Actor Bae Yong-joon has joined the broadcasting business in Japan and will attend an opening ceremony there in October.

According to Digital Adventure on August 28, Bae and many other stars will attend the opening ceremony of DATV on October 1 in Tokyo. DATV is an entertainment broadcasting channel of Digital Adventure, which is the Japanese subsidiary of the cultural content company Keyeast, of which Bae holds the largest share.

The opening ceremony will be attended by Kang Yo-hwan and Lee Se-na, who played the leading roles in the animation film “Winter Sonata,” popular fashion artist and soon-to-be TV host Ikko, who also acts as the PR ambassador for Korean tourism, and actor Ethan Ruan, who appeared in the Taiwanese drama “Fated To Love You.”

On October 1 and 2 at the Tokyo Dome, DATV will also broadcast events dedicated to the animation film “Winter Sonata” and the publishing of Bae’s book on traveling in Korea. From October 17, it will air the animation version of “Winter Sonata” all over the world in a joint effort with Sky Perfect TV.

KBS Global

I want these plates.  I have been gathering all my ideas and goodies for Toddler L’s upcoming birthday party.  And now, I want these plates.

I know the most Compact choice would be to borrow plates from several friends, but as we are at a wilderness park with small children I am afraid I might not be returning as many plates as I borrowed.  So that idea’s out.  The next most Compact idea would probably be to get all the plates I need from Goodwill.  I could either keep the plates or send them back to Goodwill after the party, but I don’t want or need that many mismatched plates and I’m trying to keep costs down so buying and re-donating plates doesn’t really seem to make sense either.  As I’m being as eco-friendly as I can about this whole shindig the next option I see is to buy environmentally friendly disposable plates.

I saw these palm sheath plates on a party planning site and immediately felt pangs of desire.  They’re perfect.  They’re called bioplates.  They’re made from naturally fallen palm sheaths and can be used multiple times.

They’re also only sold by this company in Australia.  Not exactly environmentally friendly to have my plates shipped from Australia (or economical, or realistic, or going to happen).

I’m working really hard to find another equally fabulous option.  Sometimes being a designer, and wanted just the right look is a real pain in the butt.

Taking a full step toward marketing Korea’s most sought-after superstars among overseas fans, Lotte World opened yesterday “Star Avenue,” a memorabilia hall that displays all things related to celebrities — just not the stars themselves.

“We believed that we needed something to appeal to the rising number of tourists to Gangnam (southern Seoul) region,” said Choi Hong-hoon, public relations team chief for Lotte World.

The opening ceremony was attended by several of the featured stars and hundreds of their adoring fans.

The Avenue, located on the first underground floor near the South Gate of Lotte World, is divided into five different spaces.

The “Star Showcase” corner exhibits costumes and accessories donated by the stars, along with a star magazine video featuring the latest celebrity news.

Nine stars are featured including Rain, Tong Vfang Xien Qi, Big Bang, Park Yong-ha, Song Seung-heon, Choi Ji-woo, Ji Sung and Kang Ji-hwan, along with Japanese celebrity Ikko.

“Star Center”, located at the center of the avenue accommodates a huge, 360 degree, high definition screen which features clips of the celebrities.

“Music Star” hall allows visitors to choose and listen to their favorite songs which they can burn in CD format to take as souvenirs. Fans can also send letters using a touch screen program.

“Drama Star” features recreated film sets of popular drama series such as Daejanggeum and East of Eden, where fans can pose next to life-size models of their favorite stars.

Hours of operation for the Avenue are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The entry fee is 10,000 won although anyone with a Lotte World Adventure “one-for-all” ticket will be able to enter free of charge.

Lotte World in Jamsil-dong of Songpa-gu, which is also home to a hotel, duty-free shop, department store and a musical theater, will celebrate its 20th anniversary on July 12.

When it first opened it was the world’s largest indoor theme park. Since then, Lotte World has become a signature amusement destination not only for children, but for adults as well who had eagerly welcomed the opening of the adventure park.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Lotte World has organized a number of diverse and exciting events, including a “Lotty’s Adventure Parade” featuring 200 brightly-lit, airborne actors and dancers.

On the day of the actual anniversary there will be a special event where 20 couples (who are 20-years-old) will cut a 20-meter-high birthday cake. There will also be a musical, samulnori (Korean farmer’s dance), as well as a lucky draw for overseas trips.

Lotte World and its adjacent Magic Island were the first Korean theme park in 1995 to open at night and, since then, have introduced many daring new rides such as the Gyro Drop (1998), Gyro Swing (2001) and the Atlantis ride (2003). Lotte World went through a major renovation in 2007. As a further expansion of the business, Lotte World plans to open a water park in Jangyu, South Gyeongsang Province in 2011 and will also participate in a comprehensive entertainment complex development in Shenyang, China.

source: korean herald

Costa Mesa’s finest Japanese fusion from the District:

PHOTO by RICK POON

Ikko hums with the tiniest vibration. It’s there in everything from the low tones of the restaurant’s jazz fusion to the clanging sounds of conversations from its six small tables. And that makes for a definite pulse about the place, a gentle resonance that shakes the chairs and plates before it makes its way into that empty space between your ears.

But almost as quickly as the bass builds it up, all that tension gets released, set free when a saxophone lets out a sporadic squeal and the jazz cools back down. It’s with those sensory shifts that Ikko seems comfortable and content to let diners get distracted while it cooks up a superior spectacle.

Still, there’s nothing grand about Ikko—it’s a box of a place walled in white where shadows serve as spotlights and the only color comes piled on the plate. But that’s what really draws attention, sights set to the center of the restaurant where chef-owner Ikko Kobayashi stands still as a statue, separating flesh from skin in single sharp strokes.

All that attention is well-deserved—the menu at Ikko is impossibly inventive. Even simple-sounding dishes are borne out of the most creative corners of the mind. The king mackerel carpaccio, for instance, lays out the usual translucent triangles of fish, but atop the mackerel is a mix of tomato, cucumber and onion held together in a gelée that turns all the component cubes into a brick of diced vegetables.

Even smaller starters are inspired here. One of the cheapest and most thrilling is the ominously titled octopus collagen, a vague dish that can’t help but draw out gelatinous thoughts. What’s served, however, is something much more expected—suction cups dug out of their eight-armed origins and dropped in ponzu sauce. The little pods are one of Ikko’s surprising testaments to freshness, terrifically tender discs that pop with an addictive flavor. Equally good are the roasted purple potatoes, stacked up with a couple cuts of fried lotus root and served alongside perfect piles of curry and salt that help shape a solid snack.

The bigger plates fulfill Kobayashi’s vision best. Most of the ingredients are familiarly Japanese (save for the foie gras), but there’s still an air of mystery around these meals—some of Ikko’s dishes eat like art, pulled right out of Kobayashi’s dreams and put straight to the plate.

Here, curls of crispy shrimp take on dollops of sour plum cream cheese, fried baby sea eel sits on a smear of pepper miso, salmon cheeks bathe in a tomato sauce. Even more routine dishes smack of greatness. The cubed swordfish, for instance, is supremely simple, matching the fish with balsamic vinegar, eggplant and a mound of wasabi. The ingredients aren’t exotic, the preparation decidedly unscientific. But the dish trades all that flash for masterful flavor, the sweet acidity of the balsamic bonding directly and completely with the orifice-opening heat of the wasabi.

That neon green condiment is one thing you won’t see often at Ikko, though—beyond the few accompanying balls of the stuff (and the fresh root that sits at Kobayashi’s station), wasabi rarely makes a visible appearance. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t there; Kobayashi simply adheres to a more omakase-style sushi experience, preferring to flavor each of his nigiri creations with his own desired levels of soy and wasabi.

Be glad—the fish couldn’t be in better hands. Everything about the nigiri is carefully controlled, from the fish itself to each piece’s tiny topping. The salmon gets a see-through sheet of daikon, the Spanish mackerel a few spry sprigs of onion. Kobayashi is mindful of every aspect of his sushi—at Ikko, you get fish that finally eats with all five senses.

Most of those experiences are obvious ones (sight, smell, taste and texture), but there are plenty of audible cues, too. In fact, eat with your ears open and you’ll find flavors that fit right into the restaurant’s jazz fusion, dishes bursting with disparate details and unexpected harmonies before they back down a bit, tempering the wilder tastes of Ikko’s excellent “freestyle” cuisine.

IKKO 735 BAKER ST | SUITE C | COSTA MESA 92626 | 714.556.7822 | OPEN MON-SAT NOON-1:45PM AND 5-10PM | FOOD FOR TWO $40-80 | BEER, WINE, SAKE

I am pleasure to announce new blogger to join Kute’n'Krispy Team!!!! We met at Sanrio Surprises in Tokyo. She Korean, but pretends to be Japanese…Shhhhhhhhh! She has famous american rockstar boyfriend. He sang every rose has its thorn – 1 of my favorites to karaoke. Her name Ikko. Please We Welcome with 12-Piece Extra Krispy!!!

美のカリスマと言われ女性から圧倒的な支持を受けている
ヘアメイクアップアーティストのikkoさん。

ikkoさんが愛用しているファンデーションや基礎化粧品はすぐに注目され、
ブームとなるほど女性に大きな影響力を与えている人ですよね。

そんなikkoさんの美肌を保つ美容法として有名なのが角質を落とすまゆ玉。
このまゆ玉に含まれるセリシンには、肌の水分や油分を補う作用もあって
角質層に水分をたっぷりと吸い込ませみずみずしい肌を保つ働きがあるそう。

日焼けやシミ、そばかすも防ぐため、メラニン生成を抑制するのにも効果的だとか。

このまゆ玉で角質を落とした後は薬師堂のソンバーユで肌を整えているというikkoさん。
馬油100％のソンバーユは、肌に素早く浸透して角質を落とした後の肌を
しっかり保湿してくれます。

そして、肌にいい素肌美人メイクを施すならこの後にエチュードハウスの
BBクリームをつければOK。

ikkoさんの美容法は天然成分で肌に優しく作用するものを使うというのが
基本みたい。