Choi Jin-sil (최진실)

Actor Kim Beom [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Kim Beom has grown as an actor everytime we see him. The young boy that first appeared in 2006 TV series "Rude Women" as a child who takes good care of his single mom, made himself known to the public through MBC sitcom "High Kick!" and made his presence more prominent through just a few series of appearances in the beginning of "East of Eden" playing the child part of Hallyu star Song Seung-heon. It became certain last year that he had secured a position on the small screen when he made the hearts of many female viewers flutter through KBS drama "Boys over Flowers".

Kim then showed how he had finally become a 'man' and one that is ready to play a lead role through SBS TV series "Dream - Drama". "Expressing a character is similar to trying on different clothes. The characters I played in 'Boys over Flowers' or 'Dream - Drama' were articles of clothing I tried on as a hanger or mannequin. They may not fit me initially since they may be too long or short but there comes a point when it fits you just right after some adjustment. That is when you look at yourself in the mirror and start being evaluated by others too for how you look in that item of clothing. Taking on a new role is like adding a new piece of clothing to your wardrobe so I must say that I'm very eager when it comes to work"....More

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

The state human rights agency recommended Tuesday that the government withdraw a bill that would mandate Web sites that receive more than 100,000 hits daily to identify the authors of postings made on their bulletin boards, arguing it suppresses freedom of expression.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said in a statement, "The freedom of expression is a key value upholding democracy and is guaranteed by the Constitution. A country with imperfect freedom of this kind cannot be seen as a democratic state".

The suggestion came as the government seeks legislation to contain reckless distribu...More

Korean actor EomEom Tae-woong [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Of the many actors who suddenly become unreachable superstars or who have a hard time getting out of their own characters, Eom Tae-woong is someone who has quietly walked his own path. After many years as a struggling actor, he played a dying man faced with a death sentence in KBS TV series "Drama City", which led to his role as a fantastic villain who was impossible to hate in "Sassy Girl, Chun-hyang". And after shooting "Revnege" and "Devil", in which he expressed a soul conflicted between the good and bad, between sin and punishment, he gained the nickname "the Eom force". His roles -- a free-spirited young man who falls in love with a woman twenty years his senior in the film "Family Ties", a cold elite coach for the National Women's Handball Team in "Forever the Moment", and a celebrity manager who is driven to the extreme in "Hand Phone" -- are so various and full of effort that one cannot easily make presumptions about him.

This year, he lived as Kim Yoo-shin in MBC TV series "Queen Seon-deok", a character which is most befitting for an actor like him. In describing this great general who helped Queen Seon-deok achieve unification of three countries, Eom says, "I can't say that my character is portraying the real General Kim Yoo-shin but I think this man was truly a "big man". He may seem brusque to women and inconsiderate to the general public, but he tried hard and went through agony to attain a big goal rather than a small one". His character was not allowed to show his emotions in the drama, but he recently expressed Yooshin's longing for Deok-man by singing a song called "Only One Person" for a special soundtrack for "Queen Seon-deok"....More

Late actress Choi Jin-sil [Livecode Entertainment]

A man who stole late actress Choi Jin-sil's urn from her tomb in August received a one year and six month jail term on Tuesday.

"The crime was planned elaborately and the method used was cruel", the Suwon District Court said of its reason for handing the ruling to the 41-year-old man identified only by his last name Park.

The court added that the thief destroyed the urn, left an eternal wound on the family of the deceased and yet did not repent on his wrongdoing. Choi's family had also requested Park be punished severely for his crime....More

By Cho Jae-hyon
Staff Reporter

Comedian and TV/radio host Jung Sun-hee tearfully explained how she overcame urges to take her own life after being hit by a recent string of tragedies.

Appearing on an SBS TV program for the first time in 15 months, she talked about the adversities she has experienced since her husband's death.

Last year, Jung left her MBC radio show when listeners complained about critical remarks she made regarding the protests of U.S. beef imports. The 37-year-old then quit TV altogether when her husband of less than a year, actor Ahn Jae-hwan, died in September 2008, and her best friend, actress Choi Jin-sil, committed suicide two months later.

"I thought my life was over. I wept a lot while praying", Jung said.

Jung said she considered taking her own life following the back-to-back deaths.

"I wanted to give up my life. I couldn't understand why this kind of thing was happening to me".

Jung said rumors surrounding the deaths of her husband and Choi were the hardest part.

"I thought about ending my life after writing the explanations that would clear up all the rumors".

But she said she stopped short of committing suicide because of the thought of her family.

"I knew the pain of those left behind. I didn't want my mom to suffer the same pain".

Jung reemerged on the public radar as a radio DJ for SBS' "Love FM" in April but has not yet resumed her TV career.

It is said that her husband committed suicide over his repeated failures in business and his increasing debt to loan sharks.

After the death of her husband, Jung said she was left with huge amount of debt and that her house was on the verge of being forfeited.

Jung said comedian Lee Kyung-s...More