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Entertainment, Korean, Movies

Lee Byung Hun in G.I. Joe… Unmasked!

Jul 13. 2009

While Hallyu (aka the Korean Wave) has been sweeping across the eastern hemisphere like a tazmanian devil on crack, Korean stars have yet to penetrate the fickle and demanding world of Hollywood. Until just recently, Korean celebrities' foray into American pop culture could be summed up in two words: epic fail. Take Rain, for example. Rain, who is possibly the most popular male celebrity in all of Asia - voted the second most influential person in the world by a Time magazine poll in 2008 - managed to gain some recognition when Stephen Colbert challenged him to a dance-off: However, his first venture into Hollywood, playing the part of Taejo Togokahn in the disaster of a movie known as Speed Racer, went seemingly...

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Korean, Relationships

Going to Jail for Adultery

Dec 03. 2008

A couple of weeks ago, Korean actress Ok So Ri made headlines for being on trial for adultery. After admitting in court to the affair, Ok So Ri took the case to the South Korean Constitutional Court in an attempt to overturn the country's anti-adultery law. The law was enacted fifty years ago to protect women who had few rights in a male-dominated country. However, critics claim that the statute is no longer fit for Korea's modern society with advanced civil and family court systems. Furthermore, some view the anti-adultery law as a means of revenge by the scorned spouse. Three days ago, the verdict came in: the request to overturn the law was denied and Ok So Ri was sentenced to two...

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Asian, Korean, Music, NYC

BoA in Times Square

Nov 22. 2008

I've had the good fortune of meeting BoA, the Korean/Japanese pop sensation. My uncle is a very powerful man in the Korean entertainment business. When I visited Korea in 2000, he was the Vice-President of Broadcasting at MBC, which is one of the main broadcasting companies in Korea. (As a side note, I'm proud to say that one of the very last showed produced under his tenure as the VP of Broadcasting was the hit drama 대장금, or Dae Jang Geum, which still remains one of the most popular dramas in Korean history.) While he holds an even higher position now, his former title was an impressive one nonetheless. He took me on a tour of the studios and I gaped and gawked,...

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Korean, Video Games

Another Reason My Home Country Rocks

Nov 19. 2008

(I wrote a whooping 7 posts last night - 6 public and 1 private - but timed most of them so that they will be published at regular intervals throughout the next day. However, I've discovered that this method does not seem to notify Google Reader. So until I figure out what the problem is, I'll publish each post as they are written. This may result in a barrage of posts in a short period of time so I apologize in advance.) The most connected country in the world + A fascination with PC gaming + Mandatory military service = BADASS BATTLE UNIFORMS!     And yes, as Engadget points out, they bear an uncanny resemblance to Halo uniforms. ...

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Geek, Korean, Personal

만화방 (Korean Comic Rooms)

Sep 04. 2008

I used to love reading comic books as a child. Korea has huge, thick comic "magazines" that feature some of the more popular series of comics. These monthly compilations would almost always include cliffhangers would keep me whining and salivating for the next month's issue. My favorite while growing up was 보물섬 (bomoolsum), which means "Treasure Island." I'm pretty sure that 보물섬 is no longer printed, as I could only find pictures of old issues. (image source) Koreans (and the Japanese) are known for for creating specialized bangs, or rooms/spaces, that can be rented for popular hobbies. Some of the most popular Korean ones are: 노래방 (noraebang) - karaoke rooms 비디오방 (video-bang) or DVD방 (DVD-bang) - movie rooms. Please note that these are usually very...

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