BTS storms Japan's Oricon chart with new mini album

South Korean boy band BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, rose to No. 1 on a major music chart in Japan with its latest Japanese mini album Thursday, its agency said. (Yonhap)"Blood Sweat & Tears," BTS' seventh Japanese single released Wednesday, topped the Oricon Daily Single Chart, selling over 141,000 copies as of Thursday morning, according to Big Hit Entertainment, the team's management agency.The mini album holds three songs previously released in South Korea -- "Blood Sweat & Tears" from 201

May 11, 2017

Koreans debate if ‘La La Land’ foresaw President Moon Jae-in’s win

Koreans have been debating if colors from an unlikely source predicted President Moon Jae-in’s win on Tuesday. After the release of the election results on Wednesday, a still from the 2016 film “La La Land” attracted much public attention for its use of colors. (Lionsgate Films)People suggested that the still, which showed Mia (Emma Stone) getting ready with her friends to go to a party, accurately depicted the result of the election. They said the colors of the dresses that the actresses are we

FilmMay 11, 2017

[Herald Interview] HyunA-led Triple H goes us-against-the-world with ‘365 Fresh’

“Us-against-the-world” spirited trio Triple H, a new group to the Korean music scene, stood firm in the face of a controversy surrounding its recently released debut single “365 Fresh.” The collaborative group, consisting of HyunA of disbanded girl group 4Minute and her Cube Entertainment labelmates Hui and E’Dawn of boy band Pentagon, opened up about the new track from debut album “199X” that is being assailed for its controversial music video, at an interview in Seoul on Wednesday. Triple H (C

PerformanceMay 11, 2017

'The Villainess' director aimed to capture action that seemed 'impossible'

The director of "The Villainess," one of two South Korean midnight screening films at this year's Cannes Film Festival, said Thursday he tried experimenting with new filming techniques to capture footage that was unprecedented in previous action movies."As opposed to searching out movies to reference, I thought a lot about how I could film at an angle that no one has thought of before," director Jung Byung-gil said at a media event held at the CGV theater in Apgujeong-dong, southern Seoul. (Yonh

May 11, 2017

Psy nails it on music charts

Global K-pop star Psy has been going strong both in Korea and abroad with his long-awaited eighth full-length album.Since its release on Wednesday, “4X2=8” has been dominating the top 10 across all eight local music charts, including Mnet, Genie, Naver Music and Melon. K-pop star Psy (Yonhap)As of 11 a.m. Thursday, one of the double lead tracks on the new album “I Luv It” shot straight to the top spot, while another main track “New Face” landed at No. 2 on the charts. The music videos for “I Luv

PerformanceMay 11, 2017

Banks’ Seoul concert scheduled for July

Singer-songwriter Banks will hold her first concert in Korea on July 8 in Seoul, the artist’s promoters said Thursday.According to production agency AIM, the concert will be part of Banks’ international tour promoting her second studio album “The Altar.” The album was released in September last year, and debuted at No. 17 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The 28-year-old’s music has been described as alternative R&B and pop, sometimes being compared to the likes of British chart-topper Ellie Gouldi

PerformanceMay 11, 2017

Seventeen announce May comeback

Boyband Seventeen confirmed its comeback for May 22 on Thursday, and released a teaser video of one of its members on its Naver V Live account. In the video, Vernon appears to look for something in the plains with a compass. He then meets up with his bandmate Woozi and hands him the compass. “The video is a way of announcing a comeback in a different way from the past. It hints at the new aspect of Seventeen that will be shown in the new album,” Pledis Entertainment said. Teaser video for Sevent

PerformanceMay 11, 2017

Psy returns fresh with infusion of new life, less burden

Global K-pop star Psy returned with his long-awaited eighth album “4X2=8” on Wednesday.   The singer, who has a 16-year music career under his belt, said he had initially not intended to release a full-length album, considering how fast the current music industry evolves and how quickly songs are consumed by listeners. Working with young artists from his agency YG Entertainment, however, was like having new life infused into his musical career, which had plateaued since his hit “Gangnam Style” i

EntertainmentMay 10, 2017

[Herald Interview] ‘The Merciless’ shows a new Seol Kyung-gu

Seol Kyung-gu is an actor who possesses a “strange kind of charisma,” whose mere presence on camera evokes a sense of pathos, according to director Byun Sung-hyun of upcoming action flick “The Merciless (Bul Han Dang).”Having tackled a diverse array of roles and now in the 24th year of his career, Seol is a formidable figure in Korean cinema. But the actor will be the first to admit that his filmography by no means reflects a pristine track. There were periods when he fell into complacency, foll

FilmMay 10, 2017

‘Signal’ to begin airing in Japan next month

The tvN drama “Signal” will begin airing in Japan next month, CJ E&M announced Tuesday.The hit thriller series, which achieved an average of 12.5 percent viewership, stars Lee Je-hoon, Cho Jin-woong and Kim Hye-soo. The series was praised here as a well-made TV drama with solid acting and a tightly-constructed plot.  (From left) Lee Je-hoon, Kim Hye-soo and Cho Jin-woong star in “Signal.” (CJ E&M)The Japanese arm of CJ E&M introduced “Signal” as an award-winning series that represents the recent

TelevisionMay 10, 2017

BTS drops ‘Blood Sweat & Tears’ in Japan

Bangtan Boys released the Japanese version of its single “Blood Sweat & Tears” along with its music video Wednesday.It is the seven-member band’s third single to be released in Japan. In addition to the lead track, it also has Japanese versions of “Spring Day,” and “Not Today.” The music video for the song’s original Korean version was released last October and reached 100 million hits on YouTube in just four months.  Images from the music video of BTS’ “Blood Sweat & Tears” (Big Hit Entertainme

PerformanceMay 10, 2017

SF9 confirms Asia tour in June

Rookie group SF9 is set to tour five Asian countries in June, its agency said Wednesday. “The tour will be titled, ‘2017 SF9 Be My Fantasy Asia Fan Meeting Tour,’” FNC Entertainment said. “Starting with June 16 in Bangkok, SF9 will visit Manila on June 18, Singapore on June 30, Taipei on July 9 and Hong Kong on July 16.” K-pop group SF9 (FNC Entertainment)Since debuting in October 2016 with its first single “Feeling Sensation,” SF9 has enjoyed popularity here and abroad. Within five months of it

PerformanceMay 10, 2017

CNBLUE to release new single in Japan

South Korean idol rock band CNBLUE will unveil its 11th Japanese single album "Shake" on Wednesday, the group's management agency said.(Yonhap)Written and composed by member Jung Yong-hwa, the title piece "Shake" features a light band sound that makes its listeners want to shake their body, FNC Entertainment said. Besides the song, the album includes "Someone Else," also written and composed by Jung, and "Was So Perfect" by Lee Jong-hyun.CNBLUE is scheduled to hold a concert tour of Japanese cit

May 10, 2017

Actress Seong Hyeon-ah’s husband found dead

Actress Seong Hyeon-ah’s husband was found dead inside his car in Osan, Gyeonggi Province at around 8:40 a.m. Tuesday. The car, a Ssangyong Tivoli, was parked nearby the construction site of a studio apartment building. Burnt charcoal was discovered inside the locked car. The police suspect that some time has passed since his death judging from the decay of the body.Although no suicide note was found, police have concluded that the death was a suicide as evidence does not point to a killing.Seon

TelevisionMay 9, 2017

Idol competition 'Produce 101' confirms vote rigging scandal to be true; will block Chinese IPs

Mnet’s popular audition program “Produce 101” officially confirmed that there had been foul play involved in voting for the show’s contestants, with some fans attempting to rig the process. According to the show’s creator CJ E&M, transactions of CJ ONE accounts -- which allow users to vote on the show -- had occurred at China-based websites. Some of the accounts had been sold on the condition that the buyer vote for a specific candidate.A screengrab shows the 101 contestants of “Produce 101” per

PerformanceMay 9, 2017

Celebs vote in 2017 presidential election

It’s Election Day, and the polls are open to celebrities and citizens alike.　Many Korean celebrities, from K-pop idols to actors, exercised their right to vote today, sharing post-voting photos and selfies on social media to show that they have also fulfilled their civic duty. They also didn’t forget to encourage their fans to vote. Here are some celebrities who headed to polling stations this morning. 　1. VIXX(Jellyfish Entertainment)A photo released by VIXX’s agency Jellyfish Entertainment Tue

TelevisionMay 9, 2017

Actor Gong Yoo meets over 5,500 fans in Taiwan

South Korean actor Gong Yoo has had his first-ever fan meeting in Taiwan backed by the international popularity of hit local TV series "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God," his agency said Monday. (Yonhap)Management Soop said some 5,500 fans attended the actor's meet-and-greet event in Taiwan on Saturday.Gong rose to "hallyu" stardom through the tvN drama and Korean zombie film "Train to Busan." Hallyu refers to the rising global popularity of Korean pop culture. Taiwanese media covered every ev

TelevisionMay 9, 2017

Trailer, poster revealed for Hong’s ‘The Day After’

A black-and-white trailer and poster for Hong Sang-soo’s Cannes-bound film “The Day After” was revealed Tuesday. The film is another tale penned and directed by Hong, about love and misunderstanding featuring Kwon Hae-hyo, Cho Yun-hee and Kim Min-hee. Stills from “The Day After” (Finecut) Stills from “The Day After” (Finecut) Poster of “The Day After” (Finecut)Kwon plays married man Bong-wan who has been having an affair with a colleague at the publishing house where he works. The woman quits, a

FilmMay 9, 2017