Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Jerry Yan fans build primary school hostel for Jerry’s 35th birthday

Translation: Shernice@www.yanchengxu.net

Popular Jerry Yan's 35th birthday will be coming soon on New Year 2012. Fans from all over the world celebrated for him by doing charities. They donated to Yan Cheng Xu Chun Lei School to build a hostel. The hostel is now completed. It is his most special birthday present this year.

Jerry's father passed away in his early years and he is raised by his mother. He had mentioned before that his childhood deepest impression was his mother's back view because his mother was always in front of the sewing machine everyday to sew clothes to sell in order to raise his sister and him. And he insist and hope that for his birthday every year, his fans will do charities instead of buying gifts for him.

Fan club Yanchengxu.net had donated RMB200 000 (TWD 960 000) in year 2008. They established Yan Cheng Xu Chun Lei School in Anhui, China. Consecutively, they have been donating funds to the school. They had also contributed funds for building Yan Cheng Xu Chun Lei School Hostel which was also completed on December 14,2011.

The Hostel provides for the students who stay at the remotes areas. With the hostel, they would not need to travel long distances to go to school. The school published and uploaded a video previously which captured cute and happy faces of the kids holding pillows in the hostel running around. There are more than 400 hundreds students in the school currently.

Jerry Yan fans did even more charities this year.Hong Kong fans sends 70 bags of gifts to charity units. 61 Japans fans contribute JPY 122 000 to World Vision. Taiwan fans donated materials to Miao Li St Francis Love orphanage. Jerry was touched by their care and love.

Jerry who has injured his hands recently, was very touched with everything that the fans have done for him. This year, he will not be celebrating his birthday as usual. Jerry will be filming for the movie Hua Yang/ Scarlet that day.

Girls' Generation Nation'S No. 1 Band For 3Rd Year

Girls' Generation have been voted as the best singers in Korea for the third consecutive year, according to a recent survey. Gallup Korea conducted a survey on 3,401 people aged between 13 and 59 nationwide and asked them to pick three singers or bands who had their best year in 2011.

The nine-girl group ranked first for the third straight year with 26.1 percent of the votes and emerged as the clear favorite among all age groups: 30 percent among teens, 29.2 percent among those in their 20s, 29.5 percent among 30-somethings, 25.2 percent among people in their 40s and 18.2 percent among those aged 50-59.

But for other singers, people's preferences differed drastically by age. While male idol groups such as Big Bang, BEAST and INFINITE were heavily favored by teenagers, those in their 30s and 40s preferred Kim Bum-soo, Yim Jae-beom and Lena Park, whose singing skills have come to the fore recently in the hit MBC TV show "I Am a Singer."

Chosun Ilbo

Monday, December 26, 2011

Skoob Review: Singtel’s First E-book Service

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Sometime back in November Singapore Telco SingTel announced the launch of their first e-book service Skoob. This e-book service offers various overseas titles from authors such as Stephen Hawking, as well local titles, study guides and educational books for local primary and secondary school students: more than 39,000 local and international bestsellers for smartphones, tablets and PCs.



Besides being Singtel’s first e-book service, it is the first e-book service to accept payments in Singapore dollars via Singapore credit card, with SingTel customers having the option to charge their purchases to their monthly bills, offering tremendous savings versus the cost of traditional paper books. For example, fans of John Grisham can enjoy his novel, The Confession, at S$9.00 instead of S$17.07 for the hardcopy version. While Neil Humphreys‘ acclaimed Complete Notes is available at S$13.90 instead of S$29.90 in the Singapore contect. There is also a range of classics for free download, such as Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and... Read more>>

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Bu Bu Jing Xin (步步惊心) Episode 1 Final Part

Bu Bu Jing Xin (步步惊心)  > Episode 1 Part I > Episode 1 Part II  > Episode 1 Part III > Episode 1 Final Part

The next scene shows Ruoxi leaning against a pillar in the garden, reading a book about Song poems aloud. She soon sets the book aside with a sigh and thinks to herself that if were the modern times she would be considered a knowledgeable person, but here in the past it seems like she is half literate. She thinks to herself that it is fortunate that she is in her current body of Rouxi who is of privilege status, else she would have starved if she were elsewhere in the Qing dynasty.

She attempts to read the books again, but soon turns her attention to some ants that are crawling on a wall nearby. She ends up playing with the ants with a stick while the 10th prince sneaks up from behind her, wondering what she is doing. When he realizes that she was only playing with ants, he laughs aloud, signaling his presence to her/ The 10th prince teases her that she is a playful girl amusing herself with ants when he thought that she was seriously studying. He laughs again saying that he thought too highly of her.

Rouxi is fuming at his teasing. The 8th prince is also present; he asks her if she was studying, pointing to the book. She nods, but the 10th prince belittles her, picking up her book and waves it in the air insisting that she was not studying but playing with ants. Ruoxi narrows her eyes and replies, "Haven’t you heard there is a world in a flower, a bodhi within a leaf? Those look like ants, but they aren't really ants." The 10th blinks at her statement, while the 8th prince laughs saying that the 10th prince should study a little more.

Satisfied that she has the 10th prince dumbfounded, Ruoxi grins to herself as he is unable to retort and replies that she learned a little philosophy from Roulan. The 8th prince agrees that she does read and chant a lot.

The 10th prince changes the subject and asks Rouxi if she can recognize all the words in the book. To which she replies, “I know the words, but they do not know me. We are getting to know each other better.” The 8th prince asks her how does she do it, and she replies that she does so through guessing, earning another laugh from the 10th prince. He says that if that were possible there would be no need for teachers. The 8th prince, on the other hands, smiles to himself and moves on. The 10th prince follows, but turns around to ask Rouxi if she would like to go horse riding with them.

Wanting to get out of the house and doing something different, she readily agrees. On the way to the riding grounds, in the horse carriage, Rouxi looks out the window making small noises and muttering to herself. Her actions make the 10th prince curious and her asks her what is so interesting. But she refuses to tell him, until he promises to owe her a favor.

10th turns back, asking if she would like to go riding with them. She happily agrees, making a modern gesture of victory behind their backs. '

In the horse carriage, Rou Xi looks out of the window. She makes a small 'eh' sound before shaking her head, pulling the curtain back into place. 10th is curious and looks out of the window. He asks what she saw and Ruo Xi refuses to tell him.

He asks again, this time she demands he gives her something in return for her answer. The prince hesitates and Ruoxi assures him that it would not be anything he could not complete. He finally agrees. Ruoxi grins, stressing that the 10th prince has to remember because she has a witness, looking to the 8th prince. The 8th prince opens his eyes with a smile, and replies, "I will remember. You may tell him."

She grins again and tells him that she was initially puzzled as to why the carriage was able to move smoothly on a road that was so crowded, with people moving away from the carriage to give way to it. But the carriage did not have the banner or sign stating that it is the 8th prince carriage, so how did they know and make for the carriage. Her conclusion was that those who live within the city would be aware that only high-ranking officials would ride such a carriage. So even though they do not know who is in the carriage, making way would make everyone's life easy.

They finally reach the riding grounds, the 10th prince criticizes each of the horses that are presented insisting that there is a problem with them. So the 8th prince offers his precious and most gentle horse, Ling Long, for Rouxi to ride. The 10th prince is surprised that the 8th prince readily offered his precious horse, which is unlike him.

While waiting for Ling Long, Rouxi sees the 8th prince mounting his horse for a ride, and thinks to herself in admiration that he is handsome. Ling Long is soon saddled and Rouxi mounts it with much persuasion from the 10th prince as she is nervous, and admits that she does not know how to ride. The 10th prince laughs at her but offers to hold the reins for her while she is on the horse. The 8th prince rides off while Rouxo watches him, while the 10th prince leads her on Ling Long to a small clearing.

When she is back home, Rouxi excitedly tells her sister about her interesting day, praising Ling Long’s fine qualities and that its name suits it. Roulan looks on in surprise and Rouxi asks if she knows how to ride. Roulan asks her if she does not remember again and Rouxi nods slowly, with slight tension in her expression.

Won Bin Becomes ‘Actor of the Year’ for Two Consecutive Years

Gallup Korea conducted a survey to select the “Actor of the Year,” and Won Bin has been chosen as the best actor for two years in a row. Gallup Korea said on December 22 that they had conducted a survey with 1,728 respondents from both men and women aged 13 or older across the nation from November 18 until December 6 to ask the best movie star of the year, and Won Bin obtained 11.3 percent of the votes. Gallup Korea let the respondents select two actors and counted the total votes.

Won Bin obtained explosive popularity with his appearance in the movie “The Man From Nowhere” last year, and he received the greatest support again even though he did not appear in any movie this year. Actor Park Hae Il, who appeared in the movie “Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon,” has been ranked second by obtaining 9.5 percent of the votes. According to the Gallup’s analysis, the handsome actor Won Bin received great support from teenagers (24.3%) and the twenty-somethings (18.4%), and the actor Park Hae Il with a friendly image obtained great support from the thirty-somethings (17.7%) and the forty-somethings (10.6%). Actor Jang Dong Gun, who was listed second, dropped to third, but he is the only actor who has been included in the top five for four consecutive years. Actress Kim Ha Neul, who played the role of a blind woman in the movie “Blind,” ranked in fourth place by obtaining 8.2 percent of the votes, and the actor Kong Yoo, who presented excellent acting in “Crucible,” ranked in fifth place by obtaining 5.8 percent of the votes.

In addition, Lee Byong Hun (4.8%), Song Kang Ho (4.8%), Ha Ji Won (3.1%), Ahn Sung Ki (3.0%), and Han Seok Kyu (3.0%) were included on the top ten. Actor Han Seok Kyu has not appeared in a movie this year, but he seemed to regain his image as a successful actor by his appearance in the SBS drama “Deep Rooted Tree” that has been obtaining huge popularity. Actors such as Won Bin (2010), Lee Byong Hun (2009), Song Kang Ho (2008), and Jeon Do Yeon (2007) have been named as “Actor of the Year” of Gallup Korea up to now.

KBS Global

Big Bang’s Seungri to cameo in ‘Light and Shadow’

Big Bang‘s Seungri has revealed that he will be making a special cameo appearance in MBC‘s 50th anniversary drama, ‘Light and Shadow‘.

Seungri will play the role of a trainee who dreams of becoming a star. Confident and full of pride, he calls himself the ‘man of Yeosu’ (his hometown), and wins everyone over with his smooth ‘satoori’ and witty commentary. Seungri is actually from Gwangju, in the same district, so the role should be no problem for him to pull off.

Seungri expressed, “This is my first time acting in a formal drama and I’m looking forward to it a lot, especially since the character I’m playing reflects who I am in real life. I’d love it if our viewers would have fun watching it.”

Source + Photo: W Star News via Naver
Credit: Allkpop

Jolin Tsai tells tabloids to "print better-looking photos!"

TAIPEI: Taiwan singer Jolin Tsai said during a music awards ceremony on Thursday that she didn't really mind being stalked by the paparazzi, but hoped the tabloids they worked for could "print better-looking photos" of her, reported Taiwan media.

Tsai explained that she was not worried about the tabloids publishing negative news about her, or constantly being shadowed by the paparazzi when she goes out with her rumoured beau Vivian Dawson, but was very particular about the quality of the photos that accompanied these articles.

"I am personally more particular about whether it (the photos) looks good or not," said Tsai, "Print better-looking photos!"

Tsai went on to reveal that she would spend Christmas and New Year's Eve with her female friends and quipped that the paparazzi "can go on holiday over the New Year".

CNA

Wu Chun willing to quit showbiz for love

The actor also clarified rumours of him being on bad terms with other Fahrenheit members.  It's not easy going solo, as Brunei-born actor Wu Chun learned when he broke away from boyband Fahrenheit.

Since he left the group back in June, Wu Chun was dogged by rumours that he was on bad terms with members of the band.

In a recent episode of Taiwanese talk show Shen Chun Hua Life Show, the actor candidly spoke of his relationship with former band-mates Jiro Wang, Aaron Yan and Calvin Chen. He clarified that his relationship with the trio is still good and that they would go out for meals together.

Wu Chun also admitted that he felt helpless, because of the negative reports about him.

"I've always had a good impression of the Taiwanese media, since I started my career here. However, I don't understand why they probed me constantly on non-work related questions in the recent years. I'm disappointed in them," he said.

Wu Chun also said that love is his top priority and added that it was difficult to be in a relationship because of his job. In his quest for love, he is willing to quit showbiz.

"I'm the kind of person who would think far, when it comes to relationship. If there's someone good, I'll think about marriage, then what would happen to my career? So, to start this relationship, I'd have to let go of my career," he said.

The actor also shared that he adores children and looks forward to being a father. He once thought of having at least five kids, but felt that "people have to be strong now, because they face life and death, and social pressure", so "having two or three [kids] is just nice".

Source

YG updates fans on Big Bang’s March comeback progress

YG Entertainment previously announced that Big Bang was gearing up for a Korean comeback in March of 2012.

On December 23rd, representatives followed up by revealing that the album will contain several new songs written during the boys’ period of reflection. A representative expressed, “Big Bang has composed many songs during their period of reflection this year. They’ll be choosing a few of them to include in their March release next year.”

He continued, “The title track is currently in the process of being chosen, and the music video filming will take place in January. All of the members aer working diligently on the album’s production.”

As reported previously, their comeback will take place ahead of their ‘Big Show‘ concert.

Source: Allkpop

IU: "Handsome men aren't particularly attractive"

SEOUL: You don't have to be particularly handsome to date Korean singer IU.

IU revealed during a recent recording session for a Korean variety show, that she prefers men passionate about their work over good looking ones, reported Korean media.

"Handsome men aren't particularly attractive," said IU, adding that she prefers men who "approach work with a passion".

But IU's prospective boyfriends will have to be very careful of how they behave around other girls – the singer, whose real name is Li Ji Eun, expressed that she is a very jealous lady.

"I'm a very jealous person. I like guys who love me and only me," said the 18-year-old singer, who released her second album "Last Fantasy" in November.

She also isn't one to date for prolonged periods of time - the singer had said in a previous television appearance that she preferred to marry quickly instead.

CNA

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop Episode 3

Chi Soo friends see him walking out of the hall wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, they ask him, “What are you doing here?” And he replies, “I have to clear something, let’s go.” Eun Bi is still in shocked while her friend Dong Joo looks for her. She eventually, finds Eun Bi at the hall, looking visibly lost. Dong Joo breaks the news that her father has been admitted to the hospital and she should go and see him.

The next scene brings us to the hospital. Eun Bi is anxiously looking for her father when she seesBa Wool calling out at a seriously bandaged man. Thinking that it is her father and she immediately goes forward to verify. When she realizes that it is a case of mistaken identity, she slaps Ba Wool 's head. At this moment, her father appears from behind and calls out to Eun Bi.

A similar scene on board the airplane incident in Episode 1's opening is shown. This time is another man, sipping from a cup while reading a newspaper. He greets the lady (same lady) beside him in Japanese and strikes a conversation with her. Midway their conversation, the man pauses for a moment and says , "Excuse me, your lips…." Before he gets a chance to finish his sentence, the lady jumps io the conclusion that he is going to say her lips are pretty. She mentions that this is the same old trick. To her surprise, the man uses his hand to wipe off the sauce at the corner of her lips. He tells her that her lips are warmer when they are beautiful, and to eat the food before it gets too cold. After that, he places the thumb in his mouth to taste the sauce, showing a face of dissatisfaction with the taste of the sauce.

EunBi is having a drink with Dong Joo and talking about her father getting a body check- up. Still brooding over the incident in school, Eun Bi asks Dong Joo for advice. Dong Joo thinks that some students wants to date Eun Bi and she advices her not to take the kids jokes seriously or else she will not survive as a student teacher in the school. Dong Joo then heads to the convenience shop to buy some snacks when somebody bumps into her. She turns ready to scold the man but is taken aback when she sees a handsome young man.
Eun Bi vents her frustration using the punch machine. The men seated around the table look down on her and think that she is weak. To their surprise, EunBi hits the punch machine real hard, breaking the records. The man walks past and was astonished by what he saw. Before Eun Bi can strike her third punch, Dong Joo pulls her away in embarrassment.

The man from the airplane goes to the hospital to look for someone. When the nurse sees him, she is swept away by his charm. She asks for the patient name, and the man says that he had written it somewhere. He finds it bothersome to look for the pierce of paper in his bag and he sleeps on the floor instead. The nurse gets worried and calls for emergency. Suddenly somebody pinches his nose , waking him up immediately. This person turns out to be Eun Bi's dad. The man calls him “Boss.” They have a chat at his bed and they talk about the agreement they had made earlier. The man recounts his adventures on his way here and complains about how bothersome it is. Subsequently, he lies on the bed. Eun Bi's dad pulls him out from the bed, and the man asks how his wife is and is her sexy temper still the same.

The next day, Eun Bi is walking through the entrance, trying to maintain cool about the incident. When she turns her back, she sees Chi Soo and his gang walking towards her direction, immediately she hides in a corner. Eun Bi had brought a new outfit for her gym lesson and was looking forward to have that as her first lesson. However, the coach discourages her , telling her not to conduct the lesson. Despite the discouragement, she continues with her gym lesson. To her surprise, only two students (one of them is class president Hyun Woo) attend the lesson, while the others don’t know how to play basketball.

To her relieve, Ba Wool (Crazy Chicken) brings his gang to the basketball court to join the game. Eun Bi is happy to see her students participating in the game and hopes that Cha Chi Soo will not appear. However, to her disappointment he arrives with his friends to join.

While Ba Wool and Chi Soo challenge each other, Eun Bi wants to run away from the game. However, Chi Soo stops her and insists that she has to play as the team is to have even numbers. Eun Bi and Ba Wool signal to each other and Eun Bi throws the ball to Ba Wool. He catches the ball from Eun Bi and scores a point. Chi Soo's friends try to distract Eun Bi by flirting with her., but to no avail. That is until it was Chi Soo's turn. He grabs hold of Eun Bi's waist and says she has muscular arms but her waist is that of a woman. Eun Bi turns wobbly and drops the basketball onto the floor. The coach and Dong Joo are watching the game at audience seats. They are talking about how easy Eun Bi loses her temper and the coach mentions Dong Joo plastic surgery in a funny manner. She defends herself saying is an architectural, not plastic surgery.

Eun Bi is asked to clean up the gym room. She overhers a conversation of Chi Soo talking to his friends. His friend are asking for advice how to reject a girl who doesn’t look pretty at all. He tells his friends if you cannot find something nice on the person face, you can say, “your mole here is pretty and you will not get it wrong as most moles are cute.” He continues, “If she pauses for 5 seconds, lay a kiss on the forehead, it looks more honest.”

Upon hearing that, Eun Bi gets angry with Chi Soo. She storms off and yells at Chi Soo. She takes off her teacher card and tells him that she will hit him one time at the count of three. She throws the ball at Chi Soo's head and he lands backwards, causing him to be embarrassment. Eun Bi tells him not to mess with her, not even stepping on her shadow. Chi Soo gets up and wants to lay his hand on Eun Bi but he is stop by the man from the plane, who claims that Eun Bi is his wife. The discipline master comes and sends the students back to the class room. The camera then moves backwards and we see the man lying on the floor. The hall monitor sees him and taps on him to wake up. The man asks who that person who looked like white rice cake is and learns that he is, “Cha Chi Soo.”

Eun Bi is taken to the office and she has to face the consequences for hitting Chi Soo. On the other hand, Chi Soo is taken to the hospital and his father comes to see him. They add salt to his wound when they keep emphasizing that he was hit by a ball unintentionally. His father even mentions that he was lucky that he was hit by volleyball instead of a baseball. He asks his father not to fire Eun Bi and not to mention he was hit infront of him.

Eun Bi visits her dad in the ward. They are soon laughing and watching television. Her dad knows that she was fired as a teacher. He tells her to follow her heart and live as what her body tells her instead of using her head all the time. He mentions that she does not fit into a teacher role; she should do things that suit her. "There will be some loss but you will not live your life cowardly just like me.", he says.

So-Yi visits Chi Soo at the hospital and asks him to take her out for lunch but is rejected by him. Coincidentally, Ba Wool bumps onto them when he is visiting Eun Bi's father. Chi Soo meets Eun Bi's dad at the hospital and due to some misunderstanding pushes the older older man, which results in Eun Bi's father falling. thinking that the old man is alright he walks off while Eun Bi's dad really ends up unconscious on the floor without anybody noticing.

While out lunch together, So-yi tells Ba wool that she will be dating both of him and Chi Soo at the same time. Eun Bi is waiting for the lift at the hospital while holding a bowl of ramyun. She bumps into Chi Soo and he thinks that she is going to apologize to him. He pretends that his neck hurts, but Eun Bi is indifferent to him and she walks out of the lift. Chi Soo chases after Eun Bi and demands an apology from her. But Eun Bi refuses and says that Chi Soo should apologize to her instead. Chi Soo doesn't understand why and Eun Bi tells him that he probably lives a life like a prince , not know why. Chi Soo argues with her but at this point, Eun Bi father is rushed into the emergency room. Eun Bi breaks free from Chi Soo leaving him with the packet of ramyun and rushes to look for her father.

The bad news is Eun Bi's her father has passed away. Chi Soo is left holding the packet of ramyun wondering what to do with it. He sees Ba Wool and his gang dressed in black moving towards his direction, walking past him. Chi Soo is bewildered and wonders what is going on. He goes to find Ba Wool and notices the wake of Eun Bi's father. He recognizes the man as the one who had talked to him in the afternoon. Chi Soo goes back to his ward, wondering what to do with the ramyun. He gives the ramyun back to Eun Bi, but is told that it is too late, her father cannot enjoy it now, and that he can throw it away. Chi Soo throws the ramyun away but picks up the plastic bag which shows the address and the direction of the ramyun store.

Eun Bi is alone at the ramyun store as she recalls past memories she had with her father when she was a child. She had been angry at him, because right after her mum died, he opened the shop and cooked ramyun continuously as if nothing happened. She had always thought that her dad placed the ramyun store as the most important, making her resent him and the shop. She misses her dad so much and would like to apologize to him. She imagines her father standing beside her and she hugs him as tears roll down her cheeks. However, when the camera pans out, we see that this is not her father but the man that we saw at the school in the morning. Chi Soo drives to the ramyun store and witness the whole hugging scene.

Comments
Eun Bi father told Eun Bi to follow her heart. Even when you lose a little, you don’t live your life cowardly. It means that, Eun Bi real self was overshadowed by her age, her experiences and the reality of life. There was the real Yang Eun Bi that is living inside that shell. He wanted her daughter to be brave and follow her heart. Judging by how she as a teacher hit Chi Soo on the head using a ball for whatever reason is definitely wrong. Therefore, I agree with her father that she should not be a teacher.

He also gave a little lecture to Chi Soo and mentioned that he is empty inside because he grew up eating cold food. This implies that Chi Soo is lack of a human touch in him and he need to taste the ramyun to warm his heart. He wanted to take Chi Soo to the ramyun store but failed to do so, thus he finds it a waste. Chi Soo is a prince who doesn’t know why things happened to him because he is the prince that was so protected. There was this hilarious part when he thought Eun Bi is going to apologized to him but was been totally ignored. He is acting like a spoilt brat who demands apologies from others. His gestures and his facial expression were funny and childish.

Eun Bi's father philosophy of life is simple - Everybody need a bowl of ramyun to warm up that heart and to spur themselves further. Not to forget, the mysterious man that followed Eun Bi to the school and called her wife. I wonder what their relationship is and why did he come here all the way from Japan. What is his purpose?

 Next>>

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Bu Bu Jing Xin (步步惊心) Episode 1 Part III

The princes alight from their horse. Having not met the 13th prince before, he introduces himself and Ruoxi repeats after him, "13th prince." She laughs uneasily and greets him before he offers a hand to help her stand up. The fall results in her spraining her leg, and she stumbles as she attempts to stand up with the 13th prince’s help. The 4th prince is standing at the side observing. He soon disappears into a medical hall and emerges with a bottle of medicine for sprains. He returns to them,, keeping the medicine in his sleeve.

Puzzled, the 13th prince asks if they already know each other. Rouxi replies that she is from the 8th prince’s household and she is his sister-in-law. The 13th prince is astonished and comments that people who live in the 8th prince’s household are refined in their actions like the prince, unlike her to be roaming the streets and randomly throwing herself onto oncoming horses. She snaps back that she was bored so she went for a walk.

Having mounted his horse, the 4th prince retrieves the 13th prince’s horse and heads bak towards them. They tell her that they will be escorting her back to the residence. She thanks them and asks them for a favor, that they would not mention the incident to anyone back at the 8th prince’s residence stating that she would be in trouble if the matter were to be made known. The 13th prince looks to the 4th prince for affirmation of the request and is surprised when the 4th prince actually gives a small nod agreeing to Rouxi’s request. So the 13th prince agrees verbally on behalf of the both of them.

Upon hearing that they have agreed, Rouxi grins and lightly pats the 13th prince’s shoulder declaring him a righteous man. Both men look at her amused; the way Rouxi is behaving is unusual for a lady of her status and social standing, with her bright laughter and bold character.

When they return to the residence, Roulan and Qiao Hui rushes over and greets the two princes. Roulan is concerned about Rouxi’s limp, which the latter lightly dismisses as a small accident where tripped when both the 4th and 13th prince entered looking for the 8th prince. The 13th prince smiles in amusement at Rouxi witty reply to save herself, while the 4th prince looks on thoughtfully, observing Rouxi. The 4th prince supports the ‘excuse’ that Rouxi has provided and requests to meet the 8th prince.

Roulan offers to lead the two princes to the main hall while Qiao Hui goes to inform the 8th prince. Before leaving, the 4th prince requests to speak to Rouxi. Roulan hestitates but has no choice but to leave them, leading the 13th prince to the main hall first. With no one around, the 4th prince confronts Rouxi that she knew what she was doing and deliberately stepped into the path of their oncoming horses. He asks her if she wanted to end her life. Rouxi hatily denies the accusation, claiming that it was an accident and that the 4th prince has misunderstood her. However, the 4th prince states that the first time might have been an accident, but the second time was definitely not an accident. He tells her that is she attempts to do the same for a third time, he will not stop his horse anymore.

Rouxi declares that she did what she did not to die but to live, as there is too much that is to live for, death is not something that she seeks. Her strange comments interests the 4th prince and he ends up staring at her. Soon after he pulls out the medicine that he had purchased earlier and hands it to her saying that it is for her sprain. She quickly accepts it and thanks him. He tells her that since he is the one that saved her live, so her life belongs to him so she better not even consider suicide. With that he turns and leave, leaving a bewildered Rouxi holding the bottle of medicine as he disappears to the main hall.

Her leg not yet healed, Rouxi hobbles to visit her sister. Roulan us grateful to the 4th and 13th princes and proposes a visit to show their appreciation, but Rouxi quickly rejects the ideas claiming that she had already thanked them. Roulan tell her that this is the basic act of courtesy. To which Rouxi retorts, “It's a small matter, both princes would probably not take it to heart. But if this matter comes to Ming Hui's attention, a small matter might become a large incident.” Ruo Lan scolds her younger sister for misusing her intelligence.

Ruoxi grins cheekily before noticing the letter on the table. Ruolan says that the eunuch readerhas not been by yet, so Rouxi offers to read the letter. Ruolan is surprised. Ruoxi declares that it is an easy matter, confidently spreading out the page of the letter from their father and elder brother. Ruoxi initially smiles and then squints while skimming down the page. Much of the script is in the traditional form, quite different from the modern simplified form that is being used in China now.

To add to the challenge, the cursive style of the writing makes it even more indecipherable. Ruolan glances over a Ruoxi clears her throat, stuttering and stammering her way through the letter, skipping words and adding her own little mutters as she struggles to read to the amusement of Roulan. Roulan teases her "What? Is there even a spirit horse in the letter?"as she covers her laughter, gently remarking that she is surprised to hear that Ruoxi was going to read, thinking that she might have improved in her reading since she left home. But it is just as it was.

Sheepishly, Rouxi refolds the letter and places it back in its envelope, answering that it might be better for the eunuch reader to read the letter instead. Ruolan asks if Ruoxi is giving up, but Rouxi deflects, stating that perhaps it would be better if she starts from the beginning. Ruoxi beats a hasty retreat while the Ruolan shakes her head smiling.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Bu Bu Jing Xin (步步惊心) Episode 1 Part II

Bu Bu Jing Xin (步步惊心)  > Episode 1 Part I > Episode 1 Part II

Back in her room, Zhang Xiao struggles with herself as she finds herself caring for Ruolan but at the time same time, she feels that she is cheating of her affections as she is not Rouxi. She contemplates on how to tell Roulan the truth and thinks back to the day’s event where she was almost run over by the horse. She believes that if the horse had really run over her, she would have returned back to the present time as she felt her spirit leaving the body. Tossing and turning she finally drifts off to sleep.

In the morning, positive that she does not want to remain in the Qing dynasty any longer, she weighs her options and decides that if she were to have another ‘accident’ of equal magnitude of the car accident at the same location it occurred, she would be able to get back to the present time. When she steps out of her room, she is surprised by the bustle and hustle outside her Roulan’s courtyard. Zhang Xiao finds out that the 8th prince is finally coming over to have dinner at the residence.

Qiao Hui is ordered by Roulan to dress Rouxi (Zhang Xiao will now be called Rouxi from this point on) properly since this would be her first meeting with the 8th prince. Rouxi ends up being wrapped in 7 layers of cloth and is unaware that she is being so heavily clothed. While being wrapped, she is deep in thought about the struggle between the 4th and 8th prince for the throne. She is excited to meet the 8th prince, although he had lost the throne to the 4th prince, his intelligence and wits were renowned.

By the time she is finished thinking, she feels the burden of such thick clothes and complains stating that she would change her clothes is the 8th prince does not show up. Not able to withstand the heat, she excuses herself and hurries out into the cooler outdoors, hoping to cool off. While she is frantically fanning herself, she wonders if the makeup she is wearing is waterproof all the while sighing and moaning, dabbing her face with her sleeve.

When she is engrossed in dabbing her face, a handkerchief appears and a gentle voice asks her to stop her tears. Surprised Rouxi turns around a face smiling at her. It is the 8th prince and he amusedly declares that she must be Rouxi. Realizing who she is, Rouxi remembers to greet him with a curtsey while being flustered at the same time. The 8th prince comments that he thought that she was crying, to which she explains that she was just perspiring from the thick layer of clothes; she accepts the handkerchief and they head back for dinner.

Meanwhile, the 9th and 10th prince have arrived and are already waiting for the 8th prince to have dinner together. Dinner soon starts and their conversation is friendly, with laughter ringing loud. As Rouxi watches the 8th prince dishing food for her sister and asking after her, even instructing Qiao Hui to brew more tonics for Roulan, Rouxi thinks to herself that the 8th prince is caring and considerate to her sister. His kindness and gentleness deviates from his image portrayed in history, as a person who was well known for his devious plots and strategies which makes Rouxi think.

While deep in her thought, she soon realizes that the 10th prince is looking at her intently. She glances back and suddenly makes a snapping motion with her mouth, with startles the 10th prince and results in him dropping his food. Everyone turns to look at him while Rouxi quickly picks up her bowl to eat, which results in her choking on the rice. Gloating over her plight, the 10th prince is admonished by the 8th prince who tells him to apologize. The 10th prince apologizes and says how pretty Rouxi is even when she is choking unlike him. Upon that comment, the 9th prince teases the 10th prince saying that his speech has improved.

After dinner has ended and back in her own room, Rouxi probes Qiao Hui on the relationship between her sister and the 8th prince. She learns that the 8th prince rarely visits Roulan, and his visits are short, asking only polite questions. The other wives who came after Roulan already have children but Roulan does not seem to be bothered, rather focusing on praying and reciting Buddhist scripture. And it is because of Roulan’s nonchalance and lack of interaction that alienates her from the rest of the household. Thinking of the fate of the 8th prince, Rouxi thinks to herself that her sister keeping her distance and not being attached to the 8th prince might be the best solution after all.

The next day, Rouxi sneaks out again, determined to carry out her plan to return to the future. Because no matter how she looks at it the result is that she dies, so why not try? She walks through the busy street looking for horses and soon enough she hears the hooves of horses in a distance. She quickly places herself in the path of the oncoming horse, but just as the horse is about the touch her it is stopped with its nose to her face. She looks up in frustration and asks them why did they stop. It is the 4th and 13th prince.

Monday, December 19, 2011

JJ Lin's Promotional Album "Unable to Learn"

林俊杰宣传专辑《学不会》 自称有点大男人
Yes娱乐讯 JJ林俊杰新专辑《学不会》即日起开始预购,这是他加入华纳的第一张专辑,他表示第一次当总监,还要同时进行L.A.和纽约的录音工作,几乎是一个礼拜没有睡觉。今天他上Hit FM宣传,一身学院风打扮,脚上踩着钉满卯钉的皮鞋,果然很「潮」!JJ日前砸4千万自创潮牌,晋升潮流领主的JJ现场设计围巾,一展他的潮品味。

他在围巾上打上卯钉,并且黏上白色小球,军装风又带着梦幻甜美,塔罗牌老师断言有点大男人的JJ私底下还是向往「王子与公主」的浪漫爱情,但在投入一段感情之前,JJ会小心翼翼的试探、经营,而他透露:「我碰到喜欢的对象,会义无反顾的付出,但要遇到这样的对象很难,因为我都想很多!」

林俊杰说:「我是一个路痴,有次要去离家很近的华纳威秀,竟然开上北二高。」不过喜欢给对方惊喜的JJ有次为了一个女生,开出台北市,只是为了打招呼。JJ承认自己有点大男人,「我会有很多自己的认知,所以为了工作,我希望对方能体谅。」林俊杰最近桃花频传,「J女郎」的条件也引起大家的关注,他说:「我现在对女生的类型不太要求,到头来还是要看对方能不能体谅和包容,才能维持感情。」

《学不会》MV中,林俊杰和女主角有亲密的互动,演技相当自然,而曾经演出偶像剧《原来我不帅》的林俊杰,对于戏剧并不陌生,记者问到:「是否还想拍戏?」他坦言:「我希望之後的参与,可以是有内心戏、有深度的角色。」此外,入围两次金曲奖都落空,因此JJ希望这张专辑能够镀金成功!

Source: http://ent.ynet.com/3.1/1112/16/6607411.html

Translated by DramaQueen:
JJ Lin Latest album - Unable to learn is officially released. This is his first album after he signed contract with warner music. He said that this is the first time he became the producer of his album. He even flew to L.A to record his songs and because of the pressure, he had insomia for a week. Today he promoted his ablum at Hit FM, dressed in trendy clothes and matching shoes. He mentioned that when he meet his dream girl, he will hestitate and think a lot before he make his first move. However, if he really falls in love, he will totally commit himself in the relationship.

He added that he do not have a good sense of direction on the road, thus he may take a long route to his destination when actually the place he is going is so near his house. He told the media that he will travel the distance just to surprise his girlfriend. He admitted that he is a little male chauvinist and he would like his relationship to be build on mutual respect and understanding. JJ Lin received compliments for his acting in his MTV - Unable to learn. When asked by the reporter whelther he would consider to be an actor since he had starred in idol drama. He replied that he hope to receive challenging roles which allows him to protray his character using his inner feelings. Other than that, he also wished to use his latest album to grab some trophies in the Golden Melodies Award.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Bu Bu Jing Xin (步步惊心) Episode 1 Part I

Bu Bu Jing Xin (步步惊心) > Episode 1 Part I
The drama begins with people scurrying in and out of a room in ancient China. We soon come to realize that this is in the Qing dynasty. The person in question is modern-day Zhang Xiao, who wakes up in the body of a young Manchurian girl. She wakes up to a younger version of herself, and with perfect eyesight (she was wearing glasses) and very long hair. She is initially disorientated and thinks that this is some sort of prank.

Just at this juncture, a maid enters the room and addresses her as “Second Young Mistress”. Confused Zhang Xiao demands to put an end to the charade (still thinking that it is a prank). Zhang Xiao questions Qiao Hui and learns that she is in the Qing dynasty and that the present Emperor is Kangxi. She is apparently the second daughter of a Manchurian general, Maertai Rouxi, and she is in the 8th prince’s household.

Upon hearing such information Zhang Xiao starts to panic and is flustered. Another woman enters the room and tries to calm Zhang Xiao down. She tells her that she is her elder sister Maertai Roulan and that Zhang Xiao has nothing to be afraid of. When asked what happened to her, Roulan tells her that she had fallen down a steep flight of stairs and had injured her head, rendering her unconscious for a few days. Even the physician was unsure of her recovery.

Zhang Xiao starts to have a flashback in the present time, where she was having an argument with her boyfriend, Huang Di (which can mean “Emperor”). She had accused him of cheating on her, and in the process of their argument had an accident (being electrocuted and hit by a car) that brought her to the Qing dynasty. It appears that the time of her accident, Maertai Rouxi also fell down the stairs at the exact moment in time. It finally sinks in that she is in the Qing dynasty and not in the modern world. She concludes that the accident had somehow brought her back to the Qing dynasty and thinks of ways on how she can go back to her own time.

Zhang Xiao finally recovers and spends the following days trying to strengthen her new body and discovering how she can leave the ancient period. She thinks to herself that it is fortunately that she is in the body Maertai Rouxi, where she is being looked after and taken care of by Qiao Hui and Roulan.

Zhang Xiao learns that her “sister”, Roulan, is the second wife of the 8th prince who spends all time chanting Buddhist scriptures and praying. So she assumes that her “sister” is not highly favored by her husband. Zhang Xiao, being stuck in Rouxi’s body is apprehensive about her future as she the 8th prince’s fate (through history). So she thinks to herself that it is maybe a good thing that Roulan is not that close to the 8th prince to minimize the pain. She decides that although the future for them may be unfortunate, since she is stuck in this time, she will live in the moment as is.

As she walks back to her room, she questions Qiao Hui about the Maertai family and herself, Rouxi. Her accident proves to be a good excuse for her to orientate herself with the current Qing dynasty she is in. Each time she acts out of character or asks a question, the people around her attribute it to her amnesia, which resulted from her head injury. She learns that Roulan and Rouxi’s mother had passed away just after Rouxi was born. Without a mother, Rouxi had grown out to be a willful child who was out of control, running wild like an untamed horse free-spirited. Not knowing what else to do with her, her father sent her to Roulan hoping that she will teach a young Rouxi some “manners and etiquette” that is worthy of a young lady.

Roulan comments that Rouxi (Zhang Xiao) has changed a little since her accident and is becoming more ladylike. Zhang Xiao contemplates telling Roulan that she is not her sister but someone else, as she feels that she is cheating her. She soon abandons the thought as no one would believe her and might even brand her as insane.

Gently probing Roulan, Zhang Xiao learns that she had been staying at the 8th prince’s household for 3 months and that she was sent to her because Roulan was the only one that Rouxi at least listened to. Their father wanted Roulan to teach Rouxi manners and etiquette that will help Rouxi in the compulsory Imperial Lady inspection (where daughters of esteemed Manchurian families are sent into the palace to be concubines or servants serving the Emperor) which would take place in 6 months time.

Computing the data that she has gathered, Zhang Xiao starts to contemplate her options. She realized that Roulan will not be a reliable heaven as the fate if the 8th prince is not a good one, but it would be even worse if she was to enter the Imperial Lady inspection and head for the palace! She decides that she needs to escape before the Imperial Lady inspection commences. She had an idea, to face a life-threatening accident/situation that will send her spirit back to the present time.

Pleased with her idea, she immediately ask Qiao Hui to bring her to the area where she fall from. Qiao Hui mentions how she was found at the foot of the stairs and that Ming Hui (the sister of the 8th prince’s first wife) was the one to witness the fall, claiming that Rouxi had tripped her way down the stairs.

Upon reaching at the scene of the accident, Zhang Xiao starts to climb the stairs remembering the sensation of falling down the stairs before fainting, seeing a blurred figure walking away. The flight of stairs is steep and if she were to fall again, her spirit will definitely return to the present time. As Zhang Xiao contemplates her actions (whether to fall down the stairs), Qiao Hui looks at her worriedly. Just as she musters her courage inches her way nearer the edge of the stairs from the top, Qiao Hui suddenly lunges forward ruining Zhang Xiao’s plan, as if anticipating her action and declares that they have been out for quite a while now and it is time to head back.

Just as they are about to head back, there is the sound of laughter and two males walk towards them. As Zhang Xiao is in a 13 year old Maertai Rouxi’ body, one of the men remarks that for a little girl her speech is interesting (she was commenting if parents look at the same blue sky despite being away from their children). The other man agrees wholeheartedly and looks at her with interest, saying that she speaks as though she is one who has a lot of experience in life. While all Zhang Xiao can do is stare at them, Qiao Hui hastily greets them as 9th and 10th prince (the brothers of the 8th prince) and tugs at Zhang Xiao to do the same.

Realizing that bowing is common in that era, Zhang Xiao bows and greets them albeit unconventionally as she does not know how to bow the correct way, which causes the 9th prince to raise a brow. The 10th prince asks Zhang Xiao if she is a Maertai and she nods. Realizing that they have matters to attend to the 9th and 10th prince take their prince. Even though Zhang Xiao has been in the 8th prince household for some time, the first princes that she meets are the historically recorded 'Poisonous Snake 9th' and the 'Wastrel/Blockhead 10th'. Zhang Xiao thinks to herself that they do not seem as history portrays them. Whilst thinking this to herself the 10th prince turns back to look at her and makes a funny face, making them both laugh.

It is not long after that Zhang Xiao slips out of the house secretly with Qiao Hui to wander the city streets. A worried Qiao Hui tries to persuade Zhang Xiao to go back, but to no avail. Qiao Hui comments that she must be recovering well as she is becoming more daring, and Zhang Xiao retorts that if she were to be cooped up for too long, ‘grass will grow on her’ (a modern Chinese slang), which had Qiao Hui confused. They soon come across a stall selling irons. Excited at seeing an iron in the Qing dynasty, Zhang Xiao intently examines the ancient equipment. Qiao Hui remarks that there was once a time when Roui was so willful and hard to manage that the maids would often want to use a large iron to tame her and make her more docile. Surprised, Zhang Xi asks if she (Rouxi) had been that difficult in the past, but Qiao Hui replies that she was only teasing.

As they pass 'Da Shi Lang', Zhang Xiao comments out loud that she had visited this place many times (in the present time) and is pleased that the air of old Beijing is still preserved. Qiao Hui is taken by surprised, and asks how Ruo Xi could have visit this place and know that much about Beijing since this is the first time she has stepped out of the mansion. Zhang Xiao laughs it off with uneasiness, saying that she had heard of it.

There is a huge commotion with soldiers starting to clear the road, pushing the pedestrians to the side. Qiao Hui urges Zhang Xiao away and gets into the line, saying the soldiers must be there to welcome the Emperor's return to the capital. Zhang Xiao looks on with excited curiosity. She stares in surprise as an eunuch who walks past looks exactly like a construction worker who interfered in the quarrel between her and her boyfriend Hung Di in the present time.

Lost in the moment, she calls out to the eunuch and pushes through the crowd to get to him. It does not help when the eunuch announces the arrival of the Emperor (‘huangdi’), thinking about her ex-boyfriend and losing her rationale she runs out and grabs the eunuch depending to know where is Huang Di. Just at this moment, a horse gallops from the opposite direction and almost tramples Zhang Xiao. As the horse nears to Zhang Xiao, a blue aura (her spirit) can be seen coming out of her body, but soon returns as the horse is restrained in time. The rider turns out to be the 4th prince, Yong Zhen (the future Emperor) and both he and Zhang Xiao stare at each other. Qiao Hui apologizes profusely and asks for forgiveness stating that they are from the 8th prince’s household. Hoping that they would not get into trouble.

After the incident, they return to the household and try to sneak in quietly by the back door. However, their absence was already discovered and the servants were being punished the moment they came back. Incensed, Zhang Xiao stoms off to the hall where the first wife of the 8th prince (whose title is Di Fujin), Ming Hui, is punishing them. Not understanding that this was the norm for that era, Zhang Xiao asks Roulan to stop the punishment as it is too heavy-handed, and how could she bear to mete out such punishment. Ming Hui takes to opportunity to bully the both of them stating that while one is anti-social the other is impulsive. She also comments that servants who break the rules ought to be punished accordingly, and mistresses who are foolish in their actions will only implicate their servants.

Ming Hui is determined to punish Rouxi for leaving the house without permission. Roulan kneels and asks to be punished in Rouxi’s stead instead, reasoning that since her sister is young and unaware of the household rules as an older sister she should be responsible for her sister’s actions. Agreeing fully, Ming Hui states that Roulan should be punished more servrely since she is responsible. Angry at the outcome, Zhang Xiao points out that Ming Hui’s position in the household is higher than Roulan, so by the same logic she should also be punished even more severely because Roulan was in the wrong. Furious, Ming Hui raises her hand to slap Zhang Xiao but Roulan stops her. Both of them struggle and fall to the ground. Zhang Xiao rushes forward to help Roulan but Ming Hui pulls her away, determined to slap her. There is soon a 3-way struggle and all three of them fall, landing Ming Hui on a chair and hitting her head. Incensed, Ming Hui storms off.

With Ming Hui gone, Zhang Xiao contritely helps Roulan up and asks if she is ok while Roulan gives her the cold shoulder before calming down. Roulan tells her not to worry about the punished servants since she had already given instructions for their treatment. Touched at the gesture, Zhang Xiao asks that she be scolded as Ming Hui will use this incident to make things difficult for them. Qiao Hui unwittingly reveals that since Roulan’s marriage into the household, Ming Hui has always been making life difficult for Roulan.

Touched, Zhang Xiao asks to be scolded, saying that Ming Hui would use this incident to make matters difficult for Ruo Lan. Qiao Hui added that ever since Ming Huiu married into the household, the first wife had been making Ruo Lan's life difficult. Upset at the news, Zhang Xiao wonders out loud loud why Roulan is still married to the 8th prince if life is so difficult for her, being confined to her small residence and having to share her husband with other women, she deserves better. She goes furher and says that a woman needs to have self-respect: if a woman is capable and willing, she could be self-sufficient and independent. This displays her very modern strong feminism views that seem out of place in such an era, forgetting where she is; highlighting the difference between Zhang Xiao's modern outlook and Ruo Lan's traditional upbringing.

Ruo Lan in turn, reprimands Zhang Xiao for her disrespect and asks if she has forgotten who she is and what is ranking and status. Remembering which era she is in, Zhang Xiao falls silent. Qiao Hui tells her that he words are a little out of place, and Zhang Xiao replies that maybe she is too forward in her thinking (another modern slang), which confuses those present. She soon realizes that in the 1700s women would not be able to understand her views on feminism.

Ruolan examines Zhang Xiao as though thinking about what she said, before saying she understands. She tells Zhang Xiao that the both if them grew up in the north-west where rules were less rigorously maintained. But now that they are in the capital, Ruolan emphasizes that rules and regulations have to be followed now that they are in a prince’s household.

A sullen Zhang Xiao states her reluctance to remain in the capital, which makes Ruolan smiles, saying that Ruoxi has not changed from her troublemaker-self. However, she is glad that Ruo Xi defended her. She tells Zhang Xiao that if she could show a little more restraint in the future, she will overlook whatever her younger sister does within the confines of their circle. Feeling that she is deciving such a nice ‘sister’, Zhang Xiao pauses and softly tells Roulan that the sister in front of her is not the same Ruo Xi that she used to know. Ruolan replies that she knows, Ruoxi has become more caring and understanding. Gently touching Zhang Xiao's cheek, Ruolan smiles and says, "You’ve grown up."

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop Episode 2

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop > Episode 2
After Chi Soo rejects Eun Bi, he joins his friends who are waiting for him at the school gate. His friends ask if he knows that lady. And he replies, “She is just some crap I stepped on.” His friend why did he hold on to the crap. He innocently, replies “Because she called me oppa.” His friends are astonished with his reply. Chi Soo continues to lead his friends into the school.

Today is the first day Eun Bi starts her student teacher life. She is worried that she will meet the “high school” Chi Soo and consoles herself by telling herself that the chances to meet him are 1/33. Just at this moment, she sees class 33 and considers it an unlucky number.

When she enters the class, she is given a warm welcome by her students. Immediately, she scans through the class to make sure that Chi Soo is not in this class. She is relieved that Chi Soo is not the student of this class. However, her happiness dissipates when Chi Soo and his gang enters into the classroom. While Eun Bi is cleaning the floor, Chi Soo walks past and tells Eun Bi that he will not spread rumors about the 'incident'.

Eun Bi goes to her father's ramyun shop to look for one of her students that had played truant. She  arrives just in time to stop her student from bullying another person. It turns out that the student (Kim Ba Wool) is like a little brother to Eun Bi. They knew each other long ago.

Eun Bi is busy typing in the office after school and complaining about the ill treatment. By accidentally, she damages the printer and intends to hide it away. When she passes by the classroom, she sees Kim Ba Wool and Chi Soo fighting over a girl in the classroom. The policeman arrives and detains them at the police station. Director Oh gives a report to Chi Soo father, who then gives instructions to not allow Chi Soo to drive to school, and to start the take over of the ramyun snack store for his business development.

At the police station, Kim Ba Wool and Chi Soo both step out of the police station while So-yi and Eun Bi are waiting outside. To Ba Wool's disappointment, So-yi chooses to follow Chi Soo to his car.

The next day, Chi Soo discovers that his car wheels are missing. To his horror, his father tells him that it is not nice for him to drive to school since he is just a high school student. On the other hand, Eun Bi is late for school, so she stops a cab in the middle of the road. To her surprise, Chi Soo is in the cab. Eun Bi tries to confront Chi Soo regarding the open relationship (dating with a few people at the same time). She insists that they should not treat this lightly. Chi Soo counters back and leans closely to her and plants a kiss on her forehead. He adds, “Feelings are the easiest thing in the world, if you mess with me again, I will just date you.”

Comment:
This is a nice episode which illustrates the different personality and mentality when it comes to relationship matters. Chi Soo and So-yi are ok with open relationship (cheating their on partner). Eun Bi and Ba Wool believe that one should not treat relationship lightly. Eun Bi was initially mistaken that Chi Soo is older than her and has a stable career. To her surprise, Chi Soo is a high school student and is instead 6 years younger than her. The introduction of Ba Wool was great and he seems like a problem kid who led a gang. The interaction between Ba Wool and Eun Bi was engaging. On the other hand, So-yi is a pretentious charater, and I hope to see her being ditched by both parties if she still insists on an “open relationship.”

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop

Synopsis
Yang Eun Bi is a University student preparing for her civil service exam with the dream of being a high school teacher. She accidentally encounters Cha Chi Soo, the an arrogant son of the biggest food conglomerate in Korea. Both of them ends up working at a ramyun shop operated by the lazy Choi Kang Hyuk.

This romantic comedy deals with "pretty boys," who with good looks and individuality, operate a ramyun shop with lively college girls and experience the happenings of daily life.

Production Credits
Director: Jung Jung Hwa (정정화)
Screenwriter: Yoon Nan Joong (윤난중





Comments:
A highly recommended drama. The story line had a bit of mixture of the hit dramas - Boys over flowers, Secret Garden and Biscuit Teacher. The recipe was well prepared and this drama turns out to be a tasteful bowl of Ramyun. Coincidentally this drama is linked to one of my favorite food (ramyun).

Tasty Base soup (Script)
This is a romantic comedy and I did not expect this drama to have a good storyline. To my surprise, the scriptwriter Yoon Nan Joong manage to sustain my interest in this drama. It was a fun journey to watch as the story unfolds. In every episode, they have a theme and the story will revolve around that theme.

Noodles (The cast)
Jung Il Woo as Cha Chi Soo
Age: 19
Flavor: A billionaire's son
Job: High School Student
Character: Cute, Adorable, Charming, Sexy, Puppy Eyes, Passionate, young, a spoiled brat, irresistibly seductive with his wink and smile

Lee Ki Woo as Choi Kang Hyuk
Age: 31
Flavor: The boss of Ramyun Store
Job: A chef
Character: Dependable, nice, a pillar of strength, warm, tall, gentle, able to cook (Chef), Adorable, Lazy, manly and has a muscular build

Lee Chung Ah as Yang Eun Bi
Age: 25
Flavor: The successor of her father Ramyun Store
Job: Used to be a teacher
Character: An old fashioned lady that believe in love, Hot tempered, Strong - An athlete who used to be in a Volley Ball Team

Kim Ye Won as So-yi
Nickname: White swan
Character: A ballerina who believe in open relationship ( dating a few guys at the same time )

Jo Yoon Woo as Woo Hyun Woo
Nickname: Class president
Character: A good pal of Chi Soo. He works part-time at different places to earn money to pay off the debts of his father

Park Min Woo as Kim Ba Wool
Nickname: Crazy Chicken
Character: A runaway boy who is a "little brother" to Eun Bi. He is passionate in love and he really adores So-yi

Chef (Director)
The director Jung Jung Hwa managed to get the right actors on board. The pace of the drama is just nice. Not too hurried and not too slow. The director cooked the "Ramyun" throwing in different elements and character growth of the main cast. Bringing the characters into the ramyun store and attracting viewers with eye-candies.

The results:
A delicious bowl of ramyun. :)


Episode Guide

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop Episode 1

This drama starts off with Cha Chi Soo in a plane flirting with a beautiful woman, both of them are talking about their experiences overseas. They are conversing fluently in English when suddenly, Cha Chi Soo pauses for a moment and looks at the woman in a bewilderment.  The lady thinks that Cha Chi Soo is lost in the conversion. Never did she expect Cha Chi Soo to say, "Your lips are very pretty." She is flattered by his compliment and blushes.

The flight soon lands in Korean, and Cha Chi Soo heaves a sigh of relief when he steps out of the airport. His presence attracts the attention of the women around, as they rave about his charm. From the coner of his eyes, he sees a group of people coming his way. He recognizes their faces and  immediately puts on his sunglasses, surveying his environment to plan for his escape. The moment he turns around, he sees the lady whom he met on the plane and he immediately dashes into her car before she drives off. The lady is caught by surprise with his sudden move. He tells her, "I am going to get off at your house."

The next scene shows them in her house, with the lady being surprised to see him preparing to leave. She innocently asks, "Aren't you going to sleep over in my house?" And his replies, " What makes you think that?" Before he makes his exit, he turns to the lady and cheekily, adds "You shouldn't be involved with me or you will be in big trouble." He leaves the house and goes to a cafe to meet his friends.

The next scene brings us to the other main lead, Yang Eun Bi. As this moment, she is dreaming of taking an examination which qualifies her to become a teacher in the future. When she finally snaps out of her dream, irritated with a loving couple in the classroom. She imagines that she approaches  them and bangs on their table and yells at them to focus on the exam. She lifts up the book and is about to bang on their table when she suddenly wakes up. The couple looks at her, wondering who she is. She places the book down and walks away in embarrassment.

Feeling the stress about the coming examination, she seeks the help of a fortune teller, who tells Eun Bi not to get angry as she draws the tarot cards. Unexpectedly, she picks a destiny card  which means that she will fall in love soon and they will share a kiss she hears bell rings. However, Eun Bi retorts that she already has a boyfriend who is in the army.

Back to Chi Soo, who spots the men in black and he tries to run away. He runs into the ladies washroom and meets Eun Bi who happens to be in that cubicle. She attempts to chase him out and she makes lots of noise. The men in black are anxiously looking for him at door. In a desperate attempt to shut Eun Bi up, he stares at Eun Bi in the eyes and bend closely to her. Charmed by him, she closes her eyes and prepares for a kiss. However, he whispers to her ears, "the mole here is pretty." With that he walks after making sure the coast is clear. Regaining her composure, Eun Bi storms out of the washroom and shouts at Chi Soo. Chi Soo turns around and says, "Opps i went to the wrong place, but why did you close your eyes?" 

He winks at her and with that sweeps her feet away. Eun Bi goes home to share her encounter with the "Pervert" and describes the event to her friend Kang Dong Joo. Eun Bi is envious of her as a teacher who is well loved by others.

In the next scene, an old man was seated in a bathtub and a man his reporting to him that they had lost him (Chi Soo). The old man replies , "Please continue to catch him." Chi Soo meets his friend (Woo Hyun Woo) on the street and they have a chat at the rooftop. The next day, Eun Bi and Dong Joo are bickering with each other over minor issues. Eun Bi is supposed to meet her boyfriend at the arrival hall but is  disappointed to know that he went home already.

Chi Soo goes back home to meet his dad, however, his father is furious with him and insist that he board the plane back to US. He pleads with his dad to let him stay at home and manages to convince him somehow.

Eun Bi goes to a school festival and she accidentally bumps onto a lady. She apologizes to her but the lady insists that it is not Eun Bi's fault. This makes Eun Bi appear to be a villain. Chi Soo happens to meet Eun Bi in the school festival. The latter has no recollection of their encounter despite Eun Bi giving him hints. They have a brief chat when suddenly Eun Bi notices a person that looks familar to her, it turns out to be her boyfriend! He is having a great time with another woman.

Eun Bi confronts  him and convinced that her boyfriend loves somebody else. Eun Bi turns away trying to control her emotion. She hears the lady comment, "She is surprisingly cool, I thought she is clingy type." Eun Bi turns around and uses a water balloon to smash on the couple! The guy confronts Eun Bi and tells her why they broke  off.

Eun Bi lies that she is also dating another guy. She runs into Chi Soo car while he is chatting on the phone. He is surprised that Eun Bi is his car. They end up having to drive away as the lady starts throwing water bomb at them. They drive off to a place and  Chi Soo waits for Eun Bi to calm down.

While talking about her ex-boyfriends she starts to cry. Chi Soo tells Eun Bi to get out of the car as he can't stand people crying. Eun Bi goes home alone, struggling to get back to her feet. She is determined to pick herself up as she throws all the things away.

Soon, it is Eun Bi's first day as a student teacher and her friend is giving her some advice how be charming and attract the professionals, such as lawyer and doctors. She is  seated at the cafe looking for eligible bachelors as she imagines the young men showing interest in her. However, she immediately wakes up from her dream and faces reality.

As she steps out of the cafe, she meets Chi Soo again. Eun Bi greets him and conducts a survey with him. She is satisified that he meets all her criteria. Realizing that Chi Soo is a good catch, she knows that she need to grab hold of this opportunity to get closer to him. Suddenly, somebody skates pass Eun Bi and she falls into the arms of Chi Soo. For a moment all is silent and Eun Bi can hear the bells ringing away in the distance. She offers to go on a date with Chi Soo but he declines. Just then, he takes out his jacket and puts it on. It is a high school uniform! She hangs her head down in disappointment.


Comments
A typical korean drama which builds on fantasy and romance. It is a nice opening which gave us an insight to the characters of these main leads. Jung Il Woo is cute and charming in his own way. It is funny to see him using the same tricks on the women she encountered and his own daddy. He seems to be able to manipulates others using his charm. I am curious to know more about his character and his background

Lee Chung Ah who played Eun Bi is excellent. She really looks desperate looking for a eligible bachelor. From this episode, we know that she is a dreamer and she envies her friend who seems to be more popular. The interesting thing is she has her own criteria when she looks at a man. There is this score sheet in her mind that she uses to judge a guy. That is hilarious but true to certain extend.

There is this mysterious guy called Hyun woo that appeared for a while, I am curious to know more about his role. This drama is able to get me interested and I will continue to write on this drama.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Park Eun-hye Meet Chinese Fans in Seoul

Source: Chosun 

Actress Park Eun-hye made her first public appearance since she had a baby when she met with some 600 Chinese fans in Seoul on Wednesday. Park, who is popular in China, has worked hard to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries.

In May last year, Park visited Jeju Island with some 1,000 Chinese fans, showing them around the scenic sites and watching Korean traditional arts performances.

The latest fan meeting was organized by a Chinese cosmetics company for which Park have modeled for four years, and participants were chosen among its customers by lottery. Park offered them makeup tips and spoke about Korean etiquette and culture.

Super Junior first ranks top on the Oricon Single Chart

Source: Starnews, korea.com, sup3rjunior.wordpress.com 

The December 11 Oricon Chart, a renowned Japanese music ranking chart, shows that Super Junior’s “Mr. Simple,” released on December 7, climbed to the top position for the first time since its debut.

Super Junior’s Japanese version of the Korean hit song, “Mr. Simple,” ranked second right as soon as being released before vaulting to the top position, and remarkably recorded 35,854 copies in sales, beating AKB48, one of the most popular Japanese girl groups.

This record is meaningful considering that any special promotion has yet been conducted in Japan. They have hardly appeared on TV in Japan except for holding a few times of concerts in Japan.

Super Junior’s Japanese first single, “Bonamana,” released in June, first appeared on the Oricon Chart, climbing up to the second position.

Besides Super Junior, we can feel the blustery wind of Korea budding groups on the Oricon chart: The Boss’s new song “Love Days” ranked eighth, and Rainbow’s “Mach” is holding the ninth position for weeks.

Korean singers showed a steady rising tendency on the day’s Oricon chart. Kara’s new Japanese regular album Super Girl, released on November 23, ranked top, while SHINee’s first Japanese regular album, The First, climbed to the seventh position.

Girls Generation to Become Million Album Seller in Japan

Source: KBS Global

Star Hallyu group Girls Generation’s first Japanese album entitled “Girls Generation” is expected to record a million sales in Japan. Major news agencies in Japan including Sankei Sports reported on December 7 that Girls Generation’s first album that had been released in Japan last June has sold 850,000 copies up to now, and it is expected to record a total of a million sales as the album will be released again in repackaged form on December 28.

The repackaged album will include an unpublished song entitled “Time Machine,” a Japanese version of the song “The Boys” that had been released worldwide on October 19, and three remix songs from their original twelve songs included in the album.

News reports forecasted that Girls Generation’s first album will achieve one million sales, as the group has recently been obtaining more popularity in Japan with their appearances on Japanese media and TV programs such as “FNS Song Festival” on Fuji TV and “Red & White Year End Song Festival” on NHK. If the album achieves a million sales in Japan, it will become the first record to do so in Japan among Korean musicians. In addition, it will also become the first million seller album in Japan of 2011.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Aiba Masaki Promotes Documentary in Taiwan

Source: Mingpao
Translated by: sparkles_n15 @ asianfanatics.net

Arashi member Aiba Masaki arrived in Taipei yesterday to promote the documentary, 'Japan Archipelago ~ The Story of the Inhabitants'. Over 600 fans welcomed him at the airport. At the press conference later that day, Aiba bowed deeply to show his gratitude. "Thank you for all the warmth I've received from everyone here in Taiwan." Aiba provides the narration to the documentary, which features interactions between wildlife animals found on the Japan archipelago. Producer Endo Manabu says, "During the filming of this documentary, we experienced the March 11 earthquake. At that time, Taiwan was one of the countries who immediately provided assistance to us. We decided to hold the premiere here as a way to show our appreciation.

Aiba has always been known for his love of animals. When he was asked to pick an animal to describe his fellow Arashi members, he says that Matsumoto Jun resembles a tiger, Sakurai Sho a zebra, Nino a puppy, while Ohno would be a fish. As for himself, the director says that Aiba would be best described as a brown bear. "They're energetic, curious and a little crazy!"

After his flight landed in Taipei, Aiba first visited the National Taipei University of Education Experimental Elementary School (NTUEEES) to speak with elementary school students. He thanked them for their assistance and support after the earthquake. Aiba also expressed his interest to visit the Longshan Temple. He will be arriving in Hong Kong this afternoon to continue with his promotions.

2PM Begins Arena Tour

Source: KBS Global

Star group 2PM began their first Arena Tour entitled "Republic of 2PM" at Osaka Hall in Osaka on December 5. In the midst of cheering from their 10,000 fans, they showcased splendid performances while singing their hit songs such as "Hot" and "Put Your Hands Up."

Taek Yeon said, "We have decided the title of this concert tour will be 'Republic of 2PM' because we wanted to announce our concept about the world in front of you." 2PM presented three title songs that had been ranked in the top four of the Oricon chart such as "Take Off," "I'm Your Man," and "Ultra Lover," hit songs in Korea, and the ballad entitled "Even If We Are Apart" that Joon Soo had made for their fans during the two-hour concert.

2PM will hold a total of nine concerts with 100,000 audience members in the six major cities of Japan including Nagoya, Saitama, and Tokyo. Their concert in Tokyo that will be held in Fudokan on December 21 will be broadcast live in 38 movie theaters and live concert halls nationwide. 2PM's first official album entitled "Republic of 2PM" was released at the end of last month, and it had ranked second on the Oricon daily chart by selling 25,765 copies during the first day of the album release.

New drama hit 6 million views cheers up Jerry Yan who injured his hand again


These past few days, the actor's mood has been very down. While having action training for his upcoming movie Hua Yang/Scarlet, his index finger was sprained yet again. The sprained finger soon swelled to double its original size, which resulted in Jerry having to get an x-ray to get it checked out.

When he heard that his new drama My Splendid Life had hit 6 million views on Youku (a Chinese equivalent of Youtube) and had first place on the site, Jerry smiled and exclaimed that there is finally something to be happy about.

For his his upcoming movie Hua Yang/Scarlet, Jerry plays a pirate. So he has to go  through action trainings with his hands and legs being bound. Ever the perfectionist, Jerry tends to do his very best and sometimes frustrate the people around him.

Due to his hand injury, Jerry hesitated as he was afraid he would disappoint Zero Zhou, the director of the movie. Despite his cautiousness, he still managed to injure his fingers when he did a rolling action. When the incident happened, there was a loud cracking sound which shocked the director and the other people who were present. He had injured his right hand again.

Jerry's assistant said that although the actor did not take the injury to heart initially, his badly swollen finger gave him intense pain and that prompted him to visit the doctor the next day. At the doctor's, besides the x-ray check, Jerry was also given an injection in his joints. The needle was inserted into his fingers three times. His assistant who was beside him was afraid, but Jerry braved through the pain.

The treatment for Jerry's fingers is to have a hot compress applied to his injury 3 times a day, take 2 pills to help speed the recovery. The doctor reminded Jerry that his injury was serious and that he cannot afford to have any more trauma to his injured hand. This news seemed to have placed Jerry's mood in the dumps.

Fortunately for Jerry, his mood pick up when he was told that his first China drama My Splendid Life was the first on Youku and had garnered 6 million views.

Water bottle spotted in 'Curse of the Royal Harem', Netizens ridicules TVB


Friday December 2, 2011 Hong Kong
Source: Mingpao, Oriental Daily
Translated by: aZnangel @ http://asianuniverse.net/forums/

Netizens spotted a water bottle in TVB's anniversary series Curse of the Royal Harem (CRH). In episode 19, the scene was about Sunny Chan's role as Emperor Guangxi (Do Gwong) discussing business with the imperial officials, but when the camera zoomed out, an empty water bottle was seen sitting on the emperor's desk. Netizens screen captured the goof, posted on discussion forums and ridiculed TVB for playing with 'time travel'. Netizens also made a spoof by putting the caption, "TVB is amazing" underneath the screencap to further ridicule TVB.

Netizens madly criticized TVB for making another sloppy production. Netizens speculated that someone finished the bottle and just conveniently placed it on the set, but none of the artists or staff noticed. Even when the crew were editing the scenes, still no one spotted the mistake, seriously careless! One Netizen joked and wondered if this was a marketing technique by the sponsor.

Reporters contacted CRH's producer Chong Wai Kin, he expressed he was notified about the mistake earlier this morning. Then he immediately went back to rewatch the original. Producer Chong said: "We often complete the scenes in 1 take. Perhaps we accidentally placed the cut camera shots back into the scene. I'm not sure if if it's a human or computer error. We are responsible for this, and in the future, we will review the series a few more times to ensure there are no errors before broadcasting." He also expressed his gratitude to the person who spotted the mistake and for their support.