Saturday, September 29, 2012

'Enough is not enough'

Today is the fourth day in a row that The Korea Times has given Psy front page treatment. Even in the newsroom, some may complain about overexposure or worry about readers’ reactions.

We in the business know some news keeps coming, making us feel as if it has a life of its own. Psy and his hit song, “Gangnam Style,” are like that.

In the Friday edition, for example, the decision was made to place news about his song rising to No. 2 on the Billboard Chart inside, but just before the deadline, photos of Psy jamming Gangnam Style with Eric Schmidt, chief of Google, which operates YouTube, where the song has gone viral, were made available.

With little hesitation, we decided to go for the Psy-Schmidt photo in spite of our plan to make the chubby singer the subject of our weekend photo essay.

Today’s photo lives up to the Psy spirit of defying conventional wisdom _ him hanging upside down and looking at us with a broad smile on his face. Maybe, he is happy to prove all others wrong by becoming a global star with a “class-B” act or is trying to conceal bewilderment at his own success.

Torn pieces of newspaper seen strewn around his smiling face are from the People page in our Thursday edition where his Billboard success was covered. Shim Hyun-chul, our photographer and graphic artist, who worked on it, said that his work portrays Psy as if he is appearing in person at our paper because we have covered him so much. We have not heard him say, “Enough is enough.” (The Korea Times)

Monday, September 17, 2012

Newly-Turned Free Agent, Honey Lee, In Talks With Lee Dong Wook’s King Kong Entertainment

Former Miss Korea-turned actress Lee Honey is looking for a new agency home.

The actress recently became a free agent after the conclusion of her contract with Popeye Entertainment. Reports began rising on September 26 that Honey Lee was in negotiation with King Kong Entertainment, home to stars such as Lee Dong Wook, Sung Yuri, Kim Bum and more.

King Kong Entertainment confirmed that discussion was taking place between Honey Lee and the agency but said a contract had not yet been signed. It indicated however that the talks were progressing smoothly and positively.

Since becoming Miss Korea in 2006, Honey Lee has taken an active turn in acting appearing in productions such as Pasta, Deranged and more.