Supposedly. The KBS “Boys Before Flowers” team has finished filming their last scene of the drama yesterday (29th), bringing an end to this 5-month long production. And according to the news report, it is going to be a happy ending.

The finale scene was taken on the 29th night at a bathing beach in Incheon. As this particular scene contains content about the finale, the entire filming was kept in secrecy unlike previously. According to the details given by one of the crew members, all the leading casts participated in this filming and the ending will also be what the majority of the fans had wished for.

“Boys Before Flowers” began its production from November last year and the team has since travelled to several places for shots, including Macau, Seoul, Jeju Island and Pusan etc. Though the schedule was tight, the team still managed to complete it two days before the broadcast of the  finale episode.

I’m not sure if the “happy ending” is going to include Yi Jung - Ga Eul pair, though the possibility is high. But I certainly hope that it is the same for them as well, in fact more so than Joon Pyo - Jan Di pair. The drama will be replaced by Park Yong Ha and Park Si Yeon’s “A Man’s Story” beginning next monday.

In regards to the viewers’ criticisms on her poor girl role in “Boys Before Flowers” covering with branded goods, Goo Hye Sun has made an explanation during a recent interview and stated that “the truth isn’t as such”.

Goo Hye Sun explained : “There were recently some viewers who accused me of using branded products, which does not match with the poor living conditions of Geum Jan Di in the drama. However, the truth isn’t as such. The leather shoes that appeared in the Macau scene was bought from Dong Dae Mun. And it only costs 10 thousand Won per pair. Owing to the story’s needs, we bought two pairs.”

Shortly after the broadcast of the scene where Jan Di broke her shoes, some netizens commented on websites that Jan Di’s shoe was actually a Christian Louboutin, a French brand that costs over a million won in Korea. They proceed to criticize Goo Hye Sun and the team on their lack of consideration for these details.

Goo Hye Sun said: “Although Geum Jan Di is an ordinary girl, but she isn’t a girl from a poor family. The original manga of ‘Boys Before Flowers’ was a product of the 90s, it is adapted into a K-drama only now. Hence, discrepancies between the different eras will definitely be present. Moreover, I would discuss with the coordinators of the team everytime I received props (apparels, shoes etc) from the sponsors, to determine if they fit into the character’s personality and status.”

So was it an imitation? Strange thing that she even tried to do an explanation on this. People should know that dramas aren’t all that realistic, especially manga adaptations.

For a teenage girl living in a slum in Mexico, actress Kim So Yeon had spent several sleepless nights practicing guitar. On the cable Olive TV, Kim So Yeon has displayed a heart-warming act where she had volunteered to help a 13-year-old teenage girl “Hudiseu” in the two weeks that she was in Mexico early this year.

Hudiseu lost her father at the age of 5. Hence her family’s situation became increasingly difficult and she couldn’t afford to play the violin that she had interest in as and when she likes. So for her, Kim So Yeon made her first guitar performance with Mexico Mariachi (a small local band group, and includes Hudiseu) at a popular event in Mexico.

Kim So Yeon said: “I wish to attempt difficult challenges, so as to stimulate a greater courage in me,” expressing her motive for helping the teenage girl.

However, the local organizing committee was initially displeased with Kim So Yeon’s poor guitar performance and even wanted to deny her from performing. They said: “Such a novice guitar performance would be hard to be moved to the stage especially when the event would be attended by many prominent locals.” After knowing about the situation, Kim So Yeon began to spend the next several nights practicing her guitar, till the point where her hand bleeds.

Apart from this, she also gave Mariachi some T-shirts that she had brought from Korea. She told them: “Let’s wear the shirts together for our performances.” She also went to the church early in the morning to pray Mariachi, wishing that the band can achieve their dreams ultimately.

Finally, Kim So Yeon with an enhanced guitar skills over the course of few days, played her own version of “Besame Mucho” beautifully and won the praises and cheers of the locals. After the performance, she gave Hudiseu who used to rent violin for practice, a brand new violin.

The locals had compliments for Kim So Yeon. One of them said: “Kim So Yeon’s sincerity touched all of us.” Hudiseu also expressed her gratitude towards Kim So Yeon and said: “Sister is my most precious friend. Her actions have made me learned a lot things. In order to fulfill my dreams, I will be sure to work even harder in the future.”

Lastly, Kim So Yeon expressed her thoughts about this meaningful trip. She said: “I feel very happy in helping Hudiseu to realize her dreams. Even though my help might be significant, but the thought of being able to be a role model for her makes me even happier.”

This Mexico trip recorded in the program “Olive Special - Beautiful Day In Slow Life” will be broadcast on the 27th March and 3rd April.

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At 11am on the 27th morning, upcoming spy action movie “7th Grade Civil Servant” held its media press conference, with the two leading actors Kim Ha Neul and Kang Ji Hwan attending the event.

“7th Grade Civil Servant” depicts the story about a pair of ex-lovers who broke up without knowing each other’s identity but reunites after being assigned on a same mission. Kim Ha Neul is an agent with 6 years of experience with her abilities covering all aspects, including disguise, inflitration, tracking etc. While on the otherhand, Kang Ji Hwan plays a new agent with absolutely no real experience in carrying on missions.

During the press conference, both Kim Ha Neul and Kang Ji Hwan also made a clarification on their recent love rumours. Kang Ji Hwan said: “Please congratulate me as this is my first rumour since debut. This is my third collaboration with Kim Ha Neul. And I guess the rumour started because we of our long time friendship.”

As for Kim Ha Neul, she said: “In regards to the rumour, I can only laugh it out. In fact, there were quite a number of rumours coming during that period of time. I was working out on that day when I received several smses asking me if I knew about what happened. I laughed out loud though. For my previous rumours, I became more distant from the other party when such rumours came out. However now, I would find it interesting instead.”

This spy action romance movie is set to hit the screen on the 23rd of April.

Jang Ja Yun’s incident takes a minor step forward with the phone call recordings of the deceased actress being released  by MBC yesterday. The call recordings contained a part in which Jang Ja Yun told a good friend of her that her boss Kim wanted to kill her. This news shocked the Korean public and even forced a police clarification on the matter today (26th).

According to MBC NewsDesk on the 25th which reported the phone conversation in Jang Ja Yun’s cellphone: “In one of the phone conversation with her good friend before she committed suicide, Jang Ja Yun said ‘Kim wanted to terminate all my benefits and even reprimanded me. Kim said that he wanted to kill me and also proceeded to assert violence on me. He will really kill me’. The conversation shows her extreme fear towards her boss Kim.”

In another phone conversation, Jang Ja Yun said: “I have done according to my boss’s instruction… I do not want to spoil his reputation. Although I can expose him if I bring the sms that he had text me to the police, but I do not want to do so.” This conversation clearly hinted that she was indeed forced to have sex with others or something against her own will.

However, the South Korean police has today tried to clarify on the report made by MBC, by saying that Kim had indeed threatened Jang Ja Yun, but not in the way reported by MBC.

The police spokesperson said: “The ‘kill’ mentioned by Kim may not literally mean ‘killing someone’. It may likely mean killing off Jang Ja Yun’s actress career. However just based on this, Kim has already committed an offence and the police will continue the investigation through this clue.”

One phone conversation, two different interpretations. Which is the truth?

Following the recent announcement on the casting of the two lead Hwang Jung Min and Kim Ah Joong in the upcoming drama “Six Months” , it was revealed today that Lee Chung Ah and Baek Sung Hyun will also be joining the team playing as the siblings of the two leads.

“Six Month”, as the title suggests, narrates the love story between an ordinary postman Goo Dong Bo (Hwang Jung Min) and top actress Han Ji Soo (Kim Ah Joong) built upon a six months contract marriage. Lee Chung Ah will attempt the role of Goo Min Ji, the younger sister, and sole kin of Hwang Jung Min while Baek Sung Hyun will play the younger brother of Kim Ah Joong, Han Sang Chul, who helps seek out a true love for his sister.

Set to be a romantic comedy, KBS “Six Months” which casts Hwang Jung Min, Kim Ah Joong, Joo Sang Wook, Lee Chung Ah, Baek Sung Hyun and Yun Mi Joo will debut on the 29th April, replacing “Hateful But Once Again”.

As we edge towards the finale of “Boys Before Flowers” next week, there is just one last character to be introduced, and that is Jung Yoo Mi (Nakajima Umi in the manga), to be played by newcomer actress Kim Min Ji, who will form a triangle relationship with Goo Joon Pyo and Geum Jan Di in the final two episodes.

From the plot, Jung Yoo Mi appears after Joon Pyo had lost his memories and attempts to strain the relationship between Joon Pyo and Jan Di. In the original manga, Umi is a dual character who likes to tell lies. During Joon Pyo’s amnesia period, she lies to Joon Pyo that she is his girlfriend and thus creating a whole lot of mess out of it.

Kim Min Ji debuts through a CF with Jeon Ji Hyun and later followed up with a role in sitcom “That Person Is Coming”. She also played the role of young Lady Kim in the recent KBS “Empress Chun Chu”. Congratulations to her for winning this role. She will definitely see herself rise in popularity after the drama ends, but at the same time, I foresee she will be in the “Boys Before Flowers Public Enemy No.1″ list for being an evil 3rd party between Joon-Jan relationship, probably for a longtime to come.

Actress Kim So Eun, who has enjoyed a rapid upsurge in her popularity recently, has been selected as the next generation endorser of the “Pocari Sweat” drink. Donga Otsuka has officially signed a contract with Kim So Eun for the exclusive endorsement of Pocari Sweat.

The endorsement for the Pocari Sweat drink has always been highly sought after by many actresses, especially newcomers, as those who managed to be its endorser will see their popularity and career climbing to a new high, as past histories have shown. Go Hyun Jung first endorsed the drink in 1991, followed by Shim Eun Ha in 1994 and Jang Jin Young in 1997. Son Ye Jin and Lee Yeon Hee were the 2001 and 2005 endorser respectively.

This latest CF for the drink was shot in a popular vacation resort in Thailand. Kim So Eun in front of the camera displayed a pure and adorable image that is a perfect mix with the brand image. The CF will hit the streets next month.

According to news on the 24th, the police spokesperson from the team responsible for the investigation on Jang Ja Yun’s case, has revealed that a couple of evidences have pointed to the likelihood of the “suicide document” being released even before Jang Ja Yun committed suicide. Therefore, the police will be summoning the source person, Jang’s former manager Yoo Jang Ho, for a thorough investigation.

Since it has been scientifically proven that the document was indeed written by Jang Ja Yun herself, the next mystery to solve is whether the document was penned by Jang out of her own will. And apart from the deceased, Yoo is the sole key person who holds the answer to everything. Previously, Yoo had claimed that the document was written by Jang Ja Yun and he did not force her to write it. However, Jang’s family has insisted on the unbelievable contents of the document which they believed to be written by Jang under force. Her family also pointed to the struggle between Yoo and Kim, in which Jang Ja Yun was just an unfortunate sacrifice in their conflict.

The police spokesperson said: “Through the evidences we have gathered till now, we found that Yoo had contacted several respectable figures in the entertainment industry and shown them the ’suicide document’ even before Jang Ja Yun sought her death. Jang Ja Yun seemed to know about it as well. We are uncertain as to the motive of Yoo for his actions. Hence, we have issued a summon to Yoo. If he failed to report to the police station by the 25th, we will then issue an arrest warrant on him. Yoo had failed to comply to previous summons citing health reasons.”

According to one director who have worked with Yoo in the past, Yoo may possibly force Jang Ja Yun to write the “suicide document” and used it as a chip to strike an agreement with Kim. Jang Ja Yun may have also committed suicide after she knew of the document being spread around by Yoo.

It seems like the case has taken another turn. The one who started everything is now a suspect for Jang Ja Yun’s death? The police reports seemed to hint on Yoo forcing Jang to write the notes and Jang committing suicide after Yoo passed her document around. If this part is true, then Yoo is indeed despicable and deserved to be charged (if possible) for causing Jang’s death. However, if this is a ploy from the “you-know-i-know-rich-and-powerful-them” to try to divert the attention back to Yoo, making hin seemed like the culprit behind all these, then it is truly a sad case. Next step, Yoo committing suicide??? Then case closed due to insufficient evidence and true culprits go scotfree. (Just a random thought and I hope this will not be the case)

Scheduled for an April debut, SBS “City Hall” which casts Cha Seung Won and Kim Sun Ah had began its shoot on the 17th March. And with the shoot, the first stills from the production were released.

On the 17th, the actors and crew members shot the drama’s first scenes at Gang Hwa island and Incheon. The day’s shoot was on Shin Mi Rae (Kim Sun Ah) and her interactions with the locals by drinking rice wine with them. Shin Mi Rae is a level 10 civil servant, the lowest level in the hierachy. The drama will depict her climb from the lowest level to become the youngest female city mayor and also about the character Jo Gook (Cha Seung Won) who dreams of becoming the president.

“City Hall” marks Cha Seung Won’s first drama after KBS “Bodyguard” shown 6 years ago. It was revealed that Kim Sun Ah had lost a massive 5kg for the drama and even sacrificed her long hair. With a new change in image for both of them, (Cha Seung Won looks so retro) viewers are now ready to see what both of them have to offer.

“City Hall” is the fourth collaboration between the star combination, Director Shin Woo Chul and Writer Kim Eun Sook, who also produced “Lovers In Paris”, “Lovers In Prague” and “On Air”. The drama will air on the 29th April, replacing “Cain and Abel”.