Lee Byeong-Heon (이병헌)

Lee Byeong-heon iPod Touch Coming Soon

Source | 2009/11/16 | 0 comments | Permalink |

A limited edition of the iPod Touch named after top Korean actor Lee Byeong-heon will soon be released, his agency said, Monday.

The domestic iPod sales agency began to receive orders online and offline for 3,000 of the "LBH Limited Edition 8G", Monday.

"It is the first time that a limited edition of iPod Touch with an actor's initials will be released", his agency BH Entertainment said.

The package is comprised of an iPod Touch with Lee's autograph, a leather cover and a set of postcards with his photos.

Lee played Storm Shadow in the Hollywood film "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra". He has been enjoying soaring popularity with the ongoing KBS2 TV spy series "Iris".

It's on sale here : http://www.theashop.co.kr for 369,000 Won (about $US360)

이병헌 아이폿 출시

배우 이병헌의 이름을 딴 아이폿 터치 한정판이 ,...| More

Lee Byeong-heon's Acting Fee Dwarfs Industry Guideline

Source | 2009/11/12 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Controversy is building over news that actor Lee Byeong-heon is being paid W100 million per episode for appearing in the KBS drama "Iris" (US$1=W1,158).

A newspaper reported on Wednesday that Lee was guaranteed at least W100 million for each episode of the spy thriller, considering a W25 million per episode performance fee and a W1.5 billion advance. The figure is well above the W15 million per episode guideline set by the Corea Drama Production Association (CODA), and the third highest in the industry history.

The record is a whopping W250 million per episode paid to actor Bae Yong-joon for the MBC drama "The Legend" (The Four Guardian Gods of the King), followed by W100 million per episode promised to Park Shin-yang for four extra episodes of "War of Money".

"In Lee's case the amount includes a combination of things, such as proceeds from sales of domestic and overseas broadcast rights, so it's not clear that his fee exceeds the guideline", said CODA head Shin Hyun-taik.

...| More

Lee's High Salary

Source | 2009/11/12 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Actor Lee Byeong-heon is being paid 100 million won ($US100,000) per episode for his starring role in "Iris", a smash-hit drama now being broadcast on KBS2-TV.

Lee, a hallyu (Korean wave) star who is playing the role of Kim Hyun-jun, an intelligence agent, was guaranteed 25 million won per episode plus a 1.5 billion won guaranty in recognition of his contribution to attracting investment from a Japanese broadcaster to produce the 20-episode drama.

The 100-million-won performance fee was the third highest in the country's drama history. Bae Yong-joon, another hallyu star, topped the list of drama fees with 250 million won per episode for his appearance in the MBC drama "The Legend" in 2007. Park Shin-yang came in second.

An association of drama producers has a rule to keep an actor's performance fee per episode below 15 million won. However, the association said it had no problem with Lee's high performance fee because it involves an overseas copyright.

Meanwhile, Kim Tae-he...| More

Rain on His Acting Ambitions

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

Actor Chung Ji-hoon (also known as 'Rain') is the first Korean actor to appear in a major Hollywood movie. His second Hollywood production is "Ninja Assassin", which was produced by the Wachowski brothers and Joel Silver. It is a brutal movie in the action genre. Its Japanese-style subject matter--the ninja--is unfamiliar to the Korean public.

In an interview on November 10 at the Hotel Lotte, Chung said that not everyone was going to like "Ninja Assassin". He added that fans of martial arts would definitely like it.

Chung has had three turning points in his career so far: his collaboration with music producer Park Jin-young, his Hollywood debut in the movie "Speed Racer", and his role in "Ninja Assassin". "It's yet another beginning", said Chung, looking very determined.


Following is the interview with 'Rain'.

-- Will there be sequels to "Ninja Assassin"?

▲The terms and conditions of my deal are a secret, but it's already known that I originally signed to appear...| More

Kim Tae-hee on Controversy over Her Acting Skills

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

▲Actress Kim Tae-hee, who plays an intelligence agency profiler in the KBS TV2 drama "Iris"

Actress Kim Tae-hee, 29, is frank and simple. But despite her modest personality, she easily speaks her heart. She was upfront and honest in her interview and didn't try to avoid "uncomfortable" subjects.

We met with Kim on the filming set of "Iris" in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Her enchanting beauty shined even when she was wearing black attire. In "Iris", Kim plays top profiler Choi Seung-hee, who is in love with her coworker, Kim Hyung-joon, who is played by Lee Byeong-heon. In the November 5 episode, Kim received praise for her excellent portrayal of her character accepting Hyun-joon's death. "I'm not sure if I am brave enough to go through hardships that love can present, but I would want to be in the relationship that we filmed in Japan. During the shoot, I envied Seung-hee a lot", said Kim, smiling.

--The viewer ratings for "Iris" have surpassed 30 percent...

▲I'm ...| More