Super Junior’s Heechul enlists with the army

On September 1st, Super Junior’s Heechul thanked his fans and the press before formally enlisting with the army.
Hundreds of fans from all over the world crowded the entrance before his arrival. The star arrived wearing a hat, which he took off in order to greet his fans. With a bright smile, he began, “I wasn’t going to greet anyone before enlisting, but I think my haircut came out okay.”
He continued with a bow, “I’ll come back as an adult. Thank you so much for coming all the way out here. After making a cute pose for the cameras, he added, “Please edit the pictures nicely if you’re going to upload them!”
Although he stayed for only a brief moment, he made sure to wave to his fans before leaving the scene. Hundreds of fans shouted in unison, “Be well, we’ll wait for you until the end.” Some emotional fans couldn’t help but shed tears over his enlistment.

JYJ’s Yoochun chooses Jaejoong as his rival

On August 29th, JYJ’s Yoochun attended the press conference for the ‘2011 Seoul International Drama Awards‘ at the International Conference Hall in Seoul.
When asked by reporters who he considered his rival as a Hallyu star, Yoochun replied, “He’s actually close to me.  He’s currently filming the drama ‘Protect the Boss‘ and I’ll be visiting tomorrow to see him.  Even while filming, he’s on alert.”
The person he chose is none other than fellow member Jaejoong, who’s currently playing the role of ‘Cha Moo Won’ on ‘Protect the Boss’.
Yoochun also won the online popularity poll held by ‘Yahoo! Korea’ for the ceremony with 480,000 votes.  On winning, he said, “I’m honored to receive such a big award.  Because the poll was held all across Asia, it’s that much more meaningful but also that much more pressuring for me.”

Indie bands come together to file a class action suit against the MOGEF

Hundreds, if not thousands, of songs are being banned by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family lately, and while bigger labels like SM Entertainment and Cube Entertainment can afford to fight for their songs, smaller indie labels are facing a more difficult time.
As such, the indie scene has decided to band together to file a lawsuit against the MOGEF as one body.  The idea was first suggested by law firm Jipyong, which SM Entertainment used to win their lawsuit for SM the Ballad earlier this week.
On August 29th, a representative of Seokyo Music Labels Association (an organization for indie labels) revealed, “Musicians who have had their songs banned by the MOGEF are currently discussing the possibility of a class action suit.”
In reality, the indie and hip hop scene have been fighting a losing battle against the MOGEF long before the mainstream market was being impacted. While idol groups headline within hours of their songs being banned, indie groups have had to sit on the back burner with virtually no help or support.
Should this class action suit win, hundreds of songs are expected to be back on the market.  At the forefront of the suit are indie bands 10cm and Vodka Rain, who recently had their songs “Americano” and “Night Time Restaurant” banned by the MOGEF.

Big Bang’s Daesung receives a verdict of ‘Not Guilty’

 

Big Bang’s Daesung has finally concluded his court case regarding his car accident on May 31st with a verdict of ‘not guilty’.
After reviewing the case, prosecutors decided that there wasn’t enough hard evidence to determine whether or not the motorcyclist Hyun had been alive or deceased before Daesung ran him over with his vehicle. Also, they did not rule out the possibility that the motorcyclist, who was under the influence upon the time of his death, could’ve died from the initial collision with a streetlight.
“Although it should be recognized that Daesung drove without maintaining a safe distance and ignoring his surroundings, it is hard to make the connection between this fact and the death of the victim,” stated a representative for the police. “We made a judgment of not guilty based on the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’.”
Based on the above information, they rendered a verdict of ‘not guilty’ for the beleaguered Daesung. “Since Daesung reached a civil settlement with the victim’s party on July 19th, you can say that this case is now closed,” said the police.

TVXQ shocks Japan’s ‘a-nation’ fans with ending performance

TVXQ put on the ending performance for Avex’s A-Nation concert in Tokyo, which shocked both the media and concert goers.
For the past 8 years, Avex’s Queen pop artist, Hamasaki Ayumi closed the concerts by putting on the ending performance, but this year TVXQ was chosen. Being chosen as Avex A-Nation’s ACE is a huge deal, and the media went abuzz about how it was the climax of TVXQ’s career.
The concert took place on the 27th and although it was originally announced that Hamasaki Ayumi would be ending the show, since it was A-Nation’s 10th year celebratory concert, they wanted to shock the fans, hence TVXQ took the honor of closing the show.

Super Junior’s Leeteuk cries as Heechul gives his final words on ‘Inkigayo’

On this week’s broadcast of SBS’s ‘Inkigayo‘, Super Junior received their second consecutive Mutizen award for their latest hit, “Mr. Simple”.
This week’s win was a lot more meaningful for both the group and their fans, since it was the last music show for member Kim Heechul before he withdraws for army service on September 1st.
It seems that out of all the Super Junior members, leader Leeteuk was hit hardest by his emotions. Overwhelmed, Leeteuk’s tears flowed down uncontrollably as he gave his thank you speech and hugged Heechul tightly in his arms.
Leeteuk expressed, “Thank you to everyone who has given us love. Heechul is also leaving for the army soon, so thank you for giving us such a special gift.”
Heechul added, “This was my last stage before the army. It feels great to have been given such a special award before my leave. I’m always thankful to Jungsoo (Leeteuk) as well as the other members. For the fans who have loved us, I love you too. Thank you to all the staff of ‘Inkigayo’ who gave us so much of their time, and I’m especially thankful to all the managers who put up with my bad temper. I’m not very good at expressing myself, so I’ll just leave it here. I’ll come back safely, stay healthy!”

New 5-member boy band “Boyz” to debut soon

A new 5-member boy band named “Boyz” is prepping to debut soon.
The group is from VIP Entertainment and originally their group name was supposed to be “VIP,” for obvious reasons.  However, due to Big Bang’s fanclub name being VIP, they decided to change the groups’ name to “Boyz.”
The names of the 5 members are, Enok, Noa, Yoondam, Junwon and Haru.
A new 5-member boy band named “Boyz” is prepping to debut soon.
The group is from VIP Entertainment and originally their group name was supposed to be “VIP,” for obvious reasons.  However, due to Big Bang’s fanclub name being VIP, they decided to change the groups’ name to “Boyz.”
The names of the 5 members are, Enok, Noa, Yoondam, Junwon and Haru.