Korea Observer

K-pop star BoA's debut Hollywood movie "Make Your Move" failed at the box office in the US and South Korea. The dance movie, headlined by BoA and Derek Hough, earned a measly $120,200 in 10 days in the US since its release last April 18, according to Box Office Mojo. Its opening weekend from April 18 to 20 earned $81,172 from 142 theaters or an average of $572. BoA and Derek Hough in "Make Your Move." (Photos: "Make Your Move" Facebook page)

A parade of stars graced the 18th China Music Awards and Asian Influential Power Grand Ceremony held in Macao recently. International stars David Beckham and Ricky Martin were among those present at the show held at Venetian Macao’s Cotai Arena last April 23. Read more at  http://www.mb.com.ph/ricky-martin-exo-coco-lee-win-at-18th-china-music-awards/ To contact the author, send email to sangchusan(at)gmail.com

PRAY FOR SOUTH KOREA "One small movement for a big miracle"

K-pop boy band TVXQ’s new album has sold 252,000 copies in Japan, earning a platinum certification. Link to my original article on Manila Bulletin online: http://www.mb.com.ph/tvxqs-new-album-certified-platinum/ To contact the author, send email to sangchusan(at)gmail.com

Fans are outraged after food items sent to South Korea by Polish fans for SHINee’s Jonghyun ended up in the stomachs of writers of a broadcasting station.

Link to my original article on Manila Bulletin online:To contact the author, send email to sangchusan(at)gmail.com

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Popular Korean boy band EXO will be making a comeback this month with a single dubbed “Overdose,” a hip-hop and R&B-tinged dance song written by The Underdogs. According to SM Entertainment, this will be followed by the release of a new mini-album.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean superstar Lee Min Ho was voted by fans as the No. 1 “Asian male god” in a poll conducted by Chinese news site www.ddyule.com. The actor garnered a total of 10,013,151 votes to top the poll, in which he was also the sole nominee to breach the 10 million votes.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin K-pop Girl group T-ara will make its first-ever visit to the Philippines for a concert, as they announced via their official Facebook page. The visit, which is tentatively scheduled around “June-July,” is part of their 2014 tour dubbed the “Kingdom Under Fire 2 Joint Concert.”

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean actor Lee Byung Hun, 43, has been cast in the Hollywood film “Terminator: Genesis,” the fifth in the “Terminator” franchise. Lee Byung Hun (Photo by www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin 2PM’s Nichkhun, 25, and Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany, 24, are now officially a couple, with their respective management, JYP Entertainment and SM Entertainment, confirming the matter in a statement and asking fans for understanding and support. (Top) Nichkhun and Tiffany during the secret date in Gangnam last month; both were emcees at the Korean Wave Music in Bangkok in 2011 (Sports Seoul and MBC)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean boy band JYJ and other artists under C-JeS Entertainment have partnered with humanitarian organization World Vision to extend a helping hand to less affluent students of Leyte and Batangas in the Philippines.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Sarah Theresa Stewart, who is representing the City of Muntinlupa in the 2014 Miss Philippines Earth beauty pageant, is focusing on eco-tourism as advocacy. The 20-year-old lass appealed that tourism should not be merely about promoting beautiful sites, food and shopping.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Film director Joss Whedon took to YouTube to address Seoul residents with the principal shooting of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” kicking off on March 30. “We are going to mess it up a bit and inconvenience people for a few days and I apologize for that,” he said in a video post. “I know what’s that like. I live in Los Angeles and it happens to me all the time and it’s not fun. I hope that it will be worth it.” Robert Downey Jr. will play Iron Man in “Avengers 2,” part of which was filmed at Mapo Bridge in Seoul on March 30 (www.newsen.com)