[Today’s K-pop] Zerobaseone to debut in Japan in March

     Zerobaseone will officially debut in Japan in March, according to WakeOne Entertainment on Thursday. The band will debut in the country under a contract with Sony Music Label and will host a fan meet event, its first in Japan, in the same month. The rookie team of nine already has a huge following there, though. Its first-ever fan concert held in Seoul in August was broadcast live across the country in cinemas. Both its two albums -- “Youth In The Shade” and

Nov. 30, 2023

'Sweet Home 2' returns with new characters, sophisticated monsters

Netflix's monster horror franchise "Sweet Home" is back with new characters and more sophisticated visual effects. "Sweet Home 2" is directed by Lee Eung-bok, who helmed the series' first season three years ago and a slew of other megahits such as "Descendants of the Sun" (2016), "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" (2016) and "Mr. Sunshine" (2018). The first season of "Sweet Home" followed people living in Green Home, a dilap

Nov. 30, 2023

ASEAN filmmakers' works to be screened in Busan

Works by filmmakers from Korea and Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries will be screened at the Korea Foundation ASEAN Culture House in Busan in December. Films to be screened include the works of directors who participated in the Film Leaders Incubator, a film-making training program organized by the Busan Film Commission and funded by the ASEAN-ROK Cooperation Fund. Also known as FLY, the program accepts aspiring filmmakers from ASEAN member countries and South Korea, and pr

Nov. 30, 2023

Minho of SHINee to hold first solo fan concert in January

Minho of SHINee will begin the new year with his first solo fan concert, dubbed the "2024 Best Choi's Minho Fan-Con Multi-Chase," which is set to take place at Jangchung Arena in Seoul on Jan. 6-7. Minho also kicked 2023 with an event for his fans. From January to March, he traveled to Manila, the Philippines; Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong and Yokohama, Japan, for fan meets. The first solo fan concert scheduled next year is expected to be filled with performances and songs that show M

Nov. 30, 2023

NewJeans, Seventeen, BTS win top honors at 2023 MAMA Awards

NewJeans, the fourth-generation K-pop girl group, notched Artist of the Year on Wednesday, the last day of the two–day 2023 MAMA Awards. The MAMA Awards, the world’s biggest K-pop festival organized by CJ ENM, took place at the Tokyo Dome, Japan’s top concert venue, Nov. 28-29. Artist of the Year was one of the four top awards presented this year. Three other main awards were the Worldwide Icon of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year. This is the first time in 12 ye

Nov. 30, 2023

Merger of Korean OTT platforms Tving and Wavve imminent: sources

Popular South Korean over-the-top streaming services Tving and Wavve are reportedly seeking a merger, according to the media reports on Wednesday. Currently, entertainment giant CJ ENM owns Tving, while conglomerate SK Square runs Wavve. The two OTT brands are seeking a merger to increase their share of the local OTT market, aiming to clinch the deal in December, according to a local media outlet, citing industry sources. According to the report, CJ ENM will become the largest shareholder of t

Nov. 29, 2023

National Orchestra of Korea's 'Winter Concert' to bring harmony of tradition, musicals

The National Orchestra of Korea, a traditional Korean music orchestra affiliated with the National Theater of Korea, is set to present "Winter Concert" at the Haneul Round Theater in Jangchung-dong, Seoul, on Dec. 16-17. This year-end performance has been a sold-out event for the National Orchestra of Korea every year since 2018. This year's program offers a diverse range of music that suits the end-of-year ambiance, including traditional Korean instrumental classics, movie soundt

Nov. 29, 2023

Remaining BTS members to begin military service next month

RM, Jimin, Jungkook and V of the K-pop sensation BTS are to join the Army next month to fulfill their mandatory military duty. This makes all seven members of the group serve their national defense obligation as Jin, the eldest of the group, began his service in December last year followed by J-Hope in April and Suga in September this year. Jin and J-Hope are currently serving as assistant instructors at a military recruit training center as part of their national service. Suga is fulfilling his

Nov. 29, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jungkook joins forces with Usher for solo remix

    Jungkook of BTS will add Usher to his ever-growing star-studded list of collaborators. Big Hit Music announced Wednesday that the new remix for “Standing Next You,” which fronted Jungkook’s first solo album “Golden,” will feature the R＆B legend. The remix will be released Dec. 1. The original song remains on Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 73 this week, down 23 rungs from last week. It debuted on the main singles chart at No. 5 two weeks before.

Nov. 29, 2023

Former divas return as Golden Girls

Korean divas of the ’80s and ’90s have embarked on a new journey as a girl group, with a new single to be dropped Friday. "Golden Girls" on KBS2 follows four divas -- Insooni, Park Mi-kyung, Shin Hyo-beom and Lee Eun-mi -- who debuted as solo vocalists more than 30 to 40 years ago as they "re-debut" as a K-pop girl group named Golden Girls. Park Jin-young, also known as J.Y. Park, leads JYP Entertainment, one of the country's top three entertainment agencies.

Nov. 29, 2023

[Herald Review] '12.12: The Day' avoids usual pitfalls of historical films

On Dec. 12, 1979, one of the most significant days in modern Korean history, Gen. Chun Doo-hwan led a military coup, establishing expanded martial law and leading to the shutdown of the National Assembly and universities, as well as the arrests of dissidents and members of the political opposition. The event later led to the Gwangju Democracy Uprising of May 1980. The director of “12.12: The Day”, Kim Seong-su, who has helmed various hit action noirs, including “Beat” (

Nov. 29, 2023

As streaming services raise fees, some turn to illegal streaming sites

Subscription rates for streaming services are rising amid already high inflation, and such price hikes are stoking a boom in Koreans' use of illegal streaming sites. Local streaming service Tving is the latest to jump on the bandwagon, raising its subscription price some 20 percent starting in December. The subscription price for Tving's basic plan -- which allows content viewing at a resolution of 720p and is limited to one viewer at a time -- will rise by 20.3 percent from 7,900 won

Nov. 29, 2023

BTS gets 6th top honor at 2023 MAMA Awards

K-pop sensation BTS notched the title of Worldwide Icon of the Year on Tuesday, the first day of the two-day 2023 MAMA Awards. The MAMA Awards, the world’s biggest K-pop festival organized by CJ ENM, is taking place at the Tokyo Dome, Japan’s top concert venue, this year. Worldwide Icon of the Year is one of the four top honors to be presented this year. Winners of the three other main awards-- artist of the year, song of the year and album of the year -- are to be announced Wednesda

Nov. 29, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] DAY6 to host full-group concert next month: report

DAY6 will hold a year-end concert with all four members present, a first in four years, according to a local media report on Tuesday. Label JYP Entertainment confirmed the news uploading a poster for its concert -- dubbed “The Present: You Are My Day” -- that will be held in Seoul from Dec. 22-24. “My Day” is the name of its official fandom community. It will be the first full-group effort since the bandmates completed their respective military duties. Wonpil was the las

Nov. 28, 2023

[Herald Interview] Strings of inspiration: Classic guitarist Deion Cho talks about decadelong journey to victory

The story reads like a movie script where the protagonist, after 10 attempts, finally clinches a grand prize. Such is the story of classical guitarist Deion Cho, who emerged triumphant at the 56th Francisco Tarrega International Guitar Competition in Spain this September. Previous winners of the prestigious competition established in 1967 in honor of Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909), the composer of “Memories of the Alhambra,” includes world-renowned guitar virtuoso David Russell. Cho,

Nov. 28, 2023

Music industry seeks solution to ticket scalping through public discussion

The Record Label Industry Association of Korea’s petition to revise the ticket scalping law submitted to the government on Nov. 19 has turned into a public petition, according to the association on Tuesday. The move requires the government to gather public opinion for 30 days to deal with the petition and announce the result within 90 days. In the petition, Record Label Industry Association of Korea Chairman Yoon Dong-hwan, argues that “ticket scalping is cancerous to society,”

Nov. 28, 2023

[Herald Review] ‘Single in Seoul’ a bland rom-com about modern single life

Im Soo-jung and Lee Dong-wook seem like a good match in Korean romance flicks – as seen in Lee’s special appearance as Im’s ex in “Search WWW” (2019) -- but their reunion in “Single in Seoul is something of a disappointment. Directed by Park Bum-soo and produced by the team behind “Architecture 101,” a 2012 hit film about young love, this romantic comedy film revolves around Young-ho (Lee) and Hyun-jin (Im), who slowly fall in love despite their di

Nov. 28, 2023

[Herald Interview] Nam Woo-hyun returns with solo studio album after rare cancer battle

It's been quite a year for Nam Woo-hyun of the K-pop boy group Infinite. He was diagnosed with a rare cancer for which he underwent hourslong surgery, and then joined the band for comeback concerts and the release of a mini-album. On Tuesday, he dropped his first solo LP and is due to hold concerts next month. “I was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal stromal tumor for which I underwent surgery at a university hospital in April. I was expecting a small surgery at first. But when the su

Nov. 28, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Enhypen enters Billboard 200 at No. 4

Enhypen’s fifth EP charted No. 4 on Billboard 200, according to the chart preview published on Sunday in the US. The EP “Orange Blood” notched the fourth rung on the main albums chart dated Dec. 2, tying the record it set with previous EP “Dark Blood.” It is the band’s sixth entry on the chart. The mini album was released on Nov. 17 and sold over 1.87 million copies in the first week, a new record for the seven-member act, and became its fourth million-sellin

Nov. 27, 2023

'12.12: The Day’ attracts 1.8m moviegoers in five days since opening

“12.12: The Day,” a political drama revisiting a military-led coup that took place in 1979, has attracted 1.87 million moviegoers in the first week of release, according to Korean Film Council data on Monday. The movie, which was released on Nov. 22, recorded the second-highest number of moviegoers in the opening week this year. “The Roundup: No Way Out” recorded 4.5 million admissions during its opening week in June. On Saturday and Sunday, a total of 1.2 million moviego

Nov. 27, 2023