Korean pop singer Son Ho-young was rushed to the hospital on Friday after he attempted to commit suicide using the same method as his recently deceased girlfriend.

Son reportedly lit a coal briquette inside his car in order to die by carbon monoxide poisoning in a church parking lot in Seoul, but he escaped from the car when it caught fire.

A passerby called firefighters and Son has since been in the hospital where he’s receiving treatment for non-life threatening injuries. Continue Reading »

by STEVE HAN

If you ever get tired of the same old Korean instant ramen, here’s something new you can try.

Chapaguri, a mix and combination of Nongshim’s Chapagetti and Neoguri, has taken South Korea by storm in recent years. The popularity of this mashup of instant ramen exploded after being introduced last February on the TV show Daddy, Where Are You Going? [아빠! 어디가?]

Sales of Chapagetti, which comes with a black bean sauce, and Neoguri, with its spicy seafood sauce, have both recently eclipsed that of Shin Ramyun, which had held the top sales spot for in Korea for years.

So, as Chapaguri has been on KoreAm’s must-try-out list for quite some time, we went out and bought Chapagetti and Neoguri, which retails for about $2 each. Then we consulted Koreatown ramen connoissuer Yongjoon Lee to help make it. Continue Reading »

Following Hyun-Jin Ryu’s early-season success with the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, another South Korean pitcher is aiming to become the country’s next big leaguer.

Chang-Yong Lim, who the Chicago Cubs signed last December on a split minor league deal worth up to $5 million, is eyeing a promotion to the big leagues on Sept. 1 when major league teams can expand their rosters.

Lim, 36, hasn’t pitched since last July, after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Since signing with the Cubs, he has been rehabbing in Mesa, Ariz., where he recently began bullpen sessions, throwing between 50 to 70 pitches, though not at full speed.

The Cubs reportedly signed Lim with an eye towards 2014, but Lim’s agent Park Yoo-hyun said his client may be ready for minor league action as early as July.

“He could be back earlier than expected,” Park told Yonhap News. “Once he reaches a certain point in his rehab, Lim may begin traveling with minor league teams to watch them play and also pitch in actual games himself.” Continue Reading »

South Korean golfer Sang-moon Bae captured his first win on the PGA Tour, edging out past winner Keegan Bradley at the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Tex., on Sunday.

“It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, winning on the PGA Tour,” Bae told ESPN.

Bae, 26, beat Bradley by two strokes after blowing a four-stroke lead in windy conditions. Bae ended his final round with a one-under par 69 to finish at 13-under 267. Bradley, the 2011 winner, struggled down the stretch with a 2-over 72 to finish two back at minus-11. Charl Schwartzel finished third. Continue Reading »

With several hit singles and a slew of musical accolades already in tow, the New Jersey-raised K-pop singer reflects on her journey from the object of netizen outrage to respected rising star.

by STEVE HAN

How could this happen? Why is a U.S. citizen going to sing our national anthem? What if she starts singing the American anthem instead? She only came here to make money!

Those were just a few of the jabs South Korean netizens hurled at Ailee, after the young Korean American singer was chosen to perform the Aegukga on opening day of the Korean professional baseball season in April 2012.

Baseball is arguably Korea’s most popular professional sport, and for K-pop artists, singing the country’s national anthem on the season’s first day is considered a high privilege. So, when news of the selection of Ailee—a fresh-faced K-pop singer whom most Koreans at that point only knew from her appearance on the MBC reality show Singer and Trainee—went public, netizens lit up the blogosphere with scathing criticism.

“I was really, really proud to sing the Korean anthem because I’m Korean!” recalled Ailee, 23, during an interview in February at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. “But I got a lot of unexpected criticism. I was really hurt. I mean … really, really hurt.”

But when the moment of truth came, the singer stepped up to the mike behind home plate and did what she had been doing throughout her young career—she sang from the heart. It may have been the anthem of her parents’ motherland, but it had deep meaning for her as a Korean American, too. Continue Reading »

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