Jang Keun-suk Voted Asia's Most Talked-About Star

Actor Jang Keun-suk won two prizes at the 2010 Yahoo! Asia Buzz Awards, held last Friday in Hong Kong. Based on the number of searches for his name on Internet portal Yahoo in Asian countries including Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia between Nov. 8 and Dec. 1, Jang was named both Asia's and Korea's Buzz Star.

"It's a big surprise that so many people give me love and attention, even from countries where I haven’t appeared much, and I'm very grateful," said Jang. "These awards are meaningful to me, and come with a responsibility, because fans in four countries in Asia chose me as the winner."

On behalf of the actor, who is busy for "Marry Me, Mary," now airing on KBS 2TV, Yahoo! Korea attended the ceremony and delivered the trophy to him.

Jang's fame seems poised to continue to grow as his dramas "You Are Beautiful," "Beethoven Virus" and others are scheduled to be aired throughout Asia next year.

source: Chosun Ilbo

Song Hye-kyo Ranked Among 100 Most Beautiful Face

Actress Song Hye-kyo was ranked 18th on a list of the 100 Most Beautiful Famous Faces by U.S. film website Independent Critics. Song is the first Korean woman to make it on the annual list in its 21-year history.

The website picks its favorite celebrities based strictly on their face, and predicted that Song may jump higher on the list next year. "We look forward to seeing her in next year's Top 10," it said.

Song ranked higher than many global celebrities including Monica Belluci and Scarlett Johansson who came in at 25th and 42nd, and Jessica Alba and Megan Fox at 53rd and 64th.

First place went to U.S. model and actress Camilla Belle, while Emma Watson, star of the "Harry Potter" movies, was runner-up.

source: Chosun Ilbo

[MV] This Christmas - JYP Nation

Jang Dong-gun Hopes to Impress U.S Moviegoers in Hollywood Debut

Jang Dong-gun (right) with Kate Bosworth

Jang Dong-gun's Hollywood debut "The Warrior's Way" is set to hit the theaters at home and abroad next week. The 39-year-old actor discussed his feelings about the film after a preview in Seoul on Monday.

"It was my third time acting in a foreign language following '2009 Lost Memories (2001)' in Japanese and 'The Promise (2006)' in Chinese," said Jang, who performed in English in the film. "But the language wasn't as big a challenge for me as proving myself to U.S. moviegoers to whom I'm just an unknown actor."

"The Warrior's Way" is a Korea-U.S. joint venture produced by Lee Joo-ick, who also made "A Battle of Wits (2006)" and "Late Autumn (2010)," and Barrie Osborne, a Hollywood producer famous for "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

It also stars Kate Bosworth, who played Superman's lover in "Superman Returns (2006)," and Geoffrey Rush from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series.

In the mixture of Hollywood Western and Asian martial arts film, Jang plays Yang, a warrior assassin who seeks to live an ordinary life in the U.S. Wild West, but is forced to take up his sword again in order to protect his lover. It opens in Korea on Dec. 2 and in the U.S. the following day.

source: Chosun Ilbo

Lee Byung Hun to Appear in Japanese Drama

Star actor Lee Byung Hun (40) will appear as a special guest actor in the Japanese drama “Diplomat Kuroda Kosaku,” in which Japanese star actor Yuji Oda, who became popular through the drama “Odoru Daisousasen.”

Lee Byung Hun’s agency, BH Entertainment, said on November 25, “The drama ‘Diplomat Kuroda Kosaku’ will begin airing from January next year on Fuji TV. Lee will appear in a Japanese drama for the first time, and his appearance was decided by Fuji TV’s ardent request.” Fuji TV said, “The character that Lee Byung Hun will play is a very important character with strong impact. He holds a key to solving the case, so we had thought that actor Lee Byung Hun, who is actively performing all around the world and who has a strong and predominant image, might be the perfect actor for the character.”

The drama “Diplomat Kuroda Kosaku,” which had already been produced as a movie with the same title and gained huge popularity before, will be about mysterious cases happening to diplomats. Its recreation as a drama has become a hot topic with the appearances of Japanese star actors such as Yuji Oda and Kou Shibasaki, and the drama will add more episodes about the past story of the protagonist Kuroda and his honest emotions as a human being, which the movie could not fully present. Lee Byung Hun will play an old friend of Kuroda who is a Korean-American, and he will speak every line only in English. Lee Byung Hun said, “I have been curious about the drama production process in Japan, and I found out that it was very similar to that of Korean dramas. I had thought that Japanese dramas have particularly unusual characters with unique jobs and peculiar personalities, and this drama is no different. This drama is not like an ordinary drama, so I am very excited.”

source: KBS Global