K-popped! Passionate about Korean pop culture: June 2007

Saturday, 30 June 2007

I’m a Cyborg, but That’s OK (2006)

싸이보그지만 괜찮아
(Premiered at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival)

Director:
Park Chan-wook

Starring:
Im Su-jung
Jung Ji-hoon

This film is not one which would come over to our cinemas here in Malaysia. This film is not one that is commercially successful. This film is brought to you by one of Korea's most highly acclaimed directors - Park Chan-wook. He is internationally renowned for his vengeance trilogy.

It tells about the quirky romance/friendship between two mental patients. It is weird yet sweet. The movie is a delight to the eyes as director Park uses pastels and bright colours intermixed to create beautiful cinematography.

Watch it if you are looking for something different. Watch it if you are a Park Chan-wook fan - after all, he's one famous director! Watch it if you are a Jung Ji-hoon fan - this is his movie debut! Watch it because of Im Su-jung - she is one versatile actress. She received an award for her work in A Tale of Two Sisters.

Keep reading >>

Rain on buses and planes

What's with Rain and vehicles. First Korean Air puts his picture on a plane, then Nikon slaps him on buses! If you spot Rain's pic on any other vehicles...a train, a car, a put-put (or tut tut or whatever), do send the pic to 2kpopped@gmail.com so we may add it to our collection. :-)

Keep reading >>

Friday, 29 June 2007

Uhm Jung-hwa (엄정화)

According to the Korean press, the 36-year-old singer/actress is South Korea’s answer to Madonna. She was an icon in the 90s and was dubbed “sexy queen”. She hasn’t lost her mojo and is still regarded as the sexiest star in Korea.

In 2006, a revealing outfit (is that your underwear showing, dear?) she wore during a performance for her latest album, Prestige, caused a furore among Koreans. She was harshly criticised for it.

In her latest flick, Seducing Mr. Perfect (Mr. 로빈 꼬시기) she starred opposite Korean-American hunk, Daniel Henney.

Meet the sexy lady:

Name: Uhm Jung-hwa
Date of birth: Aug 17, 1971
Height: 164cm
Weight: 48kg
Blood type: A

Movies:

Seducing Mr. Robin/ Seducing Mr. Perfect (2006)
My Piano (2006)
Princess Aurora (2005)
My Lovely Week (2005)
Mr. Handy (2004)
Singles (2003)
Marriage is a Crazy Thing (2002)
How to Top My Wife (1994)
Blue Seagull (1994)
On a Windy Day We Must Go to Apgujeong (1993)

Albums:

Only Korean albums listed

D.I.S.C.O (2008)
Prestige (2006)
Self Control (2004)
화 (2001)
Queen of Charisma (2000)
05.1999.06 (1999)
Invitation (1998)
후애 (1997)
슬픈기대 (1996)
Sorrowful Secret (1993)

Keep reading >>

Arirang TV - Korea's Global TV

Here in Malaysia, we do not have a dedicated Korean channel. :-( We just made some adjustments to our satellite TV package so we can get more Asian entertainment news. Yeah we got Wah Lai Toi so now we have TVB8 and err...the rest that comes with WLT. With it comes Pops in Seoul as my sister has blogged about in her entry.

I was in Singapore recently and at the hotel, i got to watch Arirang - Korea's Global TV. I was so excited and watched only this channel the entire time i was in Singapore.

Here's a list of the programmes i caught:

Current Affairs
Arirang News
Korea Today

Culture
Heart to Heart
Art & Soul
Let's Speak Korean

Entertainment
Pops in Seoul
Showbiz Extra

Arirang TV's tagline: Korea for the World, the World for Korea

Let's Speak Korean on Arirang TV

Keep reading >>

Spring Fever (2003)

Korean title: 봄날의 곰을 좋아하세요 ? (Bom-nal-eui Gom-eul Jong-a-ha-se-yo?) which translates to Do You Like Spring Bear?

What’s popping:

I must confess, I’ve only watched snippets of the movie because it is usually screened at some ungodly hour – 12am! 4am!

It was shown on Astro throughout June, but the TV guide shows that the flick will also be playing in July.

From what I’ve seen, the rom-com revolves around a library book with a love note in it, a girl (배두나) pining for the “love note” author and her guy friend (김남진) who wants to be more than friends ;-). Umm, what has the flick got to do with bears? Anyone knows?

The plot:

Hyun-choi (Bae Doo-na) has been dumped countless times because of her tough chick persona. One day, she discovers a note in her library book and is obsessed with finding who the author of the message is (whoo hoo, must be some message). She begins her search, and even neglects the attention she receives from her guy friend, Dong-ha (Kim Nam-jin).

Watch it:

Astro KIRANA (Channel 23)
July 8, 21 and 28 (check the TV guide for the exact times)
Korean with Bahasa Malaysia subtitles
August 8 (1am), 12 (1pm), 19 (7pm), 23 (7am)

Keep reading >>

Learning Korean

So you want to read Korean? You don’t have to understand all that you’re reading (you’d need an expansive vocab for that), but being able to read simple words like 김치, 라면, 사랑해, 안녕하세요 or your favourite star’s name in Hangeul would impress the pants off your friends! Well, OK, maybe not.

Anyway, we have been attempting to learn the language and stumbled upon these very helpful sites:

Learn Korean Language

12 free lessons
Take all of them and reading Hangeul would not be a problem
You’d also be able to make simple sentences, but it would mostly be about eating, drinking or going to school
If you like the free lessons, you can go for the premium content = $$$
선생: Russell Holloway

Sogang Korean Program

It has audio and notes for each lesson
I’ve only gone through four lessons from its Novice Korean I section where I learnt how to go: 리스 입니다. 나는 말레이시아 사람이에요. 여러분, 만나서 반가워요. ;-)
They have lessons from introductory level to intermediate!

The online dictionary is useful!
Learn about the history of Hangeul
Familiarise yourself with the alphabets

Tour2Korea: Language

Since it is a tourism site, it has useful phrases for tourists
You won’t learn much about the Korean alphabets though

Keep reading >>

TRIVIA: Who is half Korean?

(A) Rihanna

(B) Amerie

(C) Beyoncé

Who among these gorgeous pop divas is half Korean? Click on the COMMENT link below to find out.

Keep reading >>

Thursday, 28 June 2007

My boyfriend is type-B (2004)

B형 남자친구
(B-hyung nam-ja chin-gu)

Director:
Choi Seok-won (최석원)

Cast:
Lee Dong-geon (이동건)
Han Ji-hye (한지혜)

Wow, this movie was released way back in 2004 but i am only watching it now. :-)

How come we like things that are bad for us? Like if you want to loose weight, you order deep-fried fish & chips for dinner instead of the healthy salad. (okay okay, maybe you don't do that, but i do!). Too much chocolates is bad for you but you just go at it like there's no tomorrow.

Lee Dong-geon or Lee Dong-gun (BTW...both refers to the same guy lar. It's just the romanization. If you want to be precise, just call him 이동건) plays a jerk in this movie. He lets his women wait, asks them to foot the bill, sells them out to other people...you get the gist. But then he is cute and sweet sometimes. He is naughty AND nice! Sigh. So Han Ji-hye is at odds with herself. Should she give him a chance?

The movie is so-so only for me. But it wasn't a chore to watch either. It is rather cute. If you are a Lee Dong-gun fan, then it's a must watch.

By the way, both the leads are currently a hot item in Korea. Check out Awww, what a cute couple for details.

Keep reading >>

Super Junior (슈퍼주니어)

Wow, can you believe it? Super Junior (or SuJu for short) is a K-pop boyband with more members than a football (soccer, if you are American) team! This 13-member group is under the SM Entertainment label in Korea.

The mega-group debuted with 12 members on Nov 6, 2005 with their first single Twins. Eleven of them were Korean while one was Chinese, a talent unearthed after an extensive search in China.

But why stop at a dozen when you can have 13 members? And so, SM Entertainment proudly announced another addition to the group on May 23, 2006. Lucky number 13?

Most of the members were either acting, VJ-ing or modelling prior to joining the group, and to this day, they still enjoy a career apart from SuJu. The burning question right now is: can they sing?

I personally have not listened to them but apparently, they have been criticised for lip-synching and below par vocals. I’m sure one out of the 13 can carry a tune, right? You just need one really good singer and the rest can do back-up vocals and dance. ;-P

Here’s the list of SuJu members:

Lee-teuk (the leader!)
Hee-chul
Han Geng (the Chinese dude!)
Ye-sung
Kang-in
Shin-dong
Sung-min
Eun-hyuk
Dong-hae
Si-won
Ryeo-wook
Ki-bum
Kyu-hyun (latest addition!)

Album:

Sorry, Sorry (2009)
Don't Don (2007)
Super Junior 05 (2005)

Purchase:
Super Junior : The First Asia Tour Concert Album - Super Show

Keep reading >>

Rain & the Nikon D80

I am so pleased. :-)

Take a good look at the Nikon camera Rain is holding in the picture below. It looks just like the Nikon analog SLR (single lens reflex) camera i own! Sigh...it looks like it only, but it ain't the same. The one below is the ten megapixel Nikon D80 (digital-SLR).

I just love the Nikon SLRs. It has this classic, timeless look and feels great in your hands.

Anyway, Rain just shot a very nice commercial for Nikon Imaging Korea earlier this month. He went all the way to India to do it and the commercial looks like it was shot at the banks of the Ganges River!

Nikon Korea commercial shot in India

The Making

Currently, these are the top 3 digital camera brands in South Korea.

Samsung
Canon
Nikon (previously, Nikon was at 6th place. But sales boosted since they signed up Rain to endorse their products!)

Keep reading >>

Korean flicks in Malaysia

This is a rant, so you can skip this entry and move on to other more informative Korean stuff.

A friend of mine, who is in the local movie-distributing industry, once told me that Korean movies usually flop in Malaysia.

Unless it’s a mega smash hit like Taegukgi (태극기), The Host (괴물) or 200 Pounds Beauty (미녀는 괴로워), the film won’t be picked up by local distributors. Thus for all Rain fans, now you know why I’m a Cyborg, but That’s OK (싸이보그지만 괜찮아) didn’t make it to our shores.

Nonetheless, the VCDs/DVDs are still imported so you can actually watch the films but on the small screen.

Keep reading >>

200 Pounds Beauty (2006)

Korean title: 미녀는 괴로워
(Mi-nyeo-neun Goi-ro-wa)

Director: Kim Yong-hwa (김용화)
Screenplay: Noh Hye-yeong (노혜영)

Cast:
Kim Ah-joong (김아중)
Joo Jin-mo (주진모)

This movie was screened here in Malaysia recently. Not many Korean movies make it to the big screen on our shores. But this one did. It's very watchable as both leads look absolutely fabulous! (Although, somewhat "unnatural" - if you get what i mean. Like some correction has been done somewhere.)

Kim Ah-joong is Hanna in the movie. Hanna is an overweight and physically unattractive woman who has a good heart and sweet voice. Men love her voice. You could say that she has it all - except in the looks department. Later, she transforms herself into a stunning beauty via plastic surgery and the "package" is complete. But what would the man of her dreams do when he finds out that she is not 100% natural?

Watch the movie to find out!

* Check out Kim Ah-joong's before & after pics on PopSeoul

Keep reading >>

Face of the ideal young Korean male

I have been told that plastic surgery is highly popular in South Korea. Well, that's news to me and i don't think it is that popular here in Malaysia. I still have the nose i was born with...and haven't had any surgery whatsoever to change my looks. But it has become the norm in Korea...so much that "natural beauties" are a high commodity.

According to a story on The Chosun Ilbo (Korea's No. 1 newspaper), a plastic surgeon has revealed that the face of the ideal young Korean male consists of bits and pieces of 16 Korean wave stars. These stars are not only popular in Korea, but also in China and Japan.

Okay, here's the list of 16 Korean wave male stars...whom people most want to look like:

Kang Dong-won
Kwon Sang-woo
Kim Rae-won
Mun Jeong-hyeok
Bae Yong-joon
Jung Ji-hoon
Song Il-gook
Won Bin
Lee Wan
Jang Dong-gun
Jae Hee
Cho In-sung
Jo Hyun-jae
Ji Seong
Ji Jin-hee
Hyun Bin

To tell the truth, i only know Jung Ji-hoon (of course...he's Bi/Rain!) and Jang Dong-gun. I know of the latter because he is the other model who endorses clothes for Giordano in South Korea.

Liz, you know who these other male stars are? Are all of them "natural"? Or have they some kind of work done to their faces before?

Keep reading >>

Wednesday, 27 June 2007

Korean fashion in Malaysia

Have you ever wondered where to buy Korean made handbags and fashion accessories (necklaces, pendants, jewels, hair clips, hair bands etc.) here in good ole Kuala Lumpur / Petaling Jaya?

Well, look no further. There's this shop called Orioli and they sell Korean stuff! There's a branch in Bangsar Village II and i have spotted another outlet in 1 Utama Shopping Centre.

The one in 1 Utama is in the old wing, near Jaya Jusco.

Typical to Korean fashion, they have chunky key chains, which you attach to your handbags or mobile phones.

Before, i thought these huge "soft toys" or "fuzzy pom-pom like balls" attached to the mobile phone or handbag looks tacky. But now i think otherwise. Some of them are rather nice and it ads that extra 'pop' to your accessories. My sister calls it "accessory for your accessory" (get it?).

I saw one that really matched my new handbag and it cost close to RM20.

Learn Korean:

유행 - fashion, fashionable

Keep reading >>

The Host (2006)

Korean title: 괴물 (Goi-mool)

What’s popping:

This flick won big at the inaugural Asian Film Awards held in Hong Kong in March this year. It bagged four trophies: Best Film, Best Actor (Song Kang-ho), Best Cinematographer (Kim Hyung-koo) and Best Visual Effects (The Orphanage)! There were only 10 award categories.

In this monster movie, the focus on family unity is unmistakable and you’re bound to sympathise with the imperfect protagonist played by Song Kang-ho (송강호). The dark humour is hilarious – check out the mourning scene, how can tragedy be so funny? Genius!

Also, you don’t have to wait long before getting an eyeful of the monster as you’re introduced to it almost from the get go!

The plot:

Irresponsible dumping of formaldehyde creates a monster that rises out of the Han River. It snatches a girl named Hyun-seo, and when the authorities are unwilling to help the family find her, they band together and do whatever it takes to get her back.

Watch it:

It played at local cineplexes last year so the only way you’ll get to watch it now is by getting the DVD.

Keep reading >>

Tuesday, 26 June 2007

Happy Erotic Christmas (2003)

Korean title: 해피 에로 크리스마스 (Hae-pi E-ro Keu-ri-seu-ma-seu)

What’s popping:

Now don’t get too excited over the title of the flick. If it can be shown on Malaysian TV, nothing naughty is going to happen. This comedy stars Cha Tae-hyun (차태현) and Kim Sun-ah (김선아).

The show’s pretty entertaining and the leads are cute. At the heart of the story is a love triangle of sorts between a mob boss, a policeman and a girl working at a bowling alley.

The plot:

Ever since he was a wee lad, Byung-ki (Cha Tae-hyun) wanted to be a policeman. Now that he is one, he finds himself assigned to trivial tasks such as distributing promotional leaflets.

One day, he meets Min-kyong (Kim Sun-ah), an employee at the local bowling alley, and falls for her at first sight. His lame attempts to woo her go unnoticed because the local mob boss is also vying for her attention, but for a very nefarious reason.

Watch it:

Astro KIRANA (Channel 23)
Dates: July 2, 7, 16, 28, 30
Korean with Bahasa Malaysia subtitles; the toggle function doesn't work here.

Keep reading >>

Song Hye-kyo (송혜교)

At the time of writing, HanCinema names the angelic-looking Song Hye-kyo as the most wanted actress in Korea. Yes, she of that All In, Autumn Fairy Tale and Full House fame.

Her latest movie, Hwang-jini (황진이), was released earlier this month in Korea. In the period drama, Hye-kyo plays the titular character, who is a Chosun-era gisaeng.

On the personal front, the 25/26-year-old (apparently, she has an “official” and an “unofficial” birth date) was in a high profile relationship with her All In co-star, Lee Byung-hun (이병헌). The pair took their onscreen romance offscreen, but it bit the dust in less than a year.

She is also known for being a natural beauty, i.e. she didn’t do any nipping or tucking to look the way she does.

Check out her mini-profile:

Name: Song Hye-kyo
Date of birth: Nov 22, 1981 but registered on Feb 26, 1982 (where do they get these information!)
Blood type: A
Height: 156cm
Weight: 45kg

Movies:

Make Yourself at Home (2008)
Hwangjiny (2007)
My Girl and I (2005)

TV series:

The World they Live in (2008)
Full House (2004)
Sunlight Pours Down (2004)
All In (2003)
Guardian Angel (2001)
Hotelier (2001)
Autumn Tale (2000)
Soon Poong Clinic (1999, sitcom)
Sweet Bride (1999)
What Do You Think of Me (1998)
White Nights 3.98 (1998)
Deadly Eyes (1998)
Parade (1998)
One of a Pair (aka Partner) (1998)
Six Siblings (1998)
First Love (1996)
Happy Morning (1996)

Keep reading >>

Monday, 25 June 2007

Kim Sung-su (김성수)

The Net doesn’t have much news on the handsome Mr. Kim except that he was in Osaka, Japan on June 24 for a fan meeting.

Malaysians know him from his role in Full House (2004), where he played the debonair Yu Min-heok, the other guy who makes a play for Han Ji-eun’s (Song Hye-kyo) affections.

I think the drama Lawyers showed on local TV recently, but it was at the ungodly hour of 7am! Who gets up to watch a drama that early in the morning?

Anyway, Mr. Kim is a hottie and here’s his mini-profile:

Name: Kim Sung-su
Date of birth: May 23, 1975
Blood type: B
Height: 185cm
Weight: 77kg
Marital status: Single

Movies:

Monopoly (2006)
The Red Shoes (2005)
Please Teach Me English (2003) – Call me! I’m at 01235898xx :-P
The Sweet Sex And Love (2003)

TV dramas:

My Precious Child/ My Beloved Children (2008)
Bad Love (2007)
My Sister (2006)
Lawyers (2005)
Stained Glass (2004)
Full House (2004)
Say You Love Me (2004) – OK, I *heart* you

Keep reading >>

And the lawsuits keep on coming

We thought we could put this topic to rest but apparently, the weather forecast still isn’t looking that good for Rain. After shrugging off that burdensome lawsuit filed by one Rain Corporation, the Energizer Bunny is hit with yet another lawsuit.

Hawaii-based Click Entertainment Inc. alleges that the Energizer Bunny and his South Korea-based producers, JYP Entertainment Co. and Star M Entertainment, defrauded it of more than US$500,000 in licensing fees and other costs.

The company is now claiming that the promoters had no intention whatsoever to stage the concert in the first place.

“There seemed to be just a number of ... acts of bad faith that we have concluded in all likelihood that the people did not have the capacity to provide the entertainer or never intended to do so but took the money,” said Eric Seitz, one of the lawyers who filed the suit, in a news conference recently.

Apart from that, POPSEOUL! reports that fans in Toronto are outraged by the bounced cheques they received as ticket refunds. Whoa, when it Rain(s), it pours, huh?

The path leading to the US is turning out to be a really rocky one for the Energizer Bunny. All the best, Birthday Boy (it's his birthday today!)…and 화이팅!.

Keep reading >>

Korean accessories at Changi Airport

Spotted - a shop selling exclusively Korean made accessories at Singapore's Changi Airport.

The shop is called Mini-Bits and they sell all sorts of accessories, ranging from hair clips, furry fuzzy scrunchies, hairbands, necklaces, bracelets, leather straps for the neck, broaches, earrings etc.

Nowadays, thin hairbands are in. I had a tough time finding nice ones here in Malaysia. But they have really pretty and dainty hairbands at Mini-Bits. They also have bands with coloured gem stones on it. A hairband cost around S$10.50.

They also carry a wide selection of hair clips and of all sorts of colours. You can buy cute and pretty clips for your little girls here at an affordable price.

The necklaces are very pretty too.

Keep reading >>

Save the turtles with The Cross

Pop rock duo The Cross will be in town to promote their album, perform at The Summer Live Concert 2007 in Ipoh and do their bit for the environment with a Save the Marine Turtles charity campaign.

On Aug 11, the duo – made up of Lee Si-ha and Kim Kyung-hyun – will be part of the line up at the Summer Live Concert. The following day, the band will be appearing at Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur.

Also planned for the pair is The Cross Summer Camp where the duo and their fans will participate in a Save the Marine Turtles campaign. Details are sketchy at the moment but you can get more information from:

Name: Izalee

E-mail: eeza@kpopkingdom.com

Website: www.kpopkingdom.com

Keep reading >>

Bibimbap (비빔밥)

I tried Bibimbap recently. It's a popular yet simple Korean dish. Bibimbap literally means "mixed rice". It is served as a bowl of rice topped with seasoned/sauteed/fresh vegetables, beef or chicken, a fried egg and gochujang (chili bean paste).

Here's what it looks like. You are supposed to mix everything up before eating. But i did not do that. I just ate it like how we eat rice and dishes.

In Korean households, the dish is made out of left over rice, vegetables and meat. Guess we know how this dish originated.

Keep reading >>

Friday, 22 June 2007

BoA (보아)

A heavyweight in the Korean entertainment industry, BoA has many awards and albums neatly tucked under her belt; all extremely impressive achievements for someone who is barely 21!

This young lady, who debuted at 13, has already released 10 full-length albums, three mini-albums, two compilation albums, two remix albums and over 30 singles in Japan and Korea. Phew! Suddenly I feel like a useless dinosaur.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the one, and only BoA:

Name: Kwon Boa (권보아)

Date of birth: Nov 5, 1986

Languages spoken: Korean, Japanese & English

Height: 160cm

Weight: 45kg

Blood type: AB

Religion: Catholic

Family: Parents, two older brothers & a sister

Debuted: Aug 25, 2000

Albums:

ID; Peace B (2000)
Listen to My Heart (2002)
No.1 (2002)
Valenti (2003)
Atlantis Princess (2003)
Love and Honesty (2004)
My Name (2004)
Girls on Top (2005)
Outgrow (2006)
Made in Twenty (20) (2007)
The Face (2008)

My goodness, two albums per year for three consecutive years? The singing machine blogs at http://blog.oricon.co.jp/boa/ but it’s all in Japanese. However, she loves photography and has uploaded some interesting pics there.

Keep reading >>

Alone in Love (2006)

Korean title: 연애시대 (Yeon-ae-si-dae)

What’s popping:

Locally, it’s shown at an hour catered for housewives. Who else would be at home at 2pm?

This 16-episode drama stars Kam Woo-seong (감우성) and Son Ye-jin (손예진).

The plot:

Eun-ho and Dong-jin meet, marry and then divorce…but they are still in love with each other. Prepare tissues.

Watch it:

NTV7 (free TV!)
2 to 3pm
I tried to get into the NTV7 website to check the days, but the site’s down. Hit the link to try, if you want.

Keep reading >>

Tree in Heaven (2006)

Korean title: 천국의 나무 (Cheon-gook-eui Na-moo)

What’s popping:

The drama starts June 26 (next Tuesday) on 8TV!

Back in 2003, Lee Wan (이완) and Park Shin-hye (박신혜) appeared as the younger counterparts of the leads in Stairway to Heaven. They were so well-liked by the audience that producer Lee Jang-soo decided to do a follow-up of that drama with Tree in Heaven, casting Lee Wan and Shin-hye as the leads.

The romance drama is a collaboration with a Japanese production company. It was entirely shot in the land of the rising sun and the Korean actors even had some Japanese dialogues.

The plot:

Hana is a bright and optimistic Japanese teenager. When her mother remarries a Korean man, she tries to establish a connection with her eccentric stepbrother Yun Suh. He dislikes her initially, but eventually warms up to the charming girl.

The pair becomes even closer when their parents leave for their honeymoon, leaving them with their spiteful aunt and cousin Maya. Also, Yun Suh starts to develop feelings for Hana, who then leaves for Tokyo with her admirer Asahi Uchida right after graduating high school. She loses contact with Yun Suh, they live separate lives…but are thrown together again, along with Maya, years later.

Watch it:

8TV (free TV, yay!)
7 to 8pm
Monday to Friday from June 26 onwards
Mandarin with Bahasa Malaysia subtitles (hey, it’s on 8TV. That’s the only combination they have)

Keep reading >>

Clear skies for Rain

The lawsuit has been dropped (yeah, down with that Rain Band from Nevada) and Rain (비) has the greenlight to use his moniker for all concerts staged in the US of A. Hey, it's the Land of the Free after all!

Star M, the company organising Rain's I'm Coming World Tour, announced that the US court dismissed the lawsuit filed against the Korean superstar from using the stage name "Rain" for his US concerts. The Rain Corporation is a company that...ah, we don't really care, do we?

Due to the legal dispute over the moniker, the US leg of Rain's concert - initially scheduled to kick-off mid-June in Hawaii - had to be postponed.

A representative of Star M said: "The US concerts are already postponed so we are discussing the new dates (for Atlanta, New York and San Francisco), and will release the new schedule once it is decided."

Rain, whom I'd like to dub the Energizer Bunny because he doesn't stop working, will perform at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles on June 30. Right after that, he'll be in Berlin, Germany to shoot his new flick Speed Racer, which is directed by the Wachowski brothers.

The other US concert dates will probably be in October.

비 화이팅!

Keep reading >>

Thursday, 21 June 2007

Love Truly (2006)

Korean title: 진짜 진짜 좋아해 (Jin-jja Jin-jja Joh-ah-hae), which actually translates to Really, Really Like You

What’s popping:

There are so many Korean drama series on local TV these days I’m having trouble keeping up with them!

This one just kicked-off last night (June 20)! It looks promising and it involves a country chick named Bong-soon, the President’s son – who is a doctor – named Joon-won and a whole lot of Secret Service-type men.

In the first episode, Joon-won falls off a cliff (I think, as I missed that part) and is found by the innocent and sweet Bong-soon. She nurses him using traditional methods, which Joon-won thinks is rather silly…and smelly ;-).

A subplot revolves around a Secret Service-type agent named Bong-ki, whom we see having no problems using his authority to meet chicks. Also, the President just discovers that his son has gone missing. You’ve got to stay tuned for more.

The series stars Yoo Jin (유진), Lee Min-ki (이민기) and Ryoo Jin (류진).

The plot:

Bong-soon and her “grandmother” live in the hills (literally) and when the latter passes away, the young lady moves to Seoul to look for her parents. She finds a job at the President’s Blue House canteen and later, in the Blue House kitchen.

She falls for the President’s son, Joon-won, who is actually already married with a five-year-old! But his wife suffers from dementia.

However, Bong-soon has an admirer of her own, in the form of Bong-ki, one of the President’s security agents.

Wah, love triangle! Who gets the girl in the end?

Watch it:

8TV (free TV, yay!)
8.30 to 9.30pm
Monday to Friday from June 20 onwards
Mandarin with Bahasa Malaysia subtitles (bummer!)

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The Cross to perform in Ipoh

Korean male duo The Cross is scheduled to perform at The Summer Live Concert 2007 on Aug 11.

The music extravaganza, which has a line-up of local and international artistes, is organised by 8TV. It will be held at Padang Ipoh, Perak. Admission is FREE.

The Cross is a rock band.

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