Song Joong-ki at KBS

[Anchor Lead]

The star of KBS drama "Descendants of the Sun," Song Joong-ki appeared on KBS 9 o'clock news on Wednesday night. We begin our newscast with the actor on his way to the news studio.

[Pkg]

A vehicle arrives in front ofthe main KBS building in Yeouido, Seoul, and out comes actor Song Joon-ki. This is his first visit to a broadcasting company since "Descendants of the Sun" went on air. Before the start of the news, he looks over the questions with the news anchors and discusses hallyu, the wave of Korean culture.

[Soundbite] JeongJi-hwan(Chief, KBS News and Sports Bureau) : "It's meaningful in that hallyu has been resurrected."

[Soundbite] "I hope you ride this momentum to keep Korean dramas popular. Yes, I will."

He was the first celebrity to appear on KBS 9PM news. It's apparent from his facial expression that he's quite nervous. But once the camera began recording, he began talking with ease as if he'd never been anxious.

[Soundbite] "Good job. Thank you."

Song appeared much relievedwhen the 20-minute interview ended. After the news appearance, he looked around the KBS building and reminisced about his previous work when he spotted a poster of a TV series he had starred in a few years ago.

[Soundbite] "I shot this a few years ago."

Song Joon-ki wrapped up his visit with a meeting with KBS President KoDae-young. Although he emerged as a hallyu star through "Descendants of the Sun," he was still very modest, courteously greeting the people he encountered throughout the visit.

2. KBS News 9 Interview

[Anchor Lead]

Song Joong-ki made history as the first celebrity to be interviewed on KBS News 9. Up next we bring you the interview.

[Soundbite] Hwang Sang-moo(Anchor, KBS News 9) : "You're the first actor to appear on KBS News 9."

[Soundbite] Song Joong-ki(Star of "Descendants of the Sun") : "I'm very honored. KBS News 9 is the first program to invite me for an interview of the drama Thank you. Thank you so much."

[Soundbite] Kim Min-jeong(Anchor, KBS News 9) : "Tell us what it's like to be among popular hallyu stars."

[Soundbite] "I'm a bit embarrassed. I don't know if I deserve sucha characterization. But I am happy and very grateful for everything."

[Soundbite] "Can you introduce some memorable lines?"

[Soundbite] "One of the lines from the drama became a catchphrase at the filming site. It appears in the final scene of episode 3, where I take out a gun and say,"Then save him" in order to protect Kang Mo-yeon. It became a buzzword at the filming site. The production crew and viewers liked it, too."

[Soundbite] "There are rumors on the internet that you and actress Song Hye-kyo are in a relationship."

[Soundbite] "We often have dinner with the production crew thesedays. We talk about that a lot because it's fun. I think the rumor appeared because the show is loved by so many people. We're enjoying it a lot."

[Soundbite] "Who would you pick between Song Hye-kyoand Kim Ji-won."

[Soundbite] "Wow, I'm a bit surprised to receive this questionon the KBS news 9. I would pick Kang Mo-yeonbecause we appear in many scenes together. Otherwise her feelings would be hurt."

[Soundbite] "Have you changed as a person after finishing military service?"

[Soundbite] "I learned many new, unexpected things in the militarywhere I bonded with many soldiers who were younger than me. It was a very helpful experience to me both as an actor and a man in his 30s."

[Soundbite] "What kind of actor do you want to be?"

[Soundbite] "As an actor, I attach much importance to scripts.I believe that my role is to harmoniously connect the writer who wrote the script with viewers. That's why I want to be an actor who collaborates well rather than stand out alone."

[Soundbite] "Do you have any dreams that haven't been realized yet?"

[Soundbite] "Some people already know that today I have realized one more dream. In the past I wanted to be an anchor. (A TV anchor in university?) Right. Being here in the studio talking to famous anchors is a dream-come-true experience for me."

[Soundbite] "Some are curious why you don't use social media."

[Soundbite] "I heard different opinions about that. But the reason isquite simple. I am not tech-savvy. I don't use social media simply because I don't know how."

[Soundbite] "Now that you're a top hallyu star, what are your plans for the future?"

[Soundbite] "I was able to join the ranks of hallyu stars thanks tomany other people, such as my seniors who rose to stardom before me and my fans as well. I feel an enormous sense of responsibility. I try to act in a way that wouldn't make my nation feel ashamed of me. I try to be an actor whose skills are good enough for his age, modest yet confident."

[Soundbite] "(Thank you.) Thank you."

3. KBS Hit in China

[Anchor Lead]

Song Joong-ki’s smash hit drama “Descendants of the Sun” is a sensation in China, taking hold of China’s representative social networking service Weibo. Up next, we take a look at the drama’s positive effects on South Korean exports to China.

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This is a pair of earrings worn by the female lead from the first episode of the TV series "Descendants of the Sun". It has become an instant hit.

[Soundbite] "These are the earrings the lead actress was wearing in the show."

A duty-free shop is packed with Chinese shoppers hoping to purchase the earrings.

[Soundbite] (Chinese Tourist) : "I have watched every episode of "Descendants of the Sun."

That's not all. A company that provided cars for the production has reaped advertising effects amounting to more than 87 million U.S. dollars. Sales of the red ginseng product favored by the main character have doubled from a year ago.

[Soundbite] "Do you have the lipstick you're wearing now?"

This cosmetics product has set sales records for the highest sales in the shortest period of time. Descendants of the Sun has reignited the stalling hallyu Korean pop culture boom.It has created a productive cycle of boosting Korea's positive image and increasing sales of Korean products.

4. President in Washington

[Anchor Lead]

President Park Geun-hye arrived in Washington DC to attend the Nuclear Security Summit. Prior to the summit, she plans to meet individually with the leaders of the United States, China, and Japan to discuss sanctions on North Korea.

[Pkg]

President Park Geun-hye arrived in Washington D.C. early Thursday morning Korean time.Prior to the opening of the Nuclear Security Summit on Friday, President Park is scheduled to hold a series of separate meetings with the leaders of the United States, China, and Japan, starting on Thursday night, Korean time, to discuss ways to collaborate on sanctioning North Korea. Her summit relay will start with U.S. President Barack Obama. During the meeting the two leaders will discuss the U.N. Security Council's sanctions resolution and independent sanctions. It will be followed by a trilateral summit among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan and a Korea-Japan summit, where solid collaborative measures to sanction North Korea will be discussed. Lastly, President Park will meet with her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a bilateral summit. Meanwhile, the United States will also hold separate bilateral talks with China and Japan. Experts believe that a series of meetings among neighboring nations over North Korea and its nuclear program would apply some pressure on the North Korean regime. The Nuclear Security Summit will open early Friday morning, Korean time, with a reception for the heads of delegation and a working dinner.

5. National Defense Plan

[Anchor Lead]

The Defense Ministry has unveiled a five-year national defense plan for 2017 to 2021. The plan focuses on boosting the nation's capabilities to counter North Korean nuclear and missile threats while building cutting-edge weapons systems to replace human troops.

[Pkg]

The Defense Ministry will place top priority on reinforcing the Kill Chain and Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system in a mid-term national defense plan which is to unfold over five years starting next year. To do so, the military will adopt new early warning radar systems capable of monitoring submarine-launched ballistic missiles(SLBM) which are currently under development by North Korea. With the number of troops predicted to decrease by more than 100,000 five years from now, the ministry will also step up combat deployment of cutting-edge equipment which can supplement the military force reduction. M-48 tanks which were introduced in the 1970s and are still in use will be replaced with the new K-2 Black Panther. Instead of older mortars that require five soldiers for operation, new 81-millimeter models, which are equipped with a digital gunsight and operated by four soldiers, will be deployed for combat. Noting the increased reconnaissance operations of North Korean unmanned aerial vehicles, the military said that it will immediately strike back against North Korean drones that cross the Military Demarcation Line using anti-aircraft weapons such as helicopters and vulcan cannons.

6. Palace Site Unveiled

[Anchor Lead]

Excavation of the ancient Wolseong Palace site in Gyeongju has been underway since last year. Now the project's results are being unveiled for the first time. The excavation has unearthed a building site and fortress walls and hundreds of relics from the late Silla period.

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A vast building site comes into view behind the trees. Stones used to build the structures are piled up here and there. The site measures 51 meters in length and width and 14 buildings are estimated to have been located on both sides of the wall. Under the building site excavators discovered nine different soil layers accumulated between the 4th and 9th centuries.A large amount of relics, such as earthenware, roof tiles, and utensils, representing different eras were found in each layer. It appears that the royal palace and auxiliary structures had been renovated over a period of nearly 600 years.

[Soundbite] Lee Jong-hoon(SillaWolseong Excavation team) : "It was meaningful that we found traces of people's behaviors and lifestyles from the earth layers of our investigation sites."

The excavation project revealed not only the 2-kilometer-long palace wall surrounding Wolseong, but also dozens of special roof tiles never seen before. Having preserved the royal culture of the millenialSilla Dynasty, the Wolseong site is revealing little by little the majestic lifestyle of ancient royalty.

7. Media Base Schools

[Anchor Lead]

Many productions found online these days are just as good as professionally produced videos. The Korea Communications Commission has begun operating so-called media base schools nationwide as a way to foster creative, talented media workers.

[Pkg]

Despite the awkward acting, this music video is a cheerful one. A short film presents a new interpretation of Pansori, a traditional Korean form of vocal music. The producers are all high school students. The videos were produced through a combination of the students' bright ideas and the skills of media professionals. In order to nurture these creative media talents, the Korea Communication Commission has selected 54 elementary, middle and high schools nationwide as media base schools. Students learn from experts production techniques and methods of communicating through media, while exploring their future careers.

[Soundbite] Bang Jeong-hoo(Gwangdeok Middle School, Gwangju) : "I want to produce videos on slapstick comedy or exclusive news reports in the form of Web cartoons."

In order to narrow information gaps, a traveling media education program will be operated for schools in farming, mountainous and fishing regions. In line with the free scholastic term system introduced this year, the commission has also increased the number of schools running hands-on media education programs to 120.

8. Entertainment News

[Anchor Lead]

Hollywood movie "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" has become a box office hit. Korean actors Lee Byung-hun and Oh Dal-su, who are as popular as Hollywood stars in Korea, have appeared in new movies. This and more coming up today's entertainment news.

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Jang Seong-pil is a relatively unknown actor who has been playing the role of a dog in a play staged in the Daehangno neighborhood for 20 years. Jang, who dreams of making a film debut, was inspired by the actual life of actor Oh Dal-su, who has appeared in seven movies that have each drawn ten million viewers. Lee Kyung-young, who plays the role of director Park Chan-wook, and cameo appearances by actors Kim Myung-min and YooJi-tae add to the film's colorful depiction of the ins and outs of the movie industry. A large-scale lawsuit is filed against a conglomerate.An informant is killed under suspicious circumstances, and four men track down hidden corruption and shady dealings. This is Korean actor Lee Byung-hun's fifth Hollywood movie. He co-stars with renowned veteran actors Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkins.

[Soundbite] Lee Byung-hun(Actor) : "The director already knew about me and wanted to work with me. I felt very elated."

A story about the difficult journey of a Greek woman and an American man to the altar has been given a sequel, 14 years later. It depicts the cultural conflicts experienced by families who take great pride in their national heritage.