‘Ogame’ Director Hwang Dong-hyeok “Preparing for Season 2, Lifespan Shortened… Pointing Out the Vulnerabilities of Representative Democracy”[Interview]

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk and actor Lee Jung-jae have once again succeeded in achieving ‘all-time’ global success with ‘Squid Game’, which is considered the biggest hit of Netflix history. Since its release on the 26th of last month, ‘Squid Game’ season 2 has been writing great records, such as taking ‘overall No. 1’ in 93 service countries and regions, the first time in Netflix history. Director Hwang smiled, saying, “There hasn‘t been any good news in Korea recently, so it’s a blessing to be able to deliver some good news in Korean content instead of English.” Lee Jung-jae also said, “It helped us create an even better season 3, in addition to the current global success.

Suspicion of corporate hunting + controversy over Han Dong-hoon and Jung Woo-sung‘s ’Kkanbu‘… Lee Jung-jae’s calm explanation

Lee Jung-jae is having an eventful year-end and New Year‘s holiday season, being caught up in various ’noises‘ that seem to be proportional to his increased global status. These include the management rights conflict that arose during the acquisition process of the production company Raemongraein ahead of the release of Season 2 of ’Squid Game‘ on the 26th of last month, and the controversy surrounding ’best friends‘ Han Dong-hoon, former head of the People’s Power Party, and actor Jung Woo-sung. The management rights conflict of Raemongrae arose during the process of Artist United, founded by Lee Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung, acquiring the management rights of Raemongraein. Former Raemongraein CEO Kim Dong-rae sued Lee Jung-jae and others for fraud, claiming, “They initially approached me with the purpose of corporate hunting and tried to take away management rights,” and Lee Jung-jae and others

Youth is right now, from Bu Seok-soon!

Despite the unexpected twists and turns, Boo Seok-soon‘s ‘youth starts right now’. As Boo Seok-soon, a unit of the global group Seventeen, emerges as the first big star to open the door to 2025, their message of comfort and support has already started to create a buzz, intertwined with the chaotic times. Boo Seok-soon will release their second single ‘Teleparty’ (TELEPARTY) on the 8th at 6 PM. Boo Seok-soon, a three-member unit consisting of Hoshi (Kwon Soon-young), Dokyeom (Lee Seok-min), and Seungkwan (Boo Seung-kwan), will make a comeback after two years since their first single ‘Second Wind’ in February 2023. Their new album will be based on the mega hit song

Will the door to China, which has been closed for 8 years, open? Love calls for K-pop performances ‘Slowly’

Will the door to China, which has been tightly closed for eight years, open? The content exchange between the two countries, which had been frozen due to the ‘Hallyu ban’ (Korean Wave ban) caused by the ‘THAAD incident’ and the COVID-19 situation, is showing signs of opening up after eight years, drawing attention. In particular, K-pop, which is gaining huge popularity locally, is drawing attention as a ‘bridgehead’, and both inside and outside the music industry are paying keen attention to related changes. According to a comprehensive report by Sports Donga on the 5th, some large Chinese concert planning companies have recently started inquiring about the schedule of solo concerts by K-pop singers to domestic agencies. One concert official said, “There is still a long way to go until the actual concerts are realized.

Widowed Im Ji-yeon defends her sister-in-law Yeon-woo (The Story of Lady Ok)

Lim Ji-yeon steps forward to defend her sister-in-law, Yeon-woo. Episode 10 of JTBC‘s Sat-Sun drama ‘Madam Ok’s Story’ (written by Park Ji-sook, directed by Jin Hyeok and Choi Bo-yoon) airing today (the 5th) will show the love thicker than water between sister-in-law, Ok Tae-young (played by Lim Ji-yeon) and Cha Mi-ryeong (played by Yeon-woo), who clear up a misunderstanding and join hands. Cha Mi-ryeong, who was deceived by her mother, Madam Song‘s lies and had her entire life used for revenge, was able to continue to stay in the Seong family thanks to Ok Tae-young’s warm and kind generosity. Since then, she has been on the side of her family and her older brother Ok Tae-young, who truly cherishes her, rather than her mother, and she has even become pregnant. However, Cha Mi-ryeong is greatly shocked when she finds out that Madam Song, who still cannot give up her obsession with revenge, tricked her son-in-law, Seong Do-gyeom (played by Kim Jae-won), in an attempt to harm the men in t

Bae In-hyeok, ♥Kim Ji-eun Knowing He‘s a Man... Pretending to Be a Couple? (Check-in Hanyang)

‘Check In Hanyang’ Bae In-hyuk and Kim Ji-eun wore couple suits. The romance between Lee Eun-ho (played by Bae In-hyuk) and Hong Deok-soo (played by Kim Ji-eun) in Channel A‘s weekend drama ‘Check In Hanyang’ (written by Park Hyun-jin/directed by Myung Hyun-woo and Noh Kyu-yeop) is stimulating the interest of viewers. Above all, Lee Eun-ho still doesn’t know that Hong Deok-soo is a woman. Despite this, his eyes continue to flirt with Hong Deok-soo and the way he cares about her is a heart-fluttering point. On top of that, Hong Deok-soo is conscious of Lee Eun-ho, which adds to the fun of the change in their relationship. Meanwhile, the still cuts released ahead of the 6th episode of ‘Check In Hanyang’ to be aired on January 5th show Lee Eun-ho and Hong Deok-soo wearing couple suits as if they were newlyweds, drawing attention. The cozy atmosphere of the two people who were bickering makes the hearts of the viewers flutter. First, in the first photo, Lee Eun-ho is confidently wearing bl

Han Seok-kyu Grand Prize → Lee Ha-nui, Yoo Yeon-seok, Lee Je-hoon, Best Honor (2024 MBC Drama Awards) [TV Comprehensive]

Actors in dramas that made MBC shine have meaningfully wrapped up 2024. The ‘2024 MBC Drama Awards’ that aired on the 5th had a meaningful time looking back on 2024, a year filled with well-made dramas with the actors we loved back then. The grand prize of the ‘2024 MBC Drama Awards’ went to Han Suk-kyu, who returned to MBC with ‘So Intimate Traitor’, making the award even more meaningful. Han Suk-kyu, who won the grand prize for the first time in about 30 years, starting with the Rookie of the Year award 31 years ago and continuing with the Best Acting award, said, “I‘ve been thinking about how family has been the biggest theme in everything I’ve done in my life. That‘s why I wanted to convey the importance of family through the work ‘So Intimate Traitor’. “Everything that we actors do is a gesture for the audience and viewers. “The job of an actor is just to worry about how to convey my feelings truthfully,” Lee Ha-nui, who won the Best Acting Award in the Miniseries category for “Fl

Kim Jong-un, ♥Financial Husband‘s Face Revealed “Release a Song for Pets” [DA★]

Actress Kim Jung-eun revealed part of her husband‘s face. On the 5th, Kim Jung-eun posted on her Instagram, “A song I sang for a project for pets has been released,” and announced the release of the song. She introduced the new song by saying, “The song I was first offered was a very cheerful song about puppies, but when I asked, ’My babies are now over ten years old and are old dogs. Isn‘t there a song for those babies?’, the song she made for me was ‘I’m Your Whole World.‘” She continued, “I have a lot of friends and a lot to do, but to my babies, I’m everything. I have two dogs, too. Their health is getting worse. Puppies don‘t last long when they’re small and cute. I sang this song with the hope of loving my old dogs even more as the time comes to say goodbye to them.” He also shared an anecdote, saying, “I cried a lot while practicing, so I was worried if I could sing properly, but my younger sister, singer Yumi, helped me, so I think it turned out well.” Finally, he said, “I hope

Cho Kwon, Lee Young-ji, and others donate to support victims of Jeju Air disaster [Entertainment News HOT]

Singer Jo Kwon, Lee Young Ji, and Tomorrow x Together‘s Huening Kai have joined the donation drive to support victims of the Jeju Air plane disaster that occurred on the 29th of last year. According to the Korean Red Cross on the 5th, Jo Kwon and Huening Kai donated 10 million won and 50 million won, respectively, to be used to support the bereaved families. After donating 10 million won each to the Korean Red Cross and the Warm Day Foundation, Lee Young Ji wrote on SNS, “I cannot fathom how devastated you are, so I am sending you comfort with this small help.” Previously, numerous stars including BTS’s J-Hope and singer Kim Bum Soo joined the ranks of condolences and donations.

Jin Tae-hyun and Park Si-eun “We have two wonderful adopted daughters” [Entertainment News HOT]

Actors Jin Tae-hyun and Park Si-eun have welcomed a new family member. Jin Tae-hyun announced on his personal SNS on the 5th, “We have wonderful adopted daughters. An elite marathon runner for Gyeonggi Province and a future nurse preparing to be a nurse in Jeju Island.” He explained that his two daughters met at an orphanage long ago and added, “We decided to live together as family, or as members who eat together, so that we can fill in the many shortcomings in their lives with love.” The couple, who married in 2015, have a college-aged daughter whom they adopted publicly.

Rosé ‘Apartment’ Undying Popularity… Reverse Run on UK Singles Chart [Entertainment News HOT]

The global hit song ‘Apartment’ (APT.) featuring Blackpink‘s Rosé and Bruno Mars is enjoying ‘reverse popularity’ on the UK Official Charts. According to the latest Official Singles ‘Top 100’ chart released recently, ‘Apartment’ rose 26 places from the previous week to rank 2nd. This is the 11th consecutive week it has been on the chart based on the rankings. ‘Apartment’ first entered the chart at number 4 in late October last year, and rose to number 2 the following week.

Park Ji-young, who stole 10 billion won, cries in front of the police chief... Will she be arrested? (Irony Family)

Park Ji-young sheds tears in fear in front of Kim Sun-kyung. In episode 30 of KBS2‘s special weekend drama ‘Iron Family’ (directed by Sung Joon-hae, Seo Yong-soo / written by Seo Sook-hyang) airing on the 5th, Go Bong-hee (played by Park Ji-young) sheds tears in fear in front of Chief Yoon Mi-ok (played by Kim Sun-kyung), who is holding a wad of money and glaring at her with a cold expression. In the revealed photo, Bong-hee is standing in front of Mi-ok like a criminal. And in Mi-ok’s hand is a wad of 50,000 won bills. It seems that Mi-ok, who has been suspicious of the Clean Laundry family‘s crimes, has finally obtained evidence. In the photo, Bong-hee is terrified and shedding tears, while Mi-ok is glaring at Bong-hee with a cold expression. Lee Da-rim (played by Geum Sae-rok), who witnessed the scene from the stairs, is flustered and doesn’t know what to do. Bong-hee‘s original plan was to safely complete Ahn Gil-rye’s (played by Kim Young-ok) stomach cancer surgery and then turn h

“Nam Woo-hyun and Guevara, ‘Mungchan 3’ like Park Ji-sung and Son Heung-min” exclamation

‘Somehow New Avengers’ is about to have an unprecedented match with the birth of a new attacking duo. On the JTBC show ‘United We Can Cool 3’ on the 5th, a fierce match between ‘Somehow New Avengers’ and ‘Our FC’, ranked 9th in the early morning soccer rankings, will be depicted. ‘Our FC’ is a powerhouse that has defeated ‘Mungchan’‘s archrival ‘Shinjeju Soccer Club’, ranked 1st in the early morning soccer rankings, and is expected to be a difficult match for ‘Somehow New Avengers’. In the midst of the fierce match that day, attention is focused on the birth of a new attacking duo. First, ‘Peruvian soccer genius’ Guevara, who has been showing MOM (Man of the Match)-level performance in every game since returning from injury, will show off his continued skills. Guevara showed signs of being pushed back by the strong pressure of ‘Our FC’ in the beginning of the game, but he turned the game around in an instant with his signature flashy footwork and a killer pass based on his wide field o

Han Ji-min♥Lee Jun-hyuk, Romantic Synergy That Lives Up to Expectations (My Perfect Secretary)

The perfect romantic synergy of Han Ji-min and Lee Joon-hyuk in the SBS Friday-Saturday drama ‘My Perfect Secretary’ captivated viewers. This is because Han Ji-min, a romance expert that we can trust, and Lee Joon-hyuk, who was expected to explode with romance potential and capture women‘s hearts with his “melo-like gaze” even in genre dramas, met. And the two who were unveiled amid everyone’s expectations proved their perfection beyond expectations by creating high-intensity excitement with just two episodes, which were the tip of the iceberg of close care romance. First, the story of Ji-yoon (played by Han Ji-min) and Eun-ho (played by Lee Joon-hyuk), who met from their first meeting as the CEO of a headhunting company who must transfer candidates and the manager of the HR team who must prevent the transfer of key talents within the company, and became enemies, was even more eye-catching because it was unexpected. Because of that relationship, he got angry because he thought he had s

Lee Ga-seop of ‘To Snow White’, ‘MBC Drama Awards’ New Actor Award

Actor Lee Ga-seop won the Rookie Award at the ‘2024 MBC Drama Awards’ on the 5th. Lee Ga-seop played the role of twin brothers Hyun Soo-oh and Hyun Geon-oh in the drama ‘Snow White‘s Death - Black Out’, and led the drama as a key figure who knows the truth of the incident from 10 years ago. Lee Ga-seop left a strong impression on viewers by perfectly digesting the dual roles with thorough analysis of the characters and delicate acting. Lee Ga-seop paid tribute to the victims of the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster and shared a short comment. He said, “‘Snow White’s Death’ Director Byun Young-joo, the staff, seniors, and fellow actors who worked with me. It was an honor to meet such a team, and I really want to meet them again,”, expressing his deep affection for the work. Lee Ga-seop also said, “My father has been receiving treatment since the beginning of this year due to poor health, so I will just say one thing to him and then go down. Don‘t be anxious, because your father loves yo

‘Go Hyun-jung Special Support’Ryeo-un, What Will Happen If She Stops Singing Due to Trauma? (Namib)

The stage filled with Go Hyun-jung and Ryeo-woon‘s sincerity is touching the hearts of viewers and making them cheer for their challenge even more. In episodes 3 and 4 of the Genie TV original drama ‘Namib’ (written by Eom Sung-min, directed by Han Sang-jae and Kang Min-goo) that aired last week, the ‘Star Rise’ auditions finally began and Yoo Jin-woo (played by Ryeo-woon), who received personalized training from Kang Soo-hyun (played by Go Hyun-jung), presented a touching moment with a song that comforted his precarious life. Kang Soo-hyun persuaded her husband Shim Jun-seok (played by Yoon Sang-hyun), who was a capable producer, to help her and hired her friend Hong Jung-hwa (played by Kim Hyun-sook) as a vocal trainer, putting spurs to Yoo Jin-woo’s development. He also met with the PD in charge of ‘Star Rise’ and put his passion into it both inside and out, emphasizing Eugene Woo‘s strengths and narrative. While Kang Soo Hyun was fully preparing for the audition, Eugene Woo was sti

Demi Moore in her 60s, got a shot and became younger? Dizzying see-through upper body [DA★]

Actress Demi Moore has pulled off a see-through outfit. On the 4th, Demi Moore revealed part of her pictorial on her Instagram. In the photo, Demi Moore is working out in tights that reveal her body lines. While her solid muscles catch the eye, in another photo, she is wearing a see-through outfit on her upper body to create a breathtaking sexiness. Demi Moore showed off her daring acting in the currently showing movie ‘Substance’. ‘Substance’ is about a former star who was fired for being ‘young and not sexy’ and transforms into a young body with just one injection. Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com reporter jhj@donga.com

Wang Jong-geun, after quitting his job, lost 1 billion won “If you invest, you lose” (Dongchimi)

Broadcaster Wang Jong-geun lost 1 billion won in stocks. On the MBN show ‘Sokpuli Show Dongchimi’ on the 4th, Wang Jong-geun and Kim Mi-sook appeared as guests. Wang Jong-geun confessed, “I don‘t have any more money to lose. I invested about 10 times, but none of them were successful. I have about 1 billion won in total.” He said, “The first investment was the problem. I invested 200 million won, and they said that if you process waste, you get oil. How good is that? I thought it would definitely make money, so I put in all my retirement money. The CEO was arrested. The company disappeared.” He added, “The second investment was about fermenting waste to grow mushrooms. I invested 150 million won, but it disappeared.” He also said, “I invested in an overseas golf business. I invested 150 million won. So they gave me the title of Vice President. I cried during the inauguration ceremony. “I cried for a moment, wondering why someone who is going to broadcast is doing this,” he confessed. “

Kwon Sung-jun “I don‘t have confidence in myself”… Will the challenger chef team win? (Cold)

Will the ‘Please Take Care of My Refrigerator’ challenger chef team be able to avenge their defeat against Choi Hyun-seok and Kwon Sung-joon? Episode 3 of the JTBC entertainment program ‘Please Take Care of My Refrigerator’ (directed by Lee Chang-woo and Lee Rin-ha) to be aired on the 5th will feature a revenge match between the challenger chef team and the original chef team, raising curiosity about what impact Choi Hyun-seok and Kwon Sung-joon‘s addition to the challenger chef team will have. In the revenge match using ingredients from guests Song Joong-ki and Lee Hee-joon’s refrigerators, Choi Hyun-seok and Kwon Sung-joon, who appeared on the same cooking variety show, will form the challenger chef team along with Choi Kang-rok and Park Eun-young. Especially, Kwon Sung-jun, who is appearing for the first time on ‘Please Take Care of My Refrigerator’, shows confidence, saying “I‘m not confident in my cooking time of 15 minutes. On the other hand, Sam Kim will appear on the original c

“This is the first time I‘ve cooked like this”… Lee Yeon-bok, a skill that surprised even chefs (Pookdahang)

‘It‘s fortunate that you get a good rest’ Lee Yeon-bok, Jung Ho-young, and Fabri are signaling a fierce competition for the position of main chef on an uninhabited island. Episode 30 of the MBC entertainment program ‘It’s fortunate that you get a good rest’ (directed by Kim Myung-jin, Shin Hyun-bin, Lee Jun-beom, Kim Ki-ho / written by Kwon Jeong-hee / hereinafter referred to as ‘It‘s fortunate that you get a good rest’), which will air on the 6th, will depict the second day of ‘Chefs on an Uninhabited Island’, featuring Chinese cuisine god Lee Yeon-bok, Japanese cuisine master Jung Ho-young, and Western cuisine king Fabri. Trot crown prince Park Ji-hyun, who has newly joined Boom, will accompany them on their 0.5-star uninhabited island management story, while ‘CEO Ahn Jung-hwan, Park Jun-hyung, Kim Min-kyung, and chef Raymond Kim will watch them and talk to them in the studio. On this day, Lee Yeon-bok, Jung Ho-young, and Fabri engage in a fierce battle of nerves to be chosen by the