Lee Byung Hun 이병헌 Byunghun Lee

[Guest huangsy]

http://kr.news.yahoo.com/service/news/shel...d=487&nav=1

Rain and Lee Byung Hun, with cameo appearance by Kim Jae Dong 김제동, Jung Woo Sung and Song Kang Ho, in a documentary promoting Seoul as 'Romantic Seoul' and shows the Seoul that stars live in, including sidewalk food stalls on the street.

Will air on Discovery channel in Australia in Jan, SE Asia in Feb and Europe in May.

1월에는 호주 지역, 2월에는 동남아시아, 5월에는 유럽 지역에서 방영된다.

Another news with VOD

http://kr.news.yahoo.com/service/news/shel...122212525475075

[rubie]

^ Thanks so much for the Discovery - Hip Korea update, Huang.. appreciate it so much. Looks like BH has been busy filming this, no wonder he's so quiet. Wow.. Romantic Seoul.. huh.. perfect choice, indeed! :blush:

Sobsob!.. more than ever now .. I wished I had Astro (paidTV that airs Discovery in Malaysia). Ching.. you have Astro? I gotta tell Omma Butterfly how lucky she is. Her faves .. both of them are being featured in the Discovery programme.

The schedule is really helpful, excellent info! Savvy.. Savvy!

[melusine]

Just sharing Section TV's short clip on the Director's CUT Awards:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naM8vz2r_u4] [MegaUpload] [SendSpace] [MediaFire]

Around the 00:00:08 mark, you can see ByungHun deep in conversation with Jung WooSung, with hand gestures to match.^^ He's also at the slightly rowdy () group photo-op at the very end.

[Guest valley girl]

wow both is Sexy thanks melusine !!,, kk JWS and LBH

wow both is Sexy thanks melusine !!,, kk JWS and LBH

[rubie]

Just sharing Section TV's short clip on the Director's CUT Awards:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naM8vz2r_u4] [MegaUpload] [SendSpace] [MediaFire]

Around the 00:00:08 mark, you can see ByungHun deep in conversation with Jung WooSung, with hand gestures to match.^^ He's also at the slightly rowdy () group photo-op at the very end.

So good to see you at the thread, melusine-ssi.. bringing such awesome sharing. Didn't realize there's a clip from the Director's CUT award, how fabulous is that :blush: especially when our NomNomNom gathered to cheer for Dr. Kim, no perfect reason needed to celebrate!

Gosh.. my dl is now stuck at 68% .. nonono.. the link is alright.. it's the connection that crawls backwards. But thanks so much for the wonderful sharing, will post this up to share at the blog.. lotsa Hunnie treat, yupyup!

Just watched the clip.. hohoho! Byunghun-ssi was so engrossed in telling JWS about something. The younger Nom was seen so intently listening as well.

[rubie]

Watch out for Byunghun's SEOUL SAVVY!

December 22, 2008

Discovery to air film on Seoul

The Discovery Channel in the United States will broadcast a documentary about the main attractions in Seoul.

Seoul City officials said the production team from the Discovery Channel had completed filming of the Han River, Namsan, Myeong-dong, Hongdae, and other popular sights. The documentary will be included in a series of documentaries about travel destinations set to begin in January of next year.

The documentary titled, "Hip Korea," will be divided into two parts and will feature Rain and Lee Byung-hun as hosts.

The first segment, hosted by Rain, will be titled, "Seoul Vibes," while Lee's will be titled, "Seoul Savvy." Each segment will last 45 minutes.

Rain will cover Hongdae, Cheongdam-dong, and the Cheonggye stream, seeking to portray a dynamic city alive with energy. Lee will cover the up-market Apgujeong district, Insa-dong, and Samcheong-dong focusing on the "tranquil and romantic aura of the city."

Seoul City officials have expressed appreciation to the Discovery Channel as "this would promote and perhaps boost interest in the city by foreigners abroad."

Credits: kws@heraldm.com, image from yahoo.kr

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/dat...00812230027.asp

[rubie]

December 22, 2008

Rain, Lee to Appear in New Documentary

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia

Staff Reporter

Hallyu stars Rain and Lee Byeng-hun will appear in the new two-part documentary series being produced by Discovery Networks.

A tie-up has been established with the Seoul Metropolitan government to produce the documentary, "Hip Korea," which will air on the channel next year.

The cable network's producers and crew recently visited Seoul to film Rain and Lee as they show off the sights in Seoul. The documentary will highlight fun and exciting places in Myeongdong and Hongdae, as well as picturesque views in Namsan and along the Han River.

The documentary will be aired on the Discovery channel in Australia in January, Southeast Asia in February and Europe in May.

Rain, considered one of the most popular K-pop singers around Asia, appeared in the Hollywood film "Speed Racer" last year. His next Hollywood movie "Ninja Assassin" will hit screens next year.

Lee recently starred in the hit film "The Good, the Bad, the Weird," and will star in the Hollywood film "G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is hopeful the Discovery Channel's documentary will generate more interest in Seoul as a travel destination.

Credits: cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/speci.../139_36515.html

[Guest Hyc]

^ Thanks so much for the Discovery - Hip Korea update, Huang.. appreciate it so much. Looks like BH has been busy filming this, no wonder he's so quiet. Wow.. Romantic Seoul.. huh.. perfect choice, indeed! :blush:

Sobsob!.. more than ever now .. I wished I had Astro (paidTV that airs Discovery in Malaysia). Ching.. you have Astro? I gotta tell Omma Butterfly how lucky she is. Her faves .. both of them are being featured in the Discovery programme.

The schedule is really helpful, excellent info! Savvy.. Savvy!

Unfortunately, I also don't have Astro, rubie.

[Guest Hyc]

Shared by roger@bhjwlove.com

[Guest michikyou]

I don't know if it's soompi or my pc (+connection) but it's taking longer to load and quite a bit of patience to post/edit. So, please don't give up.. copy your messages beforehand and keep on posting, as always. Most of the time, we tend to take for granted the 'effect' we have on others (who are) waiting to read some any comments/interaction from everyone at the thread. That is my stress.

Anyway.. what's with Byunghun-ssi, lately? Flower.. flowers.. everywhere? Lily, IRIS, single red rose, double daisies.. :blush: A new romantic theme for 2009?

This is from the 2009 calendar, right?.. wildly-guessing.. any idea, anyone..

Photo credits: AboutLBH

Hello rubie!

A I do it regarding doubt

photograph with the marguerite & rose.

A photograph of BH which I lie on my face in a bed, and lie down.

This is because three pieces of (photographs are replaced by the morning and the afternoon and night) photographs are displayed in the HP as a result that a Japanese formal BH fan club was done RENEWAL of.

The number has little PHOTOGALLERY and MOVIE of BH which the staff took, but, in it and LBHROOM, it is put.

If I already have already known it, I'm sorry

[rubie]

Shared by roger@bhjwlove.com

OMG!!!!!!

Is Byunghun-ssi planning wishing to see all his fans gasping for air.. fainting and melting all over the place!!!! ... :sweatingbullets:

What magazine is the Body&Soul from??? oops.. my words is are all over the place

Ohhhhhh.. my poor.. poor heart..

[rubie]

UHHHH.. in one of the captures.. it looked like the VOGUE photoshoot but.. not really..

whatever it was.. he was being made to look.. like.. uhh.. .. really.. e.v.i.l..

or am I seeing wrongly..

What magazine is this .. the feature was titled "Raise the Red Lantern" .. which could refer to Beijing.. if I'm not wrong.. no?

wait.. wait.. maybe BH did a model-shoot for Versace last month..

[rubie]

It's been a great 2008 for BH.. GBW going all the way into the TOP 10 Movies' Hall of Fame, lots of international feature for BH NomNomNom plus really cool surprises from BH.. RAV4, Itsuka.. what else.. so many awesome treat by our Hunnie..

Wishing MORE GREAT THINGS in 2009, most definitely!

Btw.. is BH still endorsing 7Luck Star.. seems that they've done quite well, too.. in 2008.

December 19, 2008

YEAR-END REVIEW (2) TOURISM

Tourism industry survives economic slump

The rock-bottom exchange rate was a key factor in what was a roller-coaster year for the tourist industry.

The strong yen prompted a rapid rise in the number of Japanese travelers here, while the implementation of the visa waiver program with the United States was welcomed by travel agencies seeking a wider outbound market. Municipalities put more emphasis on developing domestic travel as locals cut back on overseas travels.

Overall, inbound tourism surged, while outbound travel declined.

Tourism businesses consequently face a mixed business outcome for this year, depending on which target groups they focus on. "The surge in inbound tourists and the drop in outbound travelers became more rapid in the later half of this year, mainly due to the weak won against yen and yuan," said Shim Jeong-bo, executive director of the Korea Tourism Organization's Public Relations Department.

"It would have been a relatively good year for travel agencies concentrating on foreign travelers coming here, and the opposite for those focusing on Koreans traveling overseas."

The Seoul government expects the tourism deficit to shrink to $51 billion by the end of this year, compared to more than $100 billion last year. Making full-fledged headway to use tourism as one of the factors boosting the economy, the government this month revealed a large-scale tourism development plan in hopes of attracting 10 million overseas travelers and creating value worth 1 trillion won ($772 million) as well as 390,000 new jobs by 2012.

In a more political development, 2008 was also the year that the historic and flagship tourism business of the two Koreas were entirely suspended. Following the deadly shooting of the South Korean tourist Park Wang-ja at a prohibited area near Mount Geumgang resort on July 11, the inter-Korean ties were deeply aggravated and the Geumgang tour was immediately suspended. In November, the tour around North Korea's border city of Gaeseong and an inter-Korean complex was also halted. Hyundai Asan, the organizer of both tours, is now facing operation losses mounting to some 100 billion won.

Japanese visitors shop at Namdaemun in downtown Seoul in this file photo. As the yen gained strength

against won, the number of Japanese travelers to Korea skyrocketed during the later half of this year. [Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald]

Back in South Korea, the KTO's tally shows that a total of 3.86 million foreigners visited between January and July this year, an 8.8 percent surge from the same period last year. The number of outbound travelers, on the other hand, showed a continual decline since May following the economic hardships and a surge in the won-foreign exchange rate.

In the later half of this year, a more than 20 percent drop was seen in the number of outbound travelers, according to the KTO. "Japan is showing a constant rise in the number of travelers coming to Korea, due to a number of factors, including their reluctance to travel a long distance stemming from the economic slump, the political situation in such rival destinations as Thailand, as well as the weak won against the yen," the organization said.

Industries that have enjoyed a boost in business this year range from skincare and plastic surgeons to casinos, department stores, duty free shops and large travel agencies.

Seven Luck Casino at Millennium Seoul Hilton, for instance, has had a packed house for the past several months.

According to Grand Korea Leisure Co. that operates Seven Luck Casino, it saw a record number of customers in November. A total of 763,078 used the casino as of Nov. 24, already close to the annual aim of 800,000. By nationality, Japanese took up the largest portion, with a total of 250,978 Japanese visiting as of Nov. 24, compared to 245,198 for the entire year previous year.

Department stores and travel agencies are also seeing good sales, especially thanks to a rise in Japanese travelers. According to the Lotte Department Store, there was a more than 40 percent surge in sales to Japanese nationals between January and October this year, compared to the same period last year.

The Japan Association of Travel Agents says that the number of Japanese making reservations to visit Korea in December surged by 68 percent from last year. The respective rate for Hong Kong and Europe, on the other hand, dropped by 6 to 7 percent, while it also dropped by 10 percent for the United States and 50 percent for China.

In a bid to make the most out of the high yen, the KTO stepped up travel promotion in Japan, such as a full page advertisement in Asahi Shimbun with a tagline "Let's go to Korea where the won is cheap."

But there were also regions that suffered from the economic slump, particularly Jeju.

As the overseas travel market contracted due to the economic slowdown and a fallback in competition against other local travel destinations, as well as the establishment of direct flights between China and Taiwan, Jeju is likely to fail in reaching its target number of visitors this year.

From Jan. 1 to Nov. 17, the number of foreign travelers to the southern island reached 477,318, just 73.4 percent of the target of 650,000, according to the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Tourism Association.

Among the good news for the tourism industry this year was the implementation of the U.S. visa waiver program that began Nov. 17. While approximately 700,000 Koreans visited the United States last year, the number is expected to at least double.

Consequently, both Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are scurrying to add more weekly flights between Korea and the United States, to destinations like Washington, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Seattle. The NYC and Company, a tourism promotion authority for New York, said in a press release that incoming market of Koreans to the metropolitan city has been and will be one of their largest tourism markets.

To attract more travelers from Korea, the NYC and Company plans to host an online training academy for travel agencies and other related businesses within the first half of next year to introduce a variety of travel packages and items around New York. Such large Korean travel agencies as Hana Tour are preparing to gear up marketing such as by establishing new regional offices in the United States.

The KTO, encouraged by the bolstering inbound travelers to Korea, is now planning to promote winter tours in Southeast Asian countries by emphasizing the weak won. "Our ski slopes have high-quality infrastructure and vicinity to metropolitan cities that can be superior to those of China or Japan. Many ski slopes are also located near various film sites of Korean movies and TV dramas, making it a popular destination for Southeast Asian tourists," said Kim Keun-soo, head of the KTO's Southeast Asian team.

As part of the enhanced promotion, Yongpyeong and Muju are hosting the "Fun Ski and Snow Festival" from December to March.

In time with the extra flights by Korean airliners to Southeast Asia including Singapore, the organization is also hosting an "Enjoy Extra Flight, Enjoy More Shopping" promotion.

Aircraft flying between Incheon and Malaysia will also be upgraded to meet with the rising tourism demand.

By Lee Joo-hee (angiely@heraldm.com)

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/dat...00812190050.asp

[rubie]

Hello rubie!

A I do it regarding doubt

photograph with the marguerite & rose.

A photograph of BH which I lie on my face in a bed, and lie down.

This is because three pieces of (photographs are replaced by the morning and the afternoon and night) photographs are displayed in the HP as a result that a Japanese formal BH fan club was done RENEWAL of.

The number has little PHOTOGALLERY and MOVIE of BH which the staff took, but, in it and LBHROOM, it is put.

If I already have already known it, I'm sorry

Hi michikyou! Thanks so much for replying my question, really appreciate the posting. :blush: rubie is very blurr.. always asking questions, all the time.

I agree with you that JOFC's renewed format is very nice.. especially with the rotating & changing of BHphotos everyday. It's a fresh outlook from before.

We're envious of Japanese members at JOFC.. having great clips & new photos of BH to see.. a treat that's really special & nice indeed.

[Guest japanesezombieheroez]

Shared by roger@bhjwlove.com

I don't know about everyone else but I am hoping with every fibre of my being that we'll get to see actual scans of this magazine.

I might cry if I don't

[rubie]

I don't know about everyone else but I am hoping with every fibre of my being that we'll get to see actual scans of this magazine.

I might cry if I don't

You and me, both.. Jenny.. though I might faint first seeing the scans.

Btw.. haven't seen you for awhile.. did you manage to catch GBW last month .. but fret not if you missed it as GBW will still open in UK in Feb.. 2009.. :blush:

---

Anyone interested.. there are now links for GBW+English subs at the movie thread, posted by frequentflyer120

Check it out at pg 58

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?sho...&start=1140

[Guest japanesezombieheroez]

You and me, both.. Jenny.. though I might faint first seeing the scans.

Btw.. haven't seen you for awhile.. did you manage to catch GBW last month .. but fret not if you missed it as GBW will still open in UK in Feb.. 2009.. :blush:

Hahaha oh I'll be fainting too for sure I'll be waiting oh so impatiently for any signs of scans! I wish I knew a place to find things like this.

Ah,I wasn't able to go on the one night GBW showed here in Liverpool and was pretty upset but news that it'll be shown nationwide 2 days before my birthday cheered me up

I'm downloading it right now as I couldn't wait. Typical me :blush:

[rubie]

Captures from auctions yahoo.jp, thanks to the original fan-sharing & highlight

[Guest kimchibabe]

Shared by roger@bhjwlove.com

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/5298/21651oy8.jpg

Oh my! BH in the raw. What a well sculpted body! Sometimes I can't connect the sweet face with that body. :blush:

Another surprise spread from BH. ...Hyc, you always post beautiful pictures of BH. Thanks!

[rubie]

DANGER ALERT :excl: NOMNOMNOM ON A RAMPAGE!!!

Thanks so much to the highlight at PlanetBH0712

AREN'T THESE THE CUTEST & MOST ADORABLE NOMNOMNOM?

Unlike the GBW socks and tee (posted 2 pages back).. these are exclusive GBW merchandise from barunson.co.kr which co-produced the movie..

NOMNOMNOM WISHING ALL

A MERRY CHRISTMAS & A FABULOUS NEW YEAR 2009!