BTS' RM tapped as ambassador for military's war remains recovery body

RM of K-pop superband BTS will be named as the ambassador of the South Korean military's war remains recovery agency. Big Hit Music, the label behind the K-pop band, told The Korea Herald Wednesday that the BTS leader is set to be officially appointed as an ambassador for the Ministry of National Defense's Agency for the Recovery and Identification of those Killed in Action. A ceremony for the appointment is scheduled for Thursday, the label said, confirming earlier local media outlet

May 31, 2023

Produced by Zico, Boynextdoor debuts under Hybe

The first idol group produced by rapper Zico, Boynextdoor debuted Tuesday with the single "Who!" The six-piece band is the latest group from Hybe, the multilabel company that houses big-name artists the likes of BTS, Seventeen and NewJeans. Boynextdoor is the first group launched under Hybe's KOZ Entertainment label. Boynextdoor, consisting of Sungho, Riwoo, Jaehyun, Taesan, Leehan and Woonhak, held a press conference Tuesday at Blue Square in Yongsan, central Seoul. "It'

May 30, 2023

Aespa reaches new career high with 3rd EP

The fourth-generation K-pop girl group aespa is rewriting K-pop history for female bands with its latest album “My World.” The four-member group’s latest album sold more than 1.69 million units just within the first week of its release breaking records for a K-pop girl group, according to label SM Entertainment. This dethrones Blackpink, whose second full-length album “Born Pink” logged 1.54 million copies in September last year. Despite it being a mini album, the E

May 30, 2023

Paramount+, Tving to air new Star Trek prequel season 2

Paramount+ has unveiled the official poster and trailer for the second season of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," scheduled to be released in June. For fans in Korea, the new season will premiere on Korean streaming platform Tving. "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is a prequel to the iconic "Star Trek: The Original Series," revolving around beloved characters like Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Commander Una Chin-Riley, commonly known as Number One (Rebecca

May 30, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Enhypen logs record streak on Oricon chart with 4th EP

Enhypen’s fourth EP, “Dark Blood,” headed straight to the top of Oricon’s weekly album ranking, according to the latest chart published on Tuesday. The mini album did so with only three day’s sales at 165,000 copies. The band placed six consecutive albums atop the chart, the second-best record for an international artist, said Oricon in an article online. The band ties with BTS and is only topped by Tomorrow X Together, which has seven. “Dark Blood” lan

May 30, 2023

[Reporter’s Notebook] Why is 'XO, Kitty' struggling to win Korean viewers over?

After looking up to the West for a long time, many Koreans are perceptive to what Westerners think about the country and its people and yearn for their acknowledgement. Stories about Korean culture being featured in overseas projects -- mostly produced in the US -- regularly make local headlines. Back in 2017, people in Busan shared their excitement about how their port city would be shown in Marvel’s 2018-action flick “Black Panther” as soon as the news about the production te

May 30, 2023

CIX closes a chapter of pain for youth, opens another with 6th EP

Five-piece boy band CIX on Monday released its sixth EP "'OK' Episode 2: I'm OK," marking the release with a media showcase event a few hours before the album's release. The new album marked the end of the group's "OK" series and opens up to the next chapter of their story, said the band members -- BX, Seunghun, Yonghee, Baejinyoung and Hyunsuk -- during the event held on Monday. "We've improved and grown in many parts through various activi

May 30, 2023

[Herald Review] 'One Dance' embodies grandeur through contemporary mis-en-scene

The Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theatre wrapped up its four-day performance of “One Dance,” or “Ilmu” in Korean, at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts from Thursday to Sunday. Directed by Jung Ku-ho, the iconic performance presents a modern reinterpretation of a traditional dance from Jongmyo Jeryeak, a royal ceremonial performance encompassing singing, music and dance that took place during the royal ancestral rites at Jongmyo Shrine. Jung, a fashion designer-turned-

May 29, 2023

BTS' Suga kicks off Asian leg of solo tour in Jakarta

BTS' Suga, who also goes by the name Agust D, began the Asian leg of his solo tour "D-Day" in Jakarta, Indonesia, last week. A total of 30,000 people came to the three sold-out shows in Jakarta's ICE BSD convention center, which began Friday and continued into the weekend, Big Hit Music, the septet's agency said Monday. On each of the three days, Suga took the audience on a walk through his musical trilogy, starting with "Haegeum" from his latest album "D-

May 29, 2023

More than 31,000 K-pop fans flock to Busan for 29th Dream Concert

The 29th Dream Concert enlightened Busan, the marine city of South Korea, on Saturday, starring major players of K-pop. The event was held at the Asiad Main Stadium with more than 31,000 K-pop fans in attendance. Nineteen acts, including Nmixx, Itzy, Oh My Girl and BTOB adorned the stage. Dream Concert, whose history dates to 1995, marked the finale of the 2023 World Climate Industry Expo. According to the event’s hosts, the Korea Entertainment Producers Association and Korea Tourism Organ

May 29, 2023

SHINee celebrates 15th anniversary with fans

SHINee celebrated its 15th anniversary with its fans during the weekend in Seoul. The K-pop legends held a fan meeting “Piece of SHINE” at Jamsil Indoor Stadium for the first time as a full unit in four years and eight months. With all seats to the fan meeting sold out, SM Entertainment live-streamed the event via Beyond LIVE for the group’s global fans in 102 different regions including the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia, Singapor

May 29, 2023

Seventeen to drop new Japanese best album, hold Japan tour

K-pop boy band Seventeen is set to continue its odyssey in Japan with its first best-of album and a new concert tour. The 13-piece band announced the plans during its "Love" fan meeting at the Tokyo Dome on Sunday. Sunday's event marked the last of the group's four-day fan meetings taking place at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka on May 17-18 and at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on Saturday and Sunday. In a statement released Monday, the band's agency Pledis Entertainment said 180,00

May 29, 2023

Eight contemporary Korean dance groups to perform in New York

Eight Korean dance groups have been invited by the American dance company the Bang Group to perform in New York next month. Titled “All of Seoul,” the event will be held at Arts on Site Studio 3R, in Manhattan, on June 15-16. The Bang Group, established in 1995, is a contemporary theatrical dance troupe. The company is hosting a performance series for the first time this year, and has invited Korean dancers for a program dedicated to Korean contemporary dance. On June 15, Unplugged B

May 28, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“The Little Mermaid” (US) Opened May 24 Fantasy/Musical Directed by Rob Marshall Ariel, a spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure, discovers a world beyond the sea. After falling for the dashing Prince Eric, Ariel makes a deal with Ursula, an evil sea witch, to experience life on land. “The Last 10 Years” (Japan) Opened May 24 Romance/Drama Directed by Michihito Fujii Twenty-year-old Matsuri Takabayashi learns that she only has 10 years to live due to an in

May 27, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink hits 1.8b views for ‘Kill This Love’ music video

Blackpink has amassed 1.8 billion views on YouTube with the music video for “Kill This Love,” according to YG Entertainment on Friday. It is the group’s second video to reach the milestone, following “Ddu-du Ddu-du.” The foursome is the first K-pop act to have two videos achieve the feat. “Kill This Love” is the titular track from its 2019 EP that hit the Billboard 200 at No. 24. The single also ranked No. 41 on its Hot 100 chart. Both were records for

May 26, 2023

Kim Jee-woon’s ‘Cobweb’ receives 10-minute standing ovation at Cannes

“Cobweb,” director Kim Jee-woon's first feature film in 13 years and his third project, was screened at the 76th Cannes Film Festival Thursday night local time, where it received a 10-minute standing ovation. Starring veteran actor Song Kang-ho, “Cobweb” revolves around the struggles of a film director (Song) in the 1970s when the industry languished due to government censorship and unsupportive actors. The cast includes actors Lim Soo-jeong, Oh Jeong-se, Jeon Yeo-be

May 26, 2023

Aespa the first K-pop group at Cannes

Seemingly an unlikely place to see K-pop stars, Cannes film festival has witnessed the debut of so many this year, with aespa leaving an exceptional note among all. Aespa, the four-piece girl band housed under SM Entertainment, made its first appearance at the prestigious French film festival's red carpet on Wednesday, local time. The quartet's Cannes debut came with the screening of the festival's competition title "The Pot-Au-Feu" at Palais des Festivals on Wednesday.

May 26, 2023

Gothenburg Opera Dance Company to bring creativity in its first Seoul performance

Sweden's Gothenburg Opera Dance Company will meet Korean audiences for the first time by performing “Kites“ and “SAABA“ at the LG Arts Center Seoul, on Friday and Saturday. The leading contemporary dance company in Europe is composed of 38 dancers from over 20 countries, and has been actively collaborating with international choreographers to stage challenging and innovative performances. Katrin Hall, artistic director of the company since 2016, said the participatio

May 25, 2023

SHINee celebrates 15th anniversary

K-pop boy band SHINee on Thursday celebrated its 15th anniversary. The bandmates shared their feelings and plans for their comeback through a press release the same day. "It feels strange that 15 years have flown by so fast, and I'm proud that I could have experienced so many things and challenges as SHINee," Onew said in the statement. Minho added, "Although it might sound cliche, it's really unbelievable. I'm so happy that my dream which started in high school sti

May 25, 2023

Live music is finally back, but K-pop fans feel let down

Live music has returned as the pandemic peters out, but its return has been accompanied by higher ticket prices and with a slew of unexpected problems the fans did not pay for. Just this month, the internet was abuzz following news that a Malaysian lawyer was suing the organizer of K-pop band Blackpink's concerts in his county. Lawyer Nas Rahman bought two tickets for the band's Kuala Lumpur show from its "Born Pink" world tour. However, on the day of the concert, he discover

May 25, 2023