Super Junior

Jae-Ha Kim

Young K-pop fans may have killed for the chance that we’ve had: to walk backstage on M Countdown, a popular cable television music program. Stepping inside Thursday, we saw immaculately-styled Sung Min, a member of Super Junior, whiz by us. Then up ahead, in the room with a paper sign showing the group’s name on the door, there was Shin Dong having his violet-colored hair styled up, as Si Won stepped out and with a manner worthy of a world star said hello to his interviewers.

Go Away With … Bobby Lee

Jae-Ha Kim

Born in San Diego, Calif., actor Bobby Lee’s career started after he dropped out of college. He got a job doing whatever needed to be done at the Comedy Store, before he worked up the nerve to try his hand at doing stand-up. Many television viewers remember Lee from his days on Fox’s MADtv.” He may currently be seen in the Blu-ray release of “The Dictator,” which is being promoted as ‘“banned and unrated,’ the version you couldn’t see in theaters.” Lee also is one of the co-stars of the NBC series “Animal Practice.” To stay in touch with the comedian, you may follow him on Twitter @bobbyleelive.

PSY’s Gangnam Style’s U.S. Popularity Has Koreans Puzzled, Gratified

Jae-Ha Kim

“People are surprised — bewildered, really — at PSY’s popularity abroad,” says Susan Kang, chief evangelist for Soompi.com, the mammoth online site dedicated to Korean pop music. “You have people saying, ‘We have all these beautiful guys and girls that have tried to break through to the U.S. market with little success. So why PSY?’ But of course they are embracing it to the fullest, and it’s causing a renewed interest in and respect for his music.”

Go Away With … Ywada

Jae-Ha Kim

R and B singer Ywada, who hails from Tampa, Fla., says that it didn’t come as a surprise to family and friends when she decided to pursue a career in music. Born to a singer and a sound engineer, she grew up in a household filled with music. Now 26, the mononymous artist is celebrating the release of her current single “Count Me Out.” She’s also working with the Women’s Breast Health Initiative (WBHI) to bring awareness to breast cancer — a disease her close family and friends have had to battle.

Go Away With … Steve Byrne

Jae-Ha Kim

When Vince Vaughn suggested that Steve Byrne create a sitcom, the comic — who’s Irish and Korean — came up with the premise for the TBS series “Sullivan and Son.” Vaughn — a longtime friend and supporter — is an executive producer of the show, where Byrne plays a fictionalized version of himself. “My daughter was born the day before the first table read,” says Byrne, 38. “My wife gave birth at 9:30 at night and I got in to work at 7 or 8 in the morning and I was beaming. The whole cast and crew were clapping and congratulating me. It felt like a good omen.”

Go Away With … Jason Kennedy

Jae-Ha Kim

“My boss told me to pack my bags for two days and head to the Bahamas to cover the death of Anna Nicole Smith,” says Jason Kennedy, the Los Angeles-based entertainment reporter for E! News. “I ended up staying four weeks, because of how the story developed. It was tough being away that long, but well worth it. I learned a lot about this business on that trip.”

Go Away With … Jason Lezak

Jae-Ha Kim

The 2012 London Olympics is the fourth Olympics in which American swimmer Jason Lezak, has competed. He swam in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay preliminaries, which helped the United States reach the finals, where they won a silver medal. While this race wasn’t quite as exciting as the same race at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 — where Lezak swam the crucial anchor leg that helped propel the U.S. to a gold medal — the California-based athlete says every competition at the Games has been memorable in its own way. Lezak, 36, spoke from London, about how swimming has given him an opportunity to see the world.

Go Away With … Candace Bushnell

Jae-Ha Kim

Candace Bushnell has a new contingent of fans, thanks to a pair of young adult novels that are prequels to her best seller “Sex and the City.” “The Carrie Diaries” and “Summer and the City” introduce readers to a teenage Carrie Bradshaw years before she became a famous Manhattan sex columnist. The CW is creating a series based on “The Carrie Diaries” that will air later this year.

Go Away With … Bruce Jenner

Jae-Ha Kim

After winning the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Bruce Jenner figured he’d be recognizable for a few years before fading out of the public’s eyes. Little did he know that three decades later, he would be instantly recognizable to a new generation of fans who knew of him not only as an Olympian, but as Kim Kardashian’s stepfather.

With Jeremy Lin Exit, Some Asian-American Fans Feel Betrayed By Knicks

Jae-Ha Kim

“People who say Lin is an opportunist expected him to be a meek, quiet Asian man who wouldn’t cause waves,” says Jae-Ha Kim, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune. “This discussion about what he’s worth is insulting. Clearly these teams aren’t offering him this money out of the goodness of their hearts. And for what it’s worth, I’m a Bulls fan — I’ll just miss seeing Spike Lee go nuts over Lin.”

Go Away With … Daniel Gillies

Jae-Ha Kim

Born in Canada, raised in New Zealand and now living in the United States, Daniel Gillies has roles on two current series. He co-stars as Dr. Joel Goran on “Saving Hope” and as Elijah — a character who has been killed and resurrected no less than four times — on “The Vampire Diaries.” The 36-year-old actor and his wife, actress Rachael Leigh Cook, reside in Los Angeles.

Go Away With … Kendra Wilkinson

Jae-Ha Kim

When television audiences met Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett, she was presented as one of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends on “Girls Next Door.” Now married to wide receiver Hank Baskett, the 27-year-old California native is a mom, author (“Sliding into Home,” “Being Kendra”) and star of her own reality series, WE tv’s “Kendra On Top.” An avid traveler who enjoys active vacations, the TV personality says one city stands out: Seattle. “Hank proposed to me there,” she says.”Seattle will always be special to me.”

Go Away With … Craig Hurley

Jae-Ha Kim

When Craig Hurley was in his early 20s, he seemed headed for stardom. Handsome, talented and one of the stars of a heavily hyped network series, films seemed like the next natural progression. But as detailed in his no-holds-barred book “27 And All Washed Up” (available at www.craighurley.tv), that’s not how Hurley’s career turned out.

Go Away With … Chris Matthews

Jae-Ha Kim

Newsman Chris Matthews is a proponent of young folks studying overseas or taking a year off to travel before settling down in their careers. “I wanted to bop off to Europe, but I had to save money for graduate school,” says Matthews, 66. “I remember talking to the head of admissions at school about it, but he advised me to stay home and work. And that’s what I did. Taking time off seemed like such a luxury back then.”

Go Away With … Marcus Samuelsson

Jae-Ha Kim

Born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden by his adoptive family, Chef Marcus Samuelsson currently resides in the United States with his wife, model Gate Maya Haile. Samuelsson, a TV personality and “Top Chef Masters” champion, runs his restaurants Red Rooster Harlem and Ginny’s Supper Club in New York and Norda in Gothenburg, Sweden. His latest project is his memoir, “Yes, Chef” (Random House, $27).

Go Away With … Kim Vanderberg

Jae-Ha Kim

A bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympics, swimmer Kim Vandenberg is hoping to be part of the United States contingent that will compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London this summer. “You never know what can happen at the Olympic Trials,” says the 28-year-old Californian. “I’m more experienced than the last time and I feel well prepared. There’s definitely some nervousness when you compete, but since this is my second time trying to make the Olympic team, I know what to expect in terms of emotional requirements at trials. I’m looking forward to it and try to take things one day at a time.”

Go Away With … Chris Rock

Jae-Ha Kim

Comedian Chris Rock returns to the big screen as one of the voiceover stars of “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.” Though he’s been to Europe many times already, the 47-year-old actor has yet to visit Madagascar. “I’d love to go,” says Rock, who lives in New York with his wife and children. “Jeffrey Katzenberg (founder and CEO of DreamWorks Animation) always invites me to go, but I can’t because of work or other things I have going on. One day, though. One day.”

Go Away With … Kim Coles

Jae-Ha Kim

Best known for her roles on “Living Single,” “Frasier” and “In Living Color,” actress Kim Coles is now co-hosting the new game show, “Are You Normal, America?” for the Oprah Winfrey Network. An avid traveler who enjoys salad buffets as much as she does high-end resorts, Coles admits that her guilty pleasure is “taking extra lotions and soap from the hotel’s housekeeping cart. I tip, though, so I kinda pay for it!” Recently, the Los Angeles resident celebrated her 50th birthday by jumping off a 50-foot cliff at South Point in Naalehu, Hawaii

Go Away With … Evan Morgenstein

Jae-Ha Kim

Sports agent Evan Morgenstein is used to the comparisons to Tom Cruise’s character in “Jerry Maguire.” But he says that Jeremy Pivens’ portrayal of uber-agent Ari Gold in “Entourage” was more true to life, because Gold ticked more people off. “I’m a little bit like them,” says Morgenstein, 46. “But I’m taller and have more clients.”

Go Away With … Helio Castroneves

Jae-Ha Kim

I recently did a fun interview with Helio Castroneves. I asked if he was a backseat driver, and he said, “I’m OK with being in the backseat but, yes, I can be. I’m mostly concerned when people try to show off. That’s when I get a little uncomfortable. People don’t realize that with ordinary cars, you can’t go fast like you can in a racecar and still be safe.”