Big Bang's 'Bae Bae' tops 100 mln YouTube views

The video for K-pop boy group Big Bang's "Bae Bae" has surpassed 100 million views on YouTube.It hit the milestone on Tuesday night, becoming the 11th video from the group to garner 100 million views on the global video-sharing service, the group's agency YG Entertainment said on Wednesday.  (YG Entertainment)The group performed before 50,000 fans in Fukuoka on Saturday and Sunday in the first leg of its Japanese dome tour that will also take it to three more cities in the country. The concerts

PerformanceNov. 23, 2017

EXO to return with winter special album in December

EXO is gearing up for the release of a special winter album in December, its agency S.M. Entertainment said Thursday.Last December, the K-pop act had also released a winter special alum, “For You,” which sold over 442,000 copies.The release date of the upcoming album has not been set yet, according to the agency.  EXO (S.M. Entertainment)EXO dropped its fourth album “The War” in July, which sold more than 1 million copies in less than one month, becoming the boy band’s fourth album to sell more

PerformanceNov. 23, 2017

[Album review] K.A.R.D’s ugly but sophisticated love story

K.A.R.D“You & Me”Loen EntertainmentK.A.R.D is a decent storyteller. Shifting away from the pure white and pale blue of shimmering tropical track “Hola Hola,” the K-pop co-ed rookie group filled its new palette with colors of darkness, all of which mix to paint one tragic love tale in “You & Me.” Imagine a couple that just fell in love. The budding love will blind their eyes. Each day will feel like a miracle and a blessing. The first track “Into You” delves into such euphoric feelings of love wi

PerformanceNov. 23, 2017

Christmas with Camarata concert offers ‘Hope for Resolution’

Camarata Music Company and the Christian Business Men’s Connection will hold a Christmas concert next month to usher in the festive season.It will be a larger than usual Christmas performance for Camarata. The company, a group of Korean and expat singers and musicians in Seoul, has traditionally performed Handel’s “Messiah” each year, but conductor and Executive Director Ryan Goessl said he hoped this concert would help the company grow as an organization, while also raising money for good cause

Expat LivingNov. 22, 2017

Angle X returns to Busan

Angle Magazine is returning after a year’s hiatus to stage an Angle X art and music showcase in Busan on Saturday.The Angle X shows grew out of the expat-led online culture magazine’s first birthday show in Busan. Since then the group has held shows in other places in the south such as Daegu.The MagusThe event wasn’t held last year as the magazine went through a quiet period, with magazine founder Philip Brett moving to Jeju Island for a year and other members working on other projects. The maga

Expat LivingNov. 22, 2017

BTS certified by Guinness as most retweeted band

Following the band’s groundbreaking stateside debut on the American Music Awards on Sunday, K-pop juggernauts BTS broke a Guinness World Record as the most retweeted band.On Tuesday, Guinness World Records announced via its official Twitter account that the band landed a spot in the 2018 book for having the world’s most Twitter engagements for a music group.In the latest edition, which was updated in May this year, BTS, with 152,112 average retweets per post, fell below English singer-songwriter

PerformanceNov. 22, 2017

‘1987’ to depict birth year of Korean democracy

The monthslong protests starting from October last year -- which took place mostly at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Plaza and toppled former President Park Geun-hye’s scandal-ridden administration -- may seem like just yesterday to many Koreans. “Whether it is 1987 or 2017, the plaza has always belonged to the people. I wanted to tell a story in which the people are the main characters,” said director Jang Joon-hwan of his upcoming film “1987: When the Day Comes” in a press conference Wednesday.Born from

FilmNov. 22, 2017

WWF names environmental economist as new board president

World Wide Fund for Nature International has named Pavan Sukhdev, an environmental economist and former head of the UN Environment Program’s Green Economy Initiative, as the new president of its board.  Pavan Sukhdev, the new president of the board for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)The announcement came during a board meeting Sunday attended by Sukhdev. He will succeed Yolanda Kakabadse, who had served two consecutive four-year terms.Sukhdev played a key role in a major green economics stu

PeopleNov. 22, 2017

Why CL decided to star in ‘Livin’ the Double Life’

In reality show “Livin’ the Double Life,” set to air on cable channel tvN on Thursday, K-pop songstress CL opens up on her struggles to break through the American pop scene, post-2NE1 gloom and more. “The reason I went to the US and the reason I agreed to shoot this show is because I wanted to give hope to young aspiring singers,” CL said at a press conference for the show in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on Wednesday. “I wanted to show them that I could do it.　“It could also help other singers who wan

PerformanceNov. 22, 2017

KBS, MBC year-end awards in limbo

It has become uncertain whether the highly anticipated annual year-end awards ceremonies from two of Korea’s biggest TV networks, KBS and MBC, will take place, due to their respective long strikes. MBC, which recently ended a two-month strike, told The Korea Herald on Monday, “As the company is still under the normalization process, we are discussing whether to hold the year-end awards ceremonies.” The broadcaster, however, will still hold its traditional year-end music show “MBC Gayo Daejejeon”

TelevisionNov. 22, 2017

‘Untouchable’ cast, producer discuss wealth, power

Next up on cable channel JTBC is a bleak drama series that centers on three generations of a wealthy and powerful family.“Untouchable,” set to begin airing Friday, stars Jin Goo as Jang Joon-seo, a police detective seeking revenge on his wife’s murderer.After witnessing his father engaging in ruthless murder, Joon-seo comes to despise the immoral upper class and severs ties with his family. “He loses his wife and becomes lost in life. I’m working hard to express agony and conflict,” said Jin at

TelevisionNov. 22, 2017

BTS' 'War of Hormone' tops 100 mln YouTube views

The video for K-pop group BTS' "War of Hormone" has garnered over 100 million views on YouTube, its management agency said Wednesday.The video for the track off "Dark & Wild," the group's first full-length album released in August 2014, reached 100 million views on the global video site at about 4:35 a.m., according to Big Hit Entertainment. BTS already has 10 other songs, including "Fire," Save Me," "Not Today," "DNA," "Danger" and "I Need U," that have reached the same milestone on YouTube. (B

PerformanceNov. 22, 2017

Simon Rattle’s Berlin Philharmonic bids smashing adieu to Seoul

Multiple award-winning composer Chin Un-suk’s “Choros Chordon,” which got its Korean premiere by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at Seoul Arts Center on Monday night, could have been as difficult to understand as the composer had anxiously “warned” audiences in local media interviews. But she need not have been so worried.Perhaps her warnings had served their purpose. One just listened without feeling obligated to try to understand the 11-minute piece, which she described as having to do with

PerformanceNov. 21, 2017

K.A.R.D depicts twisted love with ‘You & Me’

Rookie group K.A.R.D has been a standout in the K-pop scene with its distinctive Latin dance-influenced sonic style that diverges from the K-pop norm. After making an impression with its debut EP “Hola Hola” in July and wrapping up its world tour in October, K.A.R.D is back on home ground. It released its new love-tinged EP “You & Me” on Tuesday. And the new EP is not about a fairy tale romance. Rather, it’s a tragic love story smothered with pain, obsession and jealousy. K.A.R.D performs during

PerformanceNov. 21, 2017

[Photo News] Poet Ko Un’s library reproduced, revealed to public

Korean poet Ko Un was contemplative at the launching ceremony of the Maninbo Library, Tuesday, where his old study was recreated and officially opened to the public. The Maninbo Library is situated at Seoul Archival Services, on the third floor of the Seoul Metropolitan Library. Ko Un (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald) Ko Un at the Maninbo Library (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald) The Maninbo Library (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald) Inside the Maninbo Library (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald) The Ma

BooksNov. 21, 2017

K-pop couple with 17-year age gap open up about romance

A celebrity couple, with a 17-year age difference, carried out an interview on their love story with a local magazine. Both Mina and Ryu Philip -- 45 and 27 years old respectively -- are singers in Korea, who have been in a romantic relationship with each other for more than two and a half years. The couple admitted that were dating in April 2015. (bnt)The couple did a photo shoot with local magazine bnt, with an accompanied interview, in which they shared stories on how they met and fell in lov

PeopleNov. 21, 2017

Bomb threat at venue with Apink’s Jung Eun-ji

A bomb threat was made to the venue where a press conference for upcoming JTBC drama series “Untouchable” was set to take place Tuesday at 2 p.m.According to police, a call came in to the Imperial Palace Hotel, the press conference’s venue, at 12:53 p.m. stating “a bomb has been installed” and “people should be evacuated.” The caller then quickly hung up, police said. Police searched Selena Hall, where the press conference was set to take place, and other parts of the hotel. No suspected explosi

PerformanceNov. 21, 2017

GOT7 to release repackaged version of ‘7 For 7’ on Dec. 7

K-pop act GOT7 is slated to return with a repackaged version of its latest EP “7 For 7” on Dec. 7, according to the group’s agency JYP Entertainment. The poster for the upcoming repackaged album titled “7 For 7 Present Edition,” shared by the agency’s official website Tuesday, showed the seven-piece group posing at a stairway surrounded by white walls. “7 For 7 Present Edition” will be available for pre-order from Wednesday, the agency said. A poster for GOT7‘s upcoming repackaged version of its

PerformanceNov. 21, 2017