July 5th, 2007 by dd
The biggest pop star in all of Asia — Rain — is facing a hailstorm of legal trouble in the US. A Honolulu concert promoter claims in a federal lawsuit that the so-called Korean “Justin Timberlake” defrauded them out of more than $500,000, and never had any intention of performing in the first place. And the legal mud-slinging could just be starting.
Well-placed sources tells TMZ that local promoters in Los Angeles, where Rain also canceled a concert an hour-and-a-half before the gig, are contemplating millions of dollars in legal action against the singer and his management company. “It isn’t going to be pretty,” says one source. All in all, Rain canceled two gigs and postponed three among his five US dates, citing a trademark suit in Nevada and technical glitches for the missed gigs. [TMZ]
Posted in Music, Rain, Korean | 
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May 22nd, 2007 by dd
South Korean director Kim Ki-duk was so taken by Taiwanese actor Chang Chen, star of the Academy Award winning “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” that he created a role that broke down language barriers.
Chang, who speaks no Korean, stars in Kim’s latest film “Breath,” a poetic story of jealousy and redemption in competition at the Cannes film festival, as Jang Jin, a condemned prisoner whose repeated suicide attempts have left him unable to speak.
“I would like to have been able to speak Korean but I can’t,” Chang told reporters through an interpreter. “It’s a role that gave me quite a few challenges at a psychological level. I had to use my body to express emotions.”
His growing love for Yeon, a married woman played by South Korean actor Zia, is conveyed solely through looks and gestures that become steadily more intense as their strange affair develops through her repeated visits to his prison.
“I wanted to cast the image of Chang Chen because I’d seen a lot of pictures and films that he’d made and the only way to cast the image and to get something different, was to do without language,” Kim Ki-duk, a regular at international festivals, told reporters after the film’s press screening.
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Posted in Taiwan, Film, Celebrity, Chang Chen, Korean, Zia | No Comments »
April 26th, 2007 by dd
So close yet so far… Ever since Yul Kwon won Survivor and Sanjaya teased us with his improbable American Idol run, we’ve seen a number of Asian Americans do well on high profile reality shows. And this past weekend was no different.
James Sun, 29-year-old Korean-American entrepreneur, bowed out of Donald Trump’s reality show The Apprentice after becoming the first Asian to go to the finals.
“It’s been a great experience for business, and there is a lot of opportunity that comes about even if you are not selected,” Sun said of his experience. “I still want to pitch Donald Trump to say, hey, even though I am not selected, I still want to do some business projects with him in Asia.”
Read more about James Sun’s “almost win” after the jump!
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Posted in Asian American, TV, Yul Kwon, Korean | No Comments »
January 4th, 2007 by dd
Rick Yune, Karl Yune, Will Yun Lee and Daniel Dae Kim
The Korean pop-culture wave has swept Asia. Now what? The challenges to Korean stars continue, and their next target is the heart of the international movie market, Hollywood. Park Joong-hoon, Lee Byung-heon and Jung Jun-ho already have their engines revving. With their dreams seeming to come into focus, the group of top stars may even be seen in Hollywood this year.
The U.S. magazine Variety recently said of the actor, “Of all Korea’s top-ranked male stars, Lee Byung-heon may be best placed to break through internationally.” As a K-Wave star with a huge following in Japan, Lee is also already linguistically prepared for the task. In TV dramas and films he has already shown off his near-perfect command of English on various occasions.
Among actresses, Kim Yun-jin is already on the list of global stars. With her outstanding English skills, she lent her charm to the TV series “Lost” and continues to embellish the covers of international magazines. The hopeful predict that calls from Hollywood are just a matter of time.
Most actors of Korean heritage are so-called 1.5 generation or second generation, so they speak perfect English. But they had their share of struggles, including a high cultural wall in Hollywood. But while the first generation had to be satisfied with extra or minor parts, recently actors of Korean heritage have appeared in starring roles, drawing up their own American dream. [Chosun]
Kim Yun-jin, Sandra Oh, Jeon Ji-hyun and Ha Ji-won
Posted in Asian American, Film, TV, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, Kim Yun-jin, Jeon Ji-hyun, Korean, Park Joong-hoon, Lee Byung-heon, Jung Jun-ho, Ha Ji-won, Rick Yune, Karl Yune, Will Yun Lee | No Comments »
