Kang Ji Hwan, Perjalanan Panjang Bintang "Lie To Me" Meraih Sukses

Bintang serial Lie To Me, Kang Ji Hwan jatuh bangun merintis karier akting. Dia nyaris patah semangat karena tak kunjung mendapat kesempatan.

Debutnya dimulai pada 2003 dengan melakoni peran kecil di serial Summer Scent, sebagai kekasih aktris Han Ji Hye. Tahun berikutnya ia tersandung masalah kontrak dengan stasiun TV, sehingga dipaksa keluar dari proyek serial You’ll Find Out. Kemudian menjajal peruntungan dengan membintangi sebuah film indie, Host & Guest, namun tak bisa banyak berharap.

Sulitnya mendapatkan proyek serial yang mampu mendongkrak popularitasnya, membuat aktor bernama asli Cho Tae Kyu ini frustrasi. Kepada sang manajer, ia mengeluh, “Orang lain naik lift, tapi mengapa saya harus meniti tangga?”

Dewi Fortuna akhirnya berpihak kepada Kang Ji Hwan setelah serial stripping Be Strong, Geum Soon, yang dibintanginya bareng Han Hye Jin meledak pada 2005. Serial ini sukses menembus rating 40 persen dan mengalami perpanjangan jumlah episode hingga 163 episode! Meski tak tayang di Indonesia, publik Indonesia mungkin kenal dengan jalan ceritanya yang konon dijiplak sinetron Intan –yang juga sangat populer di Indonesia. Nama Kang Ji Hwan dan Han Hye Jin otomatis terdongkrak.

Kang Ji Hwan bahkan disejajarkan dengan aktor kelas A saat itu seperti So Ji Sub, Won Bin, Jo In Sung, dan Lee Byung Hun. Sejak itu Kang Ji Hwan rutin membintangi sejumlah serial, beberapa di antaranya menjadi hits seperti Capital Scandal (2007), Hong Gil Dong (2008), Coffee House (2010). Dua film layar lebarnya, Invited dan Rough Cut, pun hasilnya di luar dugaannya. Dia memenangkan penghargaan Aktor Baru Terbaik di Blue Dragon Film Awards 2008 lewat film Rough Cut, juga penghargaan paling bergengsi sebagai Aktor Baru Terbaik di Daejong Film Awards. Sedangkan dari serial Hong Gil Dong, ia memborong Popularity Award di Baeksang Arts Awards 2008, Best Couple Awards (dengan Sung Yu Ri), dan Netizen Award dari KBS Drama Awards 2008.

Pengalaman pasang dan surutnya karier di industri hiburan membuat Kang Ji Hwan lebih bijak memaknai perjalanan kariernya. “Saat saya lebih banyak memainkan peran-peran minor, jika seseorang menawarkan saya peran utama pasti saya menerimanya, tak peduli apa pun. Saya ingat dulu saya kedinginan, kelaparan, dan haus akan peran. Tetap saja, semua memori itu membantu saya berhasil mendapatkan peran di Be Strong, Geum Soon. Waktu itu, penulis skenario bilang, sebenarnya saya sangat tidak meyakinkan, tapi dia melihat kehausan (akan peran) di mata saya, itu sebabnya dia memilih saya,” ungkapnya.

Dengan kesuksesan dan label aktor papan atas, Kang Ji Hwan belum puas. “Tentu saja. Saya bukan bintang atau aktor top. Kita harus terus naik selangkah demi selangkah untuk mencapai puncak gunung. Saya bisa melihat puncaknya, tapi rasanya seperti langkah yang tiada akhir. Saya berharap bisa mendapat proyek yang akan menjadi tali agar saya bisa mendaki ke atas,” papar pria kelahiran 20 Maret 1977 ini.

credit: Tabloid Bintang

Se7en nominated as the Best Overseas Performer in China

 

Singer Se7en received the Best Overseas Performer Awards in China.

According to Se7en’s agency, YG Entertainment, on April 14, “Se7en was nominated as the Best Overseas Performer at 2012 China Music Award and Asian Influential Awards that was held on April 13 at Macao in China.”

This award ceremony that invite 100 stars who represent Asia every year, has been celebrated since 1994. Previously, Korean artists such as Lee Byung Hun, Kim Tae Hee, and Jang Woo Hyuk appeared and created a stir.

In this year’s awards that has been held at Macao Venetian Hotel, many top Asian stars have appeared including: Jay Chou who appeared in the movie, Secret, F4’s Oh Gun Ho, Karen Mok, and Japanese singer Kuraki Mai.

Se7en who has been invited as the only Korean artist revealed his thoughts about receiving the award by saying, “Thank you so much for this wonderful award. I will try harder to meet Chinese fans more often. Please look forward to it.”

Immediately after the concert, Se7en had an interview with local Chinese media. Se7en’s enthusiastic performance and interview was broadcast live through China TV’s Channel V, and it will also be broadcast in 30 countries including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines on 60 different channels.

On April 25, Se7en will release his new single album “Love Again” in Japan, and hold a showcase that tours around Tokyo, Fukuoka, Nagoya, and Osaka to celebrate his release of the album in May.

credit: korea.com

Music and Lyrics: Singer Park Jae Bum and actress Lee Si Young are newly teamed up

Singer Park Jae Bum and actress Lee Si Young have recently been teamed up to write a song and give each other English name to break the ice.

On the episode of MBC’s Music and Lyrics that aired on April 14, the first meeting of Jay Park and Lee Shi Young was broadcast.

The duo first met at the Seoul Fashion Week, which was held at the beginning of April. Both of them showed up at the spot without knowing who’s his/her partners. On their first meeting, the twosome apparently looked to feel really awkward to each other but decided to do their best to produce a song for rookie girl group Tiny-G.

The produce of the girl group required the duo to write a fast-tempo dance song with impressive hip-hop sound. He added if the song is not of a high quality, it can’t be included on the album.

Meeting up with Tiny-G, the couple gave completely different responses: Lee seemed a bit flustered, saying, “They are not like what I expected for a idol group.” In contrast, Park said, “I was really surprised at how good they are.”

Thereafter, the newly teamed-up duo decided to break the ice and gave each other English names—Jay for Park and Diane for Lee. The two shy stars could successfully hit it off in a place where a refreshing song was played.

Happily closing out their first meeting, the adorable couple get each other’s number and said goodbye until the next time.

Lee later said, “I wondered if it was a good idea to drink on the first meeting, but now I think it was a good idea.”


credit: korea.com

Jung So Min keeps annoying Lee Ki Woo on Standby

 

Jung So Min, who once annoyed Lee Ki Woo by eating his noodles, again annoyed him by pouring water on him.
In the episode of MBC TV’s daily sitcom Standby that aired on April 10, So Min poured dirty water on Ki Woo.
So Min, who annoyed Ki Woo by eating his noodles and flopping down on his lap in the previous episode, annoyed him again by pouring water on him.
So Min promised him to wash his clothes but couldn’t keep it, and Ki Woo who was just wearing an apron with his top taken off became a monkey in a zoo.
However, Ki Woo just laughed off her mistakes, and it was tipped that there would be a love story between them soon.


credit: korea.com

Jung So Min appears on “Standby” with ZE:A’s Lim Si Wan

Actress Jung So Min recently talked about how she was doing after finishing the shooting for the series Playful Kiss.

On April 6, Jung attended a press conference for MBC’s new daily sitcom Standby and said, “I went to school for the past year.”

She added, “Since I’m appearing on TV for the first time in a long time, I feel nervous and excited. The atmosphere on the set is nice so everyone can enjoy the shooting.”

She also expressed that she is ready for the sitcom and said, “I want to be a happy sailor with the director as the captain of the ship.”

The sitcom is about people who work at a broadcast station called TV 11 and their worries and loves. Veteran actors, including, Choi Jung Woo, Park Jun Geum, and Ryu Jin, and character actors, including, Lee Ki Woo, Ha Seok Jin, Kim Soo Hyun, Jung So Min, Lim Si Wan, Kim Yeon Woo, Simon D, Go Gyung Pyo, and Kim Ye Won will appear on the sitcom.

The first episode of the sitcom will air on April 9.


credit: korea.com

JYJ’s Park Yoo Chun wears his hair in a bob

7:35 pm dkrogers

 

JYJ’s Park Yoo Chun recently changed his hairstyle.

On March 4, Park tweeted a picture with the comment, “Lee Gak’s cousin Lee Bal.”

In the picture, Park is wearing his hair in a bob. The awkward hairstyle drew a lot of attention. Lee Min Ho also captured the public’s attention by photo bombing Park.

People responded: “What happened to the crown prince?” “Bobbed hair looks awkward on you.” “The preview made me think that you had your hair cut short, but maybe not.”

Park plays the role of a crown prince named Lee Gak in SBS’s series Rooftop Prince.

credit: korea.com

Twilight participates in producing a sound track for Rooftop Prince

The boy group Twilight has participated in making the sound track “Love is Difficult” for SBS’s drama series Rooftop Prince.

The group released the single “Twilight” in February and has been building reputation through visiting concerts and guerilla performances. But when it joined producing a sound track for Roottop Prince along with the best singers of Korea, Baek Ji Young, Ali, and Jay Park, it attracted even more attention from the public.

The song “Love is Difficult” is a cheerful dance music which will be played in the background of some important scenes where the main characters build a romantic relationship. The song describes a heartrending love story of a man who time-travels to meet his true love because their love was forbidden in the previous life. It is expressed in a lively melody and grabs people’s ears at once.

A staff member of the group’s agency says, “Although it hasn’t been long since the song was released, the series made the song very popular. As the month of festival, April, is opening, many schools and communities ask for the group’s performance. For sure, we’re experiencing the impact of the series.”

Starting in the middle of this month, Twilight will perform live with a powerful group dance on broadcast and release “Love is Difficult” at the same time.

credit: korea.com