Bae Yong-joon (배용준)

2008/05/11 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Amr Emam
Investigative reporter, The Egyptian Gazette

Mohamed Abdel Baki sticks to the radio for two hours every evening like glue to listen to a language his family members and friends fail to identify.

When he tells them that the thing that keeps him entranced for hours is the Korean Program, they snigger at the "bizarre" interest he has developed over the last few years.

"Some of these people are narrow-minded", Mohamed, a 44-year-old civil servant from Cairo, the capital of Egypt, said. "They just don't know that in a few years' time, Korean could be one of the leading languages in the world".

Abdel Baki is part of a trend that has started to seep out of intellectual and educational circles in Egypt and into wider society over the last few years. In this Arab Middle Eastern country of 76 million people where jingoism is sometimes mixed with people's religious feelings and loyalties, a love of the culture of Korea, a country thousands of kilometers away, has started ...

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2008/05/09 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The largest convenience store in Japan, "7-Eleven", will sell special lunchbox sets of Korean food produced by Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon. On the 7th, a "7-Eleven" representative announced that they will be putting the lunchboxes on shelves for three days from June 13th to the 15th.

The lunchbox sets are called "Gosire Bento", and they will be sold through orders collected from May 12th to June 8th. The sets are 2500 yen (25000 won) each, the highest price that any lunch set has been sold at in Japan.

The convenience stores believe their largest group of consumers will be middle-aged female "Yon-sama" fans.

The lunch sets will include 16 different dishes from the Goguryeo dynasty, such as bulgogi and ssam-bab....

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wow the largest group are middle-aged female "Yon-sama" fans. fighting 2008-05-13 00:06:55

2008/04/30 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Shinhan Financial Group says it has chosen top celebrities, including actor Bae Yong-joon and popular TV personality Yoo Jae-suk, to star in the second part of its TV advertisement series entitled "My Financial Brand, Shinhan".

The brand new TV ad will feature a comic scene between the two male stars at a high profile fashion show. In the ad, Yoo will ask Bae how he manages his funds, to which Bae will reply "With Shinhan".

In the first part of the ad series, Yoo starred with top actress Lee Young-ae. Shinhan Group said it hoped to further promote its brand image by featuring top star Bae in its new ad.

Bae and Yoo were both born in 1972. The new ad will be the first time the two will appear together on screen....

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Thanks! Princess Cordoba 2008-05-12 07:56:21

2008/04/25 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The popular pop idols of Korea and Japan, TVXQ! and Arashi, ranked in first place concurrently on the April 22nd Oricon charts.

TVXQ!'s 22nd single "Beautiful You" ranked first on the April 23rd Oricon Daily Singles chart after selling approximately 21,000 albums.

The single was very popular with fans of the Bae Yong-joon TV drama "The Legend", as it features the theme song to the drama which started broadcasting in Japan on the 5th.

Arashi's original eighth album "Dream 'A' Live" shot to the tops of the Oricon charts on the day of its release. It contains the tracks " Happiness " and "Step and Go". Both were ranked number one on the weekly singles charts. The album was a limited edition that also included a special CD with each of the five members singing solo.

The live DVD they released on the 16th, "Summer Tour 2007, Final Time", was recorded as the best-selling DVD this year and commanded first place on the April 28th Oricon DVD Weekly Charts.


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2008/04/24 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

In the last few years, Korean films, TV dramas and pop music have become immensely popular abroad, a phenomenon known as the Korean Wave. This is the 33rd in a series of essays by a select group of scholars and journalists looking at the spread of Korean pop culture in Southeast Asian countries and beyond. - Ed.

Following is an email interview with Tom Larsen, president of YA Entertainment, the largest distributor of Korean TV drama DVDs in the United States. - Ed.

The Korea Herald: What is the current market position of Korean TV dramas in the U.S. market? How are they perceived in comparison with mainstream U.S., Chinese and Japanese programming?

Tom Larsen: Like most other TV programming from international markets, Korean TV dramas are generally considered a specialty entertainment niche here in the United States. Having said that, the popularity of Korean TV dramas in the United States has grown dramatically over the past five years. Korean TV dramas are now widely recogni...

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I am in LOVE with Korean Dramas!!!!!!! fighting 2008-04-25 20:47:50