Celebs

Rain is still on a no-show as a witness in the lawsuit against him by a fashion company investor citing that he is a soldier. But as he has had time to meet his girlfriend Kim Tae-hee, this excuse is not going down too well. This case is related to the debacle back in 2010 [...]

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Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: it’s going to be one of those years…

by Saharial 17 March 2013
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It’s going to be one of those years. If you hadn’t already guessed from the propofol and Park Shi Hoo case, the rather dirty side of K-pop and celebrity has started to show itself. The propofol investigation has almost reached its conclusion. Still limited to four celebrities, Hyun Young, who had it administered 42 times, [...]

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Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: the week of the younger siblings

by Saharial 10 March 2013
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The Park Shi-hoo scandal, as predicted, still has a lot of mileage. The full Kakao talk conversations between the trainee and her actor friend have been released by his law firm. They indicate the trainee and her friend were in communication after she had filed charges – contrary to her claims they were not. The [...]

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Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: a packed calendar for new releases, and a focus on sexual harassment in the industry

by Saharial 3 March 2013
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The main dominating news this week has been the Park Shi-hoo alleged sexual assault case. Netizens and media alike have pounced on the story like a starving dog and there have been a number of stories, gossips and accusations relating to the case (and not to the case). Various text messages have apparently been obtained [...]

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Lee Young-ae returns in NYT ad

by Philip Gowman 14 February 2013
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Yes, it’s nice to see Lee Young-ae back. But why do the people who put full page Dokdo ads in the American press feel the need also to promote Korean food in similar fashion? Aren’t Michelle Obama and Gwyneth Paltrow doing that for free? Still, I can’t think of a better spokesmodel for hansik than [...]

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Why does Lee Byung-hun need two heads?

by Philip Gowman 8 February 2013
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Last year, Kara. This year Lee Byung-hun is releasing a doll of himself. But why does he need two heads? The doll comes with an extra attachable head among other add-ons, and according to the agency, will hit stores in Korea next year. The Joongang Daily doesn’t really explain why.

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Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Carry on up the charts

by Saharial 4 February 2013
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Sorry for the late news this weekend – technical issues with my machine and work related exhaustion. On that note though – if there is anything you would like me to focus on more – please do let me know in the comments. Se7en is holding a series of concerts this month in Japan before [...]

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Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Tablo on the BBC, more on propofol, and Shinhwa’s comeback

by Saharial 27 January 2013
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For anyone up in the early hours of Friday morning, Tablo was being interviewed on the BBC about Kpop and what influences him. The interview can be found on the BBC website or YouTube for those of you who, like me, ware asleep at the time. Sadly the clips have been getting some negative comments [...]

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Looking back at 2012: Hallyu and entertainment news

by Philip Gowman 24 January 2013
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In the second of four round-ups of links to news which caught our eye in 2012, we focus on hallyu-related stories from around the world, some of the local entertainment industry stories plus a quick look at the film industry. UK. The Guardian put together an entertaining photoshop when London Mayor Boris Johnson claimed he [...]

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Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Sweet Dreams for Tiger JK

by Saharial 20 January 2013
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It’s been a quiet week in comparison to the first two of the year, but it looks like there is some interesting music on its way. Hip Hop legend Tiger JK, his wife Yoon Mi Rae (aka Tasha) and Bizzy are forming a new project group called MFBTY (‘My Fan Better Than Yours’), releasing an [...]

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Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Rain, Tablo, Psy and Propofol

by Saharial 12 January 2013
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In 2008 Choi Jin Shil, a popular actress, committed suicide after threats and pressure from netizens and from her personal life. Two years later in March 2010 her brother committed suicide, and now on 6th January 2013 her ex husband Jo Sung Min also took his own life in the same manner. A former basketball [...]

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Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Block B’s lawsuit and Rain’s National Service Lite

by Saharial 5 January 2013
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Its only the first week of January and the Korean media is already buzzing with a heap of scandal. First off the bat is Rain who enlisted in the army in March 2012, and joined the Defence Media Agency (DEMA) like many other stars before him. Whilst not having used up his three official holiday [...]

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The London Korean Links Awards 2012

by Philip Gowman 31 December 2012
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The seventh eclectic and highly personal commemoration of the best of the past year. Personality of the Year Runner up There were plenty of personalities in the South Korean Olympic team, particularly the pistol shooters, archers and the gymnasts. But the athlete that everyone will remember is fencer Shin A-lam, cheated out of a place [...]

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LKL Quiz of the Year 2012

by Philip Gowman 24 December 2012
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We gave it a rest last year, but we’ve brought it back for 2012: the LKL Quiz of the Year, featuring some of the top celebrity stories of the year, as well as one or two from the business and cultural pages. Some, but not all, of these stories might have been featured on LKL [...]

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Who would YOU vote for as Woman of the Year?

by Philip Gowman 24 November 2012
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Well, GQ Korea says it’s SiSTAR, but the girl group was picked “because there were not many other options.” Actor Ha Sung-woo was man of the year. Needless to say, Kim Ki-duk and PSY also get mentioned.

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PSY vs the generic K-pop girls

by Philip Gowman 21 November 2012
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PSY has thrashed the lot of them when it comes to YouTube views. And now he’s up against KARA, SiSTAR and 4Minute in the Soju Wars. According to Koreabang, Jinro’s Chamiseul outsells Lotte’s Cheoeum Cheoreom by almost 3 to 1. PSY has now signed up to promote Jinro, while Hara, Hyolyn and HyunA have just [...]

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Bae Doo-na’s London fashion shoot

by Philip Gowman 6 October 2012
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Bae Doo-na was in London earlier this year, staying with her language coach in preparation for the shooting of Cloud Atlas (which we’re really looking forward to at LKL). She took the time out to do a fashion shoot for Marie Claire Korea, which recently hit the news stands. Thanks to Yuna at the Marmot’s [...]

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Wonder Girls rapper in top 25 beauty list

by Philip Gowman 6 May 2012
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Nice to see the Wonder Girls in the news. I wonder how JYP managed to get Yu-bin onto the list of 25 Sexiest Musicians Under 25, compiled by US website Complex Music. Yu-bin, who replaced the band’s previous main rapper Hyuna, comes in at number 20. Judge for yourself, but I think she should be [...]

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Jeon Ji-hyun finally comes clean on her upcoming marriage

by Philip Gowman 4 March 2012
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Enewsworld explains why Jeon Ji-hyun denied wedding rumours for so long: she needed to get some modelling contracts signed first. The wedding is on 13 April, brought forward from 2 June, after which she starts shooting Ryu Seung-wan’s new film Berlin http://bit.ly/ygigUg.

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First birthday celebration for Lee Young-ae’s twins

by Philip Gowman 26 February 2012
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Cute or what? Lee Young-ae holds low-key first birthday bash for her twins, 21 Feb 2012. Jeon Do-yeon was also there to celebrate. http://bit.ly/x7W0ec. Pic via Hancinema

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The London Korean Links Awards 2011

by Philip Gowman 7 January 2012
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The sixth of LKL’s annual unscientific and very personal recognition of the best things of last year. And in the field of film, books and CDs what is encouraging is that there is so much to choose from. There were also plenty of good Korean cultural events in London, Edinburgh and elsewhere, but there was [...]

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