kdrama and kpop

Won Bin is not only in Cannes,France this month for his new movie Mother, but he`s also featured in June`s Bazaar with a photo shoot in Paris.
He's a natural model but the hair must go!

...in Story of A Man. Oh no, the bad guy is getting the girl. I am watching Story of A Man now, it's getting good, love Kyung Tae. Is Park Shi Yeon siding with the evil guy...?

















Have you ever seen a bad guy as good looking as me?

y Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter


The cast of the new drama "IRIS" pose for the cameras at a press conference
held May 12 in southern Seoul. From left, Lee Byung-hun, Kim Tae-hee, Jung Jun-ho,
Kim Seung-woo, Kim So-yeon and T.O.P. / Yonhap

"IRIS" is gearing up for a new genre of drama ― espionage action. The new series, expected to air in September, has fans anticipating where it will refuel the passion for hallyu.

"IRIS" is not only based on the hit movie "Swiri" (1998), but also stars some of Korea's best-known actors.

Lee Byung-hun, Kim Tae-hee, Jung Jun-ho, Kim Seung-woo, Kim So-yeon and Big Bang member T.O.P. will appear in the "blockbuster action melodrama," and even the actors said they were worried how the drama makers will pull out all the charms from the colorful actors. "We approached 'IRIS' like it was a spy film, so viewers will get to watch movie-like scenes along with the emotional details that have made Korean drama so popular over the years at the same time," Kim Kyu-tae, the director, said.

"One of the most interesting issues here is the division of South and North Korea. It's something that the world is interested in, but we tend to avoid mentioning the issue. 'IRIS' takes place in the middle of all this, so I believe that's one of the reasons why we are receiving international recognition," fellow director Yang Yun-ho added.

The story takes place in South Korea where Kim Hyun-jun (Lee) and Jin Sa-woo (Jung) are National Security System (NSS) agents and best friends. The two fall for the same girl, fellow agent Choi Seung-hee (Kim) but Hyun-jun ignores his feelings and hopes for his friend's happiness. Things take a drastic turn when Hyun-jun is sent for a secret solo mission and he loses everything, including his friendship with Sa-woo and Seung-hee, and discovers a secret society called "IRIS."

A short documentary showed scenes of the cast and the crew shooting in Japan, one showing Lee screeching down a dam with Kim a child-actor in his arms, and this was one that Lee personally thought as one of the most memorable and terrifying. "It was perfectly safe, but the height of the dam was about 130 meters, and it apparently did make me nervous," said Lee, who is waiting for the releases of the Hollywood movies he appeared in, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" and "I Come With The Rain."

The series was will be filmed around the world, including places where Korean dramas were never filmed before, such as Hungary, while in Japan, the crew said that they were welcomed with open arms. "I don't know how they knew, but fans were everywhere and I have never felt more grateful for their interest," Lee added.

The support was extra special, particularly in Japan, where Lee is a huge hallyu star. The Akita Prefecture supported the actors and crewmembers with free lodging throughout the shoots.

Kim Tae-hee, a top female star who returns to the small screen after four years, appeared in black mini-dress and said that she tried hard to depict the image of the smart and strong agent Choi. "I lost some weight and trained at action stunt schools with fellow actors. I actually went through many injuries during rehearsals, so I am waiting for a perfect recovery now," she said.

For the usually comical Kim Seung-woo, who plays a North Korean agent, reporters asked him how it felt to act a North Korean, and the oldest and only married actor answered with humor. "North Korean agents are very different from what people may imagine. They don't use different dialects of the Korean language, and are very handsome like me. When I saw the DVD set of the popular television series '24' at one of my friends' house, I felt a bit disappointed and sad. I want this drama to become like '24,' something that you would like to keep and watch every now and then," he said.

Boasting a budget of more than 20 billion won and produced by one of Korea's top production companies, Taewon Entertainment, "IRIS" is aiming for a new chapter in Korean dramas, hoping to attract not only local but also foreign fans as well.

"We feel great responsibility and excitement at bringing such a genre based on the world's last divided country. While men will be attracted to the action scenes, along with the friendship and revenge between fellow agents and enemies, women can connect with the emotional details between the lovely and handsome characters, torn between love and their duties," director Kim said.

"IRIS" will be aired in September on KBS2.

Credits: sanghee@koreatimes.co.kr

Members of boy band BIGBANG flexed their acting chops on set last Wednesday. On the last day of filming for their forthcoming telefilm, "19," T.O.P and Seung-ri took turns channeling teen angst; smoke swirling, rap pounding through the speakers. One out of a series of eight feature-length dramas produced by Samhwa Networks under the overarching title, "Telecinema," "19" charts the growing pains of a trio of 19-year olds. The plot reads like your typical teen flick -- a group of kids on the cusp of adulthood get implicated in a murder case and run away.

The writer behind this work, however, defies expectations.

Taking a cue from the Korean Wave, "Telecinema" has enlisted the creative prowess of Japanese scriptwriters, Korean directors and Hallyu stars to spin out, flesh out and act out the eight tales. High profile directors like Pyo Min-soo of the hit drama "Full House" and Hallyu stars like Kim Ha-neul, Ji Jin-hee and Dong Bang Shin Ki's Hero Jae-Joong are taking part in this large scale project.

"The writer of '19' scripted the original 'White Tower,'" "19" director Jang Yong-woo referred to scriptwriter Inoue Yumiko during a press conference held on set, last Wednesday. "For this project, I went for a young vibe, for dynamism and movement," Jang added.

Decked out in black, BIGBANG member-and-fashion maven T.O.P, who is also starring in the blockbuster drama "IRIS," put the spotlight on his and his co-stars' roles: "I don't think that we will be fashionable (in '19'). Your attention won't be drawn to our outfits. It will be drawn to our characters."

Fellow member Seung-ri ruled out a full-blown romance, "Unfortunately, there are no love scenes in our drama." "Co-star Heo Yi-jae was unhappy about it," he quipped. "He is joking," actress Heo countered, hitting her male co-star playfully.

For those looking forward to seeing sharp outfits on their K-pop icons, this may come as a bit of a disappointment. But fans of BIGBANG's music may be in for a pleasant surprise. According to director Jang, both T.O.P and Seung-ri worked on songs that may be featured in the forthcoming telefilm. "It is very beautiful," director Jang said of Seung-ri's ballad.

Following the press conference, Jang and the cast continued to film "19," which is slated to air, with seven other "Telecinema" feature-length dramas, on SBS in Korea and TV Asahi in Japan. Four of the works are slated to hit movie theaters in Japan and Korea this summer.

The telefilms will be 90 to 105 minutes long.

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldm.com) via koreaherald.co.kr

By Shin Hae-in

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- A mother's love is divine, but only for her child. Protecting one's own child sometimes means harming another's -- a hoggish aspect of human virtue that often goes unnoticed, and even condoned.



Following his record-breaking monster movie "The Host" -- the first South Korean film to surpass the 10-million viewer mark at the domestic box office -- director Bong Joon-ho has returned with "Mother," a haunting noir that became his latest Cannes film fest entry. It premiered in the non-competition Un Certain Regard section.

Like his previous features, which offers riotous entertainment at first glance, "Mother" professes to be a simple enough tear-shedding ode to mothers featuring a widow's desperate search for the killer that framed her mentally handicapped son for a brutal murder.

But at some point during its lengthy two hour-running time, the film suddenly points at socio-political and psychological commentaries that leave viewers in shock and goose bumps long after the film's final images have faded.

Do-jun (Won-bin), a shy and reclusive 28-year-old, lives in a small shady provincial Korean town with his mother Hye-ja (Kim Hye-ja), whose only purpose in life is looking after her mentally challenged son.

When a horrific murder of a high school girl occurs in this normally quiet town, police pin the murder on Do-jun, who was a crime scene witness and has no alibi.

Convinced of her son's innocence and angered by authorities' unsympathetic response to his vulnerable condition, Hye-ja turns first to a pricey, arrogant lawyer and then to her son's seemingly depraved friend who advises her not to trust anyone and go find the killer herself.

Taking matters into her own hands, the petit, sad-eyed woman lands upon dark secrets involving the murdered girl and the villagers. Meanwhile, encouraged by his mother to jog his memories of the night of the crime, Do-jun is reminded of a discomforting incident that led to Hye-ja's excessive maternal devotion.

"I wanted to stretch motherhood to the extreme and see how far it can go in a cinematic reality," Bong said after the film's Seoul preview Wednesday night. "This film was a new challenge to me in a sense that I touched on the strongest force and the core of human relationships."

While never abandoning his characteristic craftsmanship to stay dark, brisk and suspenseful, with twists manifesting at the exact moments to sustain the tension, Bong certainly appears to have tested new limits in "Mother," continuously questioning whether maternal devotion really take precedence over all else.



Although "Mother" slots in somewhere between the large-scale and absurdist elements of "The Host" and the plot-driven and realistic "Memories of Murder," it still seems to fall short of being the 40-year-old Korean auteur's best film to date -- it is too lengthy and its plot has holes unfilled even after the credits roll.

But considering "Mother" is only a fourth feature to his credit, the film does help solidify Bong's status as one of the gifted directors of his generation in and out of Korea.

While still looking to the decades-old genre of film noir for inspiration, Bong chooses to create a modern aesthetic saturated with moral gravity, relying on his talent to stay focused and composed through the end.

Opening with a surrealist and somewhat hilarious sequence of the fickle heroine making odd dance moves in the middle of a plain, "Mother" will leave viewers pondering about its implications long after the film's haunting final images have faded.

The film, applauded as a "strong Hitchcockian thriller" and "worth acceptance to official competition selection" after its Cannes premiere last week, will hit the local theaters at May 28.

hayney@yna.co.kr

Source: Yonhap News

Actor Won Bin says the movie “Mother” marks a new chapter in his acting career. Won Bin plays a leading role in “Mother,” which was invited to the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival. In an interview on May 17 at a hotel in Cannes, Won Bin said the movie marks "round two" of his career as an actor.

Won Bin, who made a comeback to the big screen with his role in “Mother” after a five-year hiatus, said he is a very ambitious actor and that acting is appealing because it’s "infinite." He said, "That’s why I want to put everything at stake."

In “Mother,” Won Bin plays a dull-witted young man who is falsely accused of murder and whose mother (played by Kim Hye-ja) embarks on a mission to find the real culprit. His character has a rather complex personality, which is at times pure-hearted and dull and at other times quite sharp. Won Bin describes his character as someone with two personalities. He says he did his best to stick to the script because he believed that the director knew the character perfectly.

Won Bin said, "I was worried that my dull-witted character would fail to appeal to viewers and tried to come up with ways to make him look less repellent. I gave great thought to his pure-hearted side by reminiscing about my past and spending time alone, but eventually I found the answer in the script.”

Won Bin, who walked down the red carpet on May 16, says he was happy to represent a good movie at the renowned film festival along with actress Kim Hye-ja, actor Jin Gu and director Bong Jun-ho. Won Bin said, "I was curious to see how foreign viewers would react to the Korean ideal of mother shown in the movie, but I was sure that people from all over the world feel the same way toward their mothers."

In “Mother” the collaboration between Won Bin and Kim Hye-ja was of crucial importance because its plot is all about the mother-son relationship. Won Bin says the moment he saw actress Kim Hye-ja for the first time, he knew that she represented an ideal mother because her lucid eyes looked very innocent and made him feel at ease. "She treated me like her own son throughout the shoot and her character truly loved her son. I called her ‘Mom’ during the shoot and I still call her that," added Won.

Source: english.kbs.co.kr

Shin Min Ah is in June's Marie Claire issue wearing sexy Calvin Klein denim.

Wonbin is currently in Paris at Cannes for 'Mother'. This is the June edition for Bazaar. He looks so much younger with his mushy-wooshy hair!

Lee Min Ho did a fan signing session on Saturday and the pictures show that he is all happy to meet his fans. Some lucky fans even got their cheeks pinched by Mr. Lee Min Ho himself. Holding hands is also included in the fan signing package. Min Ho seems to enjoy the rituals though.

Korean actress Go Hye Sun (BOF) turned director won with her short film the audience award at Busan Asian Short Film Festival. She also just recently just released a novel. Is there a thing this girl can't do? Is she the new multi -talent in the Korean entertainment industry?






She's really pale as a ghost but I like her outfit, especially her feather top.

Wonbin attended the Cannes Film Festival for his new movie Mother with actress Kim Hye-Ja, Actor Jin Goo and Director Bong Joon Ho on May 16th 2009. He chose an all black ensemble without wearing a tie but still manages to look sophisticated and clean. Also his hairstyle is new if you haven't noticed, DBSK hairstyle? I kind of like it, do you?