Elva Hsiao Smitten by Jang Hyuk in Her New MV

Date : 6 May 2008

Taiwan pop star, Elva Hsiao, who joined record company EMI last month, appeared smitten by Korean actor, Jang Hyuk when they filmed her latest MV in Taiwan yesterday. She reportedly fell into the arms of Jang Hyuk after filming a scene.

The MV was shot in a cafe. Elva Hsiao and Jang Hyuk act as a couple on the verge of breaking up in the MV. Elva was in a sexy dress chasing after Jang Hyuk out of the cafe when their eyes met.

Immediately after this scene, Elva seemed to be in a high and was giggling uncontrollably before falling into the arms of Jang Hyuk.

Credits : Merlioncafetalk

Se7en talks new album at LA preview party

Date : 5 May 2008

Top : Presstime: Se7en talks to the media before his live performance

Oh well, I posted this news two days ago. But this is another version of it. (More details).

Se7en, who went into hiding to prepare for his debut English album, had a preview party in Los Angeles on May 2.

The Korean singer, who is trying to crossover to the US, sang three tracks during the preview namely Girls, Money Can’t Buy Love and You Got Me Now.

[Photo] Confident: Se7en speaks to the press in English without the help of a translator. Somehow,coverage of the event were only found at Korean sites.

But before taking to the stage, the 24-year-old talked in English to the press sans translator about working on the album, mastering a foreign tongue and his hopes for the album.

Se7en is nervous but optimistic

The young man is feeling the pressure as all of Kpopland watches his upcoming debut in the US. He said: “It’s rare for an Asian singer to debut in the US and the load is heavy on my shoulder. The nervousness is actually bigger than the burden. I’m feeling like 5 years ago before my debut.

“There’s prejudice towards Asian singers but my music will change that. Famous producers (such as Mark Shimmel & Rodney “Darkchild” Jenkins) worked on my album, which includes R&B, pop and hip hop music that will be able to remove the prejudice on an Asian singer. If it’s played on radio, it will feel as if it’s sung by a current singer because it is made to current trends of music,” he added.

[Photo] Se7en entertains the masses with his latest tracks

Wrestling with a foreign tongue

Like that other Korean star who is trying to crossover to the United States (read: Rain), grasping the English language remains one of Se7en’s biggest challenges.

But having stayed in the US for 6 months, Se7en already has a steady hold on English, judging by his confidence in conducting the latest PC without a translator.

He said: “I had to study pronunciations and the meaning of the lyrics. I studied English for 4-5 months, 3-4 hours a day.

“It’ll be great if my English is perfect. But as a singer, the music should be the one to do the talking. If my thoughts can be transmitted through music, then my English will follow through. This year, next year, I’ll continue to show my growth.”

Se7en’s US debut album is tentatively set to drop on 7/7 (of course) this year.

Geez, why do I have to go the roundabout way in getting this story? Silly isn’t it when Se7en actually spoke in English during the PC and I only found coverage of the event at a Korean site, and then had to scour for the translation at the Soompi forum.

If that’s the case, Se7en should have just continued using Korean during his recent PC since no English publication/ media covered it.

Source : Yonhap & cecilia @ soompi & http://z12.invisionfree.com/Se7enth_Heaven/
Review posted by :Liz @ Kpopped (Malaysian Bloggers)
Pics Credits : Newsen & Hankooki

9th Jeonju International Film Festival Kicks Off

Date : 6 May 2008

The 9th annual Jeongju International Film Festival kicked off its nine-day run with an opening ceremony on May 1. Once again this year, the film festival has invited independent films from all around the world.

Actors Ahn Sung-ki and Choi Jung-won hosted the opening ceremony, which was attended by 2,000 guests and visitors. Song Ha-jin, the chairman of the organizing committee, declared the opening of this year’s film festival and Min Byeong-rok, the chief of the organization, delivered a congratulatory speech.

Ahead of the opening ceremony, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Yoo In-chon, head of the United Democratic Party Son Hak-kyu, U.S. Ambassador to Korea Alexander Vershbow, film directors Lim Kwon-taek and Lee Myung-se, actors Jeon Do-yeong and Park Hae-il and other celebrities and dignitaries greeted the local and foreign press members as well as their fans on the red carpet.

This year’s film festival will screen 1,204 films, the largest number in the history of the film festival. The name of the “Indivision” category has been changed to “International Competition” to emphasize the “competitive” element, while a brand new category entitled “Work in Progess” has also been introduced to draw attention to independent films around the world.

Throughout the festival, a photo exhibition will feature some 84 photographs of internationally-renowned “Magnum” photographers.

Source : KBS Global

Rain-Colbert Dance Off Is Happening!

Date : 5 May 2008

Colbert’s fansites have made a CAP of Rain’s appearance on the Colbert’s show for the DANCE OFF! They have announced that the showdown in fact has happened! Show will be aired on MONDAY!

Link to the video : http://www.veoh.com/videos/v86056002HxqK7Jd

Source: www.nofactzone.net+www.koreapopwars.com

Posted by : shenyuepop

Se7en performs at Highlands

Date : 3 May 2008

A Review From Javabeans

American-crossover hopeful Se7en held his album preview party last night at the Hollywood club Highlands, where he performed three songs from his upcoming debut album.

In a nutshell? If you’re a Se7en fan, the event was probably a success because you got to see him performing up close and personal in a relatively small club atmosphere. No way you’d get this close in a performance in Korea, or Asia. Promotion-wise, the party was packed and people were screaming with excitement when Se7en took the stage, so another plus there.

If you’re me, though, neither a Se7en fan nor hater, merely curious to see the atmosphere and wishing him well despite being rather dubious to his crossover appeal, the event was a mixed bag.

Clip: Se7en performing the second song of the night, “Money Can’t Buy Me Love”

Visit Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvS-sB-ss3o

Credits :
Photos : happyroach @ Soompi
Event review : Javabeans
Youtube Clip : Javabeans

Dong-wook stars in “Sweet Life” a new MBC TV drama currently in production

Date : 24 April 2008

Actor Lee Dong-wook (age: 27) returns to the small screen after a 2-year hiatus.

He will star in “Sweet Life,” a special MBC weekend TV drama that is set to premiere on May 3, 2008 in the leading role. His co-star will be actress Oh Yeon-soo (age: 37). The show is a romance about how Joon-soo, the character that Lee Dong-wook will play, falls in love with a married woman whom he met by coincidence during a trip to Japan.

It would seem to be another TV drama about a scandalous affair but Lee Dong-wook offers a different take on the drama by emphasizing that “it’s not story about a typical romance or extramarital affair.” Yet, he didn’t go into any details to elaborate on the differences. “If I reveal any aspect of the plot, it would be a major spoiler so I don’t know what I can or cannot say about the show” he said. But he did drop a hint that the tagline in the “Sweet Life” synopsis that says, “There’s a devil inside me,” reveals something about his character.

While filming a scene on location at Hokkaido, Japan, Director Kim Ji-min told Lee Dong-wook to “try to bring out the devil inside of you.”’ Instead of describing the character that he plays, Lee said, “You might think that my character is the villain. But you’ll learn later on why he became like that. When I read the script, I knew that I had to play the role because of the uncharacteristic elements that you’ll see in him. Many actors and actresses crave to play characters that spiral downward into a pit of misery because it gives them a chance to display the raw emotions of a downtrodden figure.

With a wry smile, Lee said, “It’s easy to approach a role in a romantic comedy or a drama about a scandalous affair but this drama is totally different. That’s why I wanted the role so much. It’s more challenging than other roles but I believe that after I complete this project, I’ll become a better actor than before.’”

When asked about the playing the love interest of actress Oh Yeon-soo in “Sweet Life,” Lee said,  “It was awkward at first to play opposite Oh Yeon-soo because not only is it my first time to co-star with her but she’s also 10 years older than me. I’m basically a shy guy. It wasn’t easy to act as her romantic partner. But since I spent 22 days shooting scenes with just her in Japan, I was able to get to know her well.”

Asked about any interesting incidents during his shoots, Lee Dong-wook marveled that, “The minute I landed in Japan, my days were filled with uncommon events that would never happen in Korea.” “It snowed 22 consecutive days in Japan. Don’t you think that’s crazy? I had a difficult time because of the snow and cold weather,” he recalled with a shiver. In one scene, he treads through the snow in a rage and that was one of his hard scenes to shoot. But Lee didn’t go any further as he stopped himself from unraveling the mystery surrounding his character. Known as the pretty boy of romantic comedies, he transforms into a villain in his new TV drama according to the vague hints that he dropped about his character. Viewers will have to wait until the TV drama premieres to find out more about his role.

Source : MBC Global Media

TVXQ 3rd Live Tour in Japan [T]

What’s happening with our favourite TVXQ / DBSK boys? Don’t you miss them? Micky, Yun-ho, Xiah, Max, Hero…where are you?

Arguably Korea’s most well known boy band TVXQ is currently busy touring the land of the rising sun. Their 3rd Live Tour in Japan runs from March 19 – May 6, 2008.

With only short trips back to Korea, they will spend most of nearly two months in Japan, performing at a total of 8 cities. This time around, they will be performing at much larger venues compared to their first and second tours. In this third tour, the five fab boys will be thrilling a whopping 180,000 delirious Japanese & International fans. They will hold concerts at cities such as Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Fukuoka and Nagoya.

Here are some statistics so you can grasp how big the boys have become in Japan.

1st Live Tour 2006 : Heart, Mind, Soul
7 cities, 11 shows – 15 thousand fans

2nd Live Tour 2007 : Five in the Black
10 cities, 16 shows – 58 thousand fans

3rd Live Tour 2008 – [T]
8 cities, 17 shows – 150 thousand fans

I’ll leave you with a video of TVXQ talking about their 3rd Japan tour, on a Japanese program. In Japan, they are known as Tohoshinki.

Visit Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEszgMEc5U4

Rain’s Agency Targets Japanese Market

Date : 4 May 2008

Rain’s entertainment agency J. Tune Entertainment (CEO Cho Dong-won) is preparing to launch a cellular content service for Japanese fans.

On April 28th, a J. Tune representative announced that they have signed a contract with ACCEL Corporation, a Japanese company dealing in wireless services and that they are ready to provide “top quality content that will fulfill the needs of fans in Japan.”

ACCEL will receive entertainment content from J. Tune and release it in early June to Japan’s three major cellular service providers – NTT Docomo, KDDI, and Softbank.

“We plan on sharing footage of Rain’s performances and his daily life through the content service which can be viewed in Japan anytime, anywhere,” a J. Tune representative said. “We hope that Japanese fans will show great interest in this new service.”

Source : KBS Global

IVY to Make Drama Debut in June

Date : 4 May 2008

Singer IVY took a break from the spotlight after being threatened at the end of last year. The singer will return to showbiz this June with her TV drama debut in the SBS production “Tokyo, Yeowubi” (screenplay by Kim Jin-hee, directed by Lee Joon-hyung).

“‘Tokyo, Yeowubi’ was shot entirely in Japan last year and it will air at 10pm on June 2nd, 3rd, 9th and 10th,” announced the production company of the drama, Work Wonders.

Starring Kim Sa-rang and Kim Tae-woo, “Tokyo, Yeowubi” is a melodrama about the love that blossoms between actress ‘Soo-jin’ and sushi chef ‘Hyun-soo’ after a fateful encounter in Japan.

Also starring in the TV drama are Japanese actors Otani Ryohei, Okuda Erika and Yamamoto Gaku.

“‘Tokyo, Yeowubi’ was produced as a cinematic drama to be viewed in theaters,” explained Work Wonders. “And besides the director, writer and producer, the entire crew is Japanese.”

The director of the drama, Lee Joon-hyung, is famous for directing music videos of singers Sung Si-kyung, Lee Soo-young and Vibe.

Source : KBS Global

Tiffany and Kim Dong Wan’s Little Secret

Date : 2 May 2008

Girls’ Generation member Tiffany will be featured on Kim Dong Wan’s (Shinhwa) 2nd solo album, which is planned for release on the 8th.

Rather than singing, Tiffany will be performing a narration on Kim Dong Wan’s upcoming title song Secret (비밀).

Dong Wan stated, “In order to increase the songs’ sadness, I requested Tiffany to perform a narration.”

Tiffany stated, “I’ve always been a fan of Kim Dong Wan and have been eagerly awaiting his 2nd album.”

The ultimate formula for sadness: Girls’ Generation member who can’t sing + Shinhwa member who can’t sing. For you mathematically challenged readers, that’s the equivalent of BAD.

—-NOTE : I DIDN’T WRITE UP THIS ARTICLE. ALL COMMENTS WRITTEN HERE WERE THE ORIGINAL WRITER’S POINT OF VIEW—-

Source : allkpop