korean modles

Korean Fever stars


THREE years after the Korean fever started spreading, it is still showing no sign of abating.

Just when we were about to chuck out our Winter Sonata VCDs and take a breather from the drama craze that swept Asia as early as 2003, Jewel In The Palace came along last year and turned us into TV addicts again.

Then, there was this curious phenomenon called Rain, who, despite bringing a downpour wherever he goes, still charmed a legion of screaming women both young and old.

K-pop fans in Singapore had it good.

We got to ogle Korean hunks all year round, from Won Bin in January to Jang Dong Gun early this month, as well as Lee Byung Hun and Kim Jae Won in February and Lee Dong Gun in July.

At movie premieres and film festivals, Korean beauties such as Lee Young Ae, Kim Hee Seon, Son Ye Jin and Kim So Yeon and hunks like Bae Yong Joon and Ji Jin Hee have also made their presence felt.

Although star power does not always equate robust box-office takings, these Korean A-listers have no doubt reaped a good harvest from foreign lands last year.

And their good luck looks set to continue in this year as Korean acts increasingly develop their showbiz careers beyond their home shores.


We reckon the first quarter of 2006 will be dominated by Korean babes, most notably Jeon Ji Hyun, Song Hye Kyo, and Choi Ji Woo.

Each has a strong new project to plug outside of Korea, and we understand that talks are underway for Ji Hyun (My Sassy Girl) and Hye Kyo (Full House) to come to town separately for movie promotions in February or March, though no details are available yet.

Ji Hyun stars in an Andrew Lau movie, Daisy, opposite gorgeous Jung Woo Sung, while Hye Kyo shares screen time with Cha Tae Hyun in her debut film, My Girl And I.

Ji Woo kept a low profile last year and is expected to focus all her energies on showbiz this year.

And she has two projects to plug - the upcoming Japanese drama, Ronda, opposite Japanese actor Yutaka Takenouchi, and the romantic Korean film Yeonriji, co-starring Jo Han Sun.