JYJ’s Yoochun explains why he took on “Ripley

On May 17th, MBC’s new drama “Ripley” held its production conference at the Banyan Tree with lead roles Kim Seung Woo, Lee Da Hae, Park Yoochun, and Kang Hye Jung in attendance.

As it’s his second drama, Yoochun was asked to explain the difference between his role in “Ripley” and his role in “Sungkyunkwan Scandal.”

He answered, “Well, I’ve gone from wearing hanbok to suits now… I think the way the two characters express pain is different. Unlike ‘Lee Sun Joon’, my character in ‘Ripley’ starts everything with a laugh. He’s always smiling, but it only takes a moment for him to begin shedding tears.”

He continued, “There was definitely a lot of pressure, and even after I decided to take the role, I was still worried over whether I’d do well. One of my greatest concerns was how the viewers would perceive me, especially since they thought well of me with my previous work. Everyone treats me so well at the recording so I’m able to take part in it comfortably now.”

When asked about working with his seniors, he revealed, “I was so nervous, I made a lot of NGs. I’d blush and sweat. It’s my second drama so I’m definitely seeing a wider perspective in comparison to my debut.”

Kang Hye Jung who is playing the second female lead role, praised, “Yoochun-ssi is so great at acting and works extremely hard. I think he fits his character well of being a smooth man of the city. A person of his level could probably take on dramas catering to the teenage audience, but he doesn’t rely on his popularity at all and is determined to live life as a true actor.”

On his reasons for choosing “Ripley”, Yoochun commented, “I’ve really wanted to do a melodrama. I loved the character as well, and after seeing the line-up, I wanted to be able work with them.”

“Ripley” will debut on May 30th.

Source: Newsen via Nate, Seoul NTN via Nate

UEE speaks out about ‘Birdie Buddy’ and acting

Despite the failure to launch her first leading-role drama “Birdie Buddy“, After School’s UEE revealed her desire to continue pursuing acting.

On April 27th, UEE stated in an interview, “I want to continue acting” – revealing an extraordinary affection and passion for acting.

For those readers who may have not known, UEE was cast for a drama called “Birdie Buddy”, which was actually based off of Korea’s first golf cartoon, called Birdie” and was modeled after successful professional Korean golfers such as Se Ri Park, Michelle Wie, Y.E. Yang, Anthony Kim and others. It was planned to air through MBC, but those plans eventually fell through resulting in UEE to experience much heartache.

UEE stated, “I’m disappointed that ‘Birdie Buddy’ hasn’t aired on television yet, but if the opportunity arises, I would like to continue acting.”

She also revealed that she felt the power of Korean dramas when she visited Japan. She stated, “There was a time when I went to Japan with the After School members for a shooting. The many Japanese students in uniform came up to me saying, ‘UEE-san, we recognize you from ‘You’re Beautiful‘. It was really interesting.”

Source: Star News via Nate

Block B show off their charms on “Starry Night”

Over the past week, Block B guested on MBC’s radio program,”Park Kyung Lim’s Starry Night“, in seven minute segments per day to let fans get to know each of the seven individual members on a more personal level.

The boys also performed their entire debut EP – “Wanna B“, “Freeze“, and “Is It Only Me?” – as well as a track from leader Zico’s self-produced mixtape, “Turn Around“. Main vocalist Taeil also performed a cover of Kim Bum Soo’s “Please“.

When asked about the meaning behind their group name, Zico explained, “It’s actually derived from the term ‘blockbuster’, which is typically used to describe movies of larger, impressive scales. We hope to have the same blockbuster effect on the Korean music industry.”

Zico, B-Bomb, Kyung, Taeil

The series of profile talks kicked off with “Birth of A Great Star” contestant, Taeil. Fans were surprised to hear that he had a high-toned talking voice, when they were used to his deep and powerful singing voice. Taeil revealed a unique hobby of raising exotic fishes; he had 50 before he cut down to 10 just before beginning his promotions with Block B.

Moving on to B-Bomb (Minhyuk), who’s also from “Battle Shinhwa“, he revealed that his unique name actually held two meanings. First, ‘bibum‘ in Korean means to be unique and rare, which are qualities he hopes to embody. ’Bibum‘ was then stylized into B-Bomb to give his name a double meaning of ‘explosive influence’. When asked which senior he’d like to meet, he chose Big Bang’s Seungri.

Member Jaehyo revealed that he was  and that he’s close friends with IU and that one of his specialties were ‘office work’. When pressed for more details, he revealed that it was actually listed by his parents because of his fast typing skills. Jaehyo can apparently type 600 keys per minute, which stunned the MC and listeners alike.

Jaehyo, U-Kwon, P.O.

Block B’s self-proclaimed ’smile representative’ U-Kwon showed off his interests in the arts by introducing his favorite movie, book, and song to the listeners. He recommended the song “I’m Scared of the Dark Tonight” by 10cm, the book “Shiny Shiny Shining” by Ekuni Kaori, and the movie “The Hangover.”

Park Kyung was teased by MC Park Kyung Lim for being only one character off from her own name and was asked to share any stories he had regarding their similarity in name. To the amusement of others, Kyung assured that his name was indeed only one character long.

The leader and the group’s producer, Zico, performed a short but sweet freestyle rap for the listeners of the show, and went on to reveal that his hobbies included watching American comedies and writing raps. Both hobbies went hand in hand, as he said that he picked up a lot of witty ideas for his raps from comedy scripts.

Lastly, the group’s youngest, P.O., was teased for his deep, husky voice, but turned around and stunned listeners by pulling off a voice imitation of Jo Kwon’s high-toned thin voice.

Check out the subbed segments below!

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<  “Freeze” + (Profile Talk: Taeil, B-Bomb) >

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Source: MBC Starry Night

IU talks about her vocal chords and weight on “Quiz to Change the World”

IU revealed her special way of warming up her vocal chords.

She appeared on the April 2nd episode of MBC’s “Quiz to Change the World” and received praises from the cast by showcasing her strong vocals.

When asked about her 3-step booster, the idol said, “I have never made a mistake because I’ve always performed when I was nervous.”

She added, “You [also] have to warm up your vocal chords well.” IU then revealed her own method of warming up, saying, “Rehearsals usually start in the morning so my vocal chords don’t warm up well. It’s not a good method but I eat a cup of ramen really quickly. Because it’s hot and spicy, my vocal chords open up momentarily. It’s not a good method.”

IU also revealed that her weight changed after she debuted.

When asked about her maturing beauty, the teen star announced that she lost 10kg compared to her pre-debut days. She elaborated that she naturally lost weight as a result of her busy schedule.

MC Park Mi Sun commented that she became more womanly and IU replied shyly, “I lost a lot of baby fat.”

Source: Newsen via Nate, TV Report via Nate

 

[Spoiler: Opera Star 2011] Who is the first to be eliminated?

On April 2nd, the eight contestants of tvN’s “Opera Star 2011” held their first live broadcast battle at the Sang Myung Art Center, which resulted in the first elimination of one of it’s participants.

Viewers could text in their votes for a poll that revealed the bottom two, which were revealed to beCSJH’s Sunday and Jewelry’s Kim Eun Jung. Eun Jung had delivered a performance of Gianni Schicchi’s “O Mio Babbino Caro.” Unfortunately, the judging panel, which included four experts in the field of opera, held their votes 3:1 in favor of CSJH’s Sunday.

Although Eun Jung was smiling, she was unable to hide her disappointment while stating, “Everyone is so talented and did well. Next week, I’ll be watching the show as a viewer.”

Singer Lim Jung Hee, on the other hand, took first place in the viewers poll, and received a standing ovation from her producer, Bang Shi Hyuk, and labelmate Lee Hyun.

Amidst the absence of MBC’s “I Am A Singer” this month, “Opera Star” is receiving much-deserved support as a show that showcases exceptional talent amongst singers.

Others that came to support the artists at the event included Bang Shi Hyuk for Lim Jung Hee,Clazziquai’s Horan for Tei, SHINee and f(x) for Sunday, and Jewelry for Kim Eun Jung.

The battle will go on until May 7th, when the final Opera Star will be unveiled. A special opera album production opportunity will be given to the sole winner.

Source: Star News via Nate

 

Netizens envious of Kim Tae Hee’s trainer

Fans have been expressing their anger over Kim Tae Hee’s trainer, who appeared in MBC’s Celebrity Biography, ‘Tae Hee’s Rediscovery‘ on April 1st.

On the broadcast, Kim Tae Hee’s trainer helped the star stretch her body as well as straighten her posture by touching her legs and waist directly.

Although helping a client with exercising is a natural duty for any trainer, certain fans have been angered at the fact that he got to touch Kim Tae Hee’s body without any restrictions.

Fans angrily commented, “How could you touch our Tae Hee goddess?“,  and “You’re officially our public number one enemy starting today“.

While other male fans showed their envy at the trainer, stating, “I want to be Kim Tae Hee’s trainer“, “He’s a true winner“, “I’m losing if I’m envious“.

Source: News Daily via Nate

 

Nichkhun’s birthday present for Victoria revealed

The ‘King of Events’, Nichkhun prepared a special present to celebrate Victoria’s birthday.

The latest episode of MBC’s “We Got Married 2” captured the second part of Khuntoria couple’s Jeju Island vacation hiking at Halla Mountain.

Nichkhun made a special durian cake using durian flown in from Seoul, as durian is Victoria’s favorite tropical fruit. After going through all the trouble to obtain the fruit, he even made a special request to a staff member to put only 2 candles on the cake to make his wife feel better about being older than him.

However, Nichkhun and a special guest had to wait until midnight in order to celebrate Victoria’s birthday and reveal his surprise. Victoria, too, had clue on what was going on and waited until midnight.

During the interview, Nichkhun stated, “I had to give the cake at midnight, but before that we ate really early, and ate a lot. I had such a hard time because I was so nervous.”

Nichkhun’s special guest turned out to be a singer who sang ‘I’m in Love‘ for Victoria. Nichkhun, himself sang it in a previous event for Victoria, which made it even more meaningful. He then surprised Victoria yet again by bringing out the special durian cake.

He explained what he felt about the surprise, saying, “I never know if Victoria likes it or thinks it’s bad. Her expression is always the same. I was feeling a little nervous while preparing for this special event.”

However, Victoria showed her appreciation for the event, and stated, “I really couldn’t have imagined it. It was really a surprise.”

On the second night of Victoria’s birthday, while relaxing at a sauna, Nichkhun had a man sing “Happy Birthday” to Victoria in Chinese, to celebrate her heritage. Check out all the fun events from the episode below!

Source: Newsen via Nate

T-ara’s Eunjung Joins The Cast Of “We Got Married”

Gaining popularity as a member T-ara and for her recent role in the hit drama “Dream High”, Eunjung has officially been cast in MBC’s “We Got Married“.

On March 30th, Eunjung began filming for her first episode, though it is unknown who her partner is.

Eunjung revealed her excitement stating , “I’m excited to shoot as a virtual couple, like Hwang Jung Eum unnie. Until now, I’ve only appeared as an actress, but I would like to present and show a fun side of me to viewers on ‘We Got Married.'”

Who do you think will star alongsides Eunjung on We Got Married?

 

source : gokpop.com

 

Jewelry reveals the benefit of Seo In Young & Park Jung Ah leaving the group

The members of Jewelry recently guested on MBC’s “Quiz That Changes the World“, and shared her thoughts on the benefits of ex-members Park Jung Ah and Seo In Young leaving the group.

Eunjung brightly introduced the group’s newest members to the studio by stating, “After Park Jung Ah and Seo In Young left, we brought in two new members.”

MC Lee Hwi Jae noticed her tone and teased, “You say that they left so easily, and with such a bright face expression too, as if you’re nailing it in that they can’t come back!”

Eunjung replied,” “Honestly, when the unnis were still around, we didn’t fit in with the other girl groups because we were considered the oldest, but now that they’ve left, we fit right in with idol groups.  It’s great!”

In the ‘quiz’ segment of the show, Eunjung ended up calling Park Jung Ah. Lee Hwi Jae was quick to tattletale on Eunjung, which led Park Jung Ah to mock-scold, “Idols these days… What time are you ending today?  I want to see you in the office!”

After the laughter died down, she continued on a more serious note with: “My dongsengs are doing so well, I sometimes think that it’s better that I left, while other times I think that I want to join them again.”

Source + Photos: Newsen (1) (2)
Tip: KaroKim

 

TVXQ follows up with ‘Before U Go’ on Music Core

After making their comeback two months ago with their power dance track “Keep Your Head Down,” the TVXQ boys took a temporary hiatus to recharge and have now returned on today’s Music Core with their repackaged album and brand new title track, “Before U Go“, for their follow-up promotions.

“Before U Go” is a traditional R&B track with heavy emotions, where Yunho and Changmin’s vocals were put at center focus. The song is unique in that it moves not only according to melody, but rhythm is well. The song switches back and forth between an 8-beat and 32-beat vocal rhythm.

Check out their stage performance of this R&B track below!

source : allkpop