Kang Ji-hwan, Jung So-min kick off ‘Big Man’ with ‘fiery kiss’

Actor Kang Ji-hwan and actress Jung So-min kicked off the first episode of KBS2 TV show “Big Man” with a “kiss of fire” on Monday. 　Kang plays protagonist Kim Ji-heok, an orphan who suddenly becomes the elder son of a conglomerate family. 　In the stills released by the broadcaster, the actor is seen kissing Kang Jin-ah (played by Jung So-min), in a backstreet late at night. The actress plays the spoiled daughter of the business family.　Throughout the show, the Kim vies with Kang Dong-seok (playe

April 28, 2014

Choi Daniel hates travelling, loves glasses

　　Actor Choi Daniel said he hated traveling because it requires “bothersome” preparations, such as packing and being bound to flight schedules, the actor told reporters Monday.　“Traveling involves some incredibly bothersome jobs, such as making a list of things that I need, packing them up, making sure I arrive at the airport at least two hours before takeoff, and planning what to do during those two hours,” Choi told reporters at a press conference for KBS2 TV show “Big Man” in Yeouido-dong, Se

April 28, 2014

Rappers to showcase Korean hip-hop in U.S. concert series

Rappers Verbal Jint, Beenzino, Bumkey, Sanchez of Phantom and Kanto will give American fans a taste of Korean hip-hop as they headline the first Asian Music Festival: Korean Hip Hop Series Vol 1., which will hold three concerts across the U.S. next month. The festival will stop at New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, featuring Korean hip-hop artists as well as international DJs Michelle Francheska, DJ Preston and Gank Squad, and rapper Decipher. With the continued international growth of the Asian

April 28, 2014

CJ E&M, Victor Entertainment launch music joint venture

South Korea’s representative music enterprise CJ E&M has launched CJ Victor Entertainment with major Japanese music label Victor Entertainment to boost activities in the broadening Asian music market.The capital of the joint venture to be based in Japan is a total 10 billion won, with CJ E&M holding 51 percent of its equity and Victor Entertainment 49 percent.CJ and Victor will combine their business infrastructures for CJ Victor Entertainment. They will carry out related tasks ranging from arti

April 28, 2014

Choi Daniel regrets shy kiss with Lee Da-hee

　Choi Daniel said Monday he regretted that his kissing scene with actress Lee Da-hee in “Big Man” was not as erotic as he wanted it to be.　Speaking at a press conference in Yeouido-dong, Seoul,the 28-year-old said he wanted the kiss and “the post-kiss eye contact” to be as erotic as that of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”　“We did not have enough time to talk about how we should act out the kissing scene; if we had enough time … we could have had more ‘chewy’ sort of (kissin

April 28, 2014

Actor Kim Soo-hyun joins yellow ribbon campaign

Korean heartthrob actor Kim Soo-hyun has joined the yellow ribbon campaign in support of the passengers of the sunken ferry Sewol. He posted an image of a yellow ribbon on his official website.Beneath the yellow ribbon, he wrote, “I hope all our hearts reach heaven.”The yellow ribbon campaign launched as a symbol of hope for the safe return of those who went missing after the Sewol disaster. An increasing number of people have posted the image of a yellow ribbon on their social networking or mes

April 28, 2014

Rookies brighten up local charts

The K-pop scene has come to a virtual standstill since the April 16 sinking of the ferry Sewol, but two rookie acts are creating some excitement in charts. High4, a four-member boy band, retained the top spot on major digital music charts on Sunday, with its debut single “Not Spring, Love or Cherry Blossoms.” Featuring popular singer IU, the song is a sweet, mid-tempo ballad about loneliness during the blossoming season. As of noon Sunday, it topped Melon, the country’s most popular real-time di

April 27, 2014

YG CEO to donate W500m for families of Sewol victims

YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk will donate 500 million won ($480,000) to help the families of those killed in the ferry sinking last week.The donation will be made through YG’s charity project WITH, which has long used some of YG’s annual profits to help those in need in Korea, according to YG Entertainment.“As a parent myself, it was heart-wrenching to follow the Sewol accident. I know that there are no words that could console the parents who lost their children in this tragedy,” Yang was

April 25, 2014

Baekhyun of EXO to star in SM-produced musical

Baek-hyun of EXO. ( SM Entertainment)Baekhyun, a member of K-pop boy band EXO, is venturing into a new genre ― musicals.He will take the lead role in “Singin’ in the Rain,” to be produced by SM Culture & Contents Co., a subsidiary of SM Entertainment.Baekhyun will play Don Lockwood, the male protagonist, in the stage production based on the 1952 namesake musical movie directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen.Fellow SM stars including Super Junior’s Kyuhyun and SHINee’s Onew will also be in the c

April 24, 2014

Actor Kim Soo-hyun donates W300 million for Sewol victims

Kim Soo-hyun, one of Korea’s hottest TV stars, will donate 300 million won ($289,000) for the young victims and survivors of the Sewol ferry sinking, joining a slew of celebrities in offering aid, donations and condolences in the wake of one of the country’s worst maritime calamities ever. “Kim Soo-hyun will be donating the money directly to Danwon High School in Ansan. All decisions, including the amount and recipients, are his own,” the actor’s agency said Thursday. Over 300 students and teach

April 24, 2014

Composer Yoon Il-sang writes requiem for Sewol victims

As the death toll from the ferry accident continues to rise day by day, veteran composer Yoon Il-sang has written a requiem for the victims.“I dedicate this song to the Sewol victims who have passed away ... I pray that they will be happy in the afterlife,” Yoon Il-sang wrote on his Twitter page on Wednesday after unveiling the elegy on his SoundCloud account.“Take Care,” a calm and doleful piano composition, was written, arranged and played by the composer himself.“It was difficult to work on b

April 23, 2014

Top stars to hold slew of intimate spring concerts

As the weather begins to brighten and the promise of greener pastures is just around the corner, a handful of popular artists have organized a series of concerts, moving away from the typical overcrowded, flashy K-pop stage settings. Shin Seung-hoon, IU, Lena Park and other stars will be performing a series of intimate concerts on small stages across the city to usher in the spring. Veteran singer Shin, oftentimes dubbed the “King of Ballads” in Korea, has announced that he will be holding a str

April 22, 2014

Actress Han Ga-in pregnant with first child

Actress Han Ga-in, 32, and her husband, actor Yeon Jung-hoon, 36, are expecting their first child after 9 years of marriage.“Han Ga-in is currently pregnant. Yeon is very happy, because it’s their first child after years of marriage,” Han’s agency BH Entertainment said in a statment on Monday. “However, as the nation is in grief over the ferry disaster, the couple notified only their families and relatives of the pregnancy.”According to the agency, “Han will be focusing on prenatal care for the

April 22, 2014

EXO-M brings ‘Overdose’ to China

The members of EXO-M, the Mandarin unit of popular K-pop band EXO, recently returned home to China, where they performed their newest single “Overdose” for the first time on CCTV’s “Global Chinese Music” live stage music ranking program on Sunday.EXO’s upcoming “Overdose” mini-album was originally set to be released on April 21, but has been officially postponed as the nation continues to mourn for the victims and missing passengers, mostly students, of the Sewol ferry sinking. Because of the tr

April 21, 2014

Shinhwa’s Andy to meet Chinese fans

Andy, a member of K-pop band Shinhwa who has been lying low after having been caught gambling illegally late last year, will attend a fan meeting in China next month, his agency said Monday. “Yes, Andy is going to China on request from fans. But it is not a signal of his comeback to the stage or small screen here,” an official at TOP Media told The Herald Business, the sister paper of The Korea Herald.           OSENAccording to the agency, the 33-year-old singer will meet his Chinese fans in th

April 21, 2014

Korean-American Ilram Choi is the man inside the suit in ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’

The man inside the Spider-Man suit in the recently released Hollywood blockbuster “The Amazing Spider Man 2” is not only Andrew Garfield, but also Korean-American Ilram Choi.According to Sony Pictures Releasing Walt Disney Studios Korea on Monday, “The Hollywood stuntman Ilram Choi has participated as one of Andrew Garfield’s stunt doubles in the recent Amazing Spider-Man movie series, as he did during the first movie.” (Director Marc Webb’s SNS)According to the motion picture distributor, Choi

April 21, 2014

[Band Uprising] 9 and the Numbers bring back nostalgic goodness with folk rock

As the Korean music market is beginning to receive more international recognition, the local band scene is looking to rise up and represent the next generation of Korean music. This is the eighth installment of a series of interviews with Korean rock, acoustic and alternative bands. ― Ed. Known mostly for their softly sung folk-rock jams and old-school vibe, the four members of 9 and the Numbers say they are looking to continue making music that has a contemporary yet classic folk feel that is s

April 20, 2014

Music festival delayed due to ferry disaster

Greenplugged Seoul 2014, an annual outdoor music festival originally scheduled for early May, has officially been postponed, as the nation continues to grieve for more than 240 people still missing from the Sewol ferry sinking.GPS announced on Friday that it has pushed back the event from May 3-4 to May 31-June 1. The venue, Seoul Nanji Hangang Park, will be unchanged.“A tragic event occurred just about two weeks ahead of the festival. We have been following the event closely with much sadness a

April 20, 2014