[Photo] Kriesha Tiu reveals concept image for debut single

As Kriesha Tiu counts down the release of her debut single next Wednesday, the Filipino-American K-pop star dropped a concept image for the record on Wednesday.The image showed Tiu in a seemingly calm demeanor, focusing on a sight far off. It marked a contrast to the previously-revealed image of her lead track “Trouble” which showed a playful side of the singer. (Urban Works ENT)Tiu, 18, was a runner-up in Korean audition program “K-pop Star” season 6, which aired from November 2016 to April thi

PerformanceMay 17, 2017

Band Raw By Peppers to release album ‘Cosmos’

Post-rock band Raw By Peppers hopes to mesmerize fans with its unique sound and style with its first studio ‘Cosmos,’ to be released on noon Thursday. According to its agency Craft and Jun, the album will consist of 13 tracks and will build on the dreamlike and peculiar sound that it has shown in the previously-released EP “Spaceship Out of Bones.” The theme of the album will be “a space travel of three boys,” modeled after the trio. Raw By Peppers (Craft and Jun)“In order to carry the full ener

PerformanceMay 17, 2017

China rappers to Seoul: 'Big brother' opposes missile shield

BEIJING (AP) _ A rap group backed by China's government is warning South Korea in a music video that "you're going too far" with the deployment of a US missile defense system, as Beijing seeks to bring its state-supported cultural forces to bear in the international dispute. A member of the group CD REV said government officials worked with them on the video and helped to promote it on foreign websites, many of which are blocked in China by official censors emboldened by the ruling Communist

PerformanceMay 17, 2017

‘Looking’ to see if love really is blind

First dates weren’t always about Tinder swipes and photo-approved introductions. Blind dates used to be just that -- meetings with someone without knowing what they looked like.Changwon Community Theatre is going back to that time with “Looking,” Norm Foster’s tale of singles looking for love as they approach middle age. Two of them meet for a date in a bar via a newspaper personal ad. Nicole Heker, Ifoma Genevieve Rothblatt, Jordan Schauer and Brendan Thompson will appear in Norm Foster’s “Look

Expat LivingMay 17, 2017

Black Pink to debut in Japan this summer

Black Pink will be taking its first step into the global music scene with a Japanese release, the group’s agency YG Entertainment said Wednesday. The K-pop quartet will be holding a showcase at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan arena on July 20. The showcase will be funded by Tokyo Girls Collection, a semiannual fashion festival launched in 2015 and Japan’s largest fashion event. The group will release an album in Japan on Aug. 9. The Japanese debut EP will include Black Pink’s hit tracks, including the re

PerformanceMay 17, 2017

International cultural forum holds visual contest

An international cultural forum in Seoul in late summer will assemble the world’s creative opinion leaders to discuss and promote Korean culture, while also inviting foreigners in Korea to take part in a visual contest. The Culture Communication Forum, organized by the Corea Image Communications Institute, will be held on Aug. 29 at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, inviting five influential figures from the media, culture and arts sectors. Unlike previous forums, where foreign opinion leaders spent severa

CultureMay 16, 2017

BTS tops weekly Oricon Charts with ‘Blood’

BTS’ seventh single “Blood, Sweat and Tears,” released in Japan on May 10, has topped the weekly Oricon Charts, Japan’s largest music chart.The album ranked No. 1 on the list with a total of 238,795 Oricon points.Having debuted in Japan in June 2014, BTS broke the mark of 200,000 points on the Oricon charts in the shortest amount of time ever, according to the boy band’s agency Big Hit Entertainment. BTS first topped the Oricon charts in June 2015 with its fourth Japanese single “For You.”  Prom

PerformanceMay 16, 2017

Dig suggests human sacrifices during Silla Kingdom

An archaeological dig by the state-run Cultural Heritage Administration has found the bones of two people under ancient palace walls, suggesting that the Silla Kingdom (57 BC to 935) actually had a culture of human sacrifices.The remains of a 166-centimeter tall man and a 159-centimeter person of unspecified gender were found under the west walls of Wolseong Palace in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, according to the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage under the CHA.Aut

CultureMay 16, 2017

Foo Fighters, Liam Gallagher to rock out in Korea

Rock legends Foo Fighters and Liam Gallagher will land in Korea on Aug. 22 for a concert in Seoul, the show’s promoters said Tuesday.According to Live Nation Korea, the two acts will take the stage in a concert “Live Forever Long” along with Korean band The Monotones. It will be the Foo Fighters second Korean performance in as many years. The band, founded by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, is one of the most successful alternative rock bands in the world. It has won multiple Grammy Awards fo

PerformanceMay 16, 2017

Daegu to host musical ensembles from ‘Spamalot’ to ‘Polita’

Korea’s hottest city, Daegu, will heat up even more next month as this year’s annual Daegu International Musical Festival will be the most diverse one in its 11 year history, featuring 26 musicals from nine countries across the world including Korea.The 11th DIMF will be held from June 23 to July 10 in major theaters across the metropolitan area. “If the past 10 years had been a period of laying the foundation for the DIMF, the next 10 will be the time when it takes a leap toward becoming a glob

CultureMay 16, 2017

Korean authors to attend overseas literature events

Popular Korean authors will get to meet readers and translators in overseas literature events, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea said Tuesday. The photos provided by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea shows Kang Young-sook (left) and Jeong Ho-seung. (Yonhap)Novelists Hwang Sok-yong will attend the Turin International Book Fair in Italy from May 18-22. His book, including "Mr. Han's Chronicle" and "Princess Bari," have been translated into Italian.At the book fair, Hwang wi

BooksMay 16, 2017

Boy band iKON to drop new song next week

Idol band iKON will release a new single album next week, its management agency said Wednesday. (Yonhap)YG Entertainment said the band will put out the as-of-yet unnamed album on Monday, its first brand-new release since "What You Doing" from May of last year. The company uploaded a teaser image on its official blog."The new song is iKON's best song to date," YG founder Yang Hyun-suk was quoted as saying by the company.iKON has gained a solid fandom and is widely expected to be the successor of

PerformanceMay 16, 2017

TV star Sung Yuri ties the knot with golfer

Singer-turned-actress Sung Yuri and her pro-golfer boyfriend Ahn Sung-hyun got married in a private ceremony at an undisclosed place, her agency said Tuesday."Sung Yuri and Ahn Sung-hyun, who have been in a close relationship for four years, married in the form of family worship with their immediate family on Monday," SLent said in a release. (Yonhap)The agency said it was unable to announce the marriage in advance "according to the will of the two people who wanted to focus on each other in a c

TelevisionMay 16, 2017

Ji Chang-wook named ambassador for 2017 AIIB

Ji Chang-wook has been appointed as an honorary ambassador for the 2017 AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) event, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.The ministry said Tuesday the actor would promote the upcoming annual meeting in Jeju.  Actor Ji Chang-wook (left) poses with Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho at the appointment ceremony at KT Square in Seoul, on Wednesday. (Yonhap)“Ji Chang-wook has an exemplary image and high reputation across Asia. He also has been active i

TelevisionMay 16, 2017

Twice sends ‘Signal’ with fourth EP

Nine K-pop darlings came back with a powerful “Signal” that another Twice sensation would hit the country and the world hard.  Twice, the K-pop girl group that has taken Asia by storm, dropped its fourth EP “Signal” Monday, with a lead track also titled “Signal.” The song marked the first collaboration with Park Jin-young, the founder and head producer of their label JYP Entertainment.  “If there is a big difference from our previous projects, it is that we attempted powerful choreography for th

PerformanceMay 16, 2017

'Produce 101' reigns over TV chart for fifth week

Season two of "Produce 101," Mnet's idol survival show, topped a benchmark TV popularity index for the fifth straight week, data showed Tuesday.It scored 267.6 points on the Content Power Index, becoming the most popular TV program from May 1-7.(Yonhap)CPI, developed by entertainment company CJ E&M and Nielsen Korea, measures the popularity of TV shows based on the number of views of related news stories, online search tallies and buzz on social media.In the survival audition show launched in 20

May 16, 2017

[Seoul Saunter] Sharosugil, where exotic eateries rub shoulders with traditional marketplace

Guarding the entrance of Seoul National University, located at the foot of the city’s southwestern mountains, is a monument that looks like a triangle with a pronged pole to its right. Created by rearranging the Korean letters in the school’s name, the sculpture resembles the letters for the sound “sha,” which is why a newly bustling alleyway near the university has come to be called “Sharosugil.”　The street, located behind the large boulevard that stretches in front of Seoul National University

CultureMay 15, 2017

‘G-Dragon’ forest opens in Jeju

A special forest to celebrate G-Dragon’s birthday opened on Jeju Island. Forest Kwon Ji-yong (Yonhap)The forest, named after the artist’s real name Kwon Ji-yong, had its opening at the Citrus Museum in Seogwipo Sunday. A total of 50 citrus trees have been planted in the forest located within the museum. The project was co-organized by G-Dragon’s official fan site Always-GD and Tree Planet, a Seoul-based crowdfunding service for forest planting.The two organizations began the project in August la

PerformanceMay 15, 2017

Netflix will not be demise of theaters: ‘Okja’ director Bong Joon-ho

Upcoming movie “Okja” has sparked heated debate about how films released almost exclusively online will affect the film industry, but the film‘s visionary director, Bong Joon-ho, doubts platforms like Netflix will replace theaters. Controversy brewed over Netflix‘s refusal to screen “Okja” at French cinemas after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and the festival organizer’s announcement that from next year, any film that screens in competition will have to first commit to showing in Fren

PerformanceMay 15, 2017

YG stars take a walk for the kids

Cha Seung-won, Kim Sae-ron, Son Ho-jun, Sean of hip-hop duo Jinusean and other stars from YG Entertainment laced up their shoes and went for a stroll in a charity event held Sunday to help children.Musicians and actors from YG took a four-kilometer walk around Sangam World Cup Stadium in Seoul in the first YG X UNICEF Walking Festival held at Sangam World Cup Stadium in Seoul. “I’m proud to take part in such a meaningful event. I think I’m giving back some of the love we (Jinusean) got during ou

PerformanceMay 15, 2017