Le Sserafim holds first-ever fan meet

For the first time since their debut, Le Sserafim hosted a fan meet during the weekend at the Olympic Hall in Seoul. The fan meet, called “Fearnada 2023 S/S,” featured special performances by the five-member K-pop girl group for their fandom Fearnot. Le Sserafim kicked off the event with a performance of “No Celestial,” a side track of their second mini album, and “Antifragile,” the titular track of the same album. “Through this moment, Fearnot and we wi

March 20, 2023

Hong Sang-soo’s ‘In Water’ confirms April release

Filmmaker Hong Sang-soo’s 29th project, “In Water,” will hit local theaters on April 12. “In Water” follows Seong-mo (Shin Seok-ho), an aspiring film director who has recently given up acting and decides to self-fund his own project. He and two friends go to an island to shoot the movie together, but struggling with what to make, as Seong-mo wanders around the rocky shores to find inspiration. There, he encounters a young woman picking up trash. The 62-year-old aute

March 20, 2023

Park Seo-joon returns to big screen as soccer coach

Actor Park Seo-joon is returning to the big screen for the first time in four years with director Lee Byeong-heon’s sports comedy film “Dream.” The 34-year-old’s most recent project on the screen was the multiple Oscar-winning “Parasite” (2019). In still photos released by distributor Plus M Entertainment on Monday, Park is seen talking with actor Lee Ji-eun, who appears as documentary film producer Lee So-min. Lee is better known as IU, the name she uses for

March 20, 2023

Japanese animations rank high at S. Korean box office

Three Japanese animations were among the top five films on the weekend box-office chart in South Korea, industry data showed Monday, proving their unwavering popularity among local audiences. The Japanese animation "Suzume" posted 712,473 admissions from Friday to Sunday to top the box office for the second consecutive week, according to the data compiled by the Korean Film Council. Director Makoto Shinkai's latest film, which is centered on a high school girl and a mysterious you

March 20, 2023

[Herald Interview] Hybe training and development leader Shin Seon-jeong behind K-pop stars' success

Unlike other entertainment agencies with separate training and development teams for each label, Hybe has only one T&D department in charge of educating and nurturing the trainees of all its labels. That’s the key to Hybe’s differentiated competitiveness in the K-pop scene, according to the leader of the T&D department at Hybe, Shin Seon-jeong. “We are in charge of educating and nurturing trainees in a way that fits the color of each different label to create the best s

March 20, 2023

[Herald Interview] Please show Yeon-jin no mercy, ‘The Glory’ star Lim Ji-yeon says

While some actors who play villain roles ask viewers to sympathize with their characters, insisting that villains might also turn out to be likable in the end, Lim Ji-yeon requests viewers of “The Glory” to have no mercy on her character, Park Yeon-jin. “I wanted Yeon-jin to be hated by all ‘The Glory’ fans. I hoped for her not to be tolerated nor understood, not even for a moment. Even I, who played Yeon-jin in the series, could not forgive her,” Lim told The

March 19, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Suzume” (Japan) Opened March 8 Adventure/Animation Directed by Makoto Shinkai “Suzume” revolves around a 17-year-old girl’s quest to stop an apocalypse triggered by the opening of magical doors all over Japan. The film is Shinkai’s third film in the series after “Your Name” (2017) and “Weathering with You” (2019), which both center around natural catastrophes like earthquakes and climate-related disasters. “Soulmate” (S

March 18, 2023

BTS member Jimin's single tops iTunes charts in 110 countries

BTS member Jimin's single "Set Me Free Pt. 2" topped iTunes charts in 110 countries Saturday, the group's agency BigHit Music said. The hip-hop track, released at 1 p.m. Friday, is part of his debut solo album, "Face," which will roll out next Friday. The song had claimed the No. 1 spot on the iTunes Top Songs charts in 110 countries, including Britain, Canada, Italy and Finland, as of 9 a.m., BigHit Music said. The music video for "Set Me Free Pt. 2" ha

March 18, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Ive to return next month with 1st LP

Ive will make a comeback on April 10 with its first full album, announced agency Starship Entertainment on Friday. According to a local media report, the album will consist of 12 tracks and star lyricist Kim Eana will write words for the lead track. It has been about seven months since its third single, “After Like,” which sold over 1 million copies in the first week of sales and topped all major charts at home. The group picked up 14 trophies in total last year with the titular tra

March 17, 2023

Jeonju International Film Festival establishes donation committee

Jeonju International Film Festival has established a donation committee to spread the culture of donation and social contribution, while part of the proceeds will be delivered to a nongovernmental organization. Under the slogan of “glorious value,” which also reads “cinematic value” in Korean, the donation committee is JIFF’s first-ever move to support those in need, since the festival’s establishment in 2000. JIFF said it will receive applications for donat

March 17, 2023

BTS' Jimin to pre-release hip-hop song 'Set Me Free Pt. 2'

Jimin of BTS will drop a pre-release song "Set Me Free Pt. 2" from his first solo album "Face" on Friday. Jimin is set to make his official solo debut with his EP "Face" on March 24, and the pre-release single is the first song unveiled from the forthcoming album. According to BTS' agency Big Hit Music, "Face" tells the 27-year-old's story as he confronted himself to embark on a new journey as a solo musician. It depicts the various emotions that the artis

March 17, 2023

Lee Sun-kyun takes on unprecedented comic role in ‘Killing Romance’

Hit TV drama star Lee Sun-Kyun from “Pasta” (2010) and “My Mister” (2018) is trying his hand at an unprecedented comical role in upcoming romance thriller “Killing Romance,” directed by Lee Won-suk and written by “The Beauty Inside” writer Park Jeong-ye. “Killing Romance,” also starring actors Lee Ha-nee and Gong Myung, revolves around a former actor Hwang Yeo-rae, who is known for her terrible acting skills and eventually leave the ind

March 17, 2023

Tving’s ‘Zero Sum Game’ expands reach to Vietnam

Tving, the South Korean online streaming service provider run by entertainment giant CJ ENM, on Wednesday announced that Vietnamese content production company Red Carpet and TV channel HTV7 acquired the Vietnamese rights for its variety show “Zero Sum Game,” which marks the beginning of their partnership with the streamer. The 12-part unscripted show presents 10 participants who seek the highest prize money possible by maintaining their first total body weight, measured in the firs

March 16, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Aespa to release new album in May: report

    Aespa will drop a new album early next month, reported a local media report on Thursday. Label SM Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. The group was set to do so in February, but the dates were postponed due to a conflict over the company’s management. It, however, held its first standalone concert in Seoul on Feb. 25-26. Its last album was second EP “Girls,” which sold more than 1.42 million copies in the first week and became the first alb

March 16, 2023

Top artists set for solo debut, comeback

Groups can break out big, but for some, the individual members, even bigger when fans have waited a long time to see them come out as independent artists. The coming weeks are set to welcome some big names as make their solo debut and comebacks. The most-anticipated among the names are Jimin of BTS who is set to make an official start as a solo artist. Jimin will drop his solo debut album "Face" on March 24. Led by synth pop score "Like Crazy," the album will tell his story a

March 16, 2023

BTS members continue to thrive in their solo journey

It’s been 10 months since BTS began its hiatus from group activities as the members needed to take some time off to fulfill their mandatory military service. Jin, the oldest in the group, was the first member to enlist in the Army in December last year. Since then, Jin has been sharing his moments in the Army with fans by posting pictures on social media. Last week, Jin posted a picture of himself in his military uniform with other BTS members J-Hope and Jimin, who had come to pay him a vi

March 16, 2023

[Herald Interview] Kim Jae-hyung cherishes love with 'One Second'

In singer-songwriter Kim Jae-hyung's latest single "One Second," there is no mention of the word "second" in either Korean or English. The song itself is an embodiment of that one second we wish to spend more with those who we love, that one second which feels like forever as our senses are numbed and our mind, overwhelmed by happiness. It is this metaphor that mainly defines the alternative folk singer's music. "One second feels different according to situatio

March 16, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] NewJeans tops 200m Spotify streams with ‘OMG’

NewJeans amassed 200 million streams on Spotify with “OMG,” according to the music platform on Wednesday. It is the main track from the single album of the same title and became the group’s third song to achieve the feat, after “Hype Boy” and “Ditto.” The rookie girl group generated 1 billion streams combined on Spotify as of last week. Both “OMG” and “Ditto” have stayed strong on Spotify charts as well, ranking No. 21 and No. 43

March 15, 2023

[Herald Interview] Trendz targets takeoff with 2nd single album ‘Blue Set Chapter: New Dayz’

A “stepping stone” is what K-pop boy band Trendz hopes for with their second single album, “Blue Set Chapter: New Dayz.” “We are now in the second year of our career as Trendz. Last year was a blessing for us because we could do a lot of performances and appearances. But we have this mindset that, just like the title track of this album ,'New Dayz,' we will start anew," said Havit of Trendz during the group’s interview with The Korea Herald on T

March 15, 2023

School bullying claims roil showbiz

Though celebrities who have been accused of school bullying do not have to face deadly consequences as presented in Netflix’s revenge-soaked hit series, “The Glory,” their past deeds are nonetheless considered unforgivable. Former K-pop boy band BLACK6IX member Kim Hyun-jae withdrew from JTBC’s latest audition project, “Peak Time,” which features already-debuted artists who have fallen short of building a successful career and gives them a second chance to bec

March 15, 2023