‘The Musical’ co-star Ku Hye-sun sees hope in song-and-dance series Some people may have thought that “The Musical” ― a song-and-dance made-for-TV miniseries ― would never see the light of day. The drama waited in the wings with the press second-guessing its fate every step of the way. The cast and team of SBS’ “The Musical” (from left to right) ― director Kim Kyung-yong, scriptwriter Kim Hee-...

Park Jin-young, South Korean music mogul, may take a leading role in a movie. JYP Entertainment, Park’s agency, said on Monday that he is in talks to star in the film “Five Million Dollar Man.” Park is a singer-song writer and producer, as well as founder and head of JYPE, one of the top three Korean entertainment agencies. Park Jin-young at the press conference for the KBS 2TV drama “Dream Hig...

Baek Sung-hee, professor of biological science at Seoul National University, was on Tuesday awarded the Korea L’Oreal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Life Science in recognition of her study of cancer. Baek Sung-hee The award, jointly given by the France-based beauty company’s Korean branch, UNESCO and Women’s Bioscience Forum, is regarded as one of the most prestigious prizes awarded to female scie...

Three big-name stars ― Jang Hyuk, Park Hee-soon and Ha Jung-woo ― have worked together to create what’s reportedly the first courtroom thriller in Korea. “The Client,” which is anticipated to be released in late September, aims to combine both drama and suspense with its character-driven narrative surrounding a murder trial where the dead body is missing. “This is a courtroom thriller and the t...

The Korean film industry’s production capabilities are extraordinary, but it is unfortunate that the content is still being made for Korean people, an American visual effects expert said at a forum Tuesday. Scott Ross, co-chairman of inDSP USA, a company specializing in converting 2-D motion pictures to 3-D, said content business is the future of all economies, including Korea. Scott Ross, co-c...

Singer-songwriter holds month-long concert to celebrate his third album While idol-centered K-pop has been heavily covered by the media, the Korean indie scene has received relatively little attention. This is the eighth installment of a series of interviews shedding light on the scene. ― Ed. Singer-songwriter and guitarist Yi Sung-yol, 41, has been far from clear about his direction in life, a...

The Korea Tourism Organization said it will hold a K-pop concert on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Alpensia Sky Jumping Special Stage in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, to promote tourism there. Super Junior (SM Entertainment) The city has been attracting growing attention from international travelers after winning the bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. The KTO has collaborated with Gangwon Provinc...

S.M. Entertainment said Sooyoung, a member of the girl group Girls’ Generation, was injured in a car accident on Sunday morning and will not be able to participate in the upcoming SM Town Live Concerst in Tokyo. The singer was heading to Cheonan for a volunteer work for the visually impared when the car she was in was hit by a car coming in the opposite direction. Sooyoung suffered a sacral fra...

Web startups see business opportunities by making digital tools to tackle language barriers As the Internet has paved the way for instant, worldwide access to Korean pop songs and soap operas, nimble startups are capitalizing on the demand for the country’s top cultural exports by making digital tools to tackle language barriers and digital piracy. Since the 1990s, Korean pop culture has been i...

Taiwanese orchestra, the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, will hold a Korea tour in September to introduce a wide range of world folk music to the Korean audience. The ESO, led by conductor and music director Gernot Schumalfuss, is to hold a concert on Sept. 4 at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall and another on Sept. 5 at the Busan Citizen Hall, the concert organizer said. Evergreen Symphony Or...

Hallyu fans from Peru, France and Romania participate in this year’s event Hallyu fan club members from Peru, France and Romania stole the spotlight at the Seoul International Drama Awards 2011 press conference in Seoul on Monday. Though the awards’ final judging head Korean director Im Kwon-taek and Yahoo! People’s Choice Korean winner and K-pop idol Park Yoo-chun were present at the event, th...