[Herald Interview] Now as group of seven, Kep1er continues their journey with new album

Kep1er, a project girl group formed through Mnet’s idol survival program “Girls Planet 999” in 2021, returns as seven with the new mini album “Tipi-Tap” on Friday. This is their first album release after Kang Ye-seo and Sakamoto Mashiro departed from the group in July. The remaining seven members of the group extended their exclusive contract with Klap Entertainment and WakeOne Entertainment becoming the first K-pop project group to prolong their activities beyond t

Nov. 1, 2024

World Pansori Festival to celebrate unique vocal art form

The second annual World Pansori Festival will kick off at Namsangol Hanok Village in Seoul this weekend, showcasing a blend of traditional culture and modern musical innovation. Co-hosted by the World Pansori Association and Namsangol Hanok Village, the festival running from Friday to Sunday celebrates pansori, Korea’s expressive vocal art form of narrative singing of epic stories and folklore. The Main Concert will have live pansori beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, followed by pansori buski

Oct. 31, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Zerobaseone sets record in Japan with concert DVD

Zerobaseone claimed all three top spots on Oricon’s weekly video charts with its concert footage, said agency WakeOne Entertainment Thursday citing the Japanese tally. The band’s Blu-ray and DVD edition of its fan concert in Japan topped Oricon’s Weekly DVD, Bly-ray Disc and Music DVD/Blu-ray Disc rankings at the same time, a first for an international artist. The videos are of the nine members’ first such event held in March in Yokohama for which they put on stage 11 son

Oct. 31, 2024

Thai K-pop fans’ online protest against Hybe intensifies

K-pop fans in Thailand, one of the strongest K-pop fan bases globally, are protesting against Hybe following the leak of an internal document that reportedly contained unverified rumors about YG Entertainment's Blackpink and its Thai member, Lisa, as well as numerous other artists. The so-called “music industry report,” disclosed during a recent National Assembly audit in Seoul, allegedly criticized Blackpink’s achievements and suggested that Lisa’s success at the MTV Vid

Oct. 31, 2024

Twice to become first K-pop performer on Amazon Music Live

K-pop girl group Twice will become the first K-pop artist to perform on Amazon Music Live in the US. According to their agency, JYP Entertainment, Twice will take the stage on Amazon Music Live on Nov. 21 at 9 p.m., local time, with the performance later available on Amazon Prime Video and Twitch channels. Now in its third season, Amazon Music Live is an online streaming concert series that airs live right after the broadcast of games from the National Football League, one of the largest profess

Oct. 31, 2024

Le Sserafim to perform at 2024 MTV EMAs

Le Sserafim is set to take the stage at Europe's biggest music awards ceremony, MTV European Music Awards (EMAs), this year. The 2024 MTV EMAs take place in Manchester, UK, on Nov. 10. "There's no better feeling in the whole wide world than announcing Le Sserafim as a 2024 MTV EMA performer. See them take the stage on 10 November,” the EMAs announced on their official website on Wednesday. The ceremony, hosted by MTV Networks Europe, awards trophies to songs, music videos, a

Oct. 31, 2024

Looking for love, and drama? 'I am Solo' now casting foreign residents

"I am Solo," one of Korea’s most popular dating-themed reality shows, is accepting applications from foreign nationals interested in joining its matchmaking program. According to the program, the show is seeking "single foreign nationals living in Korea who are fluent in Korean," as well as "Korean national men who are interested in marrying foreign national women." Applicants should send a self-introduction email to lovematch911@naver.com. Selected candidates

Oct. 31, 2024

Rose's 'APT.' becomes fastest video by K-pop female soloist to surpass 200 mln YouTube views

Rose of popular K-pop girl group BLACKPINK set a new YouTube record for K-pop female solo artists with the music video for "APT.," her collaborative single with American pop star Bruno Mars. The video exceeded 200 million views around 11 a.m., in about 11 days and 22 hours after it was uploaded on the global video streaming service, according to her agency, The Black Label. This makes "APT." the fastest music video by a K-pop solo artist to hit 200 million views, breaking the

Oct. 30, 2024

[Herald Interview] Park Sang-young aims to break taboos through his works

Novelist Park Sang-young is now a screenwriter, following the release of the television adaptation of his 2019 novel, “Love in the Big City.“ Park wrote the script for all eight episodes of the drama which explores the romantic and personal life of a young gay man in Seoul. The series was released in full on the local streaming platform Tving on Oct. 21. “As you may have guessed, it took some time to cast the actors and confirm the platform on which it will air due to the uni

Oct. 30, 2024

Has ‘SNL Korea’ satire devolved into mere insults?

Treading precariously on the fault line of socially accepted norms, satire often becomes a source of controversy. “Saturday Night Live Korea” -- running since 2011 with a three-year break before it was rebooted in 2021 -- enjoys the distinction of being the longest-running international adaptation of the iconic US show, and is appreciated by fans for its weekly satirical commentary on current affairs. However, not everyone approves of how its subjects are satirized. In a recent case,

Oct. 30, 2024

Hybe CEO pledges stability; Ador ex-CEO vows to continue legal fight

Following the Seoul Central District Court's dismissal Tuesday of ousted Ador CEO Min Hee-jin's injunction request for her reinstatement as chief executive of the label home to girl group NewJeans, Hybe CEO Lee Jae-sang sent an email to employees the same day pledging to prioritize stabilizing operations at Ador. In the email, Lee described the court’s ruling as a "turning point" and expressed optimism in the clarity it brings to resolving issues that have emerged over

Oct. 30, 2024

Court dismisses injunction by ex-ADOR head Min seeking reinstatement as CEO

A Seoul court on Tuesday dismissed an injunction request by the former CEO of K-pop label ADOR seeking to be reinstated to her position, amid the ongoing dispute with ADOR's parent company, Hybe. Min filed for the injunction last month as she contested the board's decision to remove her from the job over Hybe accusing her of attempting to take control of ADOR and its flagship group, NewJeans. Min has denied the claims. The Seoul Central District Court said it was dismissing the case as

Oct. 29, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] NewJeans surpasses 600m Spotify streams with debut single

NewJeans hit the 600-million mark on Spotify with “Hype Boy,” agency Ador said Tuesday citing the platform. “Hype Boy” is one of the focus tracks from its namesake debut album released in August 2022. The single is the group’s fourth song to reach the milestone, after “OMG,” “Ditto” and “Super Shy.” It was the first song from the quintet to generate 100 million plays on the platform, doing so in 98 days. NME magazine picked it fir

Oct. 29, 2024

[Herald Interview] ‘Uprising’ shows unprecedented sides of Gang Dong-won, Park Jung-min

A scruffy man with windblown hair is dragged down to kneel on the ground. Despite his untidy looks, his glaring eyes are fixed on the enemy as he swings his sword, a movement akin to dancing. The man is Gang Dong-won, portraying a seemingly unlikely character for the actor: Cheon-young, a main character in Netflix’s “Uprising.” Ranking third in some 190 countries on Netflix’s non-English Global Top 10 movie chart soon after its Oct. 11 release, the period action flick fol

Oct. 29, 2024

Hybe apologizes over controversial internal documents, reassigns writer

Hybe CEO Lee Jae-sang on Tuesday apologized over the recent disclosure of an internal document that contained controversial remarks about K-pop artists. The document, intended for Hybe executives as part of an industry trends review on a weekly basis, surfaced during a National Assembly audit on Thursday and has since sparked widespread backlash. “I bow my head in apology to the artists, industry colleagues and fans affected by the language used in our monitoring document, which was highli

Oct. 29, 2024

Kyuhyun to drop 1st solo LP 'Colors'

Kyuhyun is set to release his first full-length solo album, marking a decade since his solo debut. Kyuhyun’s agency Antenna announced his first LP "Colors" with a teaser image on the agency's official social media channels. The album is scheduled for release on Nov. 27. Known for his warm and steady vocals, Kyuhyun is a member of the veteran boy group Super Junior and a beloved ballad singer. The upcoming album will be Kyuhyun's first full-length album since his solo de

Oct. 29, 2024

Rose’s ‘APT.’ sets record for women in K-pop

Rose’s single “APT.,” a collaboration with Bruno Mars, debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Nov. 2, marking a new record for female K-pop artists. According to Billboard, “APT.” is the first song by a female K-pop artist to enter the Hot 100’s top 10 chart. Previously, the highest-charting track by a K-pop female act was Blackpink's "Ice Cream," a collaboration with Selena Gomez that peaked at No. 13. Only BTS, its members Jimin

Oct. 29, 2024

Seventeen’s Seungkwan releases lengthy message amid Hybe controversy over internal documents

Seventeen’s Seungkwan posted a lengthy message on social media Tuesday complaining about the treatment of pop stars here. The post was considered by some readers to be a criticism of Hybe, following a controversy surrounding an internal document disclosed during a National Assembly audit. The document included derogatory remarks about the physical appearance of K-pop artists. Seventeen is under Pledis Entertainment, a subsidiary of Hybe, and Seungkwan's remarks can be seen as the firs

Oct. 29, 2024

J.Y. Park to return with new song, concert

J.Y. Park, the head of K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment, is set to close the year with a new song and concert. JYP Entertainment unveiled a teaser image for J.Y. Park's new digital single, "Easy Lover," via social media channels on Monday. This song, celebrating his 30th anniversary in the industry, follows his 1980s-inspired synth-pop single "Changed Man," released in November 2023, and will be his first in about a year. Actors Cha Joo-young, known from the Netflix hi

Oct. 29, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jungkook logs record 2 billion Spotify streams

Jungkook of BTS surpassed 2 billion plays on Spotify with single “Seven (feat. Latto),” according to the platform. The solo single reached the milestone in 467 days, which is both a new record for an Asian artist and the fourth shortest time globally. It also dethroned Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” the previous holder of the record for a song released last year. Jungkook has been breaking multiple records on the music platform as a solo artist and most recently, became

Oct. 28, 2024