘super soldier’ serum and comes out all jacked up as if he were auditioning for the next season of ‘Jersey Shore’. So as our own contestants are about to head into their proverbial stasis chambers, I’ve noticed a few contestants’ metamorphoses have already begun. The judges have specifically asked Lee Ha Yi and Park Ji Min (two leading favorites to take it all), among others, to lose weight. Anyone notice that mum’s the word for Michelle?
DISCRIMINATION IN KOREA
New York Times, 2009 ‘South Koreans Struggle with Race‘
“In a report issued Oct. 21, Amnesty International criticized discrimination in South Korea against migrant workers, who mostly are from poor Asian countries, citing sexual abuse, racial slurs, inadequate safety training and the mandatory disclosure of H.I.V. status, a requirement not imposed on South Koreans in the same jobs. Citing local news media and rights advocates, it said that following last year’s financial downturn, “incidents of xenophobia are on the rise.”
For most of its modern history, South Koreans were taught to take pride in its ethnic homogeneity. Its ‘pure-blood’ nationalism was fueled from the foul tastes of Imperialist invasion and subjugation from its bigger neighbors, but I’ll save the full history lessons for your boring professors.
Before I go on, I want to clear the air. My intention here is not to denounce the Korean people as jingoistic beasts, nor is it to justify their sociological attitude that’s governed them for decades. South Korea has made strides in improving its internal disposition. According to the aforementioned New York Times article, in 2007, they urged public education to further condemn widespread use of terms like ‘pure-blood’ and ‘mixed blood’. Political parties also planned to draft legislation that would “provide detailed definition of discrimination by race and ethnicity and impose criminal penalties.”
Now some of you Hottests and Aff(x)tion-ites are itching to point out that there are actually quite a few idols in the industry that aren’t ‘pure-blood’ Koreans, exempli gratia Nichkhun, Victoria, Amber, Fei, and Jia to name a few. Being a computer science major, my argumentative response would refer to the brilliant mathematician Alan Turing’s logic test for inductive reasoning to rationalize this contrasting principle: “If it walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.” So yeah. I’m reaching, I know.
Interestingly though, Michelle would not be the first black-Korean to hit the Korean mainstream music scene. Yoon Mi Rae aka Tasha Reid, Lady T or T, is in my opinion, the best female rapper in the world. Like Michelle, Yoon Mi Rae was born to a Korean mother and African-American father. She debuted in a duo at the age of 16 in 1999, was a member of Uptown and has had a successful career as a solo artist, but not without conflict. Throughout her life, she often faced discrimination because of her mixed heritage, as can be validated by the emotional lyrics of her songs.
“Black Happiness” (translated)
“I was young, but I could see my mother’s sadness.
I was ashamed—thought it was all my fault.
I scrubbed my face twice every day,
My tears melted the white soap
Because I hated my dark skin.”
Even not too long ago, Yoon Mi Rae experienced racism after her husband, famed rapper Tiger JK, brought their 21-month old son Jordan onstage with him at ‘Yoo Hee Yeol’s Sketchbook’. Sadly, after the show, Tiger read some hateful racist comments about his son and family that led to this Twitter tantrum.
On the flip side, discrimination in the entertainment industry isn’t exclusive to South Korea, as we’ve seen many cases of Asian artists having difficulties being accepted in America and other countries as well.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I’m not saying we should hand the crown over to Michelle by default. There are a handful of very talented contestants that could easily win it. If she didn’t win, I’d have no qualms with it… if she’s outperformed. I honestly don’t think we’ll get a fair trial though.
Her only advantage and ray of hope is that advancement to the next rounds are heavily influenced by the judges and not entirely by viewer voting as is the case on other shows. In the opening minutes of the very first episode where the judges are introduced, they are each asked what they’re looking for and what their standards of judging will be based on:
YG: “I hope to create a new kind of star that has yet to be established.”
J.Y. Park: “The standard for KPOP Star is… originality. A person with their own style. One who can express themselves through singing or dancing. That is the person we want to find.”
BoA: “For me, rather than someone who is already well-polished, I want to find someone with potential who can be polished in the future. I hope to find someone who’s like a clean, white canvas.”
If these truly are their ambitions, then Michelle has a shot. Yang Hyun Suk, Park Jin Young, and BoA are three of the most influential icons of the industry that have shaped the K-pop landscape into what it is today. These judges, CEO’s and ambassadors of their respective companies, have continually tried to penetrate the western market with their best arsenal (Wonder Girls, Rain, Se7en, and BoA herself), and while they’ve made progress, they’ve ultimately failed by most standards. Perhaps its time to try different ammunition.
Maybe instead of the catchy tune backed by the pretty face, you try sheer, unadulterated, magnificent talent? How will America respond? Ask Adele’s eight Grammy’s.
It’s a good thing that Adele wasn’t born as a half-black/half-Korean though… because then we wouldn’t ever know.
SBS‘s popular audition show, ‘K-Pop Star‘, has announced that it will air its final episode on April 29th.
A related source reveled to OSEN that “K-Pop Star’s last show will air on April 29th. We are currently holding discussions for a second season. We think the current judges – BoA, Yang Hyun Suk, and J.Y. Park — want to continue judging for the second season.”
Though the judges could very well return for another season, the source did not reveal whether producer Park Sung Hoon would come back with them.
‘K-Pop Star’ has been gaining a lot of attention due to the heavy involvement of SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment. The final winner will get to win a substantial cash reward and debut through one of the three companies.
Source: OSEN
Earlier, allkpop reported that contrary to their initial report, Big Bang wouldn’t be promoting two tracks, but four.
In their latest announcement, however, Big Bang has revealed that they would be promoting the remaining two tracks on the album (excluding the intro). This brings the final count to six title tracks: “Blue”, “Bad Boy“, “Love Dust”, “Fantastic Baby“, “Not Funny“, and “Wings“.
Big Bang will release “Blue” first on February 22nd, ahead of their actual mini-album release on the 29th. A teaser for “Blue” has already hit the airwaves, featuring a mini interview clip with leader G-Dragon himself. Big Bang will continue to release teasers in cooperation with Naver Music, featuring footage of their honest thoughts about their return to the K-Pop scene after a long hiatus.
Big Bang will also be embarking on their ‘BIGBANG ALIVE TOUR 2012‘, starting with performances in Seoul on March 2nd through the 3rd.
Stay tuned to allkpop for more details on Big Bang’s comeback!
A documentary movie, featuring JYJ’s everyday life, will officially hit Lotte Cinemas.
On February 14, JYJ’s agency, C-JeS Entertainment, said, “Since CGV decided not to release the documentary movie The Day, we will release it in Lotte Cinemas on February 23. The movie is a perfect version of the JYJ story for their fans.”
“Since we had to change our schedules, JYJ members will not able to visit all the theaters to meet people. But they will visit several theaters in Seoul on the day of its release and during the weekends. They also prepared a surprise video for fans who live outside of Seoul.”
The group members also sent a message to their fans through a video for Valentines Day.
They said, “Happy Valentines Day! We love you.”
The movie will be released on February 23 in 17 Lotte Cinemas.
MBLAQ‘s Mir has revealed that MBLAQ is already working on their next album.
On February 13th, Mir tweeted,
“G.O.-hyung [is] completely absorbed in recording the guide [vocals] for our next album.“
The members have just completed promotions for “This is War” on ‘Inkigayo‘ this past Sunday, but it looks like they’re already back in the studio for their next musical project.
Fans expressed their excitement for MBLAQ’s next album with comments like, “Kya~! I’m looking forward to it!” and “I’m so excited!”
Stay tuned to allkpop for more info on MBLAQ’s upcoming album!
Source: Mir’s Twitter
Tip: c00kiemonster
Kim Hyun Joong is proving to be quite a force to be reckoned with in Japan, as his album has reached ‘Gold’ status in just two weeks!
According to the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ)’s ‘Million Singles/Albums’ list, Kim Hyun Joong’s ‘Kiss Kiss/ Lucky Guy’ has achieved ‘Gold’ after being released on January 25th.
The RIAJ reviews the sales of various albums and awards different rankings depending on the amount of album sales. ‘Gold’ status is awarded to those who have sold over 100,000 copies, which Kim Hyun Joong was able to surpass easily as he sold 71,812 copies on the first day alone and 100,000 copies in the first week.
With such high figures, he easily clinched the #2 spot on the Oricon chart, and also set a new record for an overseas artist for the amount of first day sales. Talk about impressive!
In related news, Kim Hyun Joong held a concert commemorating his debut on February 5th and met with 20,000 fans. He expressed, “Thank you for giving me, a rookie, such a great outcome.”
Source + Photo: Star News
Actress Song Ji Hyo took part in her first ’Running Man‘ shoot after news broke out about her relationship with the CEO of her agency, C-JeS Entertainment.
The shoot took place in Busan on February 6th, and fans were anxious to know how this would affect her relationship with co-star Gary on the program. Song Ji Hyo and Gary make up the ‘Monday Couple’, a team that’s drawn great popularity on the program because of the couple’s affection for one another.
‘Running Man’ PD Cho Hyo Jin informed MyDaily that, ”It was the first shoot after the news broke, but the atmosphere on set wasn’t much different from how it’s always been. As always, it was a pleasant shoot. Nothing special.”
After her relationship was made public, the actress had apologized via text messages to all her ‘Running Man’ cast members, including Gary, who responded via Twitter.
Cho PD remarked, “To be honest, it’s nothing she needs to feel or be sorry for. I think she did that because she’s just a really sweet girl. They did mention her new relationship during the shoot, but they were supportive and encouraging. If it’s funny, we will include it in the episode; if not, it will get edited [out].”
“Song Ji Hyo and Gary were also on the same team, and they were their usual ‘Monday Couple’ selves,” Cho continued. “They weren’t awkward at all, nothing different from how it’s always been.”
In related news, Lee Da Hae and Oh Ji Ho served as the special guests on the episode. ‘Part 1′ will air on the 19th, while ‘Part 2′ will air on the 26th.
Source & Image: MyDaily via Nate
Images of miss A member Suzy receiving kisses from 2PM‘s Taecyeon and actor Kim Soohyun have surfaced online.
The above photos as well as a video were shared on an online community site with the the title, ‘Kim Soohyun & Ok Taecyeon giving Suzy kisses‘.
The video was footage from the ‘Dream High‘ season 1 poster photo shoot that took place last year, featuring the main characters Suzy, Taecyeon, and Soohyun, and was recently posted, drawing attention.
Suzy played the role of Go Hyemi, the girl that caused a love triangle between Song Sam Dong (Kim Soo Hyun) & Jin Gook (Taecyeon), and the photo shoot pictorial expressed their complicated relationship.
Envious netizens who saw the video remarked, “Jealous…“, “She looks shocked but happy“, and “I wish I was Suzy.”
Source & Image: SportsChosun via Nate
The teaser video of Ailee’s digital single Heaven, revealed on February 7 via major music-downloading sites such as YouTube and Melon, features Ailee and B2ST’s Gi Kwang as a romantic couple.
In the teaser video, Ailee and Gi Kwang play a refreshing, romantic couple who just confessed their ardent love. The beguiling combination of Ailee with a shy smile and Gi Kwang in a chic black suit drew an explosive response from people who saw the teaser video.
In particular, Ailee is recently attracting the focus of the greatest attention thanks to her impressive appearance in Dream High 2 as a talent with superior dancing and singing abilities.
Earlier, Ailee appeared in a special pilot TV show on the MBC network, showing off her excellent singing ability before senior singers. They highly praised her well-honed performance. Thanks to the brief appearance of the show, she could gain some fame even before making her debut. That’s why the recent release of her debut song’s teaser attracts such a huge attention.
Recently, T-ara signed a commercial contract worth 1 billion won. This is the greatest amount of money that an “idol” group has ever been on contract in history.
Core Contents Media, T-ara’s agency, said on February 6, “T-ara was guaranteed with the most shocking amount of money in the world of ‘idols’ and signed a contract with the Gibalhan Chicken for a year.” In addition to 1 billion won on the contract, the group will receive royalty fees of every franchise the company owns, rising as a hot issue in the industry.
The Gibalhan Chicken says, “When we were looking for an exclusive model for our company, we found T-ara. It has gathered many fans in different age groups, from teenagers to the ones in their sixties, with their songs ‘Roly Poly,’ ‘Cry Cry,’ ‘We Were In Love,’ and ‘Lovey Dovey.’ The group has a popular image, and that’s why we have chosen this group.”
T-ara says that they will break the old tradition and come up with a brand-new style of commercial for fried-chickens appealing a friendly image like a family. They are also planning on holding many events, and one of them will be an autograph session at one of the finest franchises of the Gibalhan Chicken.
Meanwhile, T-ara will release its third single Roly Poly in Japan on February 29 and focus on their activities in Japan for a month from February 16.
B2ST has started their world tour amid enthusiastic cheering of nearly 12,000 fans.
B2ST (Du Jun, Gi Kwang, Hyun Seung, Jun Hyung, Yo Seop, and Dong Woon) held an exclusive concert, under the title of “B2ST 1st World Tour – Beautiful Show in Seoul,” at the Gymnastics Stadium at Olympic Park on February 4 from 6 p.m. for about 2 hours.
This concert in Seoul has attracted special attention from people in the music scene because it’s the first concert of B2ST’s world tour, which will take place in about twenty cities all around the world.
As befits a concert that has received wide attention, the Gymnastics Stadium at Olympic Park, which is the biggest indoor concert hall in Korea, was filled with nearly 12,000 domestic and overseas fans. They cheered B2ST members on the stage with an enthusiastic response.
B2ST started the concert with their hit songs, “Breath” and “Shock.” Their performances were very intense as befits the group’s character.
After the opening, B2ST said hi to the audiences, saying, “Did you miss us a lot?” They also got a laugh and hearty cheers from the audiences, saying, “The title of this concert is ‘Beautiful Show,’ and we can see so many ‘Beauties’ here.” Beauty is a name of B2ST’s official fan club.
At the concert, B2ST also performed rock versions of “Lights Go On Again,” “B2ST Is Best,” and “Master Mind.”
They also got the audiences excited by performing their new R&B song, “I Knew It,” released at the end of January, for the first time at the concert. Jun Hyung, a member and a producer of the group, also performed his solo song, “Living Without You,” for the first time at the concert.
Except for group performances, B2ST also had unit performances: Du Jun and Dong Woon’s “When The Door Closes,” Gi Kwang and Hyun Seung’s “Let It Snow,” Yo Seop and Jun Hyung’s “Thanks To,” Du Jun, Gi Kwang, and Jun Hyung’s “Should I Hug Or Not.”
Including their hit songs, “Fiction,” “The Fact,” “Bad Girl,” “On Rainy Days,” and “Beautiful,” B2ST performed nearly 30 songs at the concert.
The audiences cheered the six members on throughout the concert.
B2ST will hold another concert in Seoul on February 5 at the Gymnastics Stadium at Olympic Park.
Successfully finishing their first concert in Seoul, B2ST will continue their world tour at Columbiahalle in Berlin, Germany, on February 12. Columbiahalle is well-known as a concert hall where many famous musicians, like Sting and Boyz II Men, have performed. B2ST is holding next concert in Shanghai, China, on February 25.
After that, they will hold concerts in Spain, LA, New York, and San Francisco (U.S), Vancouver and Toronto (Canada), Singapore, five cities in Japan, Bangkok (Thailand), Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
CEO Hong Seung Sung of Cube Entertainment, B2ST’s agency, says, “B2ST are currently receiving attention from many other countries, where K-pop boom has recently started, besides Asian countries. In the year 2012, we will see how potential B2ST are and also prove the sustainability of K-pop through B2ST’s world tour.”
Ahead of his official March 6th Japanese debut, singer Lee Seung Gi released new jacket cover photos for his new Japanese album ‘Alone In Love‘, further heightening the anticipation of his fans everywhere.
The Japanese media is keeping close watch of the singer, as he will be performing at the Nippon Budokan in Japan just three short months after his debut. The Budokan is a large-scale venue, usually reserved for the most elite of stars and Lee Seung Gi is determined to hold his first concert there to begin his career in Japan off right.
Lee Seung Gi will be unable to dive right into his Japanese activities as he has a few filming obligations in Korea for the time being, but will kick his Japanese promotions into high gear immediately after his drama filming comes to an end. His new single album will include the Japanese version of “Alone in Love“, as well as his hit song, “Because We’re Friends“.
In addition to releasing a successful fifth album in Korea and now promoting overseas, the multi-talented star is also serving as a witty MC on a variety of entertainment programs.
Source & Image: StarNews via Naver
JYJ’s Kim Jae Joong will hold a fan meeting on February 5 in Turkey. He was invited by the Korean Cultural Center at a university in Turkey.
Since his Korean TV series aired in Turkey in 2005, Hallyu has also arrived in Turkey. The biggest Hallyu fan club, Korea Fans, has over 40,000 members.
The Korean Cultural Center in Turkey invited Kim to hold a fan meeting so that they can promote cultural exchange between Korea and Turkey and spread Hallyu.
The six hundred tickets for Kim’s fan meeting sold out after 30 minutes and over 2,000 people applied to buy the tickets. People who couldn’t buy the tickets asked the Korean Cultural Center and South Korean Embassy for more tickets.
A major daily newspaper in Turkey reported on Kim’s fan meeting on February 1.
Lucky 7s, the wait is over: Se7en has just released the full music video for “When I Can’t Sing“, a track from his new mini-album!
The singer has been going all out for this comeback by drawing talent from all over the board to support his new album. He’s joined forces with J.Y. Park for this smooth R&B track, and enlisted the help of labelmate G-Dragon to make a special cameo in the MV.
Without further ado, check out his video below!
‘Dream High 2‘ aired its first episode today, and its team has released the first OST song!
Sung by J.Y. Park himself (who also acts in the drama), the track is called “Falling“. This mid-tempo love song describes a lover’s feelings as they fall in love. The mature tinge in J.Y. Park’s voice melds perfectly with the R&B melody, giving this drama’s OST series a promising start.
Check it out below and remember to support by purchasing the music!
On January 30th, Super Junior‘s Donghae celebrated two unforgettable moments: reaching over 1 million followers on Twitter and baking his first ever cake!
The idol began by tweeting a picture of his homemade creation. “I made this cake [for the] first time,” he wrote in English before continuing in Korean with, “I made my first cake today. I will show you prettier cakes from now on~”
A few minutes later, Donghae expressed happiness at reaching over 1 million followers on Twitter. He then shared a second photo of his cake with his pastry instructor.
If you want to send Donghae a message of congratulations, you can add him to your T-list here!
—-
Source + Image: Donghae’s Twitter
[Thanks to everyone who sent in this tip!]
The OST, “Back In Time“, from the drama ‘The Moon that Embraces the Sun‘ has been sweeping online music charts.
“Back in Time”, performed by Lyn, has been ranked number on popular music sites such as Olleh Music, Mel0n, and Naver since the 27th of this month. It is currently ahead of other popular songs such as T-ara‘s “Lovey Dovey“, B2st‘s “I Knew it“, IU‘s “You and I” and more.
The drama has also been doing well on viewer ratings as it hit a high 30% by the eighth episode. A representative from the music chart KT Music stated, “Because of the increasing popularity of dramas, the popularity of idol stars are decreasing. These (“The Moon that Embraces the Sun”) OST’s have been ranking at least top ten on every online music chart.”
Source + image via Nate
Name: The Front Line (고지전)
Running time: 133 minutes
Director: Jang Hun
Actors: Go Soo, Shin Ha Kyun, Ko Chang Seok, Lee Je Hoon
Genre: War, Historical, Action
Notes: Images of war and everything that goes with that
Where can I get it? Available to buy from Cine Asia on the 27th February
Source: Korean Class Massive
T-ara’s Eunjung misses a shooting of MBC’s We Got Married because of the injury in her leg.
On January 27, producer Kim Joon Hyun of We Got Married said to Starnews on the phone, “Eunjung got injured on the day of shooting We Got Married, so we had to cancel the shooting.”
Eunjung slipped on an icy road on January 24 and has hurt her left knee. She is also told that her injury will take six weeks to heal completely. However, Eunjung was willing to shoot the episode, despite her injury, but the production crew postponed the shooting considering her condition.
Producer Kim said, “Despite her injury, she insisted on coming to the shooting set without a cast on her leg. But we thought it would be better for her to take a rest as long as it wouldn’t cause any problem for the program, so we postponed the shooting.
We already have some episodes recorded for two or three weeks, so there wouldn’t be any problem. The shooting will begin again regarding Eunjung’s recovery.”
In the episode that airs on January 28, second part of the blind date between the members of Super Junior and actresses will broadcast.
With Park So Hyun and Kim Won Joon leaving ‘We Got Married’, fans of the show have been looking forward to seeing which new couple would replace them on the show.
With rumors of numerous couples being ‘confirmed’, Kim Joon Hyun PD of ‘We Got Married’ has firmly stated that they’ve yet to choose an official couple.
He revealed to Sports Seoul on January 27th that, “With the exit of the Park So Hyun – Kim Won Joon couple, we plan to recruit a new couple to continue on the show with three couples. We are currently still looking for a new couple, so nothing has been confirmed yet.”
Recently, Super Junior‘s Donghae and Son Eun Seo were spotted holding hands on their double date with Leeteuk and Kang Sora during a shoot for ‘We Got Married’. This led to speculations that Donghae and Son Eun Seo had been officially recruited for the show as the new permanent couple.
However Kim Joon Hyun PD refuted, “Their story will be broadcast for the meantime, but they have not been confirmed as a permanent couple on the show. There have been other guests on the show besides these two had expressed their wish to ‘date’, so if they wish, we plan to carry on filming them as well.”
When asked what age groups the PD was looking for to replace the Park So Hyun – Kim Won Joon couple, he answered, “We don’t take age into account when we do the casting. They could be a couple who are both 20 years old, or they could be a couple with an age difference.”
Source + Photo: Sports Seoul via Naver
Super Junior‘s Choi Siwon is known for being the social media prince of K-Pop (as voted by the international K-Pop community here on allkpop). Unfortunately, that means he became a bigger target for attack.
On January 28th, Siwon sent out a notice that his Twitter account had been hacked.
“Someone hacked my account,” he wrote. “I know who did [it], but I’m not gonna tell. JUST DON’T DO THAT ANYMORE. Please.”
Concerned fans immediately rallied to support Siwon, sending messages of sympathy and annoyance at this invasion of his privacy.
It seems that Siwon put it out of his mind, however, as he was determined to enjoy his final day in London. He shared a last photo from his trip, along with the words, “Last day in London. Regretful glance.”
Getting hacked and having to deal with a security issue while abroad is definitely not a great way to end a trip, but hopefully Siwon managed to fully enjoy his UK vacation.
–
Source: Siwon’s Twitter
Super Junior’s leader, Leeteuk shares his problem of being a workaholic.
On January 28, Leeteuk tweeted, “Taking a rest is stress to me. I don’t know what to do.
Being workaholic. How can you fix this? It drives me crazy because it’s more serious than I thought. When I take a rest, I become depressed. I think I’m going crazy. Should I go on a trip by seaside?”
Netizens who saw his tweet comment: “Working hard is a good thing, but you need to take a rest as well.” “He’s such a working bee, our leader Leeteuk.” “Go on a trip and blow those stresses away!”
miss A‘s Suzy has attracted attention with her ‘dorky disguise’.
On January 27th, the idol tweeted, “Im in Macau – kyakya~“. She then attached a self-taken photo to the message, surprising fans with a look they’ve never seen on Suzy before.
The young idol is often seen in mini-dresses and fashionable pieces for miss A’s events, but in this photo, Suzy rocked a more relaxed look. Wearing trendy glasses that take up half her face (and the selca), Suzy completes the youthful style with a wool cap, headphones, and a studded jacket.
Fans commented, “A dork, but still very beautiful“, “Why are you so perfect?”, and “Even without making an effort, you still look like a model…”
Source + Image: Suzy’s Twitter
SHINee‘s Taemin will put on his independent stage performance.
The singer successfully completed his first solo stage performance during a recent filming for KBS2‘s ‘Immortal Song 2‘.
Fourteen of today’s best vocals gathered to pay tribute to legendary singer Song Chang Sik, but all eyes and ears were focused on Taemin who sang “At Least Once” before a live audience.
In the past, he has captivated his fans with his adorable image and powerful dance moves, but this ‘Immortal Song’ stage is a bit out of his comfort zone.
Before he went on stage, he remarked that he was “nervous about standing on the stage alone“, but he impressed with his ability to sing live, and performed well with the orchestra that played in the background.
“Song Chang Sik sunbaenim smiled proudly at me throughout my entire performance, and so I was able to sing a little more comfortably,” he explained.
Singer Song Chang Sik who was marveled by Taemin’s performance did not hold back his praise for the young singer.
Taemin will make his debut on the January 28th episode of Immortal Song 2 scheduled to air at 6:15 PM KST.
Source & Image: SportsChosun via Nate
Super Junior’s Shindong recently went skiing with Boom.
On January 26, Shindong posted a picture with the comment, “I’m skiing with Boom at Konjiam Resort in Gwangju. It’s really fun! I’m snowboarding and Boom is skiing. Everyone, let’s go skiing together.”
In the picture, Shindong is wearing a blue hat while making a funny face. Boom staring at the camera behind Shindong. Even though he is covering half of his face, crescent-shaped eyes and sharp nose caught the public’s eyes.
People responded: “They are really close friends.” “Are they that close to each other to go skiing together? Take me there with you.” “You both look good.” “Boom is handsome!”
Mnet’s “M! Countdown” is back with another episode of spectacular performances with all the artists you love! Special MC’s for this episode include members from TEEN TOP and Rainbow Pixie.
Aside from the usual stages tonight, both Brian Joo and Dal Shabet made their long-awaited comebacks.
Competing for the #1 spot, it was a hot battle between MBLAQ, T-ara, and TEEN TOP, but in the end, it was MBLAQ who clinched the win tonight with “This is War“!
Congratulations to MBLAQ and their dedicated fans A+ for their ‘M! Countdown’ trophy today!
Check out the performances below:
===
< Soul Dive >
B2ST’s new song “I Knew It” ranked first on several real time music charts.
The song ranked first on the music site, Monkey 3′s, real time chart, after the song was released on January 26. The song is also currently ranking high on several other music sites, including Melon and Bugs.
This is the first song B2ST has released in eight months. The song is about a pure-hearted man, who loves a girl even though she suddenly changes.
Lee Jung Kyu from Monkey 3 says, “B2ST proved that they are the most popular boy group by ranking first on our real time chart. We haven’t seen a boy group rank first in a while. Since B2ST is back performing, boy groups will become hot again.”
Actress Ku Hye Sun was recently selected as the No. 1 Korean natural beauty by Spanish fans.
On January 25, an online community posted a note with the caption, “Ku Hye Sun was selected as the No. 1 Korean natural beauty by a Spanish website.”
The Spanish website did a survey asking “who is the most beautiful girl in Korea” and Ku ranked first with 32.08 percent of the votes.
Song Hye Kyo ranked second with 27.09 percent of the votes and Shin Min Ah ranked third with 12.13 percent of the votes. Both Lee Min Jung and Son Ye Jin ranked fourth with 10.24 percent of the votes.
It seems like people chose Ku because of her clean skin and easy-going personality.
People responded: “Ku is really pretty.” “She was the queen of her high school.” “I’m enjoying your TV series.” “Foreign fans know how attractive Ku is too.”
Ku is currently appearing on SBS’s series Please Captain as Han Da Jin.
Hyun Bin, who is in the Marine Corps, is capturing the public’s eyes.
An online community posted a picture with the caption, “Hyun Bin looks still handsome even in army underwear.”
In the picture, Hyun Bin is standing and staring at the camera in an army uniform with another soldier. Hyun Bin looks charismatic and confidence. Even though he is wearing underwear, it makes people think he is friendly to them.
People responded: “He is still handsome. He hasn’t changed a bit.” “I can’t wait to see him in movies.” “Be careful not to catch a cold.” “Hyun Bin is wearing underwear! I feel like I’m in close connection with him.”
Hyun Bin joined the Marine Corps on March 7 of last year and he will be discharged from military service in December.
2PM’s Jun Ho recently released a picture which was taken when he volunteered in Ethiopia.
On January 25, Jun Ho tweeted a picture with the comment, “I met my brother in Ethiopia. His name is Felmeta. It was difficult to hang out with him because he is very shy. He wants to be a teacher. Isn’t he pretty? How about making little brothers or sisters?”
In the picture, Jun Ho is wearing a big happy smile in a white T-shirt and jeans. Ethiopian boy Felmeta is wearing a blue jacket and a Pororo necklace, which looks like Jun Ho gave him. Their intimate pose made many people smile.
People responded: “Jun Ho looks really happy.” “He is really nice. I hope you will be happy after all your good deeds.” “Their smiling face look alike. I’m very touched.”
Jun Ho flew to Ethiopia on January 16 to do volunteer work.
Super Junior’s Eunhyuk recently went snowboarding.
On January 25, Eunhyuk tweeted a picture with the comment, “I did a pretty good job snowboarding even though it was the first time. I was the ace member of Dream Team. I want to go snowboarding again.”
In the picture, Eunhyuk is posing in a ski resort. He is wearing a blue hat and white board suit. He is looking at the camera while sitting on snow.
He previously appeared on KBS’s Go Dream Team and was named the ace of the team. Even though he have never snowboarded before, he showed off his good athletic sense.
People responded: “He is the best athlete and dancer. Super Junior is the biggest star in the universe.” “He is still ace. You are great.” “He looks so excited. Take me there with you.”
Here are some recent posts on TechCrunch Gadgets:
Tim Cook: Apple TV IS Still A Hobby, But I Couldn’t Live Without It
App-maker Moonbot Gets An Oscar Nomination
Full Circle: Boxee Brings OTA HDTV And Basic Cable To The Boxee Box
T-ara’s Eunjung recently fell down on a snowy road and sustained an injury that would take six weeks to heal.
On January 24, Eunjung was on her way home after she practiced for performing their song “Lovey-Dovey” and fell down near her house. As a result, her orthotic for kneepan on her left knee was broken. At the time, there was a very heavy snowfall and the road got frozen.
She was taken to an emergency room right away and took an x-ray. Then she went to see the doctor on January 25 to have it checked out.
The doctor said that her injury will take six weeks to heal completely. The doctor took her blood out of her knee to make her scar get better. She drew 30 milliliters of her blood out of her knee with syringe and she has to come to see the doctor several times.
Eunjung is currently wearing a cast on her leg, which was swollen up a lot.
T-ara’s agency, Core Contents Media, says, “We will see how her legs will get better to rearrange her schedules.”
Legendary idol group, Shinhwa, has opened their official Twitter in preparation for their March comeback!
Speaking through Star News on January 25th, Shinhwa’s representative stated, “Shinhwa Company’s official Twitter will be opened tonight… The account is @ShinhwaCompany with ‘S’ and ‘C’ capitalized.”
He contiued, “Although we did test out the Shinhwa Company Twitter on the 17th, today is the official opening day… From now on, you’ll be able to keep up with various news directly through the Shinhwa members… After the opening of the Shinhwa Company twitter, Shinhwa will start promotions for their March comeback in early February.”
The ‘Shinhwa Company’ is a company established by the six members of Shinhwa: Eric, Kim Dong Wan, Shin Hye Sung, Lee Minwoo, Jun Jin, and Andy. It will be in charge of all Shinhwa’s activities as a whole, while the member’s individual activities will continue to remain under the direction of their respective agencies.
In related new, Shinhwa’s comeback concert will be held on March 24th at the Seoul Olympic Park. This will be their first comeback in 4 years, and the concert will mark their 14th debut anniversary. The members are also hard at work on their new album.
At the time, the only member who has not yet returned to the entertainment industry is Lee Minwoo, who is currently completing his military service. He will be discharged in March, just in time for Shinhwa’s comeback.
Source + Photo: Star News
Lee Min Ho and Park Min Young have broken up in six months.
On January 25, The Daily Sports exclusively reported, “It has been found out that Lee Min Ho and Park Min Young, who started dating in July last year, broke up at the end of the year. Although they broke up last year, they’ve had a hard time to let their agencies know about it until now because they both were considerate of their agencies.”
In regards to this, Kingkong Entertainment, Park’s agency said, “It’s true that Park Min Young has broken up with Lee Min Ho.”
A spokesperson for Kingkong Entertainment said, “It’s a little bit hard to say that they have broken up because they were just getting to know each other when they first confessed that they were dating. They tried to get to know each other better, but their relationship didn’t develop any further from that.”
Lee and Park confessed about their relationship as paparazzi captured and released pictures of their date last year. They both appeared in SBS TV’s drama series City Hunter as lovers and surprised a lot of people later by confessing that they were dating for real.
A few hours ago, the Korean media reported that 2AM‘s Seulong and the Wonder Girls‘ Sohee were dating.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), their management company, JYP Entertainment, has released a statement denying all rumors of a relationship between the two idols.
“Rather than dating, Sohee and Seulong are just close friends,” JYP explained. “All JYP artists have close friendships.”
Big Hit Entertainment, who jointly manages the ballad group 2AM along with JYP Entertainment, also professed to having no knowledge of their relationship. “Seulong is in Japan for his 2AM schedules, and we are in the process of verifying the particulars,” they said. “We will get back [to the media] once everything is confirmed.”
Source: Star News via Nate
B2ST took first place on a race walk at Idol Track-And-Field Championships.
On MBC’s Idol Star Track-And-Field and Swimming Championships, a special program for the Lunar Year that aired on January 24, B2ST received a gold medal for the race walk relay.
In the race where ZE:A, Infinite, Mighty Mouse, Kim Jong Min and Kim Gyung Jin also competed, B2ST’s third man Yoon Du Jun turned the table around and won the race.
The members of B2ST celebrated their win by saying, “We were able to win this because we went all-in in walking.”
Super Junior’s Choi Siwon is currently on a travel to London.
On January 23, Siwon uploaded a picture and tweeted, “Hello amazing city London! Let’s make a beautiful time with me. Find me now.”
Despite his casual wear, Siwon attracts attention with his handsome looks. It is said that he left for London through Incheon International Airport on January 21.
Netizens commented, “Have a good time~” “You look like a European man~”
Super Junior received a Grand Prize on the 21st High 1 Seoul Song Festival that took place at Seoul Olympic Stadium on January 19.
Microsoft Points are dead! Or, they’re dying. At least according to InsideMobileApps. Dead, dying, being taken to a farm, whatever — but man do I hope it’s true.
Citing a “source with knowledge of the company’s decision”, InsideMobileApps says Microsoft is planning to ditch the Points system on Windows Phone (where it’s only used for in-app purchases, oddly), Zune Marketplace, and Xbox Live by the end of the year. Of course, given that it’s January, “by the end of the year” is about as precise as saying “before the end of time” — but in the end, what matters is Points going away.
For anyone who’s somehow managed to avoid Microsoft’s silly-ass points system, here’s the idea: instead of buying content with, you know, money, you buy content with Microsoft Points. Points… which you buy with money.
Imagine you’ve gone to the store, and you want to buy 3 pineapples. You take them to the counter, and the guy at the register says “Great! That’ll be 7 bloo-blops.”
“What? I don’t have any bloo-blops. I only have dollars. Can I just give you dollars?”
“No. You have to give me bloo-blops. Fortunately, I have this pack of 10 bloo-blops right here.”
“..But I thought you said I only needed 7 bloo-blops?”
“You do. But I only sell them in packs of 10. Don’t worry! You’ll have 3 bloo-blops left over to buy anything you want!”
“Oh, okay. What can I buy with 3 bloo-blops?”
“Nothing.”
See? Garbage.
Now, there’s some logic behind the point system — at least for Microsoft. It lets developers set one “price” (in points) globally — if something is 400 points in the US, it’s 400 points in Japan (though what 400 points works out to obviously varies by country.) But it also totally works out in Microsoft’s favor: the dollars-to-points ratio (80 points per $1) makes things seem a bit cheaper than they actually are, and that you always seem to have points left over after each purchase (but never enough to buy anything else) means pretty much everyone with an Xbox is constantly floating Microsoft a few pennies. (It also lets Microsoft cut down on credit card fees, which isn’t a bad thing.)
With all that said, it’s got one other major effect: making me not buy things. Of the many dozens of games I’ve gone to grab, the movies I’ve wanted to rent, and the stupid hats I would’ve bought for my avatar, I’ve ended up buying two — all because I didn’t want to deal with adding more silly bloo-blops Points. I know I’m not the only one.
“Hello, my name is Kang Min,” rookie actor Kim Hyung Jun greeted upon meeting with StarNew for an interview. The singer turned actor made his small-screen debut with ‘Sunshine Girl‘ which aired its pilot episode on January 7th.
“I feel like I’m still in character where ever I go,” he continued.
Kim Hyung Jun has been busy focusing on acting these days as top star Kang Min in new drama series, ‘Sunshine Girl’. According to the script, Kang Min is a woman-swooning jerk, a large contrast to his put-together appearance. He is arrogant and ruthless, but a character that the viewers keep wanting to see more of.
Kim Hyung Jun debuted in 2005 with his group, SS501 and is making his successful transformation as an actor with his new role.
“I don’t know how many months I spent preparing for this drama,” he said. “I was so confident before the shoot began, but once we actually started, I began drawing blanks. It’s like I’m a rookie all over again. Hi, I’m rookie actor Kim Hyung Jun.”
His new character is definitely different from his own innocent and shy image fans have come to know and love. We asked if he sees even a small part of himself in his new character.
“The real Kim Hyung Jun is as gentle as a pony,” he said. “The character has a personality that’s very different from my own, which makes it a little difficult. I added a little bit of rugged charm to my personality, and luckily I think it worked well.”
Perhaps it’s because it’s his first time acting, but he seemed dissatisfied with the way he performed on set. He could have cut himself some slack, as this is his first time, but it looked as though he set the bar pretty high for himself.
“When I look back on my scene, there are so many areas where it feels so unnatural. I am thinking of how I can improve, especially in areas where I have to deliver emotion or use a lot of gestures. There’s going to be no big change overnight, but I will continue to talk with the staff members and my co-stars to improve in the future,” he said.
The actor feels he is still lacking in a lot of different ways, and insists that he will improve with time, rather than boasting that he seems pretty good for a rookie.
We asked what he wanted to accomplish as an actor. “When people see my dramas or the characters I take on, I want people to recognize that it’s classically Kim Hyung Jun.”
The actor seems to show a lot of passion for acting. “When this drama is over, I would like to try a drama that airs on public television,” he said. ”But for a large-scale drama like that, I need to improve my acting drastically. I don’t want people to say that I’m a horrible actor, and so I need to try harder now.”
He also expressed his gratitude towards his co-stars such as So Ee Hyun, Park Kwang Hyun, and more. It’s a well-known fact that if the actors on set do not have good relationships, it makes it hard to act on-screen with them as well. Their relationships in real life affect their on-screen chemistry. Kim Hyung Jun expressed that he was really worried about this, but that now they are all like one big family.
“So Ee Hyun is like a real sister to me, while Park Kwang Hyun is like my older brother. They both take care of me really well. They always contact me first, offering to buy me a meal. I thank truly thankful for those two. They also give me advice on how to be more natural on camera. Even when the drama comes to an end, I would like to maintain our relationship,” he said.
The rookie actor creates a love connection with So Ee Hyun in the drama, and in the acting world, he is the current ‘it’ guy. Although he plays the role of a bad boy, viewers cannot get enough of him.
“I know that some viewers are not fond of my character, but a lot of them think that my character is cute and want to continue to see me throughout the program. I think this is the appeal of a younger man. And in 2012, I would like to become the nation’s official “it” young guy to date.”
Source & Image : StarNews via Naver
On January 22, one of media in Japan published an article with the title, “Will they be a savior of Avex Entertainment? A reunion project of TVXQ is emerging.”
The article says, quoting a source, “Avex Entertainment is suffering since the news about Ayumi’s divorce was released. A reunion project of TVXQ is emerging.”
According the source, the album sales of EXILE, an ace of Avex Entertainment, is also said to be below expectations.
“Considering JYJ’s Jae Joong having been the most iconic star, the reunion of TVXQ will be a savior to Avex Entertainment, which is going through hard times,” said the article.
The article also revealed Hamashaki Ayumi and JYJ’ Joon Su are of private acquaintance, and she is coordinating Jae Joong and the agency.
However, the article claimed there is little possibility of the reunion being realized. “Although there are thousands and millions fans who long for their reunion, the project has little possibility of coming true. Avex Entertainment is going through so difficult times that such unlikely project is being talked about,” said the article.
Actress Kim Ha Neul displayed her mature look in a pictorial.
Kim visited Hawaii and shot a pictorial for the February edition of a fashion magazine, Singles.
Kim showed off her shapely legs and her slim waist. Her natural hair and make-up that make her innocent beauty stand out attract attention.
Netizens commented: “Kim Ha Neul gets prettier every day.” “The ultimate innocent beauty, Kim Ha Neul.”
Kim Ha Neul’s charms can be seen in the February edition of the magazine, Singles.
While everyone is still playing Siwon’s cat and mouse/hide and seek game, it seems there’s another Korean celebrity who’s revealed they’re in London today. None other than Running Man’s Kang Gary tweeted a photo earlier, showing him outside London’s Hilton by Hyde Park!
Source: Korean Class Massive
An old photo of Big Bang members Taeyang and G-Dragon is causing quite the stir online.
The two Big Bang members are the same age, being born in 1988 and are known to be old friends who trained under YG Entertainment together since they were young. To celebrate the ‘Year of the Dragon’ Lunar New Year, Taeyang shared the above photo on his Twitter page saying, “Double Dragon.”
Different from the charismatic way they carry themselves on stage today, both boys looked like adorable innocent rascals grinning ear to ear.
Netizens who came across the photos responded with, “Both are so cute“, “They grew up so well“, and “It’s good to see they still have a close relationship“.
In related news, the Big Bang members released teaser images on the 21st for their highly anticipated comeback.
Will 2012 be Big Bang’s big year? Let us know your thoughts below!
Source & Image: Taeyang’s Twitter
Jang Keun Suk owns a building worth 10 billion won in Cheongdam-dong in southern Seoul. The building originally belonged to entertainer Seo Se Won but Jang bought it in January of last year for 8.5 billion won.
The building’s foundation is 393㎡ and is a 1414㎡ facility. It has two sub basements and is six stories tall. The building is located on a popular street with high floating population. Since Jang is very popular in Japan many fans from all over the world come to see the building and take pictures.
Jang debuted as an actor when he was a little boy and earned lots of money working as an entertainer. He gained lot of popularity in Japan and earned enough that he could buy a building. Only one year after he bought the building, the price of the building has increased by 1.5 billion won.
KEB has set 3.9 billion won loan for the building. Jang’s mother Jeon Hye Kyung set one billion won in fixed collateral for the building.
Jang moved into a new apartment in October in Nonhyeon-dong in Seoul. His new apartment is a very nice and classic apartment, which cost around 4 billion won.
23rd January 2012 marks the first day of the lunar calendar. It is known as Seollal (설날) in Korea and this year marks the Year of the Dragon. Many popular Korean Idols are born in the year of the dragon. As we can see, these idols truly have the personality traits of dragons – confidence, energetic, fearless, full of enthusiasm and generous. Let’s take a look at our dragon idols!
Taecyeon and Nichkhun of 2PM/ 택연 & 닉쿤 – 투피엠
Both Taecyeon and Nichkhun are known as the “visual” and rappers of the group. Taecyeon is also known for his acting skills such as Dream High (드림 하이) and Cinderella’s Sister(신데렐라 언니). Recently, he acted in a Japanese drama, 99 Days with a star (僕とスターの99日) with A-list Hallyu star Kim Tae Hee. Recently, Taecyeon commented that this year will be the year of the black dragon, which he was referring to himself because there isn’t any celebrity born in the year 1988 who has darker skin than him. He also promised to work harder in the year 2012. Nichkhun is currently busy making his acting debut in Thailand.
G-dragon and Taeyang of Big Bang/ 지드래곤 & 태양 – 빅뱅
Both Taeyang and G-dragon are from the talented Hip-Hop group – BIGBANG. They were both signed with YG Entertainment at the age of 12 under the name GD & YB. Besides singing and rapping, G-dragon is also a songwriter and producer. While Taeyang is well-known for his solo hits – Wedding Dress and I Need a Girl. It wasn’t a very good 2011 for them. Let’s hope for a successful dragon year for BIGBANG!
Park Gyuri and Han Seungyeon of KARA/ 박규리 & 한승현-카라
KARA had a successful 2011 with promotions both in Korea and Japan. KARA’s second Japanese full length album, “Super Girl” drew 360,000 pre-order sales the day before its release. Their Japanese single, “Jet Coaster Love” was an Oricon #1 hit single. All the proceeds for this single was donated to the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. Park Gyuri is known for her Japanese language ability. All these contributes to their success in Japan. It’ll definitely be another successful year for KARA in both Korea and Japan!
Eunjung of T-ara and Kim Soohyun / 티아라 은정 & 김수현
Kim Soo Hyun and Eunjung met while acting with popular drama, “Dream High (드림 하이)” last year. Both of them became close as they share the common traits of energetic and confidence. They have collaborated in SPRIS and was initially the rumoured couple for We Got Married. It has been a busy 2011 and 2012 for T-ara with their singles Roly Poly, Cry Cry and Lovey Dovey. The MV for Lovey Dovey was released in 5 different versions and one of the version was made like a movie. They are also busy with their promotions in Japan as they released Japanese versions of “Bo Beep Bo Beep”, “Yayaya” and “Roly Poly”. Kim Soo Hyun recently starred in the drama, “The Moon that Embraces the Sun (해를 품은 달)” as a fictional King of Joseon.
Kyuhyun of Super Junior/ 규현-슈퍼주니어
Kyuhyun of Super Junior was selected by netizens as the No.1 celebrity netizens are most looking forward to in 2012 according to a poll by Community portal site DC Inside, beating the rest of the dragon idols born in the year 1988. Kyuhyun is known for his ballads. Let’s hope to see more of the makne of Super Junior in 2012!
In East Asian culture, Dragon is a divine animal and is said to be a good year. Let’s hope for a successful 2012 for the Korean idols and us!
See also:
Korean Idols Born in the Year of the Rabbit
Taecyeon and Nichkhun abs
Eunjung and Soo Hyun SPRIS
KARA Kouhaku Uta Gassen 2011
Source: Seoul Awesome: Your K-blog
All members of Super Junior visit a ski resort.
On January 20, Super Junior’s Donghae tweeted a picture with the comment “I’m at a ski resort with other members^^ As One’s ‘Only I’ is recently released, and I tend to be more excited^^ Spend a day like this with the song ‘Only U’ ^^”
In the picture, Donghae is at ski resort, his face covered in a hat and a neck warmer. Even with his face almost covered, his gorgeous look attracts attention.
Netizens who saw the posting comment: “So all of you went there!!!” “Where are you?!~!! I’ll be right there!!” “You can’t hide your gorgeous looks…”
Super Junior was awarded with the grand prize at KBS Joy’s Seoul Music Awards aired on January 19. Also, the group received the grand prize in music recording at the 26th Golden Disc Awards by JTBC on the same day.
Teen Top sends greetings for the Lunar New Year to his fans.
On January 20, Teen Top reveals some pictures of themselves in hanbok with the comment “Happy New Year” through its agency.
Netizens who saw the posting comment: “Oppas, you look amazing!!” “You guys look great in hanbok. What about shooting some Korean historical drama series? lol”
Teen Top released its new song “Crazy” produced by Brave Brother, known as a hit song maker, and is actively giving performances.
It’s time to be schooled in movie theaters. They’re just a little bit different in Korea.
First off going to the movies isn’t as a big a pasttime in Korea as it is elswhere. You probably won’t hear anyone bragging “I was THERE! At Midnight! On opening night!” or “I waited in line for 5 hours!” No… It’s not as a big a culture there. People prefer downloading movies illegally like a boss going to noraebang.
Although there are things called dvd bangs (dvd rooms) but… people don’t use them for watching dvds. (Ahem) MOVING ON!!
At Korean movie theaters, you get to choose where to sit. Not that you can choose wherever you want but the seats that aren’t x’d out are the available seats. All theaters in Korea have assigned seating. And people actually sit in the seats they’re assigned to! (GASP!)
This isn’t an option in every theater but just the fact that this is an option at all makes us light up! Korea is AWESOME!
These are couple seats. Gee. What gave that away? Not every theater has the couple seats so you’d have to research on where they’re at. These ones are CGV’s Sweet Box seats. They’re a little pricier but look, you get this nice couch. And it’s big! And when the movie snags a boring spot it’s a lot less awkward to cuddle.
These ones are located in Apgujeong off of Line 3, Exit 3 – CGV Sweet Boxes
DO eat dried cuttlefish at the movie theaters! It’s one of the great joys of snacking that, unless you’re in Asia, you can’t really enjoy elsewhere. No popcorn! Save that for a day indoors or something! Movie theater? Cuttlefish. Always.
OK not every movie theater looks as awesome as this one (located in Yongsan Electronics Market – aka – I’PARKmall) but most movie theaters at least have a really nice lounge area. And just like everywhere else in Korea, attention is given to the interior. If it doesn’t look nice you’re probably not in the right country.
Rock band Nell have announced that they will be making a comeback in February, thus breaking a four year hiatus.
Their agency Woollim Entertainment stated, “Nell are currently preparing for a comeback and their teaser will be released on January 20th.”
Nell released their last album in November of 2008, and were forced to halt their activities due to Korea’s mandatory military service rule.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Nell, they are an indie band who got mentored by rock legend Seo Taiji himself. The band has received much love over the years for their melancholy sound and bittersweet lyrics.
Check out a few of their hit tracks below:
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< “Stay: >
SHINee‘s ‘SHINee The First Concert In Japan – SHINEE WORLD‘ DVD was released in Japan on January 11th and sold a total of 29,000 copies within the first week of sales. With this, SHINee has made their mark in history, securing the #2 spot with their DVD on the Weekly Oricon DVD chart.
According to Oricon, the only overseas male artists to rank so high on the DVD chart since April of 1999 was 2-member British group Underworld, as well as Korea’s very own 2PM who previously had a DVD weekly ranking at #4.
The DVD contains footage of the boys performing at their independent concert in Tokyo last December.
In related news, the boys made a breakthrough in Japan with their first Japanese single “Replay – You Are My Everything” on June 22nd last year.
They sold 91,000 copies the first week, setting a new record for a debuting overseas artist from Korea.
Source & Image: Yonhap via Nate
SNSD’s Taeyeon leaves a strong impression on her fans by showing a daring lingerie look.
Recently, a picture of Taeyeon titled “Taeyeon doesn’t want to look girly anymore. She now appeals with lingerie look!” was uploaded on an online community gallery. Taeyeon is wearing a shocking, revealing costume in the picture.
The picture was taken during SNSD’s concert titled “2012 Girl’s Generation in Hong Kong” held on January 15 in Hong Kong.
During the concert, Taeyeon has attracted attention by matching all of her clothes in black. She wore a tight top which looked like a corset and see-through from the back, and a net stocking with shorts. Her previous cute image was gone, but instead, she appealed with a new, different look.
Netizens comment: “Wow… I guess you don’t want to look cute anymore.” “You do look sexy… But I suppose you can wear some more clothes.” “It’s not all good to take all of your clothes off. You must be cold~”
SHINee member Taemin shared his thoughts on filming KBS 2TV‘s ‘Immortal Song 2‘ for the very first time.
The singer shared the above photo via SHINee’s official me2day on the 17th and wrote, “I did my best at the ‘Immortal Song 2′ recording today. Everyone, please watch the episode and show me your support.”
In the photo, Taemin is holding a large box with a thermos sitting on top of it, and gave the camera a nervous and awkward smile. His face looked incredibly small compared to the items he was holding, garnering the interest of fans everywhere.
Netizens who saw his post responded with comments like, “I’m sure you did fine. Will always cheer you on“, “So cute, Taemin. Want him to be my little brother“, and more.
In related news, Taemin along with Sunghoon from ‘Brown Eyed Soul‘ recently joined the ‘Immortal Song 2′ line up.
Source & Image: SHINee’s official me2day
In September at f8, Facebook announced partnerships with slew of companies who would develop Open Graph Timeline apps. Airbnb, Path, Ticketmaster, Payvment, Causes and 30 others all said they were onboard to produce apps allowing users to share when they “traveled”, “purchased” something online, “donated” to a charity, and other activity. 4 months later and many of these Open Graph applications have yet to launch, but that will change tomorrow night according to our sources when a new class of Open Graph lifestyle apps is unveiled at a Facebook press event.
We’re hearing similar information to AllThingsD, which first reported this morning about the purpose of the press event. Facebook delayed the launch of the second wave of apps so it could monitor and fine tune how often they’d appear in the Ticker. Now Facebook and its partners are ready to expand the concept of sharing to encompass a much wider range of content, as shown in this video.
Many remember the first days after f8 when it seemed like you were seeing every Spotify song played by anyone you’d ever friended. Facebook wants to avoid such an onslaught tomorrow, and also make sure there are no overly spammy or misleading apps clogging Ticker. Unlike its games platform where third-party apps can be launched without pre-approval, Facebook told me in October it would be manually approving all Open Graph apps to ”make sure the initial experience with Timeline is really great”.
In late December, Facebook informed developers that it would start approving new Open Graph verbs and nouns to appear in the news feed, Ticker, and Timeline starting this month. Apps using “read an article”, “listened to a song”, and “watched a video” such as The Washington Post, Spotify, and Hulu are already in full swing, but tomorrow a new set of nouns and verbs will begin to appear. Partner apps will launch, and Facebook may also encourage more unpartnered developers to submit their apps for approval.
Here’s how they’ll work, using a charity app as an example. I could install the Open Graph app, opting in to giving it persistent permission to publish to my Timeline. Then whenever I take an action, such donating to a charity through the app, it will publish “Josh Constine donated to United Way” to my Timeline and to the home page Ticker and news feed where my friends will see it. My friends can then click though to install the app themselves, turning Open Graph apps into a big viral driver for their developers.
Spotify rode its Open Graph publishing to gain 3.4 million daily active users since f8, and 1 million more DAU in just its first month. It had the benefit of being one of the only Open Graph apps in the Ticker for a while, which will become much more crowded and Facebook will keep tighter control of tomorrow.
Still, some of Facebook’s lifestyle app partners stand to gain significantly. Ecommerce and ticketing apps could drive more sales, charity and crowdfunding platforms could raise more money, and sharing apps could gain users or traffic. Meanwhile, they’ll populate Timeline and the rest of the site with compelling content Facebook hopes will make it even more indispensable to people’s lives.
Facebook will also gain the ability to target users with ads according to their Open Graph activity. For example, Southwest Airlines could target anyone who said they “traveled” to Mexico. This highly accurate targeting, not just about what users Like but about what they do, could fetch a high price from advertisers and bolster confidence from investors leading up to Facebook’s IPO this summer.
Facebook’s partners are sworn to secrecy but here’s a list of some companies that could launch tomorrow by category, and the nouns and verbs you might start seeing. These aren’t confirmed but will give you an idea of where the Open Graph platform is going:
Ecommerce - “bought [product]“
Payvment ecommerce storefront
GiftRocket gift cards
Oodle social marketplace
Ticketing – “bought tickets for [event]“
EventBrite
Charity / Fundraising- “donated to [charity / project]“
FundRazr
Travel – “visited/stayed at [location]“
Airbnb
Sharing – “shared [content]“
Color
Cinemur.fr (confirmed to launch)
Comments / Q&A – ”commented on [article]” / “answered [question]“
Professional Networking – “[connected to] [user name]“
BranchOut
Other
Yummly recipes – “cooked [recipe]“
Grockit online learning – “learned about [subject]“
One last potential launch tomorrow: Netflix. Its Facebook app was stalled in the US by a privacy law, but it may now be free to tell your friends what you’re watching if you opt in.
[Image Credit: SimonsDigital]
SM Entertainment recently revealed their new group EXO-K and EXO-M’s sixth member.
On January 17, the agency released a new teaser video on their official website, YouTube channel, Facebook, and several Chinese websites including Weibo.
In the video, the sixth member Lay catches the public’s eyes with his powerful dance performance.
A spokesperson for the agency said, “Lay is a 20 year old boy who is very good at dancing and playing musical instruments, including piano and guitar.”
The new group EXO is making a stir by releasing their members with teaser videos. They have unveiled six members, including Kai, Lu Han, Tao, Chen, Se Hun, and Lay.
Actor Lee Min Ho and actress Moon Geun Young will not be able to graduate from their schools this February.
Lee and Moon entered college in 2006 but they failed to earn enough credits to graduate. The two stars worked hard both in school and entertainment business last year but they couldn’t earn enough credits to graduate. Lee is studying cinematography at Konkuk University and Moon is studying Korean language and literature at Sungkyunkwan University. They will take one more semester and may graduate in fall.
On January 16, a spokesperson for Lee said, “Since Lee appeared on the series City Hunter starting in May through July of last year, he was unable to finish all the required courses for graduation. He tried to cover the credits with assignments but since his attendance was so low, he decided to take one more semester.
A spokesperson for Moon also said, “She wanted to graduate this year but she took a temporary leave from school to work and perform. As a result, she is not able to graduate in February. I heard that she has to earn 8 more credits.”
These kind of situations imply that schools have become very strict on entertainers and their requirements for graduates. According to officials in the entertainment business, the entertainers could have graduated if their managers or coworkers had handed in reports in the past, but now that is not an option.
Actor Won Bin also had trouble graduating from his University. When he was about to graduate in 2003, he had to take a ski course to earn one more credit to graduate.
He became a graduate student to delay enlistment to the Army in order to shoot the movie My Brother.
It’s being reported that actress Moon Chae Won is reviewing a casting offer from SBS‘s upcoming drama, ‘Rooftop Prince‘.
The drama already made headlines after it was revealed that JYJ‘s Yoochun would be starring as the male lead. Moon Chae Won’s agency had stated, “The script was received three days ago and is currently being reviewed.”
While her representatives avoided a direct answer, they did say, “The script is excellent and it’s been put up for consideration.”
The casting offer drew great excitement from drama fans, since Yoochun and Moon Chae Won were both excellent in their respective historical dramas. Moon Chae Won especially has been considered to be the ‘blue chip’ of historical projects recently, thanks to her great performances 2011′s ‘Arrow: The Ultimate Weapon’ and ‘The Princess’ Man’.
“Rooftop Prince” is romantic fantasy drama about a Joseon dynasty prince who lost his princess. 300 years into the future, the prince and his subjects are reborn into the 21st century in Seoul, where he aims to complete his unfinished love in this lifetime.
This drama is aiming for a broadcast date of March 14th, right after the conclusion of ‘Please Take Care of Us, Captain’.
Source & Image: Sports World via Naver
Recently released by the organizor of Super Junior SUPER SHOW 4 in Singapore, Running Into the Sun announced that both shows are sold out. Super Junior will get a experience a full sapphire blue ocean in the stadium for 2 nights, once again after a successful SUPER SHOW 3 held last year, January 2011.The 9 boys will be making their way for a full-fledged concert, transforming once again for the Singapore indoor Stadium to a huge blue ELFs ocean!
Korea.com will be seeing everyone of you all ELFs at the venue, and should you guys not watch the show live, get the latest updates by following our reporter right on the concert spot in this 2-day sold out concert!
ELFs who are watching, check out Running Into The Sun for updates on the rules, conditions and event news.
SM Entertainment just released a preview for the upcoming animated movie, ‘Koala Kid‘ on their official Youtube channel. As earlier reported, Girls’ Generation member Sunny and SHINee‘s maknae Taemin are lending their voices to the film.
As earlier reports revealed, the film is follows Johnny (dubbed by Taemin), a white koala who embarks on an adventure to save Australia’s natural resources. Sunny will voice another koala named Miranda, who also plays an important role in the quest. Other voice actors include Yoon Da Hoon who plays Hammish and Jung Eun Byul who plays Miranda’s little sister, Charlotte.
The preview reveals clips from the film as well as behind-the-scenes footage of Sunny and Taemin in the recording studio. Check it out:
Source: Youtube
What happens if General Choi of Slave Hunter, One Eye of Princess Man and Dr. Seo Joon Suk of Brain meet? Definitely, there will be a “momjjang” overload. Korean icons of chocolate abs and chiseled bodies Han Jung Soo, Park Jaemin and Jo Dong Hyuk gathered last January 15th at the 2011-2012 Shinsegae and E-Mart WKBL All Star Game.Han, Park and Jo are part of the team called Rainbow Star, a basketball team of celebrities headed by the Legendary basketball player turned coach Woo Jiwon.They played an exhibition game against WKBL Team which was composed of former members of Korea’s national team (men and women) for basketball. The friendly game was a close match but eventually Rainbow Stars brought home the bacon with only one point difference, 42-41.
After the match there were plenty of games installed for the audience and contests for the professional players and the celebrity guests. Aside from the names mentioned above, Rainbow Stars members who played in the game were Na Yoon Kwon, Kim Dong Wan, Kim Hyeok, Lim Hyeong Seok,Yoon Sang Jun and My Name’s Insoo.
*momjjang- best body/physique
T-ara’s Jiyeon recently talked about her excitement prior to the airing of the first episode of Dream High 2, on KBS2.
On January 14, in an interview with Starnews, the starlet said, “I’m currently shooting Dream High 2 and be active for the promotion of the song ‘Lovey-Dovey.’ I want to be recognized as an actress as well as a group singer.”
The singer and actress added, “At first, I couldn’t believe I was cast in Dream High 2. Later, when I found it was real, I was really excited and a bit worried.”
Dram High 2, Jiyeon is currently shooting, is a sequence of a high-profile series Dream High that came to an end last January. Jeyoen appears as Lian, who dreams of being a top actress but is hopeless at acting.
She says, “Eunjung gave me a lot of advice, encouraging me to try my best. She also told me about acting, so I’ve been learning a lot from her.”
Jiyeon, who is already a successful actress through the series God of Study and Miss Ripley set Eunjung as a mentor for her acting because Eunjung appeared as a lead in Dream High 1. The sequence also covers a story of teenagers who dream of being a star.
Eunjung, who started acting when she was a child, have been constantly developing her career with Coffee House, King Geunchogo, Queen Insoo, and others.
On Dream High 2, the worst freaks and the greatest geniuses take part in a team battle. Other cast include 2AM’s Jung Jin Woon, Kang So Ra, Hyo Lyn, JB, Park Seo Joon, and others. The series begins airing on January 30.
Last week, JYJ announced that they will embark on their first South American tour.
Ticket sales opened up on January 12th and were almost sold out that very day.
On January 15th, JYJ’s agency C-JeS Entertainment stated, “Last Thursday, we began selling tickets for the tour in South America and right when we opened the window, we sold 80% of the 5,000 seats in Chile and Peru.”
JYJ chosen special section names to reflect some of their works. Fans could choose between ‘The Beginning’, ‘Be the One’, and ‘Be My Girl’, with ‘In Heaven – VIP’ being the seats closest to the stage. Reportedly, fans camped overnight to buy the VIP tickets.
The Korean pop trio is impressing local media as well. Peru’s El Comercio news published an article that read, “[It's] Not Justin Bieber nor Miley Cyrus, but Korean group JYJ who has set the record for ticket sales”.
El Commercio continued, “JYJ are Korean singers that you cannot see or listen to on MTV or the radio, and you cannot purchase their CDs in Peru; nevertheless, they set a huge record. In only 30 minutes, thousands of fans gathered to buy their concert tickets and we can see just how truly popular they are.”
JYJ will be holding their concerts in Chile and Peru on March 9th and 11th.
Source & Images: Star News via Nate, as tagged
It seems as though these days, you need to be lightning fast to survive in this competitive world. And to show just how quick you need to be to remain the the game, some of Korea’s most skilled and speedy chefs guest-starred on the most recent episode of ‘Star King‘.
On the January 14th episode of ‘Star King’, brothers and rice cake mill owners Kim Wooseob and Kim Sung Hoon guest-starred, as well as Lee Ho Kwang who runs his own restaurant.
The Kim brothers and Lee Ho Kwang battled it out to see who could cut things on the cutting board faster. The Kim brothers cut rice cakes, while Lee cut radish, and both the audience and the stars on set were astonished by their speed.
The Kim brothers are famous in the Haeundae district, known for their charm and wit along with their speedy skills in the kitchen. And Lee Ho Kwang took only about 10 seconds to quickly cut up a large radish, living up to his name as a speedy expert.
Hilariously enough, Super Junior members Eunhyuk, Shindong, and Donghae also stepped up to the plate to see how their cutting skills measured up. But of these three, Eunhyuk surprised the other guests on set with his hidden talent, efficiently cutting the rice cakes at an impressive speed.
Source & Image: TVReport via Nate
Korean girl groups’ monetary profits earned in Japan during the past year have been revealed.
According to the results posted by Oricon that reported gross sales album numbers for 2011 (Dec 27th 2010 through December 19th 2011), girl group KARA earned over $63 million, while Girls’ Generation raked in earnings of over $52 million. Of all the artists to promote in Japan overall, KARA came in 4th overall in revenue, while Girls’ Generation came in at fifth place.
Famous J-pop group AKB48 who triumphed the K-pop girl groups earned a whopping $211 million, while boy group Arashi came in at #2 earning $199 million, followed by EXILE who earned $72 million.
A year before, KARA & Girls’ Generation came in at #1 & #2 who earned the most in Japan as rookies with $16 million and $11 million respectively. In just a single year, both groups’ profits have grown by 500%. The numbers reported by the Oricon exclude the profits made from miscellaneous promotions such as performances, CFs, royalties, and more.
Source & Image: SportsWorld via Nate
On January 13th, girl group T-ara topped Billboard Korea‘s K-Pop Hot 100 chart with their new single, “Lovey-Dovey“.
“Lovey-Dovey” was released on the 3rd and has been sweeping numerous music charts since with its infectious dance melody.
The girls also grabbed third place along with labelmates Davichi for “We Were In Love“. Meanwhile, Dynamic Duo came in 2nd with ”Without You” from the second part of their sixth album, ‘DIGILOG 2/2‘.
T-ara had also secured #1 on Mnet‘s ’M Countdown‘ on the 12th with “Lovey-Dovey”, making it a day of double-wins. Congratulations, ladies!
Source + Photos: Osen
Sunny Hill is back with a brand new track called “The Grasshopper Song“!
Their single was inspired by the Aesop fable, ‘The Ant and the Grasshopper’, which tells the tale of a hardworking ant and a lazy grasshopper who each get their just desserts when hard times come. The fable meant to promote the virtues of industriousness, but Sunny Hill took a different interpretation.
The group takes the grasshopper’s side in the story, arguing what was so wrong with wanting to live life to the fullest? The song also incorporates a rich violin as a tip of a hat to the character who inspired them.
Check out their MV below!
Singer Yoon Jong Shin has revealed that an app has matched his looks almost 100% to actor Jo In Sung‘s!
On January 10th, Yoon Jong Shin appeared on SBS‘s ”Choi Hwa Jung’s Power Time“, where he talked about his talents as an entertainer and a musician.
During the broadcast, DJ Choi Hwa Jung asked Yoon Jong Shin, “Is it true that you’ve been claiming that you look like Jung Woo Sung?“, to which he replied, “It’s not just Jung Woo Sung only — a look-a-like search application on my phone has matched me 99% to Jo In Sung.”
He continued, “I’ve actually tried it three times, and all three times, I got Jo In Sung.” He then revealed his ‘proof’ to the DJ, who laughed uproariously.
In related news, Yoon Jong Shin released the January album for his monthly project on January 4th.
Source: Star News
Drama production company Lemon Rain is collaborating with ShinCine Communications to turn the hit 2001 Korean movie ‘My Sassy’ Girl‘ into a drama series. The producers are holding a public contest, where writers are being encouraged to send in scripts that are close to the original storyline or even better. The contest will begin on February 1st and be held until March 30th.
‘My Sassy Girl’ is the movie that launched actor Cha Tae Hyun and actress Jun Ji Hyun to stardom. The movie is still continuously being remade in Japan and China 10 years after debuting on the big screens, proving the powerful effect of Korean cultural content. The movie was also remade by Hollywood in 2008 and starred Elisha Cuthbert and Jesse Bradford.
‘My Sassy Girl’ is predicted to become a new craze once converted into a drama series, and it will be interesting to see what kind of original material many talented writers all across the world will be submitting.
All writers regardless of experience or lack thereof are welcome to submit their work, and collaboration work is also permitted. The title must still remain ‘My Sassy Girl’, and contestants must submit synopses for 16 episodes, and full-length scripts for two. Writers must also include production goals, main characters, and an overall summary of the story. There are no specific restrictions when it comes to content, however, it must follow the original story. The submissions may be made via e-mail, or mail.
A representative from Lemon rain remarked, “In order to create a drama series that will be a greater hit than the movie, we need fresh ideas and fresh, entertaining content. We expect that the drama series will once again be a big hit in Asia with the help of the many applicants.”
Source & Image: StarToday via Nate
Actor Song Seung Hun participated in the charity for Vietnamese children and donated about 60 million won.
On January 7, Song appeared in the charity held by the National Fund for Vietnamese Children (www.nfvc.org.vn) at the Vietnam National Convention Center.
The National Fund for Vietnamese Children was established in 1994 and has been supporting Vietnamese children in their studies, heart and eye operations, and some orphanages.
The Deputy Minister of Labour Doan Mau Diep, the Director of the National Fund for Vietnamese Children Vu Anh Dao, and the Korean ambassador to Vietnam Ha Chan Ho appeared at the charity. Along with putting Song Seung Hun teddy bear up for auction, he donated about 51, 857 dollars (about 60 million won) in a single day, showing off his influence as a Hallyu star.
Song said, “Whether in Korea or Vietnam, children are hope and future of the country. I hope this event of good intention would give some hope to the children in need.”
During his visit to Vietnam, Song has fascinated the local media by keeping a warm, friendly attitude. For the rest of his stay, he plans to visit the Korean Language Department at Ho Chi Minh National University and share some things about Korean language and culture with native Vietnamese students.
Actress Clara is becoming quite the hot topic lately, thanks to her figure flaunts in the new drama, ’Take Care of Us, Captain‘. The actress used to go by Lee Sung Min, but has since adopted the stage name ‘Clara’.
Last week, the audience got to see Clara in a sleek black dress that clung to her skin. It garnered such a loud response that SBS shared preview photos from this week’s upcoming episode.
In her scene, Clara strolls along the poolside in a cut-out one piece bathing suit.
Clara bashfully explained, “I thought a lot about which bathing suit to wear and finally decided on this unique, yet classy black swimsuit. I felt a little nervous about revealing my body, but I was curious about how it would come out. It was a fun experience.”
Clara plays the role of Hong Mi Joo, a tough ‘Wings Air’ managing director of business strategy. ‘Take Care of Us, Captain’ airs every Wednesday and Thursday.
Source + Image: Star News
Actress Go Ara recently posed for High Cut Magazine.
Through her photo shoot, Go Ara expressed her soft and feminine charms, dressed in a knitted one-piece dress that showcased her lean and shapely legs, as well as her S-line figure.
The celebrity’s tossled hair gave her a more sexy and grown up look, while her simple makeup brought out her natural beauty. Go Ara well pulled off each outfit, and the earthy-toned ensembles well-displayed her milky skin. The juxtaposition of her doll-like face with her glamorous figure was enough to melt fan boys everywhere.
In related news, Go Ara recently confessed on an episode of ‘Strong Heart‘ that five SM Entertainment stars had made moves on her in the past.
Source & Image : IlganSports via Naver
The G8 members Jewelry‘s Kim Yewon, miss A‘s Suzy, SISTAR‘s Bora, and Rainbow‘s Go Woori snapped a few different photos together.
Kim Yewon shared some of the photos above via her official Twitter page and wrote, “We met at the Idol Championships! It was tough, but it was fun ^_^* Wahoo~~~~ We’re cute, aren’t we?”
The photos were taken during the MBC Lunar New Year special, ‘Idol Stars’ Track-and-Field & Swimming Championships‘.
“We were supposed to give our best charismatic pose, but look at Suzy being cute for the camera all by herself!!!!!!!! This will never do,” she continued.
Different from her unnis that gave their best charismatic poses, Suzy smiled big and bright for the camera revealing her dazzling white teeth.
Netizens who saw the photo left comments such as, “The pretty members from each group?”, “Suzy is so cute“, and “Look at Yewon unni and Bora unni’s poses. Feel like I have to fork up all the cash in my wallet…”
Meanwhile, the MBC special ‘Idol Star Championships’ is scheduled to air on the 24th.
Source & Image: StarNews
Recently, actress Lee Hyo Ri attracts attention by perfectly acting the women who parts her lover.
Lee shows excellent acting in the music video of “Potently” just for the new group Spica, which works in the same agency as her. In the video, Lee expresses mysterious emotion between loneliness and apathy.
The new girl group Spica has been a hot issue since the biography of its members, as well as the name itself were revealed. It became the center of attention when Lee Hyo Ri decided to appear as the female leading character of its music video.
Along the lyrics of “Potently,” Lee plays the woman who parts her lover cold-heartedly. First, Lee shows up wearing lingerie in an empty room. With a vacant look on her face, she is lost in thought. She even treats coldly to the guy who came to find her, acting out her character perfectly with an apathetic expression.
Lee willingly said okay when the president of her agency asked her to appear in the music video of Spica. It is said that she is being such a big support for the girl group and pours much love to them for she was once in a girl group called Fin.K.L.
Meanwhile, all members of Spica have been a hot issue for their distinguished career before their debut.
The member Yang Ji Won was one of the Five Girls which disassembled just before its debut in 2007. The group Five Girls was composed of the Wonder Girls’ Yu Bin, After School’s Uee, Secret’s Hyo Seong, and the soloist G.Na.
Another member Park Na Rae was in top ten of M.net’s Super Star K which broadcasted in 2009. Kim Bo A has frequently featured on many girl groups’ hit songs, gaining a nickname as “female version of K.Will.” In addition, Park Joo Hyun and Kim Bo Hyung are also known to have excellent skills.
Spica debuts this month after releasing the soundtrack and music video of its slow-tempo song “Potently.”
Ahead of releasing the ‘Zombie Version’ of the music video for “Lovey Dovey“, T-ara has revealed a 3-minute-long behind-the-scenes clip from the MV set!
In the making-of film, actress Im Soo Hyang introduces the set to viewers and shares a sneak peek into T-ara’s zombie getup, as they get dressed into character.
In the music video, Im Soo Hyang turns into a zombie along with the members of T-ara and shuffles at a club to “Lovey Dovey”.
Check out the making-of film to ‘Zombie Dovey’ below!
Source: TV Report via Naver
Tip: jae-eun
On January 13th, Sunny Hill will release their new track, “In Praise of the Grasshopper“.
The pop quintet revealed the title of the new single and a cut from its music video via LOEN Entertainment’s official artist Twitter.
The unusual title was explained by a representative from LOEN Entertainment, who said, “Sunny Hill’s maxi single title track was motivated by “The Ant and the Grasshopper” from Aesop’s Fables. The track plays on the motif of the story and takes a unique concept.”
“In Praise of the Grasshopper” is a collaborative work between hit-making duo, songwriter Lee Min Soo and lyricist Kim Eana, who brought you IU‘s “You and I” and “Good Day”.
The LOEN representative continued, “As the title track was motivated from a children’s story, it has a fun, intriguing concept with an addictive melody that people of all ages could enjoy. We ask for your support and anticipation.”
Source: Star News
Go Soo and Han Hyo Joo fall in love in the movie Ban Chang Kko.
On January 9, BH Entertainment reported, “Go Soo and Han Hyo Joo are cast in the movie Ban Chang Kko.”
Ban Chang Kko is a movie directed by Jung Ki Hoon, recognized for his work, Aeja.
It is a love story about a fireman, suffering from the loss of his wife, falling in love with a female doctor, who closed her mind to love, and curing each other’s pain and sorrow.
Because this movie stars Go, who has worked with many beautiful actresses such as Han Ye Seul, Kim Ha Neul, and Kim Hee Sun, and Han, who worked with So Ji Sup in the movie Only You, people are now paying attention to whether or not they can create a greater love story.
They start filming Ban Chang Kko after Han finishes her film, King of Chosun.
Recently, SHINee’s Key and Tae Min uploaded a picture of themselves before Osaka concert to say hello to their fans.
On January 9, Key uploaded a picture on Me2day with the comment “At the venue in Osaka. I’m here with Tae Min to let you know guys how we are doing.”
Key and Tae Min are both wearing in black and posing mischievously in front of the camera. They make their fans laugh by posing as if they were to transform into something else and making a flower cup with their hands under the chin.
Netizens comment: “Key, and Tae Min oppa, you look super cute.” “Ah.. I want to see the rest of the picture, but Key’s face while making a flower cup is so funny.” “Please hold a concert in Korea soon!”
A picture of T-ara’s Soyeon and Ji Yeon is currently drawing a lot of attention.
An online community posted a picture of Soyeon and Ji Yeon. The picture was a captured image from KBS’s Vitamin, in which the two girls appeared before. They appeared on the show without wearing any makeup to be tested their skin to see how old their skin is.
In the picture, Soyeon looks no different than usual. But Ji Yeon, who was previously selected as the most beautiful idol star in real life, looks totally different.
People responded: “Soyeon is amazing.” “Even though she is not wearing any makeup, she looks so pretty.” “Is she really six years younger than Ji Yeon? Soyeon looks like she is the younger one.”
We’ve been reporting for months on the Wonder Girls‘ upcoming Teen Nick movie, “The Wonder Girls” (formerly known as ‘The Wonder Girls at the Apollo‘). With its release date only a few weeks away, the TV channel has finally released a trailer of the long-awaited film.
Although it’s very short, the trailer gave fans a preview of the girls’ acting chops and a snippet of dialogue from Ye Eun. There’s also a tense moment between the Wonder Girls and a rival group, who shove Ye Eun in a fit of jealousy.
‘The Wonder Girls’ is scheduled to air through Teen Nick in February.
Check out their trailer below!
So much excitement. This is my first CES and while MG may be correct to think that some of my fellow tech bloggers find this trip a tad tedious, I’m pink with barely controlled glee just from being here. But I’ve been excited about CES for a few weeks now, ever since I went to meet with Toshiba and get a sneak peek at their latest tablet.
The Excite X10 is now the world’s thinnest 10-inch tablet, measuring in at just .3 inches thick and weighing just 1.2 lbs. But don’t forget that the iPad 3 is presumably just around the corner (along with quite a few Android slates this week), so anything can change. A brushed magnesium alloy finish graces its backside, with Corning Gorilla glass up front to prevent any scratching. It’s really a beauty.
Under the hood you’ll find a TI OMAP 4420 1.2GHz dual-core processor along with 1GB of RAM. As far as the OS goes, however, Toshiba was a bit iffy. The tablet will either ship in mid Q1 with Android 3.2 Honeycomb, or a bit later with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather wait a bit longer for Ice Cream Sandwich.
The 10-inch screen boasts a resolution of 1280×800, and is built with a special direct bonding technology that allows for such a thin profile. A 2-megapixel front-facing shooter is present and accounted for if you’re into video chat, and a 5-megapixel shooter can be found on the backside of the tab.
Toshiba’s all about the ports, and has been with each tablet offering it’s brought to market. With the Excite X10, you’ll have access to a micro USB, mini HDMI out, and micro SD card slot. Obviously full-sized ports are more accessible, but fitting these smaller connectivity points onto such a thin tablet is commendable nonetheless.
Toshiba is also rather good at leaving Android alone, and has thus implemented very little of its own software. That includes its own media player featuring DNLA compatibility (which has been revamped from previous versions and looks much cleaner), Toshiba’s File Manager, Netflix, and QuickOffice. Toshiba’s also added an app to let you screen grab which has been sorely missing in Android for longer than I care to think about.
Android tablets have been quite the flop in the past year (with the exception of the Kindle Fire, sort of), but I have a good feeling about 2012 Android slates if this is the type of stuff we’re going to see.
Pricing is still unclear for this guy, but with its premium status I’d assume it’ll face off against the iPad more so than the Kindle Fire.
(Note on images: Regza is the tablet’s Asian name, and won’t appear on U.S. units)
T-ara‘s “Lovey Dovey” (drama version) music video is gaining much attention.
According to the view counts on January 7th, the video has gained over 3 million views in total on YouTube and GomTV within 5 days of release.
YouTube view count stands at 2.49 million while GomTV is reporting over 570,000 views, bringing up the total to over 3 million.
The music video also ranked #1 on GomTV’s real time music video chart, beating out IU and Trouble Maker.
The audience demographic for the video is widespread and records views from all over the world.
As reported earlier, there will be a total of 5 different music videos for “Lovey Dovey”, with the 2nd version being released on January 10th.
Source: Star News
Super Junior members had a get-together.
On January 7, Leeteuk uploaded a picture on his Twitter account with the comment, “Super Junior always have a get-together after concerts or shows. We only have ramen and Coke. The ramen family! Go! Rafam Juniors! Let’s always have fun and love each other just like now! I love you guys!”
In the picture, Leeteuk, Donghae, Gyuhyun, Eunhyuk, and Sungmin are holding Coke cups and making a toast. There’s a bowl of ramen in front of each member, and Sungmin is holding a ladle like a cellular phone.
Eunhyuk and Donghae get a laugh from their fans by making surprised looks on their faces.
People responded: “It looks like they are going to get drunk by Coke. It looks nice!” “They look like they are very close. I think some people in the restaurant will recognize them soon,” “Is it really Coke?”
It’s just been revealed that Rain participated in an interview with the Give Media Gift, a collaboration project with Naver‘s Happy Bean charity service.
Rain donated his personal mic and stage uniform to the cause. Should 5,000 people donate as well, his items will go up for auction to ensure a greater donation amount, which will all go towards helping children from low-income families.
In his interview, Rain was asked what the driving force behind his 11-year career was. He replied that family, personal pride, and respect for his fans were what kept him grounded throughout the years.
“At the time, I had to have economic power in society for my family’s wellbeing. At the thought of many seniors and people watching me, I also had to have pride in myself and my music to ensure that I would always be presenting progressive and improved music on stage,” said Rain.
Rain continued, “I respect my fans and genuinely thank them for purchasing such expensive albums, acknowledging my effort, and always watching over me. It was through them that I realized that I had to create and perform better music. From my youth, I remember the devastation, pain, hope, and finally bravery.”
As a message to the kids, he expressed, “Opportunity and success will come to those who wait. I believe that there is a car called Fate in life. Everyone is riding on a car of fate, just that for some, the road they’re on has traffic, which just requires a change in lane to pick up the pace again.”
Concluding the interview, he said, “I’d like to tell my juniors and everyone around me that if you work hard and wait, all of your dreams and hopes can come true.”
Source + Photos: OSEN via Naver
Recently, NS Yoon Ji got into a controversy for her revealing dress on KBS’ ‘Music Bank‘. Her dress had strips of skin color which viewers considered as revealing cut outs on the dress.
Recently, Yoon Ji tweeted and explained her dress to viewers, “I saw the comeback, people look surprise about my costume. These are not buffs nor it’s my skin!”
Yoon Ji has transformed into a blonde girl due to the concept of her new song ‘I Became a witch‘ and thats one of the reason of her bizarre costume.
Netizens commented, “She has very well transformed according to the concept” ,”She is not the type who would do such thing for publicity”
Source: Naver
Lee Hyuk of rock band Norazo has been revealed to be CHAOS‘s vocal instructor!
CHAOS recently released their debut single, “She Is Coming“, which was the result of much training by senior Lee Hyuk. Lee Hyuk is already known for his powerful, yet refreshing vocals from his fifth album, “Sales King” and through KBS‘s ‘Immortal Song 2‘. His ‘shouting technique’ in his singing has been acknowledged by fellow singers and fans.
After learning of this discovery, netizens commented, “No wonder they sing so well, they are juniors of such a senior,” “Now I want to hear how CHAOS would sing rock music,” “Hopefully CHAOS can be acknowledged for their talent like Lee Hyuk,” and “I wonder how Lee Hyuk would teach?”
If you’ve never heard Lee Hyuk belt out a song, check out a live performance video below:
Source + Photos: Star Today via Nate
It has been only eight months to the debut of these seven girls but they have proved to be no less than any other girls’ group. APink‘s debut song made a hit and commence the journey of success in Kpop. They have also been awarded as the Best New Female Artist in Mnet Music Awards 2011.
KBS’ Radio cheif producer Hong Soon Young said about their capabilities, “They seem to have the strengths of FinKL and Girls’ Generation, and the potential vocal abilities of teen singer IU.” whereas MBC’ radio chief producer Son Han Seo expects, “Because they have strong foundation in singing and dancing, expectations for their regular album are even bigger.”
They gran more attention with their rookie style targeting the people who still love 1990′s, the era of FinKL and SES, member Oh told, “Other girl groups these days tend to highlight their dancing skills and sexy looks, but our concept was an innocent and pure image. I think that’s why the audience felt comfortable with us”
The girls have high expectations and want to be like their idols. Jeong Eun Jee said that she is quite inspired to the character of Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson in ‘Dream Girls’ and believed to become like them. 17 years old Kim Nam Ju told how she encourage herself, “To boost our recognition, I think we have to build up our own musical repertoire. Frankly, we’re now on the stage to find our path in music”.
APink also told their thoughts about stage names and showed their discontent towards it, “I never thought of using a name other than the one my parents gave me. We will do our best not to tarnish our names”, said Park Cho Rang.
Source: chosun
Singer-turned-actress Hwang Jung Eum recently guested on KBS‘s ‘Star Life Theater‘, where she honestly revealed why she left the old school girl group, Sugar.
She explained, “I hated how we were called ‘Ayumi and the Idols’. I am Hwang Jung Eum, and obviously I had my own way of life. There were just too many restrictions placed upon me.”
Sugar debuted in 2002, and Hwang Jung Eum left the group after three years of promotions with them. At the time, Ayumi had been the most popular member because she had grown up in Japan and made cute Korean language mistakes which made her a variety favorite. Unfortunately for the rest of the members, they were overshadowed by her popularity.
Hwang Jung Eum also revealed that during their training process, they were cut off from contacting their parents and weren’t allowed to eat what they wanted, which all added up to her final decision to quit.
Source + Photos: Review Star via Nate
Fat Cat is back with a new music ‘Is Being Pretty Everything‘ on Music Core.
The music tackles the age-old proverb, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’, but in this case, taken in the case of love. Fat Cat asks whether beauty is the only quality necessary to become loved, and does it in a video that stuns with its visuals.
Check out their performance below!
The boys of TEEN TOP are aiming to drive their fans wild with their strong comeback song, “Going Crazy“!
On January 7th, TEEN TOP returned to Music Core with their new song, which involved a dynamic choreography that included a hip hop influence and even a jump stunt. The members are definitely ditching their ‘flower boy’ image from “Don’t Spray Perfume” for a harder, more aggressive image.
Girl group T-ara brought the house down with their debut performance of “Lovey Dovey” on tonight’s episode of ‘Music Core‘!
The girls hinted that they would be using the ‘shuffle dance’ in their choreography, but fans weren’t expecting the group to bust out a 360-degree, left-to-right movement that transformed the stage into a real dance floor.
Check out their performance below!
Actress Son Eun Seo and Super Junior’s Donghae became a couple through a blind date.
In a recent shooting of MBC’s We Got Married, Super Junior’s Eunhyuk, Donghae, Sungmin, and Kyuhyun had a blind date with four actresses who are Kang Sora’s friends. It is said that Donghae and actress Son Eun Seo ended up as a couple.
This news soon developed into a rumor that Son and Donghae would appear as a new couple on We Got Married. However, the production crew said, “The blind date was just about Kang keeping a promise with Super Junior members. It’s not about making a new couple for the program, but rather, a special feature of the show.
There are always possibilities for a new couple to be added or replace an old couple, but we’re not considering that at the moment,” being cautious over the rumor.
The episode about this blind date will soon be broadcasted.
NS Yoon-G (formerly known as NS Yoonji) has released her new mini-album, ‘Neo Spirit‘.
As the title indicates, the singer has returned with a ‘new spirit’. She’s departed from her sweet pop flavor to something more edgy and loud, a transformation that’s reflected in both her image and sound.
Decked in leather and spikes, NS Yoon-G proves she’s made a dramatic image transformation with her title track “The Reason I Became a Witch“.
Check out her comeback performance on ‘Music Core’ below.
TechCrunch has received a response from Facebook to the Electronic Privacy Information Center’s letter urging the US Federal Trade Commission to investigate Timeline for privacy violations. Facebook says it has not violated user privacy or its November settlement with the FTC. That’s because Timeline simply makes historic content more accessible, not visible to anyone who couldn’t already see it. Also, Timeline provides Activity Log for managing the visibility of this content. I agree. Facebook may be bending the rules of privacy, but it hasn’t broken them.
In response to EPIC’s call for an FTC investigation, as reported by Identity Matters, Facebook’s Director of Public Policy Andrew Noyes tells TechCrunch:
“As we explained when we announced timeline in September, and we reiterated last month when it became available worldwide, timeline doesn’t change the privacy of any content. Everything is accessible to the same people who could or likely had seen it already in their News Feed sometime in the past. In addition, timeline offers a number of new, simpler, and more effective ways for people to control their information, including activity log, the most comprehensive control tool we’ve ever developed. We think these innovations are things privacy advocates should be applauding.”
Maybe ‘applauding’ goes a bit far, but privacy critics should be satisfied that Facebook has paired easier access to content with better ways to manage it. Before Timeline launched, to reach years old content one had to click the “older posts” button over and over. Profile owners were unlikely to go to this trouble, but someone intent on running a background check or defaming them might do so. In this way, the “privacy by obscurity” that EPIC says Facebook has violated may have been more dangerous than helpful to users.
The critical clause of Facebook’s FTC settlement is that it agreed to “obtaining consumers’ express consent before their information is shared beyond the privacy settings they have established.” The fact is that migrating to Timeline does not change one’s privacy settings. Anything set to friends, friends of friends, public, or a custom setting stays that way. Therefore, EPIC’s claim that “Facebook is changing the privacy settings of its users in a way that gives the company far greater ability to disclose their personal information than in the past” is simply false.
I’m a big advocate for users combing their Timeline for embarrassing content they might wish to remove. If the FTC wants to make a recommendation about Timeline, it should ask Facebook to more actively encourage use of Activity Log. But ultimately, it should see past EPIC’s sensational claims and conclude that Timeline does not violate user privacy.
The Wonder Girls have landed in Taiwan, and apparently the hotel staff are diehard Wonderfuls.
On January 7th, Lim tweeted the following message and image: “I got a little surprise from the hotel! How sweet”
A sweet monogram treat awaited the singer in her hotel room! What do you think of Lim’s fan gift?
Source: @WG_Lim
“Feeling back to normal… Thanks for all the well wishes! G’night,” tweeted the “Shanghai Calling” actor on January 6th.
Recently, Daniel Henney had been privately ailing from the stomach flu. Just days ago, he updated fans on his recovery process via Twitter.
Source: @danielhenney
After photos from Kwon Ri Sae‘s new advertisement for a Korean bag brand were released, netizens became suspicious of the singer’s new appearance, as it seemed too different from her usual self. Many began speculating that Kwon Ri Sae might have gone under the knife.
However, Kwon’s label company slammed those suspicions down during a phone interview with OSEN.
On January 6th, a representative from the company explained, “Kwon Ri Sae is preparing hard to debut in a girl group which is why she has been losing a lot of weight. She appears different because of make-up, outfit, lighting, effects, and weight loss. It is not because of plastic surgery.”
Netizens commented, “Her face has changed so much….“, “I still think she went under the knife“, and “The photos could have been photoshopped excessively“.
Source + Photos: Osen