The tall and lean actor started out as a model – no surprise there. Jo In-sung, who got his height from his Mom, was an active kid – playing baseball as a child as well as the piano. The latter was not his choice but his Mom’s. Jo auditioned for a modeling job in his teens and debuted as a ZioZia model. After some bit parts in various dramas, the talent officially embarked on his acting career in the popular daytime sitcom Nonstop (2001). His role in the sitcom led to his first drama Piano (2002). While working on Nonstop, the model-turned-actor started dating actress Kim Jung-hwa (Spy Girl), who was his co-star in the show. The couple has called it quits but Jo insists that they remain good friends. Jo’s star continued to rise thanks to his lead roles in drama Shoot for the Stars (2002) and hit Korean movie The Classic (2002), where he worked opposite Son Ye-jin. Following that are dramas Something Happened in Bali (2004) and Spring Days (2005). Jo then toplined the highly-acclaimed Korean gangster flick A Dirty Carnival (2006). The 28-year-old is currently enjoying success from his latest period film Frozen Flower. The sexually-charged

(More)…

Ah, some people have it all. Not only does Kang Dong-won posses model good looks, he’s also smart and comes from a well-to-do family (Daddy’s the vice president of a huge corporation). A modelling agent spotted Dong-won back in 2000, when the young man was still studying Mechanical Engineering at Hanyang University (one of the best private universities in South Korea). With his androgynous good looks, Dong-won became a professional model before he started acting. He debuted in the drama The Funny Wild Girl (2003) before making his movie debut in Too Beautiful to Lie (2004). People started taking notice of the model-turned-actor after he appeared in Temptation of the Wolves (2004). The flick made him one of the most promising young actors in South Korea. In fact, he is considered one of the leading stars of the second generation Hallyu (the 27-year-old is particularly popular in Japan.) In 2006, the actor starred in the critically-acclaimed Our Happy Time. He then proved to all and sundry that he is more than just a pretty face by toplining hit movie Voice of a Murderer the same year. Only his voice is heard in the flick. In 2007, the actor tackled the

(More)…

30 year-old Yun Jung Hoon (Yeon Jeong Hun) is probably most famous for marrying the beautiful actress, Ha Ga In. Being an actor seem to be in his roots as his father is veteran actor Yun Kyu Jin. The very first time I saw Yun Jung Hoon was in the movie Daddy Long Legs where he acted opposite Ha Ji Won. I thought he looked more Chinese than Korean. With a string of dramas under his belt, Yun Jun Hoon returns to his acting career after military service in the new drama East of Eden. He did not rush back to work after military but waited 6 months for the right role to come his way. In East of Eden he plays Dong-wook, the younger brother of the main character Dong-cheol (Song Seung-hun). Coming from a family who is familiar with the entertainment business, Yun consults his parents and wife before accepting any projects. His mother used to manage his father’s career and helped her husband select scripts. The role in East of Eden comes highly recommended by his father who has worked with writer Na Yeon-sook many times. Yun Jung hoon signed on with Rain‘s entertainment company, J. Tune

(More)…

When i wanted to do a profile of Coffee Prince‘s Choi Han Seong – actor Lee Seon Gyun, i couldn’t find any information on him in English! He isn’t even on Wikipedia. Anyway, this is probably one of the few profiles of him in English, thanks to K-popped!‘s reader and friend Joe Gimm. This low-keyed actor has a rich deep voice that you would notice immediately. Lee Seon Gyun is currently in the drama My Sweet Seoul (달콤한 나의 도시). From an unknown he shot to fame in his role in the 2007 MBC hit drama Coffee Prince in which he plays a patient and sensitive music director. 33 year-old Lee Seon Gyun made his debut in 2001 via a musical ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show‘. He also started to act minor roles in films from that year onwards. His most memorable TV appearance was ‘Loveholic:러브홀릭‘ in 2005. It may be that producers have taken note of that deep rich baritone of his and resulted in him singing the title song of his current drama My Sweet Seoul. Lee Seon Gyun is married to actress Jun Hye Jin. Let’s get to know this very private actor. Date of birth: 02 March

(More)…

At the time of writing, Son Tae-young is best known as the soon-to-be Mrs. Kwon Sang-woo. The lovebirds have set their wedding date on September 28, 2008. But before the announcement that Son is marrying one of K-popdom’s most eligible bachelors, the 28-year-old kicked off her career in showbiz as a beauty queen. The Iljimae and Sad Movie actress was the 3rd runner-up in the 2000 Miss Korea beauty pageant. She went on to act in the drama Pure Heart (2001). Her first movie role was in the 2004 flick Ghost House. One of her more notable flicks is The Railroad (2006), which received a special award by the International Federation of Film Critics during the 25th Torino Film Festival in Italy. The backlash from her impending marriage to Hallyu star Kwon Sang-woo has laid bare her personal life. In 2001, Son made headlines for dating actor Shin Hyun-joon (St. Hobbo Oppa) after calling it quits with songwriter Joo Young-hoon. A love triangle between the trio made much fodder for gossip. Son again became the centre of attention in 2006 when she got involved with music video director Cool K. The lady openly expressed the pain of breaking up on

(More)…

SeeYa which is the shortened form of “See You Always” is the name of a South Korean female trio made up of Nam Gyu Ri, Kim Yeon Ji and Lee Bo Ram. SeeYa is the brainchild of the producers who brought us romantic crooners SG Wannabe. Since the latter has been so well received, the producers wanted to create a female version thus a nationwide talent search was held. Out of four-hundred hopefuls, the trio which consists of Nam, Kim and Lee were selected and thus the birth of SeeYa in 2005. SeeYa – the female version of SG WannabeFrom left: Lee Bo Ram (The Sweetheart), Nam Gyu Ri (The Beauty) & Kim Yeon Ji (The Holy Voice) SeeYa is a girl group with substance. They are not just pretty faces but show off their vocal prowess via ballads such as Sad Steps / Shoes 2, Lovers Greetings, Crazy Love Song, Ice Doll and Hateful. On the other hand, they also do upbeat, pop-ish songs such as Let’s Get Married, I Still Like You and Summer Dream. So ladies & gentlemen, introducing SeeYa. Name: Nam Gyu Ri (남규리)Date of birth: 26 April, 1985Place of birth: GwangJoo CityHeight: 165cmWeight: 46kgEducation: MyungJee

(More)…

For K-popped! reader Wawa Is he another Daniel Henney-type who is using Korea as a launch pad into US showbiz? Korean-American Dennis Joseph O’Neil or Dennis Oh kick started his career as a model at 16. The story goes: Dennis was in the basement of his home working out when a plug on a modelling contest was heard over the radio airwaves. The teenager decided to try it out for giggles and that fateful competition marked his path into showbiz. Dennis travelled to many Asian countries (Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan) during his modelling stint. The art major even changed his major to photography to help him model better. Another reason: he plans to become a professional photographer once he retires from the entertainment industry. While modelling in South Korea, Dennis was spotted in 2005 by producer Ko Dong-sun, who promptly cast the talent in the MBC drama Sweet Spy. After that, the model-turned-actor bagged another role in the 2007 SBS drama Yuhee the Witch (hey, that was recently shown on 8TV in Malaysia! Nope, didn’t watch it because the Mandarin dubbing sucks). At the time of writing this profile, Dennis is said to be working on another MBC drama

(More)…