Enhypen returns with 'Dark Blood'

K-pop boy band Enhypen returned Monday for the first time in 10 months with its new album "Dark Blood." During its comeback showcase held in Seoul on Monday, the seven members appeared on stage in black suits, with their handsome faces even paler than usual. Don't be fooled by the spooky visuals of the group's new album, however, as "Dark Blood" is an album devoted to expressing the group's heartfelt gratitude and love towards their fans. "We received a lo

May 22, 2023

[Herald Review] A journey from his 'abyss,' Woodz's 1st world tour 'Oo-Li' begins

Singer-songwriter Woodz kicked off his first world tour, "Oo-Li," over the weekend with two days of shows held at Jangchung Arena in central Seoul. Spruced up in a black jacket and suit, Woodz, whose real name is Cho Seung-youn, made a dramatic entrance onstage via a lift. He began the night with "Busted," a song off his latest album, "Oo-Li," performing the song live for the first time. Up next were "Hijack" and "Love Me Harder," through which h

May 22, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen to hold concert in Seoul in July

Seventeen will host concerts in Seoul on July 21-22, announced agency Pledis Entertainment on Monday. It has been about 13 months since it went live in Seoul kicking off its third international tour. The live shows will be broadcast online as well. In the meantime, the 13-member act is set to greet its fans in Japan at its fan meet event held at Tokyo Dome on May 27-28. It met a total of 80,000 fans at the Osaka fan meet held last week at Kyocera Dome. The band also performed songs from its lat

May 22, 2023

Kim Seon-ho makes film debut with ‘The Childe’

Actor Kim Seon-ho, who had been keeping a low profile after being embroiled in a scandal in 2021, is making his silver screen debut with director Park Hoon-jung’s new noir action film “The Childe.” Before starting the press conference to promote his new film on Monday, Kim apologized for the inconvenience caused due to earlier rumors surrounding his personal life. His ex-girlfriend in 2021 claimed he coerced her into getting an abortion. He admitted to pressuring her. “I&

May 22, 2023

[Herald Interview] Lee Mu-jin hopes to leave deep, permanent footprint on music scene

Singer-songwriter Lee Mu-jin wants to continue making songs that can be easily sung, listened to and sympathized with by many. True to his words, he tells the story of a boy with a crush in bright song “Ordinary Confession.” “Most of my songs loved by listeners were bright songs in which I try to portray the certain feelings and emotions of a moment with a melody. In this single, I tried to write about a feeling that most of us have experienced in our lives -- the feeling of an

May 22, 2023

DiCaprio and Scorsese score raves at star-packed Cannes

CANNES, France (AFP) -- Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese were set for a victory lap at Cannes on Sunday after their Native American crime epic, "Killers of the Flower Moon" scored rave reviews, while the festival prepared to bow down before Jude Law as King Henry VIII. Scorsese's latest opus, about a wave of murders among oil-rich Osage Indians in the 1920s, was showered in words like "searing," "triumph" and "masterpiece" by critics who scored

May 21, 2023

[Herald Review] ‘Black Knight’ shows evolution of Korean dystopian flicks

From “Time To Hunt” (2020) to “Jung_E” (2023), Netflix has worked on a number of Korean dystopian movies, but not all audience were so fascinated by it. With “Black Knight,” which talks about a deliveryman in a violent desert wasteland in 2071, Netflix has pushed things forward, with strong characters and sophisticated CGI. Based on the webtoon “Delivery Knight,” director Jo Ui-seok said he reorganized the list of characters to add dynamics between

May 21, 2023

Modern interpretation of Jongmyo Jeryeak set for New York performance in July

The Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theatre has been invited to perform “Ilmu,” or “One Dance,” at New York’s Lincoln Center from July 20-22. The performance will be featured as part of “Korean Arts Week,” one of the highlights of the Lincoln Center’s annual summer festival “Summer for the City” celebrating visual art, music, dance, theater and culture. Premiered in May 2022, the production is directed by creative director Jung Ku-ho, in colla

May 21, 2023

[Rising Virtuosos] With perfectly matched instrument, violist Park seeks to touch hearts and expand musical horizon

Park Ha-yang, a Korean violist, exudes a calm and soft-spoken demeanor. Despite winning several domestic and international competitions since the age of 12, the 26-year-old confesses she isn't particularly fond of competitive environments. Although her parents initially had reservations about their only child pursuing a career in music, they had long created an environment filled with classical music by playing a dedicated radio channel throughout the day. Park's passion for music bega

May 20, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Fast X” (US) Opened May 17 Action/Adventure Directed by Louis Leterrier The tenth film in the Fast & Furious Saga, the film tells a story of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) who must protect his crew and family from Dante Reyes, the son of drug lord Hernan Reyes, seeking revenge over the loss of his family's fortune. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (US) Opened April 26 Animation/Adventure Directed by Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic A 2023 computer-animated adventure

May 20, 2023

Daejeon to host LCK 2023 Summer finals

The League of Legends Champions Korea 2023 Summer final is scheduled to be held at Daejeon Convention Center in Daejeon. LCK announced it would close this year’s summer season at Daejeon, aiming to invite the biggest number of spectators to the city can be easily reached from around the country. LCK has been trying to host the finals in cities other than Seoul in order to offer different audience experiences. While the LCK Summer finals were held at stadiums near Seoul starting in 2015, th

May 19, 2023

[Today's K-pop] Stray Kids to collaborate with Tiger JK

Stray Kids teamed up with veteran hip-hop musician Tiger JK. The band uploaded a teaser trailer for “Topline,” the fifth track from its upcoming third full album, on Friday. It starts with Han rapping and shows the eight members before focusing on Tiger JK. The song is written by 3Racha -- songwriting trio of Bang Chan, Changbin and Han -- that performed together with the senior last year at MAMA Awards. LP “5-Star” is due out on June 2 and consists of 12 tracks includin

May 19, 2023

tvN’s ‘Vincenzo’ to make jump to Japanese musical stage

Cable channel tvN’s smash-hit crime series “Vincenzo” will be adapted into a Japanese musical. According to Studio Dragon, the production company behind the 2021 television series, the stage musical is scheduled to premiere on Aug. 11 at AiiA 2.5 Theater in Kobe, Japan. The musical will run through Aug. 13. The show will then travel to Tokyo where it will be staged at Nippon Seinenkan Hall, starting from Aug. 18 to 21. The last shows of the musical tour will be in Osaka at Sank

May 19, 2023

ATBO ready to fly high with 3rd mini album “The Beginning: Take Off”

ATBO returned to the K-pop scene after a seven-month hiatus with an album filled with bright energetic songs on Thursday. “Not only have we always wanted to perform bright music on stage but also have our fans. We thought they would like to see us performing with happy facial expressions and freewheeling dance styles so we focused on that,” said Hyunjun of ATBO at a media showcase in Seoul on Thursday. Unlike the band's previous albums, which had a darker, fiercer edge, ATBO&rsq

May 19, 2023

Dance musical 'Dream High' gathers K-pop stars to continue story of hit drama

Twelve years after TV drama "Dream High," featuring Kim Soo-hyun and Bae Suzy, gained enormous popularity with the story of six high school students aspiring to be superstars, a new musical attempts to continue their story. Musical "Dream High" is based on the TV series and used some songs from the original soundtrack, but the story shows the story of the main characters 10 years later. Song Sam-song (played by Kim in the TV series) returns to Kiran Arts High School to find

May 19, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Ex-NU’EST Ren to go solo next month: report

Ren, formerly of NU’EST, will bring out his first solo album next month, according to a local media report on Thursday. Agency Big Planet Made Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. He debuted in 2012 as a member of the boy band, which disbanded last year, and has dropped a series of solo songs including “Loco” from last year as well as “Paradise” and “Rocket Rocket,” but it will be his first full-fledged effort as a solo musician. The p

May 18, 2023

Seoul in purple: city gears up to celebrate BTS' 10th anniversary

Seoul is set to be covered in purple in celebration of K-pop superband BTS' 10th anniversary next month. Local media outlets on Thursday reported that Hybe, the band's agency, is preparing events in collaboration with the Seoul city government ahead of the septet's 10th anniversary on June 13. According to reports, landmark spots around the capital will be decorated as "Army Road," taking its name from the band's official fan community, Army, where fans can celebrat

May 18, 2023

[Herald Interview] Kim Woo-bin talks about right to be happy, loved

Netflix's dystopian drama “Black Knight” is actor Kim Woo-bin’s third project since he returned to acting in 2022 after being diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer and ceasing all activities in 2017. It was director Jo Ui-seok who, having filmed the 2016 action flick “Master” with Kim, led the actor to star in his first-ever Netflix project. The two reportedly exchanged ideas during the planning stage for “Black Knight.” “I was thinking about

May 18, 2023

[Herald Interview] Pentagon vocalist Hui opens up about ‘Boys Planet’ experience

For Hui, an experienced vocalist of K-pop boy band Pentagon who has been active since 2016, every moment spent shooting Mnet’s K-pop competition "Boys Planet" was a challenge. “I was under a lot of pressure when I was looking forward to my first stage in the show because as an experienced artist, I faced higher expectations to do better. So I showed off as much talent as I could on stage. I don’t even remember myself performing because I was so nervous,” said Hu

May 18, 2023

[Herald Interview] Indonesian theater director finds inspiration, hopes for future collaboration

Visiting Korea for the first time, Bambang Prihadi, chairman of the Theater Committee at the Jakarta Arts Council, said he is leaving Korea with good memories and new inspiration. Prihadi participated in the “K-Fellowship,” an annual program organized by the Korean Culture and Information Service, which invites prominent cultural figures from overseas to experience Korean culture and network with Korean counterparts. As the artistic director and actor of his own theater company, Labo

May 17, 2023