[Herald Interview] Jun Jong-seo understands varied responses to Korean remake of ‘Money Heist’

Jun Jong-seo, who plays the role of a gang member known by the codename “Tokyo,” said she agrees with widely differing reviews about Netflix’s latest Korean original series “Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area.” “I believe there are both strengths and weaknesses to the original and remake of ‘Money Heist.’ Even I found some aspects, featured in the original series, were better than our project,” the 27-year-old actor said in an o

July 1, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Astro’s Cha Eunwoo may star in Hollywood film: report

Cha Eunwoo of Astro is considering taking a lead role in “K-Pop: Lost in America,” according to a local media report on Friday. 　 He is looking at the proposal favorably, but nothing has been confirmed yet, said agency Fantagio following the report. 　 Cha has appeared in a series of dramas including “True Beauty” and the movie “My Brilliant Life.” He recently finished shooting the drama “Island.” 　 The feature-length movie is set to premiere in

July 1, 2022

37 Koreans awarded at int'l classical music competitions in H1

A total of 37 South Korean nationals have won prizes at 25 international classical music competitions held in the first half of this year, a local cultural foundation said Friday. Twelve Korean pianists were awarded at 13 contests, and seven violinists won medals at nine competitions during the January-June period, according to Kumho Cultural Foundation. In competitions for viola and cello, four and six Koreans, respectively, reached a podium, while four wind instrument players and four artists

July 1, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Decision to Leave (Korea) Opened June 29 Romance Directed by Park Chan-wook Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) is a hardworking detective who carries everything he needs in a specially tailored suit with extra pockets. One day, he looks into a suspicious death that occurred on a mountain. Hae-jun comes to suspect the dead man’s wife, the mysterious Seo-rae (Tang Wei), is involved in the crime. As he investigates Seo-rae, the detective becomes drawn to her. Top Gun: Maverick (US) Opened June 22

July 1, 2022

Pianist Lim Yun-chan says life has not changed since Van Cliburn win

  Less than two weeks after becoming the youngest winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Lim Yun-chan stood before South Korean press Thursday and said he sees little change in his musical life. “Nothing has changed since I won the competition. My piano skills haven’t improved overnight just because I won. I will continue making more effort,” Lim, 18, told reporters at a press conference held on the Seocho Campus of the Korea National University of

June 30, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Stray Kids’ 2nd EP sweeps charts in Japan

　 Stray Kids topped Billboard Japan‘s weekly top album sales chart with its second EP there. 　 “Circus” was also No. 1 on the Hot Albums chart and the Tower Records chart. 　 The six-track EP came out on June 22 and headed straight to the top of Oricon’s daily album chart. It topped the iTunes album chart in 17 regions, and the music video for the title track generated 10 million views on YouTube in four days. 　 Meanwhile, the eight-member act performed live in Kobe and

June 30, 2022

[Video] Why Anushka Sen is debuting in Korea

You asked, we answered. Learn everything about Anushka Sen’s Korea trip and how this 19-year-old Bollywood actor and influencer with 37.8 million followers is shaking up the industry with her passion for connecting Asia through content. Watch til the end for exclusive clips of Anushka playing fun games! Special thanks to Asia Lab (Global artist management company representing Anushka Sen) Park Sun-yeong, Kim Su-hyeon and Lee Ji-min contributed to this report. By Kim Min-jung (min

June 30, 2022

'Extraordinary Attorney Woo': a legal drama with a twist

Television director Yoo In-sik hopes to fight prejudices by presenting a story of a talented lawyer who is on the autism spectrum. “Everything began as I watched ‘Innocent Witness’ (2019), written by the screenwriter Moon Ji-won,” Yoo said during a press conference at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on Wednesday. In the film “Innocent Witness,” a young autistic girl (played by Kim Hyang-gi) wishes to become a witness, believing that she

June 30, 2022

SM artists to hold joint concert in August

SM Entertainment, a K-pop powerhouse, said Thursday will hold the first in-person joint concert of its artists in about five years in August. The concert titled "SMTOWN Live 2022: SMCU EXPRESS @HUMAN CITY_SUWON" will take place at the Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, on Aug. 20, SM said. The most recent in-person concert of SM-managed artists was held in Seoul in 2017. The agency also plans to hold live concerts of its artists at Japan's Tokyo Dome o

June 30, 2022

ITZY named top-selling rookie artist of first half on Japan's Oricon

Japan's Oricon on Thursday named South Korean girl group ITZY the top-selling rookie of the first half of the year based on sales in the country, the band's agency said. Oricon announced the K-pop quintet as the best-selling rookie artist in the market for the Dec. 17-June 20 period, JYP Entertainment said. The Japanese pop music chart operator has annually released sales rankings by artists since 2018 based on sales of physical and digital singles and albums as well as DVDs, Blu-ray d

June 30, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] TXT to drop 3rd Japanese single in August

　 Tomorrow X Together will release a third single in Japan on Aug. 31, said label Big Hit Music on Wednesday. 　 The single “Good Boy Gone Bad” consists of three songs: a Japanese version of the song of the same title that was the focus track from its fourth EP “minisode 2: Thursday’s Child” and two new songs. One is written by the band members. 　 The fourth EP topped Oricon’s weekly album chart when it came out in May, and the band became the first internati

June 29, 2022

Coupang Play offers 1,000 episodes of hit TV series, new movies

Video streaming service Coupang Play is expanding its offerings with the addition of hit titles from NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. Coupang Play, which ranked third in the domestic streaming market in terms of the number of users, a standing achieved primarily through broadcasts of sporting events, is diversifying is offerings by securing foreign TV and film content. With this expansion, about 1,000 episodes will be available to users, according to the company on Tuesday. NBCUniversa

June 29, 2022

Sunmi returns as lovesick girl with ‘Heart Burn’

Vying to create this year‘s summer anthem, singer Sunmi dropped a new digital single titled “Heart Burn” on Wednesday evening. This mark’s the songstress‘ first release since her 3rd EP, “1/6,” dropped last August. The singer’s digital single is a two-song release that includes the title track and the side track “Childhood.” Gushing about her new songs, the singer described “Heart Burn” as “a song about summer l

June 29, 2022

[Herald Interview] No Brain says rock ‘n’ roll keeps them going

In the 1990s, when Korea’s punk rock scene was a barren land, there was one group causing a sensation across the country. Since its debut in 1996, the legendary band No Brain has been one of the first generation of acts to play a major role in spreading the sound of rock ‘n’ roll in Korea. Even long-running K-pop groups seldom survive past seven years, so it is rare to see a band that continues to make music for over two decades. Although they have faced challenges, like the

June 29, 2022

[Herald Interview] Park Chan-wook creates romance film ‘Decision to Leave’ without those three little words

Cannes-winner Park Chan-wook’s movie “Decision to Leave” is a romance film. However, the protagonists never utter those three little words: I love you. “I wanted to create a quiet movie. I don’t mean that there are few lines. In fact, the lines are quite long. They just don’t directly say ‘I love you’ and express their feelings,” Park said during an interview with a group of reporters via Zoom on Monday. Although we live in an era where pe

June 29, 2022

Charity group, audio brand join forces to provide music education for underprivileged

Beautiful Mind, a cultural and diplomatic charity organization, and audio equipment brand KEF last week signed an agreement to promote culture and arts for people with disabilities. The agreement covers cooperation in music education for children with disabilities and adolescents from low-income families as well as their orchestra activities, Beautiful Mind said in a statement. The agreement includes KEF’s sponsorship of wireless hi-fi speakers and wireless earphones to Beautiful Mind.

June 29, 2022

'Money Heist: Korea' ranks No. 2 on global Netflix chart

Netflix's new South Korean series "Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area" rose to No. 2 on a global popularity chart for TV series available on the streaming service. According to data released by streaming analytics company FlixPatrol on Tuesday (US time), the Korean remake of the streamer's smash-hit series "Money Heist" placed second on its daily global chart for TV programs on Netflix, four days after it was released. The ranking was up one notch from third p

June 29, 2022

‘Super Band’ season 2 winner CraXilver debuts with ‘Make A Dash’

Rock band CraXilver, the winner of the second season of JTBC‘s band audition program, “Super Band,” made its official debut on Tuesday evening with the release of its first EP, “Make A Dash.” The five-piece band composed of guitarist Willy.K, drummer Danny Lee, vocalist Vincent, bass guitarist Cyan and keyboardist Oh Eun-chul held a press event in Seoul, ahead of the EP’s online release at 6 p.m. the same day. “We would like to be the only band of ou

June 28, 2022

Kim Han-min to return with another Adm. Yi Sun-sin film, ‘Hansan’

Kim Han-min, who directed the 2014 box office megahit about Adm. Yi Sun-sin “Roaring Currents,” is returning with another movie about the historic figure titled “Hansan.” The new film is the second in the Adm. Yi trilogy that the director aims to complete. The plan is to present three different battles led by Yi during the Japanese invasions of Korea in the late 16th century. “Roaring Currents,” the first in the planned trilogy, holds the record for the mos

June 28, 2022

[Herald Interview] Yoo Ji-tae studies hard for new ‘Money Heist’ role

Top actor Yoo Ji-tae said that it’s time to be remembered for something new, viewing the Korean remake of “Money Heist” as the “perfect opportunity.” “I think many viewers, especially foreign audiences, will remember me as an actor from ‘Oldboy’ (2003),” Yoo said during an online interview Monday. Recounting how he read the script via his agency BH Entertainment, a co-production company on “Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic

June 28, 2022