What do Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Byung-hun and Jung Ji-hoon (Rain) all have in common? They are all trying to break out of the South Korean market and taking on big roles in Hollywood.

Jun Ji-hyun ("My Sassy Girl") played Saya in "Blood: The Last Vampire." Lee Byung-hun appeared in "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" and Rain stars in a highly promoted film, "Ninja Assassin," opening Wednesday.

Rain, 27, is famous for his singing, acting, dancing and modeling. His first TV series, "Sang Doo! Let's Go to School," was a hit followed by another TV hit series in Asia — "Full House" costarring Song Hye-gyo. Rain has sold out concerts throughout Asia and received many awards for his musical talent. He also appeared in "Speed Racer" before landing the lead role in "Ninja Assassin," a martial-arts film produced by James McTeigue and directed by the Wachowski brothers and Joel Silver.

Rain plays Raizo, who was kidnapped as a child and raised by the Ozunu Clan, an underground band of assassins. Raizo, who has become one of the world's deadliest assassins, goes into hiding to plot revenge after the clan executes his first love. Other members of the cast include Naomie Harris as Mika Coretti, Rick Yune as Takeshi, Sho Kosugi as Lord Ozunu and Ben Miles as Ryan Maslow.

Critics are already giving the film mixed reviews, but considering Rain's world-wide fan base, I think his lean physique and six-pack will draw women to the theater despite the buckets of blood and limbs.

It will be interesting to see how a movie with Rain in the main role does at the box office. This could send ripples through the film industry and affect the future of Korean celebrities in Hollywood. If the film does well, Korean celebrities will be making more appearances in future films. It would also be interesting to compare its performance in Asia to other markets, as Rain's influence is in Japan, China, Thailand and South Korea.

The recent films featuring South Korean celebrities all have one thing in common: They are all action films that require minimal English dialogue. I know many of the celebrities have English-language abilities that could be convincing for short discussions, but they may not be fluent enough for nonaction genres. As their language skills improve over time, I hope to see different roles for the Korean stars.

THIS WEEK’S K-DRAMA SYNOPSES

'SMILE, HONEY'

Episodes 3 and 4

Tonight at 7:45: Manbok's family is in for a lecture after Jungin leaves. Geumja tries to defend herself for doing Hyunsu's new room but fails. Junggil tries to rally his family and asks them to come up with money somehow, but Junggyung firmly tells him not to count on her.

Tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.: Hyunsu is on cloud nine when Junggyung accepts his invitation to have dinner. Jungin scoffs when she finds out Junggyung's date is Hyunsu. Sanghoon goes to see Junggil to get the money back but turns away without a word when he runs into Junggil's wife.

'DARE TO LOVE'

Episodes 49 and 50 (last episode)

Sunday at 6:45 p.m.: Poong-ran tries to come to terms with the fact that her parents aren't her real parents. Gum-ran is over her morning sickness and craves minced kalbi. Soon-shin has started having morning sickness. Tae-woo desperately tries to get rid of his past. Chan almost gets run over by a motorcycle.

Sunday at 7:45 p.m.: Tae-woo leaves and Sul-ran comtemplates what love really means. Poong-ran's soap finally airs. Gum-ran is happily married and waiting for the twins to be born. Bong-sun finally gets what she wants. She gets to marry Denny!

'DREAM'

Episodes 19 and 20 (last episode)

Monday at 7:45 p.m.: Kang Kyung-tak learns Ishigawa accepted Je-il's proposition, and he tries to keep Je-il from coming up with the money. Straw and his gang admit Young-chool to the hospital. Straw tells Je-il Young-chool has end-stage lung cancer.

Tuesday at 7:45 p.m.: Everyone is worried when they find out Jang-seok will be fighting Maeng Do-pil for his comeback fight. But Jang-seok shrugs them off and volunteers to go through the intensive training. Kang Kyung-tak asks Je-il to come back to the Super Star Corp. as the president.

'SWALLOW THE SUN'

Episodes 24 and 25 (last episode)

Wednesday at 7:45 p.m.: Mr. Baik tells Tae-hyuk that he'll help him take over DaeJung Casino. President Jang tells his attorney that he wants to leave everything to Jung-woo to make up for an unforgivable mistake. Soo-hyun finds a house for Jung-woo to stay at, and they spend their days happily together.

Thursday at 7:45 p.m.: President Jang is shocked to find out that Tae-hyuk is working with Mr. Baik to take over DaeJung Casino. When Mr. Baik loses everything because of Jung-woo, he plots to have him killed.