Civil Servant Level 7: Kim Ha Neul & Kang Ji Hwan (Release on April 23rd 2009)

Seventh Grade Civil Servant” is a spy action, romance movie with the South Korea’s National Intelligence Service as the backdrop. The plot revolves around an 80billion won sale of chemical and biological weapons and the clash between Russian organized crime groups and the South Korea Intelligence Agency. The title of the movie, “Seventh Grade Civil Servant” refers to the minimum level required for a civil servant to enter the intelligence agency.

Kim Ha Neul will play as Ahn Soo Ji in the movie, an agent to the National Intelligence who has to hide her identity by living another life. This is a role that is completely different from top star “Oh Seung Ah”. The male lead of the movie, Kang Ji Hwan, will play as an international accountant who falls in love with Kim Ha Neul. As a result, Kang Ji Hwan is drawn into danger.

Different from her previous work “Six Years in Love” and “On Air”, Kim Ha Neul will need to transform herself in “Seventh Grade Civil Servant”. In order to get used fighting, horse riding and fencing actions, Kim Ha Neul will go through intensive trainings in the next three months.

“New challenges will always make my heartbeat go faster. As this is my first attempt at an action film, I do have some worries. However, I will immerse myself totally into the role. As an actress, I feel that this is a very good chance to widen the type of roles I am able to play,” Kim Ha Neul said.

The main casts for “Seventh Grade Civil Servant” has been finalized and the filming will begin on the 5th of October. The movie has a chance to be the most anticipated film in 2009.

credit: AsianFanatics

Son Dam Bi

Son Dam Bi is a South Korean singer who debuted in 2007. She has been the It Girl among many Korean netizens for several months after somebody accidentally uploaded her dance video online. Then, after her Samsung CF aired on TV, she officially become the "the female Rain". She made her first debut on June 29th on Channel V A-Live. Since then she has performed in concerts and music shows.

Dam Bi has previously appeared in music videos for Paran and MYV and various big name commercials, shooting to stardom with an mp3 player CF in which she unleashed her dance moves opposite Poppin' Hyun Joon. The buzz around her was so high, MSN Japan made the unprecedented move to give her special coverage before her official debut, closely documenting her rehearsals and training. The video documentary ended up attracting 480,000 visitors in just five days. Dam Bi trained with a well-known American choreographer in preparation for her debut album, and her impressive dancing had people referring to her the female version of Rain.
She also starred in MayBee's MV.

credit: JPopAsia & GQ.com

T-Max

T-Max (티맥스) is a South Korean all-male pop trio. Members consist of 2 vocalists and a main rapper, who are as follows;

신민철 (Shin Mincheol) :: Born - February 5, 1982 (Vocalist)
김형준 or 김준 (Kim Hyeongjun, better known as Kim Jun) :: Born - February 3, 1985 (Rapper)
박윤화 (Pak Yunhwa) :: Born January 31, 1986 (Vocalist)

To date they have released 3 singles, 2 singles include OST hits:
Blooming (July 2007), Lion Heart (November 2007), Run to You (December 2008)

Currently, member Kim Jun has been casted and is currently starring as a member of the F4 in the Korean drama “Boys Over Flowers” (꽃보다 남자) In addition to the singles listed above, they added to their OST collection in late 2008 by singing the main theme for the new popular K-Drama “Boys Over Flowers”

Pak Yunhwa has also been recognized for participating in “Battle Shinhwa”, a show that centered around popular idol band Shinhwa searching and selecting members to create a new boyband.

They have often been called the “Korean w-inds.” (as to be compared to the Japanese pop group w-inds.) due to their trio nature and musical style, which many note, has a certain Japanese flavour.

credit: LastFm

PRIVATE EYE 그림자살인 (Release on April 2nd, 2009)

CAST:

HWANG JUNG MIN as Jin-ho / police-turned-private detective

UHM JI WON as Sun-deok / female inventor

RYU DEOK HWAN as Gwang-su / medical student

OH DAL SU as Young-dal / Jongno police chief

One of the best actors working in Korea today, Jeong-min Hwang, is working on his next picture titled “Gongjung Gokyesa” (literal translation Air Acrobat). The film will co-star actor Deok-hwan Ryu (Our Town/Like A Virgin) and actress Ji-won Uhm (Traces of Love/Scarlet Letter). “Gongjung Gokyesa” will also feature acting vets Dal-su Oh and Je-mun Yun in supporting roles. The film is also directed by first time director Dae-min Park (having previously directed two short films).

In “Gongjung Gokyesa” Jeong-min Hwang plays Jin-ho Hong, the first Private Investigator of the Joseon era. Jin-ho Hong is noted for his uncanny intuition and also very high price tag. Playing Jin-ho Hong’s sidekick is medical student Kwang-su Jang (Deok-hwan Ryu). Actress Ji-won Eom will play Madame Deok-sun, a married lady of virtue who also secretly works as an inventor. The movie is reported to be a unique period piece / detective thriller.

“Gongjung Gokyesa” has started filming and should be released by the first half of 2009.

credit: Soompi.com