Chosun reported, “A U.S. court has rejected a request for bail for the former manager of pop singer Baek Ji-young, who fled to the U.S. after spreading a video clip in 2000 that showed him and Baek having sex.Los Angeles police on Tuesday said Kim Seok-jin was arrested in the Koreatown neighborhood.”

“He had been wanted for two years on suspicion of having sex with minors.”

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Image courtesy of Chosun

CRIEnglish.com reported, “Good news for Jay Chou’s fans at Shanghai’s Fudan University: Whenever your idol is in Shanghai, you will have the chance to meet, or perhaps even talk with him.”

“Fudan University’s Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts has named the Taiwan pop king-turned film actor and director as a performing arts guide. This means every time Chou travels to Shanghai, he will sit in on a lecture to exchange ideas with students, a school representative told the local Oriental Morning Post.”

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CRIEnglish.com reported, “Two Taiwan female artists pledged to offer 25 million yuan (US$3.5 million) each to any one who can prove their involvement in the nude picture scandal that shows singer and actor Edison Chen in sexual poses with a dozen women in bed.”

“Jolin Tsai and Elva Hsiao, two singers who were rumored to have relationships with Chen, 27, both issued statements through their agent companies on Wednesday, saying any one who can come up with their pictures with Chen in bed can get the reward if courts prove the pictures are real, Sina.com.cn reported.”

“The nude picture scandal has shocked the world’s Chinese-speaking community after more than 800 photographs have been circulated on the Internet since late January.”

“The pictures so far have embroiled seven female celebrities, including Gillian Chung of the female duo Twins and actress Cecilia Cheung.”

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CRIEnglish.com reported, “Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan has declared June 1, 2008 a day to commemorate Hong Kong comedienne Lydia Shum.”

“Sullivan designated what would have been Shum’s 63rd birthday “Ms. Fei-fei Day.” He also presented an honorary certificate to Shum’s daughter, Joyce Cheng.”

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Chosun reported, “Sony’s announcement Tuesday that it has agreed to set up a joint venture with Sharp for the manufacture of next-generation liquid-crystal display panels has put Samsung Electronics, Sony’s long-time partner in LCDs, on red alert. Huge losses, tangible or intangible, seem inevitable for the Korean conglomerate, which is already battered by a corruption scandal.”"Since establishing LCD panel joint venture S-LCD in 2003, Samsung and Sony have maintained a close relationship, bearing an equal share of expenses in the construction of new factories. When new plants were built in 2004 and 2006, Sony invested some W1 trillion to W1.3 trillion each time (US$1=W947).”

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Chosun reported, “Incheon International Airport has been named “Best Airport Worldwide” for a third consecutive year in an annual airport service quality survey conducted by the Airports Council International (ACI).”"According to Incheon International Airport and ACI, Incheon ranked the world’s best by scoring top marks in 30 of 34 service factors. The service quality rankings are based on the results of nearly 200,000 questionnaires completed by passengers who used 99 major airports around the world in 2007.”

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Chosun reported, “An increasing number of Korean children now study in India, where they can learn English more cheaply than in the U.S. or the U.K. Parents are also impressed by the reputed strengths of Indian education in math and science, making the country an affordable alternative to the traditional destinations for Korea’s “educational refugees.””"According to the Indian Embassy in Seoul, an increasing number of elementary and secondary school students go to India on student visas every year. In 2005, the number was 1,156, but in 2006, the number increased to 1,435. There are about 100 Korean students at the prestigious Woodstock School in the northern Indian city of Dehradun, or 20 percent of the 500-strong student body.”

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Chosun reported, “British blues legend Eric Clapton could be the next Western musician to play in Pyongyang, following the New York Philharmonic’s performance in the North Korean capital this week.”"The Financial Times newspaper reported Tuesday that North Korea has invited the “guitar god” to perform in the world’s most isolated country next year.”

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Randomized Dungeons, Online Features Fuel Latest Mystery Dungeon Adventures

REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 26, 2008 – Ever wondered what it would be like to become a Pokémon? With the April 20 launch of Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness for Nintendo DS™, hand-held gamers will soon find out.

In this pair of action-packed adventures, players journey as actual Pokémon through a fantastic land untouched by humans. Before the game starts, players take a test to help them figure out which of 16 Pokémon best represents their personalities. Players then experience their adventure through the eyes of a Pokémon as they explore the land and embark on an epic journey through time and darkness. They talk and team up with other Pokémon to set out on an epic voyage while navigating an endless array of randomly generated dungeons.

More than 490 Pokémon populate these new games, guaranteeing strategic, intense battles and infinite possibilities, no matter which Pokémon players become. To widen their circle of Pokémon friends, Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection lets users engage in wireless rescue operations and send alerts to their friends via e-mail or mobile text message.

“Only the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series lets players experience the thrill of actually becoming a Pokémon character,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “It’s a unique perspective that delights both longtime Pokémon fans and newcomers alike.”

Fans of the two previous Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, will marvel at the greatly enhanced graphics, new story and grand adventure in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness. For Game Boy® Advance owners, the fresh look and wireless aspects of these new Pokémon titles provide even more reasons to upgrade to Nintendo DS. And best of all for budget-conscious parents, Nintendo DS is also able to play the entire library of Game Boy Advance games.

For more information about these two new Pokémon games, visit Nintendo.com.

About Nintendo: The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™, Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.5 billion video games and more than 430 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario™, Donkey Kong®, Metroid®, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.nintendo.com.

About Pokémon USA: Pokémon USA, Inc., a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia, which includes licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, an animated TV series, the Pokémon Trading Figure Game, home entertainment and the official Pokémon Web site. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 for play on Nintendo’s Game Boy® and has since evolved into a global cultural phenomenon. Pokémon was introduced in North America in 1998 and today is one of the most popular toy and entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com.

Our Variety Show Pick of the Day goes to SMAPxSMAP’s “Bistro Smap” segment with special guest Matt Damon.

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