"Han Ye Seul releases an official apology & reconciles with ‘Spy Myung Wol’ producers" plus 19 more

On August 17th, actress Han Ye Seul released an official apology to the public through her agency sidusHQ. The apology states:

“Hello, this is Han Ye Seul.

I sincerely apologize for having caused so many people to worry.

Especially to the team at KBS2’s ‘Spy Myung Wol‘, all the staff members, my seniors, my co-star Eric, and fellow actors, I am deeply sorry.

I fully realize the heavy responsibility I carry in the current situation.

I will take everyone’s scolding to heart, and although I am lacking in many ways, I promise to give my all towards the responsibility I have left.

Once again, I bow my head and sincerely apologize to everyone.

I will try my hardest to bring about a successful conclusion.”

After returning to Seoul, it was said that Han Ye Seul headed to KBS headquarters and reconciled with the producers through tears.

Over the course of an hour, Han Ye Seul and representatives from her agency apologized to the head of KBS’s drama department Go Young Tak and other officials from the drama department.

After a long conversation, the meeting concluded with a round of applause. Han Ye Seul emerged from the meeting room while holding her mother’s hand with a slightly brighter facial expression, and the representatives from the drama department escorted them outside.

The drama department chief, Go Young Tak, released a statement saying, “Han Ye Seul has apologized through tears, and everything has all ended well.”

It was said that if everything goes to plan, KBS expects to start filming again for ‘Spy Myung Wol’ on the 18th.

Source + Photo: Newsen, Star News via Nate

On August 17th, After School made their debut in Japan with the release of “Bang!” while 2PM officially released their second Japanese single, “I’m Your Man“. Despite the heavy competition, both of these new releases have appeared on the Oricon Daily Chart.

2PM took third place by selling 37,916 units while After School took 6th place. No sales figure is known for After School as Oricon only reveals figures for the top 3.

Congratulations to both groups on this achievement!

Source: Oricon

On August 17th, actress Choi Ji Woo revealed her own insights to the controversy surrounding intensive production schedules in the Korean drama industry. The issue became a hot topic because of Han Ye Seul, who had argued that she was filming for KBS’s ‘Spy Myung Wol‘ under conditions that were too exhausting.

During the press conference for MBC’s new drama ‘Can’t Live With Losing‘, Choi Ji Woo was asked for her thoughts on the situation of intensive production schedules.

The actress stated, “Having debuted in 1994, I have been in the industry and participated in this line of work for 15 years. Over those past 15 years, I’ve observed this production environment and I know that it’s not something that will simply change in a day or two. And so, before I start a new project, I prepare myself. Of course we go through hard times while working, and often think about quitting. However, all the encouragement and love we receive from our viewers and fans make up for it.”

As for the current issue involving Han Ye Seul herself, Choi Ji Woo briefly commented, “I’m sorry about the whole situation – I believe that [a drama] is a promise you make with the viewers that you shouldn’t break.”

Source + Photo: OSEN(1), OSEN(2)

On August 17th, Monster Cable Products and FADDY ROBOT announced the release of Beatbox in Korea with a massive “beatbox party with FADDY ROBOT” at Club Answer in Cheongdam-dong.

Beatbox is the game-changing iPod speaker system from the world renowned brand Beats by Dr. Dre. This new system allows users to 'bring the party home' by unleashing the driving bass, lush midrange, and soaring highs of a multi-speaker club system in one amazing compact and portable box.

For the launch in Korea, Monster decided to collaborate with famous Korean brand, FADDY ROBOT.

Stars spotted in attendance at tonight’s launch party included Park Tae Hwan, DJ Koo Jun Yup, Kim Jong Kook, Mikey, Mighty Mouth’s Sangchu, Baek Ji Young, Kim Bum Soo, Don Spike, Jang Yeon Ju, G.NA, Eru, Wheesng, Kim Juri, Lee Joon, and HyunA.

Check out the photos below!

Photos: As tagged

A picture of ZE:A’s Dongjun has been cracking up netizens, thanks to his striking resemblance to actress Han Ga In.

Dongjun wore a long, wavy wig with a red beret while holding up her picture for comparison. It appears that he even placed a beauty mark on his nose to match hers!

Netizens responded with, “They really look the same,” “Han Ga In’s younger brother?” and, “Which one is Han Ga In?”

Source & Photo: Seoul Newspaper NTN via Naver

Actress Ha Ji Won is quickly gaining a lot of attention, thanks to an inspiring post she left on her Twitter.

Lately, Ha Ji Won had recently been causing much laughter with her frequent uploads of horizontally set photos. On August 15th, she finally managed to upload ‘proper’ pictures, as she wrote, “Hehe I am finally standing. Totally ^^”.

Smiling happily for the camera, Ha Ji Won gave a three-dimensional look to the graffiti on the wall.

She also brought out a smile from her readers with these energetic words: “I am looking forward to the new atmosphere, fragrance, feel, and events that may come with tomorrow. For today, let’s play in our completely exciting dreams. Should I try to reach the sky?”

People responded with, “Ah, Ha Ji Won unnie is too cute,” “She seems really positive,” and, “She leaves a chic impression, so why do I find her so cute?”

Source: TVDaily via Nate

Rainbow’s Jisook and KARA’s Jiyoung took a cute selca together in pretty hanboks.

Following Rainbow’s Go Woori and KARA’s Goo Hara’s hanbok selca, these two girls released one of their own. Jiyoung wrote on her Twitter, “Jisook&Jiyoung, We are double ‘Ji’!!!”

The girls are seen wearing contemporary designs created specially for the “Hanbok – Environmental Love Story” fashion show. Deciding to take a snapshot of their brief reunion in pretty fusion hanboks, the girls posed prettily for the camera.

Netizens wrote, “Ji sisters! So cute. They are pretty in anything”, “It’s nice to see that they are close! Fighting in Japan as well!”, and “They look so good in hanbok~!”

Source: Money Today via Nate

f(x)’s Krystal recently shared two photos of herself with figure skater Stephane Lambiel!

Krystal wrote on her Me2day on August 17th, “I asked him to take a picture with me so he picked me up, took two shots, and spun me around :)”

Posing with a victory sign in his arms, Krystal is seen held by Lambiel as they both pose affectionately for the camera. Stephane Lambiel arrived in Korea on August 13th for Kim Yuna’s three-day ice show.

Fans enviously commented, “You were great at the ice show! The best!”, “Ah.. so jealous”, and “You were amazing on stage, but also on the ice!”

Source + Photos: Star News via Nate

Nine Muses are back with a brand new music video for their latest hit, “Figaro“.

The girl group went with a disco look this time, but as per usual, they added an elegant twist to the trend. With bright disco balls, high-waisted bellbottoms, and even a stage decorated to look like one of those retro talk shows from back in the day, Nine Muses aims to bring a sense of fun into their latest work.

Check it out below!

On August 15th, Hallyu star SS501’s Kim Hyun Joong guested as the first ever Korean star on Taiwan’s TVBS program, ‘The Person‘.

‘The Person’ is said to be one of the representative programs of TVBS, and it also consistently records #1 in viewer ratings. Through TVBS-Asia, the show airs in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, Malaysia, the Unite States, and other locations.

Top stars who have previously guested on the program include Andrea Bocelli and Jay Chou.

During his appearance, Kim Hyun Joong talked about his youth, his debut, his acting career, and his debut solo mini-album. When he was requested to perform his new song “Break Down” right then and there for his Taiwanese fans, he didn’t hesitate at all and got up to throw a spectacular performance that would’ve been on par with a real stage live.

Announcer Fang Nian Hua, a famous figure to the Taiwanese, was the MC of the program and was reported to have come in with questions that she had prepared with herself.

Kim Hyun Joong charmed the studio with his suave, yet humble attitude. Staff commented, “He’s not only charismatic, but he also has such great manners. Truly worthy of being the best star of Korea.”

Kim Hyun Joong’s episode will broadcast on August 21st.

Source + Photos: Seoul NTN via Nate

There’s a hot new girl group in town, and they just released their debut digital single “Syndrome” on August 17th. Chocolat– a five-member girl group, three of which have American fathers and Korean mothers — made headlines for being bi-racial members, but that’s not all there is to these girls.

When they sat down for an interview with StarIn, they stated, “If we thought we were going to be “just another girl group”, we wouldn’t have even started this whole thing“.

They continued, “All five of us are very unique individuals and we possess different talents. The five of us together make a powerful group.”

Jae Yoon (20) is the main vocalist, Min Soa (22) can sing a range of different musical styles including Korean Trot, Tia (15) can dance freestyle to any genre of music, Juliane (18) has great vocal tone, and Melanie (15) has a great sense of humor and brings in a lot of energy into the group.

As talented as they are, Chocolat is afraid that people will have preconceived notions about them because they are a bi-racial group. Since the girls are also pretty, they are a bit worried people will stereotype them as a group who focuses on looks, rather than talent.

Melanie, Tia, and Juliane are of mixed race and they’re not sure how they will handle the attention they’ll receive based on the fact that they look different from most Korean girl groups.

“We are thankful for the extra attention, however, we want people to know that we too are Korean and we don’t want to be treated any differently.”

Jae Yoon and Min Soa also stated, “None of us have ever gone under the knife. We are 100% natural beauties. People think otherwise because we are mixed, but we really haven’t gotten any plastic surgery. Our agency’s president told us no, anyway.”

Chocolat states that although there is a lot of pressure, they are enjoying it.

“Expectations are high for us so we were worried we wouldn’t be able to live up to them. But we are working hard so that we do not disappoint. ”

They concluded, ”We don’t want to stop at Korea; we want our names to be known all over the world. That’s our main goal. …In the beginning, we worried we wouldn’t be able to pull this off, or we wouldn’t be successful. But the important thing is that we won’t give up until we’re known worldwide. We want to show you everything we’ve prepared so far. Watch out for Chocolat!”

Source: SPN via Nate

Having caused an unprecedented controversy over the past few days with her refusal to film for “Spy Myung Wol“, actress Han Ye Seul flew to Los Angeles to escape from the media pressure around her. On August 17th, she made a dramatic return back to Seoul and was greeted by a crush of reporters.

Han Ye Seul arrived at Incheon International Airport at around 17:10 KST. She was seen wearing the same grey hoodie and cap which she had on when she left just two days earlier. She looked visibly fatigued after taking a flight to Los Angeles, and then directly coming back in less than 48 hours.

As she stepped out of the arrival gate, the media swarmed around her, asking a bevy of questions regarding her opinion about the current situation and her future plans. Han Ye Seul looked distressed as she said, "Sorry. From now on, I wish to start again."

She continued, "I just wanted everyone to understand how difficult and poor the working conditions for actors are. I didn’t want to see someone else become a victim like me. I know that I am at fault, causing a lot of trouble and obstacles for the cast and staff on set.”

Han Ye Seul frankly stated, “However, I believe that what I did was right because if I didn’t do this, the working conditions will not change.”

She added, “This decision was made due to high levels of stress and anxiety. I hope people will understand what I did, and also, I hope that this becomes an opportunity for people in the industry to reflect on these conditions.”

Han Ye Seul was then escorted away from the terminal by her associates. She is scheduled to return to the “Spy Myung Wol” set later this evening.

Stay tuned for further developments on allkpop.

Source: Star News via Nate (1), via Nate (2)

Actress Park Eun Bin, who’s currently starring as the younger version of Song Ji Hyo’s character in MBC’s ‘Gyebaek‘, has become the endorsement model for cosmetics brand ‘A’PIEU‘.

The brand is on the rise with ladies in their teens and early 20’s, and is much-loved for those hoping to achieve the perfect innocent look.

A representative of the brand commented, “Park Eun Bin’s clean, innocent image fit well with our brand’s concept, which emphasizes on the use of natural ingredients to bring out a healthy glow.  We felt that she would be the best model to express our product’s title, ‘The innocence of a 20 year old.’”

Dressed in a clean white one-piece dress, Park Eun Bin is pictured looking very much like a fairy walking through the natural beauty of a forest.

Source + Photos: OSEN via Nate

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A few weeks back, allkpop reported that there was a new male soloist waiting in the wings to make his debut. His name is EI, and he’s just dropped the music video for his debut track, “Remember“.

Produced by Brave Brothers, the song was described to be a medium-tempo pop track with a great blend of piano and synthesized melodies that would complement EI’s unique vocals.

The music video for “Remember” reportedly received a 19+ rating already due to scenes with semi-nudity.

Check it out below!

Girl group T-ara recently modeled for makeup brand “Tony Moly“, and some of the pictures were finally released on August 17th.

The girls endorsed the brand’s Fall collection, which emphasized clear and healthy skin. Since T-ara showed off unique, yet fresh image for their “Roly-Poly” promotions, it were an easy fit for the brand’s concept. During the photoshoot itself, the girls exhibited energy and enthusiasm, despite the fact that they had to endure a harsh schedule.

T-ara’s leader Hyomin said, “The T-ara members have a lot of interest in makeup, so we all have pride in this endorsement for ‘Tony Moly’.”

The brand’s marketing manager Park Jaebum said, “Through this photoshoot, T-ara’s cosmopolitan and chic image pulled off our brand’s style. We really hope to increase our popularity across all of Asia from now on.”

The girls modeled not just skin care and makeup, but body products as well. More photos will be released along with the products when they hit stores.

Source: DongA via Nate

On August 16th, Super Junior’s Shindong guested on SBS’s ‘Strong Heart‘ and revealed his tips and know-hows on how to run a profitable internet cafe.

The idol CEO recently launched his very own internet cafe called ‘Dracula‘ and began his tip session by revealing, “I built my business acumen by reading the book, ‘The Laws of 10,000 Hours‘. There’s a special tip in raising your profits.”

Shindong began by revealing his first tip, which is to form an alliance with the bakeries and rice cake stores in the area. “Once you form an alliance, it’s a lot cheaper to buy food in bulk directly from them. Make sure to stock up on soboro bread in your cafe. Since it’s thick, it makes you get thirsty no matter what. When you fill up all of the seats, give them out for free as a form of celebration. 100% of them will come up to order drinks.”

He continued, “If you think they’re getting sick of bread, form an alliance with a rice cake store. Give out ‘baekseolgi’ (steamed white rice cake) for free, and once again, they’ll automatically come up for drinks.”

On how to sell ramen, he added, “First, make some ramen and walk around the room with it. Make sure to stimulate their senses with the smell. That’s all you need, because they’ll be up to order ramen then.”

He added, “And I’m a bit sorry to say this but when my employees are hungry, I make them sit at spare desks between customers to eat. When they do, the row that they’re sitting in all get up to order ramen.”

Kang Ho Dong nodded in agreement and said, “You get hungry by just looking at TV advertisements for ramen, so just the smell is definitely enough.”

Source + Photos: Newsen via Nate

MBLAQ’s G.O. recently opened up about the infamous facial hair that he carried when the group debuted.

On the August 16th episode of “Strong Heart“, G.O. finally revealed the story behind his macho look.

He said, “When MBLAQ was being created, Rain told us that we need a radical member. He recommended that I grow some facial hair. Then, he thought people would remember MBLAQ as the group with the member that has facial hair.”

G.O. continued, “However, as time went by, I became a slave to that facial hair. When I went on variety shows, I only got to talk about facial hair. I also have a lot of hair on my chest, so whenever I’d wear V-neck shirts, people joked that I could clean the floor with it.”

During the recording for “Strong Heart”, G.O. started out with a clean face but as time passed, a shadow of a beard started to appear. It showed how fast his facial hair truly grows.

He said, “I was so stressed out about it so I decided to get laser epilation hair removal, but Rain always told us to love ourselves for who we are. He didn’t let me do anything to my face. I was going to go for it secretly, but he found out somehow and talked me out of it. People told me to think about how it would help with acting, but I didn’t change my mind. But then, Rain told me a secret. He has a very clean cut image, but it turns out he got laser epilation himself.”

When asked whether Rain knew that G.O. was revealing his epilation secret, G.O. replied, “I don’t think so. It’s been hard to contact him these days. I’m sharing this story in the hopes that he’ll call me.”

He finally added, “Once Rain told me that even after laser epilation, hair still grows a little bit, I gave up getting it. I think that he is living vicariously through me since he doesn’t have facial hair and I still do.”

Source: Newsen via Nate

Having left for Japan on August 16th for JYP Nation's first Japanese concert, 'JYP Nation in Japan‘, the JYP Nation members managed to tweet a series of photos amidst their busy rehearsals.

On August 16th, 2AM’s Jo Kwon tweeted, “IN JAPAN“, and added, “We are working hard for the rehearsals“.

In the photo shown above, he’s seen smiling brightly for the camera with miss A’s Suzy, while in the photo below, various members pose cutely for the camera (especially San E), showing that they seem to be enjoying themselves despite their busy schedules this week.

Wonder Girls‘ Ye Eun also shared a photo with the comment, “In the middle of rehearsing“, and 2AM’s Seulong tweeted the amusing (albeit rather lonely) photo below saying, “Ong who is drinking a beverage by himself outside the waiting room..”

And finally, 2PM’s Nichkhun tweeted, “Let it begin!!!! =]”, with a picture that reads, “JYP NATION IN JAPAN 2011“.

Fans responded to the photos with comments like, “JYP Nation daebak!”, “You’re all so cute!”, and ”JYP Nation is the best!”

Check out the rest of their photos from Japan below!

Source + Photos: Jo Kwon, Ye Eun, Seulong’s Twitters

The ladies of After School became the style muses for the latest Hello Kitty collection!

As part of their Japanese debut promotions, the girls teamed up with the popular Sanrio icon, who channeled the girls’ marching band outfits and hairstyles. There will be eight different designs available for each of the eight members, and the dolls will be sold at After School’s mini concert on September 10th.

The girls are already causing a sensation in Japan thanks to their drum performance for “Bang!“. On August 17th, they held a showcase in front of 3,000 people, and tickets were reportedly sold out in just one minute. After School will also be taking part in the big J-Pop concert, ‘a-nation‘.

Source: Money Today via Nate