Original in Japanese: Nikkansports
Translated into Korean: yume3
Translated into English: suehan
New commercial of “Megane Ichiba” in which the Korean Star Bae Yong Joon took a role for its image will be aired starting the 28th of May. In this commercial, there are “running scenes” and “jumping scenes”, but none are “scenes in which he smiles” for the first time.
It was filmed in the later part of April in Korea; there are scenes that show him running upstairs. He requested retakes and all of the staff were amazed in not seeing him gasping for air even though he ran upstairs more than thirty times.
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon will be reprising his role as a virtual Korean language teacher for Nintendo DS, a popular hand-held game console created by the Japanese maker.
Bae’s agency KEYEAST announced in a press release Thursday that the actor collaborated with Nintendo for the second time to follow-up on their hit software creation named “Learning Korean with Bae Yong-joon DS.”
Last September, the Japanese video game developer had released a Korean learning game featuring Bae, which became a best-selling education software on the Japanese Amazon website and sold over 30,000 copies in just three months of its release.
“After releasing the beginner-level software, we had received numerous inquiries and requests whether we will be launching one for intermediate and advance level users,” an official at KEYEAST was quoted as saying. “We hope that this software will further promote Korean language overseas and help many more foreigners to study Korean effectively.”
The new software comes in two versions — the “Dating” version and “Test” version. While the former version helps users learn the language in natural settings such as at the airport or dining out at Korean restaurants, the latter focuses on more academic elements of Korean learning for advanced-level users and includes a sample TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) exam.
The Hallyu star appears in the program as a virtual Korean teacher and provides easy, friendly explanations for users during the language lessons.
Bae, 37, shot to mega-stardom in Korea and throughout Asia with the success of 2002 KBS TV series “Winter Sonata” and gained a huge following in Japan in particular, where he earned the nickname “Yonsama”.
He has also been actively promoting Korean culture in Asia, publishing a photo essay titled “Discovering the Beauty of Korea” last year, which contains self-taken photographs of various cultural artisans that the actor met during his year-long travel around the country.
The new Nintendo DS software will be released in Japan in August with advance sales orders starting this month.
Reporter : Lynn Kim lynn2878@
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@
<ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved>
http://10.asiae.co.kr/Articles/new_view.ht…052710245045476
2010-05-20 14:50:54
Top star actor and actress, Bae Yong Joon and Lee Young Ae, who haven’t appeared in any drama or movie for 3-5 years, have problems!
Top star actor and actress, Bae Yong Joon and Lee Young Ae continuously appear in the media, and we can see and hear of them through commercials. But it’s hard to see them as an actor/actress, which is their regular occupation, in a drama or movie.
“Are Bae Yong Joon and Lee Young Ae an actor/actress?” The viewers, audiences, and public are criticizing them because they haven’t appeared in any drama or movie which makes actors/actresses keep their high popularities for a while.
Lee Yong Ae hasn’t appeared in any drama or movie for five years and Bae Yong Joon hasn’t appeared as an actor for three years.
Lee Young Ae meets the public through commercials, not movies or dramas, since the movie “Sympathy For Lady Vengeance” in 2005.” August 24th of last year, she married in the States with a US Korean resident and it was expected that it might be harder for her to work as an actress.
She returned to school when she married, and she is concentrating on the studying (the doctor’s course at the Han Yang Graduate School). She clearly expressed her opinion that the marriage and study would not interfere with her acting by saying “I’ll act if there is a good piece.”
But it’s known that there isn’t any drama or movie that she plans or considers to appear in at this time.
Lee Young Ae hasn’t appeared as an actor for five years, and many people are disappointed. There have also been comments stating that since she is a top star she should appear as an actress more often to show for her top star status.
The expectations and disappointment from the public regarding Bae Yong Joon aren’t so different. He rarely appears as an actor, not like the other Hallyu stars, such as Lee Byung Hun, Song Seong Hun, and Kwon Sang Woo, who actively work in dramas or movies. After “TWSSG” in 2007, he has not made an appearance as an actor to the public. There are rumors about a possible appearance in a drama such as ‘Dream High’, but his appearance has not been confirmed.
It’s a problematical attitude for a top star actor/actress who has a tremendous popularity if he/she does not communicate with the public through dramas or movies for 3 or 5 years.
Lee Soon Jae, 77 years old, has been acting for 54 years, and Yoon Yeo Jeong, 63 years old, has been acting for 44 years. They have made the viewers and audiences cry and laugh through countless dramas and movies for such a long time, and we were touched by their realistic and truthful talent.
Responding to the question, how long they are going to continue acting, Lee Soon Jae said, “I’m going to retire if I keep making mistakes and disturbing the others due to my memory lapses.”, and Yoon Yeo Jeong said, “I want to continue acting until I am not able to memorize the lines.” They also added that there was no reason for being described as an actor/actress if they don’t act.
Once, the singer Cho Yong Pil, the King of the singers who holds a tour concert nationwide every year and sings enthusiastically on stage, said this, “A singer who no longer sings on stage is not a singer.”
Bae Yong Joon and Lee Young Ae, both are the most loved actors/actresses by the public. When can we see them again as an actor/actress in a drama or movie?
Reporter Bae Kook Nam; knbae@mydaily.co.kr
http://www.mydaily.co.kr/news/read.html?ne…1117&ext=na
Two Korean megastars are faring differently in the stock market. Shares of KeyEast, whose largest shareholder is actor Bae Yong-joon, rose 5.02 percent from Tuesday to trade at W3,350 on the Kosdaq on Wednesday afternoon (US$1=W1,165).In contrast, singer Rain’s J.Tune Entertainment saw its shares drop 9.84 percent to W275. Rain is the largest stockholder in the firm.
KeyEast’s shares were valued in the W2,000 range early last month, but its solid performance in the first quarter prompted their rise. On Monday it announced a quarterly operating profit of W586 million, up a whopping 796 percent on-year, and sales of W8.16 billion, up 223 percent. “A merger with subsidiary BOF and production of the animation version of ‘Winter Sonata’ helped improve performance,” the firm said.
J.Tune is struggling amid the news that Rain has sold off some of his shares and its sales are deteriorating. Its shares fell for a sixth day in a row on Wednesday. The company posted a W915 million operating loss in the first quarter, similar to a W969 million loss a year ago.
englishnews@chosun.com / May 20, 2010 10:48 KST
Credit : chosun ilbo
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_d…0052000874.html
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon [KEYEAST]
Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon has yet to decide whether he will appear in an upcoming drama, according to his agency KEYEAST on Wednesday.
“We haven’t heard anything about Bae making an appearance in the new drama ‘Dream High’. Nothing has been set yet”, a representative from KEYEAST was quoted as saying.
“Dream High”, about students attending a school of performing arts, will be relayed through the singing and dancing of the cast.
The show will be produced in collaboration with CJ Media and Holym, a production company established jointly by KEYEAST and JYP Entertainment (JYPE).
Bae, a major shareholder of KEYEAST, will take part in the planning and producing while Park Jin-young, founder and CEO of JYPE, will arrange the music and choreography.
Bae Yong-joon made his debut in the KBS mini-series “Greeting with Love” in 1994. He rose to fame in Korea and throughout Asia after starring in the 2002 hit drama “Winter Sonata” alongside actress Choi Ji-woo.
He has appeared in a numerous other dramas including “Hotelier” and “The Legend” and movies such as “Untold Scandal” and “April Snow“.
Reporter : Lim Hye-seon lhsro@
Editor : Lucia Hong luciahong@
<ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved>
On Friday May 14 we celebrated the second anniversary of BYJ USA with a special gathering in the First Conference Room in the Empire State Building. About 30 fans enjoyed sharing their love and enthusiasm for our Yong Joon. We welcomed 7 new members! Two gentlemen who are serious fans of Bae Yong Joon found out about us through our ads in newspaper. Then there were five ladies who had fallen in love with BYJ by having only seen him in the Winter Sonata. All are welcome! I am struck by the fact that the Winter Sonata has served as a starting point for so many BYJ fans. I am particularly pleased to receive new people after three existing members left us to go back to Japan. They will be missed sorely.
We enjoyed wonderful Italian cuisine catered by Bella Restaurant. It was a nice change from our past meetings at which we served Korean and Japanese dishes. It also was a truly cosmopolitan choice, I felt, that befitted New York City. Some members had requested Korean liquor, but we all ended up quite happy just with wine and champagne. During the banquet our photographer took a little survey by asking everyone what they loved most about Bae Yong Joon. The unanimous answer? His smile!
My special thanks go to our members and supporters, who have helped me every step of the way since I recklessly started this fan club two years ago. I hope our efforts will continue to spread more love and friendship among BYJ fans throughout the world.
Original in Japanese: Nikkansports
