Reservation for BTS' 10th anniversary commemorative medals kicks off

The Korea Minting and Security Printing Corp. (KOMSCO) and BTS’ label Bit Hit Music jointly launched the K-pop band’s official 10th anniversary medal and began reservation on Friday. KOMSCO began taking pre-orders for the first edition of medals projected to be sent starting in March, KOMSCO announced. There are three types of gold medals and a single type of silver medal. A total of 10,000 gold medals are sold in 28-, 14- and 7-gram sizes to signify the 10th anniversary. There will

Dec. 16, 2022

[Video] Exclusive interview with the cast of film “Asia” (Part 1)

India's Anushka Sen, Thailand's Pakorn Chatborirak and Malaysia’s Daiyan Trisha and Sean Lee sat down with the Asia 101 team for an off-the-wall interview about their Korean debut film with director Lee Jung-sub. This is the first episode of a three-part series, filmed on Nov.6 in Seoul. Check back for the next episode – the final one will be released on Dec. 22!

Dec. 16, 2022

Mbic Live streams hit MBC dramas and TV shows for free

Terrestrial broadcaster MBC announced Friday that its video streaming service Mbic Live will offer hit MBC dramas and unscripted shows. Mbic Live is a free, ad-supported streaming platform that allow viewers to enjoy MBC’s popular shows without sign-in or additional payment. A total of 30 programs, including “Infinite Challenge” (2005-2018), “I Live Alone,” “Radio Star” and “County Diaries” (1980-2002), are available. Twenty shows will be a

Dec. 16, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Prey for the Devil (US) Opened Dec. 7 Mystery Directed by Daniel Stamm With a global rise in demonic possessions, the Roman Catholic Church decides to reopen schools to train priests to perform exorcisms. While nuns are not allowed to perform this ritual, Sister Ann’s gifts are noticed by a professor who decides to train her. Sister Ann soon finds herself in a battle for the soul of a young girl possessed by a demon. Even If This Love Disappears Tonight (Japan) Opened Nov. 30 Romance D

Dec. 16, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] BTS surpasses 1.5b views with ‘DNA’ music video

The music video for BTS’ “DNA” reached 1.5 billion views on YouTube on Thursday. “DNA” is the main track from “Love Yourself: Her,” which was released in September 2017. The video is the band’s third to reach the milestone, following “Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey)” and “Dynamite.” The music video amassed 20 million views on the platform in the shortest time for a K-pop musical act at the time. The septet landed on both the Bi

Dec. 15, 2022

Two Korean winners of Queen Elisabeth Competition to perform in Belgium

Two Korean winners of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition will perform a special recital in Belgium on Saturday. Violinist Lim Ji-young, winner of the competition in 2015, and cellist Choi Ha-young, this year's winner, will take the stage at Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp, Belgium, according to the Korean Cultural Center in Brussels. Both took the highest honors at one of the most prestigious competitions for up-and-coming classical musicians. Held in Brussels, it alternates each y

Dec. 15, 2022

'Decision to Leave' nominated for Critics Choice Awards

Park Chan-wook's romance thriller "Decision to Leave" has been nominated for best foreign film for this year's Critics Choice Awards. According to the nominations announced by the Critics Choice Association on Wednesday (U.S. time), the Korean film starring Park Hae-il and Tang Wei was listed in the best foreign language film category, along with five other movies. "Decision to Leave" has also been named the best non-English language film at the Golden Globe Awards

Dec. 15, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] BTS to be featured in 2023 commemorative stamp

    A commemorative stamp featuring BTS will be issued in the first half of 2023, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Korea Post on Wednesday. The band will be on one of 23 stamps to mark next year under the theme “Record of Youth.” Its label Hybe will jointly finalize the design of the stamp. In the meantime, the septet extended its stay on the Billboard 200 to a 26th consecutive week with anthology album “Proof.” The album debuted at

Dec. 14, 2022

‘Oldboy’ star Choi Min-sik says he missed TV dramas

Top movie star Choi Min-sik did not hide his excitement at his return after 25 years to the small screen in Disney+ noir series “Big Bet.” His last television drama was MBC’s “Love and Farewell” (1997-1998). “I decided to star in ‘Big Bet’ because I really missed TV dramas,” Choi said in a press conference at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul on Wednesday. The veteran actor explained he wanted the opportunity to work on a project featurin

Dec. 14, 2022

Independent female leads: Key to success for TV dramas in 2022

Female characters, who were once limited to men’s sidekicks, lovers or mothers in TV series, are making a splash with powerful women leading this year’s Korean drama trend. As more Korean actresses tried to break the country’s stereotype of women -- as needing men’s protection and help -- diversity in female characters is no longer new in Korean dramas. While many attempts were made to put women in central roles, no noticeable results had been seen since MBC’s perio

Dec. 14, 2022

K-pop Hallyu 3.0 fully fledged with localized idol groups

Major agencies and labels in South Korea are directly targeting foreign markets by launching localized idol groups. With more than 20 years of experience in expanding the K-pop market abroad, K-pop powerhouses created a full-fledged K-pop Hallyu 3.0 era by nurturing idol groups in foreign countries such as Japan and China. The first generation of the K-pop Korean Wave involved debuting Korean artists outside of the country. The second generation involved mixing foreign members into idol groups t

Dec. 14, 2022

Seventeen, Stray Kids, Ive, Lee Jun-ho take top honors at 2022 AAA

The 2022 Asia Artist Awards in Japan recognized breakout stars of this year, with Seventeen, Stray Kids, Ive and Lee Jun-ho taking the top honors of the night. The AAA ceremony took place Tuesday at the Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan. This year saw the return of a live audience for the first time in three years, with streams of singers and artists attending to celebrate the honorable night together. Named for the five grand prizes for musicians were Seventeen as the year's top singer,

Dec. 14, 2022

Korean cinema sees more blood, guts and gore

Crime action film “The Roundup” was the biggest box office hit of 2022 in South Korea, selling over 10 million tickets in just 25 days after its release in May. Starring Ma Dong-seok, the sequel to 2017 film “The Outlaws” was rated 15, which means it was deemed suitable for audiences aged 15 and older. Children under 15 are allowed to watch these movies in theaters as long as they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. A few minutes into the film, however, the main vill

Dec. 14, 2022

[Herald Interview] Nah Youn-sun presents her own 'Waking World'

Jazz vocalist Nah Youn-sun spent her first ever free year feeling anxious. As the pandemic persisted with no end in sight, the situation understandably became very daunting for a performer who hit the stage at least 100 times a year. Considering her new circumstances, she thought she might have to find a new occupation. “I felt isolated on an island, especially since the musicians I had worked with in the past 10 years were all foreigners. I was contemplating whether I should change jobs a

Dec. 13, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ RM debuts at No. 15 on Billboard with 1st solo album

RM of BTS landed on the Billboard 200 at No. 15 with his first solo album “Indigo,” according to the latest chart released on Monday in the US. Main track “Wild Flower (with youjeen)” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 83 and headed straight to the top of Top Selling Songs chart. This is the second time he made the Billboard 200 with his solo work, as his 2018 mixtape “mono” notched the No. 26 spot at the time. “Indigo” was dropped on D

Dec. 13, 2022

Suga to serve as social service agent, but what is it?

BTS member Suga might serve his military duty as a social service agent, according to local news reports citing military officials. Serving as a social service agent is an alternative form of military service in South Korea, for those deemed unfit to serve as soldiers in a military base due to a number of factors such as health, financial difficulties and family situation. In the case of Suga, a shoulder injury from a traffic accident in 2012 is suspected to be the reason for his qualification

Dec. 13, 2022

BTS' Suga to fulfill military service as social service agent

Suga of K-pop sensation BTS will carry out his military service as a social service agent, military and music industry sources said Tuesday. They said the 29-year-old rapper was assigned to be a social service agent instead of an active-duty soldier. But details, including when his enlistment will be, remain unknown. Suga, born in 1993, had his service deferred until the end of next year under a revised law that allows "those who excel in popular culture and art" to postpone their serv

Dec. 13, 2022

[Herald Interview] Kim Hye-jun has more to show to ‘Connect’ fans

Actor Kim Hye-jun shared the combination of excitement and regret she felt after starring in Disney+’s fantasy-thriller series “Connect.” “I am certain that I have put my utmost effort into every project that I take part in. But I always recognize what could be improved after monitoring the finished work. It was the same for ‘Connect’ as well,” Kim said in an interview with reporters at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, Monday. Kim emphasized ther

Dec. 13, 2022

[Herald Review] Musical ‘Hero’ moves to big screen with heart-touching drama, famous tracks

The short, but dramatic life of Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910) has been adopted into various novels and musicals, but the musical “Hero” has been the best-known adaptation with veteran actor Jung Sung-hwa playing Ahn on stage for 14 years since its premiere in 2009. When megahit film director Youn Je-kyoon watched Jung performing on stage in 2012, it became obvious for Youn to bring the award-winning musical to the big screen. “If I were to create a film

Dec. 13, 2022

167-year-old orchestra with young masters at the fore to perform in Korea

A 167-year-old historic French orchestra is set to perform in Korea this month with two young music masters at the fore. The Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, based in Strasbourg -- a French city on the border with on Germany -- will perform a repertoire that shows the musical connection between France and Russia, its music director Aziz Shokhakimov told reporters on Thursday. The orchestra will perform Bizet’s Carmen Suite No.1, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.2 and Mussorgsky&rsqu

Dec. 13, 2022