Chanhu Lee in a TV Commercial

Some of my friends I  featured in the Power Korean (Power Korean) section of my blog are already relatively successful in their own fields while some are starting to make their own dreams a reality. If you remember I featured my friend Chanhu Lee (Chanhu Lee), the one I called the "Prince of Hyehwa" last year October. Now he just finished filming for a TV commercial of Paprica. Here's the video. 

Make sure you check his Power Korean story here (Chanhu Lee) ^^

Korean trainee Il Gon Kim in a German newspaper!

I wanted to feature this a long time ago but I just couldn't find time. The only Korean-German weekly broadsheet Kyopo Shinmun, featured a story of my Korean friend who is a trainee, Il Gon Kim. If you've been following my blog, I already featured his story before on Power Korean section. Please check it HERE.

After I featured him on my blog, K-Colors of Korea, a Germany based online magazine about Korea (culture, K-Pop etc.) which are in English, Korean and German languages got interested in his story so they interviewed him. Il Gon narrated his experiences as a trainee so you can check his interview HERE.

you can follow his Twitter

Power Korean: Taehan Lee 이태한

Lunchtime and a crowd of students mostly girls are heading to this fashionable (a bit pricey) restaurant at my school called BBQ. Since the place is popular, it is common to see a long line of customers waiting outside and also looong waiting time to get your order. I was with my sunbae at that time also waiting for our order when the girls next to our table kept complaining. Apparently, they’ve waited for their order for more than 30 minutes already. They called someone but when the waiter approached them, their facial expressions changed and even the tone of their voices suddenly got a few more pitches higher. They kindly asked the waiter and when he was gone they started giggling.

The next friend I’ll be introducing in the Power Korean section of my blog is someone who gets a lot of giggles from girls. Haha.  Meet my friend Taehan Lee. Taehan was born in Gyeonggi Province but grew up in different places in Korea. He studied elementary and middle school in Changwon Province but moved to Busan when he was in high school. He graduated in 2010 at Busan Beauty High School, a vocational high school for those who want to learn fashion, hairdressing etc. 

He got interested in becoming an actor when he joined his school's model club when he was a sophomore. He was chosen to represent his school in a competition and the talent he prepared was acting. His performance got an overwhelming response from the crowd and he also got praised by the people around him so he decided to take it to the next level. When he was in third year he decided to also study acting in a separate institution and even played extra roles in many movies.

Even if he was accepted to Dongseo University for BA in Theater Arts, he was already determined to go to Seoul and pursue his dream.  His parents are very supportive but just like many aspiring actors, he’s also financially challenged. Before going to Seoul he went to Japan with his father to work there. He was able to save and after few months later he came back to Korea. He then came to Seoul with hopes of achieving his dreams. Taehan is now starting to take some small steps towards his goal, same “steps” that some of Korea’s top actors and actresses of today also took before they touched fame. Aside from being busy preparing for auditions, he is also busy doing part-time jobs, well, for obvious reasons.

Many people said he looks like the flower boy actor Lee Junki and 2AM's Jinwoon. What do you think?

I hope we could see Taehan on screen in the next few years. Please give your supports to him ^^  

Banana Talk on Olive TV's Tasty Road ^^

My bestfriend Kwanpil will be introducing his restaurant/coffee shop/bar called BANANA TALK tomorrow March 31st, on Olive TV's program Tasty Road3 at 12 noon and replay at 11 in the evening.  

I've already featured Kwanpil on the Power Korean section of my blog and also his store, so if you haven't read it please check it out.  The show will be introducing Banana Talk (menu, specialties, the name, the flower boy crew etc).  

I personally like Banana Talk's Kimchi Fried Rice and Banana Waffle. Just thinking of it makes me crave for it. (drools* hahaha) The store is kinda popular because of the tasty food it serves, the good ambiance, strong wifi kk and the flower boy owner and waiters. Haha. So if you visit Korea, make sure you drop by here!

The show is hosted by two beautiful and hot Korean celebrities ^^ Park Sujin and Kim Seong Eun ^^

Power Korean: Jung Gil Choi 최정길

If you've been to Korea, probably you are already familiar with the popularity of Korean own-made performing arts shows. Nanta, Jump, Bibap, Sachoom, Ballerina Who Loves B-Boy, are some of these few names you’ve encountered or have seen. The next friend I will be introducing is part of one of these big productions.

Born and raised in Seoul, Jung Gil Choi graduated at Mon Il High School in 2003. He wanted to take up dance for college but for some reasons he ended up studying Computer Technology at Anyang Science College and graduated in 2007.

B-Boy

So how did he get himself into B-boy? Jung Gil got interested in B-boy when he was a middle school student. His hyung at the church taught him so since then dancing was like his life, as he said.  His body couldn’t stop the inkling from grooving every time he hears a beat. He joined many underground gatherings for B-boy dancers. Jung Gil smilingly narrates some of his unforgettable experiences when he just started his career in dancing. In 2001 he performed with the musical dance performance team for an event in Dongdaemun. In 2003, he said he practiced a lot in subway stations with his friends until he became part of a group called Battle Crew. He literally practiced every day improving his skills and making him more confident. He then decided to go to the next level. He auditioned for the famous show Ballerina Who Loves B-Boy, and even got the main part.

Bibap

I’ve already introduced in my blog about the show Bibap. A show with a very interesting blend of different performing arts just like the famous Korean food itself, Bibimbap. In 2010, the Korean government intensified many programs in promoting Hansik (Korean food) globally. One of the projects was called Bibap Korea. My friend Jung Gil got a chance to audition for the said show because it was looking for someone to dance B-boy. What started as a 30-minute showcase became the big show we know today. He was part of the Korean team sent to Edinburgh Festival and Shanghai Expo. The team presented a show entitled “Chef.” It did not just received applause but outstanding recognitions from those who have watched it. Now, Bibap is one of the most popular shows in Korea. It’s not only your favorite K-Pop stars who travels a lot. Jung Gil and his Bibap team are also busy traveling to many places in Korea and abroad for their shows.

More about Jung Gil
 
Due to economic reasons, Jung Gil once decided to stop dancing. He used to work in a mechanic shop. After all, he also likes auto bikes. He said he enjoyed his work only that he realized it was not for him. He told me that there are some things that people are good at and we ourselves are aware of it. But there are also things that no matter how we like to do it, results never come out the way we wanted. Making us feel that it's not meant for us. He was talking about his work that time. 

Anyway! So if you come to Korea, make sure you watch Bibap! And yep, as you can see the picture you can see him doing that when you watch it! 

Related Article: Bibap! A Delicious Performance ^^

Power Korean: Kwan Pil Byeun (변관필)

Hard work spotlights the character of people:  some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all*

We’ve already heard a lot of rags to riches stories. I’ve always been impressed every time I read them and hoping that my “perseverance” would also work out the way I wanted. The next friend I’ll be introducing has quite a similar tale of success. He’s one of my closest friends here in Korea and I’m proud to say that his story is very inspirational.

Hardships

Kwan Pil Byeun was born in Busan but moved to Seoul for middle school, alone. He’s good at athletics so he decided to come to Seoul and train for basketball at a famous school specializing the said sports, Yongsan Middle School. His parents supported him all throughout. However, he transferred to another school after graduating, to Myeongji High School, because his family could not handle the fees anymore.

His high school life was never easy. Even if he did not train for a varsity program he was very busy doing part time jobs. He said he almost tried everything. From construction works, hotel, delivery, being a waiter and more menial jobs just to save money. After graduating high school, he did not go to college immediately. He decided to just work for a year and save money but at the same time he was already preparing for his admission to a university.

Now, he is currently a 3rd year student taking BA Physical Education at Sejong University.

TV-Magazine Exposures

One would wonder how he got himself into the “entertainment” business. Kwan Pil was a basketball player in middle school and college but his figure didn’t match the image of an athlete. Figure, meaning weight. One day, his professor recommended him to join a TV program called Absolute Man (절대남자) on XTM last June 2011. Since he needed money, he joined and just thought of it as like a part time job. The mission of the program was to lose weight in 13 weeks. Their diet and exercises were filmed regularly to show the progress. Luckily, the word that he used because he said all contestants were deserving, he won. While doing the mission he was also able to join another competition by invitation. He joined a very popular contest in Korea, the Men’s Health Cool Guy Contest in August and also won as Best Challenger.

So after that he got more offers. He modeled for many clothing lines like Levis, K-Swiss etc. and magazines like Men's Health, My Wedding and more. He also appeared on many TV shows like MBC Prime and XTM’s Keu Dang Ban (그당반). So, I’ll guess we’ll expect to see him more on TV. 

Entrepreneur

Yes you’ve read the subheading right, he’s an entrepreneur. At his young age Kwan Pil is already running his own business through his hardwork. He opened a coffee shop ala restaurant ala bar called Banana Talk last October 21^st this year.  I call it a hybrid coffee shop because it does not only offer coffee or desserts on its menu. It also offers different food choices like chicken, pasta, sandwiches, burgers, drinks and the atmosphere is really good. When you visit Korea, make sure to stop by this store and get a sign from him!

Despite his success, Kwan Pil is very down to earth and believes that he still have a lot of things to learn. He plans to study culinary and management too. And hmm maybe a bit unrelated, he has a dog named Batteug.

 

Try to find him in this picture.

Follow him on Twitter and Facebook

and Join the group

Banana Talk

*Sam Ewing

Power Korean: Hong Geun Kim (김홍근)

One amazing thing I find in Korea is its flourishing performing arts industry. More and more young Koreans venture into this field and most of them can be found in Daehangno, Korea’s very own performing arts district. The next friend I will be introducing is not just a play actor but a leader in making numerous productions providing young actor wannabes a chance to showcase their talents and start a step towards their dreams. 

Hong Geun Kim was born and raised in Seoul. He attended Dongbuk High School and currently taking Theater Arts and Film Studies at Dongguk University. 

Happiness

He got interested in acting when he was in his senior year in high school. He was a member of the school’s elite theater arts club, which is well-known for bagging top prizes in many competitions in the country. That was the first time he got exposed to theater. He said he already knew something about plays and musicals but his understanding was different. However, when he started to engage himself more into theater, he said that he also found happiness that he never experience in another "world."

Acting

Hong Geun started his professional career in acting in 2007 and has been very active up to the present. Some of the plays he starred in are Love, Die or Live?, The Great God Brown, Prisoner’s Body Talk, Speak Chandra and many many more. He is also well-known in many theater arts festival conducted in many parts of the country. Last 2008, he was awarded Best Actor in the Korea Drama Festival. He has also numerous appearances in short films, dramas and movies. He appeared on Secret Garden, Iris and the movie My Way.  

Production

Hong Geun is not just into acting. He also started a production group with his friend from the university. They established the team called Performing Arts Production Bisang (PAPB) in 2007. He got the idea of forming his own production after gaining experiences from previous plays he did. He said he wanted to make his production a venue and a gathering of young and talented individuals who shares the same passion with them. Ever since its establishment, the production is still very active in making plays at the small theaters in Daehangno. 

Plays that are not commercial but created by people who are really into theater. 

Future Plans
Aside from the plays in Daehangno, expect to see him more in many dramas and movies too. He just signed a contract with a management agency this year. 

Follow him on Tweeter
@actorkhk

Power Korean: Kyungjin Kim 김경진

 In Korea, everybody’s talking about well-being, diet, six-pack and being fit. The next friend I will be introducing is a perfect icon for this.   

     Kyungjin Kim was born and raised in Seoul. He graduated in 2001 at the high school attached to the College of Education of Korea University. He is currently taking Physical Education at Chung Ang University Extension.

    One would wonder where he got such mould for his figure. Well there's no secret. It didn't happen in one night. It's a fruit of his perseverance and continuous training since he was younger. He was fat when he was 16 years old so his mom told him to exercise. He never knew that moment was the start of his journey to the fitness and health world. Until now, Kyungjin is pursuing a career in this sector, making him one of the leading personalities in this field despite his young age here in Korea

Trainer and Model 

He is currently a freelance personal trainer to some of Korea’s biggest stars. As I’ve said he did not land to this kind of status in an instant. When he was 18, he already started working part time as a trainer in a health club in his neighborhood. He continuously worked as a freelance trainer then served military. After that he worked as a trainer again, that time at Body Star Fitness Club where he worked for quite a long time and established networks with people in the same field.

He is a favorite model for different sports and health related events. He also modeled for different fashion and home shopping portals and has done numerous magazine photoshoots. Despite these experiences he thinks fitness modeling in Korea is not yet fully developed as compared to US. People often confused it with bodybuilding.
 
Competitions
     
People may think that he is a bodybuilder but he try not to consider himself as one. He said he has many close friends who are literally bigger and trained bodybuilders. However, in 2009, his friends persuaded him to join Mr. Seoul, an annual bodybuilding competition and won 5^th place. He said it was worth trying at least once. Before that, in 2008, he also joined Men's Health Cool Guy Contest.

     January 2010, Kyungjin experienced one of the most tragic points in his life. He stayed in the hospital for 2 months because of a car accident. Although he tried to work again at the fitness club, he decided to quit and just give himself more time. So he was able to rest, exercise and enjoy for few more months. For him it was a now or never decision because he thought he would have to face  new challenges and a new start after that.
Then an opportunity knocked on his door. September 2010, he decided to join Muscle Mania, one of the most prestigious competitions in bodybuilding and sports modeling world. After grabbing the title in Korea he was sent to Las Vegas for the World Muscle Mania in November of the same year. Obviously his hard work paved way. Aside from winning 2nd runner up he made history as the first Asian to bagged an award.


Plans
    

He is currently working as the director of Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s health programs. He has his own sort of diet camps to different groups of people. He also plans to make his own company in the future, which will also deal with health related programs. He will also launch an internet shopping business under the brand name Brownstar this year, which would sell sportswear and undergarments for men. Kyungjin has also been guesting in many TV shows as a personal trainer. Some of these are SBS' Star King and KBS2's Survival Diet and he continuously get more invitations.



Note: For the images please do not remove the watermarks. And please do not re-upload the video.

Power Korean: Il Gon Kim (김일곤)

Most famous actors or idol groups did not get their fame in one night. Many of them, especially in Korea, pride themselves with the tremendous training and hardwork they experienced just to make the first step to the entertainment world. The next friend I will be introducing is currently under all these pressures.

Il Gon Kim, 19 years old, born and grew up in Mokpo is currently a trainee in one of the talent management agencies here in Seoul, Korea. He trains in the same label with other idol groups and stars already known in the Korean entertainment industry.

Il Gon said, even if the training is hard he enjoys doing it. He can make friends with people who share the same dream and passion with him and also learn a lot in many aspects not just work but life too. He is also currently studying at Paekche Institute of the Arts in Seoul.

Give your supports to him! Follow his Twitter

@sho40790

As much as I wanted to give you more information about him I cannot for some obvious reasons. Hehe. If you have questions, why not ask him directly through Twitter!

 

Pictures are from the portal of a clothing line Louvain 

http://louvain.co.kr

Power Korean: Hansol Yu 유한솔

   Dance is an expression of our thoughts and creativity in strings of movements, which could be socially relevant or could just be our mere personal conception of what we think, see and feel. The next friend I will introduce is gifted dancer and choreographer who enjoys life through dance more than anything else.

   Hansol Yu was born in Cheonan but grew up in a nearby city, Daejeon. He also lived in Canada for few years when he was a kid. He graduated at Daejeon Arts High School in 2006. He then took B.F.A. in Dance Choreography at Korea National University of Arts and graduated in 2010.

Why Dance?
    Growing up in a family of educators, Han Sol said that his future career was sort of already decided. It’s either he take the ‘academic’ path or take the arts. When he was in middle school, he originally wanted fine arts but he felt that his body got weaker so he decided to do something that would make his body move. So in high school dance became his major. Being in an arts high school he was able to focus on the kind of dance he wanted to pursue, which was contemporary dance. He trained hard and was chosen to represent the school in many competitions.
 

Even at his young age, he already bagged prestigious awards from different national competitions. He won 3 gold medals for Chung Ang University and Daejeon University’s Dance Concords, 2^nd year (2) 3^rd year (1). He also bagged 2 silver medals (2^nd and 3^rd year) at the Sungkyungkwan University Dance Concorde.

Performances
    His first professional performance was in high school, the Britain's Royal Ballet Dance. He considers it as one of the most important junctions in his life. He learned a lot about how foreign artists work because that was his first exposure to another culture. In college he started performing and choreographing different production numbers. To mention some, he had a solo performance entitled About the Bug (벌레에 대하여) in Baguio City, Philippines during the Delphic Games in 2007. In 2008, he had a guerilla performance themed museum attack at Paek Nam Jun Arts Center where he danced using a vacuum cleaner. The director said he should make it more shocking so the next time he performed he was butt naked. haha. Then in 2009, he was busy with his graduation production, which was a unique piece. He named it Peace. In 2010, he won a grant from the CJ Young Festival where he danced and choreographed Shimcheong Sonata(심청소나타) together with 40 dancers and musicians

European Experience

   He was sent to France for a month to represent Korea under the Korea-France Diplomatic Collaboration where he performed in many festivals. During that time he was able to travel to different parts of Europe. Then in 2011, he was invited to perform in the Marakesh Festival in Morocco. He went to France again for more performances in 5 festivals and then Austria for the Graz Festival.

Hansol plans to continue his studies in graduate school next year. He also just had another dance production during the Hanmadang Festival last month in Gwacheon and different parts of Seoul. This is a short video of a dance he choreographed.
 

Power Korean: Hyunwoo Sun 선현우

If there’s someone King Sejong the Great should be thankful to, that would be my friend Hyunwoo. ^^  Korean language is now easier and more convenient to learn through an online source called Talk To Me In Korean (TTMIK), which happens to be managed by the Great Hyunwoo himself. hehe

Hyun Woo Sun was born and raised in Gwangju, Jeolla Province. He graduated from Gwangju Je-il High School in 1999. He then took B.A. in French Language and Literature at Korea University and graduated in 2008.

Multilingual at Heart

Many of you might wonder why of all languages he majored French. Until middle school, being able to greet in English was a milestone for him.  So starting high school he decided to put more weight in studying the subject, which at the start made him really feel good because of the progress he was achieving, from zero to almost native. He shared an interesting study method, which is like that of a B-Boy. In order to master your moves you have to record your dance and watch it many times to see where it gone wrong and what kind of improvements are needed. It’s exactly the same when you learn a language. He practiced a lot, recorded his progress up to the point where he got fed off of studying it. 

 

In his senior year in high school, 1998, he was chosen to represent his school in the National Foreign Language Contest for High School Students, a very prestigious national competition in Korea. As expected, he won first place. Since it was sponsored by the Ministry of Education, the benefits were unimaginable. He could choose the university he wanted to go. He decided to attend Korea University and was assigned to the Department of Western Languages.. Meaning, he had to study another foreign language aside from English. At that time he found French as the most attractive among western languages so he took French.

Now Hyun Woo can speak Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, aside from the languages mentioned above Korean, English and French and to add more to that he’s planning to learn more. 

Blogger

         Hyun Woo is a very prolific blogger.  As a blogger myself, an amateur one hehe, Hyun Woo형 is like one of my mentors. He started blogging in 2005 ,so maybe that gives you the idea of him as a pioneer in the blogging world, especially in Korea. He started to write a blog when he realized that people around him ask a lot about learning languages and he kept on answering the same thing. And exactly, one good way to stop the torture of answering the same thing again and again is to write one entry and share it to everyone.         

His Cyworld blog got a lot of attention from readers when it was featured by Cyworld on its main page. Just like any other blogger out there, he got excited so he started to write everything in his mind through his blog. When Cyworld removed the blog feature in their services he decided to create a Naver blog in 2007, why-be-normal.com. This is a blog for Koreans mostly about language learning and things you can do with it. The same year he also started writing a Google blog for foreigners http://sendmetokorea.blogspot.com .The idea is to get the feel of every day Korea for people who haven't been to Korea. His blog received awards from Naver making him a power blogger and has thousands of followers not just in Korea but all over the world.

G9 Languages
         Hyunwoo is the CEO of G9 Languages when he created it together with 2 other friends in 2009. Under this company you can avail a lot of services, some of which are already very familiar to you. The Talk To Me in Korean (TTMIK) http://TalkToMeInKorean.com/ , a venue for people who want to study Korean language online especially to those who can't come to Korea for the time being. It has a very friendly and creative approach of teaching. TTMIK is a product of his work experiences when he was a college student. He used to work part-time at a publishing company where he made education materials and did a lot of editing and translation works. He also gained teaching experiences through his part time English jobs.

           Other services are My Korean Store, where we could purchase study materials being taught on TTMIK; GongbuGage, which is for Koreans for them to purchase foreign language learning materials. G9 Languages has a lot or projects dealing with social media and they also do a lot of consultations for different companies.

More About Hyun Woo
          Hyunwoo started doing B-Boy in his freshie year (1999) in college. A proud member of KU Dance, he used to join small competitions and performed in various dance concerts.  He is also well-known for his talks on Korean modern history to different venues like EPIK, where his students are English native speakers who will be teaching English in Korea. He is also into photography http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyunwoosun and vlogging http://youtube.com/ever4one.

          Hyunwoo is an adventurer. He wants to try and learn something new. Some people would think he is the nerdy type of student when he was in college. Well, think again. Probably he was… until high school. Did you know that he got a warning for skipping classes? He didn’t like a very routine type of lifestyle so at that time he wanted to sort of rebel. He dreams of a society free from all the social constraints.

          He is now happily married to Mikyung Cho. I'm afraid that this entry would not justify Hyunwoo형's achievements and success. So please refer to the links for a clearer picture. 

Check these links too

http://HyunwooSun.com/
http://www.facebook.com/ever4one

http://twitter.com/ever4one   
http://www.languagecast.net/

 

Power Korean: Chan Hu Lee (이찬후)

In front of a very small theater in Daehangro, there was a beeline of young girls carrying presents waiting for the clock to tick to 7pm. One would wonder why almost all of them were girls. That was just one of the musicals of my friend Chan Hu, a friend I call the Prince of Hyehwa!*

Lee Chan Hu was born and raised in Uijeongbo, Gyeonggi Province. He is a homegrown talent of Uijeongbo and Kyeongmin ladder school. He graduated at Kyeongmin High School in 2004 and took B.A. in Theater Arts at Kyeongmin University in 2009 in Uijeongbo.    

The Making

Even before elementary school, Chan Hu already showed some interest in acting. So when he went to high school he already considered taking acting as his major in college. His decision was mainly influenced by the first musical he watched at Kyeongmin University by theater arts majors. He never knew that it would also make him decide to study Theater Arts at the same school. 

Despite his young age, he already has a lengthy list of musicals and plays both at school and at professional theaters. To mention some he was part of Macbeth in 2004 and before serving the military from 2005 to 2007, he acted in an opera called “This Masquarade La Boheme” in 2005 at Seoul Arts Center. Seoul Arts Center is a preferred location for big production musicals and plays. In 2009, he also had two big plays. He was part of Hamlet, which was shown at Uijeongbo Arts Center and The Good Woman of Setzuan, shown at Daehangro. Then in 2010 he played as Yuu in the musical that attracted and captured the hearts of many girls, Hwarang. This year, 2011, he took part of another musical called Paul, which is a Christian themed musical. He played different roles, which I think makes him a very versatile actor. Although Chan Hu wants to take roles that are quite closer to his character in real life, he is still amazed with actors who play different roles. He thinks it is a big challenge. After doing musicals and plays he said he would try to venture to the mainstream entertainment industry. So probably we could see him on TV dramas, movies and commercials next time.

 

More About Chan Hu

Chan Hu is the kind of friend who could always cheer you up. There are no dull moments if you are with him because of his cool and wacky character. His dimples already made many girls faint so if you don’t want this to happen you should not let him smile.

He also likes to travel. After military, in 2007, he visited the Philippines to study English for a short period and at the same time traveled the country. Then in 2008, he went to the US also to study English for a bit and work at the same time as a waiter in a coffee shop. When he was serving the military he already planned to go to New York to experience Broadway personally so it was like a dream come true for him.

   
Chan Hu is a gifted musician. He can play guitar and piano and he’s also into composition, lyrics and music. On the other hand, call it totally unrelated, he wants to manage a chicken store in the future because he likes chicken. Funny but he was very serious when he told me about this plan. 

So we'll see ^^! Please support him! 



*you get off at Hyehwa station to go to Daehangro, Korea's broadway.

Power Korean: Johannes Rosenthal

You’ve probably seen him on posters and billboards in some department stores here in Korea. A walking fashion icon! Literally attention-grabber! His head turning boy next door aura and looks make girls giggle, drool and faint… Everyone! Meet my friend Johannes. 

Johannes Hyun Su Tim Rosenthal is a Korean- German born and raised in Oberhausen, Germany. He graduated from an elite music high school, Landesmusikgymnasium Rheinland- Pfalz in Germany in 2009. Hmm quite long for a school name huh? Hihi.. He is currently in a double honors program, B.Sc. in Business Management and B.A. in Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, UK.

Music

Germany has always been associated with its legacy in classical music. Johannes career and training in music lived up to this association. He is a naturally gifted singer and musician. Being a member of a choir, “Art of the Voice,” in high school, he got to travel to many places in Europe for tour concerts. Also, being part part of a string orchestra, “Musica Viva,” he also plays cello and piano like a god. Musica Viva was awarded 2nd best youth string orchestra in Germany in 2008.

Modeling

Johannes’ modeling career all started in Korea during his stint as an exchange student at Yonsei University. He was discovered by a small modeling agency in December of 2010, where he did some sportswear pictorials and a fashion show for FILA. He said, his friend, David Sheldrick introduced him to the modeling industry here in Korea. He got invited to different fashion events and met people in the industry. He walked in Seoul’s Fashion Week this year, March. He also had photo shoots for different clothing lines like The Studio K, street photo shooting for Kai-Aakmann which appeared in Vogue Girl (April issue), modeled in a Volkswagen car ad, which appeared in Esquire (June issue) if I were to name some. In addition to that he became the new male campaign model of the Italian sports brand “Freddy” which many of you might have seen in many department stores already.

On Korean Fashion

Being a walking fashion magazine himself, it would be nice to hear his thoughts on Korean fashion. He said Korean fashion industry is still very young in terms of age but its development is extremely remarkable. He mentioned that the designer brand Caruso literally gives him ‘goosebumps’ every time the collections are out. He also likes how Korean people take care of their fashion at all times, wherever they go whether there is an occasion or just going to school. Though, he is quite on the warpath with the ‘couple shirt’ culture. Asked him why, he said it’s too cheesy and that he would never date with someone who will ask him to do it. So girls out there you know what to watch out hihi

Loving Korea

For Johannes, Korea is a home away from home. As a Korean- German he already visited the country during holidays when he was younger almost every year. His mom’s hometown Yeosu has always been his destination every time he visits here. Just a trivia, Yeosu is the venue for the World Expo next year. He also loves the convenience in Korea, where everything you want is within reach. Some of his favorite hangouts are Seoul’s very own fashion capital Karusugil and Apgujeong Rodeo area.  

More About Johannes

Many people know him as a party organizer. If you’re his Facebook friend, chances are you’re gonna see many of his statuses and postings are about the parties he organized or supported/promoted. He is also a member of a social brand called Deviant, a platform for people to keep up to date with the latest fashion trends, hot event tips, and that throws exclusive parties/events itself, too. Johannes is also multilingual. He is fluent in German, English, Korean and French. Many people call him John or Hyunsu especially in Korea, knowing that his name is quite long. If given a chance, he is also very open to the idea of working in the entertainment industry in Korea. So, you might see him one day in a Korean drama or movie or as a solo artist or even part of an idol group.   
Twitter: @johnhyunsu

Facebook: John Hyun-Su Tim Rosenthal

Power Korean: Kim Tae Young 김태영

 He has probably one of the best voices in Daehangro, Korea’s very own Broadway. Known for his captivating voice and charisma, let me introduce another humble yet ambitious Korean friend to everyone. 

Kim Tae Young was born in Chuncheon, Gangwon and grew up in different suburbs of Seoul because of the nature of his father’s work. He graduated at Bundang Chung Ang High School in 2004 and currently taking his BA in Film and Theater Studies at Kyunghee University. 

Dream

Tae Young wanted to become a teacher because of the influence of his father who is a high school teacher. However, when he was in middle school, after watching the world renowned Korean movie JSA, he felt a sudden urge of becoming an actor. For him Lee Byung Hoon’s, the main actor in the movie, remarkable performance made him feel like acting is his passion. Yet, he couldn't tell it to his family until 3rd year in high school. Initially, everyone in his family was against it. It took some time until his father gave him permission because of his persistence.

          FYI if you are in Korea, you may know that one of the flourishing businesses is an acting school. You will find many good-looking star-wannabes hoping to land in a very good entertainment company. Just like them, Tae Young also decided to enroll in one of these schools after getting his father’s approval. However, he only studied for a month because his family couldn’t handle the fees. That time he decided to study college and major in acting. He almost lost his social life for a year in preparation for the Korean SAT and obviously, his hardwork paved way.

Career

Tae Young is just starting to build his own career. If I were to categorized, I could name four:  musicals, plays, films and singing. Being a performing arts major, he made a lot of appearances in different productions inside his university. He has done numerous short films made by fellow students and some musicals and plays too. On the other hand, I personally think he can also have a career in singing. I think his voice can take him places but until now singing only takes part when he has a musical.   

After serving the military for two years, he auditioned for a musical called Hwarang.* That was his first audition so he did not expect anything but still he got one of the lead roles in the said musical. For the first time he started to have fans who are really supportive. So he decided to do his best and concentrated on his work. His relationship with other actors was also really good. He said everyone was novice so they had no other choice but to do all their best.

JSA** Experience= Hwarang

 

It seems that the movie JSA really touched Tae Young’s life. Aside from dreaming of becoming an actor, JSA also played an important part of his military days because he spent almost two years over there, from 2007 to 2009. He said the experience was really hard but very rewarding. It taught him a lot about life especially on dealing with people. He told me that his JSA experience is like the old Korea’s Hwarang. Before becoming a Hwarang, you have to undergo series of physical and mental tests. This is exactly the same thing with becoming a soldier serving at the JSA. 

I hope you give your support to my friend Tae Young.

* Please check http://jmsupercuteinkorea.blogspot.com/2010/11/hwarang.html

* For those who are not aware JSA stands for Joint Security Area. It's the only part of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where both forces, South and North Korea, stand face-to-face