Korea Observer

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean rapper Psy will be performing his latest single "Gentleman" at the finale of "American Idol," which will be aired in the US on May 16. The finale of the FOX show will decide who will be crowned as the new "American Idol" between finalists Candice Glover and Knee Harrison. Besides Psy, other performers at the finale are former "American Idol" judge Jennifer Lopez and current judges Keith Urban and Mariah Carey, according to the "Idol" blog mjsbigblog. Psy at Harvard (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard News Office and Harvard Magazine)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean pop singer Baek Ji Young is reportedly pregnant with her first baby, just a month after she announced that she would be getting married to her boyfriend. "I heard that Ms. Baek Ji Young is pregnant. She is being very careful because she's in the beginnings of her pregnancy," ENewsWorld quoted a source as saying.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Actor Ryu Seung Ryong and TV host Yoo Jae Suk were the big winners at the 49th Baeksang Arts Awards on May 9, taking home the "daesang," or grand prize, for their respective works in film and TV. Ryu Seung Ryong won the daesang in the film division for "Miracle in Cell No. 7," which became the fourth bestselling film of all time in Korea with 12.8 million tickets sold since its release last January.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean pop diva Lee Hyori will be coming back to the music scene with a new album, three years after a plagiarism scandal that affected her career. Lee Hyori will be releasing her fifth album "Monochrome" on May 21. Ahead of the album, she released her single "Miss Korea" on May 6, which topped music charts in Korea.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean rapper Psy attended the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual gala in New York City on May 6 (May 7 in Manila) that drew Hollywood celebrities including Anne Hathaway, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Swift, Emma Watson and Kanye West. At the event, Psy met and had a picture taken with Beyonce and Gwyneth Paltrow.

2PM tops iTunes charts in PH, 5 others Link to my original article on Manila Bulletin online:Email me at sangchusan(at)gmail.com

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean boy band 2PM's comeback album has topped iTunes charts in the Philippines and five other countries. 2PM released their third Korean studio album "Grown" online on May 6 and it rose to the No. 1 position on the iTunes album chart in the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. 2PM (JYP Entertainment)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin After years of speculations, Korean actress Lee Da Hae finally admitted that she underwent plastic surgery to improve her appearance. The actress, who recently starred in the drama "IRIS 2: New Generation," was interviewed on Mnet's "Wide Entertainment News" where she admitted that she had work done on her face.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin K-pop rapper Jay Park will be singing the theme song for Hollywood actor Will Smith and his son Jaden's movie "After Earth." Jay Park also wrote and composed the song "I Like To Party," which will be used as the ending song for the movie in Korea.  

Along with the immense popularity of Hallyu in the Philippines, Korean food has been gaining more and more momentum in the local food scene, with numerous Korean restaurants mushrooming virtually everywhere.