May Pang's Asian Media Internet News

It was announced at the Tokyo Dome concert on Friday night that KAT-TUN's Akanishi Jin will be "officially graduating" from the group. Johnny's Entertainment president Johnny Kitagawa spoke to the press that day and stated that the final decision will be made after Akanishi's US tour this fall. However, it seems like the decision has all been finalized at this point.

Akanishi has been in the USA since May working on his solo career. He has performed several shows in LA this past June and has a 7-city tour scheduled for September and October. President Kitagawa also stated that Akanishi is already planning future concerts for 2011. Meanwhile, KAT-TUN has been continuing on as a 5-member group similarly as they did when Akanishi left temporarily to study abroad in the USA in 2006.

Kitagawa explained that the main focus is that Akanishi becomes successful in the US. He added on that it would be too soft on Akanishi to let him return to KAT-TUN if he wasn't successful in this venture. It would be unforgivable to KAT-TUN fans to have Akanishi return the same way he did after studying abroad.

Kitagawa once again reassured fans that KAT-TUN will not disband. Even though the groups name is based on the first initials of each member's family name, it is said that Akanishi's "A" will be replaced by extending Kazuya Kamenashi's "K" to "KA". Kitagawa said that there are no plans replace Akanishi with a new member and that there is no need to have six people in the group. He stated that the remaining five members are currently doing fine without Akanishi.

Well, we all saw this one coming. It makes me a little sad to see it actually happen though since I used to be a big KAT-TUN fan back in their early days. Can Jin make put his foot in the door and take a bigger leap in the USA than the Wonder Girls? Good luck with that! Just for old time sake, here's the video to their debut single "REAL FACE."

Source: Tokyograph

Yes! It is here! TaeYang just released his album just hours ago and more surprises are at hand! Right now M! Countdown is being aired as we speak and while that show is going on, his MV was released! It's just a simple video, which I find cute! Take a look for yourself!

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Police announced Wednesday that Korean actor and singer Park Yong-ha, known mostly for his role in 2002’s 겨울연가 or ‘Winter Sonata’, was found dead in his apartment in southern Seoul early Wednesday morning by an apparent suicide. Early reports say it looked as though he hung himself with an electrical cord.

Friends and family say the 33-year-old actor had been severely upset for awhile as he dealt with his father dying of stomach cancer, however, his suicide still came as a shock. There was no note, but family members told media that he kept saying, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” the night before his death, as he massaged his ailing father.

Park first debuted in 1997, but shot to stardom across Asia after appearing in ‘Winter Sonata’ with Choi Ji-woo and Bae Yong-joon. After that, he went on to release a series of popular albums and singles, including ‘Just Yesterday’, the opening theme to the SBS drama, ‘All In’ with Lee Byun-hun and Song Hye-kyo. He was recently cast with Yoon Eun-hye in a new drama, 러브송 or 'Comrades, Almost a Love Story,' which is a remake of a 1996 Hong Kong film, and was set to begin filming in July.

Suicide has become a major social issue in South Korea as more and more celebrities and public figures are choosing to end their lives, which often leads to thousands of 'copy-cat suicides'. After actress Choi Jin-sil died, there were a reported 1,700 within the following month. The health ministry in Seoul said that in 2007 about 23.9 people in every 100,000 kill themselves and more than 14,500 people committed suicide in 2009, which equates to about 35 suicides a day. The country now has the highest suicide rate out of all of the 30 OECD countries.

Choi Jin-sil, her brother Choi Jin-young, model Daul Kim, former President Ron Moo-hyun, Boys over Flowers actress Jang Ja-yeon and now Park Yong-ha. There is a serious problem with suicide in South Korea. Even today, it is still consider taboo to openly talk about depression or even mention that the stress of everyday life is too much to handle. Admitting that one needs help is still seen as admitting failure.

But even with suicide brought to the forefront with the rising number of high profile deaths, so far all anyone seems to do is sit back and wonder who’s going to be next.

Rest in peace, Park Yong-ha. And may all our thoughts and prayers be with his family and friends during this tough time...

source: Washington Post, JoongAng Daily, AFP

Hollywood is constantly making remakes. For the most part, they need to leave the originals alone. A few nights ago I decided to go to the movies, (thanks to a friend named Edward Hong) with a posse of friends, including fellow AMIN writers: Lara Visconti and Jessica Dawson to watch The Karate Kid 2010 movie. I was so skeptical. I am a fan of the original one with all of its cheesiness. I do admit that I watched  all of  The Karate Kid sequels ever made. Part two was my favorite, because Mr. Miyagi, played by the late Pat Morita, and Daniel, played by Ralph Macchio, went to the beautiful island of Okinawa. I hated part three and the feminist in me  likes part four just because for a change a girl was The Next Karate Kid.

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Fans got really excited when they found out Big Bang's vocalist TaeYang, real name Dong Young Bae, will be releasing his first full length album "SOLAR" on July 1st. Throughout the week, YG Entertainment has been releasing the track titles from his album, leaving the fans in suspense. Some of the tracks you may already heard, like "Wedding Dress," "Only Look at Me," "Where U At," and "Prayer," but there are new tracks that are to be heard. There will be two versions of this album: a regular version and a deluxe version.

Well, the full track list is finally complete! Along with an audio preview to the first track, which is called, "SOLAR." The title track in which TaeYang is to promote will be "I Need a Girl," featuring Big Bang Leader G-Dragon. The MV is already in the process of filming and it is heard that Sandara Park will be in the video, based on the photos from her me2day . What a great contribution for YG Family, they're ALWAYS together! Also Shaun Evaristo, whom we interviewed in the beginning of this year, is to be helping YG Entertainment and TaeYang with choreography, so we all know that the dancing is going to be flawless!

I'm excited for this album to come out! Being a TaeYang fan myself, I'm ready to hear and see what he has in store for us. What do you guys think of his track list and audio preview?

Here is the full track list:

source: bigbangupdates, bbupdates2010 @ youtube, allkpop, soompi, omgkpop, ygbigbang,com/taeyang

After School's sub-group, Orange Caramel released their mini album, "Orange Caramel The First Mini Album" today (17th June, 2010).  Orange Caramel consists of After School members Nana, Raina and Lizzy.  Their cute look is fresh to the fans and fits the image of summer perfectly!  Here are the latest MV teasers and songs from their mini album, check it out:

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With big video gaming convention E3 taking place right now, huge news will be coming our way. Nintendo has released details on their newest hand held gaming system, the Nintendo 3DS. There are so many details released, it's hard to find a place to start!

When the Nintendo 3DS is launched, downloadable content will be available. The best part so far? No 3D glasses will be required. It will have a 3.5 inch widescreen top screen and a smaller touch screen on the bottom half. There will be an analog control input as well as the beloved D-pad and four face buttons.

The system will have a slide pad, a gyrosensor and a motion sensor. Instead of the one camera on the outside on the DSi, there will be two cameras on the outside so that pictures can be viewed in 3D.

3D Hollywood movies from Disney, Warner Bros., and Dreamworks will also be viewable on the system.

Also, a list of 3DS games have been released as well. Well, that rumor about Animal Crossing has been confirmed as well (although there weren't too many details)! You know what's even better? The new Professor Layton game! While I'm busy drooling over the games being released, check out the list for yourselves.

Source: ign.com

My favourite BIGBANG member, T.O.P, will release his solo debut single "Turn it up" on 21st June, 2010.  T.O.P took part in the lyrics writing and song composing process of the song. "Turn it up" was first performed at BIGBANG's annual concert, "BIGSHOW" at the beginning of this year.  Check out the latest MV teaser:

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Hello to our readers! This is our first installment of our new weekly segment called "Pick of the Week." This gives our writers their time to shine on a topic of their choice.  The "Pick of the Week" is updated every Sunday at 3PM EST. Keep checking back every Sunday for the new topic. This week, we're taking a look into the new legendary Pokemon for the new upcoming games in the Pokemon franchise, Pokemon Black & White.

When the first American version of the Pokemon games (Red and Blue) debuted, I was only about nine years old.  I wasn’t able to fully appreciate everything there was to those games, but even then I was able to understand the ferocity and beauty that were the legendary Pokemon.  When I found out about Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres from a friend, I wanted to catch them more than anything else in the world.  Although I was unsuccessful in my attempts, my fascination with legendary Pokemon traveled with me to Pokemon Gold and Silver with the introduction of Entei, Raiko, Suicune, Lugia, and Ho-oh.  However, I personally found the Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum legendaries to be disappointing.  Dialga, the legendary version-mascot of Diamond, reminded me of Littlefoot from “A Land Before Time” cosplaying as Suicune. Palkia, the legendary version-mascot was a disproportionate, pink dinosaur-like creature.  Finally, the legendary version-mascot of Platinum Giratina was just a giant version of a creepy-crawler you find in the shower wearing a gothic head piece.

Recently however, the makers of Pokemon Black and White released the official pictures of the new games version-mascots:  Reshiram representing Pokemon Black, and Zekrom representing Pokemon White.  These legendaries have been the first in the series since the legendary birds to make me stop and go “wow.”  Reshiram and Zekrom are both intimidating and beautiful to look at.  Reshiram is colored white, Zekrom is black, and they are both accented with an aqua blue.  It was also recently announced that Zekrom and Reshiram are both Dragon-type pokemon, but no secondary type class has been announced for the two new legendaries thus far.

I can’t wait to buy my copy of Pokemon White or Black and begin my journey to catch one of the two newest, and possibly best designed legendaries since the series’ beginnings.

Harold and Kumar star, Kal Penn, was robbed at gunpoint last night at 1:30 AM. A D.C. police officer described the situation as "a basic street robbery." His wallet and a few other items were stolen.

Kal Penn is now taking a short break from his acting career by working for President Barack Obama as an associate director in the White House's Office of Public Engagement. He keeps President Obama connected to the art world along with the Asian-American and Pacific communities.

Kal Penn will end his White House job by the end of the year and will film a new Harold and Kumar holiday film.

Source: People.com