| Girls' Generation Impresses Fans With First Concert (Source) |
2009/12/21 |
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Amid the shouting fans and pink glow sticks, this year's hottest girl band, Girls' Generation, rocked the stage at their first concert Sunday night at the Fencing Stadium, Olympic Park.
The nine-member band, comprised of Yoona, Soo-young, Hyo-yeon, Yu-ri (Kwon Yoo-ri), Tae-yeon, Jessica, Tiffany, Sunny and Seo-hyun, heated up the 6,000 seat venue from start to finish, without showing a moment of hesitance during their constant singing and dancing.
The group launched its Asia tour in Seoul with the two-day concert titled "Into the New World" and proved once again that they were indeed one of the best idol bands in the country.
The show started off with the girls dressed in white, angelic outfits, complete with white thigh-high boots, singing their hit number "Genie". The group offered most of its songs, but that didn't stop the girls from performing at their best.
Before the concert, the group's 20-year-old leader, Tae-yeon, told the press... |More
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| Kim Ok-bin Hopes to Conquer Screen (Source) |
2009/11/29 |
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
It's hard to believe that she only turns 23 in December. Kim Ok-bin, like many actresses her age, debuted as a horror movie teen queen but in just five years the "Thirst" heroine has made her mark as a serious screen persona.
"People often think I'm older than I really am, but the misunderstanding is actually kind of fun", Kim told The Korea Times last week during an interview in a restaurant in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul.
But aren't actresses supposed to be obsessed with trying to look younger?
"Actresses are like flowers. Male actors have a longer 'lifespan' onscreen while actresses are more rapidly consumed per se, with fresher, younger actresses being sought out. But I don't want to be pressured by that", she said.
Wearing a new red-dyed short cut and a big, bright smile, Kim in person is really rather perky, and baby-faced, especially when compared to the stupefied housewife she played in Park Chan-wook's vampire film "Thirst" ... |More
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| Actress Jang Jin-yeong Dies of Cancer at 35 (Source) |
2009/09/01 |
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Korean actress Jang Jin-yeong passed away Tuesday evening after losing a battle against stomach cancer. She was 35.
Jang had been hospitalized in Seoul after her condition recently worsened and doctors had reportedly been giving her morphine and other drugs to relieve the pain.
The news of the actress' sudden hospitalization Tuesday startled fans, as it was thought that she was recovering after resting for a month in Los Angeles.
Jang was diagnosed with stomach cancer in September last year when she paid a visit to the hospital for a regular checkup. What she thought was a stomach ulcer turned out to be cancer, and Jang has been out of the public eye ever since.
"Actress Jang Jin-young passed away today at the Seoul St. Mary's Hospital at Catholic University of Korea. Even after she was diagnosed with cancer, she was always positive and tried to pay back the love and support her fans sent her. We will remember her passion toward films and... |More
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| Yun-ha's Japanese Film to Be Released (Source) |
2009/03/31 |
A Japanese film titled "On This Sunday" starring Korean singer Yun-ha will open in Japan in mid-April. Yun-ha will make personal appearances in Tokyo and Osaka on April 11 and 12th to promote the film. She has already attended the premier at the FM Hall in Tokyo last Thursday. Director Satoki Kenmochi said that when he saw Yun-ha on TV singing, he felt that she was the female lead he was looking for.
At the premier Yun-ha said that the hardest part was pretending to speak poor Japanese. In the film her character is a Korean student, who struggles to adapt to life in Japan. Yun-ha is actually very fluent in Japanese. She also sings the film's title song "Over the Rainbow".
The male lead of the film is played by Japan's renowned kabuki actor Somegoro Ichikawa. It's still unknown whether the film will be shown in Korea. ... |More
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| Stars Look to Revive Hallyu in Japan (Source) |
2009/02/24 |
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Some may say that hallyu, or the Korean wave, is over, but according to some celebrities' plans, the wave is just waiting for the perfect time to hit harder.
Singers and actors alike are moving their radars to Japan, with new albums, fan meetings and new dramas, a perfect way to reinvigorate the star power of local celebrities.
Singers Shin Seung-hun and R&B group SG Wannabe will release new albums in Japan this March. Shin, who proved his ballad power in Japan with his first album four years ago, returned to the local ballad scene last year, releasing a local album for the first time in two years. Recently announcing a concert tour in cities like Osaka and Tokyo starting in April, the 40-year-old singer's second album will be released March 25 and bring fans his new acoustic sounds.
SG Wannabe, consisting of Kim Jin-ho, Kim Yong-jun and Lee Suk-hun, will release its fifth album, "Rainbow", in Japan March 11. Making its Japanese debut last y... |More
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