2014년 1월 30일 목요일

"You Who Came From The Stars" is still wed/thursday’s dominant #1 drama this week


"You Who Came From The Stars" is still wed/thursday’s top rating K-drama.
The viewer rating for episode 13 is 24.8% which was by far the highest even though its rating fell little bit compared to last week's episode(11,12) from 26.4%.
In second place, new KBS drama "Inspiring Age," starring Kim hyun joong earned 7.0 percent of the viewers.
"Miss Korea," the drama about an elevator girl who becomes a beauty pageant contestant remained in third place, dropping down to 5.9 percent of the ratings.

Meanwhile SBS decided not to air episode 14 of "You Who Came From The Stars" on thursday(30th) due to the Lunar New Year holiday in Korea.
Lunar New Year is basically like having an entire country throw a family reunion -- all at once.
Most of Korean leave to their hometown for reunion during 3 days national holidays.
With the actual holiday landing on January 31, SBS predicted that many viewers will be on the move to their hometowns on January 30 to meet their families.
Instead of episode 14, SBS will air the movie "Secretly Greatly" starring Kim Soo Hyun.
SBS will air episode 14 on February 5.

Samsung employees volunteer to share the holiday spirit with neighbors on Lunar New Year’s day

Now that Sŏllal, the Korean New Year days are upon us, Samsung electronics and their employees engaged in a multitude of volunteer services to aid the underprivileged such as blood donation campaign and to renovate home for the elderly living alone.

Samsung started a company-wide one month long blood donation campaign starting from the 28th at its business operations across the country to resolve chronic issue of lack of blood donation in winter time.
This event takes place once in every two years from 1996 and a total of 270,000 employees have donated blood for the past 18 years. This year alone about 16,000 employees are expected to join the efforts.

Samsung also donates 800 million won to renovate old and decrepit residential buildings for seniors living alone.
Samsung Electronics handpicked 912 single-family households in dire need for repair across the country over the past full month from December the 20th with the help from The Comprehensive Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone.






Samsung released UHD Zoo App to Bring Animals in Danger of Extinction to Your Living Rooms

Samsung Electronics released UHD Zoo TV App delivering the images from the exhibition of endangered animals.
The exhibition drew a total of 520,000 audiences in Korea starting from Seoul last August, Everland, and the latest World Design Week in Daegu.
Samsung Electronics developed the contents into a smart TV app allowing the viewers to enjoy the images of species in danger of going extinct in sharp crisp photo quality.

The UHD ZOO TV app will be presenting more than ten endangered species including mountain gorilla, desert fox, and white lion either in full HD and UHD photo qualities from Samsung Smart TVs and UHD TVs. With detailed descriptions those contents can be also utilized as educational material for young students.

The exhibition will be held in Shinsegae Department Stores in Busan during lunar new years day holiday through February the 2nd except January 30th and 31st. Visitors can enjoy the Interactive Zones where they can virtually feed the animals from the mobile touch screens and Experience Zones to compare the UHD TV’s four times sharper photo quality against full UD photos.


 


2014년 1월 29일 수요일

Actor Ryu Si Won posted on SNS regarding his daughter's birthday.


Ryu Si Won's new Facebook post is drawing many people's attention.

On 28th, actor Ryu Si Won wrote on his Facebook, "Dear my daughter..yesterday was your birthday, it has been 8 months and 3 days since i saw you last time... I really miss you. My baby...Are you doing well? I love you, i pray to be with you on your next b-day."

Ryu and his wife married in october 2010 and had their first daughter just three months into the marriage.  On March 2012, however, Ryu Si Won’s ex wife, Miss Cho, filed for divorce with the Seoul Family Court and the child custody battle appears to be yet another issue in their divorce proceedings.
Recently, Ryu Si Won was sentenced to 7 million KRW of fine for installing illegal GPS equipment on his ex-wife's Mercedes.

They are still in messy divorce trial process and his ex-wife Ms. Cho is in custody of their daughter.






Korean pet market is growing as over 10 million Koreans now have pets.

KBS dog suvival  show "Super dog" aired in 2013
More and more korean use word 'animal companion' rather than 'pet' as over 10 million Koreans now  have pets.
According to a Gallup poll, 17.4 percent of households in Korea have a pet, with the number of dogs and cats estimated at 7 million.
The industry believes the growth in the number of one- or two-person households as the main reason for the growing market.
According to Statistics Korea, single households were the most common form of household in Korea last year with 4.54 million, or 25.3 percent of the total population. Next were two-person households with 25.2 percent.
Pets are now more commonly regarded as a lifetime companion or family member in korea.

Pets other than cats and dogs such as reptiles,birds and mammal like guinea pigs, hedgehog are getting popular as well in korea

According to a report by the Nonghyup Economic Research Institute, run by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, the value of the domestic pet industry will expand to 6 trillion won ($5.4 billion) by 2020.

“The number of people who live alone, as well as seniors, continues to rise. As society changes, many people get pets instead of getting married or living alone. The industry will expand as long as this trend continues,” said Riwoo Hwang, a veterinarian at Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of Seoul National University (SNU).

However, there has been increasing number of people to abandon their pets to the streets as well.
According to division of Animal Quarantine and agriculture, 99254 stray animals were found in 2012.






2014년 1월 28일 화요일

LG to launch G3 in second half of this year

LG has reportedly stated that they will release its next flagship phone, G3 during the second half of this year .
LG Electronics's CFO (chief financial officer) and vice president  'Jeong Do-hyeon'  said at management's presentation meeting held at LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul on the 27th  "our investment in marketing will come to fruition when our Strategic G3 launch takes place in the second half of this year".

LG has officially revealed that the LG G Pro 2 will be released next month as well.

With two phones coming out within such a short period, LG is only adding a few new features to the G2 Pro, and saving the real upgrades for its next flagship release, the LG G3. Both phones are reported to have HD display, although the Pro misses out on the 2K Quad HD (QHD) resolution that the G3 will be equipped with, instead sporting a 1080p resolution screen, according to Trusted Reviews. The screen size for the LG G2 Pro is reportedly six inches, on the verge of being a phablet, while the G3 will only see a small increase in size, from 5.2 inches to 5.5 inches.

2014년 1월 27일 월요일

G-Dragon & Kim Soo hyun display different styles with same cardigan


Big Bang's G-dragon and actor Kim soo hyun from drama 'You Who came from the star' are the fashionista who draws a lot of attention from many  fans in Korea.
G-dragon is known for his extraordinary sense of existence and unique fashion style as he has ranked first as the best idol fashionista voted from k-pop fans worldwide on many survey.

Kim Soo Hyun has shown classic and simple style from many dramas so far and many male audiences have shown attention toward his styling.

They both have worn same grey cardigan recently on TV and it has sold out in Korea already.
G-dragon wore this neat cardigan on MBC show "Infinite Challenge' last october and Kim Soo Hyun wore it for drama 'You Who Came From the Stars'
This classic cardigan by thom browne, famous American fashion designer is 100% cashmere grey with 4 white university stripes on sleeve which was  priced at 1.5 million won ($1400) in korea.

As you can see from the pics, even though they wore same cloths, they are quiet differ in styles.

Apparently G-draon wanted to show off all his Thom Browne finery, which is perfectly fine with me because he looks great. I love it when he does his take on preppy with a twist because he plays with proportion and adds on accessories to make it all his own, even when he's wearing one designer head-to-toe.

Kim soo hyun completed dandy and classic look with checked pattern shirt inside, navy tie and black pants which was perfect match for character he's playing as in drama.

2014년 1월 26일 일요일

Samsung to Share Hopes with Neighbors on Korea's New Year’s Day


Samsung Electronics starts three weeks of community activity named as “Volunteering Activities to Share Hopes Celebrating Lunar New Year’s Day” at social welfare centers from Jan 20 through February 9.
Samsung executives and employees along with volunteers at South Korea’s Red Cross delivered 1 billion won worth of rice and gifts to 1,100 social welfare centers including elderly and child care centers, 31,000 underprivileged households and multi-cultural families.


2014년 1월 24일 금요일

The number of foreign visitors to Seoul exceeded 10 million in 2013 due to increasing number of Chinese tourists

Thanks to a jump in the number of Chinese tourists in korea, the number of foreign visitors to Seoul exceeded 10 million last year for the first time, with Chinese being the majority, the Seoul Institute said Thursday.
The number of Chinese tourists jumped 53% on-year to 3.56 million last year, while that of Japanese visitors tumbled 22% to 2.26 million
For the first time, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Seoul has outnumbered Japanese travelers. They also spent more money on average than Japanese visitors.

The fall in the number of Japanese visitors reflect the phenomenon of the weaker yen against the won, which makes Korean products more expensive in yen terms.

In 2013, foreign visitors spent an average of 1.41 million won per person, nearly a two-fold increase from 738,000 won in 2007, according to the institute. Shopping accounted for the largest share of their expenditure at 543,000 won.

The biggest spenders were the Taiwanese, who consumed averagely 1.46 million won per person, followed by the Chinese and Japanese.
Chinese tourist usually buy cosmetic while Japanese shop for grocery and South-east asian tourists shop clothing most of time in Seoul.

During their Seoul trips, the foreigners stayed 5.4 days on average, up from 4.8 days in 2008, spending nights mostly at less expensive lodging facilities such as business hotels, inns, guest houses, youth hostels rather than luxury hotels, according to the data


The shopping district near Hongik University, Samcheong-dong, Gang nam and Sinsa-dong emerged as the most popular destinations for tourists, the survey showed. In 2007, only 6% hung out in the vicinity of Hongik University, and in 2013, number increased to 35%.

Traditional tourist spots including Namdaemun Market, Dongdaemun Market,major palaces and national museum slightly lost their allure as the the number of tourists who visited there in 2013 decreased from previous years.

According to the institute, there were still many aspects that Seoul city needs to improve upon for better tour experience such as providing services for more tourist information and accommodation bookings.
Foreign tourists who visited seoul on the survey complained about language barrier(50%),traffic jams(22%) and touting(21%) most.



2014년 1월 23일 목요일

G-DRAGON and TAEYANG at Paris Fashion Week

On the U.K Guardian's online website, they revealed a photo of G-Dragon and Taeyang at the Laurent fashion show “2014 Fall/Winter Menswear Collection”.
Even though many other famous celebrities such as salma hayek and miles cain were at the show, the Guardian stated that korean and japanese fans made G-Dragon and Taeyang instagram stars at the show.
They showed off their unique fashion style as blue haired G-Dragon and Taeyang with checkerboard biker jacket.


On January 15, G-Dragon and Taeyang arrived in Paris and attended Chanel, Lanvin, Tom Ford, Kenzo and other fashion shows. At every show they went to, they were followed by paparazzi and media from all over the world.

G-DRAGON and TAEYANG’s visit to Paris Fashion Week is drawing all the more attention, as the two go to the show together. The two have been enjoying much popularity by performing “alone and together” so far


Many of the luxury brands revealed online that Big Bang G-Dragon and Taeyang attended their shows and revealed the group's popularity overseas.


They will be at Paris Fashion Week until January 22 and return to Korea on the 23rd.


On January 24-26, they will be holding their '2014 BIGBANG +α in Seoul' concert.


2014년 1월 22일 수요일

Jackie Chan talks about his ex korean girlfriend at KBS's 'Happy together 3'

During a recording for a KBS talkshow "Happy together 3" recently, Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan talked about his days of poverty, when he was living in Korea at the age of 18 before he became super famous in hong kong and have admitted that he had relationship with a korean girlfriend for 8 years at that time.

Asked by other guests at the show he said that he even had hard time having a first kiss during relationship and because she was unable to go oversea,it was hard to have stable relationship.
He also said he met his ex korean girlfriend one more time after he became superstar in hong kong and she is now married with korean man and living well.

Chan also made joke when asked why he made an appearance at this show and he pointed at yoo jae suk and said "Because of you!" and yoo jae suk replied saying that chan is his old friend from hong kong.

Other guests at the show including Super junior's choi siwon and Brown Eyed Girls's narsha said chan is a really likable and down-to-earth guy.
KBS's "Happy together" with jackie chan will be aired on 23rd at 11pm.

2014년 1월 21일 화요일

Korea is Android republic?

Around 93 percent of smartphones in South Korea were powered by the Android platform, far above the 5.1 percent for Apple's iOS.
A survey shows 19 out of 20 smartphones in South Korea operate on the Android platform.

U.S. market researcher Strategy Analytics(SA) surveyed the installed base of smartphones by mobile operating system in 88 countries. It says South Korea had the highest share of Android-powered smartphones in the world at 93.4% Argentina marked second highest at 82% share followed closely by China(81.8%), India(78.4%), and Iraq(77.9%).


Korea's Android share is much higher than the global average of 67.5% and the Asia-Pacific average of 74.3% percent.

Inside source evaluated highest android os market share in korea is due to fact that three major domestic smartphone producers, Samsung, LG, Pantech all make phones powered by the Android platform.

2014년 1월 20일 월요일

'The Attorney' Rules Korean Box Office reaching 10 million admissions


Song gang ho's another smash hit movie "The Attorney(2013)" crossed 10 million admissions at the Korean box office on Sunday. It is the ninth homespun film here to ever reach the box office milestone, in the country that has a population of 50 million

The film reached the number after just 32 days in theaters, according to its distributor Next Entertainment World (NEW). It passed the mark a week faster than Avatar, which took 38 days and remains the most watched film in the country with 13.3 million admissions. Avatar is also the only non-Korean film to cross 10 million, in a market that has become dominated by homegrown fare. Korean films accounted for 58.7 percent of the market share here in 2013.

The movie portrays how the opportunistic tax lawyer emerges as an influential human rights attorney while defending a student activist under the oppressive government of military dictator Chun Doo-hwan in the 1980s.

The Attorney is a movie inspired by late President Roh Moo-hyun during his lawyer days
Song Kang-ho plays the lead role of a tax lawyer in 1980s Korea who sacrifices his personal interests to defend a young man who is falsely accused by the government of being a North Korean spy.

The Attroney is Song's third consecutive film to cross 9 million admissions here, following 2013's The Face Reader and Snowpiercer. It is the second film distributed by NEW, a relatively young and small company, to haul in 10 million admissions following last year's Miracle in Cell No.7.

2014년 1월 17일 금요일

Jackie Chan paid another visit to korea for promoting his new movie “Police Story 2014,”


Few decades ago, before jackie becomes global star in his early 20's, he spent three-and-a-half years in korea for filming various chinese+korean action movies as a stunt man.
Yet Jackei Chan (60) still feels affection for Korea. He often says his favorite food is yukgaejang (spicy beef soup) and kimchi stew and called Korea his second home.
He visit Korea almost every year to promote his films or to attend various donation activity
And this month he paid another visit to promote the Jan. 29 release of “Police Story 2014,” the latest chapter in a long-running film series.

Jackie arrived in Seoul, Korea for a 2 day visit on 17th and he attended “Police Story 2014,” red carpet ceremony at yueido IFC mall later today.

K-pop Hologram Concert Hall ‘Klive’ opens in Seoul on Jan 17


Now fans can visit a hologram hall any time they want to see their favorite k-pop star's concert.

KT Corporation(formerly known as Korea Telecom) and ministry of science ict and future planning has launched a hologram concert hall for the first time in the world called ‘Klive’ in the Korea’s fashion mecca, Dongdaemun on Jan 17 at the 9th and 10th floors of Lotte FITIN shopping center which is located across the road from Dongdaemun History and Culture Park.

Representive at ministry of science ict and future planning stated on 16th that Klive concert hall is 17791.58(ft2)wide, it's big enough to house many digital attractions apart from the hologram concert hall.
Ministry of science ict and future planning has invested $7.8 million along with KT's $1 million investment in this project.

K-pop stars from YG entertainment such as PSY,BIGBANG,2NE1 will hold paid concert 8times a day.
YG already showcased a hologram concert in partner with Everland, called K-Pop Hologram Theater, displaying concerts of PSY and 2NE1. And with the launch of Klive, BIGBANG stands first in line. At Klive, BIGBANG’s ‘Fantastic Baby,’ and ‘Bad Boy’ will be shown, along with 2NE1’s ‘I Am The Best’ and Fire,’ and PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’ and ‘Gentleman.’
Last May, YG collaborated with KT and District to establish a hologram contents investment distributor NIK, and is currently pushing forward plans to sign the contract with mid-sized agencies like DSP and F&C. NIK functions as a stable distributor of hologram contents, which allows establishment of Klive halls in tourists sites and other key areas to expand the hologram business.

The Klive hall carries significance as it was first launched in Seoul, a city where dynamic consumption is seen in the cultural sector.
Moreover, fans will be entertained by energetic dance performances and 270-degrees-view media façade before the hologram concert starts at Klive.

Klive will be stimulating all five senses of the fans, apart from simply showcasing performances. The terrace looks on to the entire view of Dongdaemun, while artists’ goods like G-DRAGON’s concert car and outfits will be displayed.

The ‘Augmented Reality Elevator’ will make fans feel like they are riding the elevator with the artists, while the ‘Secret Window’ allows fans to enjoy unrevealed scenes with special glasses, and at the 6m-tall ‘Giant Tower,’ fans can view artists’ photographs freely. Fan participation is maximized at the ‘Star Photo Box,’ where they can take photos with their favorite artists and even print them out.

In August, SM Entertainment plans to open another hologram concert hall at Samsung COEX in Seoul as well as musical production which features hologram holographic with mix of live action.


Klive will be open from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m., and is closed every Monday. Details including the show schedule and discounts can be seen on www.klive.co.kr.

2014년 1월 15일 수요일

LG plans to continue to pursue its celebrity marketing campaign this year

LG's top marketing officer said "LG is try to keep products innovative to attract the customers and to capture more market share from Samsung and Apple in global smartphone market and occupy first place in the global TV market by 2015".

LG launched 6 new models of its Whisen air conditioner for 2013 and selected the Korean ‘Tinker Bell’ rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae as its advertisement model last year.
Insider at LG Electronics evaluated that growing popularities of Son yeon jae after last year's London Olympics have greatly contributed to strengthen the brand image and improve sales overall.
The new model is the first product of the ‘G Project’ that integrated top-notch innovative technologies of Whisen, and it is named ‘Son Yeon-jae Special G’.
Son yeon jae was also featured in LG's smartphone line-up ad ,Optimus Vu II TV advertisement in 2012, Optimus Vu III in 2013.

LG home appliances marketing has led by 3 other korean female stars as well.
Korea's top actress Kim Tae-hee has been main model for LG refrigerator line up since 2011,LG even opend mini site specially made to promote their refrigerator line up featuring kim tae hee which is http://www.lge.co.kr/lgekr/microsite/dios/2012/09/kimtaehee2

Meanwhile LG picked actress Lee Min-Jung as model for washing machine and K-pop girl group SNSD as marketing ambassador for TV line-up.

Choi seong jin, LG Home Appliances marketing & Product Manager said "sales of LG washing machines increased 2% and refrigerators went up by 1.7 % in 40 countries world wide last year, We are planning to continue to pursue our celebrity marketing campaign featuring 4 korean celebrity this year,"



New tax law might affect luxury brands sales in korea this year

Despite the recession and higher luxury goods price than other region of world, Korea is still a good place for fashion houses – luxury goods sales have been up about 12 per cent each year since 2006.
But now many people are wondering if luxury good sales in korea would be affected by additional charge of luxury taxes(20-percent special consumption tax) by government effective on January 1 this year on high-end goods such as handbags, the prices of major luxury brands such as Chanel, Ferragamo, Prada, Louis vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent are expected to rise accordingly.

According to retail industry sources on January 3, imported bags whose price reported at the customs is in excess of 2 million won($1800) or those domestically made ones whose factory price over and above 2 million won will be subject to the extra taxes.

Meanwhile, retailers said the newly introduced taxation would not affect them for a while as all handbag items being sold now were shipped before the end of 2013
It will take effect by this March when new items for the spring and summer seasons are shipped.

Official at Chanel store in Seoul said on the 13th, "more inquiries calls have been pouring in about additional charge of luxury taxes and many shoppers are rushing to buy high-priced handbags before the new taxes bite, there is no guidance from head office regarding raising price yet but it is highly likely that the price at our shop will go up a lot soon,"

2014년 1월 14일 화요일

Super Junior's Choi Siwon ranks #7 at 'Most Handsome Faces 2013'


Choi Siwon from Super Junior ranks #7 at 'Most Handsome Faces 2013' published by the Independent Critics on January 12.
Other korean celebrities made it on the list, ranking 2PM’s Taecyeon at #13, Daniel Henney at #24, Big Bang’s Taeyang at #33, Lee Jung Jae at #40, Rain at #46, Dennis Oh at #66, and Lee Byung Hun at #91.

For 25 years, The Independent Critics have published a List of the 100 Most Beautiful Faces of each year. The lists have been published, in various formats, every year since 1990... and in recent years have been seen by over to 40 million unique visitors from around the world.
Now, for the first time, after tens of thousands of requests, The Independent Critics are listing the 100 Most Handsome Faces of the Year.

Meanwhile Brad Pitt ranked at #8 and an Irish-German actor, Michael Fassbender was chosen as Most Handsome Face of 2013.

Photo Credit: TC Candler

2014년 1월 13일 월요일

Medical research team at Seoul National University recommend 7~8 hours as adequate sleep time for Korean

Sleeping less or more than seven to eight hours a night heightens the risk of death, a study suggested.

The study, conducted by a medical research team at Seoul National University, followed the sleeping patterns of 13,164 Koreans for 17 years since 1993 to determine the suitable amount of sleep.

Those who sleep less than five hours have a 21 percent of higher risk of death, while sleeping more than 10 hours can increase death risks by 36 percent, according to the research.

“We found out that sleeping more than recommended hours also can lead to higher mortality rate so it's not recmmended to oversleep more than 8 hours a night on weekend and it's also bad habit to wake up more than 2 hours late than your usual rising hour even on weekend,” professor Yoo Geun-young, who led the study, was quoted as saying. He added that the amount of sleep is a crucial indicator to further studying the mortality rate.
The research was posted on the latest edition of Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health.

Meanwhile, the study, conducted by other medical research team several years ago revealed that korean adult as well as children get the least sleep in the world.

BIGBANG Japan 6 dome tour has reached its grand finale at Osaka kyosera dome on 13th




One of the most popular K-pop group Big Bang has had a remarkable year in 2013. They have concluded the year with their Japanese Dome Tour and audiences are anticipating their next projects.

Big Bang has ended a massively successful 6 of biggest dome tour of Japan, which started at Seibu dome in Saitama back in november and Big bang has cemented its status as one of the more popular boy bands in Asia.

YG entertainment’s Japanese rep, Yoshimi Watanabe, talked about Big Bang’s status in Japan during a press conference held before the group’s performance in Osaka for the six dome tour on January 13.

When asked what separates Big Bang from other hallyu stars, Yoshimi answered, “They are considered to be global artists in Japan, not just the hallyu stars. Fans in Japan are separated into two broad categories: those who like Japanese music and those who like foreign music. But fans of both categories tend to like Big Bang.”

Big Bang began its six-dome tour in Saitama, Japan beginning on November 16 and toured around Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Tokyo and Sapporo, performing in 17 concerts, gathering over a total of 771,000 fans.

Big Bang set the record of being the only non-Japanese group to ever hold a six-dome tour in the country.


About what made Big Bang so popular in the country, Yoshimi said, “unlike some of the manufactured K-pop idol groups, its members often write and produce their own music, a mix of electronic sound, hip hop and rap. Thus many fans highly regard their music, fashion and dance.”

He also added, “They got their name out with music and dance, and got familiarized by appearing in famous variety shows.”

About Big Bang’s current status in Japan, he said, “If you turn the TV on, you see Seungri as the MC of a program or G-Dragon’s dance on a music show and when you go to a movie theatre, you see a movie starring T.O.P. They have become a part of Japanese people’s lifestyle.”




Boy group B1A4 just released an 2nd album "Who Am I" on the 13th


Boy group B1A4 just released an 2nd album "Who Am I" which composed of 12 songs, including the title song "Lonely," at midnight on the 13th.

B1A4 members participated in writing and composing 8 of the 12 songs on the new album.
A rep from their agency WM Entertainment stated, "B1A4's 2nd album musically represents the theme of 'memories' in telling B1A4's story. This should be music to the ears of fans as their longing for the boys seems to have only growed with the release of the group's OST song for 'Reply 1994' in Nov. 8-month wait after their last mini album release is finally over."

Prior to this, they revealed pre-listening track of exclusive collection video for their 2nd album "Who Am I" on 10th.









2014년 1월 12일 일요일

Korean veteran actress battling cancer while her drama aired

The story about Kim Young Ae,61-year-old veteran actress battling pancreatic cancer at the time she’s filming super hit MBC drama "The Moon That Embraces The Sun" in 2012 was revealed this week.
Kim Young Ae told that she was in deadly battle against cancer at the time she shot drama at SBS’ Morning talk show on 10th.
But she didn’t want to be burden to other drama’s actor and staff who’s working in hard schedule so she hide her illness and secretly visited hospital for 2 months.

She also told that it was hard to do yelling and shouting scene while filming for drama "The Moon That Embraces The Sun" since she had a illness so she had to tightened her waist with ties to squeeze every ounce of energy out of her sick body.
After the filming ended completely, Kim Young Ae took a 9 hours operation to remove the cancer and her weight was only 40Kg(80pounds) at that time.

Many korean netizens applaud Kim Young Ae for being strong, unselfish and her passion for acting.

Although the battle with cancer made her lost a lot of weight, now she’s in much better condition and she recently appeared in film "The Attorney" (2013)

2014년 1월 10일 금요일

A New Plastic Surgery Trend in Korea

South Korea, which, as the country with the highest number of plastic surgeries per capita
Korean women have been starting to become really comfortable with cosmetic surgery nowadays.
But some women are still afraid to tell others about their past of “average looking girl” and try to cover up the fact that she had plastic surgery before.
Thus a growing number of mother are opting to undergo popular facial surgeries such as nose jobs and eyelid "widening," which their daughter has done in order to hide that their daughter had plastic surgery in the past.

On 10th, According to industry sources, 'mother-daughter accompanied' plastic surgery are increasing among 40-50 housewife to look as similar like mother and daughter naturally.
Number usually increase especially after korea college students' SAT exam finish and before her daughter's wedding day.
As a result, some hospitals at Gangnam district in Seoul provide special discount for 'mother-daughter accompanied' plastic surgery program and even give away free botox treatment to promote sales.

UHD TV competition heating up for Samsung, LG at CES 2014

Gimmick or not, CES 2014 is full of curved TVs. And not just from Samsung and LG, the number one and two TV makers. Budget brands such as Hisense and TCL are showing off curved TVs, too. As always, Samsung and LG are locked in a fierce competition.

Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. competed neck-and-neck at the show to prove their dominance in the electronics market, with both of them featuring state-of-the-art televisions.

Samsung Electronics said its 78-inch U9000 (U8500 in Europe) Curved UHD TV and the world's largest, 110-inch flat UHD model won the CES Innovations Design and Engineering Award for moving the global UHD market a step forward.


U.S.-based industry reviewer HD Guru gives Samsung Electronics Co. the "Best in Show" award for its 105-inch curved UHD TV on Jan. 10, 2014.
Samsung's 65-inch smart TV, equipped with a quad-core processor enabling faster speeds along with a dual-screen feature for an improved multi-tasking experience, was recognized with "Best of Innovation" awards from the CES.

Other industry reviewers also praised Samsung's latest TV line-ups, U.S. technology magazine Mashable also gave the "Best Tech of CES 2014" award to Samsung's 85-inch bendable TV, which is another technological advancement from curved displays as users can manipulate angles with their remote control.

"The 105-inch curved UHD TV and the bendable models are the fruit of the company's experiences and technologies," Samsung said in a press release. "We will continue to make efforts to deliver innovative features to users."

LG Electronics' curved 77-inch UHD OLED TV earned the "Editor's Choice Award" from Reviewed.com, which said it is the only TV that combines OLED and UDH, the two leading technologies in the electronics industry. The model also received the "Best of Innovation" award from the CES.

A number of other products were also recognized at the CES, with LG's curved G Flex becoming the only smartphone to win an "Editor's Choice Award."

The G Flex has a 6-inch plastic OLED display that curves inward from top and bottom. It is a technological advancement from the Galaxy Round as it is equipped with a curved battery.



Samsung confirms release date of Galaxy S5

On 9th, Lee Young Hee, female vice president of Samsung electronic has told Bloomberg that the "Galaxy S5" would arrive in march or april next year.
"We've been announcing our first flagship model in the first half of each year, around March or April, and we are still targeting for release around that time." she said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.
"For the design of Galaxy S5, we will go back to the basics. Mostly, it’s about the display and the feel of the cover," Lee added. The exec didn't offer any specific details about the Galaxy S5's design or features.

Meanwhile, a new Galaxy Gear is expected to debut alongside Samsung's Galaxy s5. The wearable will feature a less bulky design and "more advanced features" than its predecessor. Those will include a heavy focus on health, including the ability to count calories, monitor heart rate and check the wearer's stress levels.

Lee also discussed the possibility a future model of the samsung smart phone could feature iris recognition technology, yet did not confirm if it would be added to S5 or not.


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2014년 1월 8일 수요일

Actor Lee Byung-hun to star in 'G.I. Joe 3' again


Actor Lee Byung-hun has confirmed once again that he will be returning for G.I.Joe 3.
Lee Byung-hun will soon leave for Hollywood to star in the third installment of the “G.I. Joe” movie series. Lee’s agency, BH Entertainment, said Tuesday that he will go to the U.S. later this month after finishing his latest film “Hyupnyeo,” which ends shooting in early February.

His appearance in the third “G.I. Joe” movie is hardly news, since he was featured in the first two installments of the series. Yet, his role in the upcoming movie is expected to be bigger than his previous part, the agency said.

Despite a production cost of $175 million production, the first installment“GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra” released in 2009 didn’t enjoy the commercial success expected in North America, taking in a disappointing $152 million in ticket sales while the second installment “GI Joe: Retaliation” fell to $123 million in the United States, its foreign box-office sales rose to $253 million.
Yet, ticket sales in Asia were relatively strong, prompting some to credit Lee for its success in the region and Lee’s “Red 2” also performed well globally.
“GI Joe 3” could begin filming as early as in the second half of this year.


2014년 1월 7일 화요일

Kim woo bin said Park shin hye was more like friend than lover while filming for SBS drama"The Heirs"

At broadcast of MBC FM4U’s "2’O Clock Date" on January 7 which featured Kim Woo Bin as the guest, he connfessed that unlike Choi Young Doh(Played by Kim) in the drama The Heirs, he feels more like friends than lovers for Park Shin Hye.

“Park Shin Hye was always full of energy, working hard and considerate of others and she was very comfortable to be with.”
I felt like she was more of a friend than a woman,” continued the actor. “But once the filming started, I would see her as ‘Eun Sang.’”

DJ Park Kyung Rim asked, “Then who was the actress that felt more like a woman to you?”

“f(x)'s Krystal was the most popular among male staffs. Many staff members stayed to watch her acting, but when I was filming, they would leave to do something else” added Kim Woo Bin with laughter.

Kim Woo Bin also said, “My ideal type out of f(x) is Krystal, because I know her. I’ve never met the other members.”

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO at this year's CES in Las Vegas.


Samsung unveiled the Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO line of tablets, setting a new standard of mobile excellence, equipped with innovative and meaningful technology at this year's Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas.
Sporting four powerful devices in the lineup – the Galaxy NotePRO (12.2-inch), TabPRO (12.2, 10.1, 8.4-inch),
Aimed squarely at the business consumer, put simply the Galaxy Note Pro is a pimped-out version of its smaller sibling the Note 3, as it comes complete with S Pen and boasts a 2,560x1,600-pixel screen resolution (some four million pixels).
The powerhouse of the Note Pro is its 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor that is coupled with 3GB of RAM to keep its new Magazine UX user interface running smoothly on Android 4.4 KitKat -- and it is pleasingly smooth on first impressions.

The Tab Pro offering is basically the same animal but without the inclusion of the S Pen, except that the 10.1- and 8.4-inch models come with 2GB RAM rather than the 3GB of the largest version.

Price has yet to be announced, both models will be on sale later this year.