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Lee Bum Soo is dating his English teacher

Actor Lee Bum Soo (39) has admitted that he is in a stable relationship with OBS announcer and translator, Lee Yoon Jin (26) for almost a year now.

The couple had met about a year ago when Lee Bum Soo realized the importance of English and he got to know Lee Yoon Jin, who had a major in the English language through an acquaintance. They started off as a teacher-student relationship, but love soon blossomed between them as they got to know each other better. Lee Yoon Jin also taught English to world star, Rain for 4 months back in 2008.

Lee Bum Soo said on the 3rd, "I didn't want to publicize our relationship at first because my girlfriend was just a normal person and wasn't in the entertainment business. But with so much rumors about us being together, etc being bandied about in the press recently, it had affected her daily lifestyle as people kept asking about it. I thus decided to come clean and go public with our relationship to stop all the guessing."

He concluded, "It was very difficult for us in maintaining our relationship as we always had to date in secret and avoid public places all the time. Now that it's out in the open, we can date freely and thus we are both very happy about it."

Wonder Girls and MBLAQ’s Thunder Cafe Mori CF teaser

We reported previously that the Wonder Girls had recently filmed a CF for Cafe Mori, during their short trip back home from America.

This was their first full CF in Korea for a while and they were joined by MBLAQ's rising star, Thunder.

In the teaser CF just released today, Thunder is seen browsing in the store when he chances upon some Cafe Mori products. As he touches them, Sohee comes over and touches his hand as the whole scene is transformed into a cafe with the other Wonder Girls' appearing.

Hwanhee releases “Because I Missed Your Heart” MV

After teasing us with his MV teaser, Hwanhee finally released his MV of Because I Missed Your Heart!

His album H Soul was released on October 22nd and he had his first solo debut performance on Music Core on October 24th. For those that didn't like his blonde hair, I got some good news for you. He isn't blonde in the MV!

f(x) teaser for “Step by Me”

f(x) is really promoting hard this time around! After releasing their comeback track Chu~♡ just hours ago, they have released a new teaser for another track off their first full length album entitled, "Step by me."

Check it out and let us know your thoughts! I'm excited about f(x)'s return, are you?

SM boycotts MAMA

We bring you yet more unfortunate news: artistes of SM Entertainment will not be taking part in the 2009 MAMA.

SME announced on November 3rd that their artistes including Super Junior, SNSD, SHINee and f(x) will not be attending MAMA. The reason given was that MAMA will be using a process similar to how MNET's music program M! Countdown selects its winners, and SME does not trust the method nor believe that it is fair.

This latest statement comes as SME does not trust in M! Countdown because of what happened with SNSD's massive hit Gee. While the song topped charts of other television networks for 9 weeks in a row, it failed to reach number one in M! Countdown even once. It only made the top 10, one whole month after the song's release date.

SME thus feel that MNET's method of deciding on their winners cannot be trusted.

Also, there is a MAMA-related popularity poll happening on Mnet's website at the moment. The catch is that you must be registered as a paid member of the website in order to cast a vote. SME feels that fans of SME's artistes should not be spending too much money just to cast votes for their favourite artistes and has hence asked MNET to withdraw SME's artistes from the categories for which they are nominated in MAMA.

We have previously reported that a couple of trot singers were boycotting MAMA. Will MNET be able to pull this event off successfully without participation by some of the biggest names in the industry? Stay tuned to allkpop as MAMA draws near.

KARA Seungyeon’s tearful confession [updated with subs]

On an episode of Strong Heart, KARA's Han Seungyeon brought the whole studio to tears as she confessed the struggles she went through to help KARA get to where it is today.

For the filming of this episode, just the title of Seungyeon's story, 'In order to protect Kara,' had all the guests curious about what our booty-shaking cutie had to share.However, the guests got teary-eyed as Seungyeon confessed, "Most people think I am a bright kid, because I am always smiling in front of the camera," then revealed the story with what KARA went through.

Seungyeon shared the struggles she went through during her pre-KARA days, and started to cry as she revealed each struggle. For example, when ex-member Sunghee left the group, the remaining members, who hadn't been consulted, felt the hard blow.

It was reported that Seungyeon could not even finish telling her story as she got too emotional. But she was soon able to collect herself and finished off by stating, "I was determined that I would do anything in order to protect KARA and to make our name known. I then started to work without any hesitation."

Who knew that such a difficult struggle lied behind that sweet face... at least Seungyeon and the rest of KARA are quite successful today, and Seungyeon's efforts haven't gone to waste.

Who is this adorable baby?

Due to a Mnet show being produced about a certain celebrity, their childhood photos have surfaced as of late and they've been a hot topic among netizens.

Can you guess who this cute toddler is?

Here are a few hints: she's recently made a comeback, she was once a formidable competitor for the title of "Sexy Queen" against Lee Hyori, and she's suffered through a sex tape scandal.

If you haven't guessed who she is yet, the photos are those of none other than Ivy herself! And the sexy queen really seems to be enjoying her comeback, since she has said "I feel so alive because I'm able to sing and perform once again," and "I'm really happy right now and this time is a really precious time for me."

As for the show, Mnet is broadcasting a two-part show about Ivy's "comeback story"; the first part is set to air sometime today in Korea, and the second part is due to air on the 11th. At any rate, we wish the best of luck to Ivy, who is taking the stage after a long 2-year hiatus.

Ivy thinks Goo Hara is the prettiest girl group member

Ivy has revealed her opinion about girl groups after returning to the music scene for the first time in 2 years.

In an interview with Newsen, she said, "I saw Goo Hara on TV once and ever since, I've been so interested in her. She's so pretty like a doll. She could be called the second Amuro Namie. Wherever I go, I hear about Goo Hara. Because of that, I've been interested in her and not only does she have the looks, but she also has quirky talents. We've shared a practice room and I've seen her work really hard for practice. I was so surprised at how much effort she put into practice.

She's a junior that has a great future ahead of her. I've been talking about her so much that I seem like I am a Goo Hara fan supporter."

Ivy went on to talk about other girl groups, "When I was making a comeback on Inkigayo, I shared a dressing room with SeeYa and 4minute. Because I was with such young girls, I felt young again as well. As I watch girl groups, I learn a lot.

Their pure passion is amazing. Only those girls can have something like that. I know there are a lot of girl groups with the same aim but I have a different one. I'm a solo artist and as a solo artist, I'm going to please fans with mature performances. Though they are amazing juniors, I won't lose to them."

Sounds like Ivy is a bigger fan of girl groups than fan boys. Do you think she's capable of beating the girl groups for the number 1 spot?