Korean Actor Jeong Ji Hun Profile...
Jeong Ji Hun ProfileName: Jeong Ji Hun (Rain)
Name: Hangul/정지훈 Hanja/鄭智薰
Also known as: Bi (비) / Pi (ピ) / Yu (雨) / Vu
Birthdate: June 25, 1982 (1982-06-25) (age 25)
Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea
Genre(s): Pop, Hip-Hop, R&B
Occupation(s): Singer, Actor, Model
Years active: 2002-present
Jeong Ji Hun Biography
Early life
Rain became interested in R&B and Hiphop dancing when he was in 6th grade. As a teenager, he was a member of a boy band called Fanclub. The group was short-lived, and soon disbanded. At that time Rain was having the hardest time of his life. His mother was sick, he had no money, he had a little sister to take care of and had to go to school. Yet he still pressed forward, always dancing and dreaming of becoming a singer. Rain then began auditioning for various talent agencies. In a CNN interview, however, he recalled being repeatedly rejected because of his looks: "In fact, I was told after one audition that my singing and dancing was great but I didn't make it because I didn't have double eyelids."Finally, Rain entered an audition for Korean talent agency JYP Entertainment. Park Jin Young, the CEO of the agency, took a personal interest in Rain and accepted him as a trainee. During the early years of training, Rain was a backup dancer.
Finally, in 2002 he debuted with the album Bad Guy where he was introduced to the media through his stage or commercial name, Rain. In the album, a similarly-named single Bad Guy was a big hit. After his first album, he took time off from his career as a singer to star in the drama series, Sang Doo! Let's Go To School. Following the success of his debut as singer and actor, Rain released his second album How to Avoid The Sun, and had another hit with the title song "Ways to Avoid the Sun."
In 2004, he starred in another successful drama called "Full House", which was one of the highest-rated Korean dramas of all time with ratings of over 30% for every episode. It was broadcasted in many other countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Japan, Taiwan and the U.S. Through Full House, Rain was recognized across Asia. His performance in the drama also won him the Best Actor Award at the KBS Acting Awards.
International recognition
His third album It's Raining sold over 1 million copies in Asia. According to a report by Rain's previous agency JYP Ent. to the Korea Culture & Content Agency, It's Raining topped the charts in all of the following countries as of December 29th, 2005: Japan (100,000 copies), China (500,000 copies), Taiwan (70,000 copies), Thailand (150,000 copies), Indonesia (50,000 copies), and South Korea (154,000 copies), for a combined total of 1,074,000 units sold, making it Rain's most successful album to date both domestically and internationally. His first concert, Rainy Day, held in Korea and Japan, was sold out the first day tickets became available.
In 2004, Rain earned greater recognition by winning the MTV Asia Grand Slam, securing top honors in all the Asian countries which broadcast MTV Asia. Rain won the Favorite Korean Artist at the 2005 MTV Asia Aid held in Bangkok, the Most Popular Asian Artist Award from Channel [V] Thailand, the Best Buzz Asia Award during the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2005 (He won Best buzz ASIA as well as the Orange Range and Stefanie Sun.) and the Best Korean Singer award in the MTV-CCTV Mandarin Music Honors in Beijing. Rain was also the first Asian performing artist ever [citation needed] to be invited to the 2005 American MTV Video Music Awards in Miami, as well as the 2005 MTV Latin Video Music Awards in Mexico. These accomplishments earned Rain a lot of media attention, including interviews with Time Asian Edition and CNN Talk Asia. Rain also won the Best Korean Singer Award 2005 at the Mandarin Music Honors in Taiwan.
Rain then went on his RAINY DAY 2005 Tour, starting in Seoul and followed by Tokyo and Hong Kong; due to his fame and his extravagant performances, tickets sold out quickly. His first solo concert in Japan last summer, entitled Rainy Day Japan held at the Tokyo International Forum, was so popular that all the tickets were sold out 30 seconds after going on sale. The tickets for another of his concerts in Taiwan were sold out the moment they became available also. His performances in Hong Kong also sold out in a couple of hours. Rain continues to set records in Asia. Now planning to go beyond Japan and Hong Kong, Rain will make a foray into China by giving a concert in Beijing.
Fame in the United States
In addition to Time magazine voting Rain the second most influential person of 2006, second only to Taiwanese director Ang Lee, the magazine also noted that Rain may collaborate in the future with Diddy. This came after reviewing Rain's performances in Madison Square Garden in February 2006. His two day concert, Rainy Day New York was marketed and promoted by the Asian concert production company Rainstone Live. Tickets were sold out within a matter of days.
Special guests who made stage appearances at the concert included American pop singer JoJo, R&B singer Omarion, and hip-hop mogul Diddy.
There is also news that Rain will be recording a duet with Omarion, who used to be the vocalist of the popular hip-hop group, B2K, and had starred in the movie, You Got Served. When Rain's first movie, I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK, finished filming in early July 2006, he departed for the U.S. to discuss the possibility of singing the duet with Omarion, and to meet with the organizers of his Asian Tour. Rain apparently met Omarion through his producer, who had written a song for Omarion's recent album. Also, after Rain's concert in February in New York - where Omarion danced to Rain's song "Bad Guy" - Omarion and Rain became friends, says JYP Entertainment. They also noted that the two may star in a movie together one day.
Omarion and Rain recorded a duet song, "Man Up," that was released on the European version of Omarion's album 21 as a bonus track. The song has yet to be released in the U.S. due to contractual issues between several record labels.
In 2007, Rain made it to People's Most Beautiful People list for the first time, in its "First-Time Beauties 2007" section. In a press release, Rain stated that he was honored to be on the list, and also noted that it will be a great boost to his efforts to raise his public awareness in the United States.[14] Also in 2007, Rain topped Time's open online poll. He beat Stephen Colbert by 100,000 votes[15]; Colbert jokingly retaliated by producing a parody of Rain's music video for "Ways to Avoid the Sun".
Rain performed in two concert dates in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 23-24, 2006; the tickets to these concerts sold out within the first week of sales. The concerts were held at the Colosseum Center at Caesars Palace.
Japanese Actress Aya Matsuura Profile...
Aya Matsuura ProfileName: Aya Matsuura (Matsuura Aya)
Japanese name: 松浦 亜弥
Chinese name: 松浦亚弥
Nickname: Ayaya
Birth date: June 25, 1986
Birth place: Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
Height: 157cm
Blood type: B
Profession: Actress, model and singer
Aya Matsuura Biography
Aya Matsuura was signed by Hello! Project (named project but it’s actually a talent agency) in year 2000 and made her solo debut in 2001 with single “Doki Doki Love Mail.”
Known as Ayaya by her fans, Aya Matsuura has become one of Hello’s most successful artists since then. She has released dozens of singles, a few albums and starred in some movies and TV dramas.
Aya Matsuura also collaborated with some other Hello’s teen idols and released some joint singles, but none of the collaborations last long.
Frankly I can’t remember many of her songs, there weren’t any really great hits but her music videos are normally quite interesting. Some of her TV commercials are pretty cute too.
Ayaya’s popularity overseas is largely due to her photo-books in 2004/2005 which achieved quite phenomenal sales back then. A couple of her photo-books featured her in bikinis, but in a rather healthy and cute manner.
Ayaya’s entertainment career seemed to stall in 2006, as if it’s a curse that happened to all Hello! Project idols - popular at teen, but faded in 20s.
Aya is rumored to be quite a smoker, and it really spoilt the healthy image that she has been building for years. Her rumored relationship with pop idol Keita Tachibana also didn’t work in her favor; her boys-fans don’t like it, and Keita’s girls-fans hate it as well.
Aya Matsuura is still quite popular in Japan and some other Asia region; her visit to Taiwan in late 2006 was well received by Taiwanese fans, showing that Ayaya has great potential to succeed in the next level.
Ayaya’s career seemed to be recovering in 2007. Aya and Miki Fujimoto formed a duo group “GAM” (Great Aya and Miki) in 2006, which is doing well recently. GAM just held their first concert in Japan in May 2007.
Thailand Actress Anne Thongprasom Profile...
Anne Thongprasom ProfileName: Anne Thongprasom
Nickname: Ann
Birthdate: 1975-11-01
Birthplace: Thailand
Height: 163 cm (about 5'3"-5'4")
Weight: 45 kg (99.207 lbs)
Nationality : Thai
Personality: Humorous; Light-hearted; Playful; Simple
Favorite Actors/Actress: Meg Ryan; Julia Roberts; Sandra Bullock
Profession: Actress & Model
Education: Graduated from Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand with a Masters Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication on August 4, 2005
Anne Thongprasom Biography
Raised by her maternal grandmother.
Started acting, mostly in Thai soap-operas, before the age of 15. By the time she turned 20, Ann has already become one of the most popular actresses in Thailand.
Graduated from Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand with a Masters Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication on August 4, 2005
Best friends with Thai singer/actress Myria Khemglad (formerly Myria Benedetti)
Co-hosts a weekly television show with her best friend, Thai singer/actress Myria (Nat) Khemglad (formerly Myria Benedetti)
Father is Swedish, mother is Thai.
Appeared in her first music video at the age of 13.
Korean Actor Profile Jung Woo Sung
Jung Woo Sung ProfileName: 정우성 / Jung Woo Sung (Jeong Wu Seong)
Nickname: Young old man
Profession: Actor
Birthdate: 1973-Mar-20
Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea
Height: 186cm
Weight: 78kg
Blood type: O
Family: Two older brothers and a sister
Jung Woo Sung Biography
Jung Woo-sung was born in Seoul on March 20, 1973. After first finding work as a model, he made his film debut in the 1994 movie The Fox With Nine Tails, together with Ko So-young. He and Ko would go on to act in two more films together.
Jung found widespread fame in Kim Sung-soo's 1997 film Beat, in which he played a high school student who becomes caught up in gang life against his will. Since this film, he became known as one of Korea's top commercial stars. In the subsequent years he portrayed a young boxer in Our Sunny Days, a naval lieutenant in Phantom the Submarine, and a marathoner in Love.
In 2001, Jung took on one of his most high-profile roles in Kim Sung-soo's epic blockbuster Musa. Playing a long-haired slave, he acted opposite Chinese superstar Zhang Ziyi and recieved wide exposure abroad as well as in Korea. After spending time in 2002 directing a series of music videos and appearing in a large number of commercials, Jung took on the eccentric lead role in Mutt Boy, the fifth film by director Kwak Kyung-taek (Friend, Champion).
Jung's next two roles would be in highly romantic roles that played off his established screen image. In the box office hit A Moment To Remember, he plays a construction worker who marries the daughter of a rich family, and in the Netherlands-set Daisy, he plays a hired assassin who falls in love with a street artist played by Jeon Ji-hyun. Upcoming for 2006 is a big-budget martial arts film The Restless (working title).
Korean Actress Lee Young-ae Profile...
Lee Young-ae ProfileName: 이영애 (李英爱) / Lee Young Ae
Profession: Actress and model
Birthdate: 1971-Jan-31
Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea
Height: 165cm
Weight: 48kg
Blood type: AB
Star Sign: Aquarius
Family: Two older brothers
Lee Young-ae Biography
Lee Young-Ae (born January 31, 1971 in Seoul) is a South Korean actress who has a fan base in numerous countries, particularly in the East and Southeast Asian countries which have been hit by the Korean Wave. Recently, it expands further into South Asian and Middle East countries.
She first earned the title of 'Oxygen Lady' when she made her debut as TV model in 1991. After the success in TV commercials, she started gaining her stardom in TV dramas and movies with her beauty and acting skills. Her upbringing and career was fully documented in the NHK Documentary show. (see External Link below)
Her popularity has grown in an exponential manner due to her performance in the popular Korean drama Dae Jang Geum. The drama was such a success that several countries had re-runs of the drama shortly after the last episode had ended. In Hong Kong, the last episode had almost half of the Hong Kong population staying at home just to watch it. In China, hundreds of million viewers watched the drama even it was shown at late nights.
Since then, Lee Young-Ae has been invited to visit Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Japan. The fan crowds were phenomenal; in the first time in 12 years, NHK had to use NHK Hall to host the show. Her recent trip was the 2007 Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in China as an Image Ambassador. Many fans came from around the world and spent hours waiting for her under the temperature of -20 degrees Celsius. She flew in an Asiana airplane with four of her Dae Jang Geum portraits painted on the side of the plane.
Beside her acting career, she has also been involved in several charity events. In 1997 she went to Ethiopia as a NGO Goodwill Ambassador and experienced the poverty and illness of African children. She went to Thar Desert in 1999 doing a TV show of the lowest caste people in India (see 1999 KBS2 Journey to Thar Desert in exterior link below). Later in 2001, she published these experiences in her autobiography “A Most Special Love” (partial English translation can be seen here) and donated all the income from the sale of the book to charity.
She was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador in 2004 by UNICEF and held several charity functions from that time on. She made many donations to schools and hospitals, which include an elementary school in China such that the school was renamed Lee Young-Ae Elementary School and the Chosun First Middle School in Harbin.
From her 2006 autobiography “Young-Ae’s Vow” (partial English translation can be seen here), she talked about how she became an actress. She recalled what made her go into show business was working with Andy Lau in a 1991 chocolate advertisement. In 1995, she made a decision to go to graduate school to learn theory of acting. Since then, she has not changed to challenge various kinds of acting roles, like that in Dae Jang Geum and later a very different role in Sympathy For Lady Vengeance.
She was awarded Best Actress awards in the Blue Dragon Film Awards (青龍映畫賞) in 2005 and Baeksang Art Awards (百想藝術大賞) in 2006 for the film Sympathy For Lady Vengeance. In 2007, she received Medal of Culture Merit for her contribution to Korean Wave from the South Korean government. (See above picture)
Her major contract in 2006 and 2007 is with LG Group, a large South Korean conglomerate. She became the spokesmodel (Pan-Asia) for all LG Electronics' products. In January of 2007, she received a gratitude frame from LG Electronics for her promotion of their products.
Chinese actress Isabella Leong Lok Si Profile...
Isabella Leong Lok Si ProfileName: Isabella Leong Lok Si (Leong Lok Sze, Leung Loksi, Isabella Leung)
Chinese name: 梁洛施
Birth name: Leong Lok Yew 梁樂瑤
Birth date: June 23, 1988
Birth place: Macau, China
Height: 172cm
Language spoken: Cantonese, English and Mandarin
Profession: Actress, model and singer
Isabella Leong Lok Si Biography
Isabella Leong started her entertainment career as a kid/teen mode; Isabella was spotted by Emperor Entertaiment Group (EEG) at the tender age of 12.
EEG is China and Hong Kong entertainment powerhouse and was having high expectations on Isabella. The company has nurtured Isabella into acting, singing and dancing.
Isabella Leong made her senior debut in 2004 with a solo album; it’s not considered a great success but people started noticing her. Isabella was also included in a 2005 EEG compilation album, featuring established singers like Yumiko, Twins and Boy’z.
While her singing talent still creates some debates, Isabella’s elegant face and model-like figure is winning her fans heart.
In 2005, Isabella started her acting career, which is much more successful than her music.
The 2006 movie “Isabella” is Isabella’s breakthrough, making her an international rising star in the Berlin Movie Festival. The movie won a silver bear for Best Movie Music and Isabella gained wide notice back in Hong Kong and across Asia.
Isabella’s latest project is “Spider Lilies,” lesbian-related movie co-starring Taiwanese artist Rainie Yang.
