[Herald Review] Enhypen thrives with 'Fate' world tour

Marking the start of Enhypen's second world tour "Fate" in Seoul on Sunday, the electronic screens of the KSPO Dome glided open sideways to show the seven members in shimmering white suits adorned with gold, each holding a rose. The electrifying "Drunk-Dazed" opened the night. Joined by dancers, the boys kicked into a wordless dance break, bringing the whole focus onto their fierce movements and captivating expressions. It seemed like the septet was ready to show how muc

July 31, 2023

[Herald Interview] Moscow-born cellist leads Ukrainian orchestra in South Korea

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- On Saturday afternoon at the Alpensia Resort Concert Hall, a special concert took place as part of the Music in Pyeongchang festival. Kyiv Virtuosi, a chamber orchestra hailing from the war-torn country, led by cellist and conductor Dmitry Yablonsky, performed a program of Mendelssohn’s “String Symphony No. 10 in B minor,” Berg’s “Sieben fruhe Lieder,” Mahler’s “Ruckert-Lieder” and Berliner’s “Jaco

July 30, 2023

‘Elemental’ becomes 2023’s most-viewed foreign movie

Disney-owned Pixar Animation Studios’ “Elemental” has become the most-viewed foreign film this year in South Korea, contrary to the film’s not-so-positive North American box office record. According to data compiled by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), “Elemental” has drawn 5.58 million moviegoers here as of Sunday since its release on June 14. “Elemental” took over the title of the most-viewed foreign film, previously held by Japanese animated film

July 30, 2023

10 people died at the Astroworld music festival two years ago. What happens now?

Nearly two years after 10 people were crushed to death during the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival, no charges have been filed — even though some people, including event workers, expressed safety concerns. Pinpointing “who exactly caused those deaths is not an easy question to answer,” said Sandra Guerra Thompson, a criminal law professor at the University of Houston Law Center. “It’s a very difficult thing to say, unless you have some kind of clear evidence that som

July 30, 2023

[Herald Interview] Playing tragi-comic rescuer a balancing act for Ha Jung-woo in ‘Ransomed’

Ha Jung-woo, with a filmography versatile and colorful in terms of genres and characters, has created many memorable moments on the screen with his natural and realistic approach, such as with Choi Hyung-bae in 2012’s “Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time” and Gang-rim in 2017’s “Along With the Gods.” As much as it appears that acting runs naturally in his blood, acting is still the focus of Ha’s intense efforts and labor, even after 20 years of experien

July 30, 2023

[Eye Interview] 250 redefines once-tacky 'ppong' music as fresh, trendy

Producer and composer 250 did not say a thing or sing a line during his concert that started at the unusual time of 9 p.m. on July 15 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. Without uttering a word, 250, pronounced "Lee O-gong," also known for producing songs for K-pop girl group NewJeans, captured the audience with his music. The stage setting seemed designed to focus on nothing else but music. When the singers and saxophonist that 250 had collaborated with on his last album

July 29, 2023

[Herald Review] ‘Barbie’ lets you be you

In Margot Robbie’s latest film, “Barbie,” a story about one of the world’s most popular dolls -- which has in the past represented a stereotype of the perfect woman -- the message is clear throughout the 114-minute-long running time: “You can become whoever you want to be.” In the seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land, Barbie (Margot Robbie) discovers a crack in the portal that connects Barbie Land with the real world after noticing that her day didn’t

July 29, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Stray Kids to roll out 1st Japan EP in September

Stray Kids will release its first EP in Japan on Sept. 6, announced label JYP Entertainment on Thursday. The mini album will be fronted by two main tracks -- “Social Path” featuring Japanese singer and songwriter LiSA, who sang “Homura” for animated film “Demon Slayer,” as well as the Japanese-language version of “Super Bowl,” a B-side track from its third LP “5-Star.” Both songs are written by 3Racha, the songwriting trio within the b

July 28, 2023

Washington Ballet’s Lee Eun-won to star in ballet inspired by independence activist An Jung-geun

As Liberation Day approaches, a creative ballet performance titled "An Jung-geun: A Dance in the Heaven" is scheduled to take place at the Mapo Art Center on Aug. 11-12. The performance draws its inspiration from the last words of An, a Korean independence activist who, moments before his execution at Lushun Prison in China in March 1910, declared, “When the day comes that I hear of Korea’s independence, I will dance and shout ‘Hurrah!’” The story of An&rs

July 28, 2023

Treasure hits reboot with 2nd studio album

It took around 10 months for YG Entertainment’s youngest boy group Treasure to return with a new album, but the group hopes it will be a new start. Treasure hopes that its second studio album, “Reboot,” released on Friday will help them start off fresh and break free from its previous teenlike music and image. “Just like the title of our album, we hope to reboot the group with this album. Three years have passed by since our debut during which we matured and enhanced our

July 28, 2023

Kim Woo-bin to star in Netflix film ‘Officer Black Belt’

Global streaming service Netflix on Thursday confirmed that actors Kim Woo-bin and Kim Sung-kyun will star in "Officer Black Belt," an action comedy. The project will mark Kim Woo-bin’s second Netflix film, following the dystopian movie “Black Knight,” which premiered in May. “Officer Black Belt” revolves around Lee Jung-do (Kim Woo-bin), a martial arts officer who works with a probation officer to keep an eye on criminals wearing ankle monitors. Kim Sung-

July 28, 2023

Korean films make Australian debut at 2023 KOFFIA

Hit Korean films are scheduled to make their Australian cinematic debut at the upcoming 2023 Korean Film Festival in Australia. According to the Korean Cultural Center in Sydney, a Culture Ministry affiliate, the 14th edition of KOFFIA will take place in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane. The festival kicks off with an opening ceremony at Event Cinema George Street in Sydney on Aug. 24 with "The Night Owl,” a mystery thriller revolving around the suspicious death of Crown Princ

July 28, 2023

Outdoor 'Moonlight Theater' to screen NTOK's changgeuk, dance dramas

The National Theater of Korea is set to host a series of outdoor screening events on the first-floor balcony of the Haeoreum Theater, starting at 7:30 p.m. over three consecutive Wednesdays. Live performance recordings of three productions from the 2022-2023 NTOK Repertory Season will be screened. The event will kick off on Aug. 9 with the National Changguek Company’s innovative production of “Rabbit's Eight Sufferings.” This reinterpretation of the traditional pansori &ld

July 28, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Barbie” (US) Opened June 19 Comedy/Drama Directed by Greta Gerwig Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) live in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. But, when Barbie discovers a crack in a portal that connects Barbie Land and the real world, she and Ken get a chance to travel to the real world and live among humans. “Insidious: The Red Door” (US) Opened July 19 Horror/Mystery Directed by Patrick Wilson The fifth installment of the "Insi

July 28, 2023

Saturday returns as quartet under new agency

K-pop girl group Saturday returned with a new single album after a 2 1/2-year hiatus. “We’ve longed for a comeback so much that it feels surreal to be performing on stage again. We put in everything we can in this album because we took a long time getting back on stage. We hope our new album can be loved by many around the world,” said Yuki of Saturday. Saturday entered the music scene in July 2018 with its first single album “Mmook Jji Bba” as a septet under the ag

July 27, 2023

2PM to hold 15th-anniversary concerts in Seoul, Tokyo

K-pop boy group 2PM is marking its 15th anniversary with concerts in Seoul and in Tokyo. The concerts will be held in Seoul at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium on Sept. 9-10, and also in Tokyo at the Ariake Arena on Oct. 7-8, JYP Entertainment announced Thursday on social media with a poster. The last day of the concert in Seoul will be livestreamed via platform Beyond LIVE. The “It’s 2PM” concerts would be the first full-unit performances in six years in Korea and in seven years in J

July 27, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Ive to return in October: report

Ive is preparing to make a comeback in October, according to a local media report on Thursday. Agency Starship Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. It will come about six months since the six-member act put out its first studio album “I’ve Ive” which has stayed on Billboard’s Global 200 and Global excl. the US for 14 weeks in a row. The LP sold more than 1.1 million units in the first week and is the group’s second million-seller along with third

July 27, 2023

Pinkfong, creator of 'Baby Shark,' amasses 1 billion streams on Spotify

Pinkfong, the creator behind “Baby Shark” and other children’s songs which feature animated animal characters, has surpassed a combined 1 billion streams on Spotify, according to Pinkfong Co., the South Korean entertainment company. An official from the company said that this is the first time a South Korean animated production has achieved such a milestone. With a monthly listener count of 4.3 million, the company has been releasing a diverse range of children's songs sin

July 27, 2023

'Aloha' says returning summer queen Soyou

Singer Soyou returned to the music scene Wednesday with her second mini album "Summer Recipe." The soloist, formerly a member of girl group Sistar, is coming back a year and three months after she last released her first EP "Day & Night." "Summer Recipe" unveils Soyou's tricks for enduring the sizzling summer, the singer's agency BPM Entertainment said. The album's five tracks of various genres and sentiments delves deeper into the charms of the

July 26, 2023

Jungkook bolts beyond BTS, cements 'pop star' persona

Jungkook is the sixth member from BTS to come out solo, and the most successful so far, experts say. His solo single "Seven (feat. Latto)" soared to the top of the most recent Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking the second time any South Korean solo song has nabbed a Hot 100 No. 1 spot on the prestigious US singles chart. The first was by his bandmate Jimin's "Like Crazy." "Seven" is also the 68th song in Billboard's history to enter the Hot 100 at the top. W

July 26, 2023