It was reported last Friday that Korea's two most popular stars in China are Bae Yong-joon and Choi Ji-woo. That was according to an online poll conducted by the Chinese portal sohu.com on the Hottest Stars of Korean Drama.

Actor Choi Ji-woo, who has enjoyed rising popularity throughout Asia as well as Japan since the release of the KBS hit drama “Winter Sonata,” will see her picture album serviced in Japan through i-mode, EZweb and Yahoo mobile phones starting from Nov. 6.

Top star Choi Ji-woo has been selected by 100 movie industry insiders as the country’s most beautiful actress in the 2006 Timeless Beauty Awards sponsored by cosmetics maker Christian Dior. The awards, which were based on surveys of 100 movie industry insiders, seek to raise the status of Korean actresses and encourage their passion for the craft. Also honored at the first awards were Um Jung-hwa, Kang Sung-yeon, Choi Kang-hee and Shin Mi-na. Meanwhile, Monica Bellucci was selected as the timeless beauty representing Dior's new rouge this September.

englishnews@chosun.com