POPSEOUL! what's popping in Korean entertainment news and celebrity style

KARA is “Jumping” their way toward us!
G-dragon,Kim Hyun-joong,Yun-ho….Who is the best leader?
Nich-khun teaches Victoria the “I’ll be Back” dance!
Kim So-eun joins the twitter world!
Hong-ki of FT Island vs. Sam-di (Simon D)of Supreme Team
Laura Mercier compliments…
Rain’s agency is ready to take on Andre Kim!
Kim Sin-young: “I hate Superstar K”!
There are too many subtitles in the ‘Fugitive Plan B’?
Asia Song Festival 2010 Full Coverage
Jang Dong Gun is Coming to America
Are Sulli and Hee-chul an official couple?

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 02:44 PM PDT

Girl group Kara is back. They have just released their song "Jumping".

The full official MV will be released on November 10^th.

The song is awesome. It has such a nice beat to it.

Listen to the song below:

So,what do you guys think?

G-dragon,Kim Hyun-joong,Yun-ho….Who is the best leader?

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 02:40 PM PDT

On the Innolife website, there was a poll to vote…. Who is the best leader of all the Korean groups?

The question was….. Who is the most responsible and wise when it comes to leadership?

The leaders were: Super Junior's Lee-teuk, SNSD's Tae-yeon, Big Bang's G-Dragon, Kara's Gyu-ri, DBSK/TVXQ's Yun-ho, or SS501's leader Hyun-joong.

From 122,424 votes, 88,511 votes went to the leader Yun-ho from TVXQ/DBSK!

Yun-ho,who received 72.3% of the votes, means many believe that Yun-ho is the best leader of all other leaders.

What do you think of the winner?

Nich-khun teaches Victoria the “I’ll be Back” dance!

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 02:28 PM PDT

On episode 18 of the"We Got Married" show, Nich-khun showed his pretend wife Victoria how to dance 2PM's new song "I'll Be Back".

Below is the video you to watch of Nich-khun & Victoria dancing together:

Do you agree that is was so sweet of Nich-khun to teach his wife his band’s dance?

Kim So-eun joins the twitter world!

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 02:20 PM PDT

The beautiful actress Kim So-eun finally made a twitter account.

Her first tweet was:

"트위터!! kimso_ (twitter!! kimso_)"

She posted 2 new pictures of herself along with the statement:

"I've finally started twitter. It's so difficult for a computer noob like me."

Here are the photos she posted:

So, everyone who has a twitter follow her @kimso_

Hong-ki of FT Island vs. Sam-di (Simon D)of Supreme Team

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 10:14 AM PDT

Hong-ki of FT Island and Sam-di of Supreme Team went head to head in a battle to win a girl’s heart.

On the KBS “Oh! My School“, a new show about educating idol stars on various different topics, there was a segment where people had to pair up with a student of the opposite sex. The two best friends, Hong-ki and Sam-di, chose the same girl. Hong-ki tried to win her heart over by singing a ballad song while Sam-di rapped for her. In the end, without any moment of hesitation, the female idol star chose Sam-di for his rough country dialect.

When Park Myung-soo, one of the MCs for the show, asked is it okay even though Sam-di has a girlfriend, the female star said she hopes he doesn’t have one. Her answer surprised the entire cast.

If you are curious as to who the female idol star is, make sure to catch the first episode of KBS “Oh! My School“, airing October 30, 2010.

Any guesses on who the lucky lady may be?

Laura Mercier compliments…

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 09:57 AM PDT

Kim Hyun-joo!

Laura Mercier, a leading cosmetics brand in the United States, stated, that Kim Hyun-joo, top Korean actress, has the most perfect lips she has never seen before.

Coming from a make-up artist and entrepreneur who has worked with top celebrities in Hollywood such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Madonna, Angelina Jolie, and Scarlett Johansson, Mercier‘s comment means a lot. Many are even speculating that Kim Hyun-joo may be offered to represent Laura Mercier in all of Asia, not just South Korea.

Kim Hyun-joo has recently signed a two-year contract with Laura Mercier. She will first be seen advertising the Laura Mercier Liquid Crystals Lip Glacé, starting November.

Rain’s agency is ready to take on Andre Kim!

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 08:45 AM PDT

The star’s agency, J-tune Entertainment, has spoken.

Yesterday, Cho Dong-won (the CEO of J-tune) told Asia Economic Daily's Sports Today the following:

"We will start taking the legal steps as soon as we finish writing our complaint. A suit for defamation of character through dissemination of false information may be lodged today at the earliest.Rain and the company reached the conclusion that we can no longer sit still because we are angry and have been wrongly accused…… We will investigate into the truth and hold [the accuser] responsible through maximum help of the law."

Bravo to Rain and his company! The 28-year-old Andre Kim did not have to bring information about him gambling to the public. Rain may have gambled (I highly doubt he is obsessed), but the matter of unpaid loans should have been a personal matter between the two men.

You can read our previous coverage of Rain‘s Mr. Vegas case here and here.

Source: Asia Economic Daily and Nate

Kim Sin-young: “I hate Superstar K”!

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 06:39 AM PDT

The main host of KBS’s 'Invincible Youth', Kim Sin-young, confessed that she hates 'Superstar K' and 'Tears of Amazon'……

which airs on TV the same time as her show.

In the 'Invincible Youth' episode which aired on October 22nd, the comedian host complained to Hyo-min that ”Amazon' almost defeated our show". Invincible Youth's ratings had dropped due to the MBC documentary show.

She continued "I hope they shift their time". It was funny to see her face when she said that.

Meanwhile, 'Invincible Youth' celebrates it's one year anniversary and the G7 girls were kind enough to help the elders in the village with their heavy work in the episode.

*Source: NTN Seoul

There are too many subtitles in the ‘Fugitive Plan B’?

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 06:26 AM PDT

Subtitles are killing the ratings of KBS’s popular drama 'Fugitive Plan B'!

Since many of the viewers of the show are from the middle-aged group, they just hate to read the subtitles to understand the story. One of the writers for the drama explained "It's true that excessive subtitles will annoy the middle-aged viewers." Although the subtitles had been reduced after the story focused on Seoul starting in episode 8, they still need to make subtitles for the non-korean speaker, Daniel Henney. The writer continued "Daniel's role delivered alot of important information. However, starting in episode 11, he will have a different role. So, it would be less burden for the viewers."

Does this mean that they will sacrifice Daniel’s role for better ratings? What do you think?

*Source: Nate

Asia Song Festival 2010 Full Coverage

Posted: 25 Oct 2010 08:27 PM PDT

The Asia Song Festival, UNICEF, and G20 Summit planners teamed up this time to bring out the free 2010 Asia Song Festival Let’s Go! G20 Concert. Though the name is painstakingly long, the line up is equally impressive. Performers include K-Pop idols Boa, Rain, Lee Seung-chul, KARA, 2AM, 4Minute, BEAST, Teen Top, Rainbow, E.via, Kim Yeo-hee (iPhone Girl), Nine Muses, and Arie Band. Also, other Asian idols were present, with Japan’s AKB48, China’s Jane Zhang, Taiwan’s Joe Cheng, Malaysia’s Michael Wong, and Thailand’s Bie the Star.

If that list doesn’t excite you enough, jump in and read the rest of the post for performance photos, videos, and full coverage.

With an audience of over 50,000 fans, the concert attracted over 5,000 fans from outside of Korea, gathering in Seoul Olympic Stadium in Jamsil, Seoul. Fans gathered starting in the morning for the 6pm concert, all supporting their favorite singers. Fan favorites included World Star Rain and all-around idols 2AM.

With a small donation to UNICEF, the planners gave away blankets and CDs with the G20 official song, “Let’s Go” (in both Korean and English versions). As a charity concert, the three joint planners are all dedicated to helping disaster-struck areas, especially in Asian countries. Currently, they are helping victims of the recent Pakistan floods with recovery and medical support.

The hosts of the 2010 Asia Song Festival were announcer Han Seok-jun and former SES member and actress Eugene. As the two MC’s graced the stage with elegance, Eugene also provide the English announcements for the concert.

Before the main performers, there was an “Asian Influential Artists Showcase,” presenting some of the up-and-coming rookies in Korean music.

The model/idols Nine Muse were first up, giving the crowd a good show, they performed their new single, “Ladies.”

Next, iPhone girl Kim Yeo-hee, who officially debuted last year, sang her second single, “Don’t,” a beautifully sad song, but with an upbeat tempo, fit nicely into the line up.

Then, Rainbow came on with “Just a Pretty Girl.”

In the spirit of Halloween, the Rainbow girls were dolled up in black and orange.

Girl rock band, Arie Band, especially famous for singing drama OST titles, brought energy to the stage singing, “Kiss Me Darling.”

Next, female rapper E.via sang the slightly annoying, but not quite catchy “Pick Up U.”

To round out rookie showcase, Teen Top excited the crowd with a powerful performance of “Clap” with a special dance intro.

Teen Top may have been the only rookie showcase that showed up with their fanbase, but fans in general greeted and cheered for all the rookies, in anticipation for the main stage performers.

After a short Korean cultural performance, the first major performer was 4Minute, lighting up the stage with fire effects and “I My Me Mine,” and a medley of “Hot Issue” and “Huh.”

Performing with special dance breaks, the 4Minute girls gave a solid performance and a strong start for the main performers.

Singer, actor, model Bie the Star, known kindly as the “Rain (Bi) of Thailand,” sang “Heartbeat” and “Hug” for his international audience.

Bie the Star gained popularity through the Thai reality program “The Star 3,” and enjoyed his time in front of the Korean fans.

To the cheers of all their fans, 2AM sang their top hits “Can’t Let You Go Even if I Die” and “I Was Wrong.”

As expected, 2AM vocals were in top-condition along with a performance accenting their maturing into being internationally recognized singers.

China’s Jane Zhang graced the stage singing both the English song, “To Be Loved,” and the Chinese song, “I Believe.”

Jane Zhang’s powerful voice is often compared to Mariah Carey, as she can easily pass into the dolphin-tone registers. American fans may know her from her performance on the Oprah Winfrey show and the World Peace One Concert.

Taiwan’s flower boy, Joe Cheng, brought out his popular “Sing a Song.” Joe Cheng is best known for starring in Taiwan’s “It Started with a Kiss.”

Super Star K 2 judge, Lee Seung-chul performed a small number of his most popular hits, “No One Else,” “Girls Generation,” and “Scream.” Lee Seung-chul really showed his power as a performer, complete with his own orchestra and rock band, proving his authority as a Super Star K 2 judge.

Next up was the massive girl group AKB48 from Japan, showing off a different type of cuteness and cheering on the crowd with “Dae Han Min Guk!” cheers.

With something of over 40 members (the exact number isn’t set), sixteen of the girl group team showed off their cutesy, massively huge charm with “Ponytail to syusyu” and “Heavy Rotation.”

As an answer to Japan’s huge girl group, next Kara represented Korean girl group charm with “Lupin” and “Mister,” looking more than hot in all white.

With a nearly flawless performance, Kara had all their male fans screaming like little girls. The girls in white even had MC Han Seok-jun at a loss for words.

As a change of pace, Malaysia’s Michael Wong sang his ballad, “Fairy Tale” and newest composition “So Naive.”

Michael Wong has become the representative singer-songwriter of Malaysia and enjoys popularity in many Chinese speaking regions, with his tender songs about love, which have been remade in Korea and Japan.

With the strongest number of fans, idol group Beast, pumped up the crowd again with “Shock” and “Breath.”

In strong form, all the members of Beast seem to be in top condition, performing the tight choreography of the new single, “Breath.” It seems like it was a night for white, as Beast’s uniform also followed the color.

Big dog and fan favorite, Rain sang recent top hits, “Rainism,” “Love Song,” and “Hip Song.”

Fans showed their support by lighting candles, and the whole crowd was moved to sing along to Rain’s charisma.

Though Rain didn’t fully do his shirt-over-head ab-dance for “Love Song,” he let the fans just have a peak of his abs, and then they couldn’t stop screaming for the world star to take it all off.

Finally, Korea’s returned pop princess BoA lit up the stage with performances of “Copy and Paste,” “Hurricane Venus” and “No. 1.”

BoA still could easily feel the love from her Korean fans, and she gave a powerful and snappy end to the Asia Song Festival Let’s Go G20 concert.

Finally, the concert ended with the planners giving awards to their performers. Beast and 4Minute shared the Asian Influential Artist Award, as new up-in-comers showing a lot of promise and already having a lot of influence in Asia, the planners hope that they will continue their support of charitable works and become world renowned idols.

Next, BoA, Rain, Lee Seung-chul, Kara, 2AM, AKB48, Jane Zhang, Joe Cheng, Michael Wong, and Bie the Star were all presented with the Best Asian Artist Award, highlighting their success in all of Asia and the world. The committee thanked all the artists for their dedication to the charity concert.

With encouragement from the MCs, Jo Kwon couldn’t help showing his gratitude for the award with his signature ssanti dance.

As a fitting end, all the artists came together and sang the G20 Summit official song, “Let’s Go.”

The planners made quite a complete concert, with Asia’s top entertainers. Hope to see you at next year’s Asia Song Festival!

Jang Dong Gun is Coming to America

Posted: 25 Oct 2010 07:36 PM PDT

Well at least his movie is.

The leaked trailer back in June of last year was the last we really heard about Jang Dong Gun‘s role in “The Warrior’s Way” formerly known as “Laundry Warrior”.

But wait no more, this all star cast and crew including Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns), Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush (Shine), Danny Huston (The Kingdom), Tony Cox (The Hustle), Barrie M. Osborne (Lord of the Rings), Jooick Lee (Seven Swords) and Michael Peyser (Hackers) is finally debuting December 3, 2010 in theaters. Many in Hollywood are anticipating a lot for this film specifically because this will present the audience with a “new look” at an Asian Male lead.

With Far East Movement dominating the charts, how do you think this new movie will do in the box office?

Check the trailer here.