Rain is still on a no-show as a witness in the lawsuit against him by a fashion company investor citing that he is a soldier. But as he has had time to meet his girlfriend Kim Tae-hee, this excuse is not going down too well. This case is related to the debacle back in 2010 when J.Tune, of which Rain was boss, was sued for embezzling millions of won invested in the fashion company.
JaeWon from Code-V is under house arrest from his company due to accusations from his girlfriend that he used her for money and then dumped her after she got pregnant. Code V originally debuted as Bless in 2010 but failed to have any success to mirror their name and relaunched themselves in Japan. What appears to be a blog entry by the girl in question has been translated and can be read here.
Jang Geun Suk
Actor and singer Jang Geun Suk was involved in a minor car accident due to a burst tyre, causing him to hit a bus. Luckily no-one was injured. The same can’t be said for poor Jo Kwon of 2am who reportedly fell asleep in a car with a leaky gas stove and had to be hospitalised because of gas poisoning. Netizens have commented on how poorly he looked on the music shows and one does have to wonder if the first ‘diagnosis’ that said he was OK to continue was a convenience. Another car incident was that of Lee Sung Wook of R.ef who drove his car out of the parking lot for 100m and was charged with driving under the influence. In his defence he said he had moved the car so that a substitute driver could find it: he hadn’t actually been intending to drive.
The CEO of OpenWorld, sentenced to 6 years in jail for sexually assaulting trainees, has taken his appeal to the Supreme Court. The date is not yet scheduled, but the CEO has appointed a Public Defender instead of a law firm.
Two managers have been indicted for their plot to blackmail an actor after filming him in homosexual acts with a pen camera hidden in his home. The actor’s manager has been jailed during the investigation while the other, with whom the acts were committed, is out on bail. They managed to get 4 million won from the actor after sending the CDs with the films to his parents, and then continued to harass him for more money.
The Park Shi-hoo case continues on, with an interview with the trainee’s friend where she talks about how she was tricked by the trainee into giving her support. She has met with Park Shi-hoo’s lawyers to give a statement against the trainee. The investigation is drawing to a close and Park Shi-hoo’s reps have said they will be suing two media outlets who have falsely reported the results of the lie detector tests.
Kim Yong-man
Kim Yong Man is no longer the host of SBS’s ‘Star Couple Show’, KBS2’s ‘Do Dream’ and ‘Vitamin’, JTBC’s ‘Competition of Doctors’, and MBC’s ‘Section TV’. He was charged with illegal sports gambling from 2008 to present day to the tune of 1 billion won. Sections of the Star Couple Show have had him edited out. He was caught when police found his account when investigating illegal betting sites.
On a happier note comedian Jung Jun Ha became a proud father of a boy this week. A stalwart of variety shows and an actor in various dramas such as ‘High Kick’ it’s good that there is at least one very deserving person with joy in Korean Entertainment circles. Actor Ricky Kim announced the birth of his second child.
Psy will be filming his new MV in Korea and the song revealed at his concert on 14th April. Thankfully he’s changing the title from ‘Assarabia’ stating it was to avoid confusion, though I suspect the reaction of international commenters on how it would sound in English had a lot more to do with it. He has spent 2.7 million on the concert so far – 50,000 fans will be going and the concert streamed live on YouTube.
Ulala Session
Ulala Session, who will be releasing an album in April, have announced they will donate money from one event every month to children needing treatment and surgery for life-threatening illness. Lim Yoon Taek, the group’s leader, passed away in February after a long battle with cancer often donated to this cause and thy want to continue his good work in his memory.
Concert News
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AfterSchool, U-KISS, ZEA, Davichi, Rania, Sunny Hill and Double A are due to attend a K-pop concert in Chile in May. |
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2ne1 have been selected as the support act for Snoop Dogg at his first Korean Concert in Seoul. They will also feature on WIll.I.AM’s next US album. |
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Secret will hold an exclusive concert in Singapore at the end of March |
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SuperJunior have kicked off their world tour in Seoul. With dates in South America announced, UK fans are waiting for news of European dates. |
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Shinhwa successfully concluded their two dates last weekend with more to come across Asia in August and September. It’s a big 15th anniversary year for them, but more on that soon. |
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2YOON the duo subunit of 4Minute with promote in Thailand as the first stop of a mini Asian tour. They are the first subunit to promote in Thailand and probably not the last |
Moves and shakes
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2pm is gearing up for a come back after a 3 year hiatus – teaser trailers due next week. At 2pm on Monday 25th one of the big screens at Piccadilly will show the new teaser as well as Times Square, New York. |
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JYP Entertainment revealed it closed its US subsidiary JYP Creative November last year. It seems as though promotions will be aimed at Asia only for now. |
MVs
- Hong Jin Young – Boogie Man: http://youtu.be/hxOI7wahw7w (Trot is always this happy!)
- One Way – Would you Be: http://youtu.be/oaSZntv9ZZE (mellow R&B track)
- Se7en – Thank You: http://youtu.be/lY-3Qlvnl2g (retrospective MV and distinctive vocals)
- INFINITE – Man in Love: http://youtu.be/2C-dsCaFJzE (a bright cheerful track thats sweeping the charts)
- EvoL – Get Up: http://youtu.be/2C-dsCaFJzE (sassy hip hop and alto rap from the 4 girls)
- The Quiett – Ambitiqn: http://youtu.be/-iaV31sl6aQ
- Davichi – I love you: http://youtu.be/KU3qWcDQP_k
- Davichi – Mystic Ballad 1990: http://youtu.be/fMWvYuk_bQo
Teasers
- Ra.D – Thank you: http://youtu.be/eY2ByAd10BE – into drama with english subs!
- OFFROAD – HeadBanging : http://youtu.be/EnTr12DqwTk
- ZE.A5 – Voulez Vous Album teaser: http://youtu.be/m_1_kufivvQ
- DoubleA – Come Back: http://youtu.be/2C-dsCaFJzE – a better and more stylish look than ‘rollin’ rollin’)
- Delight – Mega-Yak: http://youtu.be/sDrNgx72sq8 (heavy reverse beat)
Audio
- Younha – It’s not like that: http://youtu.be/ayh28clGfpI
- Koyote – Lies you can see: http://youtu.be/vWzCzADiHSs
Extras
- Girls Day – Expect Me Dance tutorial: http://youtu.be/t0dRaFe-vns