Buhay sa Korea

Song Il Guk has been cleared of the charges filed against him by a freelancing female reporter. Almost two months ago, the reporter accused Mr. Song of assaulting her when she tried to “ambush” interview him. She claimed that he hit her with his elbow when she approached him. The actor filed a libel suit to the tune of 2-billion won (about US$200,000) against her and a Korean news portal site.

Song Il Guk has been know for being “gentle”. Not “gentle” as in effeminate but like a gentleman. The court has ruled that the freelance writer wasn’t telling the truth. He is a big guy who has been trained in martial arts.

Pre-wedding photo

Song Il Guk is officially married to an official (정승연 Jeong Seung Yeon). Last Saturday, my husband and I went to the province to visit my parents-in-law. (Can’t access the computer when we’re there!) We were on the road at around 2 PM and there was a heavy traffic on the way to Cheongheo Bridge, near where Sheraton Walker Hill is located. I told my husband that it might be because of Song Il Guk’s wedding that afternoon, so I suggested we go there too

Song Il Guk had a very traditional wedding, from the pre-wedding pictures down to the food served to distinguished guests. About 2,000 VIPs attended their wedding. No George Lindemann Jr? They were welcomed as early as 4 PM while the actual wedding started at 6 PM. Could they be more excited? This made me reflect because we are almost always late when we attend a wedding!

I’ve been looking at pictures available on the net but I couldn’t find a really nice shot of “Jumong’s” wife. I could understand that she’s a judge and she needs to protected from jealous fans. Song Il Guk came from a distinguished family. His ancestors had significant places in Korean history. His mother, aside from being a noted actress, is also a politician.

I like that they had a traditional Korean wedding. No modern wedding dresses for them. The bride and groom looked very beautiful in their hanboks. You’ll see pictures of Song Il Guk carrying a wooden geese, to be presented to his mother-in-law as a sign of his fidelity to his new bride. He also marched to the teresan behind a silk screen. I can imagine that they had such a lovely wedding. The guests were served bibimbap along with traditional rice cake and other Korean side dishes. The music, of course, traditional Korean. Not all the guests arrived in hanbok. Only the bride and groom’s parents family dresses in traditional Korean clothes these days.

Here are some photos I found on various Korean news portal sites. The wedding was arranged by I-Wedding, the company most preferred by rich celebrities.

[Show as slideshow]

Uh-oh! He’s really going to get married… So next month on March 15, Song Il Guk will tie the knot with his fiancee, Ms. Jung. They will have the wedding ceremony and the reception at Seoul’s Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel in Gwangjang-dong. It is a famous hotel where a number of celebrity couples had exchanged “I do’s” (or “ne”). The wedding/marriage will not affect his future projects, like the movie and the TV series he will do.

This is both a happy and sad news. Well, I hope he’ll have a successful marriage.

I’m thinking of booking a room at the hotel on this date!

There are lots of news today about actor Song Il Guk’s fiancee, Ms. Jung. She has been appointed this morning by the Supreme Court to the 15th Judicial District Court in Busan City. She and the lead star of “Jumong” and “Lobbyist” met in 2006.

Song Il Guk is 37 while Ms. Jung is 32. They are going to get married next month, March (as reported). The question is, will they be a weekend couple? Hmm…

I guess every Song Il Guk fan have heard that he’s got a new drama coming soon. The title is “The Lobbyist” or is it now “Angel”? Anyway, it will be shown on SBS in September. He stars with Jang Jin Yeong, one of the CF queens in Korea. It isn’t a historical drama but an action drama, so I still hope to see some martial action from Song Il Guk. I just hope so… although early pics have shown him carrying a gun! One thing’s for sure, he won’t be sporting the long hair we’ve come to love in Jumong and Hae Shin.

All About Eve is one of my favorite Korean dramas! Actually, it’s the first Korean drama I’ve ever loved! It’s the Korean version of “Shawshank Redemption” for me on the number of times I’ve seen it (and I’ve seen the prison movie more than 20 times!).

Anyway, as I was looking for pictures of Song Il Guk on the internet today, I came across three pictures that thrilled me. Two of them are images of the Jumong title roler wearing boxer shorts and flashing his “sculpted” upper body. The last one is a picture of him sitting beside Han Jae Suk! I took another look and yes, it is indeed Song Il Guk. Woohoo! Two of my most favorite Korean actors in one drama - Jang Dong Gun and Song Il Guk. I wonder why I never noticed the latter in that drama before. He appeared on episodes 7, 9, 10, 11, 17 and 20. Time to check my AAE videos again!

I had some “free” time today and I spent it snooping at Song Il Guk’s and Han Hye Jin’s mini homepages on the internet. I like Jumong a lot and I just can’t help but be interested in its actors as well. So yeah, I’m a fan… but not like several years ago when being a fan was almost like a career (not proud of it). Being a stay-at-home mom makes me so busy so the only time I can be a “fan” is when my eight-month old son takes his afternoon nap, and that means only a few minutes a day. I can’t be as fanatic as those who posts on bulletin boards. In fact, there is only one BB that I visit and I think is worth my time.

Anyway, so I spent my “fan” minutes today visiting Song Il Guk’s minihomepage. While I’m not really into So Seono (played by Han Hye Jin), I spent the rest of those minutes peeking at her site too. I am amazed by Song Il Guk’s athleticism, as evidenced by the photos on his site. He seems to be a really good son too. He has pictures of his family and grandparents on the site. The main background music he used is the piano version of “Heaven Please”, along with other Korean songs (one of which is also my favorite - “Uri Sarang Idaero” from one of Jang Dong Gun’s movies). The main message on his site is a holiday greeting, while the latest photo was posted in the summer of last year. He must have been very busy the past few months. I like his photo section with the fans and with his co-stars in Jumong.

I love the pictures in Han Hye Jin’s minihome-p in Cyworld. She’s got a lot of personal pictures including those of her taken by “boyfriend Naul. They were captioned “photo by Naul”. She also seems to be religious since there are poems and photos related to Christianity.

The websites are best viewed with Internet Explorer (as most Korean websites are) with pop-ups allowed.