[Drama 2001] Beautiful Days 아름다운 날들

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February 24, 2010

Ryu Si-won holds fan meeting in Japan

Reporter.Kang Seung-hun Editor.Lucia Hong

Korean actor/singer Ryu Si-won at the fan meeting in Japan [R's Company]

Korean actor and singer Ryu Si-won held a fan meeting in Japan last week which brought together 1,200 of his fans from around the country, according to his agency on Wednesday.

Fans met with the Hallyu star during a four hour-long meeting held February 16, during which Ryu performed several of his hit songs from his second album and new tracks from his upcoming record, an official at R's Company explained. The official also added competition to attend the fan meeting was heated, resulting in the selling of tickets for the event, originally free of charge, at 150,000 yen on an auction site. The amount is equivalent to about 1,600 US dollars.

Ryu, 38, made his debut in 1994, starring in various dramas including MBC's "Secret" and "Truth" as well as 2001 series "Beautiful Days."and hosting several variety shows. He has led a particularly successful career in Japan, releasing 17 albums and holding five concert tours in Japan since 2005. His seventh full-length album will be released in April.

Reporter : Kang Seung-hun tarophine@asiae.co.kr Editor : Lucia Hong luciahong@asiae.co.kr <ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved> 10.asiae.co.kr

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A glance-through online gist only

February 25, 2010

The Asahi Shimbun on February 22 released the online survey result for the 'Most Popular Korean Drama Series' in Japan participated by 2800 people through the DVD purchase and distribution.

The top 4 Korean Series are

1. Dae Jang Geum

2. Winter Sonata

3. Beautiful Days

4. Four Gods

Source: news.nate.com

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Another cool MV by Ayu, for Beautiful Days always ♥

Beautiful Days ~ Min Chul & Yeon Soo ~ 美麗的日子

Lee Byung Hun and Choi Ji Woo starring in the Korean drama " Beautiful Days "

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A related article on actress Lee Yu Jin (Narae)

March 9, 2010

A long struggle for multicultural stars

A rising number of multicultural entertainers reflect a changing industry - and nation

At 20 years old, Kim In-soon had a beautiful voice, but she eked out a living singing at pubs. Then one night, a producer heard her perform, and her life in show business began. She debuted as a member of the female trio the Hee Sisters, and became part of Korea’s first archetypical “girl group.” In spangle-studded dresses and form-fitting spandex, the trio stole the hearts of many male fans, but Kim was forced to put on an extra piece of clothing every time she appeared with the group: a hat or handkerchief to hide her hair.

Kim, who goes by her stage name Insooni, is the daughter of a Korean mother and an African-American soldier, and her mixed heritage gave her darker skin, a face that stood out and intensely curly hair. Because of her appearance she was often banned from appearing on TV shows, and she was denied the chance to participate in an international singing competition as a representative of Korea. Yet, today, she is still one of the country’s most influential musicians.

Insooni’s mother Yang-bae passed away in 2005. When Kim was born, her mother’s family forced her either to abandon her child or be disowned. Kim Yang-bae chose her daughter. When it came time to give birth to her own daughter in 1993, Insooni flew to the United States to ensure she would be an American citizen. The singer has publicly said that she did this because she was afraid her child would have the same dark skin that caused her so much pain. While other mothers may count the number of their babies’ fingers or toes right after they are born, Insooni checked her daughter’s skin color.

Ten years later, camera flashes splattered across the face of another beautiful young woman as she cried her eyes out. “If I had come out and said that I’m mixed, I was afraid of being discriminated against,” actress Lee Yu-jin told reporters in May 2003, blowing her nose and wiping her eyes. It had come to light that Lee’s name was listed on her grandfather’s family register, not her father’s, making Lee and her mother sisters on paper. At this press conference Lee, then 26, confessed her long-held secret - that her father was an American of Spanish descent who served as a soldier here.

After the press conference, it took Lee, who was a regular on many hit TV sitcoms, dramas, shows and glossy magazine covers, nearly six years to come back to a major TV drama last year.

When the JoongAng Daily asked to interview Lee, her manager, Kil Jin, said, “She’s had enough of it. She doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m so sorry.” The continuing pain Lee is experiencing shows that, despite the progress that has been made in Korean society, the issue of discrimination against multicultural people is far from resolved. “Multicultural children in the past were usually born to an American solider and a Korean war bride. And most Korean women who married American soldiers used to work as prostitutes,” said Park Kyung-tae, a professor at SungKongHoe University who specializes in minority studies. “For that reason, Koreans, especially older ones, have fixed negative images about multicultural people.”

Another multicultural R&B singer and rapper, Yoon Mi-rae, born Natasha Shanta Reid, is also trying to keep the focus off her cultural identity. She has an African-American father.

An official from Jungle Entertainment, which represents Yoon, said, “She feels uncomfortable talking about [her background].” But Yoon, often called Korea’s best female rapper, does communicate about her ancestry - through her music. One song titled “Black Happiness” has lyrics that read, loosely translated into English, “People finger-pointing at my mommy / My poppy is an African-American soldier / I can see sadness in Mommy’s eyes / I feel guilty so I wash my face with white soap .?.?. I have to put white makeup on to hide my dark skin.” Yoon debuted in 1997 at age 15 as a member of the hip-hop and R&B group Uptown. Today she’s a superstar with many releases under her belt. She is currently working on her fourth solo album, coming to stores in May.

Recently Sean Richard, an actor who plays a foreign missionary in “Jejoongwon,” a prime-time medical drama set in the Joseon period (1392-1910), met the public in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang, signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. “I’m a Mungyeong celebrity. Even though I’m not wearing the beard and the glasses, they still recognize me and call me Allen-wonjangnim [term for the head of a hospital],” said the 26-year-old Richard, who has a British father and a Korean mother. The handsome young actor talked openly about how his mother and father met. “My mom immigrated to the States at 17, and she worked at a bank in L.A. and my dad was working in L.A. with a one-year work contract. My mom’s roommate was dating my dad’s roommate.”

After majoring in business and theater at Boston University, Richard came to Korea hoping to learn more about his mother’s country, and landed the role of Allen. It was his first audition for a professional role, and he had more than 100 competitors. The doctor’s character is based on an actual figure who arrived in Korea in 1884 as a missionary and established the very first Western hospital in Korea. “Getting a role during one’s first audition is very rare even for local actors and actresses,” said Jeong Seo-young, head of a public relations team at BH Entertainment, which represents many A-list celebrities, including Lee Byung-hun from the TV drama “Iris.”

Since he described acting and wanting to live in Korea as two important goals in his life, Richard kept using the word “blessed” to describe his luck. “I only said annyeonghaseyo [hello] at first. That’s all. Over time I think the director liked what I was doing, so they made my part a little bit bigger.”

There has certainly been a shift in attitude toward multicultural entertainers in Korea over the past several decades, from Insooni to Lee Yu-jin, and most recently Richard. Yoon Su-il, a multicultural singer who often performed with Insooni during the 1970s, agrees. “I think this nation is becoming a multicultural society, and viewers and the public accept multicultural entertainers without hard feelings, meaning people start to see them as their neighbors,” said the 55-year-old singer-songwriter, whose 1982 hit “Apartment” is still a favorite for many Koreans.

For Yoon, who was born to a GI father and a Korean mother, music was his sole consolation. “Growing up, I kept thinking, ‘Can I go on living like this in Korea?’ because of my different looks. So I grabbed a guitar and got into the music industry because that field was less closed to people like me.” Today, Korea has more multicultural entertainers than ever before. Heartthrob Daniel Henney, Julien Kang, Dennis Oh, Ricky Kim and Kim Deanna are all multicultural stars who often appear in TV commercials, musicals and dramas.

In this new wave of multicultural stars, Henney may have been the first to prove they no longer need to feel alienated as Insooni and Yoon did. Henney, who was born to a Korean-American adoptee mother and a British-American father, made his first appearance in the 2005 hit TV drama “My Lovely Sam-soon,” playing the part of Dr. Henry Kim. His good looks, gentle manner and sunny smile were enough to melt the hearts of many female viewers. It came as no surprise that he was on the fast track to success after the drama ended. The 31-year-old model and actor signed on with another drama and two full-length films in two years, and appeared in commercials for 20 different products, from sedans and suits to cosmetics and digital gadgets.

While Henney is now living in Australia, discussing his next projects with industry representatives there, Julien Kang has taken his place as the latest half-Korean star - though he didn’t realize how popular he would become at first. “I was a little awkward and shy when people first started coming up to me for pictures and autographs,” Kang said.

Kang plays the role of a warm-hearted English teacher who shares a house with his Korean roommates on the popular TV sitcom “High Kick!”, which has an audience share of about 20 percent. For Kang, who was born to a French father and a Korean mother, memorizing lines, especially Korean slang, and the hectic shooting hours from 5 p.m. to 10 a.m. were the hardest parts, but he never felt segregated just because of his ancestry. “I have not felt discriminated against or isolated because I am biracial, but I did feel it a little because of the language barrier. Now that my Korean has improved, I feel much more accepted,” Kang said. Julien is the younger brother of mixed martial artist Denis Kang, known as “The Super Korean.”

With High Kick! still going strong, Julien has already clinched his next gig, playing a U.S. general in an upcoming drama with actor So Ji-seob. With more and more multicultural celebrities enjoying successful careers, some entertainment agencies are giving extra points to those who speak English when recruiting new managers. And of course there are those omnipresent government campaigns to build a new, multicultural Korea. “I think Korean society has made a lot of progress in terms of their view and treatment of biracial people,” Kang said. “In the past, society may have been hostile toward biracial people because it was something unfamiliar and out of the ordinary. But these days, people are starting to view us in a more positive light.”

Yet experts say there are still many obstacles to face.“Indeed, we have many multicultural stars, but we have to realize that they are all half-white and half-Korean. Multicultural entertainers who have white parents act and sing despite their poor Korean, but people who have African-American parents just sing,” said Professor Park at SungKongHoe University. “Daniel Henney is a good example. Despite his inarticulate Korean, he’s acting and modeling, while there are no African-Korean actors. This shows us that Korea still admires Caucasians and has biased views.”

When asked the chances of Henney or Kang becoming role models for children who are born to Korean fathers and Southeast Asian mothers, Park continued, “They could be dangerous models. Children who have Korean fathers and Southeast Asian mothers usually belong to low income brackets, and they stand at different starting points compared to people like Henney.”

By Sung So-young [so@joongang.co.kr]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2917530

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April 5, 2010

Ryu Si-won to turn rock singer in new Japanese album

Cho Bum-ja. Editor.Lynn Kim

Hallyu star Ryu Si-won (top) and Japanese record producer Tsunku [R's Company]

Korean singer and actor Ryu Si-won will be turning into a rock singer in his new album with the help of noted Japanese music producer Tsunku, according to Japanese daily newspaper Sankei Sports on Monday.

Sankei Sports explained that the Hallyu star collaborated with the famed producer for his upcoming seventh record titled "Ulala~", to be released on April 7, which includes a rock tune called "Garden of Love". "I think fans will be surprised to hear me singing this kind of song," said the actor in an interview with the Japanese press. "I may look like this but I actually like strong, masculine music. I have never sung this kind of song so that is why I chose to include it in this album."

"Love", which was penned by Tsunku, is about expressing the emotions of love between a man and a woman. The Korean entertainer, who reportedly took up rock music as a new challenge, met the Japanese musician through an acquaintance last year and invited him to one of his concerts. He seemed confident about the track, saying "I still feel embarrassed and awkward about the part where I scream 'oh~ yeah~' but you get used to it and it comes across well. I'm sure the fans will love it."

Ryu, 38, made his debut in 1994, starring in various dramas including "Secret" (2000, MBC), "Beautiful Days" (2001, SBS) and most recently "Style" (2009, SBS). He has led a particularly successful career in Japan since debuting in the country six years ago, releasing 17 albums and holding five concert tours to date. His seventh full-length album will be released on April 7. He is scheduled to kick off his Japan tour on May 10, performing in various major cities including Fukuoka, Osaka and Kobe until July 1.

Reporter: Cho Bum-ja anju1015@asiae.co.kr Editor: Lynn Kim lynn2878@asiae.co.kr <ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved> 10.asiae.co.kr

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A new tourist Kdrama (Hallyu?) spot, please refer link for pics + details in Japanese

Source: travel2.innolife.net

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May 12, 2010

Ryu Si-won posts rehearsal pics for Japan tour

Reporter.Lynn Kim Editor.Jessica Kim

Hallyu star Ryu Si-won's photos posted on his Cyworld mini-hompy [Cyword]

Hallyu star Ryu Si-won has posted up photographs of himself rehearsing for his current Japan tour on his Cyworld mini-hompy (http://www.cyworld.com/jolla106).

The singer and actor over the weekend put up a collection of recent pictures taken during rehearsals for his "2010 JAPAN LIVE - FUN & FAN" tour, which kicked off at Yokosuka Art Theater on Monday. "It is hard practicing the choreography," the Korean star wrote on his post. "But it feels good to sweat a lot for the first time in a long time."

Ryu was seen hard at work in the photos, practicing his singing with the band as well as going over the dance steps with the dance crew. He also put up a picture of himself and his team of dancers who all went out for dinner after finishing their final rehearsal, assuring fans, "We will show you a fantastic performance that we have been practicing for two months." His fans, a majority of whom were Japanese, left responses underneath the photos, encouraging and supporting the singer for the upcoming concerts.

Ryu, 38, made his debut in 1994, starring in various dramas including "Secret" (2000, MBC), "Beautiful Days" (2001, SBS) and most recently "Style" (2009, SBS). He has led a particularly successful career in Japan since debuting in the country six years ago, releasing 17 albums and holding five concert tours to date. His latest full-length album, which includes a famous Japanese rock tune called "Garden of Love," was released on April 7.

The tour will continue onto various major cities including Saitama, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Osaka, Kobe and Tokyo until July 1.

Reporter: Lynn Kim lynn2878@ Editor: Jessica Kim jesskim@ <ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved> 10.asiae.co.kr

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Life imitating BD, perhaps.. a Sungjae's own Kim Saena?

May 26, 2010

Ryu Si-won turns producer for new female artist Rottyful Sky

Reporter.Lynn Kim Editor.Jessica Kim

Korean singer Rottyful Sky (left) and producer Ryu Si-won [R's Company]

Korean singer and actor Ryu Si-won has turned record producer for new female artist Rottyful Sky, according to a press release by his agency R's Company on Wednesday.

Ryu expressed strong hopes and determination for his new role as producer, saying "I will invest in her career both financially and emotionally to help her succeed as a singer." "Rottyful Sky has been preparing for her debut for the past eight years," the Hallyu star was quoted as saying. "She is an extraordinary new artist who is full of natural talent as well as singing and dancing abilities."

He went onto say that it is his "dream and goal to give as many opportunities to young singers who have potential and help them seize those opportunities." "I don't want to be just a producer in name," the singer went on to say. "I want to check every little detail during the production process and set the direction for their successful careers."

Rottyful Sky, whose real name is Kim Hanul, made her debut in Korea in 2001, releasing her first album "Voice Of Purity" at the age of thirteen. Last year, she appeared as a musical guest at Ryu Si-won's birthday party/fan meeting where she announced her comeback. She was also featured on the soundtrack for SBS TV series "Style," which starred Ryu and top Korean actress Kim Hye-soo.

Her comeback single, titled "No Way," is scheduled for release in July.

Reporter: Lynn Kim lynn2878@ Editor: Jessica Kim jesskim@ <ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved> 10.asiae.co.kr

[Guest Hyc-ching]

Repost from jiwoolove.com

Original source: baidu.com CJW thread

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June 10, 2010

Can Ryu Si-won follow Yonsama’s act?

Korean actor and signer Ryu Si-won has teamed up with the Korea Tourism Organization

to promote two tour packages to overseas travelers, especially those from Japan, where he has

a large fan base. Ryu, who has a professional racing license, often participates in races in Korea,

and many of his Japanese fans visit Korea to see Ryu drive. Provided by the Korea Tourism Organization

Korean actor-singer Ryu Si-won will team up with the Korea Tourism Organization to attract overseas travelers to Korea, especially tourists from Japan, where he has a large fan base.

The KTO said in a statement late last month that it had signed a contract with Ryu to develop two new tour packages.

One of these is a tour that gives travelers access to the Formula 1 World Championship Korean Grand Prix in Yeongam, South Jeolla, in October and includes a visit to Damyunjae, a traditional Korean house in historic Hahoe Village, Andong, North Gyeongsang. Ryu has a professional racing license and often competes in races here, and many of his Japanese fans have visited to see him drive. Damyunjae is also a popular destination for Ryu’s fans because the house is owned and maintained by his family.

The other tour will be organized around Ryu’s birthday. About 3,000 fans from Korea and overseas will make the trek to Korea to attend a birthday event organized by Ryu’s agency. “In the past, celebrities allowed us to use their images in our promotions but this is the first time that a major star like Ryu will make personal appearances to attract visitors,” said Han Eun-ji, an official with the KTO’s public relations team.

After witnessing what it calls the “Bae Yong-joon effect,” the nation’s tourism body decided to enlist other celebrities who are popular overseas to help boost tourism this year. Korean actor Bae Yong-joon became popular throughout Asia with his portrayal of the sophisticated main character in the TV drama “Winter Sonata.”

Eight years later, his fans are still willing to spend money on items related to him. Although the drama series came to an end in March 2002, Keyeast Co., the entertainment company that produced an animated version of Winter Sonata that was released last year, said it saw a sales increase of 223 percent from a year ago in the first quarter of this year due to sales of the drama.

Bae has worked as a promotional representative for the KTO for the past three years, and the tourism organization believes his efforts have contributed to higher-than-expected number of travelers from Japan, where he is extremely popular. Last year, the KTO set a goal of attracting 7.5 million visitors from overseas, but it exceeded its goal with a total of 7.8 million visitors. Four out of 10 of those travelers were from Japan, the tourism organization said. That helped the tourism organization turn a profit for the first time since 2000.

Like Bae, Ryu has also a large fan base in Japan. A total of 1,200 Japanese fans were invited to an event for fans in February and desperate fans searching for invitations helped push the ticket price to 2 million won ($1,818). His concerts in Japan also often sell out. The 80,000 tickets for his concert there last November sold out quickly. “Most of Ryu’s fans are Japanese, so we expect to earn about 15 billion won if we succeed in meeting our goal and attract 10,000 visitors from Japan this year,” said Han. “A Japanese tourist spends about $1,300 in Korea on average, so it is a possible goal.”

Although the Korean wave, or hallyu, has started to fade in Japan, some Korean stars continue to maintain huge fan bases there. Along with Bae and Ryu, actor Park Yong-ha, comedian Cho Hye-ryun, actor Lee Byung-hun and Kwon Sang-woo often make headlines in Japanese entertainment news and many of the nation’s idol groups still head to Japan in hopes of becoming the next Bae or Ryu. Most recently, girl groups T-ara, 4 Minute, After School and KARA debuted in Japan.

By Sung So-young [so@joongang.co.kr] joongangdaily.com

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June 14, 2010

Choi Ji-woo attends "Africa in My Heart" exhibit with fans

Reporter : Lynn Kim Editor : Jessica Kim

Hallyu star Choi Ji-woo receives a thank-you award from an official at World Vision Korea. [World Vision]

Hallyu star Choi Ji-woo attended a charity photo exhibit titled "Choi Ji-woo, Africa in My Heart" with her fans over the weekend, according to global non-profit organization World Vision on Monday. World Vision explained through a press release that the actress showed up at the exhibition on Saturday, which displayed a collection of photos from her week-long trip to Swaziland last March.

The actress mingled with some 100 fans who also came to the gallery; Choi picked her favorite photo out of the bunch, signed it and even took a group photo with the fans. "Seeing the pictures again is bringing back the happiness of sharing and inspiration I felt at the time," the actress was quoted as saying. "I hope many people will be inspired by the photo exhibit and take part in the sharing for children in Africa." At the event, World Vision also handed Choi a thank-you medal for taking the Swaziland trip, which was made into a documentary and aired on MBC in April.

In early March, Choi had visited World Vision office in Swaziland's Madlangampisi where she walked barefoot for several hours to get water, installed a water handpump for the locals and spent time with children suffering from the region's water shortage. The photo exhibition, co-hosted by World vision and Canon Korea Consumer Imaging, will be held at Seoul's Canon Plex until June 30.

All proceeds from the exhibit will be used for water projects through World Vision.

Choi, 34, first garnered attention when she appeared in popular television series "First Love" (KBS, 1996) alongside top Korean actor Bae Yong-joon. She re-united with Bae six years later in the smash hit drama "Winter Sonata" (KBS, 2002), which turned the two actors into household names throughout Asia.

Korean actress Choi Ji-woo (back row, center) takes a group photo with fans at the "Africa in My Heart" photo exhibit. [World Vision]

Reporter : Lynn Kim lynn2878@ Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@ <ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved> 10.asiae.co.kr

Captures from auction yahoo.jp, thanks to the original fan-sharing

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June 22, 2010

Actress Choi Ji-woo and the Power of Her Smile

Actress Choi Ji-woo will be introducing Korea to the rest of the world...all through the power of her smile. One of the officials from the "Visit Korea Year" campaign said on June 22, that Choi would be participating at the Korean Tourism Evening Event set to take place on the 23rd as an National Honorary Smile Representative.

The Hallyu star's agency reported to Money Today ?Star News that a lot of foreigners get a misconception of Korea and its people. Because Koreans aren't as facially expressive in comparison to their Western counterparts, many foreigners come away with the idea that Koreans are standoffish and stoic. This could be attributed to cultural differences. The "Visit Korea Year" campaign seeks to change that misconception to show the world Korea's beauty and warmth.

Choi Ji-woo is no stranger to the tourism industry scene. She was awarded with an award presented by the president no less, at a tourism event in 2009. She also volunteered for some charity work in Africa last March, receiving a thank you plaque from the international organization World Vision. These deeds have undoubtedly added to her popularity with not only Korean fans, but international fans.

The committee behind the "Visit Korea Year" campaign expressed that as Choi is considered one of the original Hallyu wave stars, it's fitting for her to represent Korea to the world. They feel she will play a great role in changing Korea's negative image and showing Korea's warmth and hospitable spirit through her reputation and smile.

Source: KBS Global

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Thanks to the fan-sharing at GBW cafe.daum 6092

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August 6, 2010

Is cross-border endeavor key to better TV?

Wm. Penn / Daily Yomiuri Columnist

TV Asahi may actually be on the verge of giving us some insight into a puzzle that has been perplexing me for quite a long time now: What is the root cause of the decline in quality of Japan's TV dramas?

A. the scripts.

B. the actors, in an era when a few months as an idol with Johnny's Jimusho now qualifies one to emote professionally.

C. directors no longer intent on getting all the little details just right.

D. producers who no longer have the budgets to create quality entertainment.

E: viewers who have sent terrestrial TV drama ratings flatlining since they can now find everything they want on satellite TV with fewer commercial interruptions.

F: all of the above.

In this blame game, there's enough evidence to indict everyone. But starting on Aug. 8, Japan's scriptwriters will have a chance to defend themselves. That night, we'll get to see if they do better with partners who are more cooperative and energetic as TV Asahi begins televising three shows created as part of Telecinema 7. Other dramas from the ambitious Japan-South Korea drama collaboration project have already been shown in theaters and on the SBS network in South Korea. At the end of September, the DVD box set of all seven will go on sale.

The project was born of a joint proposal floated by Shinichi Ichikawa, of the Television and Radio Writers' Association of Japan, and Shin Hyun Taek, chair of the International Culture Industry Exchange Foundation in Seoul, at the second East Asian screenwriters conference held in Shanghai in 2007. The goal was to make seven productions in South Korea using scripts by leading Japanese scriptwriters, mostly big-name players responsible for major hits from the golden age of trendy Japanese dramas in the late 1990s.

The stories were produced with actors and directors from the South Korean entertainment industry, which has made exporting TV shows to Asia a big business. So far, the industry has succeeded through concerted efforts to expand and foster the market and to meticulously create a total product that emphasizes fashion, romance, exotic settings, pleasing background music and characters of some depth. It's a recipe for success that has pretty much disappeared from recent Japanese TV shows.

First up at TV Asahi is Rakuen (Paradise), a two-parter airing on Aug. 8 and 15 at 11:30 p.m. Written by Yoshikazu Okada of Beach Boys and NHK morning serial Churasan fame, it's directed by Lee Jang Soo, perhaps best known in Japan as the director of Beautiful Days. After NHK launched the South Korean drama boom back in 2004 with Winter Sonata starring Yon-sama (Bae Yong Joon) and Choi Ji Woo, they quickly followed up by airing Beautiful Days, assuring Lee Byung Hun and Ryu Shi Won of loyal fan followings in Japan too.

Rakuen features Ji Jin Hee, the male lead in Dae Jang Geum, the very popular tale of a 15th-century female court chef and a royal physician. He's a school teacher on a remote island where Kim Ha Neul, just released from prison, begins her life anew as a school cook who soon befriends a neglected child.

On Aug. 22 and 29 at 11 p.m., TV Asahi airs Ishikoro no Yume (A Dream Comes True) written by Miho Nakazono (Haken no Hinkaku). The story of two fading entertainers who help a young boy search for his mother is directed by Jang Yong Woo, who oversaw the Bae hit Hotelier.

Kekkonshiki no Atode (After the Banquet), written by Rie Yokota (Gokusen) airs on Sept. 5 and 12 at 11 p.m. with My Name is Kim Sam Soon director Kim Yoon Chul in charge. Seven bandmates from college--four men and three women--meet up at a reunion, but the eighth member, the keyboard player, has died. Her 15-year old daughter attends in her place with a letter from her mother informing her one of these four men is her father--but which one?

The other scriptwriters in the Telecinema 7 project include: Eriko Kitagawa (Beautiful Life, Long Vacation); Masaya Ozaki (Tokumei Kakaricho Tadano Hitoshi); Yumiko Inoue (Dosokai, 14-sai no Haha); and Shizuka Oishi (the NHK serial Futarikko).

Could the melding of Japanese scripts and South Korean production techniques represent an innovative new direction for the Asian TV industry? If this ambitious project works, it could be a promising business model for both sides and prove Japanese scriptwriters have still got what it takes.

Source: yomiuri.co.jp

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January 13, 2010

[Concert] 5th Anniversary of ZERO debut

http://nimg.nate.com/orgImg/yt/2010/01/13/AKR20100113051100005_01_i.jpg

Singer ZERO (= Pak Song-chol) to commemorate the 5th anniversary of his Japanese debut on March 28 in Tokyo. The event planned for singer who have been active and building a name in Japan will also be showing video message from actor Ryu Si Won who acted in 'Beautiful Days' in which ZERO had sang its most popular soundtrack 'Promise'.

Source: news.nate.com

September 4, 2010

Zero (Zero. real name, Pak Song-chol) Utaibito Concert 2010 at Koshigaya City Hall in Sun City, Japan

Source: http://news.nate.com/view/20100904n03430

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September 14, 2010

RSW: Real LBH-CJW Kissing Scenes in Beautiful Days

Lee Seung Gi caused a spark on today’s episode of ‘Strong Heart‘ as he revealed that he has indeed experienced a “deep” kiss, otherwise known as a “french” kiss.

The topic came up as veteran actor Ryu Si Won stated, “During the past 16 years of acting, I’ve finished filming 200 projects, and most have had kiss scenes. However, I’ve always faked the kiss scene, and have never done a deep kiss.”

After hearing Ryu Si Won’s confession, co-host Kang Ho Dong turned to Lee Seung Gi and asked, “Seung Gi, have you perhaps had a deep kiss?” The singer is said to have responded shyly that he had, surprising everyone in the studio.

Though Lee Seung Gi is 23 years old, his mild-mannered and “goody two shoes” image probably made his confession all the more shocking. Source: Nate via allkpop.com

Source: 1 l 2 l 3

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October 6, 2010

Actor Ryu Si-won to wed October 26

Jessica Kim jesskim @<Ⓒ 10Asia All rights reserved> 10Asia

Ryu Si-won [R's Company]

Top Hallyu star Ryu Si-won announced on Wednesday, the day of his 38th birthday, that he will get married on October 26.

He Broke The News through his Fans are to Posting on his Official Fan page Ryusiwon.net www.ryusiwon.net Early in The Day, After several thousands of Thanking The Fans from Around Asia Turned up for his Birthday Party over who The Weekend.

He also said that his bride-to-be is pregnant and will give birth in a few months. "I think I will also become a dad next spring," Ryu wrote. He then apologized for not being able to inform fans of the news at an earlier date but explained that it was because his fiancee is not a celebrity.

No information has been revealed about her other than that she was a dance major in college. The two are said to have dated for a year after meeting through an acquaintance. Ryu will hold a press conference later in the day where he will explain more details about his marriage.

Ryu, singer and actor, made his debut in 1994, and has starred in various dramas including "Secret" (2000, MBC), "Beautiful Days" (2001, SBS) and "Style" (2009, SBS). He has led a particularly successful career in Japan since debuting in the country six years ago, selling out all five of his concert tours held throughout the country.

Most recently, he has been both the director and racer of his own pro car racing team 'TEAM106,' he set up entertainment company 'abnormal106' and turned producer for singer Rottyful Sky.

[rubie]

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S!

October 14, 2010

Actress Lee Yoo-jin marries former Hockey player

by GhostWriter allkpop.com

On October 14th, Half-Korean, Half-Hispanic actress and model Lee Yoo-Jin / 이유진 held a press conference prior to her wedding at the Renaissance Hotel in Seoul Kangnam. The beautiful actress is marrying former hockey player and current movie director Kim Wan Joo.

At the press conference Lee Yoo Jin stated, “Right now, this moment is something I’ve been looking forward to for so long. I feel so safe and the thought of not being alone makes me so happy.”

The couple is scheduled to spend their honey moon in Guam. Congratulations to the couple!

Some more wedding photos copied from nate.com

[Guest Hyc-ching]

26.10.2010

Ryu Si-won wedding

Congratulations!

From bhjwlove.com

from Jiwoolove.com

Thanks to annichoi

Jiwoo at RSW wedding

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November 12, 2010

Founder of largest English K-pop site 'Soompi'

Korean-American web developer creates first global online community devoted to K-pop, Asian entertainment

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

Main page of the ultimate K-pop site “Soompi”

If you’re looking for news about a SuperJunior concert, reviews for a 2NE1 album, recaps of Korean drama "Sungkyunkwan Scandal" or simply anything about Korean entertainment, chances are you’ll find it on Soompi.com.

Soompi.com is the oldest and currently the largest English-language online community devoted to Korean and Asian entertainment, with a million unique visitors every month.

Soompi has come a long way from its early days as a personal online shrine devoted to K-pop started by Korean-American Susan Kang in 1998.

"I had recently graduated from college with nothing much to do. As a recent fan of both K-pop and the Internet (AOL was all the rage), I noticed that there weren't any English-language sites devoted to Korean pop music or TV dramas, so I purchased a book called `Make Your Own Website with Microsoft Word '97’, and the rest, as they say, is history," Kang said, now a 35-year-old mother living in Irvine, Calif., in an email interview with The Korea Times.

Kang’s original site, Soompitown, was fairly simple. She would just upload photos of her favorite K-pop acts like H.O.T., S.E.S., Shinhwa and FinKL and English translations of Korean magazine articles, as well as post CD audio samples and her own album reviews. Basically, Kang ran the website out of "love" for K-pop.

(If you’re wondering about the meaning of Soompi, it simply refers to a nickname that a roommate’s family gave Kang in college.)

In the early 2000s, hallyu or the Korean wave began spreading around Asia and international fans discovered Soompi, the first website that actually provided English-language information about their favorite Korean stars.

Soon Soompi became more and more popular, requiring more servers and more technical expertise. A team of volunteers helped moderate the forums and post content on the website, but Kang, who also worked full-time as a web developer, was running the website on her own as a hobby and it was starting to feel burdensome.

For one, it was getting expensive to pay for the server fees out of her own pocket, although it was partially funded by member donations and small ad buys.

Then came the fateful day, Oct. 5, 2005, when the entire Soompi website crashed. Its entire database of 80,000 members and millions of forum posts was gone. "I seriously thought of just making that the end of Soompi, as I'd been running the site as a hobby for seven years at that point, and was paying for the servers completely out of my own pocket," she said.

"The turning point was when we re-opened an empty forum with 0 members and 0 posts, and within 5 days, we already had 40,000 members. That's when I knew that Soompi was bigger and more important than just one person's hobby."

Soon, it became apparent that a more serious, business-oriented approach to Soompi was needed.

In 2006, Joyce Lan Kim, a lawyer then working for technology firms in Silicon Valley, joined Soompi to handle the business side, albeit on a part-time basis.

"I joined the company, working on advertising and thinking of ways the company can break even. Susan never started this with business in mind. It was always just about fun. It was about bringing K-pop to the people. But how we make this sustainable is our job," Kim told The Korea Times at a coffee shop in downtown Seoul, last week.

Last year, Kang and Kim both decided to leave their full-time jobs and focus on Soompi.

The 33 year old Kim, who studied at Cornell and Harvard universities and received a law degree from Columbia University, had no second thoughts giving up a law career. She sees Soompi as a good business opportunity with K-pop’s potential to expand around the world.

Soompi is may not yet be profitable, but there is no doubt it is an Internet success with 500,000 registered members, and attracts over one million unique visitors every month ("That's like a small city," Kim quipped.) Revenues are currently generated from ads, premium membership and affiliate programs, but not enough for the company to break even.

There may be other K-pop websites that attract more hits, but Soompi has the most activity among community members, such as posting content and comments on the site. "Our success comes from covering such a wide variety of topics - not only the latest K-pop news, but Korean dramas and variety shows, original fan fiction, our own member-run shops, beauty & fashion, among so much more," Kang said.

Aside from sections on entertainment news, fan clubs and beauty & fashion, Soompi also has its own weekly music chart and annual contests, such as Soompi Idol, Soompi Dance Idol, Soompi Ulzzang, fan fiction writing and graphics contests.

All contests were originally started by Soompi members themselves. This year, Soompi Ulzzang Contest, a modeling competition for Soompi members, has become an official event and sponsored by Korean entertainment company Sidus HQ.

Member feedback is invaluable to keeping Soompi relevant. Whenever new features are launched, Soompi looks at the comments from members and makes the appropriate tweaks. Members can also vote for which Soompi fan clubs should be created next, as well as recommend new forums and sub-forums.

Soompi is working to make the site more user-friendly. "It's not a hobby anymore. We have to do it for real. Functionality is very important for us. We are definitely working on making it easier to use, and on getting great content," Kim said.

In terms of technical innovations, the Soompi Street Teams Twitter application is being launched. This will make it easier for fans to get their favorite K-pop idols on Twitter’s top trending topics.

"We wanted to make it easier for everybody to join together and tweet in support of their celebs. Twitter is not just for K-pop, because it's for everyone... Each time a K-pop celebrity ends up as a Twitter topic, people go, `who is this guy?’ Like when (SuperJunior member) Kim Hee-chul was trending on Twitter, everyone was talking about him... We can expose more people to the world of K-pop," Kim said.

An Asian website

Soompi is no longer just devoted to Korean pop music, but Asian pop and entertainment in general. It is also very much a global community, with most members from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia.

The majority or 81 percent of Soompi members are Asian, while 8 percent are white, 5 percent are multi-ethnic and the rest are African-American, Hispanic and other ethnicities. The most surprising fact was 60 to 80 percent of the non-Asian groups said they "know some Korean."

"It’s mostly non-Koreans, as opposed to 7 or 8 years ago when majority were Korean-Americans. Now Korean Americans are a minority on the site. We have ever growing number of people who are not even Asian. We have Caucasians, African-Americans, Middle East, Latin American, South East Asians," Kim said.

Soompi stands out because of its tight-knit community and its members. "Soompi is very community-focused, not just information or gossip-focused. It feels like home to many, and there are many members who have literally grown up on the site ― from Junior High to High School to College to getting married and having children," Kang said.

Noticeably, the Soompi forums are relatively free from the anti-fans and trolls who frequent K-pop websites to post vitriolic comments that rile up fans.

"I think our biggest defining feature is our members. Our members are the ones who do the subtitles, episode recaps and organize fan meetings," Kim said. "We have good members."

Future of Kpop & Soompi

Perhaps it is not an exaggeration to say that Soompi has helped give a boost to K-pop and Korean entertainment’s popularity among English speakers.

But while K-pop is undeniably big in Asia, there is yet to be a real K-pop breakthrough in the U.S., despite attempts by Rain, Wonder Girls and Se7en. "Honestly, I'm not sure if the U.S. is ready to accept Asians as idols, as Asians are still widely portrayed as awkward geeks or kung fu masters on TV and film, but I do believe it's just a matter of 'when', not 'if'. I hope it's sooner than later," Kang said.

Looking back, Kang admitted being constantly amazed and inspired by the level of commitment and amount of time people will willingly volunteer to support their favorite idols. "Passion will drive people to do crazy and wonderful things," she said.

In the future, Soompi hopes to leverage its brand value as the oldest K-pop online resource, and to continue fanning the flames of K-pop and Asian pop fever around the world.

"In 10 years, I'll be 45 years old. I hope by then, the Soompi community will still be going strong, with the love for Korean and Asian pop being passed to a much wider audience. We'll still be providing the best place for people to express their fandom and meet others who share their passion," Kang said.