SBS Drama awards- who will win the awards?

In 2010, it was actress Go Hyun Jung won the Grand Prize award (Daesang) for her performance in Dae-Mul. In 2011, actor Han Suk Kyu took the award for Tree with Deep Roots. Sohn Hyun Joo took the award for Chaser in 2012 followed by Lee Bo Young's brilliant performance in I Can Hear Your Voice 2013. Last year 2014, Jeon Ji Hyun took the Dae-sang for My Love from the Star. 

This year's winter for SBS Drama Awards 2015 - who will Jeon crown for the Dae-sang award? 

Coming 31st, we will be surprised by their talents and performances they have done this year. The candidates revealed for this year are Joo Won, Kim Rae Won, Yoo Ah In and Kim Hyun Joo. 3 men and 1 woman candidates are displayed out. Who will win?

Kim Rae Won's performance in Punch was no doubt good but sad ending. It was a fresh drama portraying the last dying wish of a lawyer struggling to find the truth. The viewers' ratings exceeded 20%. 

Then came in action drama Yongpal played by Joo Won who has captured the viewers' attention and by less than half of the series, the ratings were already more than 20%. 

This year fresh actors are all going in for the winners list- actor Yoo Ah In has already been gaining lots of support and attention with his multi award winning roles in big films and dramas. He's now starring in the sageuk drama Six Flying Dragons which have also scored high ratings. Meanwhile weekend drama I Have a Lover played by Kim Hyun Joo is at a slow start but gaining ratings too. 

SBS dramas have been winning lots of interests from everyone out there with their great dramas and drama OST. We have heard K.Will's voice in Yongpal and now JYJ's Junsu contributing to Six Flying Dragons OST. 

This year SBS drama Awards 2015 will be hosted by Yoon Jun Sang, Lee Hwi Jae and Im Ji Yeon at 8.55 pm. Stay tuned!

I really hope either Yoo Ah In or Joo Won wins this round... they have worked so hard...

Good luck to all the candidates! 

Yoo Jae Suk and Kim Byung Man wins Daesang for Entertainment Award.

On 30th December 2015, at Samseong-dong SBS Seoul, the recent SBS Entertainment Awards was held at COEX Mall producing 39 brilliant winners from small to big sectors. They finished it off the year 2015 with New Year holidays and a feast of staged people. 

Credit photo taken from NEWSIS website

The honor of the year goes to none other than nation's emcee Yoo Jae Suk and comedian Kim Byung Man. Kim won his award for his active performance in Law of the Jungle series while Yoo wins praises for his merits in Running Man variety show. He even won the Viewers Choice Popularity award while Kang Gary along with Song Ji Hyo from RM won the Top Excellence Awards in Variety section. Even big nosed brother Ji Suk Jin took home the Excellence Variety Award as well. 

Radio DJ Awards were given to Lee Guk Joo while Kim Gu Ra took the Producer TV Award. 

Once again MC Yoo has taken his grand prize award for the year! Congrats to the RM team!

MBC Drama Awards 2015 winners list

It must be a year for Kill Me, Heal Me drama casts and production...not only they took home the MBC Drama of the Year 2015 award but even the main leads were sweeping through the awards for the entire ceremony. Ji Sung, Hwang Jung Eum and Park Seo Jun were bagging home mostly the awards for this year 2015.

Dae-Sang: Ji Sung (Kill Me, Heal Me)
Drama of the Year: Kill Me, Heal Me
Top Excellence Actor (Serial Drama): Song Chang Eui (Make a Woman Cry)
Top Excellence Actress (Serial Drama): Kim Jung Eun (Make a Woman Cry)
Top Excellence Actor (Special Drama): Jung Jin Young (Glamorous Temptation)
Top Excellence Actress (Special Drama): Jeon In Hwa (Legend of the Witch/My Daughter Geum Sa Wol)
Top Excellence Actor (Mini-Series): Ji Sung (Kill Me, Heal Me)
Top Excellence Actress (Mini-Series): Hwang Jung Eum (Kill Me, Heal Me)
Excellence Actor (Mini-Series): Park Seo Joon (Kill Me, Heal Me/She Was Pretty)
Excellence Actress (Mini-Series): Kang So Ra (Warm and Cozy)
Best Couple: Ji Sung & Park Seo Jun (Kill Me, Heal Me)
Popular Actor: Park Seo Jun
Popular Actress: Hwang Jung Eum
PD's Choice Award: Hwang Jung Eum
Best New Actor (Special Drama): Yoon Hyun Min (My Daughter Geum Sa Wol)
Best New Actress (Special Drama): Lee Sung Kyung (Equator's Flower)
Best New Actor (Mini-Series): Lee Soo Hyuk (Scholar Who Walks the Night)
Best New Actress (Mini-Series): Lee Yoo Bi (Scholar Who Walks the Night)

Teen Star Award: Park Seo Jun

At last I am soooo happy for Ji Sung. He finally won the Dae-sang award which was well deserved since he had to portray so many multiple personalities in that drama. Not easy! 

From left: Hwang Jung Eum congratulating Ji Sung and behind is Park Seo Jun

His wife,  Lee Bo Young once took home the Dae-Sang award for her performance in I Hear Your Voice under SBS drama. The couple must be beaming with happiness with the birth of their first child this year and now a grand prize award for Daddy Ji Sung.

Congratulations to all the winners. 

Youth Over Flowers all smiles at conference.

Actors (from left): Jeong Woo, Kang Ha Neul, Jeong Sang Hoon and Jo Jeong Suk was at Gangnam-gu attending a press conference for their recent Youth Over Flowers variety show shot in Iceland.

It is one of tVN's latest shows to be aired featuring the 4 actors. The 4 actors burst out in laughters during the press conference.

Aww...Jo Jeong Suk really look good in the tux... *swoons*

90's group TURBO reunites for come-back.

The 90s group Turbo 터보 is making their comeback with the 6th album- AGAIN.

The original members of Turbo are Kim Jong Kook (Sparta Kook!), Kim Jong Nam and Mikey. Of course for those who listened to their music it was originally duo Kim were in the group until Mikey joins them later on.

Turbo's popular hits include Black Cat, Twist King and Decision. Even the young idols do know the famous tune Black Cat. It was a disco pop music. After releasing their 5th album, the group were disabanded. Jong Kook left the company while Mikey returned back to US since he was originally from the States. Jong Kook proves to be the most successful among the members since he went solo. He was the permanent member of Family Outing program and currently Running Man variety show.

The trio are making their come back after 15 years. Good luck to them!

Singer Rain in new drama - Come Back, Ajusshi.

Singer and actor Rain (Jung Ji Hoon) will be coming back in small screen. The last drama he appeared was 1 year and 3 months ago- that drama was quite a flop despite he was the main lead and Infinite's L was second lead. f(X)'s Krystal was the leading actress but her acting was terrible in a sense I lost hope after watching half way through.

Rain's manager has mentioned that Jung Ji Hoon was casted as the lead in the upcoming drama - Come Back, Ajusshi 돌아와요 아저씨. The novel was originated from a late Japanese writer Jirō Asada entitled Mr. Tsubakiyama's Seven Days.

Asada's works have brought us through the journey each of these characters making back to this world. He has written whereby the probes the meaning of blood relations, the ties that bind parent and child, and our bonds with others who move in and out of our lives.

Rain will be playing as the Manager who works in the shopping mall under the women's department. After an overworkload, he suffered an untimely death. While pleading for a second chance to the afterlife gods, he was granted and reborn as a 30s hot looking manager played by Lee Hae Jun.

The writers for the movie Singles and 200 Pounds Beauty along with the drama Rooftop Prince are collaborating with PD Shin Yoon Sub for this new drama to be broadcasted next February 2016.

Meanwhile Rain has been busy with his nationwide concert. He has announced he will be releasing new songs next year along with World Tour Concert. Stay tuned! 

Park Seo Joon and Hwang Jung Eum at Love Bazaar 사랑愛바자.

The two leads from the drama She Was Pretty- Park Seo Joon and Hwang Jung Eum attended the Love Bazaar 사랑愛바자 on 23rd December.

The actor and actresses arrived for the opening of the headquarters Cheil Love Bazaar. 
Dressed in a leather jacket, Park seems to be comfy and smiling away as he greeted all in the event. Hwang spotted in a dark navy double breasted coat looked pretty as she was in the drama.

Song Triplets are leaving Return of Superman in early 2016.

Actor Song Il Kook and his adorable triplet sons (Dae Han, Min Guk, Man Se) have finally come to terms of exiting the KBS 2TV program Return of Superman. Ever since the Song triplets entered the variety show, the popularity has shot up. Since last July, the Song triplets have appeared in the show and everyone loved them to bits.

Earlier in November, actor Uhm Tae Woong and daughter Ji On has left the show to concentrate on career. It seems also UFC fighter Chu Sang Hoon and daughter Sa Rang will be leaving in Feb 2016 too.

On the 21st, the Song family has shot the last episode and final footage will be aired in February next year. The actor has wrapped up the filming at the last bus stop so we ask for our patience and understanding. 

Return of Superman's Song-daddy is thanking all the viewers for their continous love and support all this time for his sons. He felt very grateful to be given the opportunity to appear in this program and he will be actively involved in the society and work.

Currently Song is filming the historical drama Jang Young Shil which is scheduled to be broadcast on KBS channel in January 2016.

For us, we will be missing Dae Han, Min Guk and Man Se lots!! I mean LOTS!
All these years, the boys have grown up so much from babies to walking and running away.

They were the main reason I am watching Return of Superman. Song-daddy will be busy with drama so it's back to his wife looking after the triplets.
Good luck in his new drama and I do hope the boys grow up well and healthy. :D

My thoughts on Star Wars VII- The Force Awakens.

Over the weekend, it was 40 over degrees in Melbourne so most people hid away from the heat by staying indoors in a cooling shopping malls. I booked my movie ticket a week before the release of the movie at Eastland Hoyts. To my surprise the seats were all new and revamped! I love it! They were recliner chairs and the seats were massive and each one comes with a cup holder. Love it! For the price I've paid it's like sitting in Gold Class cinemas.

Well of all the Star Wars movies...I think the 7th episode wasn't to much of my liking. Most characters ...I mean the original characters were mostly just cameos or gone! The movie opens whereby Storm Troopers under the commander of new evilbie Kylo Ren destroys the village and pilot Pou sends his droid BB8 with a USB chip containing the whereabouts of the last Jedi knight Luke Skywalker. BB8 escapes and runs into a scavenger Rey who took him in. Surprisingly one of the troopie Finn escaped from First Order together with Pou. At first Finn thought Pou died in a plane crash and wondered around until he found Rey and BB8.

The two were hunted tremendously and they flew the Falcon which was formerly a junk but bumped into Han Solo and Chewy. All Finn wants to do is escape and hide from the First Order. Han meets Princess Leia (now she's called The General) who is actively fighting the evil people. Leia wants to ensure their son Kylo returns to their side. It was far too long they lost their son to the dark side. Kylo looks up to the late Darth Vader and vows to finish whatever he has done. However he has fiery temper and he is afraid to lose. Kylo and Troopers managed to kidnap Rey back. They wanted to know where Luke is since the map was only shown to droid BB8. Leia brought along C-3PO and the inactive R2D2. 

As the good people battle against the evil, we see that Rey has an extraordinary power in her. She could resist anything and even use the force to control people. Kylo is surprised to see she is so strong. The battle between Kylo and Rey was good seeing she is new and hasn't use a light sabre. In fact the sabre she held once belongs to Luke and his father.
Fight---fight and somehow baddie dies and Rey runs away to the wounded Finn. She finds the deserted island where Luke was hiding and handed the original lightsabre to him. 

Spoilers: No more Han Solo in future episode. He's dead for good. Everyone mourns his death especially Chewy. Now that Han is no longer around, the next pilot to Chewy is Rey.

Kylo Ren isn't that tough baddie as he is...to be honest he wasn't so strong and his skills were still weak compared to the other Darths trained by the late Emperor. It'd be better if he doesn't remove his mask at all. Nothing beats the badass Vader. We miss him!

Luke Skywalker has aged so much that he looks like a slight bigger version of Yoda. Everyone has gone so old and doesn't seem to impress me anymore with soooo few Jedi's.
The light sabre duels were too short. It was more of fighting planes flying around.

The new Supreme Leader Snoke is some hologram like been projected by a projector. He looks similar to a cross version of Voldermort. Besides it's Andy Serkis who plays Gollum in LOTRings sequel playing as Snoke... no wonder Snoke's got that Gollum look. Hahah! 

The Good!: The droids in this episode are adorable. BB8 is the latest mania in Star Wars fans. He's like a rollable ball with antenna. He's built by the pilot Pou and he joins the original robots- R2D2 and C-3PO. R2D2 didn't have much appearance until the very last bit in detecting the map and where Luke Skywalker is. 

John Boyega and Daisy Ridley did well as newcomers in this installment. Though they are new to the fans, but they pulled their roles very well. 

Rating: 7/10
Well one final word to say- May the Force Be With Us...  (lol!)

Yoo Seung Ho's Remember: War of the Son takes no#1 spot.

SBS's TV drama special- Remember: War of the Son 리멤버 – 아들의 전쟁 has taken no#1 rank spot with highest viewership rating by just airing the 3rd episode through tele.

TNMS nationwide household audience measurement company recorded the drama has rose 1.7% compared the previous rating 9.6%. 

On 2nd place is KBS's Merchant of Trade: Gaekju 8.4% (ratings rose 0.1%) followed by MBC's Sweet Savage Family on the last spot 4.7% after its ratings dropped 0.2% further.

Remember: War of the Son is drama about changing lives when a young lawyer, Seo Jin Woo-played by Yoo Seung Ho is trying hard to prove his father's innocence after been framed for a murder which he hasn't committed. 

The young lawyer is known to have excellent memory skills but he starts to have the same memory loss syndrome as his father. And time is running out... 

Seo Jin Woo then begs another lawyer Park Dong Ho played by Park Seong Woong to save his father's life for another trial. Hereby the audience is drawn to the evil villain in this drama- Nam Gyu Man played by Nam Goong Min. 

Among the highest viewers were women aged 40s - 12.5%, women aged 50- 7.2% and women at the aged bracket of 30s recorded 5.4%.
Well done to the brilliant cast for this drama! 

Review on MBC's Splash Splash Love 퐁당퐁당 drama.

MBC has released a short 2-episode drama called Splash Splash Love 퐁당퐁당  starring B2ST member Yoon Do Joon and actress Kim Seul Gi. 

For those who have known Kim Seul Gi was the virgin ghost in tVN's drama Oh!My Ghostess who possesses the body of Park Bo Young the innocent worker in the restaurant to seduce the good looking chef played by Jo Jeong Suk.

Yoon Do Joon has been in various dramas such as Let's Eat (2 seasons, IRIS 2, All My Love for You. The two were casted as a star crossed fated lovers in this modern-periodic drama. Kim Seul Gi plays as Dan Bi a high school student who can actually port herself anywhere when there is rain. One day due to some stress from university entrance exams, she accidentally ported herself into the Joseon dynasty! 

Dan Bi who is from 20th century carrying a backpak and school uniform finds herself stuck in the Joseon era where she bumps into the young coronated Prince Lee Do played by Yoon. Somehow the King finds himself attracted to this mysterious girl who is from the modern era. A very light hearted romantic comedy seeing Kim Seul Gi as a high school student.

Other veteran actors include Im Yeh Jin who plays as Dan Bi's mother and also the Queen Dowager. Kim Gap Soo plays as one of the ministers in the palace. 

All I could say some characters are based on real historical figures. The King is the Great King Sejong (Prince Lee Do) who created the Hangul words, there's Park Yoon the famous musician and also Jang Young Shil- the famous inventor and astronomist in Joseon dynasty. 

Ending was happy and sweet. Though Dan Bi loved to stay with the King but she wishes to return to the future as she misses her mother. She spend the last few moments with the King but she transported herself back to take her University entrance exams. She then saw the reincarnation of the Park Yoon as a newbie singer. Also not to forget the King...he came back as one of the guys she met in the bus and took her umbrella. 

They cannot live together in the past live but somehow they are reunited back in the future.

Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Yuna win the Nation's brand award.

Actor Kim Soo Hyun (27) has been awarded the Nation's Brand Award for raising the national brand. Together with ice figure skater Kim Yuna, they were were chosen for their contribution to entertainment and sports industry. Kim Soo Hyun has targeted the cultural sector and he has indeed made a name for himself.

Fame from his dramas 'My Love from Another Star' as the alien who lived in the world for few hundred years to the quirky newbie PD Baek Seung Chan in 'The Producers', Kim Soo Hyun has been recognized for his works and acting skills. He has been named as the most influential figure around China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Kazakhstan.

For the first time this year, the Nation Brand Award recognizes the talent and impact of individuals/companies as a brand national image while spreading the positive image of South Korea and promoting it worldwide.

Congratulations to both of them! 

Singer Kim Yeon Woo cancels concert.

Singer Kim Yeon Woo (44) has scheduled to sing for the opening of his concert stage at Cheonan at South Chunggcheong Province, however he had to pull back and cancel everything. 

Why? The singer was suffering from vocal problems and couldn't hit the high notes. So he decided to pull out from the concert while shaking his head and hanging it low. The fans were concerned for his health as he sheds a tear. He apologized for not being able to sing well and perform for everyone who turned up on that day.

Kim Yeon Woo was the winner of MBC TV Sunday Night variety program The Masked King where he won 4 consecutive times by wearing the mask Cleopatra and belted out various ballads which won many audience hearts. He was also invited for cable channel jTBC's Hidden Singer Season 4. He was busy with his tight schedules along with nationwide concerts, the veteran singer had no problem handling with vocal chords. The rehearsal was all good until that day the singer was having trouble hitting the keys. 

The concert tickets were to be refunded.

His popular his include To Be With You from The Producers OST along with collaboration with TOEI's band - You're Still As Beautiful 여전히 아름다운지.

Gi Tae Young, Eugene and baby to join Return of Superman.

Actor Gi Tae Young (37) and his wife actress Eugene (35) are to join the KBS 2TV Happy Sunday- Return of Superman variety show with their newborn baby.

KBS is determined to have the pair to be a successor after the depature of actor Uhm Tae Woong's family due to filming reasons. Gi Tae Young and Eugene are to fill the vacancy spot for Uhm Tae Woong while joining with the rest of the other families.

Currently the families on Return of Superman are UFC fighter Choo Sang Hoon and daughter, actor Song Il Gook and his triplets, announcer Lee Hwi Jae and twin sons and football player Lee Dong Gook with his two sets of twins and little son. 

Gi Tae Young and Eugene first met at the set of the drama Creating Destiny. After 18 months of dating, the two decided to tie the knot at year end 2011. Eugene has just given birth to a baby daughter, Kim Ro Hee in April 2015 and she's back in dramaland for the weekend family drama All About Mom. 

Park Shin Hye's massive Weibo followers.

Actress Park Shin Hye (25) has opened a Weibo chinese account and it has surpassed the 10 million followers.

According to her agency Salt Entertainment, the avid followers to the South Korean actress proves to be first of all to reach 10 million!

Park Shin Hye made her debut acting in the popular drama Stairways to Heaven as the younger version of Choi Ji Woo. She became more popular in the drama You're Beautiful with Jang Geun Suk and Jung Yong Hwa. She was casted as main lead in The Heirs and Pinnochio drama. She has reached a huge stardom at a very young age.

Park Shin Hye, Jo Jeong Suk and Do Kyeong Soo (D.O from EXO) will be starring in the new film 'Brother 형'. 

JYJ's Kim Junsu re-cast in in musical Dracula.

JYJ group member Kim Jun Su (28) has once proven to be top musical star of all time.
He has recently be re-cast for his role as Dracula in the popular musical.

On the 9th November in noon, the first round of 32,000 tickets were sold out in 10 minutes!
In the portal search site- Dracula was the number one searched word. C-Jes Entertainment agency mentioned the booking sites were temporarily shut due to the congestion of public trying to secure the tickets online. Sejong Centre Grand Theatre is one of the largest and grandest place holding musical or concerts. For the first time it has sold out all the seats for an event. The concert hall currently holds 3000 seats.

Dracula is is based on the by American musical composer Frank Wilde Horn whose works were famed across the globe. When it premiered last year in Korea, it gained 92% popularity and the slots where Jun Su performs were all sold out. It was a massive good turnout and no doubt the singer himself won an award for his role in the 9th Musical Awards Festival.

Dracula musical is scheduled from 23rd January to 9th February 2016 at the Sejong Centre Grand Theatre. Kim Jun Su and Park Eun Seok will be playing as Dracula in various slot times, Mina is played by Lim Hye Young, Van Helsing by Kang Hong Seok, Jonathan by Jin Tae Hwa and lasty Lucy by Lee Yeh Eun. The PDs are Shin Chun Soo, Park Chang Joo while choreography director will be David Swan.

Running time will be 2 hours and 50 minutes.
Price of tickets- KRW$ 50,000 ranging to KRW$140,000.

Review on H-Kg movie Return of Cuckoo 十月初五的月光

While I was in Penang late this year, I managed to watch the long awaited movie Return of Cuckoo 十月初五的月光 which was the continuation from the famous TVB drama. The original casts from the drama shot in 2000 will return to the big screen. 
Main leads Julian Cheung and Charmaine Sheh reprised their original roles as Man Cho and Kwan Ho.

The movie was released on 12th November 2015 in the cinemas.

The movie picks up where Man Cho (Julian Cheung) continues his happy life in Macau with his adopted mother Aunt Q (Nancy Sit) and the rest of her group. 

He even has a good female friend, Kei Kei (Joe Chen) suffers from disability to talk. Kei Kei works in the bakery and often bakes Man Cho's favorite cookies despite suffering allergy to nuts. 

After 15 years, out of sudden Kwan Ho returns from America to celebrate Aunt Q's birthday. Everyone was happy for her but Man Cho sensed there was something wrong with her. She appears to smile a lot but deep down she was suffering from a trauma. Man Cho saves her from committing suicide at the bath tub in the hotel. Her family and friends found out she ran away from the mental hospital in America after her husband Szeto Lai Sun and two kids died in a car accident. She kept blaming herself for what happened to her family. Earlier she thought Szeto was cheating on her, so she picked a huge fight with him at home. Szeto left the house with the kids to avoid stress and shouting. However the three of them never returned after that. 

Younger Man Cho and Kwan Ho in the TVB series in 2000

Everyone was worried that Kwan Ho's into depression stage and tends to commit suicide. Her father rushed to see her and Man Cho is like 24 hours keeping an eye on her condition.
Their best friend Kam Sing (Michael Tong) has became very rich and big casino boss but he was betrayed by his girlfriend and best buddy. Kam Sing lost everything and hid away from everyone else. Finally Kwan Ho pulled herself together and began working as tour guide with Man Cho. The two were close as usual causing Kei Kei to become very jealous. Everyone thought Man Cho will be marrying Kei Kei but he only treated her as a friend. Man Cho and Kwan Ho managed to help Kam Sing gain the trust of a real estate tycoon. After laying low for some time Kam Sing became rich again and joint venture with the tycoon.

One day during a strong typhoon, Kwan Ho was to pick Kei Kei up but ended up in a landslide. Kei kept quiet hoping Man Cho will never know what happened to Kwan Ho. When she finally told him what happened, Man Cho rushed to save Kwan Ho being trapped in the car mudslide. He himself injured his head and left it to the last stage. Slowly Man Cho begins to faint and suffer from brain problems. The doctors told him operation would be the best way but chances of him waking up is having amnesia. Aunt Q advised him not to wait anymore and does whatever he wants. He tells Kwan Ho no matter what others say he will always be with her. She nodded and agreed to stay by his side even if he forgets her.

After the operation, Man Cho recovers and Kwan Ho was delighted that he is fine.
She smiles with happiness with the rest that Man Cho is all good. But later it was shown Man Cho had written on his palm before surgery - Kwan Ho, I am fine...don't worry. He was afraid that he suffer from amnesia but he made sure he must never forget Kwan Ho.
Indeed we can see that Man Cho has forgotten everything else so in order to please and not to make them worry, he had to keep reminding himself the person he loved.

The End.


Verdict? Well...storyline was so-so. The fact where the 80s group Grasshopper members appeared as cameo in the casino while playing cards with the sad Kwan Ho made me laugh.
They were funny as ever and dressed in the flashy costumes. Even Man Cho sat beside them giggled and fan-boying away. Hah! That's weird.

The touching scene was when Man Cho sat in the car grieving on the operation success rate, Aunt Q starts singing a folk tale song to make him happy and at ease. 

Ending was quite disappointing... I didn't like it. Overall I'd give it 7/10 for the movie.

EXO members meet with the new Star Wars cast in South Korea.

The long awaited installment of Star Wars movie is going to be released on 17th December.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens held its press conference recently in South Korea. Director JJ Abrams along with his new cast Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega graced the event at Conrad Hotel. 

The Force Awakens is set around 30 years after the last film Return of the Jedi. With the returning original cast such as Harrison Ford, Mark Hamil, Carrie Fisher ...they are joined with the new cast members including Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong, Andy Serkis, D.Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and many more.

The original heroes and heroine Leia Organa, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO are all still fighting actively against the new republic. Pilot Poe Dameron, Finn who is the first order stormtrooper, scavanger Rey and BB-8 droid. Since Darth Vader is no longer available in this movie, there's a new baddie in the air. He's  Kylo Ren- who also holds a red light sabre and joins the dark force. A powerful figure who is ambitious and determines to destroy the Resistance group. Being a successor to the late Darth Vader, he vows to finish up whatever his previous master has done.

The event proved to be successful where they could communicate closer to their fans- like an open fan club meeting. In particular among the fans were EXO group members Suho (24), Chanyeol (23) and Sehun (21) were present making the atmosphere even more exciting. The EXO members exchanged gifts with the director JJ Abrams and had a great time. The boys were big fans of Star Wars movie.

Especially the famous line- 'I am your father' where Darth Vader told the truth to Luke Skywalker. EXO leader, Suho mentioned that he was a huge fan. He just collected everything on Star Wars when everyone was into Lego.

Chanyeol expressed his happiness and honour to meet the director himself along with the new casts who are the same age as him. 

The casts are due to leave for Tokyo and start a world tour to promote the movie.
Official release date for the movie in cinemas is on 17th December 2015. 

For Star Wars fans- here's your chance to catch the movie.

May the force be with you! 

EXO's Winter Album 2015.

Group EXO will be releasing their special Winter Album 2015 consisting 2 CDs in it:

CD 1:

1. Not Fair
2. Sing for you
3. Girl X-Friend
4. Footprint (on the snow)
5. Lightsaber (Bonus Track

CD 2 consists of the same tracks except they are in Chinese.

The albums are available on 10th December. 

Review on Kyoto Cafe at Eastland S/C in Ringwood.

After spending 2 weeks in Japan, one could never get enough of Japanese food. It's strange when I was there, I was craving for Korean food after days of having the same ramen and udon soup. Then when I am back in Aussie land, I am craving for authentic Japanese food.

Went to the newly revamped Eastland S/C at Ringwood which I haven't visited since March/April as the carparks were difficult to find and renovation was everywhere. So I happened to pass by the mall via train and saw the new station is up too!
Luck was on my side as I found a parking spot in the mall since it's near to Christmas it was choc-a-block! People were queueing up to buy food and gifts...oh well thanks to because it's a brand new mall.

The Town Square is a new eatery precint where it's located on the top floor facing the main Maroondah Hwy and train station. There were many restaurants in the Town Square. I walked along feeling hungry and came across a Japanese restaurant called Kyoto Cafe.
Prices were steep for this cafe and they were operated by all Japanese staffs. Since I was alone I was escorted to a seat just in front of the kitchen bar where I could see them make sushi, prepare the bento sets and grill the fish.

I first ordered a Matcha Latte (AU$4.00) followed by a Sushi 7-Set (costs AU$18.00) and finishing up with a black sesame custard puff (AU$4.00). Service was alright....it was quite cosy but the customers were noisy and rowdy inside the restaurant. 
Food wise- it was edible though portions were not huge. The sushi platter was well prepared but not as good as I had in Tsukiji Market or in Dotonbori Osaka. 

I was quite tempted to try the Parfait which is a dessert in Japanese consisting of green tea ice-cream, rice balls, a slice of brownie, mashed cooked sweet Red azuki beans, - some come with macaroon or Pocky sticks in it. By the way the Parfait costs AU$7.00 which I have yet to sample. Bento sets range from AU$22-$30 (Depending on the meat- either seafood, beef, duck..etc), Takoyaki for entree costs AU$7.00 and there's Okonomiyaki as well.

I might go back for 2nd time to try the ramen and parfait but for now it's alright.
Once a while to splurge $20+ for a lunch menu. Nothing too spectacular but because it's new and Japanese food- it tends to be more expensive.

K-Movie Inside Men 내부자들 drew 5 million viewers.

The movie Inside Men 내부자들 opened in cinemas on 19th November 2015 and since then it has drew 5 million viewers making it one of the big box office movies in South Korea. It has also ranked top no#5 movie for all time.

Lee Byung Hun, Bae Yoon Shik and Jo Seung Woo with their congratulatory cake!

Within 7 days of opening of the movie, it has already drew 100,000 people to watch it. 
So far some movies have made it to the top of attracting more than 5 million viewers to the cinemas.

1. Friend 친구 drew 8.2 million viewers
2. Ajusshi 아저씨 drew 6.17 million viewers
3. The King's Man- Secret Service drew 6.12 million viewers
4. Tazza 타짜 drew 5.68 million viewers

Inside Men is based on the book by Yoon Tae Ho and directed by PD Woo Min Ho. The main leads casted for this movie are veteran actors Lee Byung Hun, Bae Yoon Shik and Jo Seung Woo. The movie is all about political war and ambitious people crowding around to succeed in their career. Prosecutor Woo played by Jo is ambitious and starts investigating the relationship on Congressman Jang Pil Woo along with his mysterious sponsors.

Woo stumbles across Ahn Sang Gu played by Lee who is one of the strong supporters and pillars to Jang and editor Lee Kang Hee played by Bae. Little does he know that Ahn is actually plotting his secret revenge on the other two men.

Scriptwriter Yoon mentions the characters are out there receive love and support from the audience. And once again he thanked all the support and viewers from the public. He hopes the public will continue to support and love this movie. 

Girl's Generation Seohyun casted in Mamma Mia musical.

The famous musical Mamma Mia! is back again after 3 years...
According to the production site, the stage musical will run from February 24th 2016 until June 4th at Charlotte Theatre Stage. That's a pretty long run for a musical in South Korea.

The evergreen hit songs Dancing Queen, Honey Honey, Money Money were hooked up from the greatest hits sung by the Swedish group ABBA. It came from Britain in year 1999 and became so famous to US, Germany, France and other 49 countries worldwide.

The musical premiered in South Korea in 2004. So far it has attracted 1.7 million viewers around 33 cities including the capital city Seoul. The auditions took place 2 weeks in last June to determine the main leads. Around 1200 people took part in the audition. At the end the final list were restricted to Choi Jeong Won, Jeon Su Kyeong, Lee Gyeong Mi, Nam Gyeong Ju, Seong Gi Yoon and Lee Hyun Woo. 

The opening of the musical is about a lady named Donna who is about to have her daughter Sophie getting married off. Sophie is curious to know her real father so she sends 3 invitation cards to 3 separate men whom she believed one might be her father from an old photograph. 3 men turned up at the wedding party - Sam who is an American architect, a British banking exec Harry and Bill who is an Aussie adventurer and writer. Donna gets confused seeing all her ex-lovers. Sophie thinks Bill is her father where the other men were convinced they were her real father. 

Choi Jeong Won will play as Donna, Jeon Su Kyeong will be as Tanya, Lee Gyeong Mi as Rosie. Girls' Generation Seohyun and singer Park Ji Yeon will be playing as Sophie. 

Moon Chae Won and Yoo Yeon Suk's romantic film to screen on 2016.

Yoo Yeon Suk (31) and Moon Chae Won (29)'s first ever collaborated movie That Mood That Day 그날의분위기 will be screening in the new year 2016. Mmmm...I'd be looking forward to it.

That Mood That Day film features a couple met by coincidence at first chance.

Also featuring Jo Jae Yoon and Park Min Woo in this romantic comedy.

As the word in the film mentioned love is about timing with the atmosphere flowing between man and woman determines the direction of romance. 

For the past few times when I was in the plane or even at home, I was drawn to Yoo Yeon Suk's films that he has acted in. First he was the super baddie in the movie WolfBoy, then he was the reckless King who ignores his queen in The Royal Tailor and he was again the 

protagonist in Perfect Proposal. He has definitely caught my attention in most of the films.

And how could one forget thd cute Chilbongie he has acted in Reply Me series along with the childish Baek Geon Woo in Warm and Cozy drama.

As for Moon Chae Won, she was always the darling in the dramas I've watched. 

Am definitely hoping to see this movie in the coming year 2016. 

U-Kiss' Eli reveals all he's becoming a father.

Group U-Kiss member Eli has revealed the fact about his marriage and he's coming a father soon! 

It seems not long when his former member Dongho from U-Kiss just held his wedding ceremony, the fans were bombarded with another truth about Eli's personal life.

According to his agency NH Media, Eli has been dating the 11 years older female racing model and they secretly held their wedding in June. As a member of an idol group, there were issues and concerns about his work, so he didn't hold an official wedding ceremony.
It has been confirmed that Eli's wife is confirmed pregnant and they were keen to disclose the fact as Eli wants to have rights for his child and wife.

To be responsible, proud to be a father and keep in mind while refraining from the negative comments, Eli had keep an eye on the news.

Meanwhile, once Eli goes wraps ups the TV Joseon drama- he is back into promotional activities in Japan U-KISS on 22-24 December for meetings with the fans along with 'One And Only You " shooting on the 11th. 

JYJ's Kim Jae Joong 2nd album is releasing on February 2016.

JYJ's member Kim Jae Joong who is currently serving in the military is releasing his 2nd album in February 2016. 

According to Jae Joong's agency C-Jes Entertainment will be expecting to release the 2nd album on February 2016. A total of more than 10 tracks are in the album. The album was completed before the Hallyu star was called in for compulsory military services.

In October 2013, Jae Joong released his 1st album WWW. It was only 2 years and 4 months and by March he has already finished on his 2nd album.

C-Jes Entertainment mentioned that Jae Joong composed the entire album and worked on to record other songs during his spare time. The album will be a special gift to his fans.

His first ever rock genre album WWW has sold over 20 million copies and topped iTunes charts in 12 countries after been released in 2013. 

Yoo Seung Ho and Park Min Young in new drama 'Remember'

Last year on 3rd December...and exactly one year on child actor Yoo Seung Ho is gaining main leads in dramas, movies and his popularity has skyrocketed.

Last month on 24th November, he was in the MBC Every1's drama Imaginary Cat and now he is back in the small screen with actress Park Min Young for SBS's new drama Remember. Remember is directed by PD Lee Chang Min. On the 30th, it is expected to release the new sageuk movie Joseon's Magician starring Yoo and actress Go Ah-Ra.

Imaginary Cat is about an inspiring writer who is cold, stubborn with a close personality confiding his close friend and companion- who happens to be a furry legged animal- Cat.
The work happened to be for Yoo working along with cats.

Meanwhile for the new drama Remember- Yoo plays as Seo Jin Woo who is a young genius lawyer desperate to clear his father's name from crimes he hasn't done. Seo Jin Woo possesses this special skill where he has excellent memory to remember everything well. When he's about to prove his father's innocence, he's struck with early Alzheimer disease.

Park Min Young plays as the senior lawyer while Park Sun Woong is the attorney for triads. Veteran actor Jeon Gwang Ryul plays as Yoo's innocent father while Nam Goong Min is the baddie in this drama. It's pretty drastic painful memory drama so it'd be something interesting to look forward to.

Yoo has been pairing up with matured actresses beyond his age in most dramas and films.
Park Min Young is 7 years older than Yoo confronted the awkwardness between the two. 

Look out for the hottie Nam Goong Min as the real baddie in this drama. I am sure he was a real baddie in Sensory Couple drama.

Snippets showing Yoo Seung Ho has matured so much as a brilliant actor with his killer smile. I am definitely watching this drama- pretty heroine, cute looking hero, hot baddie...etc.
Woohoo! I am all in for this!