Park Yoochun (JYJ) sera le garde du corps du Président dans le drama “Three Days"

Le drama “I Miss You“, sorti en novembre 2012 a connu un franc succès au point d’être acheté outre atlantique et dans toute l’Asie. Le rôle principal fut incarné par Park Yoochun, membre des JYJ, un habitué des drama à succès depuis ses débuts d’acteur en 2010 dans le drama “Sungkyunkwan Scandal“.

Aujourd’hui, il a été annoncé que Yoochun fera bientôt son retour sur le petit écran dans un nouveau drama intitulé “Three Days“. Le chanteur incarnera le rôle du garde du corps du Président coréen. Alors que ce dernier se rendait à sa villa, il se fait kidnapper à la suite de trois coups de feu. L’unité de garde du corps d’élite, composée entre autres de Yoochun, n’a que trois jours pour retrouver le Président.

Il est précisé que le rôle de Yoochun est similaire à celui de Jack Bauer (24h chrono) et que le Président aura une importance particulière. Par ailleurs, ce drama commandé par la chaîne SBS, est l’oeuvre de la scénariste Kim Eun Hee (Sign, Phantom). Cette dernière à collaboré avec le producteur Shin Kyung Soo (Deeply Rooted Tree).

Il est dit que Yoochun n’a pas vraiment hésité à accepter le rôle. Et, suite à cette annonce, Shin Kyung Soo n’a pas tardé à recevoir des appels de productions internationales, telle que le Japon, pour acheter les droits de diffusion.

Peu d’éléments ont été dévoilés si ce n’est que Sohn Hyun Joo pourrait peut-être endosser le rôle du président enlevé. Cependant, l’acteur n’a pas encore pris sa décision. Jang Hyun Sung, également courtisé pour interpréter le rôle du chef de l’unité de garde du corps, est également indécis.

“Three Days” est attendu pour le mois de février sur la chaîne SBS.

Trouble Maker dévoile une nouvelle version du MV de “Now”

 duo Trouble Maker dévoile une nouvelle version de son clip vidéo pour “Now”.

Ce nouveau MV, qui dure 6 minutes et 30 secondes, a été mis en ligne le lundi 4 novembre à minuit (heure coréenne), sur la chaine Youtube officielle du groupe. Rappelons qu’il a été classé commeinterdit aux mineurs.

Le clip est donc constitué de nouvelles scènes inédites du couple formé par Hyunseung (BEAST) et Hyuna (4MINUTE). Aussi, la tonalité globale de la vidéo est plus dramatique que l’originale.

Le MV souligne ainsi plus en détails le titre coréen de la chanson (‘내일은 없어’), qui se traduirait en français par “Il n’y a pas de lendemain“…

Dante’s epic poem meets traditional Korean opera

A more-than-seven-century-old epic poem will be recreated as an opera with Korean touches. The National Theater of Korea will cast an Eastern light onto “The Divine Comedy,” written by Italian poet and politician Dante Alighieri (1265-1321). It will present a stage version of Dante’s masterpiece, adding a very Korean element: pansori, a traditional Korean opera, music and story-telling style. The show will run from November 2 to 9, with no performance on November 4, at the National Theater near Namsan Mountain in Seoul. The epic poem was written by Dante while he was in exile after losing political power. The masterpiece consists of 100 cantos, dissecting Dante’s one-week journey through the three realms of the dead: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. As the protagonist of his poem, Dante has only one reason to embark on such a long and tortuous journey: to see again his ideal woman, Beatrice, in his final destination, Paradise.

This great piece of literature will now be turned into a stage version combined with an orchestra, pansori, mime and classical music at the National Theater of Korea for its seven-day run.

“This production looks mainly at the life path of the protagonist, who at first insists he has never sinned, then admits his sins after soul-searching and undergoing a spiritual transformation as he traverses through his journey,” explained producer Han Tae-sook at a press conference. 

“As it features performers from the National Changgeuk Company of Korea, actors and mime artists, as well as musical, pansori and opera performers, I am sure this rendition will maximize the drama displayed in Dante’s written work as it will be meshed with the unique sound of pansori, our traditional musical heritage and the artistic stage effects.” 


The play begins on the night before Good Friday in 1300, when thirty-five year-old Dante, lost deep in a dark, shadowed wood, encounters the poet Virgil. He is led by the poet and they begin their journey through the underworld with the goal of finding Beatrice, for whom he has longed throughout his life. 

They enter Hell on the first leg of the journey, where each and every sin is mercilessly punished. There, Dante, who claims he has never sinned, experiences fear and pity as he watches all the torments of Hell inflicted on sinful souls, such as a couple whose too-strong love and lust has swirled them down to self-destruction. 

Girls’ Generation sweeps music charts with “I Got a Boy”

Girls’ Generation makes a successful return with a new song, “I Got a Boy.”

There is no sign of waning in the popularity of Korea’s most popular girl group Girls’ Generation.

The nine girls of Girls’ Generation took back the stage with the release of their fourth album, “I Got A Boy.”

Since the comeback with the new title track song, the girl group has been receiving positive reactions with its music video posted on the official SM Town channel of YouTube, viewed 350,000 times in a single day. The music video now has over 2,200,000 hits, making the girl group the first K-pop singers to get that many hits in such a short period of time. Such an explosive reaction to “I Got a Boy” clearly shows that the starlets still have a strong fan base.

Earning the top spots on many music charts, Girls’ Generation proves that it remains Korea’s best girl group. Billboard praises ”I Got a Boy” as “one of the most forward-thinking lead pop singles heard in any country,” saying that the song satisfies listeners with a combination of forward-thinking EDM (electronic dance music), classic and modern R&B, ‘80s new wave, and more, in an article titled “Girls’ Generation, ‘I Got A Boy’: Track-By-Track Review.”

Korean blockbuster drama Iris returns

Korea’s top spy action TV drama Iris is coming back for its second season with a lot more for fans. The follow-up to the first season of the blockbuster spy-thriller has charmed the media since production began with large-scale overseas location shootings and more spectacular action. The drama welcomed representatives of the foreign and domestic media and Hallyu fans at a press conference which took place on February 7 at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, central Seoul. 

Eight of the total 20 episodes have been made so far, according to the Iris II production crew at the conference. They have finished overseas shoots in five countries -- Hungary, the Czech Republic, Cambodia, Austria, and Japan. The media spotlighted the promotional footage featuring action and chase scenes at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, a snowy landscape in Akita Prefecture in Japan, and on a bridge in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. At Angkor Wat, the crew used a helicopter for the first time ever in a Korean TV drama in order to present a more spectacular action scene. 

Iris II is armed with intense action and breath-taking scenery from five countries backed by an elaborate script. To make the action scenes more extreme and more realistic, the crew from the famous action movie Die Hard 5 worked with Iris II as they did for the previous season. ” If you say Iris I was the legend of Korean blockbuster drama, Iris II will become a new myth,” said a KBS representative with confidence at the conference. 

The show will star newcomers Jang Hyuk as Jeong Yu-geon, the head of a task force in the National Security Service (NSS) and Lee Da-hae as Ji Su-yeon, an Olympic gold medalist in pistol shooting recruited by the NSS. The story of Iris II is set three years after the mysterious death of Kim Hyun-joon acted by Lee Byung-hun, the top NSS agent in the first season. It will show the continuing war between the secretive group of international terrorists known as IRIS and the NSS with characters led by a new leader. It will also reveal the truth behind Baek San played by Kim Yeong-cheol, the former NSS head who was revealed to be the leader of the Korean division of IRIS. 

The two main actors -- Jang Hyuk and Lee Da-hae -- will act not only as top NSS agents but also as a couple who are deeply in love. Jang previously showed promise as an action star in KBS2 drama Chuno (The Slave Hunters) where he was also paired up with Lee Da-hae as a love interest. Jang and Lee are expected to portray one of the best on-screen couples once again in the upcoming season.

Other actors to watch include Kim Yeong-cheol and Oh Youn-soo as Choe Min, the new leader of the NSS. K-pop stars -- Yoon Doo-joon of the group Beast and Lee Joon of MBLAQ – have also grabbed the attention of both the media and Hallyu fans worldwide as they will act as ace NSS agents.

“Iris II will deal with more realistic issues compared with the previous story,” said Chung Tae-won, head of Iris production company Taewon Entertainment, at the conference. Chung said viewers will find it more absorbing as the following episodes will deal with North Korean nuclear issues and other pending inter-Korean issues in which both Koreas have reached a deadlock. “We also do our utmost to match the emotions of the actors through the scripts with spectacular action scenes, said Kim Tae-hoon, one of the co-producers of the spy-thriller along with director Pyo Min-soo.

To reflect the strong interest in the drama, the actors and production staff of Iris II had meaningful experiences during overseas shooting. They received heartfelt welcomes and were invited to a reception dinner in Akita Prefecture of Japan in late January this year due to their contribution to local tourism; the original Iris which featured the beautiful snowy scenery of the area attracted many viewers to visit the region. They held a press conference and showed a promotional video clip for Iris II during their Japan visit and received an enthusiastic response from the Japanese media which had shown strong interest in the first Iris in 2009.

Iris II will be aired from February 13 on KBS2 every Wednesday and Thursday. KBS2 will also broadcast a theater version of the first series during Seollal from February 9 to 11. 

Korean slugger joins MLB’s 20-20 club

Unstoppable locomotive Choo Shin-soo of the Cincinnati Reds has again showed his prowess.

In a home match against the New York Mets on September 23 (Cincinnati time), Choo joined the 20-20 club in home runs and steals with his 20th swipe. The Korean slugger became one of the big leaguers to record over 100 runs scored and 100 walks in one season.
Choo’s record of reaching 20 homers, 20 steals, 100 runs, and 100 walks proves his sharp batting eye and power, agility, and capability to read the overall flow of a game, which is not easy to achieve in the Major League (MLB) where only top-class baseballers compete. Choo became the first hitter with such record as a National Leaguer in the 113-year history of the MLB which includes both the American League and National League. 

Thanks to Choo, the Cincinnati Reds have entered the postseason. Sports reporter Mark Sheldon spotlighted Choo’s play in his September 24 article titled "Choo's walk-off single sends Reds to postseason." 

In the next home match against the Mets on September 25, Choo recorded one score and two hits, including his second three-base hit of the season. Choo has so far recorded 21 home runs, 20 steals, 105 runs scored, and 109 walks, and is six away from reaching base 300 times.