Korea Observer

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Korean sensation Psy may finally have the chance to teach US President Barack Obama how to do the famous "Gangnam Style" horse-riding dance when he performs on the "Christmas In Washington" TV special. US TV channel TNT announced the list of performers for the annual event that will air Dec. 21. Photos courtesy of www.newsen.com

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - After three long years, the legal battle between members of boy band JYJ and agency SM Entertainment (SME) came to an end with the two parties forging a settlement through arbitration.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - From Burma's Nobel Peace Prize winner, young North Korean leader to a South Korean rapper who started a global horse-riding dance craze, this year's TIME Person of the Year nominees range from celebrities, politicians and undocumented immigrants. TIME magazine announced its 38 finalists for its Person of the Year 2012 and several of them came from Asia. South Korea's Psy and North Korea's Kim Jong Un (Photos courtesy of www.newsen.com and Korean Central News Agency)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - The leader of K-pop quintet Wonder Girls is going to tie the knot in January next year. Sunye is getting married to her Korean-Canadian boyfriend who she met in Haiti last year during a missionary work. Wonder Girls' Sunye and her boyfriend (Internet photo/www.wonderfulgeneration.net)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Move over, Justin. Psy is the new King of YouTube. Psy celebrated another milestone in his career when his "Gangnam Style" viral song surpassed label mate Justin Bieber's "Baby" as the most viewed video of all time on YouTube.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Is the "Gangnam Style" craze waning in the US? The latest Billboard charts showed Psy's viral hit further slipping down to No. 7 on the Hot 100 from No. 5 last week and No. 2 for the past seven consecutive weeks.

Posters have been unveiled for the new KBS Wednesday-Thursday drama “Jeon Woochi” ahead of its debut on Nov. 21. The two poster designs portray the charming features of the main cast members Cha Tae-hyun, Uee, Lee Hee-joon, Baik Jin-hee, Song Dong-il and Hong Jong-hyeon.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Filipino and Korean ska bands will come together for the Philippine Ska Festival, which will be held in Makati and Cebu this December. The festival, dubbed as the "first gathering of Philippine and Korea ska," will be headlined by Kingston Rudieska, Korea's top ska band.

Actress Lee Young-ae has decided to open a Hallyu store in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, an area popular with tourists. Lee Young-ae (Photo by Korea JoongAng Daily)

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Nine-member Girls' Generation is touted to follow in the footsteps of rapper Psy in becoming the next world music sensation, according to a British newspaper. The Guardian said the girl group is set to release its first English album early next year through Interscope Records.

Everyone's excited for the forthcoming Dream K-pop Fantasy Concert that will be held on Jan. 19, 2013 at the Mall of Asia Open Grounds in the Philippines.  The concert will feature Girls Generation, INFINITE, UKISS, EXO, Tasty and Tahiti. Here are their messages for Filipino fans about the concert: 

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Korean superstar Lee Min-ho kept Filipino fans occupied in the last four days as he held his fan meeting and mall tours for Philippine clothing brand BENCH. From his arrival last Nov. 15 up to his departure from the Philippines on Nov. 18, thousands of fans followed his every move.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Korean rapper Psy has been nominated in the 2013 People's Choice Awards. His hit single "Gangnam Style" will be vying for the Favorite Music Video award along with Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend," Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," Katy Perry's "Part of Me," and Maroon 5's "Payphone."

Incheon International Airport  is operating a program on a trial basis from October 29th, 2012 through January 29th, 2013 that will allow non-Korean nationals with a transferring flight and a layover of 12 hours or less to tour Korea without a standard issued entry visa.  Photo courtesy of KTO

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Queen of Pop Madonna and the new King of K-pop Psy heat up New York City as the latter became a surprise guest at Madonna's MDNA tour concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City last Nov. 13. Madonna and Psy (Photos courtesy of  @evaum33  and @psy_oppa on Twitter)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin  MANILA, Philippines - Korean actor Lee Min-ho arrived in the Philippines today for his scheduled fan meeting and mall tour this week. The superstar was met by his fans at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1  as he arrived past noon. Lee Min-ho at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Photo courtesy of cualawrence on Instagram and BENCH)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Following his recent breakup with Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber is, of course, nursing a broken heart. But if he decides to have another girlfriend in the future, can K-pop star Hyuna be the one? Billboard magazine thinks it is possible. Justin Bieber and Hyuna (Photos courtesy of Bieber's Facebook page and www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin  MANILA, Philippines - It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and for singers IU and Super Junior's Eunhyuk, their photo on Twitter has raised questions, disbelief and shock. The deleted photo from IU's Twitter account

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin  MANILA, Philippines - Two Asian artists triumphed at the MTV Europe Music Awards held in Frankfurt, Germany, on Sunday night (Monday in Manila).

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) denied that it has awarded Korean rapper Psy's hit single "Gangnam Style" with a double-platinum or multi-platinum certification. A report by a Korean news agency quoted YG Entertainment, Psy's Korean agency, as saying that RIAA has certified Psy's hit single with a double-platinum award. Photos courtesy of Psy's Facebook page and YG Entertainment

Statement from the Korean Embassy in the Philippines regarding the 6 Nong Shim noodles that were recalled by the Philippine government:  The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) requested Nong Shim Co. Ltd. to recall the six noodle brands immediately after the former learned of the news that benzopyrene was detected recently. But the KFDA conducted the test and issued a certificate dated November 7, 2012 that the level of benzopyrene found in the noodle powder, which ranges from 0.4 to 1.6 ppb, was extremely low and has no harmful effect on the human body.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin  MANILA, Philippines - Hallyu stars Kim Hyun Joong and Song Seung-heon will be immortalized in wax at Madame Tussauds wax museum in Busan, South Korea. The wax figures of the two Korean stars will be unveiled in December, according to an announcement by Madame Tussauds Busan. Kim Hyun Joong and Song Seung-hon (Photos courtesy of Madame Tussauds Busan)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Rapper Psy will be awarded the Order of Cultural Merit award by South Korea for his contribution to spreading hallyu, or Korean wave, through his hit song "Gangnam Style." The announcement was made by Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which will bestow the award on Psy and nine other personalities. US President Barack Obama (top photo) and Psy (bottom) in Paris. (Photos courtesy of  President Barack Obama and  Cauet sur NRJ  Facebook pages)  

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Boy band JYJ member Jaejoong didn't disappoint his 4,000 supporters by showing up at his first fan meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia. Before he went to Indonesia, the singer and actor was suffering a bad case of sore throat. Despite this, he decided to go on with the fan meeting held at the Mata Elang International Stadium.

Several K-pop singers have been nominated in the Billboard Japan Music Awards 2012. Nominated for the Top Pop Artist 2012 category are Girls' Generation, KARA, Super Junior, CNBlue,  TVXQ and Jang Geun Suk along with EXILE, AKB48, SKE48, SMAP, Hey! Say! JUMP, Carly Rae Jepsen, NYC, NMB48, Rihanna,  Kis-My-Ft2  and Mr. Children among others. Photos courtesy of www.newsen.com

BY JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin  MANILA, Philippines - Super Junior's leader Leeteuk seems to be adjusting well to his new endeavor in the Korean military. A photo of Leeteuk smiling brightly together with other trainees was posted on the 306th Army Reserve online cafe. Leeteuk (center) together with Mighty Mouth's Sangchu and other trainees. (Photo courtesy of 306th Army Reserve online cafe)

BY JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - The cast of the hit musical TV series "Glee" has been bitten by the "Gangnam Style" bug and they will cover the song in an upcoming episode. "Glee" has released a teaser of the "Gangnam Style" number that will be featured in the show.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Korean boy band Super Junior will have to go on with their activities without their leader Leeteuk in the next two years. Leeteuk will be enlisting in the Korean military today as part of the mandatory service of all male Korean citizens. Photos courtesy of www.newsen.com

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Members of Korean boy band Big Bang have left a big mark on the hearts of Pinoy fans after their successful concert at the Mall of Asia Arena last Oct. 24. Despite that a typhoon was threatening to ruin the big day, the arena was full and the deafening screams filled the concert venue from start to encore.