Is the Hallyu Index coming our way? And… Kpop Battles 2010.

JoongAng Daily, 3/2/10—Korea’s male heartthrobs have made a series of successful moves into Hollywood in recent years. Singer and actor Rain has shot two movies – “Ninja Assassin” and “Speed Racer” – and 40-year-old film star Lee Byung-hun was featured in Stephen Sommers’ action flick “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.” Korean idol boy bands such as TVXQ, Big Bang and 2PM have risen to stardom across Asia, especially in Japan and many Southeast Asian countries.

This large-scale movement of Korean culture, widely dubbed by the local media as the Korean wave, or hallyu, can now be measured by a so-called “hallyu index,” which was devised by the Culture Ministry, in conjunction with the private Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange, last week. » Read the entire article New Index for Korea’s Hallyu at JoongAng Daily HERE.

K Bites, 3/2/10—The Return of the Asia Stars: Rain, BoA, and Se7en. This year, one of the most anticipated events for Kpop is the return of the Asia stars Rain, BoA and Se7en. Especially for BoA and Se7en, it will be around 5 years since their last performance on the Kpop stage, and much attention is focused on their comeback.

» Read the entire post Kpop Year 2010? “Again 2008” on the K Bites blog HERE.

— Stephe ^@@^