Ahn Jae-hwan (故 안재환)

Entertainment Business Dept. to Train Star Makers

Source | 2009/11/09 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

Many say the Korean wave, or hallyu, is dwindling. Some say the fault is on promotion, while others argue about quality. For former entertainment reporter and now professor Hong Sung-kyu, it is the overall mindset that is preventing the wave from moving further.

"The fundamental problem in the Korean entertainment industry is that it is disposable. The reason why it's so difficult to get out of this mess is because the people working within entertainment don't realize this and are not interested in moving forward for a better future", he said during an interview last week at The Korea Times.

This has led the professor to start an entertainment business major under the Conservatory of Korea to help producers, agencies and managers learn more about the industry and how to further nurture stars.

"Culture has become an important industry for Korea, and we believe we should start producing star-makers, not just stars, in the long run. Hallyu may ...| More

[ChanMi's star news] Already a year since his death

Source | 2009/09/08 | 0 comments | Permalink |

It has been a year since actor Ahn Jae-hwan's death.

Last September 8th, Ahn Jae-hwan has been found dead ...| More

Suspect Caught Over Actress Urn Theft

Source | 2009/08/26 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

A 41-year-old man suspect was arrested for stealing an urn containing the ashes of the late actress Choi Jin-sil, police said Wednesday.

The Yangpyeong Police Station said the suspect, identified only as Park, was picked up at his home in Daegu around 11 p.m. Tuesday and then taken to a station in Gyeonggi Province.

"The suspect, a kitchen utensil installer, has confessed to the crime", said Woo Jae-jin, senior police officer in charge of the operation.

"We also found tools which he claimed to have used for the crime in his car".

Police secured her ashes, but the urn was broken when he was caught.

"The suspect stored the ashes in another container", the officer said. He said the suspect has no criminal record or history of mental illness.

On the reason for the theft, the officer quoted Park as saying, "Choi appeared in my dream one day and begged me to take her out of the urn and move her to a grave".

The National Scientific, Crim...| More

Police Search for Suspect in Actress' Urn Theft

Source | 2009/08/24 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

Police made public additional video footage of a man suspected of stealing an urn containing the ashes of the late actress Choi Jin-sil on Monday and placed him on a wanted list.

Launching an open investigation, the Yangpyeong Police Station asked for tips and/or cooperation from citizens to nail the suspect, offering a reward of 3 million won ($2,400) in cash.

So far, police have conducted a low-key investigation into the incident that took place on Aug. 5. However, they recently decided to change their method as little progress had been made.

The police showed new surveillance camera images of the suspect caught on Aug. 2 in which a man seemingly aged between his late 30s and early 50s is strolling around the tomb for about 13 minutes, measuring length and writing something.

In previously released images last week, a man, who police presume is the same individual, approached Choi's tomb, made a hole in it with a hammer, and took the urn,...| More

Urn theft took place two weeks ago

Source | 2009/08/21 | 0 comments | Permalink |

YANGPYEONG, Gyeonggi - Police investigating the theft of an urn containing the ashes of the late actress Choi Jin-sil said yesterday the crime actually took place on Aug. 4, not last Saturday.

Detectives found footage of a man in his late 30s to early 50s destroying the late actress's tomb with a hammer when they examined closed-circuit surveillance camera recordings taken between June 27 to Aug. 12, the Yangpyeong Police Precinct said.

Woo Jae-jin, head of the investigation team, made public the footage of the theft during a press briefing.

Woo said the camera is located 17.5 meters (57.4 feet) from the burial site. The film suggests the theft took place between 9:55 p.m. and 10:58 p.m on the day in question, he said.

In the film, a man appears near Choi's burial site inside Kapsan Park in Yangpyeong around 9:56 p.m. He had short hair and wore a jacket and gloves. He appeared to wonder around the site, checking he was alone, before removing a hammer from a sack smashing th...| More