SHINee Jonghyun and Sin Se-gyeong spotted dating

Boy band SHINee member Jonghyun and actress Sin Se-gyeong [10Asia]

Popular boy band SHINee member Jonghyun and actress Sin Se-gyeong have been spotted dating by a local media outlet.

Local sports daily Sports Seoul on Wednesday carried a report revealing photographs of the two on a date on October 20 along with confirmations by their agencies that they have romantically involved for about a month now.

In the photos, the couple, strolling at a park near Sin's house in the southern Samsungdong district of Seoul, were seen smiling and talking while Jonghyun had his arm around the actress or holding hands.

The paper also quoted sources close to the couple as saying that the two mostly talk over the phone or text message each other since they are often too busy to meet.

Another source said, "They became close quickly because they have similar thoughts and interests. They also both became stars at a young age which I'm sure has also been difficult for them in certain ways so I think they can talk to each other in this sense as well."

The report explained that the two first met at a concert in May for which Sin was one of the emcees and SHINee performed. They met again by chance at a get-together of a mutual acquaintance.

"I think it's been about a month since they've opened their hearts to each other. I think they're in the process of getting to know each other with fond feelings," an official at Sin's agency Namoo Actors was quoted as saying.

Jonghyun's agency SM Entertainment admitted to the relationship as well, explaining, "I think they've just started [dating each other]. I had heard they had met several times through an acquaintance."

Sin, 20, had garnered much attention when she first debuted at the young age of eight as the model of the poster for hit singer Seo Taeji's "Take 5" album.

After spending a few years off the screen, she then returned with a role in movie "My Little Bride" starring Moon Geung-young and Kim Rae-won in 2004, and played several more acting roles, but shot to stardom last year through MBC smash hit sitcom "High Kick 2."

She is currently promoting her film "Acoustic," an omnibus pic also starring boy band 2AM member Seulong and CNBLUE members Lee Jonghyun and Kang Minhyuk.

Jonghyun, also 20, debuted as the lead vocalist of his five-member band in 2008. SHINee is one of the most popular groups not only in Korea but throughout Asia.

They recently enjoyed a successful return to the music scene with their second repackaged album "Hello" and are readying for their first concert to be held in December in both Korea and Japan.

Jessica Kim jesskim@
<ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved>

'Best Star Actors in Second Half of 2010 Are Won Bin and Shin Min Ah'

The research institute Leespr announced on October 28 that Lee Seung Ki and Girls Generation, and Won Bin and Shin Min Ah have been surveyed as the most popular female and male singers and actors, respectively, during the second half of 2010.

The institute had conducted a survey from September 25 until 30 targeting 1,324 people from the age of 13 to 65 to ask their about favorite stars during the second half of 2010. Actors Won Bin and Shin Min Ah earned 17.6% and 26.7%, respectively, and became the most popular male and female actors. Among male actors, Jang Dong Gun and Kang Dong Won ranked second and third by gaining 15.6% and 10.1% support. Actress Kim Tae Hee and Kim Hye Soo followed Shin by gaining 13.5% and 8.5% of the votes. For the male singer category, Lee Seung Ki ranked at the top with 14.7% support, defeating Rain (14.4%) and 2PM (12.2%). Among female singers, Girls Generation gained the highest voting of 24.6% and Lee Hyo Ri (14.0%) and 2NE1 (10.3%) followed. In the male comedian category, Yoo Jae Seok gained 38.7% support and beat his rival Kang Ho Dong (23.9%). Lee Soo Keun (21.9%), Kim Byong Man (11.5%) came after them. Female comedian Shin Bong Sun, who gained 38.4% of the votes, ranked in first place, defeating Park Mi Sun (22.2%) and Kim Shin Young (18.6%).

In the category of sports stars, Park Ji Sung and Kim Yuna earned an overwhelming majority. Park Ji Sung gained 45.6% support and overwhelmed other male sports stars such as Park Tae Hwan (12.5%), Park Chan Ho (10.0%), and Lee Cheong Yong (9.9%). Kim Yuna gained 61.9% support and defeated other female stars including Jang Mi Ran (18.9%), Yeo Min Ji (13.2), and Park Se Ri (8.6) by a huge margin. The survey had been conducted as a form of individual interview in the capital area including Seoul and in the major cities of Busan, Daegu, Incheon, and Kwangju. For the separate categories, two from the female and male group had answered the survey, and the survey had an accuracy of 95% with a margin of error plus or minus 2.69% in the confidence interval.

source: KBS Global

Lee Min-jung for High Cut

source: www.highcut.co.kr

Kim Tae-hee to expand career into Japan

Korean actress Kim Tae-hee [Asia Economic Daily]

Top Korean actress Kim Tae-hee will be expanding her career overseas.

Kim made the announcement during an interview with Japanese newspaper Nikkan Sports, adding that she will soon launch her activities in the country.

The interview also revealed that she signed a contract with a Japanese entertainment company and hopes to make a debut in Hollywood.

"Right now I am learning Japanese because I want to appear in Japanese dramas and movies," Kim was quoted as saying during the interview.

The actress' popularity in the country rose after the blockbuster hit TV series "IRIS" began its run on local TV channel TBS in April.

The show, which dominated TV charts during its two-month run in Korea, will be honored with the foreign project award at the Tokyo Drama Awards 2010 next week.

Kim, 29, rose to stardom after appearing in the popular SBS drama "Stairway to Heaven" in 2003 alongside Hallyu stars Kwon Sang-woo and Choi Ji-woo.

She has also starred in several movies including "The Restless" with Jung Woo-sung and her latest "Grand Prix."

Reporter: Cho Bum-ja anju1015@
Editor : Lucia Hong luciahong@
<ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved>

Girls Generation to Release Mini Album 'Hoot' on October 27

Star girl group Girls Generation will release a new mini album entitled "Hoot" on October 27. Their agency SM Entertainment said on October 19, "The mini album 'Hoot' is drawing attention not only from fans in Korea but also from fans in Asian countries. As they are planning to release their second single album 'Gee' in Japan, they are expected to be ranked atop both in Korea and Japan."

Members of Girls Generation (from left, Tiffany, Jessica, and Seo Hyun)

Girls Generation is now actively participating in an event held all around Asian countries. After achieving huge success in Korea with their songs such as "Oh!" and "Run Devil Run," they advanced to Japan last August by holding a large-scale showcase with more than 22,000 fans in Japan. Their first single "GENIE," which had been released in September, was selected as a Gold Disk (with 100,000 total sales) by the Japanese Record Association. In addition, they also set the record in terms of attracting the largest number of audience members among foreign singers as they had drawn 24,000 audience members when they held a concert at the Taipei Arena in Taiwan from October 16 to 17.

A spokesperson for the agency said, "This album is produced as part of a surprise gift for fans at home and abroad who have cheered for Girls Generation, which is actively participating in various events at home and abroad. You can find members' photos and listen to part of the title song in the teaser at the website http://girlsgeneration.smtown.com that opened on October 19."

source: KBS Global

G-dragon's Childhood Photos

credits: http://ibigbang.wordpress.com