“The Chaser” (추격자; Chugyeogja) is a Korean movie which won multiple awards at the Daejong Film Festival in 2008. I watched the movie shortly after the film fest, and I think their wins are quite justified… it’s simply a great movie.
A Korean magazine has picked the most popular Korean drama characters in the first half of 2008. Actor Ji Sung and actress Han Ji-min top the list with their roles in “New Heart” and “Yi San” respectively.
Ji Sung, Park Yong-ha, Kang Ji-hwan, Jung Joon-ho and Kim Ji-suk
Hong Kong artist Gillian Chung is trying her luck in Hollywood to make her career comeback after the infamous nude photos scandal.
Gillian back from Hollywood
The 27-year-old actress and pop singer was in US to audition for a role in movie “Pinkville”, directed by Oliver Stone and starring Bruce Willis. The movie is based on My Lai Massacre, a real event in which several hundred Vietnamese civilians were killed by US soldiers during the Vietnam War in 1972.
It’s reported that Oliver Stone invited Gillian to the audition for a supporting role in the movie.
The Edison sex photos scandal
The scandal started in early 2008 when hundreds of nude (and semi-nude) photos of Chinese-Canadian star Edison Chen and other female artists were posted online; Gillian was among them.
It’s believed that the photos were stolen from Edison’s personal computer when he sent it for repair. Although Edison and Gillian (and other girls) are basically victims of the incident, their public reputation is heavily dented.
Gillian in particular has been heavily hit. She was previously seen as a role model for her healthy image, but it vanished completely after the saga; and she finds it difficult to make her career comeback in Hong Kong since then.
Promotional videos (PV) from Japanese girls group AKB48, titled “Sakura no Hanabira Tachi” (桜の花びらたち; literally ‘petals of cherry tree’)…
Japanese race queens at Malaysia Super GT International Series 2008…
Run’A circuit mate Miho Miyazaka
Cosplay, or costume play, is a popular trend where people dressing up mimicking fictional characters from anime, manga (comics), video games and movies etc.
Japan is generally credited as the origin of cosplay, but there are no actual facts of when the cosplay culture started. The credit for coining the word ‘cosplay’ seems more apparent though… although there are a few versions on how it was created, the credit goes to Nobuyuki Takahashi when he first used the word in some Japanese magazines in 1983/1984.
Akibanana has some scanned image of the My Anime magazine released in June 1983, which is said to be where the word first appeared, written in Japanese - コスプレ (kosupure)…
Music video of “Smile Again”, a song from I L♥ve Asia project by Korean celebrities to raise funds for Sichuan earthquake victims in China.
The song is produced by Korean singer-producer JYP in collaboration with Chinese superstar Jackie Chan; participating celebs include Jo Sung-mo, Park Yong-ha, Gan Mi-yeon, Chae Yeon, Kim Yuna, Han Ji-hye, Wonder Girls, Lee Jung-hyun, Kim Dong-wan, Kim Ah-joong, Shin Hye-sung, Kim Tae-hee, Han Hye-jin, Jeon Hye-bin, Jang Nara, Battle, Brown Eyed Girls and J-Lim etc.