The boy band Super Junior's First Asia Tour - Super Show Encore, held at the Olympic Park fencing stadium Sunday, focused on using the entire hall as a performing stage to minimize the physical distance to the audience.
The 13 members appeared from below the stage, soared high overhead with the help of a crane and moved on mobile stages to reach the standing seats. They were literally all over the performance hall, looking eye-to-eye even with the third floor audience members. Their movement was carefully planned with the help of special stage equipment installed in all corners of the venue.
The show started with the hits "Twins" and "Don't Don!" known for their synchronized group dances. The participation of all members was the highlight of the day's show.
Super Junior members spun off last year in various smaller groups such as SJ-K.R.Y, SJ-M, SJ-T and SJ-Happy, resulting in far more diverse and colorful performances.
Super Junior-K.R.Y showcased a moving ballad to the ac...| More
The "Yeongeuk Yeoljeon 2 (A Series of the Best Plays)", which began on Dec. 7, 2007, finally drew its curtains Monday, reinvigorating the faltering theater scene in Daehangno.
For the last 13 months, ten plays were performed under the motto of "popularization of the theater arts" by veteran actor and programmer Cho Jae-hyun, along with Dongsoong Art Center's Theater Company to save the sagging theater industry with the star-studded cast.
Scoring a big success in economically hard times, the project came four years after 2004's " Yeongeuk Yeoljeon", which put 14 plays on stage.
In the closing ceremony at Dongsoong Art Center, actor Song Yeong-chang, who starred in the play "University of Laughs" written by Japanese dramatist Koki Mitani, won the award for best acting and the play (University of Laughs) received the best play award judged by participating actors, staff, reporters and audience members.
After the success of recent Korean films like "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War of Flower"), which centered around intricately executed money scams, there was little doubt that one about working the stock market would soon follow.
"The Scam", the debut film from director Lee Ho-jae-I about an unemployed slacker trying to plunder 600 billion won from the stock market, was announced for a nationwide Feb. 12 release at a press conference yesterday at the Sofitel Ambassador in Seoul. The Showbox release features Hallyu star Park Yong-ha, plus Kim Min-jeong, Park Hee-soon and former musical actor Kim Moo-yeol.
Kim Min-jeong, better known for playing archetypal feminine heroines, here plays an ice-cold business woman. Kim Moo-yeol, known for playing criminals on television and the silver screen, revisits this role, this time playing a reformed gangster trying to run a legitimate savings and loan business. Rounding out the four is Kim Mu-yeol, who plays the stock broker who is the bra...| More
The upcoming film "Marine Boy" involves treading water, but it has nothing to do with the nickname Koreans affectionately give to swimming star Park Tae-hwan.
Written and directed by newcomer Yoon Jong-seok, this crime movie is about a former swimming athlete (Kim Kang-woo) who, desperately in debt, becomes employed as a "body packing" drug mule by a heartless drug lord (Jo Jae-hyeon). After swallowing a 10-meter-long drug package, this "marine boy" must swim across waters between Korea and Japan. Among the many things that beckon death, an alluring beauty (Park Si-yeon) tries to seduce him.
"As long as there are drugs, there will be those who transport drugs. What makes this movie unique is not its subject matter, but rather, the name `marine boy'. There is something beguiling about its duality, how these criminals are called something that romantically calls to mind the popular cartoon "Marine Boy" or the star swimmer Park Tae-hwan", the direc...| More
LG Electronics, the world's top maker of consumer air conditioners, said yesterday that it will bring its leadership into the commercial market and attempt to become a leading player within five years.
The announcement came after the Korean company this month launched an independent unit in charge of air conditioner operations to bolster commercial air conditioner business.
Nho Hwan-yong, head of the new unit, said the company seeks to join the ranks of leading commercial air conditioner makers - America's Carrier and Japan's Daikin - which generate around 80 percent of their revenue from sales of commercial air conditioners. For LG, 30 percent of its sales come from the commercial sector, Nho said.
He also said his division aims to increase revenue by 10 percent in 2009, from $5 billion won in 2008, despite the economic downturn.
The company is seeking to expand into the commercial market as part of efforts to generate new revenue sources, company officials said. Yesterday...| More
The idol forecast for 2009 will be bright with new groups, individual activities, concerts and tours.
Super Junior, the 13-member pop group, saw some of its members branching out here and also abroad through smaller "units" like Super Junior-T, Super Junior-Happy, Super Junior-M and Super Junior-K.R.Y, but this year will see all of the members getting together as one whole group.
"We think we show our best performances when we are all working together. We will show everyone what Super Junior has in store this year, all together", the members said at a recent press conference before their concert scheduled for this month.
The group will release its third album in March. While the members of Super Junior are getting back together, Big Bang is gearing up for solo activities.
The five-member pop group is holding concerts from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1 and will greet fans individually through different projects. Victory, known as Seung-ri here, has st...| More
Actor So Ji-sub, who has steadily continued his preparations to advance to Japan, will kick off his singing career in Japan as a rapper.
Nikkan Sports said Sunday that So will debut as "Rapper G" in Japan on Feb. 27 with the song "'Lonely Life". It said So made news in Korea in August when he anonymously released an album comprising two single tracks.
Known for his mega-hit Korean dramas "Sorry, I Love You" and "Something Happened in Bali", So finished his military service last year and appeared in the Japanese film "Kita Gegegeno's 1000 Years of Curse Song".
Then, prior to the release of his Korean film "Rough Cut", he appeared as himself in the music video of "Lonely Life" in a project album called G. He then showcased a digital single under the name "G-sonick", hiding his identity.
So has not performed as Rapper G in Korea, so fans are wondering if he will first debut in Japan. So is currently filming the SBS drama "Cain and Abel" (written by Park Kye-ok, produced by Kim...| More
Big Bang will hold concerts dubbed "Big Show" Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at the Gymnastics Stadium, Olympic Park.
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Iconic boy band Big Bang had a busy year in 2008, and the five-member group is staging a concert titled "Big Show" to celebrate the New Year and thank fans.
Comprised of TOP (Choi Seung-hyeon), Victory, G-Dragon, Dae-sung and Tae-yang, the group will perform at the Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium, one of the biggest concert venues in Seoul.
The group's reputation for bringing hoards of fans to their concerts is nothing new, and it's been proven once again that Big Bang is still one of the top idol groups in the business.
The three-day concert tickets were sold through Internet Web site G Market, with more than 200,000 fans logging on to buy tickets when the sales opened, with more than 180,000 fans doing the same during the second stage.
Big Bang originally planned on holding three concerts ― one on Jan. 31 and two the following ...| More
More than 1 million people have seen "A Fropen Flower" as of Jan. 2, the film's fourth day of screening, the movie's distribution company Showbox said Saturday.
The attendance is a new record. "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War of Flower" - 2006) and "The Chaser" (2008) drew the same number of viewers in five and eight days, respectively, Showbox said.
"A Fropen Flower", a fictional tale of homosexual romance during the Goryeo Dynasty, is showing at some 540 theaters across the country. The film stars Jo In-seong and Joo jin-mo. The movie got around 320,000 viewers just on Jan. 1. ...| More
"Marine Boy", helmed by Yoon Jong-seok, is bound to stand out in terms of genre in the lineup of Korean films hitting theaters early this year.
Instead of treading the proven path, it dives into the relatively unknown world of the sea. That's why the film is now categorized as a "marine" thriller.
For most Koreans, however, the title of the movie evokes either an old Japanese comic series or Park Tae-hwan, the Olympic gold medalist swimmer dubbed "Marine Boy". The movie, though featuring plenty of under-the-sea scenes, is neither a rehash of the animation nor a biopic of the hugely popular swimmer. It is basically about drug trafficking which takes place, mostly, at sea.
"We went through many trials and errors because there's not much filmmaking know-how due to the lack of movies related to the sea", director Yoon told reporters at a news conference held in Seoul yesterday. "The production crew and actors also suffered severe sea sickness while shooting key scenes, and I deepl...| More
