Im Si-wan’s new movie to open in March

The upcoming film “One Line” starring In Si-wan and Jin Goo has been confirmed for a March release, the film’s distributor Next Entertainment World said Wednesday. NEW released a poster for the film, announcing it will hit local theaters near the end of March. The film is a crime thriller that tells the story of an ordinary university student, Min-jae, who joins a team of veteran scammers to steal money from a bank. Im will play Min-jae, the handsome student who is naturally skilled at the art o

FilmFeb. 15, 2017

Korean content seeps through Chinese ban

Following the joint Korea-US decision to deploy THAAD battery in Korea last July, a de facto hallyu ban has been in place in China. Following is the first article in a three-part series that examines the impact of the unofficial hallyu ban on the Korean entertainment industry. --Ed.While Beijing has reportedly been banning Korean content within China since last August, the unstoppable flow of the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, seems to be seeping into the country through online channels.On a greater sc

TelevisionFeb. 15, 2017

LTI Korea's Kim Seong-kon receives honorary doctorate from SUNY

Kim Seong-kon, president of the Literary Translation Institute of Korea, will be receiving an honorary doctorate in humane letters from the State University of New York.　The degree will be conferred in a ceremony on May 19 at the University of Buffalo.Each year, on the recommendation of campus presidents, faculties and a statewide committee on honorary degrees, SUNY confers a select number of honorary degrees upon individuals of “extraordinary merit and achievement in their fields,” according to

PeopleFeb. 15, 2017

BTS marks 18th straight week on top 10 of Billboard’s world chart

The Bangtan Boys ranked No. 8 on Billboard’s World Albums Chart with the album “Wings,” marking the 18th straight week the K-pop band has stayed in the chart’s top 10.The second album by the seven-member group has shown a strong and steady performance on the chart since notching the top spot in the first week of October.  BTS (Big Hit Entertainment)“Voice of Angels” by Celtic Woman took the top spot while Pink Martini followed with “Je Dis Qui!”BTS also ranked No.1 on Billboard’s Social 50 chart

PerformanceFeb. 15, 2017

Ambitious Western US music center plans premiere

Tippet Rise, an ambitious music center in the rolling hills of Montana, on Tuesday announced a second season that will include a premiere by leading composer Aaron Jay Kernis.The Tippet Rise Art Center opened last year on a sweeping ranch in the western US state, aiming to bring world-class classical musicians to a venue in nature with concerts attended by no more than 150 people at a time. Tourists observe “Beartooth Portal,” a work by Spanish sculptors Anton Garcia-Abril and Debora Mesa, known

PerformanceFeb. 15, 2017

‘SNL’ keeps up Trump-inspired winning streak

NBC’s comedy institution “Saturday Night Live” reached its largest audience since 2011 with last weekend’s episode hosted by President Trump impersonator Alec Baldwin and featuring the return of Melissa McCarthy portraying White House press secretary Sean Spicer.The show reached 10.8 million viewers, the Nielsen company said. To put that in perspective, the late-night show had a bigger audience than all but four prime-time programs on TV last week. Among younger viewers, only the Grammys had bet

TelevisionFeb. 15, 2017

Cuban graffiti artist makes his mark in Havana

The whimsical designs of the graffiti artist with the signature Yulier P. began to appear randomly on walls around Havana three years ago. The first ones were large abstract renderings of rabbits, their floppy ears outlined in black against chipped concrete.Now, there is hardly a neighborhood in the Cuban capital where you can’t find one of the sprawling works of Yulier P. They include enormous gaping mouths 2 yards (meters) high, or flowers mixed either with the image of a woman or in the hands

PerformanceFeb. 15, 2017

‘Renaissance man’ Tillmans show blends politics and art

Fake news, Brexit and genitals: a Wolfgang Tillmans exhibition opening at the Tate Modern on Wednesday is an eclectic show that the edgy German artist says is as much about poetry and art as politics.“I want you to feel encouraged by the curiosity that I have for the world, to also not be afraid of the world and to not let fear be implanted in your brain,” the photographer said at a press preview.“The exhibition is not about politics. It is just as much about poetry, about art, about installatio

PerformanceFeb. 15, 2017

'Defendant' viewership soars above 25 percent in Seoul area

SBS TV's mystery crime thriller "Defendant" further emboldened its lead in the Monday-Tuesday drama race, with the show's rating rising above 25 percent among Seoul households, data showed Wednesday. (SBS)Tuesday night's eighth episode of "Defendant" recorded 25.2 percent viewership in Seoul, according to Nielsen Korea. The show's overall national rating rose to 22.2 percent.Rival shows "Rebel: A Thief Who Stole The People" and "Hwarang" both lost ground from a day before, falling to 10.6 percen

TelevisionFeb. 15, 2017

International Youth Fellowship to tour Korea

International Youth Fellowship to tour KoreaThe International Youth Fellowship will be holding a series of events to share the experiences of its over 400 overseas volunteers, the group said Tuesday. 　The 2017 GoodNews Corps Festival will kick off Thusday in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, and will travel to 12 other cities -- 10 in Korea and two in Japan -- before ending in Hiroshima, Japan on Feb. 28.Overseas volunteers perform a traditional dance at the Good News Corps Festival. (GoodNews Corps

CultureFeb. 14, 2017

In new local film, inmates sneak out of prison to commit crimes

(Yonhap)Prison is where those convicted of breaking the law are forcibly confined. But what if they could freely move in and out of their cells to the outside world to commit crimes?The new Korean crime thriller "The Prison," coming out next month, is based on this premise."The idea abruptly sprang into my mind," its director Na Hyun said during a news conference for film at a cinema in southern Seoul on Tuesday. "I then began writing a draft of the screenplay, asking myself that if a prime susp

FilmFeb. 14, 2017

Twice reveals new teaser image for upcoming album

Twice on Tuesday unveiled its new teaser image for the upcoming mini-album “TWICEcoaster: LANE 2,” featuring members Nayeon, Tzuyu and Sana. In line with the “knocking on doors” concept of previous teaser images, the photos revealed at midnight showed the three singers posing by the door.  Nayeon (JYP Entertainment) Sana(JYP Entertainment) Tzuyu(JYP Entertainment)The group is set to release the new album next Tuesday, which will include the main track titled “Knock Knock.” Prior to its release,

PerformanceFeb. 14, 2017

Nada dating Cycadelic Records CEO Kirk Kim: reports

Rapper Nada is dating US-based record store owner Kirk Kim, reports by local media claimed Tuesday.Nada, a 25-year-old member of Wassup, is reportedly in a relationship with Cycadelic Records CEO Kim, who is 14 years older. The couple has been seen on several occasions at the club Compton, which opened in Itaewon last December and is run by Cycadelic Records. Nada (Official Facebook page of Wassup)Kim, often referred to as the “godfather or Korean-American hip-hop,” is the second-generation owne

PerformanceFeb. 14, 2017

Taeyeon's 'I' music video tops 100 mln YouTube views

Girls' Generation member Taeyeon's "I" music video has been watched more than 100 million times on YouTube, becoming the sixth video associated with the pop act to reach the milestone, its agency said Tuesday. (SM Entertainment)View count for the video, uploaded on Oct. 6, 2015, stood at 100,031,467 as of 4:10 p.m. Tuesday, according to S.M. Entertainment, the team's agency. So far, the South Korean pop act has six songs -- five others being "Gee," "I Got A Boy," "The Boys," "Mr. Taxi" and "Oh"

PerformanceFeb. 14, 2017

Bong Joon-ho’s son makes directorial debut

Acclaimed director Bong Joon-ho’s son Hyo-min has made his directorial debut with the short film “Wedding” aired on Feb. 5 on cable channel JTBC2, local entertainment outlet Star News reported Monday.About 15 minutes long, it is the fourth in an ongoing film project titled “Directors TV Web Movie” led by YGKPlus, a modeling and acting agency arm of the entertainment behemoth YG Entertainment. “Wedding” features actor Son Ho-joon as its lead character Ji-hwan, a deaf man who attends an old high s

FilmFeb. 14, 2017

Kyuhyun’s new album tops Japan’s weekly chart

The album “One Voice” by K-pop band Super Junior’s Kyuhyun has topped the Oricon weekly chart less than a week since its release on Feb. 8. The new album is the artist’s first full-length album in Japanese. The album includes songs “My Serious Love Comedy, “Celebration,” the Japanese versions of “At Gwanghwamun” and “Blah Blah,” and six more tracks. K-pop band Super Junior’s Kyuhyun (Yonhap)Kyuhyun said he was “very happy” about the album’s success. He has been touring Japan since Jan. 18, perfo

PerformanceFeb. 14, 2017

Taeyeon soon to release new song

Taeyeon is set to return with a new song sometime around the end of February, local media reported Monday, quoting unnamed sources in the K-pop industry.The Girls’ Generation lead vocalist has produced various chart-topping solo tracks, including “I,” “Gemini,” “Rain,” “Why” and her latest single “11:11,” which was released in November.  Taeyeon (S.M. Entertainment)“A new song is always in the works,” Taeyeon wrote via her social media account after the news broke. “People are so impatient.”“Tae

PerformanceFeb. 14, 2017