Korean Santa's Helpers

With Christmas just around the corner, here's car show and racing model Hwang Mi-hee (above) and some more lovely Korean female celebs dressed in the spirit of the season. Happy Holidays.

Whatever Happened to Susan Kiger?

Most red-blooded American males remember our first time gazing at the pages of Playboy magazine and of course, that issue's Playmate of the Month. She's a girl we'll never forget. Some went on to further their careers in the spotlight, (such as Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy) while most others seem to have faded away into obscurity.

I was far too young to buy a copy of the January 1977 issue of Playboy at the time it hit the newsstands, so I creatively acquired it with the help of a friend's older brother. Miss January 1977 was Susan Lynn Kiger, who went on to have a brief acting career after her gatefold appearance, as well as being featured in and on the covers of a few subsequent issues of Playboy.

Susan (pictured at right from a 1977 Playboy cover shoot) also holds the distinction of being the only Playmate to have appeared in an adult film before becoming a Playmate. (The film was 1976's Deadly Love and those of you thinking Susan wasn't the only one, I'll correctly inform you here and now: No, Miss April 1986 Teri Weigel did porn after she became a Playmate.) Susan's post-Playmate acting credits consisted of several TV shows and low-budget movies, most notably the 1979 T&A comedy H.O.T.S., alongside fellow Playmates Pamela Bryant and Sandy Johnson. She also had a small part in the 1980 film Galaxina, which starred another of her fellow Playmates, the ill-fated Dorothy Stratten. Oh, and I'm refraining from using the term "former" Playmates here because according to Playboy (meaning Hugh Hefner); "once a Playmate, always a Playmate."

Ann Nanba for LV Vodka

This Taiwanese LV vodka cocktail commercial from a few years back features now-retired Japanese AV actress Ann Nanba. There are two versions of this ad and this is the uncensored one. The line spoken at the end is, "I know what you're thinking!"

Current info about Ann (also spelled "An") and what she's doing these days, would most likely be found at Japanese game sites and blogs since she's known as an avid gamer. Material from her AV career can easily be found all over the net ...and maybe in the comments below.

Friday the 13th Victim, Violet

(SPOILER ALERT) The killer in 1985's Friday the 13th - A New Beginning wasn't Jason Voorhees, because he was "killed" in the previous year's Friday the 13th - The Final Chapter, and wasn't "revived" until 1986's Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI. The Killer in a New Beginning was a man named Roy Burns and one can easily assume he killed Violet (as shown in the above clip) because of her terrible dancing.

Violet was played by actress Tiffany Helm, who actually studied dance and was a member of the Beverly Hills Mime Troupe. During her career, which spanned roughly from 1983 to 1996, she appeared in several other films and also some popular TV shows of the era. One of her most notable roles (besides this one) was that of Andrea "Fish" Eldridge in the 1986 cult favorite Reform School Girls. Her last listed film appearance was in the 1996 movie Rama. Since then, she's been residing in the "Whatever Happened to ..?" file.

Sasha Benlisa for Reel It In!

 

Here is the tall and lovely Sasha Benlisa doing a girl-on-the-street segment for the Internet fishing show Reel It In!, which is based in southern Ontario and billed as “the world’s most entertaining fishing show.” According to its Facebook page, Reel It In! is a “slick production that turns the traditional sport fishing show on its head by incorporating elements of sketch comedy, reality TV and late night variety into its formula.”

For those who recognize Sasha from her other reporting job, for those who think they’ve seen her before, but can’t place her, and for those who have never seen her before, but wouldn’t mind seeing a lot more of her, read on.

Risa Kudo as Zombie Hunter Rika

In keeping with the spirit of Halloween, here's popular gravure idol Risa Kudo (as well as the supporting cast) of the 2008 gore-fest Zombie Hunter Rika, a movie that proves when it comes to comedy/horrors with awful scripts, high-school special effects, and bad acting from beautiful, buxom young ladies, the Japanese definitely do not take a back seat to their counterparts in Hong Kong.

The Cast of The Vampire Who Admires Me

With Halloween drawing near, it's fitting to feature the beautiful female cast of a movie that's in the spirit of the season. The 2008 Hong Kong comedy-horror film, The Vampire Who Admires Me, centers on a lovely group of young models who travel to the ancestral home of their director's boss, on "East Dragon Island," to shoot some print ads for the "Zombie" clothing line. Of course, the models arrive unaware that the island will soon be inhabited by zombie-like vampires and a vampire king who will rise from his tomb and hunger for fresh blood.

Korean News Anchor Jang Mi-il

MBC news anchor and reporter Jang Mi-il has probably been the most searched-for and viewed TV news personality, over the past couple of years by Korean "netizens."

A graduate of the prestigious Ewha Womans University with a degree in English Literature, Mi-il joined MBC in 2003, where she has since made quite a name for herself and has earned recognition from fans and peers, alike ....and not just for her looks and wardrobe.

Dorothy Stratten on the Tonight Show

There have been several Playboy Playmates who've met with untimely deaths, but none such as Dorothy Stratten, who was the reigning Playmate of the Year when she was murdered by her estranged husband in August of 1980. Here she is on the Tonight Show in April of that year, just after being crowned the 1980 Playmate of the Year and her career showing signs of really taking off.

During her very brief acting career, after her whirlwind ride to fame as a Playmate, she appeared in several TV shows and movies. Her most notable film, Galaxina, in which she played the title character, has since become sort of a cult favorite, and Dorothy; sort of a cult figure, due to the timing and manner of her demise 29 years ago today. For those wanting to know the sordid (but interesting) details of her murder, the guys at FindaDeath.com, who do some great research on these matters, have this on it. Thanks to danaplatofan at Youtube.

The Cast of Yoga School

Like with Ogamdo, the poster for the soon-to-be-released Korean summer horror/thriller Yoga School (above) has caused quite a buzz that's preceded the film's opening. The eerie, photo-manipulated image features actress Lee Young-jin, who is one of the stars of the film, with a tagline that reads, "Do you also want to be pretty?"

Scheduled to be released only in Korea on August 20th, the film is about a group of appearance-obsessed young women who seek out and attend a curious yoga school that promises everlasting beauty. The rest of the lovely female cast includes Kim Eugene (formerly of popular singing group SES, and whom yours truly has had the pleasure of meeting), Park Han-byul, Cha Soo-yeon (whom I IDed here, without any thanks), Jo Eun-ji, Kim Hye-na, and Hwang Seung-uhn.

(Note: This movie's official English title was shortened to simply "Yoga," upon its international release on DVD. However, it's also been known as "Yoga Institute," "Yoga Academy," "Yoga Class," and probably some other titles. Whatever. They're all the same film.)

Naked News Korea

Toronto-based Naked News (whose own Yukiko Kimura has been featured here) has branched out even further by recently launching its Korean affiliate. The announcement was made at a press conference in Seoul earlier this month (above).

However, the Naked News Korea anchors won't really be naked. They will have two versions; an "adult" version, where the anchors will just be topless, and a (no kidding) "teen" version, where the anchors will be clad in bikinis and lingerie. Users will have to log in to the site using their Korean national ID numbers, which is how their age will be determined.

2 Girls 1 Sub

A parody of the infamous 2 Girls 1 Cup video (Google it if you don't know about that gem), Quiznos' recent commercial features June 2004 Playboy Playmate Hiromi Oshima and model Kari Nautique. The commercial was produced solely by Playboy (Quiznos said they did not have a hand in it) and the catch phrase is Hiromi and Kari "show you what a HOT sandwich tastes like."

Ogamdo Poster Model

I've never featured an unidentified model here before, but the production company for the soon-to-be-released mainstream Korean movie Ogamdo (The Five Senses of Eros will be the English title), will only state that the model on the movie's poster is an anonymous body model and not one of the actresses who appears in the film. The poster's tagline reads, “Look, graze, feel…a story about more than eroticism,” and it's caused quite a buzz since its unveiling.

I considered the unknown model for the poster could be ero actress Oahm Da-hye, who was the body model on the poster for the 2007 Korean movie, Cadaver (featured here) but dismissed that since Da-hye is a big name in the Korean adult industry and would most likely not model anonymously for a poster. Yes, I know her face wasn't shown on the poster for Cadaver, but there was plenty of press revealing the owner of the body as Da-hye. There has been zero press about the identity of the Ogamdo poster girl.

After searching through Korean cyberspace and coming up with nothing, I spoke with a couple of contacts and learned of some reasonable speculation that the mystery model may be lesser-known ero actress Cha Rin, whom yours truly met a few years ago after a stage performance in Seoul.

Alexa Le

I first noticed 22 year-old aspiring model Alexa Le at her blog before I knew she was an aspiring model. She informed me of her desires to become a car show model and dancer (and that she had profiles at Model Mayhem and HIN City) after I contacted her about being featured.

Unsure of what I could write about her, since she chooses to keep her private life private and her bio as a model is a short one so far, I suggested an interview, which she ardently agreed.

Esty Ng

23 year-old Chinese-Malaysian law student and part-time model Esty Ng was born and raised in Sarawak on the island of Borneo. She's currently going to school in Malaysia, and plans on getting her degree rather than going into professional modeling, an occupation she feels she isn't qualified for, despite opinions to the contrary.

Esty tells me she appreciates every little thing in her life that she finds interestingly beautiful. She says she captures them in pictures to share with her blog readers, which explains why there are literally hundreds of photos at her blogs.

During our chat, she also revealed to me what she describes as an obsession with elephants. In her own words; "For me, elephants just seem to be the nicest creatures on earth, and they are the only animal which cannot jump. Besides, people believe that elephants bring good luck and so do I. Thus, I collect everything which symbolizes an elephant."

North Korean Traffic Wardens

Rather than traffic lights (and probably because they can't afford to run and maintain them), larger cities in North Korea employ attractive and immaculately uniformed female traffic wardens at main intersections who direct what little traffic there is with military-like precision. Maneuvering atop small metal plates within white-bordered circles in the middle of those intersections, these ladies seem to have a sort of emotionless charm about them. While I have heard that there are also male traffic wardens in some cities, the capital, Pyongyang, has only female ones, typical in appearance as the one pictured at left.

Women have to meet certain physical standards in order to become traffic wardens in North Korea. According to unconfirmed but knowledgeable sources, in addition to being in good health and at least 164cm tall (not consider tall by Western female standards), they must also be no older than 26, unmarried, and apparently, easy on the eyes.

Due to the relatively high status and privileges the female traffic wardens enjoy in North Korea, they are said to be highly desired by the North Korean men, so I assume the average man there would stand little chance with one of these ladies. All of the photos that follow were taken in Pyongyang. The uniforms they wear depend on the time of year.

Korean Actress Lee Jenny

I first caught Lee Jenny (also known by her English name, Jennifer Lee) back in the late 90s, when she was was co-starring in a sitcom called Three Guys, Three Girls, which was sort of a Korean version of the US sitcom Friends.

She was quite a head-turner back then, know for having a voluptuous figure (especially by Korean standards), even though the character she played on the show was portrayed as innocent and cute, rather than outright sexy. However, as this video of a fairly recent photo shoots shows; the now 29-year-old Jenny is definitely sexy first, and cute second.

Han Jang-hee

Even though there weren't any girls who stood out during the 2006 World Cup like the media-named "Miss World Cup," Shim Mina did in 2002, Han Jang-hee aka "Elf Girl" came the closest. After a photo of her wearing a nicely modified "Red Devils" t-shirt (the official name of the Korean national soccer team's fans) hit the Internet, she was quickly dubbed Elf Girl, due to her resemblance to a popular anime character.

Unlike Mina, who came out with her debut CD before the furor from the 2002 World Cup had a chance to die down, it's taken Jang-hee almost three years to release hers. She got plenty of offers from entertainment agencies shortly after her photo hit cyberspace, but she reportedly wanted to stay out of the limelight, even though she was no stranger to show biz. (Her mother was a fairly successful "trot" singer, and got Jang-hee featured on the cover of a CD in 2005.)

However, she changed her mind and decided she wanted to become a singer late last year and, according to the Korean entertainment media buzz, her debut disc is due for release any day now. Even though it's been reported that she's been taking dance and vocal lessons for the last few months, I don't think her singing will be what sells her.

Friday the 13th Victim, Ethel

Veteran actress Carol Locatell will probably always be best remembered for her role as Junior's mom Ethel, in 1985's Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. Here we see, after her son losing his head, Ethel becoming an ingredient in her own stew. By last accounts, Carol is still alive and well, running the acting workshop she founded in New York City.

Whatever Happened to Chris Aoki? (Kekko Kamen Unmasked)

Japanese model/actress Chris Aoki (Please don't confuse with the female golfer of the same name.) was the first to play the part of manga superheroine Kekko Kamen in the early 90s. She was also the one who generated the most interest from Asian Sirens readers when I shared this entry with them. According to what little info I've been able to dig up on her, the 163 cm, 34-23-33 Miss Aoki was born on March 25, 1968 in Tokyo and was a 1990 Playboy Playmate in the now defunct Japanese edition of the magazine.

It seems that Chris appeared in a least one other film besides the Kekko Kamen ones she starred in, but hasn't been active in show biz or modeling since that time. All of the photos of her in this entry are from a photo book entitled Message, published in 1992 that I recently obtained from a Japanese bookseller.

If anyone can dig up any other credible information on her and/or what she may be doing these days, just shy of her 41st birthday, please comment and let me know. Until then, Chris will just have to reside in the "Whatever Happened to..?" file.

Kekko Kamen

The creation of Japanese animator Go Nagi, Kekko Kamen first appeared in a popular Japanese manga series saying such memorable lines as "Nobody knows my face, but everybody knows my body" and "I don't mind showing my body in the name of love and justice!"

The comic book eventually led to an original video animation series and several movies with four different actresses filling the role as the sexy masked superheroine over the years. The best-known being JAV idol Maria Ozawa, above.

Cornelia Tang

I first caught Cornelia Tang's Xanga blog several months ago and found her to be quite intriguing. I immediately considered her for a feature, but couldn't nail down how I'd present her. even though she isn't a celebrity or in the entertainment industry, she appears to have sort of  a celebrity lifestyle. She isn't a professional (or even semi-professional) model either, but she has done at least one photo shoot with a professional photographer.

Cornelia is also a popular blogger within Xanga's seemingly self-contained community of "Xangans" and it's clear to see why. She has a great sense of humor, so her blog entries are amusing, as well as well-written and interesting, especially the ones where she's documented her extensive solo travels to countries outside of her native Singapore. After contacting Cornelia and learning she was open to being featured, I suggested an interview format would be the best way to present her here, which she readily agreed to.

Friday the 13th Victim, Terry

Even though Terry wasn't shown getting killed on camera in Friday the 13th Part II, we know she did, and knowing Jason, we also know it wasn't pretty. As for Kirsten Baker, the portraying actress, her IMDb credits end with her small role in the 1987 drama Weeds. However, she has appeared in front of the camera in more recent years, as well as made appearances at horror conventions to meet fans. The guys at the fan blog, Friday the 13th: Today, have some articles on Kirsten that cover more on that.

Pro Billiards Player Cha Yu-ram

21-year-old Cha Yu-ram is currently one of the two top ranked WPBA players from Korea. The other is Kim Ga-young (26), who definitely shouldn't be overlooked in this entry, nor should Korean-American favorite, "The Black Widow" Jeanette Lee. However, Yu-ram's recent photo shoot shown here, has now gotten fans to start appreciating her for more than her skills with a pool cue.

Baek Ji-young

Korean singer Baek Ji-young, whose career was temporarily derailed but not destroyed, by a sex video scandal in late 2000, was recently presented with the song of the month award at the Cyworld Digital Awards show in Seoul, much to the surprise of some, who thought her male competitor would easily walk away with the honors.

I've always admired her for the way she bounced back after the video of her having sex with her former manager hit cyberspace just a year after her debut, rather than go into hiding like other celebs would have chosen to do (such as 1989 Miss Korea Oh Hyun-kyung did after her infamous "Miss Oh" video made the Internet in 1999).

Yours truly saw Ji-young in concert less than a year after the scandal broke, and despite the many empty seats in the house, she gave a dynamic performance. Even though she was criticized by many Korean netizens for coming back "too soon" after the scandal, the posters for that concert were boldly worded; "Baek Ji-young Strikes Back."

With her latest album being her 7th, it's good to see that she's still going strong. (Take note, Hoang Thuy Linh.) Oh, and for those of you who are curious to learn more about her sex video scandal, her Wikipedia entry here covers it as well as the rest of her career, very accurately. Oh, and yes, I've seen the infamous video but no, I won't post it.

Linda Tek

Half-Chinese, half-Cambodian bartender/ model/go-go dancer Linda Tek has been modeling for about two years now. Among her modeling credits, the 25 year-old Washington, DC native has appeared at many Hot Import Nights events and is the reigning Ms. Poker Chick Virginia. She currently resides in Alexandria, which is where she can be seen tending bar and dancing at area hot spots such as Club Aqua and the Muse Lounge.

Among Linda's hobbies, she enjoys cooking and, at the risk of encouraging some bad puns from commenters, she especially loves to bake, which is her favorite hobby. "Cookies, cupcakes, you name it!" she says. During our correspondence, she also told that me she's the type of girl that likes to just chill with the guys at the bar and that she'd "rather drink beer and watch the game than go shopping with the girls."