BoA's New Tastebuds: Start with Beer and End with Soju

BoA, who has recently reached the minimum age to legally drink in Korea and Japan has stated that she drinks on the Japanese show "Nanai-Size" in response to the question "Now that your twenty, do you drink alcohol?" She stated that she drank moderately and enjoys starting with beer and ending with the most loved alchohol drink in Korea: Soju, specifically "Cham Ee Sul" or "참이슬". BoA also stated that her ideal boyfriend would be of tall stature because she is somewhat short. Let's just hope BoA doesnt enjoy soju too much.

Source: Sports Seoul
Credits: BoA's House + kpopkingdom.com

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY YUNHO OPPA!!

SAENG IL CHUKAHAMNIDA YUNHO OPPA!

MAY YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY !

To everyone out there who are fans of our TVfXQ's U-Know YunHo, you are welcome to post your birthday shoutout to him here! Please do so! Thank youu..

It's Gonna Be U-know's Birthday!

Hey Everyone! I'm just so excited that it's gonna be Yunho oppa's Bday tomorrow! it's 9.15 pm now...another 2 hours 45 minutes to reach his bday...soon...I'll be back to post more!

Singer Ivy to Represent Reebok in Korea

Singer Ivy has been chosen to be the Korean face of global sports brand Reebok, joining other world stars representing the company including Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson, French soccer player Thierry Henry, NBA player Allen Iverson, and first Chinese NBA player Yao Ming.

Reebok said that it chose the singer as its model because it not only thought highly of her confident and stylish image but also thought that her sincerity and challenging spirit match its brand value.

Having worked as models for seven companies such as MP3 player company Iriver and LG Household and Health Care since she made her debut in 2005, Ivy will begin representing the sports company in Korea in March.

credits: KBS Global

Dramas Sweep the Top 10 Ratings List

According to AGB Nielsen Media Research, a TV ratings research company, dramas swept the top 10 list of highest rated TV programs.

The highest rating in 2006 was recorded by MBC's "Jumong," which posted 38.4% in average household ratings.

It was followed by "Famous Princess" of KBS2 with ratings of 30.2%, the daily soap operas "The Bizarre Bunch" and "Pure in Heart" of KBS1 with 29.8% and 28.5%, respectively, and the SBS weekend drama "Dear Heaven" with 28.3%.

Among entertainment shows, "Imagination Plus" of KBS2 ranked the highest at 14th place overall with 19% in ratings, followed by "Gag Concert" on KBS2 at 16th with 17% and "What an Amazing World" on SBS with 16.9%.

"News 9" of KBS1 was the highest ranking news program at 19th place with 16.9% in ratings.

Meanwhile, the average TV viewing time of Korean households in 2006 stood at 7 hours and 7 minutes, unchanged from 2005.

By channel, people watched KBS1 the most, followed by SBS, MBC, and KBS2.

credits: KBS Global

Osaka concert features Korean Wave stars

Korea Herald correspondent
OSAKA, Japan - It took about 50 minutes for the first performer to appear on stage at this charity concert titled "Hallyu Festival in Osaka," but Japanese fans of Korean pop culture never got bored while waiting.

More than 20,000 devoted fans of Korean pop and film stars packed the Osaka Dome, home to the Orix Buffaloes baseball team, on Tuesday night to see the fund-raising concert hosted by the International Vaccine Institute to help children suffering from infectious diseases. The institute is a Seoul-based organization dedicated to improving human health through research on preventive medicine.

The concert, which was preceded by a program to promote the institute and its activities, turned out to be a huge success thanks to the amazing popularity of the all-star lineup of Hallyu stars.


Song Seung-hun (left) and Jun Jin appear on stage
during the Hallyu Festival in Osaka on Tuesday night

Jun Jin, a member of the popular six-man group Shinhwa, broke the ice with songs from his first solo album released in November, including "Love Never Comes Easy (Sarangi Ojianayo)." "It's so pleasant to come back to Osaka a year after my last visit," Jun said.

Almost every time the Shinhwa man said something on the stage, he ended it by whispering "aishiteru ("I love you" in Japanese)," which made his already loyal Japanese fans love him more.

After Jun's performance, Kangta, a former member of the now-defunct boyband, H.O.T., was onstage to present his trademark voice through a rendition of Richard Marx's "Now and Forever" as well as his past hits. He was followed by the showcase of Meilin, a young Korean female singer who dreams of being the "next BoA" in Japan, with her debut album, "Save My Soul" scheduled to come out next month.

Top R&B Trio SG Wanna Be stole the show with their loud-yet-sensitive vocal delivery, while Lee Min-woo (also known as M), another Shinhwa member, fascinated the audience with his energetic dance movements and charismatic stage presence. The biggest star of the concert, however, was not a singer.

By simply waving his right hand and smiling on the stage, actor Song Seung-hun made his Japanese fans go wild. It seemed like the whole concert was his, although he did nothing but stand still and say a few very formal, polite remarks for his fans and the IVI, the host of the event.

"Every time I think about my fans in Japan, I feel grateful for the steadfast love you have showed me even when I served my military duty for more than two years," said the star best known for his nice guy roles in such hit soap operas as "Summer Scent" and "Law Firm."

What the concert confirmed was the continuing popularity of the Korean entertainers in Japan. It proved again that fielding "Hallyu stars" is the surest way to guarantee success of charity and other promotional events in Asia.

But perhaps a more efficient way of conducting "Hallyu star promotion" is that the stars do what they can do best and are not asked to play too much of promotional role during such events.

"I thought I could see more of Song Seung-hun," said Yoshida Yukari, a 35-year-old Japanese woman. Her Korean friend, who wanted to remain anonymous, said it would have been better to hear something more personal from Song.


Source: By Lee Yong-sung @koreaherald
Credit: kpopkingdom.com

Joo Ji Hoon and Shin Min Ah costar with Uhm Tae Woong in KBS2 drama "The Devil (마왕, 魔王)"

Joo Ji Hoon (주지훈, 25) and Shin Min Ah (신민아) will costar with Uhm Tae Woong (33) in the Wednesday-Thursday drama “The Devil (마왕, 魔王)” scheduled to be aired by KBS2 on 3/21. Both will play difficult and rarely seen characters.

JJH plays the serial killer Seung Ho (승호) disguised as a lawyer. Seung Ho lost his family and grew up in sad and unfortunate environment. He studied hard and became a lawyer. However, he turns into a serial killer in order to take revenge on some people. SMA plays a person of “Psychometry (사이코메트리)” which is the ability of divining information about people or events associated with an object solely by touching or being near to it. SMA’s previous drama was “A Love to Kill”, and JJH’s latest drama was “Palace”.

credits: sports.hankooki + mydaily + soompi.com

Kim Jung-Hoon Cast as a Bad Guy in the New Drama

Kim Jung-Hoon, who decided to stop his studies at Seoul National University Dental School to become an entertainer, is putting on the white gown after all. The new SBS Wednesday Thursday drama ‘Manyeo Yuhui’, will be broadcasted, starring Kim Jung-Hoon as a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon.

Kim Jung-Hoon entered Seoul National University Dental School in 1998, but withdrew from the university in 2003 after finishing 4 semesters to pursue a career as a singer/actor full-time. He declared several leave of absences as a registered student while he was a member of the popular music group UN with Choi Jung-Won.

After his singing career with UN, Kim Jung-Hoon transferred to Chung-ang University College of Arts as a third-year student of the Department of Theater, during which he was suddenly cast for a part in the drama 'Goong (Princess Hours)' which is based on a comic book he had enjoyed reading. Therefore it was not a hard decision to make; Kim Jung Hoon soon agreed to participate in the drama, which became his first serious role as an actor. Kim Jung-Hoon previously appeared in the movies 'DMZ', 'Kkabulgima', etc. However, as he recalled his acting experience prior to the drama 'Goong' he revealed, “Back then I didn’t feel like I was acting, but rather that I was faithfully fulfilling my daily schedule. It was the drama ‘Gung’ which made me realize that gave me more of a desire to become an actor. I knew then that I must follow my heart.”

In the upcoming drama 'Manyeo Yuhui', Kim Jung-Hoon plays a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon who is rivals with Jae-Hee. They both try and in the heart of Han Ga-In. His character Yu Jun-Ha, is the female character Ma Yu-Hui’s (played by Han Ga-In) first love. Yu Jun-Ha is a cold-hearted character who is capable of betraying his most precious love for success.

Though Yu Jun-Ha is an ambitious two-faced character, he is a bad guy in the sense that his weakness stems from his strong desire for success. In order to play this character role, he is working out to tone down his soft gentle image 2 hours everyday to build a more muscular physique. He is also dieting to make his face look slimmer for a sharper, masculine image. Kim Jung-Hoon is trying in everyway possible to get ready for this new transformation of playing a 'bad boy' character, and with all his efforts his fans are looking forward to seeing not only his acting, but this new fresh image.

credits: Tour2Korea
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Jung-Hoon's casting as bad boy this time. Can't wait to see his acting as a bad boy.

Lee Dong Gun, Lee HyoRi, Jung Joon Ho to lead drama “Perhaps Love (사랑한다면 이들처럼)”

Lee Dong Gun and Jung Joon Ho will costar with Lee Hyo Ri in the 2-episode drama “Perhaps Love (사랑한다면 이들처럼)” scheduled to be aired by cable channel "TV Mnet" around the end of February.

LDG plays the role Jung Tae (정태) who manages activities for a rookie singer played by Lee Hyo Ri. The roles played by LDG and JJH fall in love with the heroine.

The production cost of this drama is around 5 billion Won. Other actors including Lee Bum Soo, Ha Suk Jin, Jung Eun Taek and Jung Chul (이범수, 하석진, 정운택, 정철) will also act in this drama. The filming is scheduled to start on 2/3 near Seoul and would last for 20 days. The PD is Cha Eun Taek (차은택) who has collaborated with LHR in CFs such as “Any Motion” and “Any Club”. LDG’s previous drama was “Smile Again (2006)”, and LHR’s was “Three Leaf Clover (2005)”.

credits: spn.chosun + sports.hankooki + mydaily + soompi.com

TVXQ, Super Junior Recognized at Thai Music Awards

The five-man band TVXQ has received the Best Asian Singer Award at the 2nd Seed Awards held at Bec Tero Hall in Bangkok, Thailand on Wednesday. Another Korean band, Super Junior, received the Best New Asian Singer Award.

TVXQ failed to attend the award ceremony due to previously planned activities in Japan, but Super Junior did attend, receiving a warm welcome from local fans. The band performed its hit songs--including “Miracle” and “Tic! Toc!”--at the event.

credits: KBS Global
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Congrats to Dong Bang and Super Junior!!