Viewer’s voice shakes Korean broadcaster

Controversy over “Snowdrop” continued this week, with viewers calling for the drama to be pulled, while some insiders claimed that such calls limited producers’ freedom to apply creative license. “Snowdrop,” a highly anticipated JTBC series, also available on Disney+, features Blackpink’s Jisoo and top actor Jung Hae-in. But the star-studded production drew calls for its cancellation from members of the public, who accuse the show of distorting the history a

Dec. 30, 2021

Yoo Jae-suk sweeps 16th grand prize at MBC Entertainment Awards

Top comedian Yoo Jae-suk, arguably the biggest television celebrity in Korean broadcasting, won the grand prize at the MBC Entertainment Awards on Wednesday. This year’s award makes it the 16th grand prize win for the 49-year-old comedian if combined with his previous awards from the country’s three major broadcasters -- at KBS in 2005 and 2014, at SBS in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019, and at MBC in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2020. This year’s award recog

Dec. 30, 2021

Musicals lead revenue recovery in performing arts

Despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the South Korean performing arts sector saw a steady recovery this year, data showed on Wednesday. In this month so far, revenue from theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances stood at 47.7 billion won ($40.21 million), surpassing the 40-billion-won mark for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS). The December reco

Dec. 30, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] SM’s project unit teaser features Hyoyeon, Wendy, Karina

SM Entertainment floated teaser photographs for its supergroup project Girls on Top, Wednesday.   　 The first unit -- GOT the beat -- focuses on dance and performance, and the photographs that came out on the day featured three from the seven leading female artists: Girls’ Generation’s Hyoyeon, Wendy of Red Velvet and Karina of aespa. Also on board are BoA, Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon, Seulgi of Red Velvet and Winter of aespa.   　 On Tuesday, BoA shared photos

Dec. 29, 2021

[Herald Interview] Boy band B.I.G aims to deliver message of hope through ‘Flashback’

K-Pop boy band B.I.G has returned after a two-year hiatus with its single “Mr. Big: Flashback” in November. Unlike the band’s previous hits “Hello,” “Are You Ready?” “Taola” and “Aphrodite” feature rhythmical sounds, the title track “Flashback” focuses on hopeful lyrics. “‘Flashback’ is a trendy upbeat EDM-based house genre song. The lyrics are not only filled with our story but also contain a messa

Dec. 29, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Suga reassures fans

Suga of BTS assured fans that he is OK.   　 He wrote “I am very much all right! Don’t worry too much” on Weverse, a platform for artist-to-fan communications for Hybe musicians, Monday.   　 The artist returned to Korea from the US on Thursday and started a 10-day self-quarantine. The test result for COVID-19 came back positive the following day. Separately, RM and Jin were also found to have contracted the virus, Saturday.   　 All three bandmates came back to K

Dec. 28, 2021

Romance film ‘A Year-End Medley’ invites audiences to world without COVID-19

It is not the end of the year without a romance film about multiple couples’ Christmas and New Year holidays. Last year there was “New Year Blues” directed by Hong Ji-young and this year we have romance film master Kwak Jae-yong’s “A Year-End Medley.” “It does not feel like Christmas or New Year holiday anymore due to COVID-19. I want to recreate the holiday vibe that we used to enjoy,” Kwak said during a press conference held on Monday at CGV Yon

Dec. 28, 2021

Can SBS ‘Kick a Goal’ win public trust back?

Local broadcaster SBS announced plans to restore viewers’ trust with a complete change of the production team for its women-led soccer show, “Kick a Goal,” Monday. “We have decided the television directors and chief producer should first hold themselves accountable for the carelessness of tampering with some of the footage in the program. After conducting a thorough self-investigation, we have found that the order of the scores was changed on some of the episodes in &ls

Dec. 28, 2021

'Squid Game' creator says he's in talks with Netflix for 3rd season

The global TV sensation "Squid Game" will likely return not only with season 2 but also with season 3, its creator Hwang Dong-hyuk said Tuesday. "I'm in talks with Netflix over season 2 as well as season 3," Hwang said in an online interview with Korean broadcaster KBS. "We will come to a conclusion any time soon." It is the first time that the director-writer has hinted at the possibility of a third season of the biggest Netflix original series after he confirmed

Dec. 28, 2021

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ conquers local box office

“Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Marvel‘s latest Spider-Man film has sold 4,825,696 tickets in South Korea since its release on Dec. 15, becoming the most popular film of the year. During the Christmas holiday (from Dec. 24-26), Jon Watts’ hero film sold 1,299 627 tickets, according to box office figures released by the Korean Film Council. “Spider-Man: No Way Home“ depicts the story of Spider-Man after his identity is revealed. Spider-Man (Tom Holland) asks Doc

Dec. 28, 2021

[Herald Review] Twice ends 2021 with first in-person concert in two years

  K-pop girl group Twice greeted fans in person for the first time in 2 1/2 years through their concert “Twice 4th World Tour ‘Ⅲ’” last week. The two-day event took place on Saturday and Sunday at KSPO Dome at Olympic Park in southern Seoul. This was the group’s first offline concert since May 2019, and their first since the pandemic hit the entertainment industry. One member, Jeongyeon, was absent during the shows due to health issues. This was her third time

Dec. 27, 2021

World class pianists gear up for concerts in Korea next year

Local performance planning agency Mast Media has announced the lineup for its upcoming concerts in the next year. A total of 18 scheduled performances featuring globetrotting artists is expected to give hope to audiences. “The Great Pianists Series” will kick off with a show from Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman, which is scheduled to take place at Lotte Concert Hall on Feb. 14 and 15. The concert will mark Zimerman’s first performance in Korea in two years. Chinese pianist

Dec. 27, 2021

[Video] 7 interesting things about Christmas in Korea!

Why are we talking about cakes, fine dust, condoms and sunglasses for Christmas? Find out why! Video by Team Konnect Kim Min-jung (minjung.kim@heraldcorp.com) Jung Ji-eun (jungje@heraldcorp.com) Choi Jeong-yoon (jychoi@heraldcorp.com) Kim Jeong-ryul (ryul@heraldcorp.com) Cho Eun-bee (honeybee@heraldcorp.com)

Dec. 27, 2021

[Video] We tracked down BTS Super Tuna with tuna experts and this is what happened

We embarked on our journey to look for Super Tuna and guess what we found? Join us! By Team Konnect Kim Min-jung (minjung.kim@heraldcorp.com) Jung Ji-eun (jungje@heraldcorp.com) Choi Jeong-yoon (jychoi@heraldcorp.com) Kim Jeong-ryul (ryul@heraldcorp.com)

Dec. 27, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Enhyphen hints at upcoming repack

Enhypen hinted at an upcoming repack of its upcoming album with an Instagram post of a mood board on Monday. 　 The album, titled “Dimension: Answer,” is a repack of the first studio album “Dimension: Dilemma” for which it also put out a mood board. Small desks and chairs, a blue hand holding a figure with “Liar,” as well as a message that starts with “Don’t Butt In” piqued fans’ interest online. 　 A series of concept photos and a teas

Dec. 27, 2021

[Today's K-pop] BTS’ Suga tests positive for COVID-19: report

Suga of BTS has been infected with COVID-19, local media reported Friday. 　 Suga’s COVID-19 test results came back positive after arriving in Korea from the US. He will be isolated. 　 Separately, BTS shared the choreography video for its holiday remix of “Butter” on Friday. 　 Using props such as Christmas-themed headwear and sparkling tinsel that matched with their warm-toned clothes, the bandmates celebrated the holidays dancing to the tune of their mega hit song’s ca

Dec. 27, 2021

Im Si-wan, Ko A-sung and Son Hyun-ju to make anticipated return with drama ‘Tracer’

The largest South Korean streaming platform Wavve is scheduled to release its first 2022 original series “Tracer” on Jan. 7. The series will also get its terrestrial broadcast premiere on MBC as their new Friday-Saturday drama series following “The Red Sleeve.” Directed by Lee Seung-young, who was behind crime thriller “Missing Noir M” (2015) and “Voice Season 2” (2018), “Tracer” is an action drama about the National Tax Service&rsquo

Dec. 27, 2021

SM launches new female supergroup

SM Entertainment, a leading K-pop agency, formed a new supergroup Monday with seven of its top female artists. GOT the beat consists of diva BoA; Taeyeon and Hyoyeon of Girls' Generation; Seulgi and Wendy of Red Velvet and Karina and Winter of aespa. It is the first group formed under SM's broader project titled "Girls On Top (GOT)" for debuting new female units with leading artists managed by the company. The new septet will debut at a free online concert titled "SMTOWN Live 2

Dec. 27, 2021

TWICE to perform at Tokyo Dome in April

South Korean girl group TWICE will hold two concerts at Tokyo Dome on April 23-24 as part of its ongoing world tour, the group's management agency said Monday. They will become the group's first performances in Japan since 2019, when it performed in seven big cities in the country as part of a world tour, according to JYP Entertainment. The new world tour titled "III" began with two concerts in Seoul, on Saturday and Sunday, which were the first in-person concerts by the group in 22

Dec. 27, 2021

Public anger mounts over SBS’ ‘Kick a Goal,’ despite apology

Though terrestrial network SBS admitted its carelessness and has apologized for tampering with some of the footage in its women-led soccer show, “Kick a Goal,” on Friday, public outrage over the program is not likely to cease any time soon as additional doubts about the show are being raised by netizens. On Friday, the production staff of “Kick a Goal” uploaded an apology on its official website, after its most recent episode drew accusations from an anonymous writer th

Dec. 26, 2021