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My Girlfriend Is the Man confirms release date via new poster: ASTRO's Sanha, OH MY GIRL's Arin get entangled in gender-swap

My Girlfriend Is the Man confirms release date via new poster: ASTRO's Sanha, OH MY GIRL's Arin get entangled in gender-swap

Pink Villa6 hours ago

Romantic comedies have always been a K-drama staple, but an upcoming series is shaking things up with an unconventional storyline. My Girlfriend Is the Man!, based on a popular webtoon, will premiere on July 23 at 9:50 p.m. KST. The drama is set to replace The First Night with the Duke, a fantasy rom-com led by Seohyun and Taecyeon.
On June 27, KBS unveiled both the broadcast date and the official poster for the series, igniting buzz across social media. The poster teases the drama's central twist in an instantly memorable way.
Park Yoon Jae, played by ASTRO 's Sanha, is caught in a tight embrace between two versions of his girlfriend: one female, one male. His shocked, wide-eyed expression promises a rollercoaster of surprises to come.
The plot
The story follows Park Yoon Jae, a university student majoring in astronomy. He's head over heels for his girlfriend Kim Ji Eun. Their sweet romance, however, takes a bizarre and life-altering turn when Ji Eun undergoes a sudden transformation. Due to a rare genetic trait in her family, she unexpectedly transforms into a man and begins living under a new identity: Kim Ji Hoon.
Played by OH MY GIRL's Arin, Kim Ji Eun is introduced as bubbly, affectionate, and warmhearted. But her world is flipped upside down when she wakes up one morning in a completely different body. Stepping in as her male persona, Yoo Jung Hoo takes on the role of Kim Ji Hoon.
For Yoon Jae, nothing makes sense anymore. He still recognizes the same gestures, habits, and emotions, but now directed at him from someone who looks completely different.
Chuu joins the mix as love rival
The situation becomes even more tangled with the arrival of Kang Min Joo, a confident and outgoing student played by Chuu. Min Joo finds herself irresistibly drawn to the new student, Kim Ji Hoon, unaware that he's actually Ji Eun in a new body. Her growing affection for Ji Hoon sets off a complicated love square, filled with comedic misunderstandings and emotional dilemmas.
My Girlfriend Is the Man! is packed with humor, romantic tension, and absurd moments. But the heart of the series lies in its commentary on love, identity, and acceptance. How far does attraction go when appearances change? Can emotional connection survive a complete physical transformation? These are the questions the show dares to explore, all within a playful yet heartfelt narrative.

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Channapatna, barbies and now labubu: What our dolls say about us
Channapatna, barbies and now labubu: What our dolls say about us

India Today

time20 minutes ago

  • India Today

Channapatna, barbies and now labubu: What our dolls say about us

When I was seven, my best friend wasn't human. She had no eyebrows, a bobbled head, and wore a hand-stitched lehenga made from an old dupatta. Every Sunday, I'd gather all my dolls-Channapatna wooden ones with clacking limbs, a bald plastic baby from Chandni Chowk, and that one prized Barbie knockoff-and host elaborate tea parties. My mother's steel katoris doubled as cups, Parle-Gs became biscuits, and the dolls sat in perfect formation, waiting for gossip and imaginary chai. We didn't have Pinterest-perfect dollhouses or curated Instagram shelves. Our dolls lived in shoeboxes. They travelled in schoolbags. They wore mismatched earrings made from fevicol and sequins. Most importantly, they were ours-silent witnesses to our dreams, dramas, and the days we wished we were to 2025-and things have gotten... kids and increasingly, young adults-aren't playing with dolls. They're collecting them. Enter Labubu: a bug-eyed, snaggle-toothed, slightly creepy creature with the cult appeal of a K-pop idol and the resale value of a Supreme hoodie. Born in the art labs of Hong Kong and sold through limited-edition "blind boxes," Labubu isn't made for tea parties. He's made for shelfies, unboxings, and envy-soaked Instagram Reels. Forget pink ball gowns and tiaras-Labubu wears skull-hoodies, devil horns, and an expression that says "I bite." And yet, Gen Z has embraced him like a totem. He's strange, edgy, and oddly adorable in a voodoo-doll-meets-mushroom-spirit sort of way. The shift is stark: from dolls that mimicked real life to dolls that reflect a surreal inner world. If our dolls were stand-ins for the people we aspired to become, Labubu is more like a plushy moodboard-part monster, part meme, part misunderstood alter happened to innocence? To hand-lathe toys and monsoon tea parties? Maybe nothing. Maybe, just like us, our dolls grew up-and got CLICK-CLACK OF WOODEN ANKLETS CHILDHOOD IN CHANNAPATNA Long before plastic turned playrooms neon-pink, Indian childhoods rang with the woody clatter of Channapatna dolls. In Karnataka's 'Gombegala Ooru' (Toy Town), artisans still spin hale-wood on hand-lathes, rubbing sticks of vegetable lac until the grain gleams like honey. The craft—patronised by Tipu Sultan in the late-18th century and protected today by a Geographical Indication tag—has survived wars, cheap imports and, lately, algorithmic 1980s and early-'90s kids, a Channapatna doll was more than a souvenir; it was the guest of honour at every bed-sheet tea-party. Fabric scraps became sarees, bindis were punched from notebook labels, and the doll sat primly while we poured imaginary chai from a plastic Milton flask. 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BTS's Jimin and Jungkook were stalked during vacation; photos leaked by saesangs—ARMY called for the idols's protection
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BTS's Jimin and Jungkook were stalked during vacation; photos leaked by saesangs—ARMY called for the idols's protection

BTS members Jimin and Jungkook were discharged from their military service earlier this month and, since then, have been resting and relaxing. Soon after, alleged reports of the idols travelling to Switzerland to film the second season of their variety show 'Are You There?' started spreading. Recently, saesangs have been sharing photos and videos of the idols during their vacation time, enraging ARMYs. Jimin and Jungkook were stalked by saesangs during vacation Soon after their discharge, Jimin and Jungkook went to Switzerland to spend some time relaxing and enjoying civilian life. On June 25-26, saesangs of BTS started circulating photos and videos of the idols on online social media platforms. The videos and photos seem to have been taken from far away and without prior permission as well, enraging ARMYs around the world. What worsened the situation was that the media content that was being circulated online was also taken while the idols were trying to spend a quiet and private time away from the public eye. At first, once the photos were shared, fans started celebrating getting new updates about the idols. However, once it was revealed how the photos were taken and who took them, many started calling the original posters out and even started requesting for the posts to be taken down. Fans react, calling for stricter action against saesangs As soon as it was revealed that the photos were taken without the consent of the idols, ARMYs took to online social media platforms and forums to report the original posts. Not only that, but they started urging everyone else online to stop circulating the images as well. One fan commented that 'I feel like this needs to be said every day, but it is NOT okay that we know where Jimin and Jungkook are, and it is NOT okay to share those stalker pics. You all claim to love them, but that seems to completely fly out the window once you see the stalker pics and decide to share them.' Another fan of the group shared, 'What is happening right now with Jungkook & Jimin is frightening. They are followed everywhere they go. Someone is 10 steps behind them, filming them. And you have those shippers hyping up everything with zero care about their safety. No one is questioning if the stalker is dangerous.' ARMYs also started posting requests online, urging the K-pop group's management agency to take strict action against the stalkers. They appealed that the company should take serious steps in order to protect Jimin and Jungkook's privacy, especially while they are relaxing during vacation.

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