Blue Bottle to launch in Seongsu by 2019

Blue Bottle Coffee is launching its first South Korean store in Seoul’s Seongsu neighborhood by the second quarter of 2019, marking the company’s second overseas expansion.Despite rumors that the company’s first Korean branch would be established in either Gangnam or Samcheong-dong, Blue Bottle Coffee Korea announced recently that Seongsu had been chosen as the venue.(Blue Bottle Coffee)The Seongsu district in eastern Seoul is sometimes called “the Brooklyn of Seoul.” The area is emerging as a c

FoodNov. 7, 2018

BTS wins Best Artist of the Year at 2018 MGA

The year 2018 has been an exhilarating ride for BTS, and what capped off a cascade of its impressive feats was a bagful of trophies at a K-pop award show in its home turf of South Korea.The group on Tuesday night received two grand awards, Best Artist of the Year and Digital Album of the Year, with its "Love Yourself" album at the 2018 MGA, a music award show jointly organized by Korean broadcaster MBC Plus and online music store Genie Music. The event was held at Namdong Gymnasium in Incheon on

PerformanceNov. 7, 2018

[Video] BTS on red carpet at 2018 MGA

BTS hit the red carpet at the 2018 MBC Plus x Genie Music Awards, with multiple wins on the horizon.MBC Plus x Genie Music Awards or MGA is a newly launched K-pop music awards co-hosted by South Korea’s major television network MBC and music streaming platform Genie.(Shot and edited by Park Ju-young / The Korea Herald)(The Korea Herald)Fans and reporters were crowding the venue in Incheon hours before the red carpet officially began at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.BTS is the creme de la creme of the supers

PerformanceNov. 6, 2018

[Photo News] Twice shine at 2018 MGA

As K-pop artists gather for this year’s MGA awards, two global sensation girl groups have certainly caught the eyes of viewers.K-pop leading girl group Twice brightened up the red carpet of the 2018 MGA. (The Korea Herald)After dropping its latest album, “Yes or Yes,” Monday via local digital music-streaming sites, the band now dominates the charts with the catchy title track of the same name. (The Korea Herald)  (The Korea Herald)Fans are excitedly looking forward to seeing “Yes or Yes” perform

TelevisionNov. 6, 2018

[Photo News] K-pop stars rock red carpet looks at 2018 MGA

(Video shot and edited by Park Ju-young/The Korea Herald)K-pop stars descended on the red carpet at the 2018 MGA on Tuesday night, a music awards show jointly held by MBC Plus and Genie Music at Incheon’s Namdong Gymnasium.Members of the girl group (G)I-DLE cut chic figures in black outfits and matching boots.(G)I-DLE. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)The six-piece group, consisting of Miyeon, Minnie, Soojin, Soyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua, was the first to arrive on the scene. The artists were greeted

TelevisionNov. 6, 2018

Stepping into world of virtual reality

Though virtual reality may seem like a vision from a faraway future, that future may be closer than we think. Virtual reality games are already amusing young Seoulites so much that the industry stands at the very heart of information technology powerhouse South Korea. According to VRfan, a local community website for VR enthusiasts, there are around 190 VR entertainment facilities nationwide. That number has increased 1,000 percent since 2016. VR entertainment -- ranging from short films to vide

CultureNov. 6, 2018

[Herald Review] ‘Unfinished’ human-interest story in form of political thriller

At the outset, Noh Kyu-yeob’s “Unfinished” looks as if it will turn out to be another political thriller about inter-Korean relations. Its gloomy atmosphere and gritty visuals suggest, perhaps, another thinking man’s thriller like “The Spy Gone North.”In essence, however, the film is a drama about a man and his family. The story centers on Oh Young-min, a South Korean-born economist who lived in Cold War-era West Berlin until he was tricked into moving to North Korea and forced to work as a spy.

FilmNov. 6, 2018

Seoul to host Asia's biggest coffee exhibition

Seoul is hosting the 17th international coffee show, “A Cup of the World,” for four days starting Thursday.South Korea is one of the most coffee-infatuated countries in the world. According to the Korea Customs Service, the domestic coffee market was worth 11.7 trillion won ($10.8 billion) as of 2017, which translates to 26.5 billion cups of coffee sold last year alone. In a country populated by 51.7 million people, that would mean an average of 512 cups consumed per capita. (Seoul International

FoodNov. 6, 2018

BTS RM’s UN speech used in textbooks, exams worldwide

BTS member RM’s United Nations speech has appeared in study material at schools worldwide, Herald Business reported Sunday. His speech was used in middle and high school classrooms for academic purposes in countries like South Korea, the US, Singapore and Vietnam. For example, at a Korean high school, in an English reading comprehension and composition exam that took place on Oct. 16, a problem went, “Read the following excerpt from BTS’ leader RM’s speech at UNICEF’s youth initiative ‘Generatio

PerformanceNov. 6, 2018

Veteran TV presenter welcomes expanding LGBT presence in Jongno

Veteran South Korean TV presenter Song Hae, who has been presenting famous music show “National Singing Contest” since 1980, praised LGBT events during a recent TV appearance.Song, who is 91 years old, said there is “a lot to learn” from events celebrating sexual minorities when he discussed Jongno-gu, a district in Seoul often visited by older people, as well as members of the LGBT community, when he appeared on KBS’s talk show “Joy of Conversation” on Saturday.TV presenter Song Hae discusses a

TelevisionNov. 6, 2018

Lee Jong-suk flies back home after detainment in Jakarta

Lee Jong-suk has returned home to South Korea after being detained in Jakarta, Indonesia, for about two days.Lee visited Jakarta on Nov. 3 as a part of his fan meetup tour, which included visits to Japan in August, and Taiwan and Thailand in September. He was scheduled to board a plane for South Korea the next day, but Lee and his team weren’t granted departure.(A-man Project)The actor’s detainment in Jakarta was made public through his Instagram post Monday, which read, “All of (the) staff memb

TelevisionNov. 6, 2018

From BTS to Charlie Puth, what to expect from 2018 MGA

With the clock ticking to this year’s K-pop MGA awards, excitement has been running high, as the star-studded event will feature diversity in its nominations and exclusive collaborations.Here’s what we can expect from the highly anticipated awards show, which is set to be held at Namdong Gymnasium in Incheon on Tuesday. 1. Head-turning performances and collaborations (BTS, Charlie Puth Twitter)The 2018 MGA will offer exclusive performances by beloved K-pop artists. Headlining the event is a join

PerformanceNov. 6, 2018

Twice’s ‘Yes or Yes’ dominates digital charts

K-pop group Twice is reigning over local digital music platforms with its latest EP “Yes or Yes.”The title track with the same name as the EP ranked No. 1 on multiple local music charts as soon as it was released on 6 p.m., Monday. It has topped six music streaming sites including Melon, Genie, Bugs, Soribada, Mnet and Naver Music, as of 8 a.m. Tuesday. (Twice official homepage)“Yes or Yes” is the sixth EP of the group, with songs including an electric-pop track with a bouncy hook declaring “Cho

PerformanceNov. 6, 2018

Angelina Jolie speaks out for refugees, tours Yonsei campus, during weekend visit to Korea

What are your chances of running into a Hollywood superstar casually dining with her children at a local restaurant in South Korea? Angelina Jolie was one of the least expected guests at Maple Tree House, a Korean barbecue diner in Samcheong-dong, downtown Seoul, on a Friday night. Yet, there she was, leaving the locals in her vicinity with gaping mouths and disbelieving camera snaps.Instagram and Twitter were abuzz with people demanding to know if the rumors were true, and photos were posted in

FilmNov. 5, 2018

Violinist Yang In-mo releases first Deutsche Grammophon album

Violinist Yang In-mo on Monday released his first album under the Deutsche Grammophon label. The album is a live recording of a May 3 recital at Kumho Art Hall, where he performed all 24 caprices by Paganini.The latest album is imbued with his personal style, Yang, winner of the 2015 Paganini Competition, explained. “I think it was possible because it is Paganini. If I were to play Beethoven, it would have been totally different. (In other compositions) there is always a given formality (one is

PerformanceNov. 5, 2018

JYJ Junsu discharged from military

JYJ’s Xia Junsu, 31, was discharged from his alternative military duty in the conscripted police force on Monday. Junsu had enlisted in February 2017 on the same day as Big Bang’s T.O.P. The latter’s discharge date was pushed back to June 2019 after he failed a drug test while also serving with the conscripted police.Prior to his momentous day, Junsu spoke with a wire service about his experience with candor and detail. Yonhap News Agency on Sunday quoted Junsu as saying, “(The military is) a pl

PerformanceNov. 5, 2018

TVXQ draws more than legendary home acts in Japan

In Japan, more fans came to K-pop duo TVXQ’s concerts than to those of the legendary home acts of Arashi and Namie Amuro, according to S.M. Entertainment on Monday. The agency said TVXQ was atop the list compiled by Japan’s Nikkei Entertainment that gauged fan attendance at concerts in 2018.TVXQ concerts in Japan this year drew an accumulated 1.28 million people, more than any local or foreign performers with concerts in Japan. (S.M. Entertainment's Twitter)S.M. marked TVXQ’s success as meaningf

PerformanceNov. 5, 2018

Big Bang T.O.P’s fans from 4 countries donate W11m

Big Bang bandmate T.O.P’s fans from South Korea, China, Japan and Thailand collaborated to donate 11 million won ($9,900) to the Yongsan Public Welfare Foundation to help those less fortunate, marking the K-pop star’s birthday Sunday. T.O.P is currently serving his alternative military duty at the Yongsan Crafts Museum in Itaewon, central Seoul, after he was pulled from his previous position with the conscripted police force for failing a drug test. T.O.P was originally to be discharged from dut

PerformanceNov. 5, 2018

Cellists Lee Sang-eun and Lee Jeong-hyoun win Isang Yun Competition 2018

Korean cellists Lee Sang-eun and Lee Jeong-hyoun won first prize at Isang Yun Competition 2018, Tongyeong International Music Foundation announced Saturday. Third prize went to Russian cellist Lev Sivkov, and Chun Yeh-jin won the Seong-Yawng Park Special Prize. There was no winner of the Isang Yun Special Prize this year, as participants who were to perform Yun’s cello concertos all failed to proceed to the final round. The special prize is given to an artist who wins a prize with a Yun composit

PerformanceNov. 4, 2018

Camping anywhere - in your car

Camping has been popular pastime since it became fashionable in the late 2000s. The number of campers in Korea was 600,000 in 2011 but broke 5 million in 2016, Statistics Korea estimated, suggesting a strong growth in the popularity of outdoor activities. Among many types of camping, from classic tent camping to luxurious glamping in fully-equipped cabins, camping out in a car has risen as an affordable option. (Instagram @dalnote_kang)Often called “cha-bak” in Korean, which translates to “stayi

TravelNov. 4, 2018