Art and Culture

It's Wednesday, which means it's time for our weekly celebrity news segment with Michelle Kim. I hear that today she has the latest on a Korean heartthrob, and of course all the latest Hollywood gossip for us to enjoy.

Hello Michelle

[Reporter : ] Hello Conn-young

So what do you have for us today

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[Reporter : ] It was the first time for singer and actor Lee Seung-gi to visit Southeast Asia nation for an official event. He was welcomed by a large crown of fans, screaming, chanting and waving at Korea's Pop Prince. I have the details on this event for you right now.

Korean heartthrob Lee Seung-gi held his first fan meeting overseas in Singapore last weekend. After his arrival on Friday, he was shuttled to a shopping mall for an open press call with the media and fans. The main event took place on Saturday at the Kallang Theater, where he was greeted by a sold-out crowd of screaming, chanting and waving fans.

After making his debut on the Korean music scene in 2004, Lee gained popularity for his romantic ballads, and eventually ventured into acting and hosting. But even though his has been very successful in Asia, Lee said he has no immediate plans to go global. He said that for now, he would rather spend time communicating with his Asian fans.

[Interview : Lee Seung-gi, Singer] " I don't think the global market is something you can conquer through planning and I can't afford it for now. I'd rather have more chances to communicate with my Asian fans, who have loved and supported me".

Coincidentally, Lee's first hit, "You're My Girl", in which the singer declares his love for an older woman, was penned by PSY and launched a series of similar songs about May to December romances. The song shot up the charts and broadened his fan base to include women across all age groups.

[Interview : Elsie See, Fan ] "I think he is very grounded, and he's also very unassuming. And very respectful to the seniors, I feel, it's very good. It's very unlikely for an international artist".

Lee may not want to venture too far outside of his comfort zone for now, but with his good looks and good manners, he is sure to be a hit around the world whenever he does.

I've always wondered why Lee Seung-gi never really moved on to promote his music in countries other than Korea. He has so many talents, it's too bad he hasn't yet shared them with the world.

[Reporter : ] I agree with you. His talent has already been recognized by management companies from around the world, but until this point, it seemed like he hadn't been ready to venture out. But the Singapore fan meeting is definitely a good start and maybe it's an indication of where he's planning to take his career.

Well, I'll look forward to hearing more updates about him from you in the future.

Lastly, the world's oldest film festival is set to kick off today and all eyes are on the impressive list of films in the line up and the celebrities expected to appear on the red carpet.

The 69th Venice Film Festival features 18 critically acclaimed films in competition. Some of the A-list stars who will be making the rounds of interviews and photoshoots to promote their films include Robert Redford, Julie Christie, Rachel McAdams and Ben Affleck.

I'm excited for the film festival to start today! Will there be any Korean films showing at this year's festival

[Reporter : ] Yes. Kim Ki-duk's film "Pieta" has been selected for the festival's competition section, which also includes Brian De Palma's "Passion", Takeshi Kitano's "Outrage Beyond", Terence Malick's "To the Wonder" and Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master".

Well, we'll be watching to see how Kim Ki-duk's film does among all of those great films. He certainly has some tough competition. And now to wrap things up, you have the events bulletin, right

[Reporter : ] Yes I do. I have two concerts and a play for you today,.. starting with a concert by Go Chan-yong in September and the first concert in Korea by Michel Legrand in October. For those of you looking for something to do this weekend, there's a play called " Secret " that invites audience members up to the stage. Here are the details.

[Reporter : ed; jenny] This bulletin features 3 events

Go Chan-yong, revered as a "genius" in Korea, performs in September at the Mapo Arts Center. Along with songs from his two solo albums, his repertoire for the concert will draw on songs that he played with his band Strange People.

Piano prodigy, jazz musician and chanson singer Michel Legrand will be coming to Korea for the first time in October for two nights at AX-Korea. Raised by a father who was a conductor and composer and a mother who was a singer, he was influenced by music from a very young age. He revised his father's music at the age of 16 and graduated at the top of his class at the Paris' Academy of Music at the age of 20.

Top Art Hall is staging an interactive play that invites audience members to try their hand at acting. " Secret ", which brings audience members on stage to interact with the actors and actresses, was named best play by ticket-seller Interpark and web-portal Daum. The play is currently in an open run and has been performed more than 5,000 times.

Thank you for the update.

[Reporter : ] My pleasure.
Reporter : dainee@arirang.co.kr