Monday, July 20, 2009
Lee Jun-ki and Song Hye-gyo Chosen as Foreigners’ Favorites
Actor Lee Jun-ki and actress Song Hye-gyo have been chosen as foreigners’ favorite Korean stars. Roughly 3,000 viewers from 60 countries, including the United States, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore, took part in a survey conducted by the entertainment program “Showbiz Extra” of Arirang TV to vote for their favorite Korean stars and Lee and Song finished first in the movie star category.
Lee outranked Rain and Gong Yu by a considerable margin, solidifying his status as a new hallyu star. Song took 49.5% of the vote, easily taking first place over other actresses. In the musician category, Girls’ Generation narrowly edged out BoA by less than 1% of the votes to rank as foreigners’ favorite female musician. As for the male singer category, Super Junior won 41.9% of support, defeating Asian star TVXQ, who earned 33.6% of the votes. SHINee was selected the most popular new artist, followed by 2PM and FT Island. Actor Kim Beom of “The East of Eden” and “Boys over Flowers” surprised everyone by winning the title of foreigners’ favorite new actor over another heartthrob, fellow actor Lee Min-ho of “Boys over Flower.”
source: KBS Global
Tags: Song Hye gyo/korean actress/Gong Yu/Lee Jun ki/Super Junior/Kim Beom
Rain Named PR Ambassador for Korean Food
Singer Rain (real name Chung Ji-hoon) was named PR ambassador for Korean food on July 13 at a ceremony that was held at the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province.
Singer Rain has been named PR ambassador for Korean food. The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries appointed Rain on July 13 at the Gwacheon Government Complex. Over the next year, Rain will appear in video materials publicizing Korean cuisine and attend major events related to Korean food.
Rain said, "To me, Korean food is like a mother and my primary instinct. While holding overseas concert tours and filming movies, I always wished that Korean food was more competitive so that more people could enjoy it. I'm thankful for this opportunity to publicize it." The singer added, "Chinese and Japanese cuisines are very popular abroad compared to Korean cuisine. I want to publicize the health benefits of Korean food so that people all over the world can enjoy kimchi and tteokbokki."
Rain says his favorite Korean dish is tteokbokki, which he said made a perfect snack that he used to enjoy while at school.
The minister for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries expressed his appreciation to Rain for taking on his new role and said he hopes that, with Rain's help, Korean cuisine will become as big a star as Rain in the global arena. He also pledged active support to Rain's overseas fan meetings by treating his fans to Korean delicacies.
The appointment plates that were given to Rain that day were produced in the form of a roll and ceramic pot to publicize traditional Korean culture.
A ministry official said the ministry chose Rain as PR ambassador in a bid to nurture Korean cuisine into a global industry and globalize its taste so that people all over the world can enjoy it.
source: KBS Global
Tags: Rain/korean actor/korean singer
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Ku Hye-sun Draws Crowds with Her Paintings
Ku Hye-sun is becoming popular as a painter after rising to stardom as an actress in the Cinderella tale drama "Boys over Flowers." Ku's exhibition titled "Tango" has been at Gallery La Mer in Insa-dong, Seoul since last Wednesday. On display are 50 works including the illustrations in her novel of the same title and paintings made shooting the hugely popular KBS drama.
She said that after the drama ended, sometimes she completed two or three works a day. Asked what she thinks about being an actress, short film director, novelist and painter now, she replied, "I feel uncomfortable with being called a painter. I'd rather like to be regarded as a person who likes drawing." "Painting is not my main job, and I'll focus on acting from now on," she added.
Yet the exhibition sees about 700 visitors on weekdays and 1,000 on Saturday, according to her agency YG Entertainment. All proceeds are to be donated to charity. The exhibition runs through Tuesday.
Credit: englishnews@chosun.com
source: chosun
Tags: Ku Hye sun/Boys over Flowers/korean actress
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