Yu So Young, a member of the hot girl group After School, will leave the team, according to her legal representative. Although she has enjoyed all the affection and support from her fans, So Young said that she decided to “graduate” from After School, because her health has greatly deteriorated from all the show biz activities and she also wants to concentrate on her studying. Her legal representative said that So Young has always felt that working in the music business was a great strain on her health.

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The court ruled on October 27 that Dong Bang Shin Ki's agency, SM Entertainment, must terminate certain terms and conditions of the three members' contracts to guarantee their freedom to pursue solo careers.

An official who was involved in the suit said in a telephone interview with Yonhap Agency that the main trial would be held this week since the court had proved the unfairness of the three members' contracts. He also added that he would discuss the matter with the remaining two members.

The official said, "Though the three members can now pursue their solo careers, what matters most is that DBSK stays as a five-member group. We will try to involve the remaining two members because the court ruling applies to them as well."

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Epik High's Tablo and actress Kang Hye Jung were married in a private 3-hour ceremony on October 26 at The Bailey House in Kangnam, Seoul.

Tablo, 29, said in his blog posting right before his wedding, "I am happy. We'll have a nice life," unveiling a photo featuring him and Kang Hye Jung. The pair have been dating since they first met at Epik High's Christmas concert last year.

The ceremony was closed to the media and limited to the bride and groom's close friends and family. Some of the celebrities in attendance were Han Chae Young, Ha Ji Won, Kim Hyo Jin, Cha Tae Hyun, Bobby Kim, Gill, Kim Sun Ah, Song Yun Ah, and many others. Mithra Jin, a member of Epik High, also attended but could not perform due to DJ Tukutz currently serving his two-year military term. Hip-hop group Leessang sang a congratulatory song for the newlyweds.

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Kang In of Super Junior is in deep trouble again just one month after he was charged with assault and battery. This time he was charged with causing an accident while driving drunk. According to a source at the Gangnam Police Station, Kang In was driving a leased import car in the affluent Gangnam neighborhood in Seoul a little after three in the morning of October 15th when he crashed into a parked taxi.

Fortunately, the taxi driver and two passengers in the cab were not seriously hurt, but Kang In apparently got out of the car and ran away into an alley. He turned himself in at the police station a little before nine o’clock that same morning. He underwent a breath analyzer test, which showed 0.082% alcoholic content, high enough for license suspension. A police officer said that although Kang In will be given some consideration for turning himself in later, he will still be charged with drunk driving and hit-and-run, because he left the scene of the accident.

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Hwan Hee, former member of Fly to the Sky, will have his fans to thank when his first solo album takes off. Ahead of the release of his solo debut album, “H Soul,” his fans have run advertisements on city buses and subway trains. This PR campaign is worth noting, because this is probably the first time that a fan group has taken the initiative to run a PR and marketing campaign.

Some 200 fans donated money to put up ads on 300 subway trains and city buses running 10 different routes. The buses run along the arterial roads in Seoul during the busiest hours. The ad campaign is estimated to have cost them tens of thousands of dollars.

Hwan Hee’s agency found out about the activities just recently and thanked the fans for their all-out support and eager participation. Meanwhile, UCC footage of Hwan Hee’s dance practice and the teaser video of title song, “Missing a Heart,” have recorded more than 100 thousand hits, hinting at the public’s huge interest in his first solo album.

Source: KBS Global

The five-member boy band SS501, which has been holding its first Asia tour entitled "Persona" since its debut in 2005, will release a mini-album in Korea late this month. Entitled "Rebirth," it's the first album to feature all five members in a year and seven months.

After performing in Korea and Japan in August, SS501 finally visited Taiwan to perform at the Taipei Arena. Kim Hyun Joong, who came down with swine flu in September during his stay in Japan, said his swine flu symptoms included a fever of over 39.5℃, diarrhea six to seven times a day, and coughs 4-5 times a minute.

Kim said, "It's like the worst degree of a cold. The most difficult part was being isolated. It's a very lonesome disease." He added that he was scared to see other swine flu patients who were hospitalized on the same floor with him dying of the disease. "I believed that I would recover," said the singer.

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Popular singer Se7en has begun recording his new song, which is expected to be released next year.

The 24-year-old star's agency, YG Entertainment said on Oct. 23, "After Se7en finishes recording, he will unveil the new songs in the early part of next year."

"About the type of record, we haven't decided yet. It would be either a single, or a mini album," they added.

It has been almost three years since he was last on the Korean pop scene. For the last couple of years, he devoted his energy to entering the U.S. music market. Se7en finally made his U.S. debut with "Girls," produced by Dark Child and featuring Lil' Kim, early this year.

On Oct. 19, the singer posted new pictures on the website, including the autograph of a hero in his life, the late pop legend Michael Jackson.

Source: Korea Herald

A new television program of KBS-2TV "Toward the Sunday Night," will feature Jae Bum, who withdrew from the top boy band 2PM due to his critical remarks about Korea.

Producers of the program said on Thursday, "One month after this promising idol star left Korea, we met him in Seattle for the first time."

"Though we met him in person and requested an interview, Jae Bum refused, saying he could not give any comment at the present moment. Instead, we could cover how he was getting along in the United States. He showed up at a B-boy competition and talked to his friends." they added.

The TV show will cover both current issues and social phenomena in fresh perspective.

"Toward the Sunday Night" will make its debut at 11:35 p.m. on Oct. 25.

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I've had so much going on lately that I haven't updated this blog or at kblitz for a while. Hopefully, things will ease out within the next few weeks so I can get back to my daily updates.

Teasers:



Wallpapers Included in the Set:
[ 03 ] - Dong Bang Shin Ki
[ 03 ] - Big Bang
[ 03 ] - Rain
[ 03 ] - Park Yong Ha
[ 03 ] - Song Seung Hun
[ 03 ] - Ji Sung
[ 03 ] - Kang Ji Hwan
[ 02 ] - Shin Min Ah


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Dong Bang Shin Ki, which has been embroiled in a conflict with its agency recently, topped the Japanese Oricon music chart yet again.

The project single "Colors Melody And Harmony" from Kim Jae Joong and Park Yoo Chun, which was released on August 30, posted sales of 103,940 copies on day one of its release and topped the Oricon singles chart.

The group's DVD "4th Live Tour 2009 - The Secret Code - Final in Tokyo Dome," which was released on the same day with the single, also topped the Oricon chart in the DVD category, beating the top Japanese band Kinki Kids.

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Kim Hyun Joong of the boy band SS501, who was diagnosed with swine flu in Japan and was hospitalized in Tokyo, was discharged from the hospital on September 15, said his agency, DSP Media. It added that Kim would return to Korea on September 16 and would continue treatment at a local hospital. The agency said SS501's new album activities will be determined according to Kim's recovery.

 

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The involvement of Kang In of Super Junior in a barroom brawl will take some time to determine as the police announced that the surveillance camera analysis is taking longer than expected. Kang In was charged with violence in southern Seoul early Wednesday morning . He has maintained that he was just a victim in an attempt to break up the fight, but other people involved in the incident have testified to his active involvement. The police gathered closed-circuit footage from the scene to determine whether the idol star was just a victim as he claimed or a perpetrator.

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Ever since Lee Chun Hee and Park Ye Jin left SBS's variety programming Family Outing, I haven't been as loyal to the show. The new family members lack the spark that their former members had.

Needless to say, I (and lots of SS501 fans) will be tuning to next week's broadcast of Family Outing as they welcome special guest Kim Hyun Joong (Boys Over Flowers) and Big Bang's Seung Ri.

Next Week's Episode Preview

Credit: 미니민

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Fans of the idol group 2PM have been stepping up their protests against Jae Bum's resignation as a group member. Jae Bum has quit 2PM because he has stirred up controversy for messages criticizing Korea that he had posted while preparing for his debut.

Internet users have blasted 2PM's agency, JYP Entertainment, for making Jae Bum leave the country just four days after the scandal broke out. 2PM's fans have blanketed the agency's building with posters opposing Jae Bum's departure. They are demanding that JYP explain the situation and are sending dozens of emails to media agencies.

2PM's fan site "Underground" has expressed anger toward JYP, saying that it would launch a campaign discouraging people from buying tickets to the 2009 Dream Concert, where 2PM is to perform without Jae Bum, as well as from buying the group's albums and accessories. They are also demanding refunds and threatening to stage boycotts.

More than 100,000 fans have signed a petition in protest of Jae Bum's departure on the Internet portal Daum. JYP CEO Park Jin Young left a lengthy message for 2PM's fans on the official Web site on September 10. He wrote that when Jae Bum first came to Korea four years ago, he used to be a rebellious and undependable boy, but he wanted to earn money because he cared a lot about his family and changed profoundly, after his debut, into a responsible leader of his band.

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Pre-order has already begun for Tohoshinki's 2010 calendar and the fourth volume of their History In Japan dvd. The 13-page calendar will be released on October 17 and can be pre-ordered at YesAsia, CD Japan, HMV Japan, and other online retailers. History in Japan will be released on October 28 and will feature documentary footage from their activities in 2008 and 2009.



Release Date: October 17, 2009
Size: 59.4 x 42 cm
Pages: 13

Pre-order your copy!

CD Japan (24.68 USD)
YesAsia ($29.56 USD)
HMV Japan ($26.55 USD)

~

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Another day, another round of bad news. According to multiple news sources, SS501 leader Kim Hyun Joong has been diagnosed with the H1N1 flu and is currently hospitalized in Tokyo.

His agency reported that Kim suffered from a high fever and a headache when he was in Yokohama over the weekend for a promotional tour of the TV drama “Boys Over Flowers.” Kim was given the antiviral drug Tamiflu and will remain in isolation for about two weeks. His agent said that Kim has improved greatly since taking the drug and is resting comfortably. He also said that other members of SS501 are healthy and they will continue to work on a new album due for release in Japan.

Meanwhile, Lee Min Ho and Go Hye Sun, Kim’s co-stars in the drama, also took part in the Yokohama promotional event with Kim, but have not shown any symptoms of the new flu. Kim is the first celebrity to have caught the disease. H1N1 influenza has already claimed four lives in Korea and affected over 6,200 Koreans.

Source: KBS Global


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Korea's outrageous netizens have once again managed to destroy another budding career. This time, the victim is none other than 2PM's leader, Park Jae Bum.

Recently, anti-fans managed to dig up old comments that Jae Bum posted on the social networking website MySpace in which he exclaimed, "Korea is gay. I hate Koreans. I wanna come back." This news enraged netizens, and an online petition was started to remove the artist from 2PM.

Though JYP Entertainment had publicly acknowledged Jae Bum's incident, it was declared that his past actions were not enough to warrant removal from the group. What transpired afterwards is unclear. Jae Bum announced on the 2PM fan cafe that he was formally stepping down from his role as leader of 2PM and would return to his home in the United States. The former 2PM member boarded an evening flight from Incheon International Airport on September 7th and was set to arrive in Seattle at 2:40 PM PST.

In his heartfelt message to the public, Jae Bum stated that he felt guilty for his previous statements and did not want to inflict more damage towards his fellow members.

The group was scheduled to make a comeback next month with a new album. In the midst of this scandal, it is doubtful that 2PM will be returning to the K-Pop scene as planned. With Jae Bum's abrupt exit, rumors have already begun swirling of Jun Ho replacing the role as leader of 2PM.

No matter the outcome, 2PM will unfortunately never be the same without their former leader Jae Bum. He was truly one of the best dancers and vocalist in the group. I hope those rotten netizens stew in a very special place for the physical and emotional abuse that they inflicted on such a promising individual. All those antis and Koreans should be ashamed of themselves. Do you mean to tell us that sometime during your life you have not thought or said something negative towards your country? To ruin someone's dream and career based on what was said as a youngster is sickening. Then again, Koreans are typically not known for their hospitality and acceptance of others... And hey, if we're in the business of digging up a person's past, why not take an investigative look into other idols? I bet some of those Girls Generation members and other beloved idols have similar skeletons in their closet. Should we give them the boot too?

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I usually don't upload wallpapers from Korean dramas. However, seeing as so many idols are making the jump from singing to acting and also many of my favorites are making a comeback to the small screen this year, I thought I'd make an exception. The following is a collection of official promotional material from current dramas such as Dream (Son Dam Bi, Kim Bum), Style (Ryu Shi Won, Lee Ji Ah), My Fair Lady (Yoon Eun Hye), and more.

Just the photos of the mansion used in the filming of My Fair Lady is enough to make me drool. If I had a billion dollars, that's what I would want my house to look like. LOL!


Wallpapers Included in the Set:
[ 08 ] - Dream
[ 06 ] - Style
[ 41 ] - My Fair Lady
[ 02 ] - Miscellaneous


RULES:

• Give me proper credit if you take these out of this journal.
• Comments are always much appreciated.
• DO NOT HOTLINK!

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