Kim Hye-Soo 김혜수 [Drama “Under the Queen’s Umbrella” | Movie “Smugglers”]

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January 31, 2016

Signal of success

Source: The Korea Times

"Signal" poster / Courtesy of tvN

The tvN TV drama "Signal" is already proving a big hit after the "Reply 1988" syndrome phased out with its last episode two weeks ago.

Starting with a 6 percent rating for its first episode on Jan. 22, "Signal," which screens every Friday and Saturday, has been gaining an additional 1 percent with each following episode on average.

The fantasy drama portrays detective from the present and a policeman from 1989 communicating via walkie-talkie to solve a long-time unsolved case. TV viewers are fascinated with the intriguing plot, which on Saturday showed the policeman in the past failing to stop his girlfriend being murdered.

There had been doubts about whether the show would fare as well as "Reply 1988." 

aoshima11@ktimes.com

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February 1, 2016

[Just out on DVD] Korean movie "Coin Locker Girl"

Source: Hancinema.net

Korean movie "Coin Locker Girl" is available to order on DVD with English subtitles from YESASIA.

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February 3, 2016

Asian Film Awards: 'The Assassin' leads with Nine Nominations

by Karen Chu  THR

'Mountains May Depart, 'Veteran' and 'Mr. Six' each received four nominations.

While it may have missed out on an Oscar foreign-language nomination, The Assassin has emerged as frontrunner at the Asian Film Awards. Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien's martial-arts film picked up nine nominations, followed by Mountains May Depart, Veteran and Mr. Six, each with four.

The Assassin was nominated in the best film, director, actress, supporting actress, cinematography, original music, costume design, production design, and sound categories. The film bowed in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last year.

The best film race consists of The Assassin, Chinese co-production Mountains May Depart, India's Bajirao Mastani, Japan's Three Stories of Love, China's Mr. Six, and South Korea's Veteran.

Donnie Yen of Hong Kong box office hit Ip Man 3 is nominated for a best actor gong, with Nagase Masatoshi of Japan's An, Feng Xiaogang of China's Mr. Six, Lee Byung-Hun of South Korea's Inside Men, and John Arcilla of The Philippine's Heneral Luna also in contention.

The best actress category is a contest between Zhao Tao of Mountains May Depart, Shu Qi of The Assassin, Ayase Haruka of Japan's Our Little Sister, Kim Hye-soo of South Korea's Coin Locker Girl, and Karena Lam of Taiwan's Zinnia Flower.

The nominations included thirty-six films from nine countries. Twenty-two films from China or Chinese co-productions were nominated for awards in fifteen categories, followed by sixteen from Japan.

A new category, best sound, was introduced this year.

The fifteen-member jury will be presided by Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To this year, with jury members including Hong Kong actor Sean Lau and Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan.

Marking the tenth edition of the Asian Film Awards, organized by the Asian Film Awards Academy, the awards ceremony will be held on March 17 at the Venetian Theater in Macau.

  

Asian Film Awards Nominations

Best Film

Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, China)

The Assassin (Hong Kong, China, Taiwan)

Bajirao Mastani (India)

Three Stories of Love (Japan)

Mr. Six (China)

Veteran (South Korea)

Best Director

Jia Zhang-Ke, Mountains May Depart

Hou Hsiao-Hsien, The Assassin

Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Our Little Sister

Guan Hu, Mr. Six

Ryoo Seung-wan, Veteran

Best Actor

Donnie Yen, Ip Man 3

Nagase Masatoshi, An

Feng Xiao-gang, Mr. Six

Lee Byung-Hun, Inside Men

John Arcilla, Heneral Luna

Best Actress

Zhao Tao, Mountains May Depart

Shu Qi, The Assassin

Ayase Haruka, Our Little Sister

Kim Hye-soo, Coin Locker Girl

Karena Lam, Zinnia Flower

Best Supporting Actor

Max Zhang, Ip Man 3

Michael Ning, Port of Call

Asano Tadanobu, Journey to the Shore

Oh Dal-soo, Assassination

Cheng Jen Shuo, Thanatos, Drunk

Best Supporting Actress

Zhuo Yun, The Assassin

Tsuchiya Anna, Gonin Saga

Cherry Ngan, Mojin – The Lost Legend

Ueno Juri, The Beauty Inside

Park So-dam, The Priests

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Source: AsianFilmAwards

Photo credit: afaacademy

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February 3, 2016

Painterly 'The Assassin' leads nominees at Asian Film Awards

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

HONG KONG (AP) — Hou Hsiao-hsien's cinematic kung fu masterpiece "The Assassin" may have missed out on an Oscar nod, but it tops nominees at the Asian Film Awards.

The nine nominations include best film, best director, best cinematography, and best actress for Shu Qi. Hou won best director at Cannes last year for his painterly dramatic film.

Indian period drama, "Bajirao Mastani" earned five of the nominations announced Wednesday, as did Hong Kong cop thriller "Port of Call," which received 13 nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards last week.

"Port of Call" was absent from the best film category, where "The Assassin" competes with "Bajirao Mastani," ''Mountains May Depart," ''Three Stories Of Love," ''Mr. Six" and "Veteran."

The Asian Film Awards marks its 10th anniversary this year. The Asian Film Awards Academy hands out the awards as part of an effort to promote budding filmmakers in the region and enhance collaboration among regional film industries.

The academy said it received 1,600 submissions from 32 countries, narrowed to 36 films from nine Asian countries competing for the top honors. Hong Kong director Jonnie To leads the jury.

Jury member Sean Lau Ching-wan said he's most looking forward to watching great performances. "I think I'll be mainly looking at actor's performances and watch who bring the characters to life," he said.

Donnie Yen's performance in "Ip Man 3" was nominated in the best actor category alongside Nagase Masatoshi, Feng Xiaogang, Lee Byung-hun and John Arcilla from the Philippines. For best actress, Shu Qi faces competition from Zhao Tao, Haruka Ayase, Kim Hye-soo and Karena Lam.

In the directing category, Hou faces off with Jia Zhangke, Koreeda Hirokazu, Guan Hu and Ryoo Seung-wan.

The awards will be handed out in Macau on March 17.

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February 3, 2016

'The Assassin' leads nods for Asian Film Awards

BY LIZ SHACKLETON ScreenDaily

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin leads the nominations for the 10th Asian Film Awards with nine nods, followed by India’s Bajirao Mastani and Hong Kong’s Port Of Call with five apiece.

'The Assassin' leads nods for Asian Film Awards

The Assassin, which won best director in Cannes last year, was nominated for best film, director, actress (Shu Qi), supporting actress (Zhou Yun), cinematography (Mark Lee Ping-bing) and four other technical categories.

Another sumptious period epic, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani, was also nominated for best film, along with best editing, original music, costume design and visual effects.

Philip Yung’s social drama Port Of Call, based on the true story of a mainland prostitute who was murdered in Hong Kong, picked up nods for best supporting actor (Michael Ning), newcomer (Jessie Li), screenplay, editing and Christopher Doyle’s cinematography.

Rounding out the best film category are Jia Zhangke’s Mountains May Depart (France-China); Hashiguchi Ryosuke’s Three Stories Of Love (Japan); Guan Hu’s Mr Six (China) and Ryoo Seung-wan’s Veteran (South Korea). Mountains May Depart, Mr. Six and Veteran all picked up four nominations.

Chinese director Feng Xiaogang scooped a best actor nomination for his role in Mr. Six, along with Donnie Yen for Ip Man 3 (Hong Kong), Nagase Masatoshi for An (Japan), Lee Byung-hun for Inside Men (South Korea) and John Arcilla for Heneral Luna from the Philippines.

In addition to Shu Qi, best actress nominations went to Zhao Tao for Mountains May Depart, Ayase Haruka for Our Little Sister (Japan), Kim Hye-soo for Coin Locker Girl (South Korea) and Karena Lam for Zinnia Flower (Taiwan).

Hong Kong director Johnnie To will serve as president of this year’s jury, which also includes celebrity jurors Hong Kong actor Sean Lau Ching-wan and Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan, and 12 film industry professionals, festival programmers and critics from around the world.

Over the past year, the Asian Film Awards Academy, which organises the AFAs, has rolled out year-round audience and professional development programmes, including masterclasses, training programmes and roadshows.

The AFAs have also added a new category for sound this year, with nominations for Monster Hunt, The Assassin, Bakuman, The Inerasable and Assassination.

This year’s ceremony will take place at the Venetian Macao on March 17.

10th ASIAN FILM AWARDS NOMINATIONS LIST

BEST FILM

1.Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, Mainland China)

2.The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

3.Bajirao Mastani (India)

4.Three Stories Of Love (Japan)

5.Mr. Six (Mainland China)

6.Veteran (South Korea)

BEST DIRECTOR

1.JIA Zhang-Ke, Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, Mainland China)

2.HOU Hsiao-Hsien, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

3.KORE-EDA Hirokazu, Our Little Sister (Japan)

4.GUAN Hu, Mr. Six (Mainland China)

5.RYOO Seung-wan, Veteran (South Korea)

BEST ACTOR

1.Donnie YEN, Ip Man 3 (Hong Kong)

2. NAGASE Masatoshi, An (Japan)

3.FENG Xiaogang, Mr. Six (Mainland China)

4.LEE Byung-Hun, Inside Men (South Korea)  

5.John ARCILLA, Heneral Luna (The Philippines)

BEST ACTRESS

1.ZHAO Tao, Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, Mainland China)

2.SHU Qi, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

3.AYASE Haruka, Our Little Sister (Japan)

4.KIM Hye-soo, Coin Locker Girl (South Korea) 

5.Karena LAM, Zinnia Flower (Taiwan)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1.Max ZHANG, Ip Man 3 (Hong Kong)

2.Michael NING, Port Of Call (Hong Kong)

3.ASANO Tadanobu, Journey To The Shore (Japan)

4.OH Dal-soo, Assassination (South Korea)

5.CHENG Jen Shuo, Thanatos, Drunk (Taiwan)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. ZHOU Yun, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

2.TSUCHIYA Anna, Gonin Saga (Japan)

3.Cherry NGAN, Mojin - The Lost Legend (Mainland China)

4.UENO Juri, The Beauty Inside (South Korea)

5.PARK So-dam, The Priests (South Korea)

BEST NEWCOMER

1.Vicky KAUSHAL, Masaan (France, India)

2.Jessie LI, Port Of Call (Hong Kong)

3.FUJINO Ryoko, Solomon’s Perjury, Solomon’s Perjury 2 (Japan)

4.KIM Seol-hyun, Gangnam Blues (South Korea)

5.LEE Hong-Chi, Thanatos, Drunk (Taiwan)

6.Waruntorn PAONIL            , Snap (Thailand)

BEST SCREENPLAY

1.JIA Zhang-Ke, Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, Mainland China)

2.Philip YUNG, Port Of Call (Hong Kong)

3.Vishal BHARDWAJ, Talvar (India)

4.UJITA Takashi, KUROSAWA Kiyoshi, Journey To The Shore (Japan)

5.RYOO Seung-wan, Veteran (South Korea)

BEST EDITING

1.William CHANG Suk Ping, CHU Ka Yat, LIAO Ching-sung, WONG Hoi, Philip YUNG, Port Of Call (Hong Kong)

2.Rajesh PANDEY, Bajirao Mastani (India)

3.OZEKI Yasuyuki, Bakuman (Japan)

4.TU Yiran, Jian Bing Man (Mainland China)

5.KIM Jae-bum, KIM Sang-beom, Veteran (South Korea)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1.Christopher DOYLE, Port Of Call (Hong Kong)

2. Mark LEE Ping-Bing, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

3.SASAKIBARA Yasushi, YAMAMOTO Yoshiaki, Gonin Saga (Japan)

4.LUO Pan, Mr. Six (Mainland China)

5.KIM Woo-hyung, Assassination (South Korea)

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC

1.LIM Giong, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

2.Nihar Ranjan SAMAL, Bajirao Mastani (India)

3.Amit TRIVEDI, Bombay Velvet (India)

4.OTOMO Yoshihide, Journey To The Shore (Japan)

5.BANG Joon-seok, The Throne (South Korea)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1.HWARNG Wern-Ying, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

2.Maxima BASU, Anju MODI, Bajirao Mastani (India)

3.MIYAMOTO Masae, Kakekomi (Japan)

4.LEE Ji-yeon, SHIM Hyun-seob, The Throne (South Korea)

5.Carlo TABIJE, Heneral Luna (The Philippines)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1.Ken MAK, Ip Man 3 (Hong Kong)

2.HWARNG Wern-Ying, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

3.HARADA Tetsuo, Kakekomi (Japan)

4.Lee Min-su, Inside Men (South Korea)

5.Benjamin PADERO, Carlo TABIJE, Heneral Luna (The Philippines)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1.Ellen POON, Jason H. SNELL, TANG Bingbing, Monster Hunt (Hong Kong, Mainland China)

2.Srinivas MOHAN, Baahubali: The Beginning (India)

3.Prasad SUTAR, Bajirao Mastani (India)

4.ONOUE Katsuro, Attack On Titan (Japan)

5.CHO Yong Seok, CHOI Jae Cheon, LEE Jeon Hyoung, The Tiger (South Korea)

BEST SOUND

1.LEE Yiu Keung, Kinson TSANG, George YIU Chun Hin, Monster Hunt (Hong Kong, Mainland China)

2.CHU Shih-Yi, TU Duu-Chih, WU Shu-Yao,The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

3.WATANABE Shinji, Bakuman (Japan)

4.NISHIYAMA Toru, The Inerasable (Japan)

5. KIM Suk-won, PARK Joo-gang, Assassination (South Korea)

Source: AFA Facebook 

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February 2, 2016

3 Charming Black & White Looks of Kim Hye Soo – Jang Nara – Kim So Hyun

Source: BNTNews

[by Jung Ah Young/ translated by Yanchingsally Chu] Black and white are the colors that fashion people always dress in and a combination that they take a fancy to. 

When the refined black color encounters the cool white color, their contrasting charms superiorly stand out. 

We’ve analyzed the black and white looks and makeup of Kim Hye Soo, Jang Nara and Kim So Hyun who are all well-known stylish actresses. 

Chic Black & White

There is one more actress who is forgotten by time, Kim Hye Soo has come back with her new drama. 

She showed up with a short cut hairstyle and a black and white look. A V-line top, black wide pants and a black jacket that she wore over her shoulders completed her elegant style. Her silver accessories added a point to her look and the drop earrings that extended far to her neckline gave off a professional and metropolitan vibe. 

Matching the outfit, her makeup was done neatly. Her enchanting eyelashes and glossy nude lips rounded off her refined style. 

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To all friends at the thread celebrating Lunar New Year of the Monkey 恭禧發財

2016: The Year of Monkey

Source: Korean Safari

2016 is the year of Monkey (Fire Monkey) starting from February 8, 2016 (called the Lunar New Year) and lasting to January 27, 2017.

Monkey ranks ninth position in the Chinese Zodiac. They are cheerful and energetic by nature and usually represent flexibility. People under the sign of the Monkey are wise, intelligent, confident, charismatic, loyal, inventive and have leadership.

The weaknesses of the Monkeys are being egotistical, arrogant, crafty, restless and snobbish.

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Article at Innolife.com.

Jo Jin Woong-Kim Hye Soo, their first encounter in drama 'Signal'

In the drama 'Signal' Jo Jin Woong and Kim Hye-Soo had a strong first encounter.

On tvN 'Signal' broadcast on February 5th, there was scene Cha Soo Hyeon (played by Kim Hye Soo) meeting Lee Jae Han (played by Jo Jin Woong) in 1995 for the first time. 

Meantime, tvN had broadcast all episodes of 'Signal' on February 6th from 8:30 pm.[Photo=tvN Singal Episode 5]

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February 10, 2016

'Signal' unveils Kim Hye Soo, Jo Jin Woong, Lee Je Hoon's behind-the-scenes image for the drama poster

Source: SportsSeoul via Hancinema.net

tvN's Friday & Saturday drama, "Signal" has unveiled a behind-the-scenes image of their poster.

tvN has released the image on their official Instagram on February 10th.

"Signal" three actors Kim Hye-soo, Jo Jin-woong, and Lee Je-hoon are sitting together on a bench and looking into the camera lens in the image a bit awkwardly.

It seems that the image was taken during the last fall since you can see a lot of dried fallen leaves on the ground.

"Signal" is a drama produced based on a semi pre-production system. The drama started filming since the last fall and the last half part of the drama is being filmed currently. It's been known that writer Kim Eun-hee-I has finished writing all of the 16 episodes in the beginning of this month.

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Signal episode 5 

Time to come back, Detective Cha. 

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February 17, 2016

‘Signal’ cast to leave for Phuket

Crew and cast of the cable drama “Signal” are to be rewarded with a vacation in Phuket.

They will leave for Thailand in the beginning of March after they finish filming by the end of this month.

(tvN)

Its broadcaster, Korean cable drama channel, tvN already rewarded group vacations to its drama teams “Reply 1988” and “Cheese in the Trap” that recorded great viewership.

The former headed in February, and the latter is scheduled to leave on March 2. 

Criminal-action series “Signal” portrays time slip stories involving two detectives -- one in the present, played by Lee Je-hoon and the other from the 1980s played by Cho Jin-woong. 

They communicate through two-way radios to solve unfinished cases.

It is broadcast every Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

By Kim Soo-hyang (shkim@heraldcorp.com)

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February 21, 2016

'Signal' sets another rating record

Source: The Korea Times

"Signal" / Courtesy of tvN

Popular cable channel drama "Signal" has set another record.

The Friday/Saturday drama on tvN registered a national rating average of 9.2 percent for the 10th episode on Feb. 20, up 1.4 percent from the previous episode on Feb. 19, according to Nielsen Korea and reports.

The drama, starring Kim Hye-soo, Cho Jin-woong and Lee Je-hoon, is about detectives working on unsolved cases as the statute of limitations for first-degree murder is scrapped.

In the 10th episode, Cha Soo-hyun (Kim), tried to solve consecutive murder case.

ejb@ktimes.com

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February 23, 2016

Ego battle: Kim Hye Soo VS Ko Hyun Jung VS Jeon Do Yeon

Source: TV Report via Hancinema.net

Actress Jeon Do-yeon is starring in the tvN drama "The Good Wife". This makes the entry to cable dramas along with Kim Hye-soo and Ko Hyeon-jeong complete. The ego battle between the 'big girls' starts now.

From Kim Hye-soo in "Signal", Ko Hyeon-jeong in "Dear My Friends" and Jeon Do-yeon in "The Good Wife", they are all top actresses who have won Best Actress in different award ceremonies. They are competing at what they do best, acting.

First, Kim Hye-soo is starring in the tvN drama "Signal". She took home the grand prize in 2013 for the KBS 2TV drama "The Queen of Office" and this time she's back with a cable drama. "Signal" revolves around a unique subject of 'radio message from the past'. Detectives in the present time go ahead and solve cases with the help of this radio signal. Currently the viewing percentage is in the 10s.

Kim Hye-soo takes on the role of Cha Soo-hyeon, a detective and her first attempt at a cable drama can be said to be successful.

Ko Hyeon-jeong is coming back in May with "Dear My Friends" which is written by hit-maker Noh Hee-kyeong. The quality of the drama is trustable.

"Dear My Friends" is the life story of twilight youths starring Ko Hyeon-jeong, Ko Doo-sim, Nah Moon-hee, Yoon Yeo-jeong, Kim Hye-ja, Kim Yeong-ok, Park Won-sook and Joo Hyeon. There are special appearances by the younger generation such as Lee Gwang-soo, Jo In-Seong and Seong Dong-il.

Jeon Do-yeon is coming back for the first time in 11 years with a drama. "The Good Wife" is an American original about a wife whose successful investigator husband is booked for corruption and sets out to become the breadwinner of the family for the first time in 15 years.

Jeon Do-yeon's "The Good Wife" will be on air after "Cheese in the Trap" and "Pied Piper".

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February 24, 2016

Lee El talks about her resemblance with Jin Kyung & Kim Hye Soo

Source: STARN News

Lee El talked about her resemblance with Jin Kyung and Kim Hye Soo.

On February 23rd, actress Lee El appeared on channel tvN's 'Talk Show Taxi' as a special guest with musical actress Cha Ji Yeon.

MC Lee Young Jae visited Lee El at a fitness center, and Lee El said, "This is where I always come before starting a new work."

Lee El mentioned about her resemblance with Jin Kyung and Kim Hye Soo, and she said, "I saw the comparison photos, and I also thought that I look like her a bit. I think the only resemblance with me and Kim Hye Soo is the style."

Meanwhile, Cha Ji Yeon revealed how she met her husband for the first time.

/Reporting by Kim Dong-Joo en@starnnews.com

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February 28, 2016

'Signal' sets another ratings record

By Kwon Ji-youn The Korea Times

Scenes from the 12th episode of tvN's "Signal" /Courtesy of tvN

tvN's "Signal" set another ratings record on Saturday, breaking 10 percent with a startling turn of events in the 12th episode.

The story traveled back to 1999, when Lee Jae-han (played by Cho Jin-woong) was in the fictional city of Inju investigating a case involving the sexual assault of a middle-school aged girl by more than 10 schoolboys. The boys are sons of wealthy and powerful families who team up with the police to have another schoolboy set up.

The boy serves time in a juvenile facility and commits suicide when he leaves.

The narrative then fast-forwards to 2015, when Lee, who had been aware of the truth about the rape case, is found dead by fellow investigators Cha Soo-hyun (Kim Hye-soo) and Park Hae-young (Lee Je-hoon), the younger brother of the schoolboy who served time for a crime he did not commit.

The case is based on a true story. At least 41 male high school students gang raped several middle school and high school girls over the course of 11 months in Miryang in 2004. The case provoked controversy due to police mistreatment of the victims and lenient handling of the offenders. 

jykwon@ktimes.com

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February 29, 2016

TV drama 'Signal' enjoying high viewer ratings

SEOUL, Feb. 29 (Yonhap) -- The tvN TV drama "Signal" registered a national rating average of 10.9 percent for the 11th episode on Friday, proving to be a big hit after "Reply 1988" syndrome.

Starting with a 6 percent rating for its first episode on Jan. 22, "Signal," which screens every Friday and Saturday, has been gaining an additional 1 percent with each following episode on average, according to Nielsen and reports on Saturday.

The drama, starring Kim Hye-soo, Cho Jin-woong and Lee Je-hoon, is about detectives working on unsolved cases as the statute of limitations for first-degree murders is scrapped.

The story travels back to 1999, when Lee Jae-han (played by Cho Jin-woong) is in a fictional city investigating a case involving the sexual assault of a middle-school-aged girl by more than 10 schoolboys. The boys are sons of wealthy and powerful families who team up with the police to have another schoolboy set up.

The narrative then fast-forwards to 2015, when Lee, who had been aware of the truth about the rape case, is found dead by fellow investigators Cha Soo-hyun (Kim Hye-soo) and Park Hae-young (Lee Je-hoon).

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March 1, 2016

‘Signal’ stars off to Phuket

The cast and crew members of popular tvN drama “Signal” on Tuesday went on vacation to Phuket in Thailand as a reward for the drama’s successful run. 

Actress Kim Hye-soo, actor Lee Je-hoon and actor Cho Jin-woong, among others, and the drama’s crew members, left Incheon International Airport on Tuesday and will return on Saturday. 

From left: Lee Je-hoon, Kim Hye-soo and Cho Jin-woong (tvN)

Production company A Story had said earlier that if the drama’s average viewership ratings exceeded 10 percent, the cast and crew members would be rewarded with a vacation. After the announcement, the 11th episode garnered 10.9 percent viewership and the latest 12th episode reached 12.1 percent. 

Cable broadcaster tvN also granted the teams behind “Reply 1988” and “Cheese in the Trap” such vacations as rewards for their successful production. 

Criminal action drama “Signal” follows detectives who solve cold cases. The drama, which has only four episodes left, airs every Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)

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March 2, 2016

[StarN Focus] Kim Hye Soo departs to Phuket for vacation

Source: STARN News

On March 1st, actress Kim Hye Soo departed to Phuket for vacation.

Kim Hye Soo appeared at Incheon airport in a black trench coat, and denim pants. She also matched black sunglasses, diffusing huge charisma.

Meanwhile, Kim Hye Soo recently played in tvN drama 'Signal' as a detective, and the drama is now left with four more episodes.

/Reporting by Kim Dong-Joo en@starnnews.com

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March 7, 2016

KBS sweeps weekly viewership, tvN leads cable with 'Signal'

By Park Sojung

SEOUL, March 7 (Yonhap) -- Terrestrial network KBS beat rivals MBC and SBS in three of the most popular drama time slots with "Sweet Home, Sweet Honey," "Five Children" and "Descendants of the Sun," data showed Monday.

"Sweet Home, Sweet Honey," a KBS 1TV drama, was viewed by 26.5 percent of TV homes between last Monday to Sunday, Nielsen Korea data showed. The show follows four young Koreans trying to keep their hope alive in the face of mounting debt and family drama.

MBC's "Beautiful You," on the same Monday-Friday night time slot, finished with roughly half that viewership at 13.2 percent.

On the weekend drama front, KBS 2TV's "Five Children" dominated with 25.6 percent of viewers, followed by MBC's "Marriage Contract" at 17.6 percent and "Happy Home" on the same network at 14.5 percent.

"Five Children" tells the love story between a woman betrayed by her cheating husband and a widower. The two fall for one another despite having a total of five children together.

"Descendants of the Sun," starring actor Song Joong-ki and actress Song Hye-kyo, reigned supreme in the Wednesday-Thursday 10 p.m. time slot with 23.7 percent.

In the show simultaneously airing in South Korea and China, Song Joong-ki plays an Army captain dispatched to a war-torn country called Uruk. There, he falls in love with a doctor (Song Hye-kyo) who volunteers as part of a medical NGO, Doctors without Borders.

Finishing behind "Descendants of the Sun" last week were SBS' "Please Come Back, Mister" and MBC's "One More Happy Ending," both of which ended with a single-digit viewership.

tvN continued to crush the cable game with time-travel crime thriller "Signal," which drew 10.4 percent of viewers. Season three of the same network's travel reality show "Youth over Flowers" followed with 8.8 percent. The network owned by CJ E&M swept eight of the top 10 spots among cable shows.

sojungpark@yna.co.kr