My Name is Kim Sam Soon

Last month, a Carson City man got to say the words heard so often at awards shows: “I want to thank…”

Daniel Henney, 26, won the Best Dressed award at the MBC Comedy Awards show Dec. 29 and the Best Newcomer award at the MBC Drama Awards show Dec. 30, both in South Korea. He also presented the Program Director’s Choice award winner.

Henney started his newcomer’s award acceptance speech by saying, “I want to thank my mom and dad.” He ended with “Thank you, Korea.”

Henney is the son of Phillip and Christine Henney of Carson City and was a former star basketball player before graduating from Carson City-Crystal High School in 1998. Henney quickly rose to fame thanks to an international modeling career and a starring role as a doctor in love with his patient in last year’s South Korean television dramatic miniseries, “My Name Is Kim Sam-soon.”

He also was chosen as 2005’s Best Actor during a recent South Korean poll of 38,314 teenagers on the Web site puppyred.com.

Henney is now shooting a starring role in “Spring Waltz,” a dramatic miniseries directed by Yoon Suk-ho. The drama will be the last of the director’s television dramas named after the four seasons, which also included “Summer Scent,” “Autumn Fairy Tale” and “Winter Sonata” - three tragic love stories set in their respective seasons.

This drama will revolve around a boy and a girl who fall in love, are forced to break up because of an accident, then meet again when they become adults. The miniseries will cost $4 million to $6 million in American dollars and will air on South Korean television in March.

The prevalence of multi-ethnic stars is one of the dominant phenomena of this year’s entertainment field. In the spotlight are Daniel Henney, Dennis O and Kim Deanna. Born to Korean mothers and American fathers, they have risen to stardom in a short time with their clean-cut and exotic looks reflecting both the East and the West.

This summer, Daniel Henney rose to national heartthrob by starring as an angel-hearted Korean-American doctor in a mega-hit drama series “My Lovely Sam-soon’’ which ended in July.
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A backlash against the Korean Wave rushing through China in the country’s broadcasting and entertainment industry is narrow-minded and short-sighted, the Hong Kong current affairs magazine Yazhouzhoukan says.
In a cover story in its latest edition, the magazine said Korea’s strategy in the wake of its financial crisis to conquer attacking foreign markets with cultural products is paying off. “China should rise above anti-Korean sentiment. It should understand the significance of the cultural industry and learn from Korea’s strategies for developing the industry.”

According to the magazine, the Korean Wave not only enhanced the country’s image and increased popularity of Korean products but also affects the daily lives of Chinese people.

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YesAsia has launched a promotion for My Lovely Sam Soon DVD, the Korea’s top drama for year 2005. It’s giving $5 discount for purchase of US-Version My Lovely Sam-Soon DVD with English subtitle by using the coupon code KSSDJG.

The promotion is only valid for this DVD set:

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Episode 3

Jin-hun asks Sam-soon to pretend to go out with him to deceive his mother. Sam-soon’s big sister, Yi-young, returns home, divorced. Sam-soon’s friend Chae-ri comes to Jin-hun’s restaurant to plan her engagement party, and it turns out her fiance is Hyun-woo, Sam-soon’s ex-boyfriend.

Episode 4

Jin-hun’s ex-girlfriend, Hee-jin, walks into the restaurant when Sam-soon is alone. Jin-hun goes berserk at the mention of Hee-jin’s name, but later apologizes to Sam-soon with flowers. Hee-jin and Jin-hun finally meet, but Hee-jin finds Jin-hun is still furious with her.

Episode 5

Sam-soon takes a drunken Jin-hun back to his apartment where she is “trapped” until the next morning. Hee-jin walks in on them the next morning. Yi-young goes to Jin-hun’s restaurant to find out where Sam-soon has been the night before and gets into an argument with Hyun-moo, the executive chef.
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