2/8(목)-Look Out for the ‘Pig Year’ Babies

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2/8(목)-

Look Out for the ‘Pig Year’ Babies

By Jane Han
Staff Reporter

Meet John.

Born in the year of the Pig, John is often referred to as honest, reliable, wise and warm-hearted.

A sincere peacemaker, he patiently watches out for his friends. He is always on top of his work, but doesn’t brag about it. He’s the modest, behind-the-scenes kind of person who offers a hand to others who can use his help.

Does he sound too good to be true?

Well, look out because you may notice many more ``Johns’’ making an impression this year as people born in the Pig year work to make 2007 not only ``their’’ year in name, but also in reality.

Here are some Pig people to keep an eye on.

In the world of entertainment, we have Shin Dong-yeop, a veteran entertainer who married last May to a producer working at the same network, MBC. The couple is expecting their first child in April, according to Yonhap News.

Known to be a ``busy bee 24/7,’’ Shin is expected to have another exciting year managing his new business and caring for his newborn.

Song Il-guk, the star of the hit drama ``Jumong,’’ finished last year successfully by snatching the top prize of the MBC year-end acting award. He will further surf the wave of fame as the drama was extended to run through the end of February.

``Hallyu’’ star Lee Young-ae, who is most famous for starring as Jang-gum in ``Jewel in the Palace,’’ is gripping attention as she is reportedly flipping through a number of scripts, getting ready for her next movie or drama.

Actress Ko Hyun-jung, actor Ahn Jae-wook, movie star Lee Mi-yeon and ``trot’’ king Na Hun-A are some of the other `Piglet’ entertainers.

In sports, there’s Kim Young-kwang of the Chunnam Dragons, who took on the position of national team goalkeeper in the absence of his senior Lee Un-jae. The Korean national team will prep this year for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and play in the preliminary matches from February to November.

Basketball star Kim Hyo-beom, weightlifter Jang Mi-lan, archery gold medallist of the Doha Asian Games Park Sung-hyun are some of the notable sports people to watch out for.

The business realm is flooded with many top managers who were born in the Pig year, which also represents wealth and fortune. Among them are Kim Jae-cheol, chairman of Dongwon Industries; Cho Suk-rai, chairman of Hyosung Group; Song Ha-keying, CEO of Monami; Yang Wook, CEO of Hanhwa Stores; Lee In-won, CEO of Lotte Shopping; Lee Youn, vice-CEO of POSCO; and Oh Sae-chul, CEO of Kumho Tire.

In the political world, Kim Keun-tae, floor leader of the ruling Uri Party, and Sohn Hak-kyu, former Kyonggi Province governor and a GNP member, were both born in 1947. They are also both noted as possible presidential candidates on their party’s ticket.

Minister of Health and Welfare Rhyu Si-min and vice speaker of the National Assembly Lee Sang-deuk are some others who may be looking forward to this year in particular.

The celebrities mentioned above may carry extra luck with them because this year doesn’t stop at being a typical Pig year. It’s also the ``Year of the Golden Pig,’’ which comes around every 600 years, according to fortunetellers.

It’s also a lucky year to have children. According to the myth, they will be blessed with the best of luck and wealth. The year 2007 is certainly looking like a special year.