Eom Tae-woong (엄태웅)

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

Korean actress Ko Hyeon-jeong [MBC]

Top Korean actress Ko Hyeon-jeong won the grand prize at the MBC Acting Awards, held at MBC's Open Hall on Wednesday.

Ko, who won rave reviews for her portrayal of royal concubine Mi-shil in historical drama "Queen Seon-deok", won the year's top crown while many of her co-stars also collected their share of awards.

"I believe there was a moment when Mi-shil really came to life [during the show]", said Ko in her acceptance speech. "I was very nervous because I had never done a traditional drama before, but thank you for giving me the opportunity to wear a dress like this". The actress got teary and emotional when she added, " I hope my kids are watching this... "

"Queen Seon-deok" -- which was also voted Drama of the Year -- was handed a total of 12 awards, winning the count over another hit drama "My Wife is a Superwoman", which won 7 in total. Writers of both dramas were awarded Writer of the Year at the event....More

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Red carpets were rolled out for some of the most anticipated year-end award ceremonies, and top stars, including Ko Hyeon-jeong, Lee Hyo-lee and Yoo Jae-seok, took home grand prizes.

MBC Drama Awards

Ko Hyeon-jeong who rose back to superstardom as a femme fatale in the epic soap opera "Queen Seon-deok", won the Grand Prize at the MBC Drama Awards, Wednesday.

"When I took the role of Misil in `Queen Seon-deok', I was nervous because it was my first period piece. … I hope my children are watching this", she said, wanting to share the honor.

The 38-year-old actress is set to appear as the nation's first female president in the upcoming SBS TV series, "Daemul", reported by Yonhap News, quoting Ko's management agency. The production date for the show has not yet been decided.

Meanwhile, Ko's "Queen Seon-deok" co-stars Eom Tae-woong and Lee Yo-won were named Best Actor and Actress, respectively.

"My Wife is a Superwoman" stars Yoon Sang-hyeon and Kim Nam-joo...More

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

The tiger may well be Korea's most beloved animal throughout its history. The country was once dubbed the "nation of tigers" as it has mountainous areas that provided them with a good habitat.

The animal has been a symbol of bravery, strength and dignity, and hence 2010, the Year of the Tiger, according to Chinese astrology, will be fervently hailed as a year of good fortune and vigor.

Tiger as Time, Space and Zodiac Sign

The tiger is the third sign in the Chinese zodiac of 12 animals. It is also represented by the month "inwol", the first month of the year; and the hour "insi", the 3rd in the 24 hour clock ― 03:00-5:00 a.m. in the lunar calendar. It also points to the bearing east-northeast. The white tiger is one of the four guardian gods ― three others are the blue dragon, the red bird and the black tortoise. They protect the four major directions with the tiger taking care of the west.

From Myth to Everyday Life

People's perception of tigers has changed over time ― in the past, they feared becoming prey to them, but nowadays they probably only see tigers in a zoo.

But the process of that change is interlaced with mysticism. The tiger, a vicious and ferocious beast, is also considered a mystical creature that keeps away evil spirits.

"In ancient times, the tiger was deemed a scary animal, but our ancestors weren't consumed by that fear. What is rather mystifying is that people also saw it as a guardian that drove away evil spirits, keeping peace and well-being in the village", Gu Mun-hoe, curator of the National Folk Museum of Korea, said.

Gu said that in their daily lives, warding off evil spirits was one of the major duties of the tiger. "It means the animal keeps a...More

The cast and crew of "Queen Seon-deok" [MBC]

The cast and crew of hit TV series "Queen Seon-deok" wrapped up eleven months of shooting early this morning, according to a press release by the show's broadcaster MBC.

The entire staff -- including actors Lee Yo-won, Eom Tae-woong, Kim Nam-gil and producer Park Hong-gyoon -- threw a wrap-up party to celebrate the shooting of their final episode of the historical drama.

The actors reportedly expressed their sadness at the show's ending: lead actress Lee Yo-won was quoted as saying, "I can't believe it", while Kim Nam-gil hugged every single crew member....More