[News] Dream High session 2 begins pre-production.

[News] Dream High session 2 begins pre-production.
Cr. - javabeans

Dream High Season 2 is ready to begin pre-production work, according to a source with the production company, who’s aiming to broadcast the sequel next January. While airdates are always flexible, the producers are in a good position, having already concluded scheduling talks with KBS and getting their agreement.

Currently they’re in scriptwriting mode, and plan to begin casting after they’re done with scripts. (The drama previously announced a reality show to follow the audition process for the background cast; no updates on that at the moment.)

According to the production rep, they haven’t totally decided whether to extend the story established in Season 1, or whether to build an entirely new story, and are considering all possibilities. Personally, I’d LOVE if they kept Kirin alive, and just rotated out the student stories.

That maximizes the world already established, brings back some favorite characters (Jin-man! Oh-hyuk! Kyung-jin!), and also frees them up to swap in busy idols who would have difficulty committing to more than one season. Other K-dramas have attempted the season format but none have been truly successful, or true sequels, either — but maybe what Korea really needs is one great high school serial.

[News] 3 Johnny’s talents to star in Korean drama “You’re Beautiful” remake.

[News] 3 Johnny’s talents to star in Korean drama “You’re Beautiful” remake.
Cr. - japan-now.livejournal

Kis-My-Ft2′s Yuta Tamamori, Taisuke Fujigaya, and Hey! Say! JUMP’s Hikaru Yaotome will star in a remake of “You’re Beautiful (also known as ‘He’s Beautiful’)”, it was revealed on May 17, reports Nikkan Sports and Sports Hochi.

The TBS drama will go on air from July and the lead will be played by actress Miori Takimoto. The drama will follow Takimoto’s character, who finds herself replacing her twin brother in his band, made up of Tamamori, Fujigaya, and Yaotome. It has been reported the band’s leader role, played by Jang Geun-suk in the original drama, will be taken up by Tamamori.

A producer at TBS has said Johnny’s talents were chosen for the drama because “when people think of イケメン (ikemen, good-looking guys) in Japan, they think of Johnny’s”. It has been reported Tamamori was cast as the band leader because he looked like he could pull of the straight-forward-genius-and-good-looking-but-also-charming guy role.

“I felt a lot of pressure after hearing this was a No.1 drama in South Korea, but I hope to do my best in the Japanese ‘You’re Beautiful’,” Tamamori said.

Fujigaya has been cast as the band’s guitarist, and Yaotome the band’s drummer.

The South Korean drama had been aired in Japan last summer and became a huge hit, becoming rental DVD shop TSUTAYA’s No.1 most rented Korean drama of 2010.

It has been reported the remake’s plot will be mostly the same as the original drama, and might involve guest appearances from Geun-suk and other Johnny’s talents.


Jang Keun-suk said he wait forward to watching the Japanese version, “I can’t wait to see how Tamamori-san creates Hwang Tae Kyung, the character that I played. I’m sure he’ll be able to make it unique in his own way and I support him.”

[News] A second “BOSS” and “Shiawase ni Narou” collaboration to air on the 30th.

[News] A second “BOSS” and “Shiawase ni Narou” collaboration to air on the 30th.
Cr. - tokyohive

We reported a while back that actor Nukumizu Yoichi played his character from the drama series “BOSS“, (police detective Yamamura) crossing over for the May 16th episode of “Shiawase ni Narou yo“. In the upcoming May 30th episode of the latter series, the dramas will collaborate once again, this time with actor Tamayama Tetsuji joining Nukumizu.

Tamayama will be portraying his “BOSS” role, police detective Katagiri. Katagiri crashes Yamamura’s blind date, organized by the marriage service agency B-ring, in order to drag him back to a case. “Shiawase ni Narou yo” actors Katori Shingo and Nakai Riisa will appear in the scene as B-ring employees.

The two series are both Fuji TV dramas, although they air on different days. During the last collaboration, it was hinted that “Shiawase ni Narou yo” characters could also appear on “BOSS”. Although this hasn’t been confirmed, Tamayama told the press, “I want Katori-san to come on “BOSS” and get entangled in a case.”

[News] Big Bang’s T.O.P rumored as the male lead in a new drama.

[News] Big Bang’s T.O.P rumored as the male lead in a new drama.
Cr. - allkpop

It’s being rumored that Big Bang’s T.O.P has teamed up with Hallyu-famous producer Yoon Suk Ho to play the leading role in the producer’s return project to the small screen.

For those of you who may have forgotten, Yoon Suk Ho is famous for his smash-hit drama series, “Winter Sonata” and “Autumn Fairytale“, which helped the Hallyu movement gain much momentum overseas.

In any case, these rumors whisper that T.O.P was offered the leading role for the drama, “Our Happy Youth“. Considering how he’s impressed many with his acting abilities in 2009’s “IRIS” and 2010’s “Into the Fire“, anticipation is building high for this new project.

The industry is stating that there’s a high chance that “Our Happy Youth” will air in August after KBS 2TV’s “Myung Wol the Spy” wraps up.

Meanwhile, PD Yoon Suk Ho has been revealing his talents in various fields such musical productions. This will be his first drama since his 2006 seasonal drama, “Spring Waltz“.

[News] SMAP becomes a trending topic on Twitter thanks to Justin Bieber’s tweet.

[News] SMAP becomes a trending topic on Twitter thanks to Justin Bieber’s tweet.
Cr. - TOKYOHIVE

Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber met one of Japan’s top idol groups, SMAP, on May 18th, during the filming of an episode of “SMAPxSMAP“.

Afterwards, Bieber tweeted “SMAP SMAP SMAP SMAP SMAP SMAP….SMAP” three times on his Twitter account. The pop singer has over 9 million followers on Twitter and the term “SMAP SMAP” soon became a trending word in the US. Although some of those who re-tweeted SMAP probably have no idea what it stands for, it’s good to see the veteran group getting some attention outside of Japan.

You can watch Bieber and the members of SMAP interact on the May 30th episode of “SMAPxSMAP”. The episode wiill also feature actor Mukai Osamu in the detective drama, “THE BUDDY“, and actress Takashima Reiko, comedian Gekidan Hitori, and others in the “Bistro SMAP” segment.

[News] Taipei Cri Show tickets sold out in 45 minutes!

[News] Taipei Cri Show tickets sold out in 45 minutes!
Cr. - jangkeunsukforever

Taipei Cri Show’s official ticket purchase starts from 21 May 2011 at 12 noon (Taipei time), and within 45 minutes, almost all tickets were sold out! In comparison, JKS’ fan-meeting in Taipei last year had its tickets sold out within 24 hours.

As expected, the same ticketing website that hanged last year hanged this year too. A handful of fans were able to purchase tickets via the website, but the majority of fans could not and faced multiple issues such as page not able to load, service not available etc. Two big issues that surfaced are that when fans selected the seats online and proceeded to payment page, they were not able to complete the transaction because although they had selected the seats already, the ticketing system does not hold these seats as “reserved” and other people especially those at the physical counter, could buy away these tickets. The other issue is that reportedly, the ticketing website company is using an old ticketing system based on Windows 98, and hanging is a common problem online as well as at the physical counter.

Many eels who queued up overnight managed to get their tickets, although there are cases of people who queued up overnight, are third or fourth in the queue, but still did not manage to get the highest-priced tickets.

Taiwanese organisers Joytime Entertainment’s Facebook page is awash with many criticisms and unhappy comments from eels, especially in relation to their unfairness in allocating 3 entire rows of the highest-priced NT$4,500 section as publicity seats which is a norm on the concert scene. These publicity tickets may be given away to the mass media, but some tickets have emerged on online auction sites selling at ridiculously high black-market prices.

[News] TBS broadcast Japan confirms remake “You’re Beautiful”.

[News] TBS broadcast Japan confirms remake “You’re Beautiful”.
Original : http://twssg.blogspot.com/

Proving the popularity of Korean dramas in Japan, TBS Japan confirms that they will be producing a remake of the drama “You’re Beautiful”.

Korean drama "You're Beautiful" you can look forward to a Japanese remake under the title "Ikemen Desu ne", starting this July on TBS.

Receiving lots of love by Japanese fans, the popular Korean drama "You're Beautiful" has been decided to get a Japanese remake, titled "Ikemen Desu ne". It will be broadcast every Friday at 10.00 p.m., starting this July on TBS.

Janpan's main cast of A.N.JELL band by Takimoto Miori, Tamamori Yuta (Kis-My-Ft2), Fujigaya Taisuke (Kis-My-Ft2), Yaotome Hikaru (Hey!Say!JUMP).

Also part of the cast are Katase Nana, Imori Miyuki, Yanagisawa Shingo, Takashima Masanobu, and Manda Hisako. Moreover, it's been announced that Kis-My-Ft2 will make their CD debut with a song for the drama.

[News] Wu Chun has a full schedule; Fahrenheit won't be releasing an album this year.

[News] Wu Chun has a full schedule; Fahrenheit won't be releasing an album this year.
Cr. - cpopaccess

Men’s fashion label Alfred Dunhill invited Wu Chun to their grand re-opening event at one of their stores. The event attracted a hundred fans holding light-signs, welcoming the superstar. Wu Chun wore a double-breasted suit; he asked the media, “Do I look too mature in it?” Then he laughed, “I’m not young anymore. I’m not 20-something, so 30 year olds wearing this should be OK!”

Wu Chun expressed that he is mostly accompanying his family in Brunei these days, but he will be more active during the latter half of the year. As reported previously, Wu Chun withdrew from “Absolute Boyfriend” in order to shift his focus to the big screen. Thus, fellow Fahrenheit member Jiro Wang took over the role. Wu Chun was reluctant to explain, but he said, “The role is very suitable for Jiro. It doesn’t suit me well, so I do wish him all the best. Let’s not talk about this anymore. It’s not good to talk too much about it.”

Many Fahrenheit fans are interested to know whether Fahrenheit would be releasing an album this year; Wu Chun expressed that his schedule is full already, so unfortunately there will not be time for one. Nonetheless, he has been showing support for his other group members by buying 50 copies each of Calvin Chen’s and Aaron Yan’s photo books.

[News] SBS "49 Days" ends in first place.

[News] SBS "49 Days" ends in first place.
Cr. - hancinema

SBS drama "49 Days" has ended with the highest ranking rate on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

According to AGB Nielsen Media Research "49 Days" on the 19th rated 0.7% more than the previous day and ended with 16.1%.

This is 1% higher than MBC drama "The Greatest Love" with 15.1% and 7.1% higher than KBS 2TV drama "Romance Town" with 9%.

"49 Days", which started in March, had a cast of Nam Gyoo-ri, Lee Yo-won, Jeong Il-woo Jo Hyeon-jae and dealt with the sources of death and possession, questioning the true human nature. It rated the highest until the end.

Meanwhile, "City Hunter" will follow this drama with Lee Min-ho and Park Min-yeong as the lead.

[News] Jung Il-woo "The scheduler was an adventure for me".

[News] Jung Il-woo "The scheduler was an adventure for me".
Cr. - hancinema

Jung Il-woo from the SBS drama "49 Days" which ended on the 19th gave his thoughts.

After having finished all of the scheduler's roles, he said, "I can't believe it's already over. I was a scheduler that managed a 49-day traveler but I think it was a 49-day adventure for me. They went by quickly but now that I've completed my journey I am so happy and thrilled".

He continued, "Doing this drama, I felt the preciousness of life and started thinking seriously about life and death. I am grateful to the director, writer and all the other staffs that allowed me to learn something like this".

The scheduler which Jung Il-woo played in the drama "49 Days", is a new idea that played an important role in the layout of the drama. He said, "The new and awkward character of a scheduler was a challenge and adventure for me. I enjoyed being the scheduler".

He also spoke about his expectations in the next project. "As much as I loved "49 Days" I am sad it's over but I will hold it and the scheduler in a corner of my heart and hopefully I will soon come out with another item".

Jung Il-woo created several issues playing the scheduler with his unique character, hair fashion and acting, earning him the remark that he's become much more grown up and mature.

[News] Gong Yoo’s new film wraps up shooting.

[News] Gong Yoo’s new film wraps up shooting.
Cr. - 10asia

An upcoming Korean film starring actors Gong Yoo and Jung Yu-mi completed shooting early this month, said the film’s promoter Delight on Friday.

A press release by Delight revealed that the new local suspense film titled “Dogani,” translated into 'a scene,' led by actor Gong Yoo and actress Jung Yu-mi, which looks into a sexual violence case committed in a school for hearing-impaired people, finished filming on May 8.

Gong played the school teacher who comes across the ugly truth and Jung, a human rights activist that joins Gong’s efforts to publicize the case against the school’s staff and other officers who try to conceal it.

On the day of the final shoot in Daejeon City, Gong played one of the protestors on a street that fights against continuous water attacks launched by the police force.

“I feel happy and sad at the same time now that the shooting is over. I went through lots of feelings living my character, and I hope the viewers will be able to relate to it, too,” Gong was quoted as saying in the statement.

Jung, on her part, said she has learned a lot from filming her scenes as well as from the child actors she worked with.

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk who helmed the film, too agreed that everyone has put much effort into the film including staff and child actors.

The story which is based on the 2009-best seller written by novelist Gong Ji-young, was inspired by a similar event that actually took place in Korea’s Gwangju city a few years back.

The film is set for release during the latter half of this year.

[News] Park Si-hoo, Moon Chae-won cast in new KBS drama.

[News] Park Si-hoo, Moon Chae-won cast in new KBS drama.
Cr. - 10asia

Park Si-hoo and actress Moon Chae-won have been cast as the leads in an upcoming KBS drama, according to the show's promoter MOS COMPANY.

On Friday, MOS announced in a press release that Park will play the role of Kim Seung-yoo and Moon will take on the character of Se-ryong in the new Wednesday and Thursday series titled "The Princess' Man (translated title)" which will premiere on July 20.

"The Princess' Man," a Korean historical version of "Romeo and Juliet," will tell the story of Princess Se-ryong who falls in love with Kim Seung-yoo, the son of the man who opposes Se-ryong's father's rise to become king.

"We feel that Park and Moon will create great synergy while portraying these fresh new characters in the Korean historical version of 'Romeo and Juliet,"" an official from the show was quoted as saying, adding that the audience can look forward to many things in the upcoming tragic series.

Born Park Pyung-ho, Park made his debut through KBS2 TV series “Delightful Girl Choon Hyang” in 2005 and has since starred in “What Star Did You Come From” (MBC, 2006) ”Iljimae” (SBS, 2008) and “Princess Prosecutor” (SBS, 2010).

He recently signed a contract with major Japanese talenthouse EMI Japan to further his career in the country.

Moon made her debut in SBS' teenage drama "Run Mackerel (SBS, 2007)" alongside actor Lee Min-ho and has since starred in series "The Painter of the Wind (SBS, 2008)," "Brilliant Legacy (SBS, 2008)" and "My Fair Lady (KBS, 2009)."

She recently played the female lead in SBS' Monday and tuesday drama "I'm Ok, Daddy" about a girl named Eun Chae-ryong (Moon) who makes sacrifices to help her family after her father's accident. The show also starred Super Junior's Donghae and CNBLUE's drummer Kang Min-hyuk.

[VOD] Jang Keun Suk...18/05/2011...Idol Chart Show (personal income).

cr:farring100

[VOD & Photo] Jang Keun Suk's interview on Fuji TV_MomoSuk.

cr:sukkien01

[News] TOP (Choi Seung-hyun) join Yoon Suk-ho's in "Our Happy Young Days" new drama.

[News] TOP (Choi Seung-hyun) join Yoon Suk-ho's in "Our Happy Young Days" new drama.
Cr. - hancinema

"Our Happy Young Days" broadcast in August.

Master of mellow dramas's PD Yoon Suk-ho is returning with Big Bang TOP (Choi Seung-hyun).

His drama "Our Happy Young Days" will be released on screens in August at the earliest on KBS. The main character will be TOP (Choi Seung-hyun). "Our Happy Young Days" has recently been confirmed as the follow up to "Beautiful Spy".

This is Yoon Suk-ho's first project in 5 years and the first lead role for Choi Seung-hyun in his acting career. Producer Yoon from "Autumn in my Heart" and "Winter Sonata" hid his whereabouts after 2006 KBS drama "Spring Waltz". Choi Seung-hyun was in 2009 KBS drama "IRIS" and played the role of Oh Jang-beom, a student commanding soldier.

General Manager of KBS Ko Yeong-tak said, "KBS makes effort to show a variety of dramas to the viewers". This means this drama isn't a romantic comedy where a man and a woman love with laughter. "Our Happy Young Days" is an affectionate drama with the word 'love' in theme. Producer Yoon is well known as one who expresses pure love in the most Korean way.

Known as the trigger of Hallyu wave, "Winter Sonata" made Bae Yong-joon a Hallyu star. The fact that he was chosen by producer Yoon, whether or not Choi Seung-hyun would become the 2nd Bae Yong-joon is in everyone's attention.

[News] Park Si-hoo confirmed to cast in KBS "The Princess' Man".

[News] Park Si-hoo confirmed to cast in KBS "The Princess' Man".
Cr. - hancinema

Park Si-hoo has confirmed to cast in KBS 2TV drama "The Princess' Man" coming this July.

The drama related person revealed on the 19th, "Park Si-hoo has recently confirmed to star in "The Princess' Man".

Park Si-hoo will be playing Kim Seung-yoo, the descendant of Kim Jong-seo. In the drama he will be sharing "Forbidden Love" with Se Ryeong (Moon Chae-won), the daughter of General Soo-yang.

The love between Kim Seung-yoo who is the descendant of Kim Jong-seo who was murdered by the General and his daughter Se Ryeong is to be like 'Romeo and Juliet".

"The Princess' Man" now having confirmed the main catss will complete casting of the other main actors soon.

Meanwhile, "The Princess' Man" is due to be released on the 20th of July.

[News] Simon Yam joins main cast for film “The Professionals”.

[News] Simon Yam joins main cast for film “The Professionals”.
Cr. - 10asia

Hong Kong's leading actor and film producer Simon Yam has joined the main cast of a Korean crime-action pic, revealed the film’s promoter 1STLOOK on Thursday.

According to a press release by 1STLOOK, Yam will make his first appearance in “The Professionals,” the so-called Korean version of Hollywood’s 2001-film “Ocean’s Eleven,” also starring high profile Korean actors Lee Jung-jae, Kim Hye-soo, Oh Dal-soo, Gianna Jun, Kim Hae-sook and Kim Soo-hyun.

The basic storyline is about thieves from Korea and China teaming up with each other to steal a diamond worth 40 billion won locked away in a casino in Macao.

Yam will play the calm and experienced leader of a four-member Chinese thieves group, who only reluctantly agrees to join in the latest project in order to resolve his debts but comes to harbor unexpected feelings toward one of the female thieves from Korea.

“How I hated him when I was young because he always appeared as the evil guy that killed all my heroes. Now that I will meet him, I will see how well an actor can age with time and experience,” director Choi Dong-hoon who will helm “The Professionals” was quoted as saying in the statement while expressing his expectations in getting to work with Yam.

Yam has starred in over 150 noir-actions films in Hong Kong including “PTU,” “SPL,” ”Election” and “Exiled" which are some of the well-known works by renowned Hong Kong director Johnnie To as well as other highly noted films such as “Bullet In The Head,” “Once Upon A Time In China,” “The Killer” and “The Legend of Ip Man.”

He won the Golden Bauhinia Awards for Best Actor for “PTU” and “Election” and a trophy for best actor at the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards last year.

Meanwhile, the film which will be Choi’s fourth feature film following his other crime movies “The Big Swindle” (2004), “The War of Flower” (2006) and “WOOCHI” (2009), will crank in around June in Hong Kong and Macao.

[News] J.Y. Park to hold his first fan meeting in 10 years.

[News] J.Y. Park to hold his first fan meeting in 10 years.
Cr. - allkpop

For the first time in 10 years, singer/producer J.Y. Park will be holding a fan meeting on May 29th at the Baekam Art Hall!

After breaking into the music industry in 1994, J.Y. Park has led a busy career as a dancer, singer, producer, CEO, and more recently, an actor. Considering how his last fan meeting was held a decade ago, this new event will celebrate the achievements he’s garnered since then. The fan meet won’t focus on his career as a CEO and producer; rather it will spotlight his singing and acting accomplishments.

J.Y. Park will be spending some quality time with 450 lucky fans, who have supported him all this while. A variety of fun events are planned for both the star and his fans.

Representatives of JYP Entertainment commented, “J.Y. Park is extremely excited over the prospect of meeting his fans for the first time in 10 years. We hope that a lot of people show up and create a memorable event together.”

Fans can request fan meet tickets through his official Me2day until May 20th. 450 applications out of the total requests will be randomly selected for the event.

[News] Jang Keun Suk to open official shop in Japan.

[News] Jang Keun Suk to open official shop in Japan.
Cr. - tokyohive

Jang Keun Suk will be opening his first official shop in Japan for a limited time starting June 3rd.

The shop will be situated in the shopping complex Shibuya Parco. In addition to selling official goods and Shibuya Parco’s original goods, the shop will also feature never before seen videos and photos of the actor. In addition, there will be a message board where fans can leave messages for Jang, and a special display area for the actor’s personal belongings.

Jang commented, “I am very happy being able to open my first official shop in Japan… I hope this will be a good opportunity for (people) to know more about me. I am looking forward to seeing everyone in Japan quickly.”

At the moment, Jang appears in the Fuji TV re-run of his drama, “You’re Beautiful“, as well as the CM for Suntory’s alcoholic beverage “Seoul Makkoli“. In April, he became the first foreign artist to land a debut single on the #1 of the Oricon Weekly Singles Ranking with his single, “Let me cry“.

The Jang Geun Suk official shop will be open until June 27th.

News] Lee Seo-jin makes donation for Japan earthquake relief.

[News] Lee Seo-jin makes donation for Japan earthquake relief.
Cr. - 10asia

Hallyu Star Lee Seo-jin has made a monetary donation for an earthquake relief fund in Japan, reported Japanese daily sports paper Sankei Sports on Wednesday.

According to Sankei Sports, Lee donated one million yen, equivalent to 13.4 million dollars, to a Japanese foundation called "Let's Tree," an environmental fund launched by the actor himself and the Foundation of Japan in January.

"I hope that my donation will help those in need even though it's not much," Lee was quoted as saying. He is also considering visiting the quake-stricken areas in the country.

Lee's move comes with Japan having experienced an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 percent on March 11 which sent a surge of waves through its towns and cities.

A number of Korean celebrities have also made sizeable donations for relief efforts such as Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon, Kim Hyun-joong and Jang Keun-suk.

Lee made his debut in 1999 with a role in SBS' drama "House Above the Waves" and has since appeared in a number of series including "Damo (MBC, 2003)," "Lovers (SBS, 2006)" and "Yi-San (MBC, 2007)."

The actor went on a promotional tour in Japan for "Yi-San" which became a hit when it aired on NHK in 2009. He is preparing to his comeback to the small screen as the male lead in the upcoming historical drama tentatively titled "Gyebaek."