RAIN was in New York over the weekend to promote the Concept Korea Fashion Collective during New York’s Fashion Week.  The event was held at the New York Public Library to promote the fashion sense coming out of Korea.  Enjoy RAIN!

Christina Lee hosts Korean Beacons Weekly Monday Mashup highlighting some of the weekly headlines in Korean American news.

This week, December 28, 2009 we cover:

Korean Beacon 2009 Top 10 List: #5 – Ken Jeong
Korean Beacon 2009 Top 10 List: #4 – John Cho
Korean Beacon 2009 Top 10 List: #3 – Rain

Send comments to: beacon@koreanbeacon.com

Who was the first Korean male to star in a leading role in a Hollywood film? That would be RAIN, the Korean pop star known was the Justin Timberlake of Asia. We knew he was going to be big back in 2006 when he was voted #1 to the TIME 100 poll, beating out everyone else in the world that was thrown on the ballot. Fast forward three years later and we found RAIN kicking his way into Ninja Assassin, produced by the guys who brought the Matrix Trilogy. What RAIN represents is the future of entertainment because the economics dictate such. With the advent of digital undermining the traditional Hollywood business model, Hollywood has to seek out new ways to expand their reach and better monetize their products. Asia is the new frontier, but RAIN wasn’t necessarily the first guy to build that bridge to several billion people across the Pacific for Hollywood. There was of course Jackie Chan, Jet Li and others who found themselves as the first set of Asians in co-leading roles of big budget films. It’s obvious that Hollywood is trying to identify someone who has a huge following and leveraging their fame to expand their overall reach. What RAIN has done is open the possibilities for other Koreans to venture into Hollywood and perhaps someday, well be cheering on our version of Slumdog Millionaire. Someday we’ll look back and say that guys like John Cho and RAIN were the ones who put Koreans on the Hollywood radar, and that’s why RAIN is #3 on our top ten list of most influential Korean(-Americans) for 2009.

If you happen to be celebrating Christmas in Las Vegas, then you may want to drop by Caesar’s Palace on the Las Vegas strip to see Korean pop sensation RAIN.  He’ll be performing two nights on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day.  It’s his first concert in the United States in three years.  He’s bringing his RAINISM tour so watch out!

This is probably the most unique pick and most controversial of our top ten most influential Korean-Americans for 2009 because it’s a website.  allkpop.com is the only website chosen because of its significant influence of exporting the Korean wave.  Based on our calculations, Johnny Noh and his gang has made allkpop.com the most web trafficked Kpop website outside of South Korea; this in a matter of two short years.  They’ve become so big that Korean entertainers and the agencies that represent them have taken notice and they’re now coming to allkpop.com for help to deliver their promotions and messages to the U.S.

The Korean wave had its biggest year yet with significant milestones like Korean actors Daniel Henney, Lee Byung Hun, and RAIN making their entry into Hollywood.  You had Korean singing acts trying to make their way into the American music consciousness with Se7en, BoA and the Wonder Girls taking big steps into the U.S. market.  And the website that was at the forefront of breaking and covering these events was allkpop.com.  And just to give you a little bit more perspective, this website that covers Korean pop culture and entertainers made the distinction of becoming the #1 retweeted account on Twitter this past fall and it’s currently a finalist for Mashable’s Open Web Awards for “Best Breaking News” website in 2009.  That is pretty impressive because they’re one of the finalist against well known websites CNN, Twitter, and the BBC.  How the heck did they end up among those big names?  That says it all and that’s why they’re #8 for 2009.

This is for the ladies as we close the chapter on RAIN since Ninja Assassin has opened and played to the world.  Here are pictures from an Allure magazine photo shoot which shows off the perfect abs.  Does anybody know the exact abs workout he did?  We’re looking high and wide for it and if we find it, we’ll certainly share it with all of you.

Ninja Assassin hasn’t gotten the best of reviews from film critics and we won’t find out how well it did in the theaters for another few days but what we do know is that there’s a lot of buzz for RAIN. It’s been reported that Hollywood is engaging RAIN and he’s already looking at a handful of scripts. If his fan base comes out in full force, and the movie does well with box office receipts, then you know Hollywood will give RAIN another try. CNN even took notice this week as they state that RAIN “has all the trimmings of an international superstar in the making.” Let it RAIN!

Brad Pitt was a bad ass in Fight Club and Gerard Butler was a tank in 300, but RAIN holds his own in Ninja Assassin.  So how did he build that physique?  A lot of fish, chicken and nuts.  And a workout that will kill’ya.  Check out his workout below.  It’s been suggested that since he hired the team that trained the 300 actors, that he must’ve gone through a similar training regimen like the one below.

• 25 pull-ups
• 50 deadlifts
• 50 push-ups
• 50 box jumps with a 24-inch box
• 50 “floor wipers”
• 50 “clean and press” at 36 lb kettle bells
• 25 more pull-ups

Check out the workout video

Another video showing his training.

It has finally come, the week that “Ninja Assassin” opens up around the world.  The movie will be opening out in the U.S. on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.  So should you go or should you stay at home?  If you like RAIN and great fighting sequences, then buy that movie ticket.  If you want to support a Korean man in the lead role of a Hollywood action movie, then definitely go because this movie has a lot of ramifications. If you’ve watched the Matrix franchise, then you’ll see distinct plot elements that originated from the Wachowski brothers who produced Ninja Assassin and directed the Matrix movies.  And you’ll also see unique action direction from James McTeigue who is a student of the Wachowski brothers. The fighting is amazing! But what are the implications I mentioned earlier?

This movie does have implications and Hollywood is closely watching because there are certain realities that have Hollywood rethinking their business model.  Big movie stars used to almost guarantee big box office returns, but there have been enough clunkers from Will Ferrell, Tom Cruise and other big name actors that have caused pause.  DVD sales which used to be a cash cow and help counter clunkers is quickly eroding in the new digital world.  So what does Hollywood need to do to refine or change its model?  It looks overseas because there is a growing global box office.  This is why Ninja Assassin is important because it can demonstrate to Hollywood that you can cast an unknown in a lead role, especially Asian and have success because of the global market.  RAIN is one of Asia’s biggest pop stars and his ability to bring in international box office receipts will pave the way for other Asian stars to enter Hollywood and play critical roles.  If you didn’t know, Ninja Assassin is the big movie that’s kicking off the holiday movie season and it only cost $30M to make. The world is changing and Hollywood knows it and it’s realizing that the traditional model of casting and movie distribution has to change. Whether you like Ninja movies or not, let’s hope that the movie is a success and it paves the way for other Koreans and Asians in Hollywood.

For our interview with RAIN, check out the video below.

Check out the movie clips from Ninja Assassin. The fighting is real good!

This is one of the FIRST interviews published from the Ninja Assassin press junket.  We interviewed RAIN at The London Hotel in New York and it was a lot of fun meeting him and the director James McTeigue.  Rain and James were very personable and when RAIN realized that we were Korean, you could see him instantly relax.  He seemed very comfortable with us and quite enthusiastic and did not big time us.  After we had interviewed him, RAIN turned to the director and said, “I told you Koreans are humble.”  We’re guessing that comment was a reference to how overbearing the American media may be.  Afterwards, RAIN followed us out to the waiting area and just hung out next to us while we were packing our stuff.  Maybe he wanted to talk to someone in Korean because he was speaking English all day.  The funniest comment he made during the interview was that his character is “sexy.”  Check out the interview with RAIN.