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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, April 6, 2008

Live Japanese baseball? You can see it in Korean

By Jeff Chung

WIN MOVIE TIX

KBFD and the Hawaii International Film Festival are celebrating the 11th Spring Showcase with a movie ticket giveaway this week. The showcase will be April 18-24 with more than 20 films from around the world.

To win, answer this question: What is the name of the series that ended at 7 p.m. last Sunday? Mail your answer to: HIFF, 680 Iwilei Road, Suite 100, Honolulu, HI 96817; or e-mail your answer to giveaways@hiff.org for your chance at winning a movie ticket to a Korean film at HIFF Spring Showcase. Winners with the correct answers will be randomly picked.

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Hallyu, the Korean wave, has many faces — Korean dramas, Korean movies, Korean pop music.

And now Korean sports?

Hines Ward (of the Pittsburgh Steelers), Chan Ho Park and Se Ri Pak have all claimed fame in the sports world. Now add another star — Lee Seung-yeop, a first-baseman for the Japanese professional baseball team Yomiuri Giants.

Ratings for Yomiuri Giants games on TV in South Korea have spiked, all because of Lee. You will often see Lee on Korean variety shows, joking and laughing with other Korean celebrities. He has signed with the Giants until 2010.

On KBFD, you can watch live professional baseball from Tokyo Dome Japan via SBS Sports, a division of SBS Broadcasting in Korea.

Lee Seung-yeop, born on August 18, 1976, in South Korea, started with the Samsung Lions, a Korean professional baseball team. He moved to the Chiba Lotte Marines for two years, then signed with the Yomiuri Giants. He was the youngest professional baseball player to have 300 home runs at the age of 26; he then marked 400 career home runs by age 30. Lee is referred to as the Asia Home Run King or the Lion King because of his home-run statistics.

Lee had a stellar season in 2006 with 41 home runs and 108 RBIs, followed up in 2007 with 30 home runs plus 74 RBIs. He is among three Korean baseball players in the Japanese professional league and by far the most popular. The other two are Lim Chang-yong of the Yakult Swallows and Lee Byung-gyu of the Chunichi Dragons.

The season's opening game was Monday, when the Yomiuri Giants played the Chunichi Dragons. You can watch the Yomiuri Giants play live from the Tokyo Dome this season on KBFD, live at 11 p.m. in Korean. Lee Seung-yeop will attract many men to watch the games this year as he is coming off what critics call a slump year in 2007. Lee will have to prove his worth as the cleanup batter, fourth on the lineup — considered an honorable spot in Japanese baseball.

THIS WEEK'S KDRAMA SYNOPSIS

'HAPPINESS'

Episode 1 and 2

Tonight at 7: Mr. Lee is a widower who raised four sons by himself after his beloved wife died during childbirth 20 years ago. One of the sons, Jun-su, is in love with his co-worker Seo-yun, and he thinks she struggles without money. But she is the daughter of the Parks, the owner of his company. Seo-yun lives a double life, one as an heiress, and the other as a normal person, and things get complicated. Tonight at 8: Sae-young gets hysterical when Seo-yun doesn't act the way she wants her to with the young rich bachelors. Grandmother tries to convince her widower son-in-law to remarry for the sake of his sons. Jun-su is flabbergasted running into Seo-yun on a yacht in Hong Kong.

'KING & I'

Episodes 49 and 50

Tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.: Han-su sneaks into So-hwa's room, but is caught. He makes a narrow escape but drops his ID. Chuh-suh begs the king to increase security around So-hwa's house.

Tuesday at 7:45 p.m.: Han-sun finds out So-hwa had written a letter to the prince, and has a letter forged in So-hwa's writing and shows the fake letter to the queen mother. The king secretly visits So-hwa.

'LIKE THE RAIN'

(Part 1 of 2) and (Part 2 of 2)

Wednesday at 7:45 p.m.: Mi-ja works at a cheap watering hole as a cook. She shies away from society because of a burn scar that covers her body. Ji-in is a college instructor who lives with the guilt that he disconnected his dying son from a life-support system.

Thursday at 7:45 p.m.: When Mi-ja learns her child is seriously ill, she hesitates to go back home. Ji-in realizes what really drove his wife and him apart after his son's death, and tries to convince Mi-ja to return home.

'SCARY GIRL'

Episodes 53, 54 and 55, 56

Friday at 7:45 p.m.: Jung-jin tells his mother about Kyung-pyo and Young-rim. Kyung-pyo asks Eun-hae what she heard from Seung-mi, but Seung-mi tells him not to try to deceive her. Kyung-pyo tells Eun-hae about Young-rim's involvement in his kidnapping.

Saturday at 7:45 p.m.: Kyung-pyo jumps out of a window during a heated argument with Eun-hae. Scared out of her mind, Eun-hae apologizes to Kyung-pyo profusely and the two make up.