G-Dragon Turns Into a Heartbreaker

G-Dragon (Kwon Ji Yong) of Big Bang underwent a physical transformation for his first solo album, Heartbreaker.

G-Dragon

Minimix 37

• Actors Seo Hyo Rim (Good Job, Good Job) and Song Joong Ki (Triple) are taking over as hosts of KBS2’s Music Bank. Their first broadcast will be on August 7. Seo and Song replace comedian Yoo Se Yoon and announcer Park Eun Young.
  

  Seo Hyo Rim, Song Joong Ki

• The jacket cover for BoA’s upcoming album has been released. Deluxe is a repackaged version of her first American album with additional remixes. The repackaged album will go on sale on September 1. BoA recently released the music video for her third U.S. single, “Energetic”.
  

  BoA - Deluxe

• Park Yong Ha’s Japanese mini-album, Once in a Summer, climbed up to sixth place on the Oricon Chart upon its release on July 29. This album commemorates five years since Park’s debut in Japan. Once in a Summer includes seven tracks of various genres including ballad and bossa nova. Singer Park Hyo Shin worked as a producer for the album.
  

  Park Yong Ha - Once in a Summer

• Kim Joon’s musical debut contributed to a 30% increase in March of Youth (젊음의 행진)’s ticket sales to practically fill up the Coex Artium. Kim Joon is playing a handsome student teacher in the musical featuring several hit songs and dance moves from the eighties. Fellow T-Max member, Park Yoon Hwa, is also a cast member.
  

  Kim Joon in March of Youth

MC Mong Releasing Humanimal

MC Mong

MC Mong’s fifth album, Humanimal, will be released in stores and online on July 23.

Like his previous albums, Humanimal also boasts some impressive guest stars: Jo Sung Mo, SG Wannabe, MAC, Navi, and Jung In (of G.Fla).

Minimix 33

• After releasing on their respective solo albums, Horan and Alex returned to the electronica genre with DJ Clazzi. Clazziquai Project released its fourth album, Mucho Punk, on July 14. A slight variation of the album was released at the beginning of this month in Japan under the title Mucho Musica. They will perform on Mnet Countdown on July 23 and live at Seongnam ARt Center on August 21 and 22.
  

• SBS will broadcast a special program for its weekend hit Brilliant Legacy on Monday, August 3. Kang Ho Dong – Lee Seung Gi’s close colleague and show fan (refer to the fourth point in Minimix 29) – will be host the program and give viewers a glimpse behind the scenes. Lee Seung Gi, Han Hyo Joo, Bae Soo Bin, Moon Chae Won, and other cast members will participate in filming the special on July 30.
  

  Brilliant Legacy

• Joo Jin Mo, Kim Beom, Son Dam Bi, Choi Yeo Jin and the rest of the cast and crew of SBS drama Dream kicked things off with a ceremony on July 15 at Ilsan Production Center.
  

  Kim Beom with Son Dam Bi, Joo Jin Mo, Choi Yeo Jin in background

  The other lead cast member is Park Sang Won (Hateful But Once Again) as CEO Kang Kyung Tak. Julien Kang, Marcos Benjamin Lee, Hyun Woo, and Chung Lim have minor roles as Flower Fighters 101 (Double F 101) – a group of good-looking martial artists. Dream is scheduled to premiere on July 27 on SBS following Ja Myung Go‘s early exit.

  

  Son Dam Bi, Joo Jin Mo, Kim Beom

• Actress Kim Sung Eun (Returned Earthen Bowl) and athlete Jung Jo Gook (FC Seoul) will hold their wedding at 6pm on December 11 at Walkerhill W Hotel’s Vista Hall. The two are approaching their one year anniversary, having been introduced to each other by friends last July. Both are in their mid-twenties, with Kim being several months older than Jung.
  

  Jung Jo Gook, Kim Sung Eun

• Mother, starring Kim Hye Ja and Won Bin, has been invited to have its North American premiere at the 34th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September. The TIFF describes it as “a unique noir thriller that digs into the secrecy surrounding a terrible murder and the mystery of a mother’s primal love for her son” and praises director Bong Joon Ho.
  

  Mother

Minimix 30

• Kim Hyun Joong is appearing in the music video for Kim Joon’s first solo track. Kim Joon’s agency representative said that Kim Hyun Joong gave Kim Joon a lot of counsel in preparation for his first solo activity. The title of this song, “Ready OK! (준비 OK!)”, has a double meaning – not only does it mean “Ready… OK!”, it also says “Joon, Be OK” (according to the pronunciation of the Korean title). Members of Kim Joon’s group, T-Max, have all completed recording tracks for their solo collection album to be released online July 9.
  

  Kim Hyun Joong & Kim Joon

• On June 27, 600 of Ryu Si Won’s Japanese fans – from their twenties to sixties – visited Korea to watch him on the set of Style. Ryu introduced his fans to the drama’s director, staff, and actors. Following three hours of filming at a restaurant in the Seoul History Museum, the fans went over to Shilla Hotel for a private fan meeting with the actor.
  

  Ryu Si Won on set

• Cha Tae Hyun and Jang Hyuk each gave a special lecture to 100 aspiring and rookie actors at C.A.S.T., iHQ’s acting training center, on June 13 and 27 respectively. They imparted words of wisdom and counsel as actors who have been in the entertainment industry for over a dozen years. The two belong to SidusHQ, the management division of iHQ.
  

  Cha Tae Hyun, Jang Hyuk

• Sugapoint‘s brand model, Chung Lim, filmed a music video with Joo Ah Min for a digital single album. Like 2ne1’s “Lollipop”, the music video for the song is going to be used as a CF for Sugapoint. The music video will show Chung Lim at an auto mechanics centre dreaming of becoming a car racer and Joo Ah Min at a motorcycle painting shop dreaming of becoming a showbike rider. Joo Ah Min’s boyfriend, MC Mong, visited the filming set to cheer them on.
  

  Chung Lim

  Chung Lim is transitioning from singing to acting, as he has recently been added to the cast of SBS drama Dream, starring Joo Jin Mo, Kim Beom, and Son Dam Bi.

4minute Enters the Girl Group Market

Today, Cube Entertainment is formally debuting its new girl group, 4minute (포미닛), with a live performance on Mnet’s M Countdown.

4minute