Bits and Pieces, Here and There.

It’s been a long time since I read the Korean newspapers so today thought I’d look around for the hottest and juiciest gossip around town to tell you about.

Do you like weddings? I do! Seven years after working together in the drama, Winter Sonata, top actors Bae Yong Joon and Choi Ji Woo reunited for the animation version of the drama where both of them lent their voices to the 26-part animation version of "Winter Sonata" produced for television.

A live action wedding scene between them was shot in mid-March this year at a filming site near the Sun Cruise Resort in Gangneung City, Gangwon province, which was to be used as an added bonus to the airing of the anime series, as the closing episode, sometime at the end of April.

So the past few days there was much activity on the internet with fans posting their video clips of this wedding. It was lovely, if only it was for real, they make such a lovely couple! I wonder, if they ever thought of pairing up for real?

Hottest news in the Korea Herald is Jang Dong-gun’s wedding. So, we do have our real movie star wedding after all.

Korea’s so-called “Hollywood” couple  Jang Dong-gun and Koh So-young, officially tied the knot on Sunday, May 2, 2010. The bridal couple graced the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, together with 500 invited guests.

The ceremony reportedly cost about 1 billion won ($900,000), one of the most costly weddings by any Korean celebrity. The bride wore an Oscar de la Renta wedding dress worth about $15,000, while Jang had on a Tom Ford tuxedo. Their wedding rings were from Chopard, the luxury jewelry brand.

Jang and Koh share a lot in common, both are 38 and made their debut in the entertainment industry in 1992. Both also share a big fortune: Jang’s annual income alone is reportedly worth about 10 billion won, while his wife has made real-estate investments worth more than 10 billion. Her properties include the “Koh So-young Building” in the swanky neighborhood of Cheongdam-dong in southern Seoul. Koh’s home in the Seoul area of Nonhyeon-dong, where her parents live, is believed to be worth 4 billion won.
The value of property owned by Jang is also impressive. Observers estimate his real-estate holdings to be about 8 billion won. Their combined wealth, observers speculate, is worth at least 40 billion won. Industry experts predict their wealth to multiply following their marriage, with expectations of joint endorsements. Some have even cited the possibility that their fortune will surpass even that of some Korean business tycoons.

Know what, our newlyweds have gone on their honeymoon in Bali, accompanied by their managers? Can you imagine that?

21^st May happens to be Buddha’s Birthday this year, where various kinds of celebrations will be held. At Jogye Temple in central Seoul, little children can have a taste of the life of Buddhist monks for 22 days before Buddha’s Birthday. The picture of the boys in their robes with head shaven looks so cute that I couldn’t resist copying it to my blog, courtesy of Kim Seong-ryong from joongangdaily.

Have you ever seen such unique shaped tree trunks like those in the picture? Nestled in the Jogyesan Mountain in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, inside the Songgwangsa Temple grounds, stand the 800-year-old aromatic trees, dubbed as the Double Aromatic trees. The trees, (Juniperus Chinensis Limme), have been designated Natural Monument #88.

They stand side by side and the branches twine and they are about 13 meters high. According to legend, they grew from walking sticks of National Preceptor Bojoguksa(1158-1210) and Damdangguksa who brought them from China and stuck them in the ground here.

Damdang was a prince of Goryeo who became a disciple of Bojo. The figure of these trees look as if one is bowing down to the other, (showing the relationship between a teacher and his disciple so to speak.)
Many people visit this place because of a legend which says that anybody who touches these trees will go to heaven.