KpOp & JpOp 2012/12/31
- Actors Park Ha Sun and Ryu Duk Hwan Caught on a Date! Rumor has it that top stars Park Ha Sun and Ryu Duk Hwan have been dating for seven months. The two originally were friends in childhood and started dating in May of this year. Sport Seoul captured the two looking warm and cozy in the cold winter.
The two were photographed arm in arm as they enjoyed a date in the December cold. It is said that the two shared a special connection when they portrayed siblings in the movie, "The Last Blossom" that came out last April. Because they shared common interests, they were able to quickly get close to each other.
Park Ha Sun recently won an Excellence Award at the MBC Drama Awards for her work in "High Kick 3." While her popularity rose from the sitcom, she also had a difficult time filming it.
An insider to Park Ha Sun said, "Park Ha Sun had a difficult time because there were controversial issues from the very first episode. In the first episode, her underwear was exposed. Although the crew had put a mosaic there before airing, she suffered malicious allegations that it was all intentional for publicity."
There were other controversies with Park Ha Sun and the sitcom, but Ryu Duk Hwan was there for her behind the scenes, thus turning the friendship into love.
Ryu Duk Hwan is set to enlist next year so the couple's future is a little uncertain. No official statement has been made from either side.
Ryu Duk Hwan debuted in 1998 but rose to fame in 2006 through the movie "Like a Virgin" and won many newcomer awards for his role. He has had many roles since then and he was recently in the drama "Faith."
Park Ha Sun debuted in 2005 in the drama "Love Needs a Miracle" and has been in other dramas such as "The King and I" and the sitcom "High Kick 3." She recently starred in the comedy "Tone-Deaf Clinic."
- Won Bin and Sooyoung Dating Rumor Source Figured Out What is the source of Won Bin and Girls' Generation's Sooyoung's dating rumor?
Currently "Sports World" is claiming to have figured out the origin of the dating rumor. The rumor was spread through the "Celebrity X Files." (X Files of celebrities being spread by the finance industry in South Korea) The rumor gained even more momentum as news broke out that one media source would actually make an official report on January 1, 2013.
However, a representative of SM Entertainment stated, "The two aren't even friends and have never met. It is impossible that an article could be released regarding their dating."
"Sports World" has stated that the rumor started as a joke. On one community message board, somebody made a post with the title "Exclusive: Won Bin Sooyoung." (Sooyoung also means swimming in Korean) The picture in the post was about Won Bin actually swimming, this is a common type of practice called "fishing" where a title is written in a misleading manner on purpose.
It looks as though the verdict for this rumor is out. The rumor is just a rumor. Or is it?
- IU And Eunhyuk Seem Awkward At First Public Event Since Scandal All eyes were on MC IU and Eunhyuk during the broadcast of SBS's "Gayo Daejun," after IU mistakenly shared a photo on twitter that caused rumors to fly of the two dating each other.
On December 29, emcees IU and Suzy interviewed celebrity guests between performances during the "2012 SBS Gayo Daejeon: The Color Of K-Pop" program. After they finished interviewing Big Bang's Taeyang, Suzy handed off the microphone to Eunhyuk as netizens saw how IU struggled to know where to look without drawing too much attention.
Once it was Super Junior's turn to participate in the interview, viewers took note of Eunhyuk's sudden expressionless face once he got the mic. However once it was his turn to talk, he didn't disappoint fans as he showed his lively personality.
The SBS "2012 Gayo Daejeon: The Color of K-Pop" was emceed by IU, Jung Kyu Woon and Suzy. Singers that made guest appearances included: DBSK, Big Bang, Super Junior, 2NE1, SHINee, KARA, BEAST, SISTAR, Infinite, 4Minute, FT Island, f(x), CNBlue, SECRET and 2AM.
- 2NE1′s Sandara Park Takes Photos Of Little Brother During MBLAQ Performance Netizens were charmed at the sight of 2NE1 group member Sandara Park taking photos of her little brother Thunder during MBLAQ's performance.
On December 29, Sandara Park's younger brother gave an electrifying performance with the rest of his group at the "2012 SBS Gayo Daejun: The Color Of K-Pop" awards ceremony.
While Sandara was watching Thunder and the rest of the MBLAQ members perform "Run," she showed her excitement and pride in her younger brother's jaw-dropping performance. She also took photos of the performance and didn't hide her awe at the level of passion MBLAQ showed on stage that day.
Netizens who saw the captures of Sandara as a doting sister commented, "Sandara Park is too cute!", "She must have been proud of Thunder's performance", "They are such talented siblings", "That's an expression of sisterly pride on her face", "That's really sweet!" and "I wish I could see my sibling performing on stage!"
In related news, 2NE1 will be performing at the "2012 MBC Gayo Daejun" on December 31.
- My 2012 in Review: Rex
2012 was a banner year for me having moved to South Korea in February and getting the opportunity to be able to go to several festivals and film events that I never would have been able to attend while I lived in New Jersey.
The first and best of these was PiFan a festival which has been going on for 15 years now in Bucheon city, near Seoul, and has garnered a lot of respect for being one of the premier hubs of genre cinema, be it Asian or otherwise. Aside from the eclectic collection of films that I had the pleasure to see, be it raunch, Pang Ho-cheung's Vulgaria (Hong Kong, 2012), action, Soi Cheang's Motorway (Hong Kong, 2012), or animation, Takayuki Hirao's Gyo (Japan, 2012), what was wonderful about my entire PiFan experience was the opportunity to interact with a lot of the film critics and directors that I have admired for quite some time. And, though there were a lot of massive blockbuster films being showcased there, my pick for the best at the fest, as well as one of my favorite films of this year, would be Back Seung-kee's Super Virgin (Japan, 2012), a DIY sci-fi love story that sadly may never get screened anywhere outside of Korea due to its no-budget status.
Aside from PiFan, I was also able to spend a weekend at Busan for BIFF in October and finally caught Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay (Phillipines, 2011), a faux-documentary style picture by first time director Antoinette Jadaone about the Philippines greatest background actress, the aforementioned Lilia Cuntapay. Having heard so much about the film and must see status amongst cinephiles, it definitely did not disappoint. Although I was a bit apprehensive that the film may play up the comedy or inflate Lilia's contribution to Philippine cinema, Jadaone strikes a good balance humanizing Lilia but also pointing out the ridiculousness of her entire situation.
Finally, the biggest discovery for me was the Seoul Art Cinematheque which is a non-profit repertory theatre in Insadong and during the months of September and October, they were screening Japanese director Seijun Suzuki's entire filmography and I was lucky enough to catch a lot of films that I would never have gotten to see; movies like Carmen from Kawachi (1966) which still has not been released in the States. Alongside the Suzuki retrospective the Cinematheque were also screening a series of Japanese pictures the best of which I thought was Akihiko Shiota's Harmful Insect (2001) one of the handful of films at the start of the naughts dealing with teenage alienation but I had no clue of its existence until it screened there. - Photo
- Park Myung Soo Wins Grand Prize at 2012 MBC Entertainment Awards Comedian Park Myung Soo went home as the big winner of the 2012 MBC Entertainment Awards by snagging the coveted Grand Prize.
The 2012 MBC Entertainment Awards were held on December 29. Park Myung Soo triumphed over other strong candidates, including Yoo Jae Suk, and won the biggest award of the night.
During his acceptance speech, he said, "I wasn't going to cry but tears are forming."
Park Myung Soo worked hard in the entertainment and variety program field in MBC this year. He was part of four different programs including "Infinity Challenge," "I Am A Singer," "Magic Concert – This Is Magic," and "Most Consecutive Wins Quiz Show."
Park Myung Soo often called himself the "second-in-command" next to Yoo Jae Suk. However, he has finally succeeded in winning the Grand Prize after a long time of waiting.
Other mentionable wins include ZE:A's Lim Siwan for Rookie Of The Year award in the sitcom/comedy category. The Rookie Of The Year award in the show variety category was awarded to Super Junior's Kyuhyun, ZE:A's Kwang Hee, Park Eun Ji and Yoon Se Ah.
Yoo Jae Suk took home the PD Award. Many celebrities won the Popular Award including Leeteuk, Kang Sora, Lee Duk Hwa, Kim Gyu Ri, Ryu Jin, Guckkasten and SISTAR.
Another highlight of the night was the interview between the two most prominent MCs of Korea, Yoo Jae Suk and Kang Ho Dong. Though it had been a while since they showed chemistry on screen, the two MCs made many viewers laugh with their witty antics and remarks.
Congratulations to Park Myung Soo and all the other winners!
[Classic] Santa Kim Ha Yul
- SM Dance Unit "SM The Performance" Releases Digital Single "Spectrum" On December 30, SM Entertainment announced that SM dance group unit "SM The Performance" will be releasing their title track "Spectrum" later today.
"SM The Performance" is comprised of DBSK's Yunho, Super Junior's Donghae and Eunhyuk, SHINee's Minho and Taemin and EXO's Kai and Lay. The new sub-unit dance group had the opportunity to perform at the SBS Gayo Daejun to the excitement of fans.
The electronic sounds of "Spectrum" were created by famous DJ Zedd who has worked with artists such as Lady Gaga in the past. With Matthew Koma's input, "SM the Performance" brought a whole different sound to the SBS Gayo Daejun awards.
Moreover, SM Entertainment artists showed a powerful and memorable performance at the awards ceremony. BoA performed "Only One" and DBSK performed "Humanoids," which was a dance choreographed by Nappy Tabs who has worked with Christina Aguilera before.
Sexy Im Soo Yeon
Im Soo Yeon in black laced camisole, leather jacket and denim shorts. Enjoy ^^~
- NS Yoon Ji Looks Spectacular Even in Wintertime Singer NS Yoon Ji recently drew attention for her fashionable winter wear.
On December 28, photos of NS Yoon Ji and her fashionable outfit circulated online community forums in a post titled "NS Yoon Ji The Ultimate Fashionista."
In the photos, NS Yoon Ji sports a black jumper, skinny jeans and black boots to match. Her red designer purse added a pop of color to her classy black ensemble. Fans were amazed by her comfortable yet chic choice of clothing and styling.
Netizens who saw the photo commented, "NS Yoon Ji is such a fashionista even without trying", "NS Yoon Ji has such a pretty figure, even if she throws on any article of clothing, she looks great!" and "NS Yoon Ji really is a fashionista!"
In related news, the singer herself is currently busy promoting her title track "If You Love Me." 美人百花-2013-01
島崎遥香
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- KARA's Kang Ji Young Looks Unbelievably Beautiful KARA's Kang Ji Young posted a selca which showed the singer looking more beautiful than ever.
On December 29, Kang Ji Young tweeted along with the picture of herself, "Yha. I made a mistake." In the picture, her neck is draped around white fur looking ever so beautiful. She's seen making a pout because she claimed that she made some kind of a mistake. The pose, however, actually made her look even cuter.
Netizens commented "Seriously…her pose makes her look so cute" "She is getting prettier and prettier" and "I think she is becoming the prettiest member in the group."
Meanwhile, Kara showed off their sexy performance at the "2012 KBS Music Festival, which was broadcasted live on December 28.
- My 2012 in Review: Dear Leader
As is usually the case, the highlight of 2012 for me and probably most other Asian film fans in the NY area was the combination of the NY Asian Film Festival and Japan Society's "Japan Cuts: The NY Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema." Beginning with NYAFF at the end of June, these two festivals together offered something in the vicinity of ninety films in a roughly one month time period, several of which were co-presentations. The twin festivals also afford numerous wonderful opportunities to see directors, actors, and actresses in person.
Among the numerous films I saw, my favorites were: Vulgaria (2012), Hong Kong director Pang Ho-cheung's hysterical and raunchy Category III film about a bottom-breeder producer; the Korean sci-fi anthology Doomsday Book (2012), featuring two short films by Yim Pil-sung and one by Kim Ji-woon; the joint Hong Kong/China production Dragon (2011), a combination kung fu-actioner and Sherlock Holmes-like investigative procedural starring Donnie Yen and Takeshi Kaneshiro; and Asura (2012), a dark and gripping animation from Japan.
For me the past year also brought a wealth of Korean film screeners to review, most coming from CJ Entertainment. You can listen to me talk about several of these films on the October and November 2012 VCinema podcasts. My personal favorite was No Mercy (2010), one of the finest police procedurals I've ever seen.
Another highlight of the year was Asia Society's film series "Goddess: Chinese Women on Screen." The nine films shown over a one-month period from early November through early December included: two silent films from the mid-30s that starred actress Ruan Lingyu; Center Stage, the 1992 bio-pic about her that starred Maggie Cheung; the immortal propaganda ballet The Red Detachment of Women (1970); Red Sorghum (1987), the directorial debut of Zhang Yimou and acting debut of Gong Li; and Wong Kar Wai's Ashes of Time Redux, his 2008 reworking of his 1994 original.
There were also, as always, great offerings from Korean Cultural Service and The Korea Society, as well as some fine movies available on Netflix Streaming, such as Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011) and Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Movie (also 2011).
All in all, quite a year. I still wish I'd been able to clone myself so I could've seen even more of what was available. - Photo
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