I haven't blogged in almost two months!  Sorry! 

Sometimes I forget there are people in this world that don't use Facebook to communicate, and therefore are outside of my regular communication channel.  I'll do my best to make up for that right now.

So, if I hadn't told you personally yet, I was in a movie here in Korea, ironically titled "Korea."  It is based on the true story of the South Korean and North Korean women’s table tennis teams combining forces at the World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan. 

The story is shown through the eyes of Hyun Jung Hwa, the 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist, former South Korea National Team head coach, as well as national hero and celebrity.

And what part did I play in the movie?  A foreign table tennis umpire, of course! 

I think I was type-casted, but you won't hear me complaining!  Going in, I thought I was just going to be an extra in the background.  Then when I got their, the assistant director told me I had lines...MANY lines! 

I don't want to spoil the movie for you (which comes out in February 2012), but let's just say I have to play hardball with a few people! 

The movie is going to be a pretty big deal from what I'm told.  The two main actresses, Ha Ji Won and Bae Doona are among the top 20 most famous actresses in Korea, according to my Korean friends.  This past weekend, Ha Ji Won's newest movie, "Sector 7", was #1 at the box office for its opening.  That movie will be shown in 46 countries, which says something about its popularity.  Bae Doona will star in "Cloud Atlas" with Susan Sarandon and Tom Hanks, which will come out later next year.

With the blessing of the producer, I wrote an article for the movie that was published in three publications.  Here are the links:

International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)
http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=25080&Competition_ID=&Category=&Competition_ID=&

USA Table Tennis (USATT.org)
http://tabletennis.teamusa.org/news/2011/07/28/new-table-tennis-movie-hits-theaters-next-year/43820

Paddle Palace 
http://blog.paddlepalace.com/2011/07/1991-korean-womens-world-championship-team-subject-of-2012-movie/

Also, if you didn't hear about this either, I was also a table tennis umpire for a reality TV show this past January.  The show is called "Let's Go Dream Team Season 2", and I was in episode #66 - the ping pong episode.  The show is in Korean, but was also televised with subtitles in Hong Kong and Paris.  Here are some clips from the show.  Don't ask me what they're saying about me!