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

Rat years give us plenty of stars

By Jeff Chung

It's the Year of the Rat, and there are many in the South Korean entertainment world that were born in previous Years of the Rat who have had much success. Most notable are Bae Yong Joon and Park Jin Young, both born in 1972.

Park Jin Young is a singer, producer and dancer who has produced artists such as Rain along with other music artists.

Bae Yong Joon has shown once again that he is on top of the South Korean entertainment world, taking home the best actor award in the MBC network's 2007 awards show, telecast in South Korea Dec. 30. Bae Yong Joon starred in a period series, "Taewangsa Shingi" ("The Story of the First King's Four Gods"), which aired last year and had a record production budget.

Here are recent winners:

MBC: Best actor, Bae Yong Joon; best male and female, Lee Suh Jin, Kim Myung Min, Yoon Eun Hae and Gong Hyun Jin; runner-up male and female, Kong Yoo ("Coffee Prince"), Lee Jun Ki, Han Ji Min and Nam Sung Min.

KBS: Best actor, Choi Soo Jong (for the period series "Dae Jo Young"); best male actor, Lee Duk Hwa; best female actor, Chae Rim and Kim Hyun Joo.

SBS: This network had a slightly different format compared to the others, breaking down the awards based on different formats of Hallyu series.

SBS best actor/actress was shared by Kim He-ae ("My Husband's Lover") and Park Shin Yang ("Money War"). The best male actor went to Chun Kwang Yul for his role as the Captain of the Eunuchs in "The King and I." The best actress went to Lee Yon Won and Park Jin Hee. Best male in a TV series went to Im Chae moo and Oh Man Suk ("King and I"). The best female in a TV series went to Kyun Mi Ri ("Golden Bride") and Yoo Sun. The best male actor award for mini-series went to Kim Sang Joon and Yoo June Sang. The best actress award for mini-series went to Ha Hee Ra.

THIS WEEK'S K-DRAMA SYNOPSES

'BRIDE FROM VIETNAM,'

Episodes 43, 44

Tonight at 7: Young-min investigates on his own and finds out Ji-young reported Jun-wu to the police as a stalker in Chicago. Young-min confronts Ji-young, but she denies she and Jun-wu had a relationship, saying Jun-wu had a crush on her.

Tonight at 8: Ji-young comes to ask Bok-ryu to teach her about rice cakes but gets kicked out. Jun-wu visits Bok-ryu and Bok-ryu gets impressed with the good marriage between Jun-wu and Jin-ju.

'KING & I,'

Episodes 23, 24

Tomorrow at 7:50 p.m.: The king tells the two queen mothers he'll make So-hwa queen for giving him a son. Han-su frames Yoon Ki-hyun, So-hwa's brother, for accepting bribery and jails him.

Tuesday at 7:50 p.m.: The king appoints So-hwa as the queen against his subjects' opposition. After the royal banquet, the doctor confirms So-hwa has been poisoned.

'LOBBYIST,'

Episodes 17, 18

Wednesday at 7:50 p.m.: The Defense Ministry decides to award the submarine contract to Han Sung. But while Tae-hyuk and Maria are celebrating their victory, Harry is listening to the recordings of the phone conversations between Maria and the defense minister. Harry tries to steal the pictures and recordings, but fails.

Thursday at 7:50 p.m.: Assemblyman Jang meets with the president first, despite Harry's attempts to delay him, and submits the incriminating pictures and recordings of the defense minister.

'SCARY GIRL,'

Episodes 1, 2

Friday at 7:50 p.m.: It's 1997 and Choi Young-rim is a preschool teacher who is madly in love with her boyfriend, businessman Ha Kyung-pyo. What Young-rim doesn't know is that Kyung-pyo has fallen for another woman in Seoul. Young-rim has a secret to tell Kyung-pyo that could change their lives.

Saturday at 7:50 p.m.: Choi Young-rim's friends have encouraged her to take a trip to Seoul to see Kyung-pyo. The trip is fun, but Kyung-pyo is nowhere to be found. Kyung-pyo is avoiding Young-rim and thinking of ways to end the relationship.