Korean TV dramas continue to make inroads in Asia

Korean telenovelas like Winter Sonata and Jewel in the Palace have not lost steam across Asia as ratings continue to go up.

The dramas have sparked pan-Asian Koreamania that has even penetrated to the South Pacific island of Saipan with a government deal for filming of new soap opera.


Korean actress Jeon Ji Hyun at Singapore news conference for her new film 'Daisy'

Korean dramas draw 19 percent of the Japanese TV audience, 24.5 percent in Taiwan, 18.6 percent in China and 3.3 percent in Hong Kong.

They have also become increasingly popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The dramas have helped the South Korean tourism industry and even helped local Koreans make it big outside of Korea.

In the Philippines, Sandara Park, a Korean expatriate raised in Manila rose to stardom possibly with some help from the popularity of Korean soaps.


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Manisha Koirala promotes Taj Mahal as father sacked in Nepal

Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala was in Pakistan to promote her new film Taj Mahal this week.

Manisha recently found herself in a peculiar situation when her grand-uncle led the opposition against Nepal's King Gyanendra. Koirala, on the other hand, publicly supported the monarchy.


Manisha in Sindh, Pakistan on April 28 to promote her new film Taj Mahal. Reuter's photo from Yahoo News.

Prakash Koirala, Manisha's father was thrown out of the Nepali Congress Party Friday, days after his uncle, G.P. Koirala was appointed prime minister designate. Prakash was a minister in the royalist parliament.

The actress may be able to take her mind off her troubles as she prepares to direct her first two films after 15 years in the industry.

Manisha Koirala prepares to direct first films


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Jackie Chan says Oscars are unfair

Jackie Chan said on his website Thursday that film awards like the Oscars can never be fair of the high volume of films and objectivity of judges.

"To be honest, I don't think anything is completely fair except for the Olympics. If you beat someone by one-thousandth of a second, then you won - with your result the only basis for a win - and of course this does not include cheating incidents," he said.


Jackie Chan feeds baby actor held by actress Cherrie Ying during filming of Project BB in Hong Kong, April 25, 2006. Reuters photo from Yahoo News.

Chan wrote the comments in a message congratulating Ang Lee for his best director Oscar for Brokeback Mountain. The film lost to Crash for the best film award.

The martial arts film star also said that juror bias gives the awards an element of uncertainty. "Since everyone has different tastes or favorites, there will naturally be different results," he said.

His latest film Rob-B-Hood, where he plays a character who protects a baby from kidnappers, is expected to open in Hong Kong later this year.


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