NCT Dream to throw online concert to mark 2nd full album

South Korean boy group NCT Dream will give an online concert next month with its second full-length record set to drop late this month, the group's agency said Monday. The concert "Dream Stage: Glitch Mode" will be streamed on the Beyond Live platform on April 5, SM Entertainment said. The subunit of the 23-person K-pop mega group NCT will perform tracks in the second full album "Glitch Mode" as well as other hit singles during the show, which will be prerecorded, the agency

March 7, 2022

Oh My Girl to drop 1st studio album in three years

K-pop girl group Oh My Girl will release its first full-length album in three years in late March, the group's agency said Monday. "Real Love," the second studio album from the group, will drop at 6 p.m. on March 28, WM Entertainment said. It marks the group's first full album in three years, with the latest one released in 2019. Debuting in April 2015 with the EP "Oh My Girl," the septet has since released hit singles, such as "Secret Garden," "The Fifth Seaso

March 7, 2022

Lee Jung-jae wins best TV male actor prize at Indie Spirit Awards

Lee Jung-jae of the South Korean sensational hit "Squid Game" has won the prize of best male actor in a television series at the 37th Film Independent Spirit Awards. At the awards ceremony in Santa Monica, California, held Sunday (US time), Lee was awarded Best Male Performance in a Scripted Series, beating Olly Alexander of "It's a Sin," Michael Greyeyes of "Rutherford Falls," Murray Bartlett of "The White Lotus" and Ashley Thomas of "THEM: Covenant

March 7, 2022

[Herald Interview] Kim Hye-soo believes charts ranking not the only success in ‘Juvenile Justice’

For top actor Kim Hye-soo, 51, her Netflix debut series “Juvenile Justice” holds special meaning. “While I was grateful to hear that ‘Juvenile Justice’ ranked in the Netflix’s global top 10 chart, I was more satisfied to see the active debate and online exchanges about the issues (of juvenile delinquency),” Kim said during an online press interview with a group of reporters Friday. The actor explained that everyone who worked on the project was focused

March 6, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘Sing Again’ season 2 is not about finding new talents: producers

Nearly 10 months after the first season of hit music competition “Sing Again,” local cable channel JTBC returned with a second season spotlighting 73 singers who are talented, yet have been largely forgotten. Over three months starting in December, the show featured heavy hitters who had previously released albums. Taking on the format of the previous season, each contestant was called only by a number, and the final winner took home a cash prize of 100 million won ($82,400). Altho

March 6, 2022

‘Minari’ star Youn Yuh-jung to present at upcoming Oscars

Youn Yuh-jung, the 93rd Oscar-winning actress of US film “Minari,” will return to the Academy Awards later this month. Youn, who won the best supporting actress award in 2021 for her portrayal of an eccentric grandmother in “Minari,” will join former winners and nominees to present at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony slated for March 27. The first slate of presenters includes American actors Kevin Costner, Zoe Kravitz, Rosie Perez, comedian and actor Chris Rock and sing

March 6, 2022

Indie Space reopens in Hongdae

Indie Space, operator of Korea’s first independent film screening theater, Thursday announced opening of a new facility at Lotte Cinema’s Hongik Univ. location to resume its business beginning Monday. Indie Space has been providing support for producing and releasing Korean independent films, sponsoring independent film festivals such as the Seoul Independent Film Festival, Seoul Independent Documentary Film Festival, and Indie Forum, as well as assisting DVD productions of indie fi

March 5, 2022

Chinese netizens criticize iQiyi for releasing Korean drama “Something in the Rain”

Chinese streaming platform iQiyi is feeling the heat from netizens in China for showing the Korean drama “Something in the Rain,” the first Korean series to have received approval by Beijing in five years. Netizens took to China’s Twitter-like Weibo to complain about iQiyi’s decision to start airing on the show on its platform. “(Korean dramas) can stay banned … Why are you starting this?” one user commented on iQiyi’s Weibo post. The comment

March 4, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Pentagon to host fan meet next month

    　 Pentagon will meet fans in person at a fan meet event on April 2-3, announced agency Cube Entertainment on Friday. 　 Under the title “Pentagon’s Private Party,” the nine-member act will take to the stage twice. Both will be broadcast live as well. 　 Not all members will be present, however. Yeoone suspended activities last month after suffering a back injury from being hit by a drunk driver. Hui is currently serving his mandatory military duty. 　 The ban

March 4, 2022

Tickets for BTS Seoul concerts sold out before public sale

All tickets for K-pop supergroup BTS' upcoming Seoul concerts were sold out on the first day of sales as were those for the group's Las Vegas shows earlier, sources in the music scene said Friday. The sources said tickets for all three "Permission To Dance On Stage - Seoul" concerts were sold out in a few hours after they went on sale exclusively for members of the BTS fan base ARMY at 8 p.m. the previous day, prior to a public sale. The concerts scheduled for March 10, 12 and 13 mark

March 4, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

The Batman (US) Opened March 1 Action Directed by Matt Reeves Ahead of the election for mayor of Gotham, sadistic serial killer the Riddler (Paul Dano) begins murdering key political figures. Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson), as Batman, investigates the case with clues at the scene left behind directly for him. As he investigates the mystery of the psycho criminal, he begins to unravel the message being laid out. Serve the People (Korea) Opened Feb. 23 Romance Directed by Jang Cheol-soo

March 4, 2022

[Today’s K-pop ]Highlight to return with new album in March

    Highlight is gearing up for return in March, said agency Around Us Entertainment on Thursday. 　 The quartet finished shooting for a music video and jacket album photo recently and is in the final stage of releasing a new album. Its previous album was its third EP “The Blowing” from May last year. The EP, the first in over 3 1/2 years created by all four bandmates, ranked among the top 10 on the iTunes top albums chart in 15 regions. 　 Members of the band, now in i

March 3, 2022

[Herald Interview] Valo dreams of creating ambiance with atmospheric sounds

While many musicians find fame through chart-topping songs, Valo is one of the lucky few who have made it big in the industry taking a less conventional route. The DJ producer, whose name wasn't even listed on music platforms, burst onto the music scene when he started disc jockeying in Cakeshop, a club that is dubbed the home of Itaewon’s music. He earned his stripes by producing the runway soundtrack for fashion brand Xperimnt for Seoul Fashion Week and boy band Mirae’s teaser s

March 3, 2022

[Herald Interview] Ana Ruggiero says ‘Sophie’s World’ brought outside perspective on Korea

Actor Ana Ruggiero said she was a little skeptical when director Lee Jea-han offered her the role of Sophie, the protagonist in his indie film “Sophie’s World.” The Brazilian actor, 27, who first came to Korea as an exchange student, explained during her interview with The Korea Herald that it was because he proposed the role via an Instagram message. “I was like, what is this?” she said. “I do receive a lot of messages on Instagram and half of them are scam

March 3, 2022

[Newsmaker] Leaving their instruments behind, Ukrainian musicians return home to take up arms

Seoul Pops Orchestra director and conductor Ha Sung-ho said that SPO will be performing a fundraising concert this month for Ukraine and the Ukrainian artists of the orchestra, who have left South Korea to join the fight against Russian troops. Seoul Pops Orchestra has four Ukrainian members, three of whom -- contrabassist Ziuzkin Dmytro, 47, violist Lev Keler, 51, and trumpet player Matviyenko Konstyantyn, 52 -- have left South Korea to fight for their country. Explaining that the orchestra&r

March 3, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] NU’EST to release last album before disbandment

   　 NU’EST will release a best-of album on March 15, one day after its disbandment, said agency Pledis Entertainment on Wednesday. 　 The date of the release falls on the tenth anniversary of its debut. The album, called “Needle & Bubble,” will chronicle the band’s decadelong music career. The album will be a parting gift for the band‘s fans, and will be full of messages the bandmates wanted to deliver to them, the company said. 　 On Monday, the

March 2, 2022

Boston Symphony Orchestra to perform US premiere of Chin Un-suk’s new violin concerto

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is set to perform the much anticipated US premiere of award-winning composer Chin Un-suk’s Violin Concerto No. 2 “Shards of Silence” at Boston’s Symphony Hall on Thursday. Led by its music director and conductor Andris Nelsons, the BSO will perform “Shards of Silence” with violin soloist Leonidas Kavakos. Thursday’s program also includes US composer Charles Ives’ “The Unanswered Question” and French compos

March 2, 2022

Aespa clinches three prizes at 19th Korean Music Awards

K-pop girl group aespa swept up three prizes at the 19th Korean Music Awards, achieving a milestone as the rookie group with the most number of prizes at the awards. At the annual music awards ceremony held at Nodeul Live House on Nodeul Island, central Seoul, Tuesday, the quartet took home the song of the year award for its megahit “Next Level,” which dropped May last year. “Next Level” also won the newly created best K-pop song category and the group took home rooki

March 2, 2022

Red Velvet to drop new EP album this month

South Korean girl group Red Velvet will be back with a new EP this month, the group's agency said Wednesday. The album titled "The ReVe Festival 2022 - Feel My Rhythm" will hit local music stores on March 21, SM Entertainment said, adding the EP consists of six songs, including the title track "Feel My Rhythm." Ahead of the release, Red Velvet will hold live concerts at Olympic Park in Seoul on March 19-20. It will be the group's first in-person concerts in two years and thre

March 2, 2022

'The Batman' scores biggest opening of the year to date in South Korea

"The Batman" has set the best opening-day record for this year to date at the South Korean box office with more than 190,000 people, data showed Wednesday. The Hollywood action blockbuster sold 192,000 tickets, which is 74 percent of all tickets sold at movie theaters nationwide, on Tuesday and topped the box office the following day, according to the data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). Two blockbuster films released earlier this year -- "The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasur

March 2, 2022