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Hikaru Utada

2007-02-21T04:48:00.000-08:00

Profile:

Utada Hikaru (宇多田ヒカル, Utada Hikaru? born January 19, 1983), also known by her fan-nickname of Hikki (ヒッキー, Hikkī?), is a third culture Japanese pop singer-songwriter.
She is one of the most successful, influential and acclaimed pop singers in Japanese music history. With the release of her seven studio albums, including one compilation and two all-English, 23 solo singles (17 Japanese and 6 English) and several VHS/DVD releases, she has sold a combined estimated total in Japan of some 32,000,000 records in Japan as of the end of 2006, making her the 9th most successful musical act ever in Japan. Her worldwide total sales of albums, singles and VHS/DVDs to date is well past 40,000,000 units. Her unusual success has been, in large part, because of her fluent bilingual skills in English and Japanese, having been raised in New York City and Tokyo. Utada became an unprecedented icon in Japan after her debut, First Love, began shattering a number of records in 1999, and has shown extremely consistent and strong sales of albums, singles and chart presence since. She has won the Golden Disk (Japan's most-esteemed musical award) "Song of the Year" award for twelve of her singles since 2000, a record for a solo or group artist. In addition, she has won the Golden Disk "Pop/Rock Album of the Year" award for all but one of her Japanese studio albums.
In 2003, HMV Japan announced that Utada Hikaru is the #24 Japanese pop artist in its survey of "Top 100 Japanese pop artists" of all-time, making her the youngest artist with the highest rank in that survey.[1] In 2006, Utada Hikaru also became #10 in "Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time" [2].

Biography:
Hikaru Utada was born in New York City, New York, United States to Japanese parents, who both had roots in the Japanese music industry: her father, Teruzane Utada, was a producer (who produced her records too), while her mother, Junko Utada, was an enka singer (she performed under the stage name "Keiko Fuji"). She made her first professional recording at the age of twelve, and recorded her first album, Precious, in 1996 under the pseudonym Cubic U. The album led to her career overseas. In an MTV interview (MTV's You Hear It First, October 2004), Utada said: "Someone in Japan heard it, at a Japanese record company, and he said, 'Oh, can't you write in Japanese? You speak Japanese.' And I didn't want to say no, so I had to try it."
She is currently married to Kazuaki Kiriya, a photographer and film director. He has directed several of her music videos, including "Final Distance", "traveling", "Hikari", "Sakura Drops", "Deep River", "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro", "Be My Last", "Passion", and "Keep Tryin'". Also, "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro" is the theme song of Kiriya's directorial debut, Casshern.

Utada's Names:
Utada's name variations have been a source of some minor confusion in the past.
Her legal name at birth was Hikaru Utada (宇多田光, Utada Hikaru?).
For her original U.S. debut album, she used the name Cubic U. However, she gained very little fame at this stage in her career.
For her Japanese recordings, she has used the name Utada Hikaru (宇多田ヒカル, Utada Hikaru?), with her given name in katakana. Unlike most Japanese artists, she became well known in the English speaking world under this surname-first name ordering, since her name has been romanized only in that order for the Japanese domestic market.
In Japan, it was known to her fans that her nickname growing up in the U.S. was "Hikki". However, due to her immense popularity in Japan, she became better known under this nickname in Japan than in the United States.
After her successes in Japan, she re-entered the U.S. market simply as Utada. On a few rare occasions, she has been credited in full on U.S. domestic albums as either "Hikaru Utada" or "Utada Hikaru".
Her legal (koseki) name in Japan is Hikaru Iwashita (岩下光, Iwashita Hikaru?) due to her marriage to Kiriya (whose real name is Kazuhiro Iwashita). However, she does not use this name for most public purposes, and her legal name in the U.S. is not clear

1998-1999: The end and The beginning

Precious era

Cover of Cubic U's English debut album: "Precious"
Cubic U (Utada Hikaru's pseudonym before becoming a superstar in Japan) released her debut single "Close to You," which was a cover of the Carpenter's song. She then released her debut album "Precious," but it failed to be released in the United States due to restructuring issues at her then record label EMI US. She released "Precious" in Japan on January 28, 1998 and then later re-released it on March 31, 1999 to much better success. It has sold 702,060 copies to date in Japan, making it a significant hit for an all-English album in this industry.

First Love era

Cover of Utada's Japanese debut album: First Love
Utada moved to Tokyo later that year and attended the American School in Japan as well as Seisen International School, while continuing to record on a new contract with Toshiba-EMI. She soon made her mark on Japanese music with her phenomenally successful single "Automatic / time will tell" (over 2,063,000 units sold cumulatively of its two versions, made it the 2nd most successful single by a solo female artist in Japanese music history, behind Namie Amuro's Can You Celebrate?) and, two months later, with "Movin' on without you" (her first #1 single that would also clear 1 million confirmed units), soon followed by her much-anticipated official studio debut album First Love, which sold over five million copies in a month during March and April of 1999, and placed Utada among the 100 wealthiest people in Japan. Since the "Automatic / time will tell" single were actually two separate products (8 cm and 12 cm versions), she only managed to reach #4 and #2 on the Oricon. Her next single "Movin' on without you" would achieve the #1 ranking on Oricon, and would become her second platinum single and first #1 single. A month after First Love was released, "First Love" was released as a single due to popular demand, and sold 800,000 units, a very impressive feat for a post-album single. It should be noted that this was Utada's only album to have only three single releases, all her subsequent work would contain at least four. In addition to the album reaching #1 on the daily, weekly and monthly charts of the Oricon Top 200, she also broke the record of units (the previous title holder was B'z The Best "Pleasure" compilation by the rock duo B'z) sold of a single album in Japan by the year's end (over 7.6 million units), all by age 16, which she still holds to this day.
First Love is the most commercially successful debut and overall album by a Japanese artist in Japanese music history, having sold over 10 million copies throughout Asia, nearly 8 million copies sold in Japan alone.[citation needed]

2000-2003: Hikki's Continuous success in Japan

Distance era

Cover of Utada's 2nd album: "Distance"
Eight months after "First Love" was released, Utada then released a single, "Addicted To You." It hit #1 on the Oricon and eventually sold 1,784,000 copies, and remains her most successful single of all time ("Automatic" isn't considered to be by Oricon rules to be her highest-selling single since its was released in two separate versions versus this one). On April 19, 2000, Utada released her first of two singles for this year, "Wait & See ~Risk~." It also reached #1 pinnacle on the Oricon and sold another astounding total: 1,662,000 copies. A month later, she released a half single "Remix: Fly Me to the Moon" in English and Toshiba-EMI released an animated music video for the single version of Fly Me to the Moon. The single was a limited edition release, but did sell out rapidly of its 20,000 units, and had a chart peak of #16 on the Oricon. The follow-up "For You / Time Limit," her second double A-sided single, was released in late June, and proved much more successful, becoming her fourth #1 hit, selling 888,650 units. It was her last single in 2000, and whom's success could probably be attributed to that, in July-August of this year, Utada decided to go on her first major headlining tour, the Bohemian Summer Circuit Live 2000, within weeks post its release. Utada returned to New York after "For You / Time Limit"'s release to attend Columbia University as a freshman, but finding her break into Japanese music scene "easier than expected", she left after a year to pursue her career.[3]
In 2001, Utada released a final Distance single, "Can You Keep a Secret?" on February 16, 2001. It brought her #1 hit count up to five, and became her fifth platinum single, selling an eventual 1.484 million units. A month later, she released her highly anticipated sophomore album, "Distance," on March 28, 2001, after nearly a two year hiatus. It was awarded with the largest first-week sales for any album in J-music history, with over 3.02 million units sold.[4]At the end of 2001, it became the most sold album for any J-music artist worldwide with 4.469 million copies sold in Japan alone. She had the #1 single and album of the year as well in Japan, for Distance and its last released single, "Can You Keep A Secret?" Distance is also the fourth best-selling album of all time in Japan.[5]
The video for Utada's 2001 song "Can You Keep a Secret?" received some attention as part of "International Week," which coincided with the 2001 EMAs, on the American channel MTV2. The video's airplay was likely Utada's first chance at exposure in the United States.

Deep River era

Cover of Utada's 3rd album: Deep River
After Distance, Utada quickly released the singles "Final Distance", "traveling", "Hikari", and "Sakura Drops / Letters" for her 2002 follow-up album, Deep River. With the exception of "Final Distance" (#2 peak), they would all become instant #1 smashes on the Oricon singles chart, selling a combined total of about 2.8 million physical units by the end of 2002.
In May of 2002, she became sick right before the release of Deep River. She was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor, and then underwent surgery. [6] During this period, she had to put on hold her TV appearances and other promotional activities. In June of 2002, just over a year and a month after "Distance", the album was released. While there were no TV appearances, she promoted her album in magazine and radio interviews. The Oricon count of the album was another amazing first-week sales debut for Utada, with 2.35 million sold for the week post its release day, or 1.89 million by Planet's count. Oricon reports that sales eventually surpassed 3.60 million, meaning she was the only singer or group in Japanese music history to have three consecutive albums surpass the triple-platinum (3 million) sold mark, by RIAA standards. It was also her third consecutive time to hold the #1 position on Oricon's Yearly Albums chart. [7] Shortly afterwards, in September 2002, she announced her marriage to Kazuaki Kiriya, a photographer and film director fifteen years her senior. Once again, she had the #1 album of the year, but had the #2 single with "traveling", behind rival Ayumi Hamasaki's "H". Deep River is also the eighth best selling album of all time in Japan.[8]
In 2001, Utada performed a well-received duet with Foxy Brown, "Blow My Whistle", which is featured on the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack.

Pre-Exodus era

Cover of Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1
Utada released "COLORS", a single, on January 29, 2003 and her only single in 2003. She then released a singles compilation album Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol.1 on March 31, 2004. It set a new array of records for Utada's already legendary discography. It became the best-selling album of 2004 in Japan, making her the only solo or group artist to reach #1 four times on the yearly charts. It was the first compilation album to reach #1 in six years on the yearly charts, and the first compilation album to reach #1 in twenty six years by a female artist. [9] It debuted with 1.4 million units sold in its first week and would eventually go on to sell over 3.4 million units, which was a particularly amazing achievement, since it received very little promotion and contained no new material or photos. Moreover, it charted longer on the Oricon Albums chart longer than any other Utada release to date, over 2 years. It was also her first to debut at #1 on the United World Charts, the first time in music history for any Asian artist. [10] A month later, on April 21, she released her only Japanese single in 2004, "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro", which was a heavy power, acoustic-piano ballad that topped the singles chart for two consecutive weeks, and almost unheard of feat for that chart, and sold 365,000 units by the year's end. The title translates to "When Someone's Wish Comes True", and it is also the main theme song for Casshern, her husband's directorial debut.
Both "Colors" and "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro" would eventually become available in Utada's fourth studio album, Ultra Blue.

2004-2005: Journey to North America and Europe

Exodus era

Cover of Utada's 1st USA English debut album: Exodus
On October 5, 2004, Utada Hikaru released her North American English-language debut album, Exodus, under the name "Utada". It was released nearly a month earlier, on September 9 in Japan, with a special booklet and housed in a cardboard slipcase. In an MTV interview, Utada said: "I don't think it's the music that I'm concerned about. It's obviously that I look really different and there really aren't any completely Asian people [who are popular singers in the U.S.] right now."[11] Exodus became Utada's fourth consecutive release to debut at #1 and boast 500,000+ first-week sales. It had a chart run of twenty weeks on the Oricon and saw her reach #1 on the World United Charts a second time.[12] It sold considerably less than her three previous Japanese releases as Utada Hikaru, possibly due to its heavy experimentation in other music genres such as dance and hip hop. However, it still managed to sell an outstanding 1.35 million copies, despite the fact that, strangely enough, none of its singles charted in Japan and it was a foreign language album to the territory.
In spite of enlisting the help of Timbaland to produce and co-write some songs, her American debut as an Island Def Jam Music Group artist was met with indifference by the American market, almost purely due in part to the fact there was virtually no promotion on her record label's part, selling a minimal 30,000 units. Despite the failure in the international markets, this album topped the charts in Japan, though again, it sold less than her releases as Utada Hikaru.
"Easy Breezy" was released as the lead single in early August 2004, peaking at #9 Billboard Hot Dance/Club Airplay chart, followed up by "Devil Inside" a month and two weeks later. "Exodus '04" was released at the end of June 2005. The fourth single from her Exodus album, "You Make Me Want to Be a Man", was released in October 2005. "Devil Inside" became a club smash in the U.S. and topped the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Airplay charts, and remains her most successful single release in the U.S.. "Exodus '04" also charted with a lesser #24 peak. Maxi singles featuring remixes from The Scum Frog, Richard Vission, JJ Flores and Peter Bailey were also released. Both the Exodus album and "You Make Me Want to Be a Man" single were released in the UK, with different artwork from the USA and Japanese versions, in October 2005, another #1 on the Billboard Dance chart.

2006-present: Ultra Blue Revolution

Ultra Blue era

Cover of Utada's 4th album: Ultra Blue
A year after the international releases and promotion of Exodus, Utada triumphantly returned to the Japanese music scene with the proper first "Ultra Blue" single, "Be My Last". Although it became her eleventh #1 Japanese single to date as of 2006, it sold considerably less than all of her previous singles pushing only 150,000 units. These relatively low physical sales by Utada standards were probably due to its lack of A-sides or B-sides on the single. Instead of purchasing an expensive single with few songs and a lack of a karaoke track, consumers bought the song digitally which, on an opposite view of its overall success, led to extremely strong digital sales, as demonstrated by the single topping the OnGen digital chart and coming in at #2 on the iTunes Japan yearly chart. The single itself demonstrated a new era in Utada's music, with emotionally charged lyrics incorporated into a ballad unlike any of her previous compositions.
Three months later, she released another single mid-December, "Passion", commonly known around the world as the theme for the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts II (although the background music is actually "Sanctuary", its English version also written and composed by Utada). Despite the large tie in for the single, it only peaked at #4 on the Oricon Top 200 singles charts. The single would sell only 112,000 physical units. Yet again, however, Utada proved to be a top digital seller as "Passion" did reach #1 on the OnGen Weekly Downloaded Singles chart, as well as iTunes Japan. "Passion" would also be her last single released in 2005. In addition to "Passion", Utada composed an English song, "Sanctuary", that would be used in the Kingdom Hearts II advertisement and game releases worldwide. Despite the same background music found in both songs, the meaning and lyrics of the two songs are notably quite different, much as "Simple and Clean" and "Hikari" were before them for Kingdom Hearts. Interestingly, Utada reportedly wrote and recorded "Sanctuary" before "Passion".
After another three months, Utada released another, and final physical single, from her upcoming Ultra Blue album entitled "Keep Tryin'" on February 22, 2006. In addition to a much stronger performance on the Oricon weekly single charts than "Passion" (the single reached #2 behind Hyde's "Season's Call" by about 3,000 units or so), "Keep Tryin'" also garnered the strongest digital sales of any Utada release single to date, staying at #1 on the OnGen top 20 weekly online download singles for over a phenomenal two months. The song also sold more than 2.5 million downloads digitally, more than sixteen times as many copies as the physical single sold 2006. Although these low sales by Utada standards reflected in the performance of the physical single in comparison to earlier achievements, "Keep Tryin'" reached number one on iTune Japan's year-end chart. Compared to Utada's recent track releases, "Keep Tryin'" was a much more upbeat song with a more encouraging and immediate message of perseverance. Moreover, Utada included a B-side on this single, the first B-side she had included in over three years, since 2003's "Colors". The B-side, "Wings", was a soft R&B tune, reminiscent of "Sakura Drops"' A-side, "Letters".
In May of 2006, Utada released her first Japanese digital sales only single, "This Is Love", which would not be available in physical format. It aired on the radio on Sunday, May 7, 2006, and the song was released as a digital single through iTunes Japan on May 31 and other online and mobile phone music stores and topped the iTunes Japan sales chart for that week. It would go on to be the ninth most downloaded song in Japan for 2006, continuing her trend as a top contender in digital sales of songs. The song was used as a promotional tool for Utada's fourth Japanese album, Ultra Blue. The entire album aired on Japanese radio on May 29, 2006. Unlike many of her previous albums, this album contained no track that matched the title of the album. Instead, a ballad, "Blue" was recorded, using Utada's new experimental pop/dance tone found in the album's last physical single "Keep Tryin'" and other Ultra Blue tracks, such as "This Is Love", "Making Love" and "One Night Magic" with Yamada Masashi, lead vocalist of the Back Horn, her first collaboration ever (besides "Blow My Whistle" with rapper Foxy Brown on the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack). The album was finally released on June 14, 2006 for physical CDs and released on June 28, 2006 for digital download in many Japanese online stores, most notably iTunes Japan. With physical copies alone, Ultra Blue cleared 500,317 copies in the first week out, easily topping the Oricon Daily, Weekly and even Monthly charts, in addition to her third #1 debut on the United World Charts, still the most for any Asian or foreign artist to date. This gave Utada her sixth consecutive chart-topping album to sell in excess of 500,000 units for first-week sales, setting a new record. It also charted a second week at #1 on the Oricon Daily and Weekly charts, selling a further 157,000 units.
As of week thirty-one of charting on the Oricon (the week of January 21-27, 2007), it has sold 890,768 units and has been certified triple-platinum by the RIAJ. These figures may seem low by Utada Hikaru standards, but it was still more than enough to be the highest-selling original studio album by a Japanese female artist for 2006.[13] Even though this makes Ultra Blue the first Japanese studio album to not reach #1 on the Oricon Yearly Album rankings in her ongoing discography, Oricon has confirmed it was the 2nd highest selling original album of 2006, behind Def Tech's "Catch The Wave", and the 7th best-selling album overall, counting it to still be a major success for her (It should be noted all the top five best-selling albums were "best of "collections). This was also Utada's first, and so far the only, album to be available on the iTunes Japan online music store, where it has been immensely successful, hurting it's physical album sales.

Utada United and "Boku wa Kuma"

"Utada United 2006" commenced June 30, 2006 (about a week after Ultra Blue's release) and ended on September 12, 2006 after Utada's performances at Yoyogi. Aside from her Japanese work, the tour's set list featured songs from Exodus. The dates were all cumulatively announced, and ticket sales started on May 28, 2006 with the majority of venues selling out in less than two hours. On September 20, 2006, Exodus will be re-released in Japan for ¥1,470. Also to be released in September 2006 is the "Utada Hikaru Single Collection" Volume 4, which will feature all of the music videos for all the Ultra Blue singles, in addition to "A Making" segment for each of them. It will also feature the live internet footage of "Be My Last" and "Passion" which were performed in late 2005. For the week of October 8, 2006, it entered the Oricon Music DVD charts at #1, selling an approximate 22,000 units. [1]
On November 22, 2006, Utada released an anticipated new single, "ぼくはくま (, Boku wa Kuma?, lit. I'm a Bear)." The song is tied with Passion as her lowest charting single as it placed #4 in its first week, and it also has the lowest first-week sales of her career. Even so, its been her first single since "Dareka no Negai Ga Kanau Koro" to chart at more than three consecutive or non-consecutive weeks in the "Top 10 Oricon singles" chart. As of the end of the week for January 27, 2007, the single has sold 125,492 copies, although it should be noted that Oricon only counts the standard edition sales of this and all singles, meaning that actual total sales may be higher than published. In the singles favor, the sales have been outstandingly resilient. Despite low first week sales, Boku wa Kuma has stayed in the top twenty for nine consecutive weeks, selling more than 10,000 copies each week up until its seventh. [14] Despite such initially slow sales, it's already her most successful single since "Be My Last" in 2005 and has surpassed the sales of her previous two singles: "Passion" and "Keep Tryin'". [15]
Boku wa Kuma's title is a reference to her stuffed bear, Kuma-chan, and is her first time writing a children's song. Oricon Style did confirm that "Boku wa Kuma" and its karaoke version were the only tracks on this new single, as originally there were to be six, including either an A or B-side with another new track, "Hero".[16]Included in the first press edition of the single will be a picture book created by Utada, and the single will be used in Japan's NHK channel's Minna no Uta children's program commercials as an advanced promotional tool from November 2006 through January of 2007. This is also Utada's first single release to have three different pressings: one limited edition that includes a picture book, a standard single and cover, and then finally one CD+DVD combo pack (that is confirmed to only contain a music video for the single in its tracklist). As a special gift to fans, and her last release of any kind for 2006, will be the "Utada United 2006" tour show DVD which released on December 20, 2006, as well as her previous three live DVDs in new packaging at lowered prices on that same day.

"Flavor Of Life"
Although new releases for 2007 are largely unnamed, Hikaru's official site recently disclosed a new single to be released in February entitled "Flavor Of Life" with a ballad version and karaoke along with a remix as a bonus track which is available as a "CD Only" bonus. "Flavor Of Life" is also set to be released on February 28, 2007.[17] She has recently updated her website, stating that she is in the studio working on this new single. "Flavor Of Life - Ballad Version-" is the insert song for the second season of the popular live-action Japanese drama, Hana Yori Dango. On January 25, 2007, it was confirmed that the ring tone of this version of "Flavor Of Life" had been downloaded over 500,000 times. By February 6, 2007, livedoor confirmed that it had been downloaded over 1,000,000 times.
Utada is also planning to release a Kuma Chang t-shirt in the near future, using a design chosen through an official contest.

Han Eun Jun

2007-02-20T03:38:00.001-08:00

Profile:

Name: 한은정 (韩银贞) / Han Eun Jung
Profession: Actress
Date of birth: 1980 July 10
Height: 172cm
Weight: 49kg
Blood Type: A

TV Series:

The Person I Love (SBS, 2007)
Seoul 1945 (KBS, 2006)
Wonderful Life (MBC, 2005)
Full House (KBS, 2004)
Scent of a Man (MBC, 2003)
Successful Story of a Bright Girl (SBS, 2002)
Age of Innocence (SBS, 2002)

Movies:

Two Guys (2004)
Don't Tell Papa (2003)

Awards:
2006 KBS Acting Awards: Excellence Award

Trivias:

Hobbies: Kung Fu, Jazz Dance, Bowling, Swimming
Debut: 1999
Education: Dept. of Film at Seoul Institute of the Arts

Park Shin Hye

2007-02-20T03:31:00.000-08:00

Profile:

Park Shin-Hye (Korean: 박신혜, Hanja: 朴信惠, born February 18, 1990) is a South Korean actress. Her fame came when she played the younger version of the character Han Jung Suh in the popular Korean drama, Stairway to Heaven. She also recently starred in a 10 part mini series called Tree of Heaven which aired on SBS, starring her former co-star in Stairway to Heaven, Lee Wan. The show had decent ratings, and the reviews and criticism were mixed, however, Park's acting was commended by almost all reviews, her ability to speak Japanese without almost any accent (especially since she never visited or read anything about Japan). And many keyed on in her portrayal of her character Hana's pain of loving her step brother Yoon-Suh Lee Wan as brilliantly done. It should also be noted due to the age difference between her and Wan, romantic scenes such as kissing on the lips could not occur, as seen in the scenes in the show where had it been an older actress, such scenes may have occurred. Tree of Heaven started with borderline mediocre ratings, but went on to finish very respectably, and gained a fan base in Korea and Japan, further helping Park's credibility and young career in acting. Also, after her terrific performance in Tree of Heaven speaking the Japanese language nearly flawlessly, Japanese companies have sent offers to Park's agents for her to advertise in their commercial, however, her agent has said she has yet to respond.

Park will be soon starring as one of the four main characters in the up coming Goong S, a spin off (and technically a sequel) to the wildly successful Goong. However, currently the show is in serious jeopardy due to the fact Eight Peaks is suing the company making Goong S (Group 8), for copyright infringement by using the name Goong as the title of the show. As the controversy escalates, the filming of Goong S has already started, and Group 8 is optimistic that the première will air in January of 2007. Critics however question how well Shin-Hye will make the transition from the dramatic roles she usually plays, to the role of a character in a drama which is based heavily on the aspect of Comedy.

Off camera Shin-Hye is known to be very outgoing and polite, and she has established friendships with other celebrities, most notably her friendship with common co-star Lee Wan. In an interview in 2004, she admits her and Wan were curious about the news of the number of searches her name was supposedly getting on the most popular Korean search engine Naver, so they went on a nearby computer and searched it themselves, and the results were startling, as she was in the top ten for most searched words/names. Park admits she herself was very shocked at the results, and just how popular she was getting, but at the same time had no exact words to express her feelings.[1] Also, during interviews of the two together behind the scenes of filming for Tree of Heaven conducted by MNet, her and Wan, while being interviewed were constantly laughing and talking to each other very casually, and Wan also poked fun at her in a jokingly matter. She also established a friendship with a member of the original Goong cast Joo Ji Hoon as the two met for the first time for a photoshoot.

Park recently made her big screen début in that movie Hometown of Legends, a summer horror flick where she has 2 roles; One is of the main character, the other is of the ghost of the main character's sister who haunts the other sister after her death. Park was extremely happy to star in this movie, for she had always wanted to star in a period setting drama or movie. Shin-Hye, at only 16 hopes to accomplish much more in the future, and has proven thus far she has the talent, potential, and beauty to be a mainstream star someday.

Education: Seoul Young-Pa Girls' High school
Debut: 2003 Lee Seung-Hwan music video "Ggot - Flower"
Award: Youth Award SBS Acting Awards 2003
Height: 165cm
Weight: 45kg
Blood type : A
Hobby: Listening to music
Talent: Dance
Favorite motto : Regard my neighbors first

Filmography:

MBC : Goong S (2007)
SBS : Loving Sue (2006)
SBS : Tree of Heaven (2006)
KBS : Sky Dance (2005)
SBS : Not Alone (2004)
SBS : Boom (2004)
SBS : Stairway to Heaven (2003)

Music Videos:

Lee Seung Hwan Sarang Ha Na Yo - Do You Love?
Lee Seung Hwan Ggot - Flower
Kim Jong Kook Pyun Ji - Letter

Song Ji Hyo

2007-01-01T00:37:00.000-08:00

Profile
Name: 송지효 / Song Ji Hyo
Real name: 천성임 / Chun Sung Im (Cheon Seong-im)
Profession: Actress
Birthdate: 1981-Aug-15
Height: 168 cm
Weight: 46 kg
Star sign: Leo
Blood type: A
Siblings: Eldest of 3 children: 1 brother and 1 sister

TV Shows
The Book of Three Han (MBC, 2006)
Goong (MBC, 2006)

Movies
Some (2004)
Wishing Stairs (2003)

Trivia
School: Graduated from Kyung Mun University
Debut: Kiki Fashion Model (2001)

External Links
Han Cinema (http://www.hancinema.net/korean_Song_Ji-hyo.php)
Empas Profile (http://people.empas.com/people/info/so/ng/songjihyo/)
Retrieved from "http://www.wiki.d-addicts.com/Song_Ji_Hyo"

Han Chae Young

2007-01-01T00:31:00.000-08:00

Profile:
Name: 한채영 / Han Chae-young (Han Chae-yeong)
Date of birth: September 13, 1980
Height: 172cm
Weight: 47kg
Blood type: A
Profession: Actress, Model

About Han Chae-young
Han Chae-young was born on 13 September 1980 and is aptly named the "Barbie Doll" of Korea.
Today, it's not just her looks that have got people talking. Instead, the actress is garnering rave reviews for her work in the television drama, "Delightful Girl Choon Hyang"!
A present-day version of the historical movie, "Choon Hyang," critics doubted the series would succeed. But the work has proved a favorite among young adults. Han was at the core of this success, playing a fun-loving, free-spirited young woman.

TV Series
Exhibition of Fireworks (MBC, 2006)
My Girl cameo (SBS, 2005)
Only You (SBS, 2005)
Delightful Girl Choon Hyang (KBS, 2005)
Beijing My Love (KBS, 2004)
Affection (SBS, 2002)
Autumn Tale (KBS, 2000)

Movies
Wild Card (http://www.asiandb.com/browse/movie_detail.pfm?code=5466) (2003)
Bet on My Disco (http://www.asiandb.com/browse/movie_detail.pfm?code=5334) (2002)
Rec (http://www.asiandb.com/browse/movie_detail.pfm?code=3408) (2000)

Eugene Kim

2006-12-31T02:26:00.000-08:00

Profile

Name: Eugene Kim

Also : Kim Yoo-Jin (in some korean websites)

Birthday: March 3, 1981 Seoul Korea

Height 160 cm or 5'3"

Weight: 47 kg or 104

Fact: Grew up in Guam

School: Koryo University

Blood Type: A

Religion: Christian

Nickname: Panda

ALBUMS: Vol.1 - My True Style...Vol.2 - 810303

SERIES: Save The Last Dance for Me

Loving You

Wonderful Life

I Really Really Like You

ASIANFANATICS GALLERIES:

Eugene S.E.S.

I Really Really Like You

Save The Last Dance For Me

Wonderful Life

Lee Bo Young

2006-12-31T02:18:00.000-08:00

Profile
Name: 이보영 / Lee Bo-young (Yi Bo-yeong)
Profession: Actress, Model
Date of birth: 1979-Jan-12
Height: 168cm
Weight: 48kg
Blood type: B

TV Series
Queen of the Game (SBS, 2006)
Mr Goodbye (KBS, 2006)
The Ballad of Suh Dong (SBS, 2005)
My Sweetheart My Darling (KBS, 2005)
Encounter (MBC, 2005)
Save the Last Dance for Me (SBS, 2004)
Jang Gil San (SBS, 2004)
People of the Water Flower Village (MBC, 2004)
Escape From Unemployment (SBS, 2003)

Movies
Mean Streets (2006)
My Brother (2004)

Awards
2005 SBS Acting Award: New Star Award
2005 KBS Acting Award: New Actor/Actress Award

Trivia
Education: Seoul Women's College; Parsons School of Design (New York)
Debut: 1997 super model event
Background: 2000 Miss Korea Dae-Jun
Talent: English, Japanese

External Links
Profile (epg.co.kr) (http://epg.epg.co.kr/star/profile/index.asp?actor_id=4631)
Soompi Forums (http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2541&st=40/)
Retrieved from "http://www.wiki.d-addicts.com/Lee_Bo_Young"

Kim Jung Eun

2006-12-31T02:14:00.000-08:00

Profile
Name: 김정은 / Kim Jung-eun (Kim Jeong-eun)
Profession: Actress
Date of birth: 1976 March 4
Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea
Height: 170cm
Weight: 48kg
Star sign: Pisces
Blood type: O

TV Series
Lovers (SBS, 2006)
Princess Lulu (SBS, 2005)
Lovers in Paris (SBS, 2004)
Ladies of the Palace (SBS, 2002)
Man and Woman (SBS, 2001)
Rookie (SBS, 2000)
Air Force (MBC, 2000)
All About Eve (MBC, 2000)
Days of Delight (MBC, 1999)
Should My Tears Show (MBC, 1999)
Sunflower (MBC, 1998)
Revenge and Passion 복수혈전 (MBC, 1997)
Wish Upon A Star (MBC, 1997)
Yesterday (MBC)
Wolf Hunting (MBC)

Movies
Mission Sex Control / Well-Being (2006)
Close to You (2005)
How to Keep My Love (2004)
Spring Breeze (2003)
Mr. Butterfly (2003)
Marrying the Mafia (2002)
A Funny Movie (2002)

Awards
2005 Asian Television Awards: Best Drama Performance by an Actress (Lovers in Paris)
2005 41st Baek Sang Art Awards: Best Actress in a TV Drama (Lovers in Paris)
2002 23rd Blue Dragon Film Awards: Popular Award
2001 Second Ae-Gyun Cultural Arts Award
1997 18th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Popular Award

Trivia
Family: Parents, one younger sister
Education: Gungook University (Industrial Art)
Talent: piano, flute
Religion: Christian

External Links
HanCinema profile (http://www.hancinema.net/korean_Kim_Jeong-eun.php)
Profile (empas.com) (http://people.empas.com/people/info/ki/mj/kimjungeun/)
Profile (epg.co.kr) (http://epg.epg.co.kr/star/profile/index.asp?actor_id=83)
Soompi Forum thread (http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=50)
Retrieved from "http://www.wiki.d-addicts.com/Kim_Jung_Eun"

Song Hye Kyo

2006-12-31T02:05:00.000-08:00

Profile:

Song Hye Kyo ( February 26, 1982 (age 24) ) is a Korean model and actress. Before getting her arts degree at Sejong University, Song made her debut by winning the Grand Prize in model search in SunKyung Smart and starring in a Sunday morning drama called "Happy Morning" (KBS,1996). She starred in number of hit dramas including All In, Autumn Fairy Tale, and Full House. Due to her popularity she can be seen frequently on advertisements when she is not acting. She is currently with SidusHQ.

Career
Song debuted in the entertainment industry when she won the Grand Prize in SunKyung Smart, a school uniform company in 1996 when she was finishing her third year in high school. It was not long until she starred in her first drama, "Happy Morning." Since then she continued to star in various dramas and sitcoms.
Her first big break came when Song co-starred in the KBS drama Autumn Fairy Tale in 2000 with Song Seung-hun and Won Bin. The show quickly became popular as a tragic love story.
Her popularity continued to climb when she played a leading role in the poker drama All In, alongside Lee Byung-Hun. The drama was so popular that the title of the show itself entered everyday vocabulary in Korea. They soon were involved in a relationship off-camera which gave both of them heavy publicity. Rumours regarding their possible marriage circulated. However, the relationship survived for less than a year.
Another big break came when she played a major role in the very popular TV comedy series Full House in 2004. Another popular star Rain co-starred in the drama. They were rumored to be a couple, but they denied it and said they were just good friends.
She will release her video album in December by StarM Planning entertainment company because she has been pursuing her dream of becoming a "hallyu queen" in Japan.

Television shows
2004 KBS Miniseries: Full House (풀 하우스)
2004 SBS Miniseries: Sunlight Pours Down (also titled Sunshine of Love)
(햇빛 쏟아지다)
2003 SBS Miniseries: All In (올인)
2001 MBC Miniseries: Hotelier (호텔리어)
2001 SBS Miniseries: Guardian Angel (수호천사)
2000 KBS : Host of Music Bank
2000 KBS Miniseries: Endless Love I (가을동화)
1999 SBS Comedy: Soonpoong Clinic (순풍 산부인과)
1999 SBS Sunday Morning Drama: Sweet Bride
1998 SBS Situation Comedy: Who am I? (나 어때?)
1998 SBS Special Drama: A White Night 3.98 (백야 3.98)
1998 SBS: Host of Gippeun Toyoil (Happy Saturday)
1998 SBS Situation Comedy: Marching
1998 SBS Special Summer Evening Drama: Deadly Eyes
1998 MBC Week Drama: Six Siblings
1997 KBS: Dalkomhan Sinbu
1997 MBC: Jjack (Couple match)
1997 KBS: Wedding Dress
1996 KBS Weekend Drama: First love (첫사랑)
1996 KBS Sunday Morning Drama: Happy Morning

林依晨 Ariel Li Yi Chen

2006-12-30T05:47:00.000-08:00

Profile
Name: Ariel Lin Yi Chen

Lin I Cheng

Lam Yi San

Chinese name: 林依晨

Birth date: October 29, 1982

Birthplace: Taiwan

Height: 160cm

Blood type: A

Education: National ChengChi University, NCCU (Korean study)

Profession: Actress and singer
Hobbies: Acting, swimming, reading, singing, music, food, and travel

Favorite color: Black, silver, and white

Favorite food: Mum’s cooking, chocolate, pasta, Mongolian BBQ, and fruits

Favorite fruit: Strawberries, mango, apple, and grapes

Favorite movies: LOTR trilogy, and Harry Potter series

Ariel Lin Yi Chen Biography

Ariel Lin was given major role since her debut in 2002 drama, “True Love.” Ariel continued to star in “Secret Garden” and “Seventh Grade,” and steadily building her fame and popularity.
Ariel Lin still continued her university study while making all the dramas.
Ariel Lin co-starred Mike He in “Love Contract” (2004) and with Joseph Zheng in “It Started With a Kiss” (2005). Both the melodramas were a hit, and Ariel become one of the most popular TV actresses in Taiwan.
Ariel Lin also starred in 2 movies and released a couple of music albums, but her other ventures are not as successful as a TV appearances.
Ariel’s latest drama is “Tokyo Juliet.” She is currently filming “The Legend of Condor Heroes” in China.

BoA Kwon (Beat Of Angel)

2006-12-30T05:39:00.000-08:00

Profile:
Name: Kwon BoA (Boa Kwon, Kwan BoA, Gwon Bo-a)
Korean name: 권보아
Chinese name: 宝儿 (寶兒)
Nickname: Kkamshi, Beat of Angel
(BoA)
Birth date: November 5, 1986
Birthplace: Kyung Gi Do, South Korea
Height: 160cm
Blood type: AB
Religion: Catholic
Family: Parents, 2 elder brothers and a sister
Education: Korean Kent Foreign School, Seoul
Language spoken: Korean, Japanese, English
Profession: Singer
Pet: A cat name Sara
Hobbies: Singing, dancing, listening to music, watching movies
Favorite cartoon character: Winnie the Pooh
Favorite music: R&B and dance
Favorite singer: Nelly, Britney Spears, Brian McKnight, Pink, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z
[Join Asia Entertainment Forum for more Kwon BoA discussions]

Kwon BoA biography
Kwon BoA ambition was to become a singer when she was a kid, but her route to star hood came with a bit of faith and coincidence.
When BoA was 11 years old, her brother went for a talent quest audition organized by Korea entertainment agency, SM Entertainment.
SM was planning to produce an international superstar and wanted to train the prospect from young age, and BoA’s brother was asked if he got any younger siblings, and BoA was invited by SM for audition as well.. and BoA was chosen to be the future star.
BoA’s parents were persuaded to allow BoA to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a singer, and she started her training in singing, dancing and foreign languages. She was once sent to Japan to learn Japanese and sing & dance skills, which according to BoA was some of the toughest time she ever had.
BoA released her first Korean album, “ID; Peace B” in 2000 and immediately noticed by Japan’s Avex and signed a contract.
In March 2002, BoA became the first foreigner to top the Japan Oricon chart, with her debut Japanese album “Listen to My Heart.” The album was co-produced by Avex Japan and SM Korea, Boa showed her talent singing in English, Japanese and Korean.
The BoA sensation spreads to all around Asia, with numerous Japanese and Korean hits in the past few years. She won the MTV Asia The Most Influential Asian Artist Award in 2004, she was just 18 then.
In February 2006, BoA released her 4th Japanese album “Outgrow” and top the ORICON chart again and became only the 2nd singer to have 4 consecutive album topping ORICON chart. (The first artist to do this is Ayumi Hamasaki)
It’s also a known fact that BoA is interested in acting as well. Her first movie involvement was as voice-actress for Korean version of Anime movie “The Hedge” in May 2006.

刘亦菲 Crystal Liu Yi Fei

2006-12-30T05:32:00.000-08:00

Profile:

Name: Crystal Liu

Liu YiFei

Liu Xi Mei Zhi

Chinese name: 刘亦菲 (劉亦菲, 刘茜美子, 劉茜美子)

Birth name: An Feng 安风

Nickname: Xixi 茜茜, Baozi 包子

Birth date: August 25, 1987

Birth place: Beijing, China

Height: 170cm

Blood Type: B

Education: Beijing Film Academy (graduated 2006)

Language spoken: Mandarin and English

Profession: Actress and singer
Favorite sport: Golf and tennis

Favorite actress: Audrey Hepburn and Vivian Leigh

Favorite singer: Amuro Namie and Faye Wong

Lee Da Hae(Byun Da Hye)

2006-12-30T05:29:00.000-08:00

Profile
Name: 이다해 / Lee Da-hae
Born Name: 변다혜 / Byun Da-hye
Profession: Actress
Date of birth: April 19, 1984
Height: 170cm
Weight: 47kg
Blood type: O
Family: parents and older brother
Education: Burwood Girls Highschool (Sydney)

TV Series
My Girl (SBS, 2005)
Green Rose (SBS, 2005)
Lotus Flower Fairy (MBC, 2004)
Star's Echo (MBC/Fuji TV 2004)
Sweet 18 (KBS, 2004)
Good News (MBC, 2003)
Shoot for the star (SBS, 2002)
Ling Ling (MBC, 2002)

Awards
2005 SBS Performance Awards: Performance Award - Drama Special (for Green Rose and My Girl)
2005 41st Baeksang Arts Awards: Best New Actress (Lotus Flower Fairy)
2004 MBC Acting Awards: New Actress Award (Lotus Flower Fairy)

Park Mi Sun (Park Shi Yeon)

2006-12-30T05:19:00.000-08:00

Profile
Name: 박시연 / Park Shi-yun

(Bak Si-yeon)
Real name: 박미선 / Park Mi-sun (Bak Mi-seon)
Date of birth: March 29, 1979
Profession: Actress, Model
Height: 170cm
Weight: 51kg
Education: St.Johns University

TV Series
When Spring Comes (KBS2, 2007)
Yeon Gae Somun (SBS, 2006)
My Girl (SBS, 2005)

Movies
The Single Sitting on Both Sides of the Fence (2007)
The Fox Family / 구미호 가족 (2006)

Trivia
Currently dating Shinhwa's popular member Eric.
former Miss Korea (2000) and Miss Seoul

External Links
Profile (empas) (http://people.empas.com/people/info/si/ye/siyeonpark/)
Profile (epg) (http://epg.epg.co.kr/star/profile/index.asp?actor_id=12744)
Article: "Eric Moon Confesses His Feelings for Park Shi-yeon" (KBS Global, 2005-05-16)

Yoon Eun Hye

2006-12-30T05:14:00.000-08:00

Profile
Name: 윤은혜 / Yoon Eun-hye

(Yun Eun-hye)
Nicknames: "JamGgoDae"(Stick), "Pooh"
Profession: Actress, Singer, Model
Birthdate: 1984-Oct-3
Height: 164 cm
Weight: 48 kg
Blood type: O
Family: Parents, younger brother

TV Shows
The Vineyard Man (KBS2, 2006)
Goong (MBC, 2006)

Movies
The Legend of Seven Cutter/Escaping from Charisma (2006)

Trivia
Hobbies: Watching movies, writing letters, taking pictures
Talent: Drawing
Education: JoongKyung High School
Yoon Eun-hye was formerly in Baby V.O.X., she was the last member to join.

Awards
2006 Grime Award: Best Actress (The Vineyard Man)