tvxq on page 1!

just goes to show you how showbiz sells! my first page 1 story in a looong time. TVXQ no less! Hahahaa!   Idol Concert Marred by Excessive Screening
	By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Korean boy band TVXQ performs during “The Second Asia Tour ‘O’” concert at the Olympic Gymnastics Stadium in Olympic Park in southern Seoul, Friday./ Korea Times Confusion marred popular Korean boy band TVXQ's sold-out concert ``The Second Asia Tour 'O''' at Olympic Gymnastics Stadium in Seoul on Friday, as thousands of fans waited for hours after the concert to retrieve their cell phones and digital cameras from the organizers. Concert organizers required the 8,000 fans who attended Friday's concert to leave their cell phones and digital cameras in three designated booths before entering the stadium. This was done to ensure that fans would not be able to take photographs or videos of TVXQ during the concert. Images of the concert were licensed to several mobile phone content providers. After the concert ended, fans, mostly middle school and high school girls, scrambled to retrieve their belongings. Since there was no system for the retrieval at three booths, there was a lot of confusion. Some fans even had to wait until 3 a.m. to get their cell phones and cameras back. In a statement posted on its Web site, S.M. Entertainment apologized for the inconvenience to TVXQ's fans. ``Our company sincerely apologizes to the fans who attended the concert. We will request our company's concert organizers to make sure this will not be a problem in the future,” S.M. Entertainment said. In recent years, concert organizers and entertainment companies have tried to impose strict regulations to prevent fans from taking videos and photographs during concerts and events. Entertainment companies are increasingly becoming concerned over copyright violations resulting from these fan videos and photos, which are usually circulated on the Web. Digital cameras, cell phones and MP3 players, even those without recording capability, were not allowed to be brought inside the concert hall during Japanese pop group Arashi's concert in Seoul in November. But there are still some pop stars that allow their fans to take photographs. Irish pop superstars Westlife even asked their fans to take photos during the concert in Seoul last year. Despite the problems over fan's cameras and phones, TVXQ kicked off its second Asian tour with sold-out concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Loud cheers erupted when the five-member group appeared on stage performing ``Phantom” from their latest album ``O _ Chong.Ban.Hap.” TVXQ delighted their fans with their singing and dancing throughout the two-hour concert. TVXQ's Asian tour will bring them to Beijing and Shanghai, China; Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong; Bangkok, Thailand; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this year. The concert dates have not yet been confirmed. TVXQ, known as Tohoshinki in Japan, will tour Japan from May 10 to June 16. The group, which will release their second Japanese album, ``Five in the Black,” next month, will hold 14 concerts in the country. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr 02-25-2007 17:44

another Kpop interview

Epik High Soars to New Heights By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Epik High is a popular Korean hip-hop group, composed of, from left, rappers Mithra and Tablo and disc jockey Tukutz. Epik High released their fourth album “Remapping the Human Soul” last month. / Korea Times Photo by Kim Ji-gon Hip-hop culture, especially music, is enjoying unprecedented popularity in Korea these days. At the center of all is Epik High, a three-member hip-hop group whose new album ``Remapping the Human Soul” topped local music sales charts. Epik High has successfully combined witty, socially conscious lyrics with infectious beats to come up with hit songs that helped popularize hip-hop music. Composed of rappers Tablo, Mithra and disc jockey Tukutz, the group believes hip-hop still has a long way to go in Korea. ``Many still don’t consider hip-hop as a musical genre. It took us a long time to change that. It took us until this album to show that hip-hop music is music,” Tablo, whose real name is Lee Sun-wong, told The Korea Times in an interview on Wednesday. Epik High released their debut album ``Map of the Human Soul” in 2004, followed by ``High Society” and ``Swan Song.” The song ``Fly” was one of the most popular songs in 2005. Tablo said their fourth album ``Remapping the Human Soul” reflects the musical and personal growth of the members. ``When we made ‘Map of the Human Soul,’ basically we wanted to make the first song and the last song signify birth and death and everything else that happens in between… Back then there were things that we didn’t know in music and life. Through the years, we became different people, so we wanted to re-draw the map of the human soul to better reflect all the changes and what we feel,” Tablo said. The first single, ``Fan,” about a fan’s obsessive love for a celebrity, has already received a lot of radio airplay. ``The way somebody falls in love with a star is the same as somebody falling in love with anybody, a stranger or music… We wanted to talk about that kind of desperation and how it’s actually a stupid kind of love that’s determined to fail and lead to heartbreak,” Tablo said. When asked whether they’re fans of any celebrity or anything, Tukutz said he’s a fan of Michael Jackson, while Mithra said he’s a fanatic of music. Epik High took a year and a half to finish making ``Remapping the Human Soul.” Tablo said they all “went kind of crazy” making music non-stop, writing over 200 songs and recording 47 songs. But only 27 tracks made it in the two-disc album. The album has courted controversy because some lyrics deal with sexual crimes, war, education and religion. Tablo can’t help but get passionate when talking about censorship, especially since he said the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is trying to prevent some of the songs from being played on the radio. ``Most songs aren’t censored because of language. There are no cuss words or bad words. But if we talk about a social issue, we get censored. I don’t understand how discussing a social issue or saying that something wrong should be made right is bad for the youth… If talking about serious issues and reality and how to make it better is wrong; If we're living in that kind of society, things are not going to get any better,” Tablo said. Despite the censorship, Epik High is not about to change their style. ``We're not going to say we're not doing this because it might mean less album sales. If we think that, then we're no longer doing things that we're supposed to do. We’re no longer being honest with ourselves. As long as it’s our heads, in our hearts, we’re going to approach that no matter what,” he said. Epik High is a firm believer in using music as an instrument for social change. Tablo, who has been involved in social work for a long time, said music should be used to make people aware of the issues affecting society. With hip-hop music all the rage around the world, many are wondering when Epik High will try their luck in the overseas market. ``Flow,” their collaboration with Japanese singer Emi Hinouchi, will soon be released as a single in Japan. But Tablo said Epik High is in no hurry to go international. ``When the opportunity arises, we would love to. But I don’t think we’re in that big of a rush. Right now, we're enjoying making music here. There's still a lot that needs to be done here,” Tablo said. ``It’s just God's blessing that we became famous. It’s a blessing that we've become wanted in Korea. It’s not something we aspired to. Right now, we're content and we'll always be content with whatever we've got,” Tablo said. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr 02-19-2007 18:15

restaurant review again

Quiet Lunch at Park’s
	By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Finding a quiet place to have a leisurely meal is getting harder and harder these days. Restaurants are usually crowded, noisy, and you always feel rushed when eating your meal. If you don’t mind driving out of Seoul, you can go to Park, a newly opened restaurant in Paltang, Kyonggi Province. The all-white lake house offers much-needed peace and quiet and, more importantly, good food. When you enter the restaurant, you are greeted with a warm yet sophisticated interior. The walls are decorated with abstract art work, and brown couches with bright pink pillows create a relaxing atmosphere. The menu is simple, featuring mainly pasta and steak dishes. But the quality makes up for the lack of variety. Lunch sets are reasonably priced, ranging from 18,000 won for pasta to 45,000 won for the filet mignon. The set includes soup, a roll, the main dish and a dessert. Our meal started off with the soup of the day, in this case, a cream of broccoli soup. The soup is thick with lots of chunky broccoli bits and is served with warm rolls. The Caesar salad is also a good choice to start the meal. For the main course, the olive oil pesto pasta is simple but flavorful. Fettuccini noodles are bathed in a sauce of pesto, olive oil, nuts and chili flakes. The rib-eye steak is juicy and tasty. It seems bigger than steaks you can find elsewhere. It is served with steamed vegetables, corn and whole garlic cloves. You can flavor the steak with either Dijon mustard or steak sauce. The meal would not be complete without dessert. The dessert of the day was a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with candied pecans and swirls of maple and espresso syrup. David Cho, the owner of Park, said he wanted to open a restaurant that served good quality Western-style food, since most of the restaurants in the area only serve Korean food. Park’s menu also includes pork skewers, hamburger steak, meatballs with peaches, shrimp fried rice and fish and chips. There is also a shrimp cream pasta, tomato sauce pasta and spaghetti and meatballs. Cho said the restaurant also serves brunch dishes, such as a banana brioche (13,000 won) and a salsa omelet (15,000 won). After the meal, you can take your cup of coffee, sit outdoors and enjoy the picturesque view of the Han River. Or you can look at the artwork displayed in the Ellen Kim Gallery on the second floor. Although the garden is still a work in progress, Cho said he expects it to be filled with blooming plants and flowers in the spring. He said this would be a perfect place to hold an outdoor wedding during spring or summer. For reservations, call (031) 576-2217. Park is open every day from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr 02-01-2007 20:42

skull

Skull Taps US for Stardom

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Skull, a Korean reggae artist, is looking to make big in the U.S. market. Reggae singer Skull may not be as popular as Rain or Se7en in South Korea, but like the two K-pop stars, he is attempting to cross over into the American music industry this year. Backed by American music producer Morgan Carey, Skull is slowly generating a buzz in the hip-hop world. He has only been in the U.S. for a couple of months, performing before tough hip-hop audiences and releasing his song ``Boom Di Boom Di’’ as an animated ring tone. ``It's been great to be embraced as a reggae artist first. I don't believe I would have been as well received if I were just a Korean singing pop music. I am a reggae artist, I live and breathe reggae music and I think the American audiences really recognize, and appreciate that,’’ he said, in an e-mail interview with The Korea Times. Unlike K-pop stars who are counting on their Asian American fan base to boost their image in the United States, Carey is taking a completely different approach by promoting Skull in the hip-hop music world. Carey, brother of superstar Mariah Carey, is confident that Skull has what it takes to become the first Asian artist to crossover into the American market. ``When you talk about timeless artists, you have to have a recognizable sound. They have a distinct voice... I knew that Skull’s voice was one that you would hear once, and the next time you heard him, you'd be like, `That's Skull.’ He isn’t trying to be anyone. He has a great sound, great look. There’s no doubt for me that Skull was ‘it,’” Carey told The Korea Times in a phone interview. Carey’s involvement with Skull started when he met YG Entertainment chief executive Yang Hyun-suk in Seoul last year. Yang told Carey about his plans to break into the U.S. market and asked him to check out CDs and videos to see which YG artists had the potential to make it in the U.S. After taking a look at the YG artists, Carey was convinced Skull’s unique voice and unconventional image would click with American audiences. Skull, whose real name is Cho Sung-jin, got into reggae after listening to Bob Marley as a teenager in Seoul. ``He (Marley) was much more than a hero to me. He really changed my life. His music, philosophy, thoughts and life were all so meaningful to me. He inspired me to explore the roots of reggae culture and philosophy,” he said. Cho joined a reggae group in high school, but it didn’t last. He took his music to the underground scene, where his passionate reggae performances eventually caught the eye of YG Entertainment. In 2003, he made his debut as part of Stony Skunk and since then has released three albums. Now, Skull is working with iconic DJs and musicians such as DJ Bobcat and Mighty Mystic. He was also the featured artist of the week at the popular social networking Web site My Space (http://myspace.com/skullriddim). Skull admitted he still has to deal with the initial skepticism from American audiences, who have a hard time believing a Korean can do reggae music. ``For the most part, I am usually received very cynically in the beginning, but my music always wins them over in the end,” he said. Carey relayed a particular incident in which Skull had to perform before a tough hip-hop audience at a club in Los Angeles. At first, the crowd was slow to embrace his music, but Skull ended up impressing the crowd, which fell silent during his a cappella performance of ``No Woman No Cry.” ``Afterwards, he told the audience, ‘I'm so happy to be here, and I really want to be your friend.’ I couldn't believe this hard-core hip-hop audience ate it up. There is so much hate in the music business, but he can win over any crowd because he's that authentic,” Carey said. Skull may just get his big break this year. He has been invited to perform at a concert organized by World Peace One in August. The concert will be broadcast around the world, with an expected audience of 2.7 billion. ``We are very much looking forward to that show. I do believe that Skull has the special combination of qualities which can cross the cultural divide and bridge East and West,” Carey said. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr