Thanks to would-be Labour finance minister Ed Balls for brightening up our dull Autumn on the BBC’s celebrity talent show Strictly Come Dancing. Consistently at the bottom of the scoreboard, he is saved by the popular vote. In the most recent episode he had the guts to do a Gangnam Style inspired Salsa, choreographed (with … [Read More]
Musician: PSY
A look back at the films and music of 2015
In the second of two articles (the first looked at the world of books) we look at some of the releases of 2015 that caught our eye. Film Two Kickstarter-funded films to which LKL contributed came to fruition: Twinsters, the story of twin sisters adopted in different continents who discover each other through Facebook; and … [Read More]
Looking back at 2013: Entertainment news
In the third of five retrospective articles, we recall some of the entertainment stories that caught our eye in 2013. Korean box office records were broken in 2013. Korean films accounted for 59.5 percent of box office takings, with the feel-good drama Miracle in Cell 7 gaining 12.8 million admissions. The big new band to … [Read More]
Expo visit: YG v CJ, and PSY everywhere, at Billingsate
Day 1 of the Korea Branding and Entertainment Expo, coinciding with President Park’s State Visit, was very much business-focused, with fashion and contents buyers browsing the many stalls. Day 2 was given over to the visual arts and musical entertainments. Downstairs, in the spectacular vaulted basement, was a huge exhibition of video art, celebrating the … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: another car crash of a week in the world of Korean celebrity
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 … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: it’s going to be one of those years…
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, … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: the week of the younger siblings
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 … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Aegyo perfection from Two X, B.A.P’s bank-busting MV, and more
Two X (투엑스, J. Tune Camp, part of JYP Entertainment), a five-member girl group who made their debut last August, have released their second single “Ring Ma Bell” (http://youtu.be/wKp0EdDEl3k). Produced by Rado, the track is an electronic dance song, and the MV differs from their first release “Double Up” (http://youtu.be/zM3KEOzGw6M) and should contain a warning … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: SISTAR19’s sultry single, LEDapple’s covers and more
Teen Top performed in London on Friday as part of their European Tour. Due to release a full length album at the end of February, the concert sounds like it was a success and is sure to herald more acts coming to the UK in the future. They continue to Paris (a sell out date) … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Carry on up the charts
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 … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Tablo on the BBC, more on propofol, and Shinhwa’s comeback
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 … [Read More]
Looking back at 2012: Hallyu and entertainment news
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 … [Read More]
Looking back at 2012: Culture, tourism and branding stories
The first of four articles in which we look back at some of the stories which caught our attention during the course of 2012. In this first article we look at cultural promotion, heritage, tourism and related topics. Heritage and Cultural Promotion Korea’s national folk song, Arirang, was listed as world Intangible Cultural Heritage by … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Sweet Dreams for Tiger JK
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 … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Rain, Tablo, Psy and Propofol
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 … [Read More]
LKL 2012 Quiz of the Year — the answers
The answers to LKL’s 2012 Quiz of the Year. How many did you get? 1 The Watermelon Economy It was Lee Seung-han, the boss of Tesco in Korea, who accused Lee Myung-bak of running a watermelon economy: on the outside, lots of rhetoric about “green” growth, but actually red on the inside. “Not even communist … [Read More]