2014년 4월 30일 수요일

Two Korean Electronic giants, Samsung and LG duke it out in China with celebrity marketing


Capitalising on the popularity of SBS's drama "You Who Came From The Stars" actors Kim Soo Hyun and Jun Ji Hyun, Samsung Mobile in China has appointed the onscreen couple as brand ambassadors. The two Korean celebrities will rake in NT$60 million (approximately S$2.5 million) worth of endorsement fees in total.
Their coverage of endorsement includes all Samsung products such as galaxy s5, home appliances and many more.

According to media reports, Kim Soo Hyun and Ji Hyun will appear on Samsung China’s print and TV advertisements, rivalling competitor LG China’s ambassador Lee Min Ho. Last month, The drama "Heirs" star landed the endorsement deal for a lucrative NT$35 million (S$1.45 million).
He signed as an endorsement model for LG which also covers all the products such as smart phones, appliances and all other major electronics.

Both actors were chosen to promote such companies in order to attract the market in China. Both companies were positive that Lee Min Ho and Kim Soo Hyun would be effective endorsers since they have been very popular in China.


2014년 4월 29일 화요일

Kim Woo bin and Park Hae jin made the cover of Chinese men's magazine's 10th anniversary issue


Two of Korea’s next gen leading hallyu actors, Kim Woo bin and Park Hae jin, have made it on to the front cover of Chinese men’s magazine, “Men’s Uno” for May special edition.

This edition is in celebration of their 10th anniversary, and thus they will be releasing it in 10 different versions with the top 10 celebrities who are popular in China as their front cover.
Kim woo bin dressed in dandy red suit while Park hae jin dressed in red leather jacket just like other 8 top chinese men celebrities in red, Chinese's favorite color, featured on cover.

Of the 10 celebrities that will be featured was Kim Woo bin and Park Hae jin, as well as other top Chinese celebrities such as actor Shawn Yue, singer Khalil Fong as well as former Super Junior member, Hangeng.

Their feature on the front page of Men’s Uno’s 10th year anniversary special edition once again proves that Kim and Park are two of the most popular Korean celebrities in China and other part of Asia.

John mayer is seeking a way to help Korea ferry disaster relief on his upcoming Korea concert


American singer-songwriter John Mayer will perform in Korea for the first time on May 6.
And his lastest tweet revealed that he is looking for ways to help victims of recent ferry disaster and discussing it with his Korea concert sponsor, Hyundai card.
Mayer will perform at Jamsil Sports Complex on May 6 at 7 p.m.,located near exit 6 and 7 of Sports Complex Station, subway line 2. Tickets cost 110,000 to 132,000 won, according to Hyundai Card.
The concert is part of the card company’s “Culture Project” series, which has also brought artists like Jason Mraz to Korea.
For more information, call (02) 3141-3488 or visit www.interpark.com.


Since debuting in 2001 with his first album, “Room for Squares,” Mayer has sold more than 20 million albums and won seven career Grammy awards.

2014년 4월 26일 토요일

President Barak Obama talked about controversy over Samsung's marketing Galaxy note using selfie with president


About a dozen Korean business leaders met Obama over breakfast under the sponsorship of the American Chamber of Commerce Korea including Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo in downtown Seoul on Saturday.

At a meeting, President Barak Obama said "no problem" regarding taking selfie with him and seem not to care about controversy over president's selfie being used to market samsung smartphone earlier this month.
It is known that president obama took selfie with one of staff inside an elevator after meeting on this day as well.

Red Sox player David Ortiz took a selfie with President Obama when the Red Sox team were at the White House as part of a celebration of them winning the 2013 World Series earlier this month.
It later emerged the baseballer is contracted to Samsung to promote its cell phone and create viral marketing campaigns
Ortiz's tweet of the picture was retweeted by Samsung and he recently signed an endorsement deal with the Samsung but has denied the selfie was planned.




Lydia Ko was chosen by Time magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people on 24th.

Korean-New Zealander golfer Lydia Ko has been listed among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine on her 17th birthday.
She earns a place on a list that features global household names such as Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, Beyonce, Hillary Clinton, and Vladimir Putin.

A tribute to Ko was written by golfing great Annika Sorenstam, who described the Kiwi teenager as a the leader of the sport's youth movement.
"Lydia Ko is exceptionally talented, mature beyond her years and well liked by golf fans and competitors alike," Sorenstam wrote.

"She is responsible for sparking increased interest in our sport not just in her native South Korea and adopted homeland of New Zealand but also among juniors across the globe.

"Her early, record-breaking success brings with it incredible pressure and she's doing a fantastic job handling the many responsibilities that accompany stardom. Her future is very bright."

Ko joins Sorenstam as one of four LPGA professionals to ever be included on the list

Meanwhile South Korea's president Park Geun-hye made the list in 2013 but not this year, while time magazine named North Korea’s Leader Kim Jong Un one of 100 most influential people of 2014.

2014년 4월 24일 목요일

Temporary group memorial altar for the victims from the sunken South Korean ferry was opened at the Olympic park in Ansan city

On 23rd starting at 9 AM KST, temporary group memorial altar for the victims from the sunken south Korean ferry was opened at the Olympic park in Ansan - the city touched the most by this tragedy - a memorial service is taking place to pay tribute to the young victims from Ansan Danwon High School.
The memorial, set up in an indoor sports stadium, comprised a giant altar in the form of a terraced bank of flowers — white, yellow and green chrysanthemums — among which rested the framed pictures and names of students whose funerals have already taken place.

More than 13,000 moruners visited this memorial yesterday until 11:30pm.

Some of schoolchildren in uniform around same age as victims of ferry diaster broke down and had to be helped out of the stadium.

Among the mourners were many politicians and celebrities including Cha In Pyo & Shin Ae Ra, married celebrity couple.

The temporary altar will be operated until April. 28. An official altar will be set up on April 29 at Ansan Hwarang Park.


2014년 4월 23일 수요일

Samsung Electronics opened the Samsung Innovation Museum at its headquarters in Suwon, Korea


Samsung Electronics opened the Samsung Innovation Museum at its headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday.

This museum is dedicated to exploring the past, present and future of the electronics industry, and visitors can experience the rich history of electronics from the earliest electrical creations of Michael Faraday, Thomas Edison and Graham Bell, as well as glimpse into the future to learn about innovations to come.

“The history of the electronics industry is like a map that shows human challenges and a zeal for finding new values,” said Kwon Oh-hyun, vice chairman at Samsung Electronics in a statement, Monday.

The 10,950-square meter museum at the center of Suwon on the outskirts of Seoul, also known as Digital City, has five sections and houses what the company describes as a “composite of historical assets.”

The museum is open to the public Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. without reservations.
From Monday to Friday, it is open only to visitors who make reservations
Reservations for weekdays can be made via the museum’s website, www.samsunginnovationmuseum.com.


2014년 4월 22일 화요일

How Sewol ferry tragedy is affecting Korean economy

As the search and rescue operation still continues, news-hungry citizens remained glued to their televisions and cutting back on their spending since the ferry incident took place last week.

Industry analyse that impact of sunken ferry incident seems to have greater impact on household spending as economic activity and credit card sales plunged since ferry incident.

Korean refrain from drinking alcohol after work and go back home early to watch newsflash regarding ferry incidents.
According to Seven-Eleven convenience store analysis, from 16th~20th since the ferry crisis, alcohol sales decreased in revenue (beer 4%, soju 2.4% and wine,whisky 8.4% decline)

Korean movie industry took a huge hit by the tragic event of Sewol ferry as well.
The number of Korean moviegoers on Saturday the 19th, compared to previous weekends and previous years, has dropped dramatically. Last week on the 12th, about 500,000 people were watching movies, this includes Hollywood movies such as "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and also Korean movies such as "Wandering Blade".
"Captain America" is said to have dropped half of as to "Wandering Blade". The total of 330,000, compare to last week really shows the affects and more of the tragic ferry incident.

Many theme parks, department stores, big marts and hotels saw revenue drop during 16th to 20th as much as 10~20% as well.

revenue drop per card company during 16~20,April

















2014년 4월 21일 월요일

Despite of sunken ferry national tragedy, MBC's 'Empress ki' will air as scheduled this week


Since last wednesday all major Korean TV networks — KBS, SBS and MBC as well as cable channels tvN, Mnet, OnStyle, XTM, JTBC —canceled all variety and drama programming due to Ferry Tragedy that has drowned South Korea in sorrow.

It's been six days since sunken ferry tragedy took place in Jindo, Korea and MBC has decided to go back to its regular programming shedule for its dramas along with special news report for ferry incident.

Primetime Monday-Tuesday drama 'Empress ki' and Wednesday-Thursday dramas 'Cunning Single Lady' will air on regular schedule.

MBC still has not decide to go back to regular program schduele for its varity and entertainment shows  and will stick with flexible policy with its most of programs schedule to combine with sunken ferry newsflash for this week as well.





Connie Talbot and many Korean celebrities donate for the victims of south korea sunken ferry


Connie Talbot, British audition star donated her profits from concert for the victims of south korea sunken ferry, Sewol.
She said "I'm going to have concert in Korea. I will danate my profits for the victims." on April 19 through her SNS.
She is the pre winner of 'Britons got talent'. She made new record with her song 'Over the rainbow'. She visited Korea 6 years ago. Her concert will be held in Kyunggi Ohsan culture art center on 23, and Seoul Hannam Blue Square Samsung card hall on 27 this month.

Meanwhile, Korean celebrities such as actor Song seung heon, On joo wan and Korean major league baseball player, Ryu hyun jin all donated big money to South Korea Ferry Rescue Aid recently.

2014년 4월 16일 수요일

3 Hallyu stars who give back the love they received in China and Asia


Earlier this month, Chen Lizhi, CEO of Chinese entertainment company, said on his recent visit to Korea that Korean actors quickly gain popularity, but lose it almost as fast because some just come to China to make money.
“Chinese actors take part in charitable events without financial rewards or even donate money to the event, but Korean stars rarely participate in such activities,” he said.

But not all Korean stars are money-chasers. A growing number of hallyu celebrities are winning over the hearts of their fans by actively joining charitable or philanthropic events, and helping the needy in other countries where there are a large number of supporters.
Three of most popular k-drama actors who are leading the hallyu wave in China, Lee min ho, Kim soo hyun and Park hae jin are trying to repay the love they get from Chinese fans in various ways.


Lee min ho recently started project called 'PROMIZ' (PMZ) which is a new concept of donation platform of sharing great love from Lee Min Ho's official fan club 'Minoz'.
It is born with Min Ho's wish of sharing love in more sophisticated way and building a long-term relationship with his fans.
Lee Min Ho said he will contribute donations from his Asia fan meeting and other additional business such as selling MD products.

Kim Soo Hyun also recently donated 1.2 million Yuan with collaborating with Gucci to reach out to China's Children & Teenager's Fund (CCTF) in Beijing, China on April 8.
Kim Soo Hyun made an appearance on the donation ceremony as well as a 2014 S/S collection fashion show at the 'Gucci' flagship store located in Shin Kong Place, Beijing. CCTF has really helped a lot of needy children, about 12 million and Kim Soo Hyun's donation will be used to put up a children's treatment center in China.

Last month, Park hae jin was the first Hallyu star to be honored with a Chinese Civil Award for his donations to help victims of a recent earthquake in China. The actor contributed almost $10,000 to help those victims.
Because of his generosity, he had a Lotte theater in China named after him.

These celebrities who collect big paychecks in China also give back in a big way.












Lady Gaga will join Seoul music festival with Psy, Big Bang, 2NE1 in August

 
Lady Gaga will be performing with leading YG artists such as Psy, Big Bang and 2NE1 in August.

The concert "AIA Real Life: Now Festival 2014" will be held at Seoul's Olympic stadium on Aug 15 and 16 and Lady Gaga will appear on the second day of the festival, to be co-hosted by YG and a local music production agency.

"We're going to make the concert special by bringing together top contemporary pop artists representing the East and the West," YG said in a release.

It said details of the concert will be gradually unveiled on the festival's official facebook account (www.facebook.com/nowfestivalkr) in the coming weeks.

Lady Gaga has shown a lot of interest in K-pop lately as she showed up at music festival 'SXSW (South By Southwest)'s 'K-Pop Night Out' in Texas recently and she asked Crayon Pop to open up for all of her concerts in North American tour to promote her third album “Artpop" released in November last year.

Kimchi toast made it on lists of BuzzFeed's 21 great toast recipes


Popular social news and entertainment website, BuzzFeed posted 21 recipes to make great toast for breakfast on 12th.

Among these gorgeous toast recipes 'American kimchi toast' is very eye-catching for Korean.
This Kimchi + Sliced Hard-Boiled Egg + Black Sesame Seeds toast seem very healthy and delicious
It is creative recipe and not easy to find even in Korea and it would just suit American's taste as well.

2014년 4월 14일 월요일

Samsung Galaxy S5 was released worldwide on 11th.


On April 11th, the Samsung Galaxy S5 was released in more than 125 countries. This included crucial markets like North America and Europe, as well as emerging markets across Asia.
The first day sales of Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone were 1.3 times higher than that of its predecessor, Galaxy S4.
In some European markets the demand is believed to be twice higher for Galaxy S5, with people even lining up outside stores in a few cities to get their hands on Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone.

On the global launching day, Samsung Electronics held a series of special launching events all around the world.





MBC's hit varity show 'Dad! Where Are We Going?' has won plantinum awards at Houston International Film Festival.


MBC's varity show 'Dad! Where Are We Going?' has won plantinum award in the category of TV entertainment shows at Houston International Film Festival on 12th.

The WorldFest- Houston International Film Festival is an annual film festival in its 47th year. The festival is dedicated to various types of independent films and TV programs world wide and is one of the world's oldest independent film festivals.

MBC's 'Dad! Where Are We Going?' features five celebrity fathers and their children as they travel to rural places and go on camping missions. The show debuted on MBC on January 6, 2013, as part of the Sunday Night programming block and has paved the way for new category for Korean variety & reality shows, nursing reality entertainment show.

Meanwhile other Korean TV programs such as 'Hae na's miracle' from KBS's Human Docu has won gold award for the documentary category and MBC drama which aired last year 'Hundred Year Legacy' was awarded Bronze in the category of the mini-series.



2014년 4월 10일 목요일

BEST 5 supporting actors in MBC's ' Empress Ki '


One reason for the popularity of the MBC Drama ' Empress Ki ' is that all the actors in drama are acting well including supporting cast and figurant.
These actors are bringing a scripted character to life and well dipicted the conflict between characters at Imperial Palace
Here are best supporting actors who stands out from the rest in ' Empress Ki '.

◆ BEST 1. Kim seo hyung, the charisma of the Empress Hwang

Empress Hwang(played by Kim seo hyung) is a proud and elegant master in politics, who is also Empress Ki’s greatest rival both in love and in the throne.
Empress Hwang controls her nephew ,Ta Hwan(Ji chang wook) and dethroned her arch rival, Tana Seeley(baek jin hee) and now struggling to take over the throne from Empress ki(Ha ji won)

Kim seo hyung always has been one of talented actresses who normally are featured just below the lead, but never go unnoticed for very long. She has given the most complex role in drama and she really shine in 'Empress ki' perfectly plays the hard boild and charismatic empress with a soft spot.


◆ BEST 2. Jeon Gook hwan, his presence alone startles and unsettles audiences

Yeon Chul(El Temur, played by Jeon Gook-hwan) cursed Ki Seung-nyang (Ha Ji-won) until his final moment
The mark of a good actor is that he can create such a powerful villain that viewers truly hate him. And that's what Jeon Gook Hwan accomplished when he created the character of El Temur. Despite having seen this actor before in dramas such as "Nine: Nine Time Travels," "Bridal Mask" and "The Chaser," it was so easy to unreservedly hate his "Empress Ki" character and his whole despicable family.

Ratings rose to almost 30 percent when it seemed likely that he would finally die and end his family's stranglehold on imperial power on episodes 37 last month.


◆ BEST 3. Baek Jin hee, played well as cute yet evil empress, Tanashiri

The actress attracted attention of lot of viewers in her role as a merciless evil empress in "Empress Ki."
Baek appeared in MBC sitcom "High Kick 3" as cheerful fresh graduate looking for employment.
She is known for her round face and cute looks so it would have been difficult to picture her as a cold-blooded, merciless woman until she took the role and put lot of effort in her acting and has brought Tanasili to life and won over audiences.

She said on interview recently, "I had a very short time to prepare, and it was very challenging to cast as a villain. However, I started melting into the character as time went by, and I started pulling unexpected things from deep inside myself."


◆ BEST 4. Jin Yi Han, showing soft charisma as Tal Tal

Jin Yi Han is playing the role of Ki Seung Nyang's teacher Tal Tal and Baek Ahn's nephew.
Jin Yi-Han’s role ‘Tal-Tal’ is a classical scholar with delicate features and cautious. He trusted and followed his uncle ‘Baek An’ and played excellent politics for him.
But, the character is also firm and bold beside the temperament of the classical scholar after he got entrapped Empress ki, betrayed Baek An, got promoted to the prime minister and rendered distinguished services in developing Yuan Dynasty.

Jin has stolen lot of female audiences's hearts with his pretty boy looks and attractive voice and portrayed his character, tal tal so well.


◆BEST 5. Yoo In Young, special appearances → Fixed role

Yoo in young made a quiet impact in her special guest appearance in the SBS's 'you who came from the stars' early this year and done the same with MBC's 'Empress ki' recently so much so that she got the fixed role after appearing on only 4 episodes as special guest.

In drama, she was originally the daughter of the famous Turks’ General Batoru but after her father’s death, she continues to pose as Batoru, wearing the mask that once belonged to him and leading the Turks in protecting the Silk Road from Yuan’s influence. She is good in war strategies and is willing to lay down her life for the love of Wang Yu (played by Joo Jin Mo)

2014년 4월 8일 화요일

SM, YG, & JYP Entertainment have doubled their revenues over the past three years.


Korea's top three management agencies SM, YG,& JYP Entertainment have doubled their revenues over the past three years.
Managing the top idol groups in Korea, Lee Soo Man (SM), Yang Hyun Seok (YG) and Park Jin Young (JYP) are also the largest shareholders of the companies. And there have been great interests in the rivalry going on between these 3 entertainment giants amongst fans.

Company with highest revenue among top three entertainment agencies is SM.
On April 8, Korea's Financial Supervisory Service revealed that SM Entertainment recorded sales of 156 million U.S. dollars last year, up 90.2% from 2010.
One of the reasons for significant increased revenue is due to their big name stars like Girls' Generation and Super Junior's album sales and concert ticket sales went up during last few years.
Albums of SM singers sold a tatal of 2.5 million and 3329 copies last year.

YG Entertainment saw its revenue surge a whopping 136-percent during the 3-year period as well.
Boasting groups such as 2NE1 and Big Bang, the agency's sales came in at 100-million dollars last year.
It recorded operating profits of 17.5 million dollars, up 67-percent, and its net profit also jumped 68-percent to 13 million dollars in 2013, from three years earlier.
YG boasts the largest share of the digital music market as well thanks to Psy's Gang nam style craze world wide in 2012 and success of GD from Big Bang's recent solo album.

JYP Entertainment, which represents Miss A and 2PM, saw its revenue rise 75-percent to 17 million dollars last year, from about 10 million dollars in 2010.
It has posted operating deficit for three straight years since 2010, and its net loss came in at 4 million dollars last year.

The surge in revenue has been attributed to the ongoing popularity of K-pop across the world, as well as strong record sales and products related to the Korean singers.

2014년 4월 6일 일요일

Chanel filed lawsuit against small business owner in Korea again.


Chanel filed lawsuit in a Seoul Central District Court against spa over using name 'Chanel Spa' located in sang-am dong,Seoul
Seoul Central District Court ordered it to pay Chanel 10 million won (approximately $9,500) in damages and banned to use its name earlier this month.

This is not the first time small business owner learned their lesson hard way as Chanel and other luxury brands sued small business owner using their logos and brand names without permission many times before in Korea.

Chanel also filed numerus lawsuits and won against bars in Seoul named such as Chanel Business Club in 2010 and 2012.

Burberry filed similar lawsuit against karaoke named 'Burberry karaoke' in Cheonan city and court ordered owner of karaoke to pay 2.5 million won to Burberry in August 2009




2014년 4월 4일 금요일

Super Junior's Kim Heechul talked about historical distortions in MBC drama 'Empress Ki'


MBC's 'Empress Ki' is still number one in its time slot and with only a few weeks to go, does not look likely to lose that spot until it ends.
The popularity of this drama, however, has clearly disturbed some people in Korea who take their history seriously

Kim Hee Chul, a member of Super Junior revealed his concerns about the history distortion problem regarding popular MBC's historical drama 'Empress ki' on JTBC talkshow 'war of words-sseoljeon' which aired on 3rd, April.

Kim Hee Chul said "adults can enjoy 'Empress Ki' well aware of fact that this drama is fiction but little friends like teenager and children can accept this drama's characters and storyline as historical fact which can become problem."

"I remember i accepted as a historical fact watching dramas like 'Taejo Wang Geon' or 'han myeong hoe' which were fiction historical dramas as well when i was young" he added.

In response to Kim Hee Chul's comment, Park Ji Yoon said "'Empress Ki' is a drama rich in entertainment features," and MC Kim gu ra added that "'Empress Ki'is a historical drama made more for woman audience while KBS's historical drama 'jeongdojeon' represent voice of the man"





2014년 4월 2일 수요일

Kim Soo Hyun and Miss A’s Suzy as the most wanted star to go on a picnic under the cherry blossoms trees.


Kim Soo Hyun and Miss A’s Suzy were selected as the most wanted star to go on a picnic with under the cherry blossoms trees.

On April 2nd, an Korean online research company, panel now has conducted a survey with the question “Which star do you want to go cherry-blossom viewing with?”.
A total of 11,674 women in their 20s took part in this survey to choose from among many actors and actresses who were particularly popular these days.

According to the poll result, Kim Soo Hyun, who recently casted in drama ‘You who came from the Star’', was voted as the most ideal cherry blossoms festival date partner, receiving 22.15%(2,586 people).
The second place went to Kim Woo Bin from SBS drama ‘Heirs’ 14.84%(1,733 people), third place was Song Joong gi with 9.06%(1,058 peopl) vote and 4th was Lee min ho with 6.94%(811 people)

As for the female part, Suzy earned the most votes receiving 17.61%(1,015 people) and runner-up is actress Han hyo joo with 16.74%(996 people) and third and forth place went to Moon chae won 10.94%(651) and Song hae gyo 9.7%(577) respectively.

Derek Hough and BoA step out for the premiere of their new film 'Make Your Move'


K-pop diva,Boa posted pic with Derek Hough on her SNS on tuesday.
“At the premiere with Derek! Make your move in theaters on April 18th!!!!” BoA captioned with a pic on Instagram.

Derek Hough and BoA step out for the premiere of their new film Make Your Move held at Pacific Theaters at The Grove in Los Angeles on Monday night (March 31).

The two stars were joined by Derek‘s Dancing With The Stars partner Amy Purdy, and best friend Mark Ballas.

Make Your Move follows a pair of star-crossed dancers in New York, who find themselves at the center of a bitter rivalry between their brothers’ underground dance clubs.

2014년 4월 1일 화요일

Disney movie 'Frozen' producer Del Vecho talks about Korea, most successful market outside of U.S.


Oscar-winning Disney movie's producer Peter Del Vecho visited Seoul to take part in a seminar hosted by South Korea's culture ministry from March 31th to April 4th.
He talked about reasons for Frozen's remarkable success in Korean market, how the film's success might shift Disney's strategy, and whether fans can hope for a Frozen franchise in future at Samsung coex mall on 31th.

He answered when asked why Frozen was such a smash hit and spawned countless K-Pop covers of 'Let It Go' in South Korea.
"With a population of just 50 million, South Korea was easily Frozen's most successful market outside of North America, contributing $77 million towards the film's record $1.06 billion haul.
The film has resonated on such a personal level with so many people. I think they identify with the characters and the music – as I understand it, Koreans love music and musicals, and [Frozen's] music certainly brings a lot of heart and warmth as well as humor to the movie. I think all those things combined [contributed to the film's success here]. We feel very honored."

"Korea has always been an important country for us in terms of our films. Korea is the number one market for Frozen outside of the U.S. Other countries are working hard to take that title but we are very pleased that it's Korea… I also know that Avengers is shooting here; in fact I heard they shot yesterday."