Se7en almost debuted with Rain as a duo group

During an appearance on the SBS variety show Strong Heart, Se7en confessed that he almost ended up in a duo group with Rain.

Se7en, who recently made a comeback with his new album, Digital Bounce, surprised everyone as he revealed the story of how he almost debuted with Rain. He explained, “This is an event that happened between Rain and I before debuting as solo singers in 2001. The two of us almost ended up debuting together.”

Regarding the situation, Se7en said, “One day CEO Yang Hyun Suk suddenly called me and told me that we’re going to JYP’s Park Jin Young’s office. Without knowing anything at that moment, I met 20 years old Rain (Jung Ji Hoon).” In this episode, Se7en plans to reveal the events that followed after their meeting, and how the two ended up as solo singers in the end.

Be sure to catch this episode tonight to find out about Se7en’s interesting encounter with Rain.

credit : sweetrevenge@allkpop+as labeled

Lee Seung Gi’s possible big screen debut?

Big screen producers, associates, and other sources from the media revealed that Lee Seung Gi has been sought to star in “Nothing Past the Western Front”, a movie that is in the early stages of its development.

The sources stated, “[Lee Seung Gi] is being considered as the protagonist, and although the contract hasn’t been signed, his participation is assured“.

However, Lee Seung Gi’s agency replied, “The only progress in this matter was the request to cast Lee Seung Gi in the movie. Although we received the scenario, due to his schedule, he hasn’t even looked at it yet“. Additionally, “Lee Seung Gi has to prepare for the November concerts. It’s premature to say that he is going to star in any big productions“.

credit : nanunmaro@allkpop+as labeled

Jung Il-woo’s birthday fanmeeting

Gah, so adorable. Jung Il-woo (Return of Iljimae) celebrated his 23rd birthday with fans and two of his buddies, Kim Bum and Lee Min-ho. (Did they all go get haircuts together, or what?)

Jung and Lee Min-ho have been best buds for years now, but I was a little surprised to see Kim Bum there. Not in a bad way, of course. Such a gathering of my favorite pretty boy actors has me at a loss where to look first.

The fanmeeting was held on September 5, and actor Kim Ki-bang (Boys Before Flowers, Will It Snow For Christmas) acted as MC. Jung performed on piano (the theme song from the movie Love Affair), as well as singing and dancing for his audience.

Jung is currently looking at possible film and drama projects; his last acting role was in the well-received theater play Beautiful Sunday, where he played a gay man with AIDS.

credit :javabeans

Kim Hyun Joong’s Spain photobook to be released in Korea

Kim Hyun Joong visited Spain quite a while ago to shoot for a Japanese photobook called Ready, Action!

The photobook has already been released in Japan last month. Pre-orders for the Korean version will be available on the 15th.

The book is 208 pages, so it’s definitely a lot of eye-candy for Korean fans to savor.

Commenting on his experiences in Spain, Kim Hyun Joon said, “I saw a bullfight, visited famous Spanish parks, saw flamenco dancing and spent a great time with friends so it was really enjoyable. I also can not forget going to the FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid game in Madrid.”

credit : heartfacee@allkpop+as labeled

Rebroadcast ratings rise slightly for Sungkyunkwan, Playful Kiss

Sungkyunkwan Scandal and Playful Kiss both premiered last week to lower-than-expected ratings. Both were highly anticipated dramas starring idols with big fanbases, so it came as a disappointment when both were dealt low single-digit ratings.

Weekend rebroadcast numbers have come out, and both dramas put in respectable showings in the reruns — not outstanding, but solid. Sungkyunkwan‘s original broadcast brought in 6.3% ratings for both its episodes, and the reruns drew a 5.3% and a 7.1%.

Playful Kiss had an even more difficult premiere, with a shockingly low 3.5% and 3.7% for its first two episodes. Its rerun numbers came in at 4.2% and 6.6%.

Rerun numbers aren’t usually brought into the discussion unless the original broadcasts were very low, which is the case for both these dramas. They’re also not usually worth getting excited about unless the reruns are very high — say, double digits. For example, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho premiered with a 12.7%, and it was an added surprise when its rebroadcast drew in an impressive 16.1% rating. But there’s consolation in the fact that Sungkyunkwan‘s and Playful Kiss‘s rebroadcasts outperformed the initial airings.

One Playful Kiss rep said, “It’s true that the original ratings were very disappointing. Because the rival dramas are solid, I think we’ll have a hard time performing as high as we’d expected. Even after Baker King Kim Tak-gu ends, it’ll be difficult because the following drama is Runaway. However, since the rebroadcast ratings came out high, it’s been a big support to the production team who are working hard on the set.”

A Playful Kiss producer said that the “real battle” begins on the 16th, after Baker King ends, and that they are comforted at overseas and online reactions to the show.

credit:javabeans

Jang Geun Suk reveals his true height

Actor Jang Geun Suk recently revealed his true height and weight.

For the past six months, Jang Geun Suk has been going around Asia for his fanmeeting called, ‘2010 Jang Geun Suk’s Asia Tour: The Light in Seoul’. On September 5th, he held his last fan meet at the Korea University Gymnasium in Seoul.

At the beginning of the fan meet, he held a presentation to introduce himself, revealing his profile with various photos.

When the question, ‘What is his height?‘ popped up, Jang Geun Suk answered, “A lot of people say, ‘you look about 172 cm’, but my exact height is 180.4 cm. A lot of portal sites say that I’m 182 cm (laughs), but my exact height is 180.4 cm.”

He also mentioned his real weight. The actor said, “People wonder about my weight, but I’m a type to go up and down the scale frequently. During productions, I’m 60kg, I’m usually 64kg, but when I drink lots of alcohol I’m 67kg.”

Regarding his secret to looking good in proportion, he revealed, “I have quite a long upper body, but thankfully that doesn’t hinder my activities, so I can pass (for a good body).”

Jang Geun Suk commenced his fanmeet tour in Taiwan, followed by Beijing-China, Singapore, Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, and Hong Kong.

credit : luigi@allkpop+as labeled

Continued strike puts pressure on Dong Yi, Kim Suro, Playful Kiss

Tensions seem to be increasing between the Korean Broadcasting, Film, Performing Artists Union and MBC as the two sides continue negotiations regarding the strike that is endangering the futures of several MBC dramas.

The matter centers around unpaid wages to the cast and crew of dramas being made by outside production companies. KBS and SBS came to settlements with the union, which spared their productions the threat of strike by their cast and crew members. However, MBC has yet to come to such an agreement.

After a day of interrupted filming when its cast stood by the union stance and refused to participate, weekend drama Gloria is back to work.

However, Dong Yi‘s stopped production is going on four days now, and it remains unclear whether they will be able to air any episodes this week. The drama has not completed filming for the episodes scheduled to air on Monday and Tuesday, so it is likely that there will NOT be new episodes, and MBC is scrambling to find a Plan B. This drama has been filming in live-shoot for a while now and has no extra time to spare, so this delay has a pretty immediate effect on the production.

Dong Yi

The union expressed frustration with MBC, whose behavior it has called arrogant, saying that it is finding it difficult to come to an agreement with the broadcaster. Despite working through the weekend to hold talks, the sides are at an impasse and “it’s as difficult as ever to negotiate our points of view.”

One of the union’s reps stated that they have been lenient, and offered to settle if they could at least pay part of Dong Yi‘s outstanding wages rather than the full amount to date, but MBC is talking in circles and being disingenuous. (Dong Yi alone is responsible for 690 million won in unpaid wages, or almost $590,000.)

On the other hand, a rep from MBC’s drama department took a more cautious line (of course), saying that it’s not clear whether the broadcast will be delayed, and that they’re doing their best to negotiate in order to mitigate any negative effects on the broadcast.

Meanwhile, weekend drama Kim Suro has also stopped filming. The union plans to talk to the cast of Playful Kiss next to get them onboard with the union stance in refusing to film until the unpaid wage issue is solved.

credit:javabeans