"Boys over Flowers" Hit Guangzhou

South Korean actors Lee Min-Ho and Kim Jun hit the Chinese city of Guangzhou on July 4 to promote the TV serials "Boys over Flowers".

Lee Min-ho said Chow Yun-Fat and Zhang Ziyi are the Chinese stars who he most wants to collaborate with.

The teen romance will be aired on the Star TV (Xingkong Weishi) since July 8.

Source: CRI online

Kim Bum & Kim Soeun seemingly in a relationship; matching rings are being questioned by netizens

According to Korean reports, a picture titled “Evidence that talents Kim Bum and Kim Soeun are currently dating” is now circulating widely amongst the Korean Internet community. Their respective management agencies have now stepped out to deny that this rumour is true.

It had started on the 26th of June, when a thread named “Evidence of Kim Bum and Kim Soeun’s relationship” had appeared in one of many Korean forums on the Internet. The starter of the thread had posted a picture of both Kim Bum and Kim Soeun wearing the same rings, and stated that the design is very much like that of a certain brand’s couple rings line, therefore concluding that they could be in a relationship.

This thread then caught the attention of many Korean netizens, and this piece of information then began to spread like wildfire, posted on both personal blogs and forums alike. Some netizens even claim that they had started dating during the filming of <Boys Over Flowers>, and that they were a famous couple in school.

Although there was some positive response to this sudden rumour, many netizens still are wary. Also, both of their management agencies have clarified that this is just purely a rumour: both Kim Bum and Kim Soeun are just merely classmates.

Kim Bum’s manager also claimed that Kim Bum himself hardly has the habit of wearing a ring, and this is only for filming purposes, since this ring was sponsored. Kim Soeun’s manager added on by saying that it was basically impossible for the two of them to meet up at all because of their busy schedules.

Although she has seen the rumours circulating around on the Internet, but because it is just a rumour and not true at all, she does not mind too much about this whole issue.

Source: korea.sohu

Translated by: hazel @ http://asianfanatics.net

Kim Joon changed after Boys Over Flowers

According to the T-Max group members, Kim Joon has changed ever since he played Song Woo Bin in the drama Boys Over Flowers. Leader Shin Min Chul revealed "Ever since Kim Joon became an F4 member, he has changed a lot. I can reveal it now. Before he started acting, he would always ask me (the leader) everything, but now he does not give in and is much more confident. He also says "Don't worry. I'm F4." rather comfortably."

Aside from this, the group also talked about the time when they had to introduce themselves as the 'Dancing SG Wannabe'. The group mentioned "When we think about it now, it's really embarrassing. The company president said that we need to make this our motto because at the time, SG Wannabe was a popular, three-member group. We had to introduce ourselves as 'Dancing SG Wannabe' because we weren't particularly good enough at dancing to be called idols."

Source: allkpop
Date: Monday, June 29, 2009 Korea

Kim Hyun Joong lends Kim Joon a helping hand

Despite his frequent trips to hospital plus an unrelenting schedule with SS501, Kim Hyun Joong still took out time to show us his deep friendship bond with fellow F4 member, Kim Joon, which was formed during filming for Boys Before Flowers.

Kim Hyun Joong recently took part in the filming of the MV for Kim Joon's solo song titled Joon, Be Ok! (or Ready, OK!), with the latter getting some tips from Hyun Joong while also expressing the immense amount of stress that he was facing. Hyun Joong said, "Hope that my appearance (in the MV) will bring him some needed strength."

According to Planet 905, "Kim Hyun Joong and Kim Joon have similar backgrounds in the entertainment industry, be it acting, solo songs, etc, so they are able to understand each others' situation very well. Hyun Joong wanted to show his support despite his busy schedule." Kim Hyun Joong had also appeared at Lee Min Ho's fan meeting, showing the deep friendship that he has formed with the other F4 members.

Kim Joon's solo MV starring Kim Hyun Joong will be out on 9th July. Kim Joon's solo song will be included on T-Max's new album, out on the same day.

Source: coolsmurf
Date: Monday June 29, 2009 Korea

Lee Min Ho's first fan meeting

MINOZ HAPPY DAY - MINI CONCERT

Lee Min Ho celebrated his 22 birthday with 4,500 fans at his first fan meeting on 21 June at Dome Art Hall, Children's Grand Park in Seoul. The party was called Minoz Happy Day mini-concert (미노즈 해피데이 미니 콘서트). "Minoz" (미노즈) is the name of Min-ho's newly created fan club!

The fan meeting marks his first public appearance after his recent knee surgery. The first thing Min-ho said when he came on stage was to greet his fans with "I've missed you so much. The surgery was a success and as you can see, I have recovered from it."

Fans got to meet and interact with their beloved star and Min-ho's friends also made a special appearance at the meeting. As a special surprise for fans, Min-ho introduced them to his mother.

First up, Lee Min-ho received gifts from his fans and opened some of the presents. Min-ho distributed baby plums to his fans. They happily accepted and Min-ho ate a couple of those juicy plumbs while he opened his birthday gifts.

At one point, Min-ho introduced his mother and fans greeted her with a loud applause. Special guests who were at Min-ho's fan meeting were Kim Hyun-joong and Kim Joon (and T-MAX). And as mentioned earlier, K.will also made an appearance and sang a song. Kim Bum apologized for his absence (due to a busy schedule) via a video clip he pre-recorded earlier.

The star of Boys Before Flowers sang the song My Everything (F4 Special Edition album) for his fans. Min-ho thanked K.will for helping him with the song.

At the end of the meeting, Min-ho read a letter he prepared to his fans. He read the contents of the letter with a shaky, emotional voice. Min-ho obviously really treasures his fans and is awfully pleased to finally have enough fans to form his own fan club.

Because of the huge number of fans, two meetings were held. One at 1pm and another at 4:30pm. Fans from Korea, Japan and Taiwan attended Lee Min-ho's very first fan meeting.

Youtube links:
Min-ho singing My Everything : Session 1 | Session 2
Min-ho sings for his fans
Kim Hyun Joong performs his solo "Please Be Nice To Me"


Sources: SPN, Newsen, StarNews, asian
Credit: Kpopped!
Photos: asianfanatics








UPDATE:
On June 21, actor Lee Min Ho hosted two fan meeting sessions (1pm and 4:30pm) to thank his fans as well as celebrate his 22nd birthday.

Lee Min Ho’s first fan meeting, ‘Minoz Happy Day Mini Concert’, attracted 4000 females from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan to Children’s Grand Park Dome. (Minoz is the name of his fan club.)

This was his first public appearance since receiving surgery at the beginning of the month to take out the metal rod in his leg, which was put in following a car accident in 2006. Although the metal rod didn’t present many problems in his daily life, it would have prevented him from taking on roles with action scenes; hence, he decided to get it removed. Lee recovered from the surgery more quickly than expected and was released from the hospital within a week.

For his fans, Lee Min Ho sang “My Everything”, his track off of the F4 Special Edition album. He passed out some plums and led some other activities with the audience as well.

Minoz prepared a pile of gifts for their star, which included blankets, a hand-drawn portrait, and a frame full of his photos.

The fan meeting brought out several of Lee Min Ho’s former colleagues. The event’s MC was Kim Ki Bang, who played the owner of Bom Porridge Shop on Boys Over Flowers. Fellow members of F4 – Kim Beom, Kim Hyun Joong, and Kim Joon – were included in the program. Kim Beom could not attend due to his busy schedule, but sent along a video message wishing Lee Min Ho a happy birthday and asking the fan attendees to support Lee for a long time. Kim Hyun Joong appeared without an introduction to sing “Please Be Good to Me (제발 잘해줘)” from SS501’s recently released solo collection album. He also did some promotion for the group, asking that those who are interested to attend their concert to be held on August 1 and 2. Kim Joon and his group, T-MAX, sang two songs – “Paradise” from the Boys Over Flowers soundtrack and “Emptying (비워내기) from F4 Special Edition. Our School E.T. (울학교 이티) colleagues, Park Bo Young and Kim Su Ro, also came to wish Lee Min Ho well.

In addition, singer K.will – who has been helping Lee Min Ho in vocal training – made an appearance. Out of consideration for his international fans who aren’t familiar with the Korean language, there was a performance by cast members of Nanta, the longest running non-verbal show in Korea. Lee also introduced his fans to a very special guest – his mother.

Source: Newsen
Credit: KPculture

'Boys Over Flowers' star requires daily hospital treatments after over-exhaustion

South Korean star Kim Hyun Joong has been making daily visits to the hospital for treatment after suffering from over-exhaustion, his spokesman said.

He also denied Korean media reports that Kim, who stars in the hit drama series "Boys Over Flowers", was hospitalised for a week.

"The reports stating that Kim was admitted to hospital were untrue. He was showing signs of discomfort in the waist and flu symptoms so we sent him to the hospital to receive medical treatments from the hospital. Apparently, there has been some sort of misunderstanding in the reports," he said.

Kim, who is a member of the popular Korean pop group SS501, was sent to the hospital on June 8 and was discharged the same day. The Korean star is now recuperating at home but is still required to report to the hospital for his treatments.

Kim debut as the leader of SS501 in 2005 but it was his role as the temperamental Rui Hanazawa in "Boys Over Flowers", the Korean adaptation of the popular Japanese manga "Hana Yori Dango", that made him a household name.

Meanwhile, SS501's plans to perform in Thailand have been put on hold. The band's representatives said this was due to issues with flight arrangements and has nothing to do with Kim's health.

The group were scheduled to be in Thailand from June 8-10 but the concert is now expected to take place in August.

Source: channelnewasia

Top-Selling Animation/Manga DVDs in Japan, 1st Half of 2009

The following chart covers sales from November 8, 2008 to June 7, 2009:

RANK-TITLE-ESTIMATED COPIES-RELEASE DATE-MAKER
2 - Hana Yori Dango Final - 346,721 - 12/19/08 - TBS
14 - Biohazard: Degeneration - 121,373 - 12/26/08 - Sony Pictures
22 - 20th Century Boys Part I: Owari no Hajimari - 95,971 - 01/30/09 - VAP
29 - Wall-E - 79,855 - 04/22/09 - Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment
35 - Wall-E Limited Initial 2-Disc Special Edition - 64,129 - 04/22/09 - Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment
38 - Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl: Giratina to Sora no Hanataba Shaymin - 61,271 - 12/19/08 - Shogakukan
39 - Kara no Kyoukai - the Garden of sinners Garan no Dou (Complete Limited Pressing) - 61,138 - 12/17/08 - Aniplex
40 - Kara no Kyoukai - the Garden of sinners Mujun Rasen (Complete Limited Pressing) - 60,719 - 01/28/09 - Aniplex
47 - Kung Fu Panda Special Edition - 53,766 - 12/05/08 - Kadokawa Entertainment
49 - pieces of love Vol. 1 "Tsumiki no Ie" ( "La Maison en Petits Cubes") - 52,331 - 10/24/08 - Toshiba Video

Source: ANN