Buhay sa Korea

Choi Yeo Jin is one of the most searched celebrities in internet portals today. She attended yesterday’s 2008 Baeksang Awards in a long printed gown with a halter neckline that barely covered her breasts. On some pictures, part of her right nipple is visible and what seems to be a scar under her breast caught a lot of attention.

Choi Yeo Jin debuted on SBS’ Supermodel Search in 2001. She was also in Seo Ji Sub’s highly popular drama, I’m Sorry I Love You (미안하다 사랑한다). Here she is at the Baeksang Awards yesterday:

Don’t you just love to see (and judge) what your favorite (and not-so-favorite) stars are wearing during an awards ceremony? Just like at the 2008 Baeksang Arts Awards, photographers and fans alike snapped pictures of the stars (female mostly) and their clothes. Choi Yeo Jin received a lot of attention and see for yourself why…

Click on the pictures to enlarge:

Park Jin Hee, Han Ye Seul, Han Yeong
Lee Ji A, Park Shi Yeon, Kim Jeong Eun

Ryeo Won, Yoon Eun Hye, Go Ara, Han Hyo Ju, Lee Yeon Hee

Kim Hee Ae, Choi Yeo Jin, Park Jeong Ah
Son Ye Jin, Yoo In Yeong, Kim Min Hee

Yi So-yeon will “fly to they sky” on April 8. She will board a Russian spacecraft, Soyuz, going to the international space station. She’ll bring with her the national side dish “kimchi”, “doenjang” or bean paste soup, “gochujang” or chili paste, ginseng tea and other Korean foods. It was Ko San who was supposed to be the first Korean to go to space but he violated training protocol and was replaced. I’m so sure with this assignment, Ms. Yi’s life insurance quotes would go up!

Can you imagine the gorgeous Won Bin picking his nose? He still looks cute. For most, nose picking is disgusting but the celebrities we look up too are only human and sometimes a tissue is not readily available.

From this page on Daum’s bulletin board are some images of Korean celebrities caught nose picking.

Three years ago, actress Kim Sun Ah starred in the hit drama “My Name is Kim Sam Soon” with Hyun Bin and Daniel Henney. She gained seven kilograms for the role of a thirtyish old maid. This year, moviegoers will see a sexier Kim Sun Ah in the movie “Girl Scout”. The poster for her new film is out and she’s showing an S-line!

I’ve seen Kim Sun Ah in the flesh and she really seems to be big-boned, not fat or flabby. I’m sure a lot of folks out there are excited to see her again.

Woohoo! I wonder how much these Korean actors and actresses pay for their taxes. Ordinary salaried workers pay about 3.3% for their income tax. And my husband said that more than 60% of Korean salaried workers earn less than 20 million won a year (and could only afford penny stocks for investments)! Here are the top 7 Korean drama stars and their income (per episode):

[Show as slideshow]

No. 7 Go Hyun Jung (or Go Hyeon Jeong) - 35 million won for her drama “Hit” which replaced “Jumong” last year

No. 6 Choi Ji Woo (last name pronounced as “chae”) - 40 million won for “Air City”

No. 5 Lee Jung Jae (or Lee Jeong Jae) - 45 million won for “Air City”

No. 4 Park Shin Yang - 50 million won for “War of Money”

No. 3 Song Seung Hun (or Song Seung Heon) - 70 million won for “East of Eden” (TBS June 2008)

No. 2 Kwon Sang Woo - 100 million won for “Bad Love”

No. 1 Bae Yong Joon (or Bae Yong Jun) - 200 million won for “The Legend”

I’ve been reading the news today since it’s the Inauguration Day of South Korea’s new President Lee Myung Bak. The news about Yoon Eun Hye’s comeback as a singer is ranked 2 on Daum’s search (as of this time). There are more people interested with “star” news?

Yoon Eun Hye gained popularity via the Korean dramas “Palace” (Gung) and “Coffee Prince”. She started her career as part of the all-female group “Baby VOX”. She left the group three years ago. She’s also a popular product endorser (like I see her every commercial break!).

This time, she is featured in the album of the hiphop group “Mighty Mouth”. According to the reports, she “blended harmoniously” with the duo in the song “Saranghae” or “I love you.”