Song Seung-hwan (송승환)

CELEBRITY LOUNGE

2007/12/27 | Source | Permalink |

Soo-ae named 'style setter' in Vogue

Korean actress Soo-ae was introduced as one of the style setters in Vogue, a fashion and lifestyle magazine published in the United States.

The magazine showed the photo of Soo-ae wearing Prada's floral dress in its January edition along with other A-list Hollywood stars like Keira Knightley and Rachel Weisz.

In its fashion review section, the magazine said: "Style setters are already welcoming the first signs of spring. Soo-ae's Prada dress was strewn with lush poppies at a film festival".

The 27-year-old actress wore a full-skirted, strapless dress designed by the Italian fashion house during the 12th Pusan International Film Festival held in the southern port city of Busan two months ago.

According to sources, Soo-ae's Prada dress is priced at slightly over 10 million won ($11,000) and was brought from the fashion house's head office in Italy, only for the actress.

Nanta producer wins cultural award

Song Seung-hwan, co-chairm...| More

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From the development of the character Pucca to its advancement to foreign markets

2007/11/07 | Source | Permalink |

Kim, Yu-Kyeong, vice president of VOOZ, will deliver the keynote speech at the 7th Specialist Open Lecture on Cultural Contents in Gwangju, Jeolla-do, and will present therein the company's flagship character Pucca, the only daughter of the owner of a Chinese restaurant, whose character goods are leading in the local market.

Gwangju City announced last November 5 that for its 7th Special Open Lecture on Cultural Contents, it will invite Kim, who, based on the theme of "Development to Application of the Character Business", will share with the audience his extensive experience in creating and promoting Pucca and will discuss the character business as well, where a character is developed and sold as a competitive product in the market.

Kim founded VOOZ in 2000 and developed Pucca, a kung fu girl. With him at the helm, VOOZ has sold over 2,500 kinds of Pucca goods in 130 countries, with its yearly sales exceeding KRW30B.

One of the most successful Korean characters made for in...| More

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Upgraded 'Janggeum' hits Sejong Center stage

2007/08/16 | Source | Permalink |

The musical "Great Janggeum", a stage version of hit MBC drama "Dae Jang Geum", has been upgraded after its initial release received cold responses from critics three months ago.

Song Seung-hwan, co-chairman of PMC Production, said yesterday that the flow of the musical has been changed and some songs have been rewritten to dramatize the love story between its two main characters, Janggeum and Min Jung-ho. The upgraded version is scheduled to hit the stage Aug. 25 at the Sejong Center for Performing Arts. The show will run through Sept. 9.

"Although we didn't have much time to wholly upgrade the musical, we tried to intensify the storytelling by highlighting conflicts among the characters rather than visualizing each episode already introduced on the TV series", said Song during a luncheon meeting with reporters in Seoul.

The actor-turned-producer also said he decided to reduce ticket prices from 150,000 won ($159) to 120,000 won.

The musical adaptation of the TV period-dra...| More

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Korean musicals licensed to Japanese firms

2007/07/26 | Source | Permalink |

PMC Production, one of the country's major musical producers, sold the licenses of two homegrown musicals to production companies in Japan, it said in a statement released Monday.

PMC, led by actor-turned-producer Song Seung-hwan, concluded a $147,000 contract with Japan's Shochiku, which allows the Japanese production company to use the contents and music of the musical "Great Janggeum". It also signed a one-year contract with Amuse, one of the major entertainment companies in Japan, for use of characters and contents of the Korean musical "Dalgona".

This is the first case of Korean musicals being exported overseas and adapted for local versions.

"Great Janggeum" is a musical adaptation of the major hit MBC drama "Dae Jang Geum", which has been recently staged in local theaters. It follows the same storyline as the TV drama that portrays a woman who serves at a palace cooking for the royal family during the Joseon Dynasty.

However, Shochiku, PMC's Japan partner, is to tran...| More

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[UPGRADING KOREAN CULTURE (2)]Musicals dominate performing arts scene

2007/03/14 | Source | Permalink |

Industry should try to focus on producing more creative 'Made in Korea' musicals

This is the second in an eight-part series of articles that looks into the country's cultural and entertainment sectors and explores ways to help sharpen their competitive edge. - Ed.

By Cho Chung-un

On the first day of March, Independence Day, the production company of the blockbuster musical "The Last Empress" announced that the show's total audience exceeded 1 million.

The record was quite significant as it was the first time a homegrown musical production drew over 1 million viewers and because it reassured the struggling local stage industry.

Mostly reproduced by local musical companies, foreign musicals have achieved enormous success so far, as exemplified by "Miss Saigon", "Mamma Mia", "Jekyll and Hyde" and "Evita". A number of French musicals, such as "Don Juan", "Notre Dame de Paris" and "Les Dix Commandements", hit the stage with remarkable success despite high ticket prices. The d...| More

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