[News] Drama, Movies, Actors & Actresses

[rubie]

11-19-2005

Movie Awards to Celebrate Year's End

In "Welcome to Dongmakgol," U.S. naval pilot Smith played

by Steve Taschler, right, who accidentally crashed on a remote

mountain village called Dongmakgol during the Korean War,

befriends strayed South and North Korean soldiers, and even

plays American football.

"Welcome to Dongmakgol" has become the most commercially successful local film this year, attracting over 8 million moviegoers. But how "welcome" will it be at two upcoming domestic film award ceremonies?

The movie, about the friendship between Korean War soldiers in a mysterious village, has been nominated in eight categories out of 15 at the 26th Blue Dragon Awards to be held on Nov. 29, and in 13 categories out of 17 at the 4th Korean Film Awards taking place on Dec. 4.

But "Welcome to Dongmakgol" will face fierce competition at the ceremonies, as many other good films this year have made the nominee lists.

Among the 80 or so local movies that have opened this year, the Blue Dragon Awards has selected "Running Boy," "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance," "Blood Rain" and "You're My Sunshine" along with "Welcome to Dongmakgol" as candidates for the Best Picture award.

In the same category, the Korean Film Awards has almost the same nominee list, with "Crying Fist" and "Rules of Dating" being selected instead of "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" and "Blood Rain."

In the Best Actor award category at the Blue Dragon Awards, the nominees are Park Hae-il from "Rules of Dating," Ryu Seung-bum of "Crying Fist," Lee Byung-hun of "A Bittersweet Life" and Hwang Jung-min of "You're My Sunshine."

The 4th Korean Film Awards has similar nomination list except that it includes Jung Jae-young of "Welcome to Dongmakgol" instead of Lee Byung-hun.

Actor Hwang Jung-min was nominated not only for the Best Actor prize but also in the Best Supporting Actor categories in the two awards ceremonies for his role in "A Bittersweet Life."

For the Best Actress prize, Kang Hye-jung of "Rules of Dating," Lee Young-ae of "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" and Jeon Do-yeon of "You’re My Sunshine" have been nominated in both awards ceremonies.

At the Korean Film Awards, veteran actress Kim Mi-sook of "Running Boy" will be in the competition, which is usually dominated by younger names.

Meanwhile, at the Blue Dragon Awards, pop singer Tak Jae-hun has been nominated in the Best New Actor category for his comic character in "Marrying the Mafia 2."

The Blue Dragon Awards ceremony will be held at KBS Hall in Yoido, Seoul while the Korean Film Awards, an event organized by the television network MBC, will be held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul.

"Welcome to Dongmakgol," by debutant director Park Kwang-hyun, has been selected as Korea’s entry to the 78th Academy Awards next year. It is expected to compete with movies from a record 58 countries in the Foreign Language Film category.

The film depicts encounters of soldiers from the South, the North and the U.S. at a remote mountain village called "Dongmakgol" where news of the war’s breakout had not reached.

The warm-hearted fantasy film ranks first in Korea's box office take this year. It is the fourth largest film success in the nation's history, following "Tae Guk Gi," "Silmido," and "Friend."

e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr

11-19-2005 20:02

Source: The Korea Times

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/20...19595011690.htm

[Guest lorac]

I've removed the Gumiho images due to problems with Imageshack.

[tiramisu]

Has anyone bought the Only You boxset from Yesasia? How are the subtitles...good, bad, indifferent? I know that Yesasia puts out a decent product, but one never knows for sure. I'm seriously thinking of buying the drama, but looking for some assurance that the Yesasia version has good subs.

just wanted to clarify... the Only You boxset available at Yesiasia.com is NOT yesasia's version... YA has previously bought rights to a several dramas (i.e., Damo, Love Letter, Ruler of Your Own World, Something Happened in Bali, Stairway to Heaven, Spring Days, etc.) and provided their own subs by their own translators.

The official Korean version, which is currently sold at yesasia.com, is from SBS productions. Many official Korean releases are also distributed from Bitwin (mostly KBS and MBC dramas)... many of those releases have excellent subs. As for SBS productions, I've never bought one of their boxsets, so I can't say how great the quality of the subs are. Pay attention to the product description, as it'll always include the name of the distributor.

I have been thinking of purchasing Only You... imo, it's not the best drama, but Jo Hyun Jae is such a tremendously talented actor, and I've been trying to collect any of his drama that's available... but yes, these DVD's are so expensive!

[Guest lorac]

The official Korean version, which is currently sold at yesasia.com, is from SBS productions...... As for SBS productions, I've never bought one of their boxsets

If I remember correctly, the All In boxset was an SBS release, but correct me if I'm wrong. I remember the subs were acceptable. Anything is better than the Engrish with the Hong Kong dvd set. That was almost unreadable until fans made some improvements. I just don't get it ... there should be enough native English speakers in Hong Kong to edit the translations. I've never seen such poor use of tense and pronouns as in those subs. "This" and "that" is another biggie ... terrible grammar.

I have been thinking of purchasing Only You... imo, it's not the best drama, but Jo Hyun Jae is such a tremendously talented actor

I quite like him in Only You. I'm impressed with the way his character is allowed to grow, but still retain the self-assured and somewhat arrogant personality. He has so many scenes that are touching, expecially the ones with Jin-sohr, after he accepts his responsibility as a father. I'm not sure if Cha Eun-jae changed all that much, but Han Yi-joon sure did.

[Guest atel]

Seeking a man? Hire a detective

Wm. Penn / Special to The Daily Yomiuri

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/...117TDY19003.htm

^ thanks for sharing this article, but it seems mostly about news about of j-tv stuff, well except that tiny blurb about cho jiwoo's role in a j-drama. maybe it could've gone in the other tv section.

[Guest Priscilla]

November 20, 2005

Nominations for the 26th Blue Dragon Awards Announced

(Posted In Asia Film News )

Although the Grand Bell Awards still remain the most prestigious in Korea, their biggest rival have always been the 청룡영화상 (Blue Dragon Awards). The Blue Dragon Awards have reached their 26th edition, handing the first awards in 1963. Back then couple Shin Sung-Il and Eom Aeng-Ran respectively won Most Popular Actor and Actress, and Kim Soo-Yong's 혈맥 (Blood Linkage) took home 6 Awards.

That film joins two others [잉여인간 (The Extra Mortals) - Yoo Hyun-Mok (1964); 서편제 (Sopyonje) - Im Kwon-Taek (1963)] as the most awarded film ever at the Awards, but things could change this year. In 2004, Kang Je-Gyu's 태극기 휘날리며 (Taegukgi) took home 4 awards.

You can check more interesting info at the Official Site of the Blue Dragon Awards, including a complete list of past winners. The Ceremony will be held on November 29 at the KBS Hall in Yeoui-Do, and shown on KBS. Here's the nominees:.

작품상 (Best Film)

- 너는 내 운명 (You Are My Sunshine)

- 말아톤 (Marathon)

- 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome to Dongmakgol)

- 친절한 금자씨 (Sympathy For Lady Vengeance)

- 혈의 누 (Blood Rain)

--

감독상 (Best Director)

- Kim Dae-Seung (혈의 누, Blood Rain)

- Kim Ji-Woon (달콤한 인생, A Bittersweet Life)

- Park Jin-Pyo (너는 내 운명, You Are My Sunshine)

- Park Chan-Wook (친절한 금자씨, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance)

- Im Sang-Soo (그때 그 사람들, The President's Last Bang)

--

남우주연상 (Best Leading Actor)

- Park Hae-Il (연애의 목적, Rules of Dating)

- Ryu Seung-Beom (주먹이 운다, Crying Fist)

- Lee Byung-Heon (달콤한 인생, A Bittersweet Life)

- Jo Seung-Woo (말아톤, Marathon)

- Hwang Jung-Min (너는 내 운명, You Are My Sunshine)

--

여우주연상 (Best Leading Actress)

- Kang Hye-Jung (연애의 목적, Rules of Dating)

- Kim Jung-Eun (사랑니, Blossom Again)

- Son Ye-Jin (외출, April Snow)

- Lee Young-Ae (친절한 금자씨, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance)

- Jeon Do-Yeon (너는 내 운명, You Are My Sunshine)

--

남우조연상 (Best Supporting Actor)- Kong Hyung-Jin (가문의 위기, Marrying The Mafia 2)

- Park Yong-Woo (혈의 누, Blood Rain)

- Ahn Sung-Gi (형사, Duelist)

- Im Ha-Ryong (웰컴 투 동막골, Welcome To Dongmakgol)

- Hwang Jung-Min (달콤한 인생, A Bittersweet Life)

--

여우조연상 (Best Supporting Actress)

- Kang Hye-Jung (웰컴 투 동막골, Welcome To Dongmakgol)

- Kim Soo-Mi (마파도, Mapado)

- Kim Eul-Dong (마파도, Mapado)

- Na Moon-Hee (너는 내 운명, You Are My Sunshine)

- Seo Young-Hee (내 생애 가장 아름다운 일주일, All For Love)

--

신인남우상 (Best New Actor)

- Park Geon-Hyung (댄서의 순정, Innocent Steps)

- Yoon Gye-Sang (발레교습소, Flying Boys)

- Lee Tae-Sung (사랑니, Blossom Again)

- Cheon Jung-Myung (태풍태양, The Aggressives)

- Tak Jae-Hoon (가문의 위기, Marrying The Mafia 2)

--

신인여우상 (Best New Actress)

- Kim Ok-Bin (여고괴담4: 목소리, Voice)

- Kim Ji-Soo (여자, 정혜, This Charming Girl)

- Jung Yoo-Mi (사랑니, Blossom Again)

- Jo Yi-Jin (태풍태양, The Aggressives)

- Han Ji-Hye (B형 남자친구, My Boyfriend is Type B )

--

신인감독상 (Best New Director)

- Park Gwang-Hyun (웰컴 투 동막골, Welcome To Dongmakgol)

- Lee Yoon-Gi (여자, 정혜, This Charming Girl)

- Jung Yoon-Cheol (말아톤, Marathon)

- Chu Chang-Min (마파도, Mapado)

- Han Jae-Rim (연애의 목적, Rules of Dating)

--

촬영상 (Best Cinematography)

- Kim Woo-Hyung (그때 그 사람들, The President's Last Bang)

- Kim Ji-Yong (달콤한 인생, A Bittersweet Life)

- Jung Jung-Hoon (친절한 금자씨, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance)

- Choi Young-Hwan (혈의 누, Blood Rain)

- Hwang Gi-Seok (형사, Duelist)

--

음악상 (Best Music)

- Dalparan and Jang Young-Gyu (달콤한 인생, A Bittersweet Life)

- Kim Joon-Sung (말아톤, Marathon)

- Bang Joon-Seok (너는 내 운명, You Are My Sunshine)

- Jo Young-Wook (친절한 금자씨, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance)

- Hisaishi Jo (웰컴 투 동막골, Welcome To Dongmakgol)

--

미술상 (Best Art Direction)

- Ryu Sung-Hee (달콤한 인생, A Bittersweet Life)

- Min Eon-Ok (혈의 누, Blood Rain)

- Jo Hwa-Sung (친절한 금자씨, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance)

- Lee Hyung-Joo and Jo Geun-Hee (형사, Duelist)

- Lee Joon-Seung (웰컴 투 동막골, Welcome To Donmakgol)

--

기술상 (Technical Award)

- Kim Seong-Beom (친절한 금자씨, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance) EDITING

- Moon In-Dae (내 생애 가장 아름다운 일주일, All For Love) EDITING

- Shin Jae-Ho (혈의 누, Blood Rain) SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS

- Jang Sung-Ho (형사, Duelist) CG

- Jo Yi-Seok (웰컴 투 동막골, Welcome To Dongmakgol) CG

--

각본상 (Best Original Screenplay)

- Go Yoon-Hee and Han Jae-Rim (연애의 목적, Rules of Dating)

- Park Jin-Pyo (너는 내 운명, You Are My Sunshine)

- Yoo Sung-Hyeop (내 생애 가장 아름다운 일주일, All For Love)

- Jang Jin, Park Gwang-Hyun and Kim Joong (웰컴 투 동막골, Welcome To Dongmakgol)

- Jung Yoon-Cheol, Yoon Jin-Ho and Song Ye-Jin (말아톤, Marathon)

--

조명상 (Best Lighting)

- Go Nak-Seon (그때 그 사람들, The President's Last Bang)

- Kim Seon-Gwan (혈의 누, Blood Rain)

- Shin Kyung-Man (형사, Duelist)

- Shin Sang-Ryeol (달콤한 인생, A Bittersweet Life)

- Park Hyun-Won (친절한 금자씨, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance)

Via Official Blue Dragon Awards Site

» Written by X at November 20, 2005 12:17 AM

http://www.twitchfilm.net/archives/004206.html#more

[rubie]

Front - Nov. 21, 2005

Actress Kim Hee-seon introduces herself to the crowd before a quarterfinals match-up of the K-1 World Grand Prix Finals between Choi Hong-man of Korea and Remy Bonjasky of Netherlands at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday./Yonhap

Source: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/new...0511200011.html

----------------------------------------------------------------

Updated Nov.20,2005 22:09 KST

Rain Announces Global Ambitions on CNN

K-pop star Rain's ambitions to take on the world became international news on Saturday when he announced them on CNN's "Talk Asia."

Rain told the cable news channel about his ambition to make it on the world stage after sweeping in Hong Kong, China, Japan and elsewhere in Asia. The 23-year-old star said his personal motto was, "Be humble, be patient, and do my best."

"Talk Asia," hosted by Lorraine Hahn, who was born in Singapore to a Korean father and a Eurasian mother, has focused on heavyweights including former Korean president Kim Dae-jung, maestro Chung Myung-whun, soprano Jo Su-mi, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Chinese film director Zhang Yimou.

Rain gave the interview on Oct. 9 in Hong Kong while on a concert tour there. The show airs seven times in all, the last time at 12:30 p.m. on Monday.

(englishnews@chosun.com )

Source: Digital Chosunilbo

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/new...0511200016.html

[Guest st helena]

vod - Seo Dong's Song/JHJ practicing his lines

credit to hyunjaezoa

[Guest st helena]

from 'pleasure of love'

from aozmsh blog

[Guest Yueny]

I'm not sure if this piece of news has been posted before, but it is related to the korean wave in japan. From the NY Times.

Asia Rivals' Ugly Images Best Sellers in Japan

By Norimitsu Onishi

Nov. 14 - A young Japanese woman in the comic book "Hating the Korean Wave" exclaims, "It's not an exaggeration to say that Japan built the South Korea of today!" In another passage the book states that "there is nothing at all in Korean culture to be proud of."

　　

　　In another comic book, "Introduction to China," which portrays the Chinese as a depraved people obsessed with cannibalism, a woman of Japanese origin says: "Take the China of today, its principles, thought, literature, art, science, institutions. There's nothing attractive."

　　

　　

　　In "Hating the Korean Wave," a young Japanese woman says, "It's not an exaggeration to say that Japan built the South Korea of today!"

　　

　　Enlarge This Image

　　

　　The two comic books, portraying Chinese and Koreans as base peoples and advocating confrontation with them, have become runaway best sellers in Japan in the last four months.

　　

　　In their graphic and unflattering drawings of Japan's fellow Asians and in the unapologetic, often offensive contents of their speech bubbles, the books reveal some of the sentiments underlying Japan's worsening relations with the rest of Asia.

　　

　　They also point to Japan's longstanding unease with the rest of Asia and its own sense of identity, which is akin to Britain's apartness from the Continent. Much of Japan's history in the last century and a half has been guided by the goal of becoming more like the West and less like Asia. Today, China and South Korea's rise to challenge Japan's position as Asia's economic, diplomatic and cultural leader is inspiring renewed xenophobia against them here.

　　

　　Kanji Nishio, a scholar of German literature, is honorary chairman of the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, the nationalist organization that has pushed to have references to the country's wartime atrocities eliminated from junior high school textbooks.

　　

　　Mr. Nishio is blunt about how Japan should deal with its neighbors, saying nothing has changed since 1885, when one of modern Japan's most influential intellectuals, Yukichi Fukuzawa, said Japan should emulate the advanced nations of the West and leave Asia by dissociating itself from its backward neighbors, especially China and Korea.

　　

　　"I wonder why they haven't grown up at all," Mr. Nishio said. "They don't change. I wonder why China and Korea haven't learned anything."

　　

　　Mr. Nishio, who wrote a chapter in the comic book about South Korea, said Japan should try to cut itself off from China and South Korea, as Fukuzawa advocated. "Currently we cannot ignore South Korea and China," Mr. Nishio said. "Economically, it's difficult. But in our hearts, psychologically, we should remain composed and keep that attitude."

　　

　　The reality that South Korea had emerged as a rival hit many Japanese with full force in 2002, when the countries were co-hosts of soccer's World Cup and South Korea advanced further than Japan. At the same time, the so-called Korean Wave - television dramas, movies and music from South Korea - swept Japan and the rest of Asia, often displacing Japanese pop cultural exports.

　　

　　The wave, though popular among Japanese women, gave rise to a countermovement, especially on the Internet. Sharin Yamano, the young cartoonist behind "Hating the Korean Wave," began his strip on his own Web site then.

　　

　　"The 'Hate Korea' feelings have spread explosively since the World Cup," said Akihide Tange, an editor at Shinyusha, the publisher of the comic book. Still, the number of sales, 360,000 so far, surprised the book's editors, suggesting that the Hate Korea movement was far larger than they had believed.

　　

　　"We weren't expecting there'd be so many," said Susumu Yamanaka, another editor at Shinyusha. "But when the lid was actually taken off, we found a tremendous number of people feeling this way."

　　

　　So far the two books, each running about 300 pages and costing around , have drawn little criticism from public officials, intellectuals or the mainstream news media. For example, Japan's most conservative national daily, Sankei Shimbun, said the Korea book described issues between the countries "extremely rationally, without losing its balance."

　　

　　As nationalists and revisionists have come to dominate the public debate in Japan, figures advocating an honest view of history are being silenced, said Yutaka Yoshida, a historian at Hitotsubashi University here. Mr. Yoshida said the growing movement to deny history, like the Rape of Nanjing, was a sort of "religion" for an increasingly insecure nation.

　　

　　"Lacking confidence, they need a story of healing," Mr. Yoshida said. "Even if we say that story is different from facts, it doesn't mean anything to them."

　　

　　The Korea book's cartoonist, who is working on a sequel, has turned down interview requests. The book centers on a Japanese teenager, Kaname, who attains a "correct" understanding of Korea. It begins with a chapter on how South Korea's soccer team supposedly cheated to advance in the 2002 Word Cup; later chapters show how Kaname realizes that South Korea owes its current success to Japanese colonialism.

　　

　　"It is Japan who made it possible for Koreans to join the ranks of major nations, not themselves," Mr. Nishio said of colonial Korea.

　　

　　But the comic book, perhaps inadvertently, also betrays Japan's conflicted identity, its longstanding feelings of superiority toward Asia and of inferiority toward the West. The Japanese characters in the book are drawn with big eyes, blond hair and Caucasian features; the Koreans are drawn with black hair, narrow eyes and very Asian features.

　　

　　That peculiar aesthetic, so entrenched in pop culture that most Japanese are unaware of it, has its roots in the Meiji Restoration of the late 19th century, when Japanese leaders decided that the best way to stop Western imperialists from reaching here was to emulate them.

　　

　　In 1885, Fukuzawa - who is revered to this day as the intellectual father of modern Japan and adorns the 10,000 yen bill (the rough equivalent of a 0 bill) - wrote "Leaving Asia," the essay that many scholars believe provided the intellectual underpinning of Japan's subsequent invasion and colonization of Asian nations.

　　

　　Fukuzawa bemoaned the fact that Japan's neighbors were hopelessly backward.

　　

　　Writing that "those with bad companions cannot avoid bad reputations," Fukuzawa said Japan should depart from Asia and "cast our lot with the civilized countries of the West." He wrote of Japan's Asian neighbors, "We should deal with them exactly as the Westerners do."

　　

　　As those sentiments took root, the Japanese began acquiring Caucasian features in popular drawing. The biggest change occurred during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 to 1905, when drawings of the war showed Japanese standing taller than Russians, with straight noses and other features that made them look more European than their European enemies.

　　

　　"The Japanese had to look more handsome than the enemy," said Mr. Nagayama.

　　

　　Many of the same influences are at work in the other new comic book, "An Introduction to China," which depicts the Chinese as obsessed with cannibalism and prostitution, and has sold 180,000 copies.

　　

　　The book describes China as the "world's prostitution superpower" and says, without offering evidence, that prostitution accounts for 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product. It describes China as a source of disease and depicts Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi saying, "I hear that most of the epidemics that broke out in Japan on a large scale are from China."

　　

　　The book waves away Japan's worst wartime atrocities in China. It dismisses the Rape of Nanjing, in which historians say 100,000 to 300,000 Chinese were killed by Japanese soldiers in 1937-38, as a fabrication of the Chinese government devised to spread anti-Japanese sentiment.

　　

　　The book also says the Japanese Imperial Army's Unit 731 - which researched biological warfare and conducted vivisections, amputations and other experiments on thousands of Chinese and other prisoners - was actually formed to defend Japanese soldiers against the Chinese.

　　

　　"The only attractive thing that China has to offer is Chinese food," said Ko Bunyu, a Taiwan-born writer who provided the script for the comic book. Mr. Ko, 66, has written more than 50 books on China, some on cannibalism and others arguing that Japanese were the real victims of their wartime atrocities in China. The book's main author and cartoonist, a Japanese named George Akiyama, declined to be interviewed.

[Guest rebeccaxhong]

that japanesse article thats bull crap..

the hell stupid japanese cartoonist freekin jealous

no offense to any japanese out there, i truly love the japanese

culture but that cartonnist arrrrrgh.

they're so hotheaded.. hmph

[Guest lorac]

from 'pleasure of love'from aozmsh blog

I have been looking for a link to the original Daum file but have not had much luck. If anyone has a link, or knows where one can d/l this let me know. The streaming video at lovehyunjae does not work well with my connection; I'd love to d/l the file.

[Guest CindyW88]

-----------

11/20/05 – On 11/18, Choi Ji Woo attends the press conference of her first Japanese drama “Dance Music - Rondo (윤무곡-론도, 輪舞曲)” held at Japan TBS headquarter lobby. More than 100 reporters also participate in this event. In the press conference, CJW and her Japanese costar Takenouchi Yutaka (다케노우치 유타카, 竹野內豊) meet each other for the first time. Takenouchi states, “Choi Ji Woo is very beautiful and it is my pleasure to collaborate with her.” CJW states, “I am pleased to meet him for the first time. He is handsome.” The drama will be filmed in Japan for 4 months during which CJW will stay in Japan. She speaks Korean in the drama. The drama will be aired in January of 2006 by TBS in Japan and then be broadcasted in Korea.

http://www.chosun.com/se/news/200511/200511180449.html

11/17/05 – Kim Joon Sung (김준성) will costar with Shim Hye Jin, Jang Dong Jik, and Oh Yoon Ah (심혜진, 장동직, 오윤아) in the Friday drama “That Woman (그 여자)” scheduled to be aired by SBS on 12/9 following the final episode of “Tear of Diamond”. He plays the role Cha Myung Jin (차명진) who is the lover of a high-class married woman Lee Jung Sun (이정선) played by Kim Jung Ran (김정란). Myung Jin lost his parents in early days and works in a construction site. His optimistic personality attracts Jung Sun. KJS’s lastest drama was “Fashion 70’s”.

http://www.chosun.com/se/news/200511/200511170181.html

11/17/05 – Lee Jung Jae renews the CF contract (500 million Won / 1 year) with “Basic House (베이직하우스)” as the spokesperson for its business casual brand “Mind Bridge (마인드 브릿지)”. He is scheduled to film this CF as well as to promote his movie “Typhoon” soon.

http://sports.hankooki.com/lpage/entv/2005...11321358390.htm

11/16/05 – Shin Seung Woo and Park Yeh Jin (신성우, 박예진) will collaborate in MBC’s Best Theater (베스트극장) -- “May, June (메이, 준)” scheculed to be aired on 12/10. They play a killer couple similar to the characters played by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the movie “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”. However, they confront and have to tragically kill each other at the end. SSW’s last drama was “Trembling Heart” aired by MBC in April and PYJ’s latest drama was “Reincarnation-Next” broadcasted by MBC about six months ago.

http://sports.hankooki.com/lpage/entv/2005...08375458390.htm

TV Rating (11/14/05 – 11/20/05)

1. International Soccer: Korea vs. Serbia-Montenegro (SBS) -- 31.7%

2. Goodbye to Sadness (KBS2) -- 28.9%

3. Lover in Prague (SBS) -- 28.6%

4. Peculiar Man, Eccentric Woman (KBS1) -- 26.5%

5. Special Selection: Korean Movie “Marathon aka Running Boy” (SBS) -- 21.6%

6. The Sky (SBS) -- 20.0%

7. GAG Concert (KBS2) -- 19.8%

8. Sponge (KBS2) -- 17.5%

9. The Instantaneous Capture of the World (SBS) -- 17.1%

10. Good Sunday Show (SBS) -- 17.1%

http://www.tnsmk.co.kr/rating/main.asp?menu=Gi_Weekly

---------------

[Guest adikkeluangman]

Rain appears on CNN’s "Talk Asia"

2005-11-21

Singer/actor Rain (real name Chung Ji-hoon), 23, made an appearance on

CNN’s “Talk Asia” on Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. (Korean time). In his interview, Rain

expressed his wish to advance to the global market following his successes in

Hong Kong, Japan and China.

"My catchphrases are, 'Always be modest' and 'Be patient and do your best till the

end,'" said Rain.

Hosted by Lorraine Hahn, who is also of Korean descent, "Talk Asia" has so far

featured many prominent figures, including former President Kim Dae-jung,

musicians Chung Myung-hoon and Cho Su-mi, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin

Shinawatra and Chinese film director Zhang Yimou.

The interview with Rain was filmed on Nov. 9 when the singer was visiting Hong

Kong to give a concert. The show will be rerun seven times in the entire Asian

region beginning Nov. 21 at 12:30 p.m.

c: KBS Global News

[Guest Priscilla]

November 21, 2005

Korean Weekly News - 11/21

(Posted In Asia Film News TV )

FILM NEWS

Hong Kong has the Lunar New Year, Korea Chuseok... and Japan? Golden Week. The best period of the year to release movies was chosen for the Japanese release of Choi Ji-Woo's latest melodrama, 연리지 (Now & Forever). The film's distributors plan to release the film during the all important national holiday, taking place between the end of April and the beginning of May ever year. The film, which cranked up recently, signed a US$ 3.5 Million distribution contract with Pony Canyon, after they took a quick look at the script, another sign of Choi's immense popularity in Japan.

'I am a girl, you are a student!' is probably the most famous line from 2001's hit comedy 두사부일체 (My Boss, My Hero). The film was a major success, prompting Jung Joon-Ho to stardom, and eventually paving the way for the sequel currently under production. 투사부일체 (My Boss, My Student) stars once again the three Jung (Jung Joon-Ho, Jung Woong-In, Jung Woon-Taek), this time putting Jung Joon-Ho in the shoes of a student teacher, having to endure a student like Kim Sang-Joong, none other than the leader of his gang. While the film's planned crank up is still set for December 8, there was a little accident on the set, when a stuntman injured himself. And since the man in question is Jung Joon-Ho's body double, the shoot had to be delayed a week. The film is set for an Early 2006 release.

Young Bong Tae-Gyu has become one of the busiest actors in Chungmuro. After wrapping up production on the romantic comedy 광식이 동생 광태 (When Romance Meets Destiny), Bong will now start promotion for his latest indie action comedy, Park Sung-Hoon's 썬데이 서울 (Sunday Seoul), and has been cast in the promising 가족의 탄생 (The Birth of a Family), alongside Eom Tae-Woong, Go Doo-Shim, Moon So-Ri and Gong Hyo-Jin. But it doesn't stop there: last November 4 Lee Seok-Hoon's 방과후 옥상 (The Roof Over My Head) started shooting, which will mark Bong's first solo leading role, as a luckless school geek.

If the US$ 5 Million contract signed by 청춘만화 (Youth Comic) wasn't enough, here's more good news for Korean film exports. The romantic comedy 파랑주의보 (My Girl & I), starring Cha Tae-Hyun and Song Hye-Gyo in her film debut, sold contracts for US$ 4 Million at the recent American Film market. The film was sold to Japan, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, China, and more. The film is now in post-production, and will release in Korean theaters on December 22.

After announcing the main cast for his latest film 천년학 (Thousand Year Crane), Im Kwon-Taek chose two child actors - via auditions - to play the childhood version of his leading characters. The first part of the audition, which took part last November 9, was used to cast the 'young Dong-Ho' character, which went to Yoon Je-Won, and the 'young Song-Hwa', which went to Hwang Shi-On. Oh Jung-Hae and theater actor Kim Young-Min had already been cast for the 'adult' main characters.

One of the most interesting new projects in Chungmuro is E J-Yong's 'Hardcore Black Comedy' 다세포 소녀 (Multi-Cell Girl). Although we'll report about the film in depth in the coming weeks, you can now read the incredibly popular manhwa the film is based on, which is being distributed free of charge by Naver. The manhwa, created by Chae Jung-Taek), is a quite unique and sexy account of the adventures of a group of students. Since the manhwa is rated 19, you'll need to register with Naver (which takes a while for foreigners, but is possible). The film, starring Kim Ok-Bin, Lee Kyun and Park Jin-Woo, is around 30% complete, and is set for a Spring 2006 release.

TV DRAMA NEWS

Surely one of the most underrated actors in Korea, Lee Moon-Shik will finally take a challenge on the small screen, with his first leading role in a TV Drama. The theater-trained actor, whose memorable supporting roles on many films like 달마야 놀자 (Hi, Dharma!), 라이터를 켜라 (Breakout) and 황산벌 (Once Upon a Time in The Battlefield) won him a solo leading role in 형사 공필두 (Detective Gong Pil-Doo), will star in the TV Drama 내겐 너무 완벽한 그녀 (My Perfect Girl), produced by PD Jang Tae-Woo of 불량주부 (Bad Wife) and 101번째 프로포즈 (The 101st Proposal), and written by 내사랑 토람이 (My Lovely Toram)'s Yoon Young-Mi.

This is not the first TV Drama for Lee, who also excelled in 다모 (Damo) in a small but important role, and was also in 죽도록 사랑해 (I Love You To Death). He will play Park Dal-Jae, a 38 year old bachelor who falls for a 29 year old announcer, after turning down just about every marriage meeting he's set up for. His partner hasn't been decided yet. The Drama will start airing next April on SBS, after the completion of the current hit Weekend Drama 하늘이시여 (Dear Heaven). But there were some bad news regarding Lee Moon-Shik as well. Last November 15, while shooting his latest film 'Detective Gong Pil-Doo', Lee was involved in a car accident near the shooting site in Sangbong-Dong. Lee's manager - who was driving when the accident occurred - was a little injured, and Lee hurt his neck. But while people were expecting this little accident to delay the shoot, Lee just took a quick trip to the hospital to get treatment, and returned back to the shoot moments later.

It seems that after all 못된 사랑 (Cruel Love) could become a reality. The Drama raised quite a few eyebrows months ago after they decided to cast singer Rain and Go So-Young in the leading roles, which would have marked Go's return to the small screen after years. But for various reasons the station decided to kill the project and focus on other things. But SBS recently announced they've started researching for the Drama once again, which was written by Lee Yoo-Jin of 불새 (Phoenix). There's a strong rumour the leading roles will go to Kim Hee-Sun and Lee Byung-Heon, because Lee's agency has a connection with the production company of the Drama, and Kim announced she'd return to TV Dramas at the beginning of 2006. Sources close to Lee Byung-Heon say that at the moment he's giving more importance to his movie work, so there's nothing confirmed, but they also didn't deny the rumour.

We reported last week Jung Ryeo-Won was set to star in the upcoming MBC Drama 늑대 (Wolf), alongside Eom Tae-Woong and Eric Moon. But Jung decided to give up the role, which is now rumoured to go to 여고괴담 4: 목소리 (Voice)'s Kim Ok-Bin. In a recent interview with Star News, Jung said she thought about it, she liked the idea and the overall tone of the Drama, but decided to give up for personal reasons. Jung suffered a huge rollercoaster in popularity this Summer, going from the 50% ratings of 내 이름은 김삼순 (My Lovely Sam-Soon) to the 3% of 가을소나기 (Autumn Shower).

Ahhh... yes. I missed Yoon Seok-Ho's TV Dramas so much, like someone misses an earthquake. Helmer of timeless 'masterpieces' like 가을동화 (Autumn Fairy Tale), 겨울연가 (Winter Sonata) and 여름 향기 (Scent of Summer), Yoon will soon start work on his final installment of the 'Season Dramas', entitled 봄의 왈츠 (Spring Waltz). But just like tired, cliched, over the top melodrama is always an unwelcome guest in Yoon's Dramas, there's an actress who will set a new record: having the patience and will power to star in all four of the Season Dramas, that actress being Kim Hae-Sook. The show will start shooting tomorrow, and Kim will play the aunt of our leading heroine (who still hasn't been cast), who lost her mother when she was young. Thanks to the incredible success of the 3 previous Season Dramas all over Asia, Kim has become a sort of popular figure in Japan, where she signed a one year contract with a cosmetics company, to play the main model. There were rumours the leading role would go to Daniel Henney, but they were quickly killed off. As of now, no news of any casting for the two main characters has been announced.

Anytime Kim Jong-Hak is preparing a new Drama, or at least his company Kim Jong-Hak Production does, the media gets into an instant frenzy. Their latest project is 내 인생의 스페셜 (My Life's Special), which recently announced its child cast. Playing the young version of Kim Seung-Woo will be Jung Ho-Jin, who played 'young Seol Kyung-Gu' in Kang Woo-Suk's 공공의 적 2 (Another Public Enemy), while Myung Se-Bin's 'childhood version' will go to Jung Ah-Ri, who recently starred in the SBS Drama 봄날 (Spring Days) as the younger version of Go Hyun-Jung. Also, the younger version of Shin Sung-Woo will be played by Lee Jong-Soo, who had small roles in films like 여선생과 여제자 (Lovely Rivals) and 알포인트 (R-Point). Finally, Sung Ji-Roo's younger version will be played by Kim Kyung-Rae, who debuted in Bong Joon-Ho's 살인의 추억 (Memories of Murder).

While her rumoured return to the small screen 'Cruel Love' went up in smoke (and later was re-ignited), Go So-Young announced her return to TV Dramas after 9 years, with 사랑하지...않아 (I Love You... Not). The show, set to air in the second half of next year. is another in the long line of mixed martial arts-related shows. After 이 죽일놈의 사랑 (A Love To Kill) featured a former K-1 fighter, this one, written by Kwon Gi-Young, will tell the love story between a Pride (the Japanese fighting event) fighter and his lover. The popularity of mixed martial arts in Korea increased tenfold when former Ssirum wrestler Choi Hong-Man successfully debuted in the K-1 circuit. Go is expected to sign the contract in the next 2-3 days, and the show will have a formal introduction in Japan next month.

TV DRAMA WRAPUP

Many people were asking themselves which drama would benefit from the end of the monstrously popular 장밋빛 인생 (Life in Pink). Some, like myself, thought MBC's new Wed/Thu Drama 영재의 전성시대 (Young-Jae's Heydays) would be the first MBC Drama in a while to become successful. The combination of a great producer (Lee Jae-Gab) returning to TV Dramas after a while, a good cast (Kim Min-Sun, Yoo Joon-Sang), and the kind of storyline often associated with MBC's past hits looked like a sure-fire hit. Some others thought KBS would continue doing well in the ratings, with their new Drama 황금 사과 (Golden Apple), set between the 60s and 70s and marking the return of Park Sol-Mi to the big screen. Few people expected the other contender in the Wednesday-Thursday night Drama, SBS' 사랑은 기적이 필요해 (Love Needs a Miracle) to make any noise, since it was recording ratings well under the 10% for the last month or so. But the miracle actually happened!

Although 'Golden Apple' scored bigger ratings, 'Love Needs a Miracle' made an almost 200% upturn in the ratings, going from 7-8% to this week's 15%. The show stars Kim Won-Hee, fresh off the huge success of her last film 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2) and Lee Gyu-Han, Kim Seon-Ah's bizarre ex-boyfriend in 내 이름은 김삼순 (My Lovely Sam-Soon). And that's not the only connection with the Sam-Soon syndrome, since 'Miracle' doubled its rating just like a little drama called 부활 (Rebirth) did after the end of the sensation of this Summer. It's always hard to predict where audiences will move after the end of an incredibly popular show. After the lively and cheerful atmosphere of 'My Lovely Sam-Soon', people opted for something a little darker and watched 'Rebirth.' And viceversa, after the bleak and depressing 'Life in Pink', it seems people are more inclined to watch the breezy shenanigans of 'Love Needs a Miracle.'

But 'Golden Apple' made quite a good start, especially considering it had to compete with the National Soccer Team, with ratings around the late 10s. Set in the 60s and 70s, it's a story of three sisters living in a small village in Gyungsang Province. The show was written by Kim Woon-Young of 옥이이모 (Auntie Ok) and stars Park Sol-Mi, Go Eun-Ah and Jung Chan. While Lee Jae-Gab's 'Young-Jae's Heydays' did start on pretty average ratings (around 10%), it had a very high rating with older audiences, much higher than 'Golden Apple', and received good reviews regarding its first two episodes. Still, considering expectations, it's a disappointing start.

The other big news of the week was nothing new, sadly: more problems for MBC. Not only their new Drama 'Young-Jae's Heydays' didn't set the country on fire, but their only success at the moment, the hilarious 'thriller comedy' 달콤한 스파이 (Sweet Spy) risks losing even more viewers after another 'exposure' accident. Although the show did well on Monday, with ratings of around 12%, some people noticed that in one scene involving Choi Buram in a public bath, an extra exposed his genitals in the background. Now, it was nearly impossible to see unless you freeze-framed the image (I didn't spot it myself while watching the VOD), but some smart folks decided to post pictures all over the Net of the 'offender', and complain on the Drama's official website. And that wasn't all, as a scene with former adult-video star Sung Eun was criticized as well, for showing more than what they expected.

This might sound all too familiar to those who read about this summer's scandal, when a group of backdancers for a punk rock band exposed their genitals on live TV (in much more explicit ways), which prompted the station to cancel the entire show, and fall into a kind of vicious circle of denial, witch hunting by the public, and general hypocrisy. Those accidental moments of exposure on TV are nothing new, as SBS was guilty of doing the same twice: in 올인 (All In) where a similar accident happened, and most importantly in 러브스토리 인 하버드 (Lovestory in Harvard), when Jung Sol-Hee rolled around her bed in lingerie while playing with another character, revealing much more than she probably wanted. But while those cases were reported, and the same kind of prudes ready to jump at the producers' throat came out and complained, this is a different situation. Now we've entered the age of 'blame MBC.' Every opportunity to blame the station is used nowadays, after that 'nude stage' accident, which has put what was once the 'Kingdom of TV Dramas' into its biggest crisis ever, with top stars trying to walk out of contracts, refusing to star on MBC Dramas, and the atmosphere at the station being generally down.

The rival stations KBS and MBC are even waging war over the issue, with KBS littering its News programs with accusations for MBC's 'exposure' problems, while MBC is using the suicide of a KBS producer who was supposed to debut with a Drama soon as a countermeasure. But while MBC's was just a problem of checking content a little better before going on air, people in the industry are blaming the death of the producer on KBS itself, almost saying they led him to kill himself, after cutting the planned budget for his debut Drama in half in the middle of pre-production. And things could even get nastier, as now that 'Lovers in Prague' is over, the two stations will wage war on four fronts: the Monday/Tuesday Dramas, the Wednesday/Thursday Dramas, the Weekend Dramas, and the war of petty accusations they're throwing at each other. The winner? Probably SBS, which is seeing the ratings for all their major shows quietly improving.

TV DRAMA RATINGS

11/14~11/20

01. 31.0% 프라하의 연인 (Lovers in Prague)

Special Project - SBS [Cast: Jeon Do-Yeon, Kim Joo-Hyeok, Kim Min-Joon]

02. 30.2% 슬픔이여 안녕 (Goodbye To Sadness)

Weekend Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Park Sun-Young, Kim Dong-Wan, Oh Yeon-Soo]

03. 29.3% 별난여자 별난남자 (Weird Man, Weird Woman)

Daily Drama - KBS1 [Cast: Jung Joon, Kim Ah-Joong, Go Ju-Won]

04. 22.3% 하늘이시여 (Dear Heaven)

Weekend Drama - SBS [Cast: Yoon Jung-Hee, Lee Tae-Gon, Jo Yeon-Woo]

05. 18.3% 황금 사과 (Golden Apple)

Wed/Thu Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Park Sol-Mi, Park Ji-Bin, Jung Chan] NEW!

06. 16.4% 서동요 (The Ballad of Seo Dong)

Historical Drama - SBS [Cast: Lee Bo-Young, Jo Hyun-Jae, Ryu Jin]

07. 16.3% 사랑은 기적이 필요해 (Love Needs a Miracle)

Wed/Thu Drama - SBS [Cast: Kim Won-Hee, Lee Gyu-Han, Kim Soo-Mi]

08. 16.2% 들꽃 (Wild Flower)

Daily Morning Drama - SBS [Cast: Lee Ah-Hyun, Seonwoo Jae-Deok, Kim Jung-Hak]

09. 15.9% 고향역 (Hometown Station)

TV Novel - KBS1 [Cast: Kim Gab-Soo, Kim Hyung-Ja, Song Ok-Sook]

10. 15.4% 이 죽일놈의 사랑 (A Love to Kill)

Mon/Tue Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Rain, Shin Min-Ah, Kim Sa-Rang]

Sources

Star News: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Yahoo Korea: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

nKino: 1, 2

Chosun Ilbo: 1

» Written by X at November 21, 2005 02:32 AM

From: http://www.twitchfilm.net/archives/004217.html#more

[Guest conduongmuathu]

vod - Seo Dong's Song/JHJ practicing his lines

credit to hyunjaezoa

Thanks for sharing

[creidesca]

November 21, 2005

Korean Weekly News - 11/21

(Posted In Asia Film News TV )

[TV DRAMA WRAPUP

Many people were asking themselves which drama would benefit from the end of the monstrously popular 장밋빛 인생 (Life in Pink). Some, like myself, thought MBC's new Wed/Thu Drama 영재의 전성시대 (Young-Jae's Heydays) would be the first MBC Drama in a while to become successful. The combination of a great producer (Lee Jae-Gab) returning to TV Dramas after a while, a good cast (Kim Min-Sun, Yoo Joon-Sang), and the kind of storyline often associated with MBC's past hits looked like a sure-fire hit. Some others thought KBS would continue doing well in the ratings, with their new Drama 황금 사과 (Golden Apple), set between the 60s and 70s and marking the return of Park Sol-Mi to the big screen. Few people expected the other contender in the Wednesday-Thursday night Drama, SBS' 사랑은 기적이 필요해 (Love Needs a Miracle) to make any noise, since it was recording ratings well under the 10% for the last month or so. But the miracle actually happened!

Although 'Golden Apple' scored bigger ratings, 'Love Needs a Miracle' made an almost 200% upturn in the ratings, going from 7-8% to this week's 15%. The show stars Kim Won-Hee, fresh off the huge success of her last film 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2) and Lee Gyu-Han, Kim Seon-Ah's bizarre ex-boyfriend in 내 이름은 김삼순 (My Lovely Sam-Soon). And that's not the only connection with the Sam-Soon syndrome, since 'Miracle' doubled its rating just like a little drama called 부활 (Rebirth) did after the end of the sensation of this Summer. It's always hard to predict where audiences will move after the end of an incredibly popular show. After the lively and cheerful atmosphere of 'My Lovely Sam-Soon', people opted for something a little darker and watched 'Rebirth.' And viceversa, after the bleak and depressing 'Life in Pink', it seems people are more inclined to watch the breezy shenanigans of 'Love Needs a Miracle.'

But 'Golden Apple' made quite a good start, especially considering it had to compete with the National Soccer Team, with ratings around the late 10s. Set in the 60s and 70s, it's a story of three sisters living in a small village in Gyungsang Province. The show was written by Kim Woon-Young of 옥이이모 (Auntie Ok) and stars Park Sol-Mi, Go Eun-Ah and Jung Chan. While Lee Jae-Gab's 'Young-Jae's Heydays' did start on pretty average ratings (around 10%), it had a very high rating with older audiences, much higher than 'Golden Apple', and received good reviews regarding its first two episodes. Still, considering expectations, it's a disappointing start.

Something should be mentioned that besides having to compete with the National Soccer team in the first week, 'Golden Apple''s leads Park Sol-mi, Go Eun-ah, Kim Ji-hoon, Ji Hyun-woo won't even make their appearances till episode 9 of the planned 30 episodes. You don't see that in happening in the majority of the K-dramas (w/ the exception of the historical ones). And correction, the drama isn't about 3 sisters, it's about an older sister (Park Solmi), her 2 younger brothers (Kim Jihoon, Ji Hyunwoo) and their stepsister (Go Eun-ah) who become orphaned after the stepmother is found dead (murdered) when news of her affair with a local politician spreads through the village and the father is imprisoned for supposedly committing the act. From the character chart provided at the KBS website, a relationship might develop between stepbrother Kyungmin played by Ji Hyunwoo (Park Jibin being the younger version) and stepsister Geumshil played by Go Eun-ah (Yoo Yoonmee being the younger version).

[Guest chibikko]

Terrestrial TV Viewer Ratings Plummet

Thanks to plethora of new media channels, especially on cable and satellite, more Korean households watch TV even as viewer ratings for terrestrial channels have plunged by 10 percent since 1992.

A survey by Prof. Shim Mi-sun of Soonchunhyang University found that MBC was the terrestrial TV network that suffered the biggest slump in ratings among Korea’s four. Compared to 2000, KBS 1TV dropped 5 percent, KBS 2TV 1 percent, SBS 3 percent and MBC 7 percent.

“Compared to 2000, the overwhelmingly biggest group of viewers who defected from terrestrial services is those aged 29 and under,” Shim said. According to the study, after the new media came to Korea a decade ago, the children’s programs of terrestrial TV stations saw their lowest viewer rating in history, followed by movies, sport and talk shows.

Children’s programs’ TV rating plunged from 10.3 percent a decade ago to 3.4 percent in 2000 and to 2.1 percent this year, while movies slid from 15.3 percent a decade ago to 4.5 percent this year. Viewer ratings of MBC’s News Desk fell by the largest margin or 28.7 percent in the 10 years after 1995. The KBS equivalent News 9 fell 12.3 percent.

“Affected by quick Internet news and professional cable and satellite news, terrestrial TV channels’ prime-time news took a nosedive,” the academic said.

(englishnews@chosun.com )

credit: Digital Chosunibo

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/new...0511210028.html

[Guest Jamieâ„¢]

"Parang Love" - "My Girl and I" to be sold abroad in US$4 million (2005/11/19)

"Parang Love" - "My Girl and I" has been of help toward obtaining excellent result in expanding Korean movies to abroad.

The movie was sold in US$4 million at the American Film Market that was held from Nov. 2 to 11 in Santa Monica, California.

It is expected to give an impetus to the export in the future as it is a first start in overseas market.

Especially it attracted big interest as Cha Tae-hyeon and Hallyu star Song Hye-kyo, who appears first in the screen after her debut, were cast together. It is meaningful to get a fruitful result although the film was presented with a 50%-finished promotion work at AFM.

The countries to be made contracts are: Japan (Warner Brothers), Hong Kong, Macao (Celestial Pictures), Singapore (Festive Films), Thailand (Box Office Entertainment), Taiwan (Flash Forward Entertainment), Indonesia and Vietnam (Vietnam Media). So it covers most Asian nations and the total contract price is US$ 4 million which exceeds much more than its production cost.

It records the first Korean movie which gets interest even before it's screening. It is anticipated to be exported to the whole Asia. It is under discussion with Malaysia, India and China as well.

The staff of IHQ in charge of overseas sales said that they had difficulties to get over Japanese buyers' prejudice and persuade them since the original novel "Crying Out Love In The Center Of The World" was a big social sensation in Japan.

"At first, most buyers were in doubt as they had preconception that it was already made in Japan and it could not be 'better than the original. However, 'Parang Love' - "My Girl and I" has more dramatic structure with beautiful image of Korea than the original, so the buyers changed mind to make contracts on the ground. Hallyu star Song Hye-kyo's popularity played a big role as well," added he.

Warner Brothers in charge of distributing revealed his expectation, "The Korean re-interpretation is magnificent. We are confident to make a great success in Japan. The movie has a fresh attraction with beautiful image and two well-acted main players' purity."

The movie will be released on Dec. 22 at home.

The Source : Koreacontent News Team

Source : www.koreancontent.org... ( English Korean )

credits: jgabriel2005 from shk thread.

[Guest Priscilla]

[[Latest News]]Han Ji Min will be reunited with Uhm Tae Woong at “Wolf.”

From: UhmskyCafe/ News Section/ Article #1443

Posted by 새봄 on November 22nd, 2005

[My Daily = Reporter Ahn Ji Sun] Entertainer with large luminous eyes Han Ji Min will be reunited with Uhm Tae Woong after partnering with him at KBS TV drama “Resurrection.”

Han Ji Min has been cast to play the character of “Jung Ji Soo,” who will be receiving wholehearted love from both Uhm Tae Woong and Eric in the MBC drama “Wolf” (writer Kim Kyung Sae, producer Park Hong Kyun), which is scheduled to open on January of next year.

According to the makers of ‘Wolf,’ “Han Ji Min was cast because she matches perfectly with the image of Jung Ji Soo’s character.” “Although the contract hasn’t been signed yet, it is confirmed.”

Han Ji Min, who was ‘re-discovered’ as an actress through “Resurrection,” will play the character of a dying woman in “Wolf,” the only daughter of a wealthy family who finds out she has leukemia. Having only 3 months left to live, Han Ji Min couldn't afford to love anyone. But her heart gets still drawn towards cute and babish Uhm Tae Woong (Yoon Sung Mo) wanting to hold him, and towards rough and wild Eric (Bae Dae Cheol), whom she wants to embrace.

Moreover, she who shared deep love with Uhm Tae Woong in “Resurrection” will start falling more and more for Eric, the guy everyone’s telling her is bad. The love struggles between these 3 characters are expected to win the interest of viewers.

[Han Ji Min, who will be in the MBC drama “Wolf,” which is expected to be aired on January of next year, playing a ‘dying woman’ who receives wholehearted love from both Eric and Uhm Tae Woong. Photo = My Daily Photo DB]

(Reporter Ahn Ji Sun ajs@mydaily.co.kr)

***Translated by Priscilla