10CM Set to Perform "CLOSER TO YOU" Concert in Manila This August

This afternoon, we've had the chance to interview one of the hottest idol singers from South Korea. They're called 10CM, and he's set to perform in Manila this coming August 31st at the New Frontier Theater in Araneta City, Cubao QC. The event is produced by Cornerstone Concerts (a subsidiary of Cornerstone Entertainment) and South Korea based Magic Strawberry Sound.

For those who don't know, 10cm is an indie pop project that is being led by Kwon Jung-yeol. They were initially debuted as a duo (with Yoon Cheol-jong), but split in 2017. His songs are now part of various KDrama shows like Queen of Tears, Crash Landing On You, Start Up, Hotel de Luna, Lovely Runner and a whole lot more. He still carries the same name 10cm which they got from the difference in their height. His idea of fun is still staying in the studio and creating music, so if he's tasked to make one for a drama, he just needs to know the plot and put it all in the lyrics (pretty good process). This makes it custom fit the feel and actual story, which makes it easier to connect with... and his fans.

Here's our exclusive interview with him yesterday 

He wants to be able to connect with you especially with his music, so the content of his upcoming concert will be more of your favorites. He teased some of it during TJ Monterde's sold out concert a few days ago where he performed a medley of his KDrama hits, much of which will be done in full versions in August 31st.

While TJ Monterde loves 10cm's music, Yoon also fancies his too. It was mutual admiration and seeing them perform in TJ's concert was like a dream for all.

10CM has also won various awards from Melon Music, for Best Collab and Best Folk and Blues in different years. This tour is also going to be done in SEA countries such as SG, Malaysia and Thailand. In East Asia, there will be Taiwan, hopefully more countries soon.

Tickets are being sold in Ticketnet, so make sure you get them while it's still available. This would be perfect for those who love his music, the KDramas it's in, so you could get all the feels all over again!

K-LOVE: An Homage to Filipino KDrama Love

Filipinos are so passionate about a lot of things, and during the pandemic, they've been glued to TV sets and monitors just to watch their favorite K-Dramas. This love, is going to be showcased on a new series called K-LOVE, with stars Iza Calzado, Jake Cuenca, Sue Ramirez, Isabelle Diaz and Gabby Padilla.

This will be exclusively shown on the VIU platform and is created by VIU Originals. It's for K-Drama fans, made by fans and for the fans. It all makes sense on how the lives of Filipinos 20-30 years old will be mirrored in this story when they get to see their relationships, how they love, their disappointments,  and how close the story lines of K-Drama shows are in their lives. The fandom of Korean dramas, Hallyus surprise even the actors, when they discover their closest friends, their families all have their own show obsessions.

According to the writer, this is fan fiction as she is a fan of several shows herself. She was inspired by Star Up and Reply 1988. Here's part of the press conference this afternoon.

Iza Calzado, Jake Cuenca, Isabelle Diaz, Sue Ramirez, Gabby Padilla shares their experience making the show. 

K-LOVE will be shown on the VIU app starting October 14 and will be shown in other countries where VIU is available. If you're a K-Drama fan, lover or a silent one, re-live the kilig by watching the series on that date.

There will be previews which you can watch even without signing in on the platform, go do it now!

Top Korean Film "THE ROUNDUP" Now Showing in SM Cinemas

Looks like we're in for a treat this month as the most popular movie in Korea is now showing in SM Cinemas, it's an action flick called THE ROUNDUP starring Ma Dong-seok aka Don Lee who also starred in Train to Busan which was a hit worldwide. 

Ms. Grace Lee says "We have been really eager to do this years ago, where we are able to showcase Korean movies while it's being shown in Korea. I've been convincing them since 2020 and got delayed because of the pandemic. In 2021, we were asked about the conditions here and they were more eager to pursue it from happening. I was fortunate to bring the number 1 movie in 2022, this is the biggest movie hit in Korea. I hope Philippine viewers to be able to watch it in cinemas now that it's available. Our partners in Korea produce and distribute, they give us a synopsis and the final edit of the movie. I've known how Filipinos love the stars, THE ROUNDUP is an action film and perhaps it'll be bigger and better (as it is a sequel), and possibly in the next projects it'll be the stars promoting the movie here. Glimmer is also in drama production, we have to sign an NDA until it comes out and we're not allowed to give details especially when half of the scenes are shot in the Philippines. THE ROUNDUP is actually a sequel of a drama, Dong Lee is also a big star since he's in Train to Busan and different series. He's very versatile, you'll see layers of him in the movie."

 

Grace Lee heads Glimmer who distributes Korean films now in the country

She adds "Filipinos and Koreans have similar values. Korean movies have high production value, and distributing this at this time might have challenges, but all good and Glimmer (our partner) has been very supportive. Recently, international movies have been doing quite nice in the box office and opening up with TOP GUN for people who are slowly coming back to watch was a pretty good move for us. We do even have next ones in the pipeline but we have to wait til they give their go signal. It's risky to produce movies in Korea as the value is pretty high. We shot here for 3 months, with Filipino actors doing very big supporting roles and it will come out in November. We've already crossed that bridge and have Filipino talent is pursued. We are doing this as a start for the Korean movie wave, it's a hit in Korea and Southeast Asian countries. The market is ready, I don't see why not the Philippines and acknowledge we are ready for consumption. We are talking to Korean partners about bringing Philippine content to Korea. We're in the talks and we're taking the next steps. It'll be an exciting year for all of us!"

Go watch the movie today as it'll be something worth your time. It won't be guns blazing though because it's barred to have them in Korea. It's more of closeup hand to hand combat with sharp or blunt things so it's different from western movies. 

Can't wait to watch it tomorrow!

CHA EUN WOO on Smart's HALLYU HANGOUTS!

Good news come those who adore Korean hearthrob Cha Eun Woo star of shows like Gangnam Beauty, True Beauty and soon Island on tvN. He's also in several SBS shows and hosted concerts via KBS which I watched religiously on Cable and online through YouTube. See, he's making your Hallyu dreams come true as he will appear on Smart's Hallyu Hangouts this coming January 29th at 4PM. It'll be shown live on the GigaPlay app so make sure you download it prior to the event itself. 

Ms Jane Basas the SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart Communications says "Filipinos love Korean content and we're bringing our subscribers much closer to things that they love. If you love K Content, it's all at Smart! If you need Korean content and more, you can get it at the GigaPlay App and we're bringing lots of exclusive Hallyu Hangout experiences in it so you get closer to your Korean idols and superstars!"

In the past, they already presented Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin, Park Seo Jun just to name a few. Make sure to subscribe to Giga K-Video 99 and other higher promos in order to watch the event. It should beactive on that day so don't waste those precious data for anything else if you're a fan!

Visit Smart's social channels and their website smart.com.ph/Pages/hallyu-hangouts for more information about it!

CRISTINE REYES and DIEGO LOYZAGA on ENCOUNTER PH Adaptation

Undeniably one of the most watched KDrama in television and cable history and one of the most revered shows where Park Bo Gum stars is this one called "Encounter" which he stars with Song Hye Kyo. Well, it's going to be shown on TV5, Sari Sari Channel and on the Cignal Play App. Thing is, this is the Filipino adaptation and from the looks of it, it's going to have its own flavor as the ones reprising the role of Selene and Gino is Cristine Reyes and Diego Loyzaga.

For those who watched the Korean flick, they did some scenes in Cuba right? This time, since the constraints of the pandemic happened, they got scenic sunsets done in Ilocos Norte and Subic which made this even more interesting. The love story between a divorcee hotelier and a person who later they find out worked for her is going to get your frustrations worked up as they solve their relationship and her former husband's family. She's very successful, upon making a dying business evolve into an empire. It was so nice to see how Cristine and Diego portray their complicated characters as they are going to put their personal and Filipino flavor. This afternoon, we got to ask questions about the show and here's some of it on video:

Aside from Cristine and Diego, they will be flanked by a colorful ensemble cast which includes Kean Cipriano, Robert Seña, Maricel Morales, Yayo Aguila, Louise delos Reyes, Gardo Versoza, Isay Alvarez and more. ENCOUNTER will be shown every Saturday at 8PM and the catch up episodes will be the next day on Sari Sari channel. You can also download the Cignal Play App if you're elsewhere in the country and prefer to watch it streaming instead. 

This is also Diego Loyzaga's comeback after a long hiatus in show business. You might want to watch his star shine more.

HYUN BIN and SON YE JIN Star in Smart Ad

 

Valentines Day became even more special for fans of K Drama Kings and Queens Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin. The two stars of Crash Landing On You topbills Smart Communications advertisement for their promotion of Smart's 5G connection where you can indeed get more with the fastest connection. 

 This was something that Smart executives hinted when they came out with the Hyun Bin ad a couple months back as they really didn't want him to be lonely. Today was a nice day to fulfill that.

As of this writing, the video has garnered half a million views in almost 24 hours, pretty strong showing. The power of 5G marks Smart's latest offering of the fastest upload and download speeds on mobile and as they roll out the technology to different parts of the country. Pretty soon, more 5G phones will come out and the connection will be ready for it.

Scenes from their show also were shown on the ad, and that might tie in on data packages they will offer with Netflix wherein that show is shown in the Philippines. The music on this particular ad was created for Smart by top Philippine band Ben&Ben. Go check out the YouTube video here and experience 5G with Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin.

 

 I like the part where they said "Simple Smart Ako!". So, did you guys love them even more?

 

Hit Streamed Shows Reply 1988 and Wok of Love Now On TV5

The Korean hits just landed at the Kapatid Network!

The news is out and yes, two of Korea's well received drama series are now going to be shown on TV5. Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 to 9:30pm, they will be showcasing the online streaming hit Reply 1988 and Wok of Love.

Reply 1988 did absolutely good in Korea besting greats like Crash Landing On You and winning acting and grand awards, plus several nominations for the show a couple years back. It stars Lee Hyeri (Sung Deok Sun), Park Bo Gum (Choi Taek) , Ryu Joon Yeol (Kim Jung Hwan), Go Kyung Pyo (Sung Sun Woo) and Lee Dong Hwi (Ryu Dong Ryong). Wok of Love on the other hand stars Lee Jun Ho (member of K-pop boy group 2PM) Jang Hyuk and Jung Ryeo-Won.

You'll love the latter show for its slice of life approach to love and romance too. They also feature actual food on the show, so you're bound to get hungry with each episode.

Now don't take my word for it, go watch the show again, from Monday to Friday at 8:30 to 9:30pm, only on your Kapatid Network, TV5!