Korean Actor Jang Dong-gun and Director Sngmoo Lee Will Appear Exclusively at Pacific Media Expo for The Warrior’s Way

PASADENA, CA – Pacific Media Expo (PMX) welcomes acclaimed movie actor Jang Dong-gun as its first Korean Guest of Honor. Jang Dong-gun, along with director Sngmoo Lee, will be appearing at PMX on Sunday, November 14, 2010 for a panel and autograph session. This will be Jang and Lee’s only convention appearance before The Warrior’s Way opens in theaters nationwide on December 3, 2010.

“We at Pacific Media Expo are extremely honored to have an actor of Mr. Jang Dong-gun’s caliber as our guest. We are happy to be the first convention to host his debut into American cinema. We welcome him with open arms,” says Mike Tatsugawa, PMX’s Founder and CEO.

Attendees are encouraged to register for Pacific Media Expo early for Mr.Jang Dong-gun’s panel. Autographs will be given only to those who come to Jang and Lee’s panel. Go to http://PacificMediaExpo.com/info/reg.html to register.

About Pacific Media Expo:

As America’s first major media trade show dedicated primarily to Asian-Pacific popular culture and entertainment, Pacific Media Expo (PMX) is an industry event sponsored by the Pacific Media Association. Pacific Media Expo will be held November 12-14, 2010 at the Pasadena Hilton. The convention will feature honored guests, live performances, panel discussions, autograph sessions, Asian cinema, animation, and Korean drama video rooms, and art exhibitions at one of the country’s only exhibit halls dedicated solely to Asian media and pop culture.

 

Kanye West collaborates with S. Korean pop group JYJ

We are seeing a few American artists collaborating with the hot S. Korean pop groups as of late and the latest is Kanye West who has teamed up with pop trio JYJ (Kim JaeJoong, Park YuChun and Kim JunSu).

The trio are also known for being part of one of the hottest and most successful pop groups in S. Korea and Japan known as DBSK/TVXQ (in Japan as Tohoshinki) and even for us at J!-ENT, fans from all over the world showed their love for the group with our 500-page book on the band (which has received over 3 million downloads since its release).

The trio is taking a break from their group as the dispute between members and their S. Korean label SM Entertainment is still unresolved.

JYJ has just released their album “The Beginning” and for the track “Ayy Girl”, the group collaborates with Kanye West and M. Yusuf. According to Billboard.com, “Show Shop Entertainment released the album Oct. 14 through Warner Music Korea. In the United States, Warner Music is releasing the album digitally through iTunes and Amazon with a CD release planned for late 2010 or early 2011.”

And the tracks are pretty slick, catchy and so damn cool! And as the fans would say, JYJ FIGHTING!

JYJ, “The Beginning” by billboard

 

Estrella Lin reveals the dark side of the Korean entertainment industry

Taiwan singer Estrella Lin recently wrote a book exposing her experience working in the Korean entertainment industry.

According to the publication Chosun:

In the book, Lin details how she was asked to provide sexual services and subjected to inhumane treatment. She was also asked to change her year of birth from 1980 to 1985 as she was considered too old.

Lin wrote that any popular singers in Korea, regardless of gender, are pimped for sexual services but claimed that despite being frequently asked to sleep with investors, she stubbornly refused.

Korean actress Jang Ja-yeon who took her life in 2009, wrote in a seven-page suicide letter of the dark side of the Korean entertainment industry.  Jang Ja-yeon wrote that her agent had regularly beaten her and forced her to have sex with a string of VIPs, including directors, media executives and CEOs and with many entertainers in Korea having taken their lives, more and more news of the dark side of the Korean entertainment industry is being exposed.

 

Korean publication looks into why the growth of suicide amongst its entertainers

In a recent article on Chosun Ilbo, with the death of actor/singer Park Yong-ha, the publication looks into why suicides have increased amongst Korean entertainers.

Here is a brief excerpt from the article:

The roster of recent celebrity suicides in Korea is getting longer and longer, with Lee Eun-ju, U;Nee, Jeong Da-bin, Ahn Jae-hwan, Choi Jin-sil, Choi Jin-young and now Park Yong-ha killing themselves since 2005. The numbers swell if actors or actresses who were either unknown when they took their lives or rose to fame only by committing suicide are included.

Although there are no accurate statistics, Korean celebrities seem more prone to suicide than stars in the U.S., Europe or Japan. They experience the same pressures as their counterparts overseas in terms of the fickleness of fame and irregular lifestyles. So what is it that drives them so often to take their own lives?

◆ Suicide Capital of the World

For one thing, Korea as a whole has the world’s highest suicide rate. For every 100,000 Koreans, 21.5 commit suicide, as against the OECD average of 11.1. Experts say celebrity suicides can provide insight into why Koreans tend to be more prone to taking their own lives.

“Koreans tend to form their sense of identity through how they are perceived by others and may give up and make drastic choices when they’re no longer able to show their best side to others,” said Hwang Sang-min, a psychologist at Yonsei University. “And that tendency is stronger among celebrities, whose livelihood depends on their popularity.”

Read more of this article from Chosun

 

Fans all over Asia mourn the death of actor/singer Park Yong-ha

With the shocking suicide of South Korean actor/singer Park Yong-ha, fans from all over Asia mourned his death.

Park recently performed in Japan and also released a chart-topping album, so many questions have risen of how can a talent who was loved by many, kill himself?

Chosun reported:

Park had split with his manager, who became the head of an entertainment agency, late last year and often talked about his disappointment in relationships with people when he began managing his own affairs. He appears to have suffered added pressure when he found out that his father had cancer, several of his acquaintances said

Police said Park had hung himself on his bedpost with an electrical wire. His mother, who found the body, called emergency services immediately, but it was too late. Police said suicide was the most probable cause since there were no signs of forced entry or a struggle. Park left no will or suicide note to give a clue to the motive.

Two or three days before his death, Park apparently told friends that his work and life were “too difficult.” Police heard testimony from Park’s friends that he suffered from insomnia due to stress and was taking sleeping pills. According to the wishes of the family, no autopsy will be conducted.

A rep from Park’s Japanese record label told newspapers:

Japanese media focused on the fact that Park was about to start his first Japanese concert tour in five years. A spokesman for the company that released his album in Japan told Nikkan Sports, “Nothing seemed strange about him when he came to Korea on Saturday after completing his concert in Saitama. He seemed very happy about the concert tour in Japan.” Park released his fifth album in Japan last month and was getting ready for a 14-city tour there.

 

Actor/singer Park Yong-ha found dead

Actor/singer Park Yong-ha was found dead on early Wednesday morning. The popular actor/singer was one of the talents who emerged strong in the Korean wave in Asia (especially in Japan as the actor appeared in the popular drama “Winter Sonata”) was found dead, hanging on a cord of his cell phone charger by his mother according to various news reports. Park Yong-ha was 33-years-old.

Reports are that Park Yong-ha committed suicide but a police investigation is pending. If it is a suicide, Park will be another well-known talent from S. Korea to join a growing number of talents who have committed suicide in the past five years.

 

“LOST” actress Yunjin Kim marries in Hawaii

“LOST” actress Yunjin Kim (Kim Yun-Jin) has married her boyfriend and long-time manager Park Jeong-Hyuk (CEO of Zion Entertainment) in Hawaii.

Kim released a statement from her agency before her wedding, “I have decided to spend the rest of my life with my partner who has been watching over me for the last eight years. We first met in 2002, and began an intimate relationship in 2007 when I was writing my autobiography.”

 

Actor and singer Choi Jin-young commits suicide

After losing his famous sister Choi Jin-sil to suicide in October 2008, actor/singer Cho Jin-young has taken his life.  According to Chosun:

Actor and singer Choi Jin-young was found dead in an apparent suicide at his home in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul on Monday afternoon. He was 39. His elder sister Choi Jin-sil, a famous actress, also killed herself in October 2008.

According to the Seoul Gangnam Police Station, police officers went to Choi’s home upon receiving a report at 2:14 p.m. and found him dead in the attic with an electric wire around his neck.

His body was found by his mother and a woman identified as Chung, who was his junior in college. When Choi did not answer the phone, Chung alerted Choi’s mother and the two hurried to his home together.

Choi was declared dead at Yonsei University’s Gangnam Severance Hospital around 2:46 p.m. “When he arrived, there was neither breathing activity nor heartbeat. We attempted CPR but there was no reaction,” the hospital said.

Read more of this article

 

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