Sleepless in Seattle as G-Dragon kicks off N. America tour

G-Dragon energized Seattle as he kicked off his North America tour in the rainy city on Tuesday.Standing in front of the crowd gathered at the Key Arena, the K-pop sensation thanked the fans and said it was “a great honor” to hold a global tour. He kicked off the night with his solo debut single “Heartbreaker” -- also the name of his debut album -- and “A Boy.”The singer entertained fans, sometimes up-close as he roamed between the aisles high-fiving and making eye contact.The night went on as G

PerformanceJuly 13, 2017

Taeyang confirms venues for N. America tour

K-pop superstar Taeyang has confirmed the North American cities that he will perform in as part of his upcoming global tour “White Night.”The Big Bang lead vocalist will kick off the tour with a concert at the International Centre in Toronto on Aug. 30, according to YG Entertainment. He will return to Canada -- this time on the west coast -- with a concert at the Orpheum in Vancouver on Sept.15 to wrap things up. The promotional image for Taeyang’s “White Night” tour. (YG Entertainment)Along the

PerformanceJuly 13, 2017

Music, kids’ channels boast largest subscriber growth on YouTube

Korean YouTube channels with the highest rate of subscriber growth in the first half of 2017 were those featuring kids’ content or music, the online streaming platform announced. 　Of the 10 channels with the largest increase in subscribers, six were music channels while four were kids’ content channels, according to statistics released by YouTube Wednesday.　The channel that achieved the biggest growth in subscribers was Kids TV HD EggVideos.com. The channel’s videos feature coloring exercises, c

TelevisionJuly 13, 2017

Seoulites enjoy Understand Avenue: Seoul Forest’s new hot spot

Understand Avenue, a new eye-catching shipping container complex, is attracting locals and tourists alike to Seongdong in eastern Seoul. Reminiscent of Konkuk University’s Common Ground, South Korea’s first and the world’s largest shipping container shopping mall Understand Avenue is made of 116 recycled containers and has more than just shops and restaurants. The complex serves as a creative public cultural space that aims to support teenagers, mothers, artists, local vendors and social entrepr

CultureJuly 12, 2017

[Herald Interview] ‘I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life miserable’

Her husky yet warm voice used to dig deep into torn young hearts pining for past loves. Fully charged with overpowering emotions, Korean singer-song writer Ali crooned lines like “If only I can remove you with an eraser, I want to erase you a hundred times over” in her tear-shedding ballad hits. Ali poses during a recent interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)However, Ali’s persona has outgrown her downbeat past and the singer has developed into a young woman i

PerformanceJuly 12, 2017

Wannabe K-pop stars enroll in ‘Idol School’

Young women looking to become the next Twice, Girls’ Generation and Black Pink will learn from some of the nation’s prominent entertainers and trainers at Korea’s first “Idol School,” and viewers will get access to every step of the process.Mnet on Wednesday held a press conference in Seoul for its new TV show and project designed to train teenaged girls to debut as K-pop girl group.  From left: Rado and Choi Kyu-sung of Black Eyed Pilseung, Kim Hee-chul, Stephanie, Lee Soon-jae, Bada, Jang Jin-

TelevisionJuly 12, 2017

[Photo News] CNBLUE’s Jung Yong-hwa unveils images for new EP

Gearing up for the release of his first solo EP, titled “Do Disturb,” Jung Yong-hwa has revealed a series of photos to be included with the record. FNC Entertainment at midnight uploaded the photos via the official teaser site for the EP, www.fncent.com/jungyonghwa. The images are consistent with the theme of “summer” and “vacation,” which the singer had vowed the EP will be about.According to FNC, the album’s lead track “That Girl” will be a cheery, upbeat song featuring rapper Loco.Jung, the l

Arts & DesignJuly 12, 2017

Psy relinquishes YouTube throne to Wiz Khalifa

For the first time since 2012, Psy has been unseated on YouTube as Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” became the most watched video of all time.As of Tuesday, the heart-wrenching song -- featuring Charlie Puth – surpassed the South Korean pop sensation’s “Gangnam Style” as the most-played clip.  Psy shows off his trademark “horse-riding” dance move in the music video of “Gangnam Style.” (YG Entertainment)The popularity of “Gangnam Style,” the first video to garner more than 2 billion views on YouTube

PerformanceJuly 12, 2017

EXO passes 100 million views on YouTube for 5th time

EXO has done it again, passing 100 million views on YouTube, this time with the music video for “Wolf,” Tuesday.According to S.M. Entertainment, the video has just become the fifth of EXO‘s YouTube productions to garner over 100 million views.  (S.M. Entertainment)“Wolf” is the lead track from EXO’s first studio album “XOXO” in 2013. The K-pop sensation had already broken the mark four times, with “Overdose,” “Growl,” “Call Me Baby” and “Monster.”EXO is set to release its fourth studio album, “T

PerformanceJuly 12, 2017

SM Town Live tour kicks off in Seoul

K-pop artists managed by leading Korean entertainment agency S.M. Entertainment kicked off their sixth concert tour around the globe in Seoul on Saturday. A total of 61 singers thrilled some 45,000 fans at the SM Town Live World Tour VI concert at Seoul World Cup Stadium. It was the first SM Town Live concert in Seoul in three years since its fourth tour opened in the city in August 2014.  K-pop artists signed by S.M. Entertainment perform at the “SM Town Live World Tour VI” concert held at Seou

July 11, 2017

Sulli, Kim Min-joon confirm breakup

K-pop group member-turned-actress Sulli, also known as Choi Jin-ri, and brand director Kim Min-joon have broken up after being together for four months. Kim took to Instagram on Monday to announce the split. “After lots of thought, Choi Jin-ri and I decided to go separate ways,” he wrote. Through the post, he waved aside possible speculations and asked people not to make up stories about the breakup. “It was ordinary dating. There is only the story of the two and no other special stories or curi

PerformanceJuly 11, 2017

SHINee's Taemin to drop third solo album next month

Boy group SHINee's Taemin will make a comeback as a solo artist in August, his agency said Tuesday."Taemin will release his third album as an individual artist next month," S.M. Entertainment said in a release. "This would be his first album in 1 1/2 years."The agency, however, did not reveal the exact date of the album's release. (S.M. Entertainment)The singer is scheduled to hold his first individual concert in his home country at the Olympic Hall inside Olympic Park in southeastern Seoul on A

PerformanceJuly 11, 2017

25,000 fill Gocheok Dome to attend Gracias concert

The 2017 Gracias Special Concert, a cultural festival, opened at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul at 7 p.m., Sunday, with a record 25,000 people in attendance.Attendees included ambassadors, youth ministers, university presidents from 40 nations across the globe and 3,000 domestic and foreign youths.The concert, presented by the International Youth Fellowship in celebration of the 2017 World Culture Camp, took place as a free performance for the people of Seoul and comprised various programs such a

CultureJuly 11, 2017

Roy Kim accuser takes ‘plagiarism case’ to top court: report

The protracted legal battle surrounding the alleged plagiarism by singer Roy Kim will be taken to the Supreme Court, local media reported Tuesday.According to the reports, the unidentified songwriter appealed the earlier verdict that ruled in favor of Kim. Both the district court and the appellate court ruled that the song in question, “Bom Bom Bom,” was not the product of plagiarism. Roy Kim (CJ E&M)In 2013, the Christian music composer filed charges against the then-20-year-old singer, claimin

PerformanceJuly 11, 2017

VIXX launches Japan tour

VIXX kicked off its concert tour in Japan on Tuesday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of its debut.According to its agency Jellyfish Entertainment, the boy band was to hold two concerts in Nagoya on Tuesday to commence the tour. The band will hold two concerts in Tokyo on Saturday and will wrap up the tour with two performances in Osaka. The poster for VIXX’s Japan tour (Jellyfish Entertainment)The concerts are part of VIXX’s project launched to celebrate its anniversary. It started with the

PerformanceJuly 11, 2017

Technology brings art closer to life

A wall-sized version of a Joseon-era painting welcomes those setting foot in the Google pop-up museum at the National Museum of Korea. But the painting has been magnified in unusually high definition, capturing details too minute for the human eye to capture.Take a few more steps and you will come across “a museum view” of world landmarks -- a virtual reality viewer that creates an illusion of the user being in other places.  Children use VR technology in a hands-on program at Google pop-up muse

CultureJuly 11, 2017

‘Taxi Driver’ ponders painful uprising through everyman’s perspective

The upcoming historical drama “A Taxi Driver” doesn’t want to wallow in the pain of the 1980s Gwangju Democratic Movement, when hundreds of civilians died while protesting the authoritarian military regime.　“It’s about the hope of people who did not let go, who strived to go on with life amid the pain,” said actor Song Kang-ho after the film’s press screening in Samseong-dong, Seoul, Monday.　Song, who starred in “Age of Shadows” (2016), plays the focal character Man-seob, a middle-aged taxi driv

FilmJuly 11, 2017

Theater festival to liven up kids’ summer

An international children’s theater festival starts next week in Seoul, with a varied schedule looking to arouse curiosity and imagination in young children Among those leading the ASSITEJ Korea International Summer Festival will be performances from Mexico, this year’s featured country. Tumaka’t Danza Contemporanea will be staging two shows, “Brins” and nonverbal performance “Tubos.” Both use dance as their main form of communication.“In ‘Tubos’ we use cardboard tubes to express that the discar

Expat LivingJuly 11, 2017

Age no barrier for English-loving seniors

On a hot June afternoon, a dozen expats met at Hannam Station Exit No. 1 and took a short walk over to Yongsan Senior Welfare Center to strike up conversations with the middle-aged men and women there. They are a diverse bunch. Some are on working holidays, drawn to Korea by a fascination with K-pop. Others are between jobs, keen to verify the depiction of the Korean War in their textbooks with the generation who experienced that period in history. Inside the teaching room, they stood in single

Expat LivingJuly 11, 2017

Animal enthusiast gives Jindo dogs a second chance

Lisa Crone relished being greeted by a cheery Jindo dog near her Damyang home each morning, until she suddenly stopped hearing its yelps as she approached the rice farm where it lived. The puppy that usually licked her so effusively had been struck by a car. Named Elsa, she was found barely able to move, paralyzed in her hind legs and with an arched spine. The 5-month-old’s owner had assumed she would die soon. She was a fighter though -- remaining alive but limp after a week. Crone made it her

Expat LivingJuly 11, 2017