MBC News Desk Criticised for Misuse of Girls' Generation's Images

MBC News Desk has been caught up in controversy due to its firearms test during its "Taiwanese Illegal Firearms Smuggling... How Did They Pass Customs?" story. The footage used was that of a pharmaceutical company's drinks bottle, with Girls' Generation member Yuri's face on it, being shot.

The contents of the report were along the lines of the South Korean ban on gun possession making controls so lax that Taiwanese firearms could be smuggled into the country. The guns had been imported in disassembled parts for reassembly in Korea. To demonstrate the power of the firearms that could tear paper and shatter cans and glass, footage showed a currently-marketed brown soft-drinks bottle being shot with a gun.

The bottle was labelled with the image of the endorsement model, Girls' Generation member Yuri, and shattered instantly upon being shot.

Several viewers who watched the report left critical messages on the MBC News viewers' messageboard.

- "To fire a gun at a bottle with a person's face on... it's obvious which company makes this product from the outset, and did you have to use that bottle of all bottles? Shouldn't you have at least turned the bottle around or something?"

-"It seemed like they were firing on an actual person's head. I hope you weren't trying to say the firearms were that dangerous by going for the shock factor."

One member of a community site commented that "It's as though MBC are Girls’ Generation antis." and "Even people who aren't fans of Girls’ Generation would feel uncomfortable."

MBC News Desk had previously investigated MMORPG-induced violence by temporarily disconnecting the power to a PC Cafe. In light of this, netizens have asked "Is this the second Violence Experiment?" and have labelled this the "Girls' Generation Fan Violence Experiment". The earlier "PC Cafe Violence Experiment" was ruled by the Korea Communications Standards Commission to be unrelated to the subject matter being investigated, and declared an excessive and unnecessary experiment.

SNSD members show off their personalities through Japan’s “Sweet” magazin

Hallyu group SNSD has revealed their bright charms for an ad in a Japanese magazine.

On April 14th, these advertisement scans from May’s issue of “Sweet” magazine were uploaded onto an internet portal site under the title, ’An Inside look into SNSD in latest Japanese magazine‘. The nine members of SNSD channeled the bright season of Spring into their outfits, which they’ve tweaked with their individual styles and personalities.

Yoona and Yuri displayed their sexy charms as they slightly revealed their tight abs. Tiffany, on the other hand, showed cute poses with her pouty lips and her pajama-like outfit, shaking the hearts of male fans.

Meanwhile, SNSD is awaiting the release of their third Japanese single, “Mr. Taxi“, which is planned for the 27th.

Yonghwa: Seohyun, I love you!

The trailer for next week’s SBS ‘Strong Heart’ was aired on April 12th where Jung Yonghwa made a surprised confession towards Seohyun.

In the trailer, Jung Yonghwa shouted, “Seohyun-ah, I love you” and “Ehew, how about me?”, with sadness on his face which aroused much curiosity from the viewers.

Meanwhile, according to AGB Nielsen Media Research on April 13th, the rating for SBS ‘Strong Heart’ on April 12th recorded rating of 11.5%, a of 1.1% from last week’s rating.

Tiffany, the lovely girl in double ponytails

On April 13th an article entitled ‘Double Ponytailed Tiffany, Deadly Charm’ was published on a portal site.

Together with the post, there are photos showing Tiffany in various ‘double ponytail’ hairstyles. From breaded ponytails to waved ponytails, Tiffany had tried out different variations of double ponytail hairstyles. With the blend of her hairstyles, big eyes and appearance, Tiffany never fails to give out her lovely charm.

Netizens commented, “I’m feeling happy just by looking at the photos”, “She’s really cute with the double ponytails and eye-smiles”, etc.

Sooyoung and famous manhwa author, Kang Pul are best friends?

In the past, Sooyoung mentioned in a broadcast that there was a story between popular manhwa author,Kang Pul and herself.

Sooyoung said, “I went to audition for a movie ‘Babo’ which was an adaptation of his masterpiece. However I failed and felt disheartened by it. As a fan, I wrote a letter to Kang Pul. Kang Pul replied and encouraged me”. After that, Kang Pul and Sooyoung became close to each other and Sooyoung could have starred in one of his ‘Genuine Manhwa’ which was being adapted into a movie.

Sooyoung added, “I went to visit Kang Pul at his home quite often too. The person who I usually called ‘Oppa’ is a best-selling manhwa author. Despite the fact that he is a bestseller manhwa author, he is very similar to others such that he is very modest and also, I can treat him like a samchon”.

Sooyoung also mentioned that Kang Pul’s imaginations come from his wife. She said, “Both of them really love each other. They are really compatible with each other. I can’t imagine KangPul without his wife. His working capacity, imaginations and everything come from his wife”.

Sooyoung added, “Kang Pul’s manhwa is like a mirror. He does not particularly focus on a special person, rather he shows the every day lives in ourselves. You’ll unconsciously become the character in the manhwa. The more I looked at it, It felt as if I was the one in the manhwa”.

Kang Pul married the beautiful Kim HyeJung who is 7 years younger than him in 2006. HyeJung has enviable celebrity-like features.

SME books SNSD a holiday house for vacation + JYPE’s surprise gifts + YGE’s motivation tactics

After conquering 2010 with their successes from “Hoot” promotions late last year, it was recently revealed that SNSD had received a “surprise present” from their agency, SM Entertainment, as a way to give them time off before their soon-to-come full fledged venture into the Japanese market.

SM Entertainment reportedly rented out an entire holiday home in Gyeonggi-do for all nine members to stay for two days, and designed it in the form of an ‘exclusive club’. The girls were free from their bodyguards and managers during their two day stay, where they were able to enjoy their time with wine and appetizers.

With regards to their surprise gift, a representative of SM Entertainment stated, “The average age of SNSD is 21.5; they’re at a young age where they want to have fun too. We gave them this time for them to have fun amongst themselves without having other people looking down at them.”

They may be idol stars who show amazing performances with overflowing charisma on stage, but they’re also young adults in their teens and early 20s. From an agency’s perspective, handling these ‘active’ young adults isn’t an easy task. Major entertainment agencies are having to rack their brains to think of ideas like this in order to take care of their idols as efficiently as possible.

Major entertainment agencies find that it is these kinds of ‘unexpected presents’ that their idols appreciate the most. “Rather than the things that these kids know exactly when and what they will get, like end-of-year bonuses or regular pays, it’s those surprise gifts that move them the most and find motivation to work harder,” said an agency representative.

Recently, JYPE recently gifted two of their miss A members, Fei and Jia, with a two week ’special break’ for them to visit their hometown back in China. A JYPE representative stated, “The two cried a lot from being so touched by the present they never thought they’d get. Whenever the kids receive these kinds of ’surprise gifts’, their fighting spirits increase a lot more than before.”

It’s also the ’small, abrupt gifts’ given by their agency CEOs that also greatly move the hearts of these idols. Soon after returning from his business trip to America, JYP’s singers were said to be deeply moved when their producer J.Y Park visited the recording studio and said, “Take care of your health“, and handed them vitamins to eat.

An SM associate also stated, “Idols who can earn tens of thousands of money from one event alone were very touched when producer Lee Soo Man visited them on his way to his business trip to America to hand them a $100 pair of jeans he bought and said, ‘I think these will suit well if you wear them for this performance’.”

Agencies such as YG Entertainment are also known to use the effective ‘carrot and stick’ method for when they allow their artists to undergo personal activities. A worker in the entertainment industry stated, “Big Bang’s case is a model example. When one of the members receive explosive popularity through their solo activities, other members seem to work harder and manage themselves in order to receive their own opportunity for solo promotions.”

A similar strategy applies well to agency trainees who dream of becoming idols. JYPE uses the ‘carrot and stick’ method for their monthly showcases in order to keep their trainees consistently thriving to be the winner. However, when the atmosphere becomes stressful, the company allows for a surprise ski camp or rafting trip to cool down the mood. In SM’s case, they often hold company dinners with both their trainees and top stars like TVXQ to help maintain their motivation and determination.

SNSD – Mr.Taxi (1:05 version)

A longer audio of SNSD's Mr. Taxi has been revealed.

I'm sure a lot of fans are excited about the full audio though, Check it out!