Jang Dong Gun and Ko So Young

Jang Dong Gun (All About Eve) and Ko So Young were married in an elaborate ceremony befitting Jang’s status as one of Korea’s most popular actors. The event had a guest list of 500 and drew many of the biggest stars in Korea, including Kim Nam Gil, Cha Seung Won and Lee Hye Young, who caught the bouquet. Fore even more pics from the ceremony, click here and here!

Whoa! IRIS just went on the air late last month in Japan, in the unprecedented (for a foreign drama) primetime spot, but it’s been suddenly yanked off in the face of copyright infringement claims by a Japanese company called Ainsuemuandoemu. The company claims to have created the drama in 2005. Hopefully for Japanese fans, the matter will be solved quickly so that the drama can continue airing. More about the details of the case, and past plagiarism claims against IRIS, are here.

Drama on the set of Bayside Shakedown 3, the Japanese summer blockbuster that was to introduce a new character played by Oguri Shun: evidently at co-star Oda Yuji’s insistence, Shun’s role has been swapped with that of Ito Atsushi. It seems that Oda felt Oguri was too fresh and clean looking to play his nephew in the detective film and pushed hard for Ito to take over the role.

Continue Reading

Category: News | Tags: All About Eve, Bayside Shakedown, Cha Seung Won, FeverWatch, Hi My Sweetheart, Infinite, IRIS, Ito Atsushi, Jang Dong Gun, Japanese, Jdrama, Kdrama, Kim Bum, Kim Nam Gil, Ko So Young, Korean, L, Lee Hye Young, Oda Yuji, Oguri Shun, Park Han Byul, Rainie Lang, Show Luo, So Ji Sub, Soya N Sun, Stefanie Sun Yanzi

Now that the three Taiwanese dramas I highlighted in A Look at Fall 2009’s Taiwanese Dramas are nearing their conclusions or have already ended, I’d like to weigh back in on how they turned out.

WARNING: May contain spoilers for Autumn’s Concerto.

Continue Reading

Category: Taiwanese Drama | Tags: Ady An, Autumn's Concerto, Cyndi Wang, Hi My Sweetheart, Jiro Wang, Momo Love, Rainie Lang, Rainie Yang, Show Luo, Taiwanese, Twdrama, Vanness Wu

Lee Da Hae in CHUNO

Lee Da Hae has been getting an incredible amount of flak for her physical appearance on the stylized historical fusion drama Chuno. Some viewers say that she doesn’t look gritty enough to be a runaway slave, others that her fingernails are too shiny, and there continue to be dust-ups when she shows a hint of cleavage (the criticism got even louder when her cleavage was blurred). In response to the fury–and perhaps thinking that her co-stars Oh Ji Ho and Jang Hyuk show their share of skin too–Lee told KBS’ Entertainment Tonight, “I want to be a male actor in my next life.”

Jang Geun Suk opened his fan meeting in Seoul by performing Without Words, from the soundtrack of You’re Beautiful. The meeting with 3,000 in attendance also included a Q and A session, and you can see videos from the day’s events right here.

The Korean film and drama star Kim Yun Jin, best known to American audiences as Sun on Lost, is creating her own talent management company which will combine American and Korean business practices. Kim described her strategy for snagging the Lost role (she played hard-to-get), and talked about her future plans as the series concludes in a recent interview here.

Moon Chae Won (Shining Inheritance) rocked out for Hillfiger Denim in a new photo spread with the slogan “Jeans fit for an actress.”

So Ji Sub fans will want to check out this newly-translated interview with the Cain and Abel star for Vogue Nippon in which he talks sex appeal, his approach to new roles, and whether he has his sites set on Hollywood.

Will Pan (Miss No Good) will reunite with Hi My Sweetheart producer Chai Zhi Ping for a new drama. Chai says that she is looking to hire Korean writers for the new series, hoping that they will bring a fresh perspective rather than simply retread a typical idol drama plot.

Lee Ji Ah (Style) didn’t let a leg cast stop her from traveling to Cambodia on a volunteer mission. Her trip was captured by the news program Danbi and aired this Sunday.

Finally, all you IRIS fans will want to catch a new parody video in which we find out what really drives Lee Byung Hun nuts!

Continue Reading

Category: News | Tags: Cain and Abel, Chai Zhi Ping, Chuno, Fever Watch, Hi My Sweetheart, IRIS, Jang Geun Suk, Jang Hyuk, Kdrama, Kim Yun Jin, Korean, Lee Byung Hun, Lee Da Hae, Lee Ji Ah, Miss No Good, Moon Chae Won, Oh Ji Ho, Shining Inheritance, So Ji Sub, Style, Will Pan, You're Beautiful

Lee Wan

Show Luo is pissed with CTS for shortchanging his hit romcom Hi My Sweetheart. According to Luo, the drama was meant to end in February, but the last few episodes have been repackaged for a January 31st finale. The hard-working Show showed some serious fan appreciation at a recent 12-hour autograph session! If I did that my hand would look like this.

Lee Wan will not enter mandatory military service in March–he got a deferment last year to shoot Swallow the Sun, and says he wants to get a few more acting gigs under his belt before he joins the army.

Lee Da Hae (Chuno) revealed her ideal man on the variety show Sweet Night, ranking them World Cup style. Considering that she works with Oh Ji So and Jang Hyuk, two of the most pulchritudinous men in kdrama, you might be surprised by her final answer.

Although Korean TV dramas continue to thrive around the world, Korean film exports hit a big slump last year. Sales plummeted by almost one third, even as Korean stars such as Daniel Henney and Lee Byung Hun are making inroads to Hollywood.

Whether you’re a seasoned Korean film buff or a newbie, there are some great recommendations on this list of top ten Korean films of the decade.

Best known in the past few years for their film work, Won Bin (Mother) and Shin Min Ah (The Naked Kitchen) reunited to smooch in the snow for a coffee commercial–Shin’s head was clearly in the game when she told her co-star that his kiss was “too lukewarm. Make it more like coffee!” Behind the scenes video is here, and you just might want to watch it on mute…

Finally, a double dose of Kim Bum news–the Boys Over Flowers star’s musical chops were on display when he played guitar and sang live for a scene from his new drama The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry. The man and his guitar (well, A guitar) also are featured in the February issue of InStyle magazine–check out the new scans right here.

Continue Reading

Category: News | Tags: Boys Over Flowers, Chuno, Daniel Henney, Fever Watch, Hi My Sweetheart, Jang Hyuk, Kdrama, Kim Bum, Korean, Lee Byung Hun, Lee Da Hae, Lee Wan, Mother, Oh Ji So, Shin Min Ah, Show Luo, Taiwanese, The Naked Kitchen, The Woman Who Still Wants To Marry, Twdrama, Won Bin

Song Hye Kyo

Kim Hyun Joong (Boys Over Flowers) caused a major uproar when he was reported to have attended former South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan’s 80th birthday party. Some history: Chun is a controversial figure in Korea primarily because of his administration’s brutal military response to the Gwangju Democratization Movement, a group of citizens which rose up and gained control of the city of Gwangju to protest Chun’s military dictatorship in 1980. So why did Kim go to the party? The rumor is that Kim’s management company’s CEO is friends with Chun, who demanded that he bring the star. Kim says he was unaware of any controversy and now is furious for having to defend himself. So far, everyone’s keeping tight-lipped: reportedly, Kim issued two statements on his website explaining himself to fans, and both were immediately removed!

The highly-anticipated Korean War drama Road No. 1 has a new confirmed cast member: Canadian Julien Kang, previously seen on Dream and the sitcom High Kick Through the Roof, will join Kim Ha Neul, So Ji Sub and Yoon Kye Sang as a U.S. Marine when the drama airs in June.

Chun Jung Myung took time out from filming Cinderella’s Sister to shoot this kick-ass mixed martial arts photo spread for the February issue of Vogue!

Hi My Sweetheart’s Show Luo did something really cool for his mother, who, like her famous son, loves sweets. It turns out that a few years ago, Show’s mom was diagnosed with diabetes, and has to watch her diet carefully. Now, Show has fulfilled his mom’s dream of opening a non-sugar sweets store specially catered to the needs of diabetics–the new shop opens in April!

Continue Reading

Category: News | Tags: Air Doll, Bae Doo Na, Boys Over Flowers, Chun Doo Hwan, Chun Jung Myung, Chuno, Cinderella's Sister, Coffee Prince, Dream, East of Eden, Fever Watch, God of Study, Gwangju, Han Ji Hye, Hi My Sweetheart, High Kick Through the Roof, Hirokazu Koreeda, IRIS, Japanese, Julien Kang, Kang Daesung, Kdrama, Kim Ha Neul, Kim Hyun Joong, Kim Na Neul, Korean, Lee Byung Hyun, Lee Chun Hee, Lee Da Hae, Park Ye Jin, Queen Seon Duk, Show Luo, Smile You, So Ji Sub, Song Hye Kyo, Takasaki Film Festival, The World That They Live In, What's Up, Yoon Eun Hye, Yoon Kye-Sang