GFriend to release 1st album under BTS' music label next month

Girl band GFriend will release a new album next month, the six-member group's first music release under its new agency, Big Hit Entertainment, the band's agency said Thursday. GFriend is on its way to release "回: Labyrinth" on Feb. 3, the first release since the last album, "Fever Season," in early July last year, according to Source Music.  It also is the group's first release since Source Music was merged into Big Hit, the music label of BTS, later that month.Pre-order

PerformanceJan. 16, 2020

Pre-orders for BTS' new album hit all-time high of over 3.4m copies

Pre-orders for K-pop super band BTS' upcoming album hit an all-time high of 3.42 million copies within a week after it became available, the album's distributor said Thursday.Since pre-orders for "Map of the Soul: 7," the upcoming fourth full-length album by BTS, began on Jan. 9, the accumulated orders for the album have surpassed more than 3.42 million copies as of Wednesday, according to Dreamus Company, which is in charge of the BTS album's distribution. The number includes pre-orde

PerformanceJan. 16, 2020

World DJ Festival is coming back bigger, louder

The World DJ Festival, is returning to Seoul this summer, bigger than ever.The organizers of World DJ Festival 2020 -- its 14th edition -- said Seoul will see three separate shows, starting with a prefestival concert at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in the southern Seoul on April 30. The event will take place as part of the Formula-E Championship, an electric vehicle racing championship being held in Seoul for the first time. The World DJ Festival will resume May 30-31 and again on April 6-7, at th

PerformanceJan. 15, 2020

Popularity of Korean music to go beyond K-pop in next decade: columnist, jazz musician

US-based K-pop columnist Jeff Benjamin and renowned jazz vocalist Nah Youn-sun, the two winners of the Korea Image Awards given by the Corea Image Communication Institute, said Tuesday that global attention to Korean music is expanding beyond K-pop as the country boasts the world’s sixth-largest music industry.“It is really special to think how much Korean music has grown for the 10 years,” said Benjamin during a press event at InterContinental Seoul Coex on the sidelines of CI

PeopleJan. 15, 2020

National Theater of Korea celebrates 70th anniversary

The National Theater of Korea is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year by presenting numerous programs by various performing art troupes. The National Theater Center, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is the hub of Korea’s performing arts scene, with the National Changgeuk Company of Korea, National Dance Company of Korea and the National Orchestra of Korea under its wings. Founded in 1950, it is the oldest of its kind in Asia. To celebrate its 70 years of histor

PerformanceJan. 15, 2020

BTS' music label Big Hit expanding business portfolio after successful year

Big Hit Entertainment, the music label of K-pop super band BTS, is scrambling to expand its business portfolio of K-pop artists following a sensationally successful year in 2019.A media report said earlier this week that Big Hit is on its way to acquire and merge with Pledis Entertainment, home to an army of popular K-pop bands including NU'EST and Seventeen. Pledis was established in 2010 by Han Sung-soo, who worked as a manager of K-pop diva BoA under South Korea's biggest K-pop music label, S

PerformanceJan. 15, 2020

BTS to hold joint exhibitions with internationally acclaimed artists

The world’s biggest boy band from South Korea has teamed up with internationally acclaimed artists and curators to hold joint exhibitions around the globe. Titled “Connect, BTS,” the band’s latest project involved collaborating with artists and curators to showcase artworks that are in line with the boy band’s philosophy, which stresses on diversity and supports those who are marginalized. A total of 22 international artists have joined the event dire

Arts & DesignJan. 14, 2020

CICI recognizes SK Telecom, K-pop writer Benjamin, jazz singer Nah for contributions to Korea’s image

Mobile carrier SK Telecom, K-pop columnist Jeff Benjamin and jazz vocalist Nah Youn-sun were awarded the Corea Image Communication Institute’s Korea Image Awards on Tuesday for their contributions to building a positive image of South Korea at home and overseas. At the awards ceremony held at the InterContinental Seoul Coex, SK Telecom Vice President Yoo Young-sang received the Korea Image Stepping Stone Award on behalf of the mobile carrier for its efforts to commercialize 5G technology w

PeopleJan. 14, 2020

Berlin concertmaster to grace Seoul stage as soloist

Violinist Lee Ji-yoon may be only 28 years old, but she is a musician trained in the legacy of a 450-year-old orchestra. In 2020, she will be sharing the legacy with Korean audiences at Kumho Art Hall Yonsei. The prodigy-turned-virtuoso of the Staatskapelle Berlin was selected as Kumho Art Hall’s artist-in-residence for 2020. Each year the art hall run by the Kumho Art Cultural Foundation selects an under-30 classical musician for its program. Lee took the classical music scene by storm in

PerformanceJan. 14, 2020

Stray Kids, Ateez to kick off world tours over the next month

Two emerging K-pop boy bands, Stray Kids and Ateez, will kick off globe-trotting concert tours over the next month in a bid to expand their presence outside of their home country. Stray Kids, an eight-member boy band managed by JYP Entertainment, is scheduled to go on the overseas legs of its latest concert series, "District 9: Unlock," whose inaugural Seoul edition took place in November last year. The concert series' first overseas destination is New York on Jan. 29 and will be follo

PerformanceJan. 14, 2020

Korean documentary ‘In the Absence’ nominated for Oscar

The 92nd Academy Awards on Monday named “In the Absence,” directed by Yi Seung-Jun and produced by Gary Byung-Seok Kam, as a nominee for best documentary (short subject).The category comprises released nonfiction motion pictures with a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits. Along with Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite,” which earned six nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards, “In the Absence” has become one of the first South Korean-

FilmJan. 14, 2020

Bong gets historic Oscars nod

Director Bong Joon-ho’s satire-thriller “Parasite” made history, earning nominations in six categories, including best picture, best director and best international feature film, for the 2020 Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday morning in the US announced the full list of its nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards, which included the first-ever Korean movie to be nominated for any award, “Parasite.”  Bong was also nominate

FilmJan. 14, 2020

'Joker' leads Oscar nods with 11 as women, minorities miss out

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- Dark comic book tale "Joker" topped the Oscar nominations Monday, picking up 11 nods including best picture and best director, as women and ethnic minorities were largely shut out once again.The pre-dawn Academy Award announcement capped months of ceaseless campaigning by A-listers and studios, revealing which stars and movies have a shot at Hollywood's ultimate prize next month.Todd Phillips's "Joker," a bleak, arthouse origin story about Batman's nemesi

FilmJan. 14, 2020

'Parasite' director Bong Joon-ho says 'language barrier' broken after Oscar nod

SEOUL (Reuters) -- "Parasite" director Bong Joon-ho said he was surprised and overjoyed when the film won six Oscar nominations on Monday, a historic first for South Korea's film industry and a sign that language is no longer a barrier to global success."Parasite," a dark comedy about the vast gap between the rich and poor in South Korea, snagged a coveted best picture nomination, best director for Bong, and best screenplay in addition to its best international feature nomina

FilmJan. 14, 2020

'Parasite' earns six Oscar nominations, including best picture

Bong Joon-ho's sensation "Parasite" earned six nominations, including best picture, for the upcoming Academy Awards on Monday, becoming the first South Korean movie to compete at the world's biggest film event.The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its final list of nominations for the 2020 Oscars Awards, to be held on Feb. 9."Parasite" was up for best picture, best directing, best original screenplay, best international feature film, production design and f

FilmJan. 13, 2020

EXO's Chen breaks surprise marriage news, hints at fiance's pregnancy

Chen, a member of K-pop boy band EXO, made a surprise announcement Monday that he will get married soon, hinting that his fiance is pregnant."Chen decided to get married after getting into a precious relationship," EXO's management agency, SM Entertainment, said.  SM did not provide further details about the finance, only saying that she is not in show business. It also did not provide the exact date or location of the wedding, adding that the ceremony will be a closed affair amon

PerformanceJan. 13, 2020

MPyC to evolve into multigenre music festival

The biannual festival Music in PyeongChang (MPyC) festival hopes to carry on the legacy of the PyeongChang Olympics with programs that embrace diversity and peace. The event’s organizers announced the program for the winter edition of the festival on Monday at Four Seasons Seoul in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, with festival artistic director and pianist Son Yeol-eum, Gangwon Art & Culture Foundation Chairman Kim Sung-hwan and Feelgood Kim, the foundation’s new CEO, in attendance.&

PerformanceJan. 13, 2020

K-pop stars temporarily leaving music scene over anxiety disorders

At the height of their high-profile K-pop careers last year, Kang Daniel and Mina, a member of sensational girl group TWICE, temporarily left show business, complaining of anxiety and other mental disorders. The Japanese K-pop star, Mina was suffering from an anxiety disorder and suspended her stage career amid her group's globe-trotting concert tour in July. Kang abruptly withdrew from the public eye in early December due to depression and a panic disorder, one week after his second music relea

PerformanceJan. 13, 2020

‘Beasts Clawing at Straws,’ awakens characters’ animal spirits

Director Kim Yong-hoon compared his first commercial movie, a crime noir with a touch of black comedy, to a “400-meter relay race between the eight characters,” clawing after a cash-filled Louis Vuitton bag. “The story unfolds, not with one or two main characters taking the lead, but with all the casts passing the baton to each other throughout the movie,” Kim said during a press conference for “Beasts Clawing at Straws” held Monday in Seoul. Based on Keis

FilmJan. 13, 2020

JTBC's 'Sky Castle' named best drama series at Asian TV Awards

South Korea's black comedy "Sky Castle" has received the best drama series prize at an Asian awards ceremony for television programs, the series' broadcasting network said Monday.At the 24th Asian Television Awards held in Manila on Saturday, JTBC's 20-episode weekend drama airing from November 2018 to February 2019 won the title, outclassing seven competitors including "Dr. Prisoner" of South Korea, "Stepmom and Daughter Blues" of Japan and "The Rise of Phoeni

TelevisionJan. 13, 2020