First Blue Planet Future Festival sheds light on climate crisis

BUSAN - The first Blue Planet Future Festival, an event dedicated to highlighting the issue of climate change, featured a program of films, talks and other events in South Korea‘s port city of Busan. The film festival took place alongside the Green Life Show, an environmental experience exhibition, and ESG International Conference. Held at the Busan Cinema Center, Blue Planet Future Festival screened 39 documentaries from 20 countries. According to the Global Networks For Blue Planet,

Aug. 19, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Nope (US) Opened Aug. 17 Horror Directed by Jordan Peele O.J. Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) is a horse trainer and his father (Keith David) runs a successful business providing horses to Hollywood productions. One day, his father dies in a mysterious accident and O.J. and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) inherit the ranch. But things get complicated for the Haywoods when they notice a mysterious cloud on the horizon of their ranch. Hunt (Korea) Opened Aug. 10 Action Directed by Lee Jung-jae

Aug. 19, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink sells 1.5m in preorders

Blackpink’s second studio album has already sold more than 1.5 million in preorders, according to YG Entertainment on Thursday. 　 Expectations are high for the album to break sales records, especially since the LP “Born Pink” became available for preorders just a week ago and will be released on Sept. 16. First LP “The Album” sold 800,000 copies in six days in preorders and was the first million-selling album from a K-pop girl group. 　 The quartet will drop &ldqu

Aug. 18, 2022

[Herald Interview] Acclaimed actor Jung Woo faces fresh challenge on ‘A Model Family’

Actor Jung Woo, who rose to fame after starring in the independent film “Wish” (2009) and tvN‘s hit drama “Reply 1994” (2013), has continued to show his range as an actor with his latest series, “A Model Family.” After playing short-tempered characters in Kakao TV’s web drama “Mad for Each Other” (2021) and crime film “Hot Blooded” (2022), Jung felt that much work would be needed to play a drastically different character l

Aug. 18, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] BTS to launch photo project, starting with Jungkook

　 BTS will release a series of photo books one by one from Sept. 1. 　 The series will consist of eight books in total, seven dedicated to each of the septet and one for the whole group. Jungkook uploaded a teaser trailer for the project dubbed “Special 9 Photo-Folio” on Wednesday showing himself as a vampire. 　 Each of the 80-page books will be linked by their final photographs, which will hint at the next bandmate to be featured. 　 Meanwhile, the band’s anthology album &ldq

Aug. 17, 2022

Rise of new meokbang trend: eating small portions

“Meokbang,” also known as mukbang, in which streamers showcase themselves having a huge meal, has been a globally popular form of online content. Now, some Korean viewers who have grown tired of watching this content are turning their eyes to a new kind of meokbang that feature “sosikjwa,” referring to people who eat a surprisingly small portion of food. Disbanded girl band 2NE1 member Sandara Park and actress Park So-hyun are leading the new trend with a YouTube show

Aug. 17, 2022

Renowned ballet dancer Kim Ki-min to dazzle Seoul

World-class ballet dancer Kim Ki-min from Russia’s Mariinsky Ballet has returned for performances in Korea for the first time in four years. The principal dancer of the prestigious Russian ballet troupe will perform with 18 other dancers from international ballet companies at the “Ballet Supreme 2022” taking place at the National Theater in Seoul, from Thursday to Saturday. Current and former ballet dancers who are members of overseas companies such as the Royal Ballet of Eng

Aug. 17, 2022

ENA’s ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ to make jump to stage musical

Television channel ENA’s courtroom series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” will be adapted into a musical, EMK Musical Company announced Wednesday. According to the company, three episodes from the 16-part series will be selected and turned into a musical. “There were many attempts to reproduce hit drama series as musicals. But we always worry whether the long stories of TV dramas could be represented in 2 to 3-hour stage performances,” Eom Hong-hyeon, CEO and chief p

Aug. 17, 2022

[Herald Interview] Boycold explores foolish romance on ‘Daft Love’

“Hey boy, it’s cold” -- Boycold’s producer tag isn’t subtle about who it represents, but it’s a guarantee of high production values. Boycold, whose real name is Jeong Seong-won, debuted in 2015 through “Boys to Men,” a track on rapper Crucial Star’s “Boyhood” EP. Zig-zagging between hip-hop and R&B, he’s a jack of all trades with a knack for soundscapes. The beatmaker now has a long list of hits under his belt. He m

Aug. 17, 2022

[Herald Interview] BAE173 aims to strengthen its presence in K-pop scene with ‘Odyssey: Dash’

With a slew of big-name K-pop artists splashing onto the scene with summer bops, rookie boy group BAE173 has also joined the flock with a new release. Having dropped its fourth EP titled “Odyssey: Dash” on Wednesday, the nine-piece act held an interview with a group of reporters at its label Pocketdol Studio’s headquarters in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, a day ahead of the new album’s online release. The act -- comprised of members J-Min, Hangyul, Yoojun, Muzin, J

Aug. 17, 2022

'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' tops Netflix chart for non-English series for 3rd week

The South Korean legal drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" has topped Netflix's latest weekly viewership chart of non-English TV shows for the third consecutive week, the global video streaming service said Wednesday. The TV series, which has aired every Wednesday and Thursday on the cable channel ENA since June 29, marked 69.4 million hours of viewing for the week of Aug. 8-14 to lead Netflix's official top 10 list for non-English TV programs available on the service, accordi

Aug. 17, 2022

Lee Jung-jae's directorial debut 'Hunt' tops 2m admissions

"Hunt," the directorial debut of Lee Jung-jae of "Squid Game," has topped 2 million admissions, box-office data showed Wednesday. The espionage film drew 146,000 people the previous day, bringing its combined total to 2.1 million, according to the data by the Korea Film Council. Released Aug. 10, it took seven days to reach the 2 million level, becoming the fourth most-viewed Korean film in 2022 after "The Roundup," "Hansan: Rising Dragon" and "The Wi

Aug. 17, 2022

The Boyz says 7th EP ‘Be Aware’ is a gift for fans

Less than two weeks have passed since the Boyz ended their first world tour, “The B-Zone,” in Seoul with three days of encore concerts, and the act is already back with fresh new sounds and performances to fill fans’ summer. Ahead of dropping its seventh EP, “Be Aware,” at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the bandmates shared their feelings and thoughts through an official press statement released that morning. “It’s exciting to be making this comeback after almos

Aug. 16, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] BTS collab hits Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 10

BTS’ collaboration with Snoop Dogg and Benny Blanco debuted at No. 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100, according to the tally dated Aug. 20. 　 The single “Bad Decisions” featuring Jin, Jimin, V and Jungkook of BTS will be the first track from the Brazilian producer’s upcoming third album, due out later this year. 　 Last month, the septet shared a teaser clip of Blanco calling and asking for a spot via a video call. 　 “Look, I know we haven’t known each other

Aug. 16, 2022

Hyun Bin returns as more relaxed N. Korean detective in ‘Confidential Assignment 2’

When Hyun Bin reprised his role as North Korean detective Im Chul-ryung in the second installment of the action film “Confidential Assignment,” the top Korean actor initially thought that there wasn’t much he needed to prepare. “I thought I could simply perform in the same way that I did in the original movie. But this thought changed soon after I found out that everything from comedy to action elements had been upgraded in the new movie,” the actor said during a

Aug. 16, 2022

National Chorus of Korea aims to reach global audience with first album

The National Chorus of Korea aims to reach global audiences with its first album and special concerts with US soloists. After releasing its first regular album, “Voices of Solace,” alongside high-budget music videos for the album in June, the 49-year-old national choral group is taking Korea’s old and new melodies to the stage with the 24-member American Soloists Ensemble this month. “I had a chance to conduct an all-Korean music concert in the US in 2019 and realized

Aug. 16, 2022

CJ ENM launches new channel on US streaming platform Peacock

South Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM announced that it has expanded into the US as a free-to-view addition to Peacock, US media and entertainment company NBC Universal’s streaming platform. According to the company, CJ ENM will offer Korean content which includes dramas, movies and K-pop programs via Peacock’s CJ ENM branded channel “CJ ENM Picks.” CJ ENM’s collaboration with Peacock is the Korean company’s second partnership with a US media company, fol

Aug. 16, 2022

Gangnam gets its first Imax screen

A new Imax theater opened at CGV Apgujeong on Tuesday, introducing the first Imax theater in the Gangnam area of Seoul, according to CJ CGV, the country’s largest multiplex cinema chain. The company said its new Imax theater has 170 seats and five private boxes with two seats each, the first ever private boxes in an Imax theater. To mark the opening of the latest Imax theater, “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Nope” and “Bullet Train” will screen there Saturd

Aug. 16, 2022

[Herald Review] Billie Eilish’s dreamy voice blares through Seoul on Korean Liberation Day

It took four years for American pop star Billie Eilish to return to South Korea to perform onstage. Despite the rainy evening on Korean Liberation Day, a holiday that commemorates Korea’s independence from Japanese colonial rule 77 years ago, a whopping 20,000 fans flocked to enjoy her long-awaited return. “Hyundai Card Super Concert 26 Billie Eilish,” the singer-songwriter’s second concert in the country, took place at Gocheok Sky Dome. She held her first show on the s

Aug. 16, 2022

Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ bags trophies at HCA TV Awards

Global sensation “Squid Game” won two trophies at the 2nd Annual Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards held in California on Saturday and Sunday. Netflix’s megahit drama won best international series, while star Lee Jung-jae was named best actor in a streaming series, drama for his performance as Gi-hun, a debt-ridden divorcee. “I am deeply grateful that so many of you around the world have enjoyed and supported this series. I think ‘Squid Game’ has opene

Aug. 16, 2022