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October Comeback List:
Fin.K.L., H.O.T., S.E.S., Yoo Seung Jun, Uhm Jung Hwa, and G.O.D. All of these groups will be making there return appearances during the month of October.

Big Youth Concert in L.A. (9/30/00)
September 30 at 7pm at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Downtown Los Angeles was the Korean Youth Concert. Performers were J, Baby V.O.X., G.O.D. and Turbo. More info about this will come as soon as I hear from a friend who was there.

Shin Hwa's wrapping it up (9/30/00)
Shinhwa wrapped up their 3rd album promotion tour with a goodbye special on MBC's 'Music Camp' on the 30th. After releasing their 3rd album this past spring, Shinhwa had cranked out the hits 'Only One', 'Wedding March', and 'All Your Dreams'. But disappointed fans shouldn't be upset too long, because Shinhwa will be making their comeback shortly. In contrast to taking almost a year to prepare for the next album, Shinhwa will release a 3.5 album before the end of this year. Their original plan was to wrap up their Korean and Taiwan album promotions and slowly work on their 4th album, but they decided to release the 3.5 album thinking of their fans. The special album will contain their hits from 1~3 albums and a few new songs they are working on now.

Jo Sung Mo Hit's the #1 Spot (9/26/00)
Today, Jo Sung Mo made number one by a long run competing against Park Ji Yoon for the spot on KBS's Music Bank. Jo Sung Mo has done a number of performances since his comeback, to include one occasion where he had to collect 5000 people in 1 hour to have a concert of which he had no problem doing so. It is plain to see why Jo Sung Mo is such a successful singer. With his strong and powerful voice, he is able to create a deep impression on the listener and that has contributed much to his success.

Lee Jung Hyun vs. Seo Tai Ji Fans (9/22/00)
Lee Jung Hyun is suffering from the harsh aftermath of what she said about Seo Tae Ji from his fans. During her radio show on the 16th, Lee Jung Hyun had remarked that "rock music should always be sung live" and that "Seo Tae Ji looked like he lacked practice" in reference to his comeback show. After hearing this, angry Seo Tae Ji fans filled up Lee Jung Hyun's homepage and Seo Tae Ji's fan sites with hate messages towards her. Most of the messages say that Lee Jung Hyun shouldn't have said those things when she lip-syncs all the time herself. In response to this harsh backlash, Lee Jung Hyun has stated that the world already knows that she has been a huge Seo Tae Ji fan from the start, and that she was only reading from a script written by the staff when she said those things.

O-24 is making it big with their comeback (9/21/00)
0-24 has comeback with their 2nd album 'Growing Up' in over a year since their last album. They have done away with everything fans have remembered them for from the 1st album, which includes their songs, dancing, and outfits. They worked on the album as writers as well as just lending their voices to the songs, and this time, instead of singing about the problems of society like their last album, the songs are all about love. 0-24 has also changed their style of dance, from the cute hip-hop moves to a more sexier, passionate choreography with double the backdancers to create a fuller stage effect. And they will no longer be on stage with baggy jeans and shirts, but with fitted outfits in pastels. The title song from 'Growing Up' is 'Blind Faith', and the next single will be 'Jil Ju', a song all the members have participated in writing. 0-24 has undergone this major transformation to stand apart from the countless other girl groups debuting in the gayo world today and really make a name for themselves.

Y2K's Coming Back to Korea (9/20/00)
Y2K has returned to Korea from Japan and is now working on their 2nd album. The members of Y2K returned to their home in Seoul on the 14th after being in Japan for 6 months, and are now going back and forth from their home to the recording studio to record their new album. This album, which will be released in October, is 70% done. While in Japan, brothers Yuichi and GoJi had performed as a duo under the name 'Doggy Bag'. Their hit single, 'Toh Bi Ra', will be translated into Korean and put on the new album. Y2K reveals that their 2nd album will be more hardcore than their previous album, but the atmosphere of the album and their concept will be more on the light side.

Seo TaiJi's First Official Press Conference After "Retirement" (9/15/00)
Seo TaiJi disclosed through his first press conference on the 14th that he will be take part in the 'World Peace Concert' on 10/19 at Seoul Cham Shil Main Stadium. He also announced that he is planning a national concert tour, and will come in contact with fans through TV appearances at least once a week. He also plans to perform for only 2~3 months then go back to America to work on more music. He assured fans that this would not be like another long absence or retirement, but he will travel back and forth from Korea to America to perform. There had been some argument and disappointment from people that Seo TaiJi had lip-synched throughout his entire comeback concert but he defended himself by saying that he had no other choice because it was his first performance. He said that 30% was lip sync and the rest of it was live, but declared that he will be performing live (instruments too) from now on. To answer another argumental issue of plagiarising, Seo TaiJi firmly indicated that he did not copy anyone else's work.

A Trip to the States: G.O.D. and Baby V.O.X (9/15/00)
G.O.D. and Baby V.O.X will leave Korea on the 22nd to perform in NY's annual 'Choo Suhk' Festival. G.O.D. will perform in both NYC and LA at the end of this month. They are also planning to film two music videos for their 3rd album. G.O.D. has finished recording three songs that will be on their new album, and while in the States, they'll wrap up their recording for their third album. Baby V.O.X. has no specified plan for any recording. But they'll be meeting some producers to discuss about their newly upcoming album.

Chakra's Olymic Spirit (9/15/00)
Chakra left for Australia on the 13th to help cheer on the Korean Olympic team. They will be performing in various concerts along with helping to cheer on the Korean athletes. Member Ryuh Won, who is originally from Australia, will help out by being the intepreter for the athletes and being a guide for touring Australia.

Park Ji Yoon's not doing too well (9/15/00)
Park Ji Yoon is suffering from a recurrence of a stomach disorder. She has been a victim of a stomach ailment before, but the recurrence of it this time is making it hard for her to perform with her 4th album. It has reached a point that she is in terrible pain after dancing and singing to just one song, and even though she is on a diet of grain  nd vegetables, it does not seem to help her a lot. The doctor has told her that the reason why she is suffering from this illness again is because she had been under too much stress, and the only solution that can help her to recover from this is just plenty of rest, something that Park JiYoon can not do right now. Her hard efforts has paid off though, because Park JiYoon has received 3 CF offers. She has signed to be Guess Jeans model for $35,000, Lotte Foods' 'Bee To' chocolate for $100,000, and LG TeleCom's 'Khai' for $100,000. Her 4th album has sold over 280,000 copies. Park JiYoon will start filming the video for her next single, 'Hwan Sang', at the end of this month.

H.O.T's 5th Album  (9/14/00)
The contents of H.O.T's 5th album, which had been under secret until now, were finally disclosed. The cover song of this new album will be 'Outsider's Castle' (title tentative), and is written by leader Moon Hee Jun. The song includes various drums for a fresh, new sound. H.O.T has even chosen the 2nd single, which will be Kang Ta's 'Geu Rae, Geu Ruh Kae', a dynamic dance song that will show off H.O.T's dance skills. Unlike their previous albums, this new album will contain a lot more things to appeal to the fans. The CD jacket will be like a mini-photo album, with 4~5 pics of each member that was shot in a studio earlier this month. In addition to this, there will also be video clips for fans to enjoy. The reason why H.O.T is doing this is to thank their fans for liking them for so long. H.O.T claims, 'We worked hard to produce an album with good music for the fans. This will be an album worth waiting for.'

Park Jin Young return to His Fans (9/14/00)
Park Jin Young has decided that he will continue on with his career as a singer as soon as his mandatory military service ends on the 5th of next month. He had been working as a producer to other singers while in service, but will do both producing and singing as soon as he is finished with his serving. He will have to put his singing career on hold for a bit longer though, because he has to finish producing G.O.D.'s new album until the end of next month and produce a new mixed gender duet that will make their debut early next year. Park JinYoung will work on his own album while working on these 2 groups' albums, and to contradict to the rumors, he will not be releasing a greatest hits album like expected.

Park Jung Hyun In America (9/13/00)
Park JungHyun will leave for San Francisco, California on the 16th for the photo session for her new album cover. Her 3rd album, which will be full of R&B and ballade songs she's known for, is nearly finished. While in San Francisco for 15 days, Park JungHyun will switch back and forth working on the mastering for the new album as well as the photo session. Her 3rd album will be released early next month, and she will plan a national concert tour at the same time of its release.

Baek Ji Young's Other Job (9/9/00)
Baek JiYoung has a new job of DJing her own radio show. She will be the new host of KBS2 FM's 'Baek JiYoung's FM Ingi Gayo' starting on the 14th. The original DJ of this show was the actor Cha TaiHyun, but he left this job because his new mini-series 'Juliet's NamJa' will start production soon. Baek JiYoung was chosen as Cha's follow up because she had shown off her DJing skills after appearing on numerous radio shows including 'Cha TaiHyun's FM Ingi Gayo'. Baek JiYoung will be the host until 11/6, when KBS Radio goes under a reconstruction for Autumn. Baek JiYoung will also start performing with the 3rd single, 'Triangle", off of her 2nd album. This was the song that was picked as the next single after surveying 3,000 of her fans. Performing this song, Baek JiYoung will break the sexy image she has made for herself with the songs 'Dash' and 'Sad Salsa' by changing her image wearing more sporty outfits.

Um Jung Hwa's visit to England (9/6/00)
Um Jung Hwa left for England on the 6th for her new album's sleeve. The new album's concept will be 'Queen of Charisma', and the photos will be shot in a music hall located in the suburb of London. The staff for this session will include European professionals, including an English photographer who has worked for Europe's 'Vogue' magazine. There will be plenty of cameras at this London session, not only for the pictures, but also for video images that will also be included in the CD. Um Jung Hwa's management company 'i star' is spending $160,000 on this photo session to produce an upgraded new album. Um JungHwa will return to Korea on the 9th and record as soon as she arrives. Her 6th album will be released at the end of October.

Jo Sung Mo and the Military Headquarters (9/4/00)
The military headquarters of Taejon, a city in Korea, has refused to invite Jo SungMo along with the rest of the 'Dream Team' on the 4th. The 'Dream Team' is a segment on KBS's 'Il Yo Il Eun Jeul Guh Wuh' in which a group of prominents compete with athletes and other professionals in sports activities. Jo SungMo, who is one of the favorites of the 'Dream Team' ever since his athletic skills were unveiled through this segment last year, was supposed to be a member of the team that was going to compete with the soldiers at Taejon. But the staff of 'Il Yo Il Eun Jeul Guh Wuh' received a phone call from the headquarters stating that the shoot would be cancelled if Jo SungMo was going to be a participant. The reason for this goes back to Jo SungMo's 'Ah Shi Nah Yo' video, in which the military people in Korea are furious (especially the Vietnam War veterans) because they felt that he had used the Vietnam War and the White Horse Troop for entertainment purpose. The officials of Taejon's military headquarters asked Jo Sung Mo to apologise to the privates for this if he wanted to participate as a member of the Dream Team. Jo SungMo refused to do this, saying that if there were any problems with the video, he would go according to the law, not with a public apology. The Dream Team staff tried to reconcile the two sides, but after seeing that both sides would not give in to the other, decided to go on ahead with the competition without Jo SungMo.

Kim Hwan Sung's Remembrance Album (9/4/00)
NRG will release an album remembering their former member Kim HwanSung. This album, which is a live concert album from NRG's concert in China in July, will include clips of Kim HwanSung before his tragic death in June. There is also a new song, 'Antonio', which was written by NRG member Chun MyungHoon as a tribute to Kim Hwan Sung. The video for 'Antonio' starts with the voice of Kim HwanSung, and was made with clips of his life before his death. On the other hand, after tasting fame from a successful career in China, NRG is planning to start a career in Taiwan soon with the aid of a major promotional company. Before that though, NRG will hold concerts in different cities of China next month on the 3rd, 5th, and 7th, and will start performing in Korea with their new album in November.

J's New Job (9/4/00)
J has a new job as the host of a pop music show on the Internet broadcasting site, www.m-shockTV.com. J will be introducing pop songs to the audience, while showing off her skills as a MC by merging her personal stories into the show. The programme that J is hosting will be on every week for 30 minutes starting on 6th.

Jo Sung Mo's immediate success (9/12/00)
I was watching KBS's Music Bank and when they showed the top ten, it showed Jo Sung Mo as number 3 and new to the chart. As far as I know, that's better than anyone else! He starts out on the chart at number 3 where most everyone else starts at the bottom and makes their way up. This goes to show how much everyone was anticipating Jo Sung Mo's return, which in turn, made him an immediate success. We can expect him to reach number one within a couple weeks if not sooner!

Lot's of Star Comebacks (9/11/00)
It seems as though it's the time for everyone to make their comebacks to Korea now. Seo Taji and Jo Sung Mo just came back with their new albums released on the 8th in Korea. Fin.K.L's 3rd album should be out around September 25 with their new image 'strong woman', but they will not start any television appearances until October. H.O.T. will be returning with their 5th album on September 23 with a completely new look and style from before (surprising, huh?). Plan to see Fly to the Sky's 2nd album in November. After their great success from their first album, there's no telling how fast they'll shoot up the charts when they come back, especially since they are gaining so much popularity in the states. These are only a few among the many others that are coming out recently and in the near future. Korea's music industry is really at a high point now.

Latest on S.E.S (9/9/00)
Last August 23rd was memorial 1000 days after S.E.S. debuted. In the past one year S.E.S. focused on activities in Japan, but they're going to stop activities in Japan for a while and go back to Korea to make Korean 4th Album this month. The 4th album is expected at the end of this year.

Latest on Boa (9/6/00)
Boa has been the 'talk of the town' lately. She's sold well over 60,000 copies of her album entitled Peace B so far. Now, SM is planning to make her a world-wide star starting next year through either Japanese record companies Avex or Sony (similar to what they're trying to do with S.E.S. I guess).

J, A Ballade In Autumn (09/06/2000)
J is dreaming of transformation through another ballade number after the current hit single Time Out". This time she will be presenting a more sorrowful song called <8318>. This song is written by an ex-Solid member Jung Jaeyoon. It has a meaning of "I will love forever". Because the song is combined with J's moistrous voice it is considered to be the most suitable song for Autumn. J personally preferes Ballade and R&B. She claims that her voice has more colour through Ballade. Also she says that when she sings Dance Music she tends not to sing live. And she totally refuses to lip-sync. J is one of the few artists who preferes to sing live. She wants to be accepted as an artist who has real talent. J is so popular overseas. On 1st to 4th August, she has participated along with JinuSean and Honey Family in the <Contact 2000> concert in Japan and on 19th to 22 th she was invited to join in the Korean Singers Night" Concert. Especially in Japan her voice is being compared to Utada Hikaru a lot. Where HipHop and R&B are gaining a lot of popularity in Japan she has all the potential to compete with the natives. She has released three singles in Japan. But when she went to but them they were all sold out. J will be signing a contract with BMG and will be releasing an English language album next year in February.

Seo Taiji "Comeback" Show (09/06/2000)
On 9th September at 8 o'clock in the evening at the Fencing Stadium Soe Taiji's comeback concert will be held. Originally this concert was to be a reserved-seat concert but because of the complaints from a number of fans it has transformed itself into a standing concert. So now the hall will me filled with 5500 people instead of 4000. The tickets are being distributed through imbc.com and YGEntertainment free of charge.

Seo Taiji, Sells Mysticism. (09/05/2000)
'Mysticism', Seo Taiji's promotion strategy? Seo Taiji, who is returning to the Gayo World in four months and seven months, is being frowned at the fact that he hid everything under the term of mysticism. The reason of Seo's continuing popularity not only lies in his outstanding musical talents but also in this kind of promotion strategy. Ever since from the years when he had his group,'Seo Taiji and Boys', this form of promotion was used. And who would have known he used the same thing on 29th August upon his arrival at Kimpo Airport. He just made a sneak appearance and then all of a sudden disappeared through the gates again. He claims that "there were too many media people". But it wasn't a thing that he couldn't have expected. When he announced his retirement he disappeared all of a sudden to the States. And now he is gradually reappearing again. Another strange thing about Seo is that two years ago when he released his first solo album "Take Five", he didn't make a single appearance on TV, in other words he didn't have any interaction with the fans. But this time he is showing keen interest in meeting the fans face to face. Seo says that he wants to speak about himself only through music. But only with that sort of reasoning we cannot stop questioning about the fact whether he wants to use mysticism in order to increase his self image. 

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