[Today’s K-pop] SHINee’s Key to return as solo next month

Key of SHINee will make a comeback as a solo musician on Sept. 11, according to label SM Entertainment on Monday. He will release second solo EP “Good ＆ Great” that will consist of six tracks including the main track of the same title. The EP comes about seven months since “Killer,” a reissue of his second solo full album, “Gasoline.” The repack topped the iTunes top albums chart in 21 regions as did the LP in 24. Meanwhile, the veteran idol recently wrapped

Aug. 21, 2023

AKMU returns with new single 'Love Lee'

K-pop's famed sibling duo AKMU returned Monday with a new single "Love Lee," bringing back the pair's trademark positive, upbeat energy. The co-ed duet, consisting of Lee Chan-hyuk and his younger sister Lee Su-hyun, will drop its fourth single, "Love Lee," Monday evening, marking the first comeback in over two years since releasing its collaboration album, "Next Episode," in July 2021. During a press conference held in Seoul on Monday, the siblings introd

Aug. 21, 2023

Classical music concerts to take place at Cheong Wa Dae in Sept.

The 2023 Blue House Concert will take place on Sept. 9 and 10 at the heliport of the former presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Monday. Cheong Wa Dae, the former residence and office site of South Korean presidents, opened its doors to the public after President Yoon Suk Yeol decided to move his office to the buildings of the Defense Ministry in Yongsan, Seoul, in May 2022. With Cheong Wa Dae as the backdrop in the early autumn season

Aug. 21, 2023

Five former Loona members to embark on new journey as Loossemble next month

Five former members of Loona -- Hyunjin, Yeojin, Vivi, Gowon and Hyeju -- are relaunching their careers with a new agency, CTD E&M, as Loossemble next month. The agency announced the group’s debut by dropping a trailer on its official social media accounts on YouTube and X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday. The clip begins by showing satellite antennas on the rooftop of a building, and then continues into the building with unknown music playing in the background. The clip ends reve

Aug. 21, 2023

Mimiirose returns with new album next month

Mimiirose, known for being the first and only K-pop girl group produced by singer and actor Im Chang-jung, is making its comeback next month. Yes Im Entertainment, the label which houses the group, announced Monday that the group is releasing a new album on Sep. 14. This comeback comes after a year since the group made its debut with its first single album, “Awesome," last September. The teaser poster for the upcoming album, which displays an image of a mask, flower, phone case, lipst

Aug. 21, 2023

Prolific actors ready to compete at Chuseok box office

Another peak time for box office competition, besides the summer holidays and Lunar New Year is Chuseok, the Korean version of Thanksgiving. As this year’s Chuseok will be an extended holiday over the weekend from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, even more moviegoers are expected to hit the cinema. Prolific actors like Song Kang-ho, Ha Jung-woo and Gang Dong-won will compete at the Chuseok box office with their respective much-awaited films completed before the pandemic, raising anticipations among mov

Aug. 21, 2023

ChangMu festival showcases contemporary within tradition

The ChangMu International Performing Arts Festival, led by choreographer-dancer Kim Mae-ja, is set to take place from Wednesday to Aug. 31 at various venues in Seoul, including the Arko Arts Center, Seoul Namsan Gugakdang and the National Jeongdong Theater. Kim is the founder of the festival and a leading figure of changmu, a contemporary dance rooted in traditional Korean dance. Since 1993, the annual festival has been inviting dancers and dance groups from around the world who are committed to

Aug. 20, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Oppenheimer” (US) Opened Aug. 15 Drama/Thriller Directed by Christopher Nolan Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer is appointed to lead the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and his fellow scientists are directly involved in developing the atomic bomb from scratch, without knowing their research would forever change the course of history. “Honey Sweet” (South Korea) Opened Aug. 15 Drama/Comedy Directed by Lee Han Chi-ho (Yoo Hae-jin), a nerdy, workaholic researcher

Aug. 19, 2023

Everglow ends 20-month hiatus with free-spirited return

Girl group Everglow made a long-awaited comeback on Friday with its fourth single "All My Girls." The six-piece returns after a 20-month break with renewed energy, putting themselves forward as a voice for all girls around the world and declaring the members' determination to walk their own paths. The members, E:U, Sihyeon, Mia, Onda, Aisha and Yiren, Friday held a press showcase in Seoul on Friday, where they performed the single package's main track, "Slay," live

Aug. 18, 2023

[Herald Interview] Kim Nam-gil says working with director Jung Woo-sung ‘not an easy choice’

Actor Kim Nam-gil, who stars in actor Jung Woo-sung’s directorial debut film, “A Man of Reason,” said working with Jung was not “an easy choice,” despite his close friendship with one of the country’s top actors. "To be honest, I had decided to avoid doing projects with actors-turned-directors because they know acting too well and there is no way for me to escape. Jung knows about acting very well and has accumulated expertise in working with actors. That

Aug. 18, 2023

Jihyo of Twice kicks off solo career

Jihyo of Twice made her solo debut on Friday with EP "Zone," venturing on a new journey nine years since her debut. The 26-year-old is the second member of the girl group to debut solo, following Nayeon who released the album "Im Nayeon" in June 2022. Jihyo held a press conference in Seoul on Friday, a few hours before "Zone" came out at 1 p.m. that day. According to Jihyo, she began working on the album last year. "When the company told me that I'd be mak

Aug. 18, 2023

SAC Summer Music Festival set to present variety while establishing prominence

Seoul Arts Center’s annual Summer Music Festival is back with more diversity as it returns to its original goal of becoming a leading international summer music festival, organizers said Thursday. For this year’s festival, SAC will present a diverse array of genres, ranging from baroque to contemporary composers to jazz. The lineup will feature musicians with both domestic and overseas backgrounds, encompassing both emerging artists and seasoned performers. This includes South Korean

Aug. 17, 2023

TripleS launches 3rd subunit LOVElution, debut album

TripleS introduced a new subunit, LOVElution, on Thursday. LOVElution consists of eight members from the 24-member K-pop girl group tripleS that debuted earlier this year — Seoyeon, Hyerin, Yubin, Kaede, Dahyun, Nien, Sohyun and Xinyu. “We are so excited for this debut. It has always been my dream to debut in Korea. I sometimes face language and cultural barriers working in Korea but my members are always there to help me out. We will do our best to show the best of us through this a

Aug. 17, 2023

[Herald Interview] 'Yojaya Yojaya,' Ahn Eun-me's ode to 'modern girls'

A group of 12 dancers dressed in white jeogori, or the upper piece of a hanbok, paired with black skirts move tirelessly through the practice room. The sound of gunshots can be heard as dancers mimic shooting using long plastic pipes. When the music quiets down, the dancers cast off their jeogori and put on vibrant red, yellow, green and blue skirts. Through a sequence of choreographed movements, they eventually discard the skirts as well, tossing them high into the air. The dancers then move gr

Aug. 17, 2023

'Street Woman Fighter' goes global with second season

Two years after Mnet's "Street Woman Fighter" shook the nation, the dance survival show is back with a global lineup. The original series was a megahit, leading to a relay of similar dance survival programs -- including its own spinoff of "Street Man Fighter" and "Street Dance Girls Fighter." The TV channel is set to launch the second season of its dance survival show on Tuesday, with eight top-tier female dance crews from in and out of the country -- 1Million,

Aug. 17, 2023

Netflix Korea to make first animation film ‘Lost in Starlight’

Kim Tae-ri and Hong Kyung have been confirmed as voice actors for Netflix’s new animation film, “Lost in Starlight.” “Lost in Starlight” will be Netflix’s first Korean animation project and will center on the unique love story of long-distance lovers -- Nan-young (Kim), an astronaut, and Jay (Hong), a musician. Nan-young's dream is to land on Mars to find traces of her mother, who failed to return to Earth after a research mission on the planet. While rep

Aug. 17, 2023

Autistic character joins EBS children’s show in a first for Korea

Educational Broadcasting System recently announced that its “Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten” will welcome its first autistic character in its upcoming episode, marking the first time a local children’s show will feature a character with autistic spectrum disorder. The new character “Byeori” will make her debut on the Friday episode of the show, aired every weekday at 8 a.m. The show describes the child character as perceiving sound, smell and color more strongly than o

Aug. 17, 2023

[Herald Interview] Lucy aims to expand reach with pop-rock music

The band Lucy never grows tired of being experimental when it comes to their music. Even their debut in 2019 was sensational as they blended violin sounds with pop rock. “There was a lot of trial and error in the beginning. We had to come up with a way to harmonize the sound of a guitar and a violin. These two instruments have similar sounds but are difficult to mix up. After various attempts, we figured out that the order of tuning the sounds of these instruments is the key. We started to

Aug. 17, 2023

StayC blows out in summer festivity with iconic 'Teenfresh'

The pop queens of StayC is returning Wednesday to enthrall the nation yet again with their bubbly energy. This time, they have gone all-out on youthful effervescence with "Teenfresh." During a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday, the members called the album a summer blowout, welcoming listeners to a playground of seasonal festivity. "The album embraces StayC's iconic genre of 'teen fresh.' We've jam-packed it with six songs flourishing in our unique colors

Aug. 16, 2023

‘Beef’ creator Lee Sung-jin shares importance of being yourself at BCWW 2023

Broadcast Worldwide (BCWW) 2023, an annual event showcasing South Korean content and insights to broadcasters around the world, kicked off its three-day run at Coex Hall D in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. Organized by the Korean Creative Content Agency, BCWW kicked off on opening day with a special session featuring Lee Sung-jin, the creator behind the hit US Netflix original series “Beef.” The black comedy revolves around Danny Cho (played by Steven Yeun) and Amy Lau (played by Ali Wo

Aug. 16, 2023