'Spider-Man' tops 3 million admissions on 7th day

"Spider-Man: No Way Home," the latest Spider-Man series film, has topped a cumulative 3 million admissions at the fastest pace in the pandemic era, box office data showed Wednesday. The blockbuster attracted 196,000 people on Tuesday, bringing its combined total to 3.18 million on the seventh day following its release, according to the data by the Korea Film Council. Its pace outmatched that of the biggest pandemic-era hit, "Deliver Us From Evil," which needed 11 days to ac

Dec. 22, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Twice’s Jeongyeon to miss Seoul concerts

   Jeongyeon of Twice will be absent from the band’s upcoming concerts in Seoul, announced label JYP Entertainment late Monday. 　 Citing health reasons, the firm said that after discussing the issue with her bandmates, she has decided not to participate in the two-day concerts slated to be held Dec. 25-26. 　 It will be the third time Jeongyeon has taken a break from performing. The idol suspended activities two times before, in October last year and in August this year due to he

Dec. 21, 2021

Indieground streams 87 independent films to wrap up 2021

To mark the end of the year, the Korean Film Council is screening a selection of films from Indieground’s “2021 Independent Movie Library.” 　 The movie library is part of an Indieground project to promote Korean independent films to the public and find new distribution channels for filmmakers. For this year’s “Independent Movie Library,” a total of 727 films were submitted and 87 films -- 22 features and 65 short films -- were selected. A special screenin

Dec. 21, 2021

‘Special Cargo’ invited to 2022 International Film Festival Rotterdam

“Special Cargo” featuring Oscar-winning “Parasite” star Park So-dam will be screened at 2022 International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Harbour program, according to the film distributor NEW. The film festival will be held offline from Jan. 26 to Feb. 6 next year. Founded in 1972, the annual film festival has been held at the end of January at various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In 2020, the festival premiered the black-and-white version of “Paras

Dec. 21, 2021

Korean streaming platform Tving reveals new original content list for 2022

The number of subscribers at CJ ENM’s streaming platform Tving has increased dramatically since October last year on the back of its original content, the company said. The number of paid subscribers to Tving increased by 256 percent as of Dec. 18, a rise which the company attributed to the popularity of its 60 original and exclusive content that it started offering in January. To further expand its reach, the streaming platform operator on Tuesday unveiled a list of new Tving original

Dec. 21, 2021

Playlist: All you need for Christmas is a Merry K-pop song

Treat yourself to a merry little Christmas -- with this perfect playlist. Here are 10 songs to spice up the wintery mood and ring in the holiday season.  1) “Butter (Holiday Remix)” - BTS K-pop sensation BTS surprised fans by dropping its fifth official remix of its megahit “Butter.” But this time, the septet went for a carol remix of their song to revel in the winter holiday mood and to thank fans for showing their continued support. The original music’s

Dec. 21, 2021

[Herald Interview] Every word Davii sings is the answer to unanswered questions

Searching for the exact math in music is synonymous with finding a deeper groove. In line with the saying, singer-songwriter Davii reaches out to innovative tunes by interweaving jazz and R&B. And now, the singer aims to lead creative hijinks in the music scene by bringing his studio sounds to the masses. ‘?=1 Re:new’ Love isn’t unique to music -- it’s an element that plays a crucial role in people’s lives and music lovers tend to associate themselves with

Dec. 21, 2021

[Herald Interview] Norah Jones aims to soothe COVID-19 blues with first Christmas album

Christmas is just around the corner, but the festive season is more low-key than many hoped for due to rising COVID-19 concerns around the world. To help soothe the COVID-19 blues, American singer-songwriter Norah Jones has released an unexpected gift -- a full-length Christmas album titled “I Dream of Christmas”. “This album did come out of the very long first year of the pandemic. I needed something to look forward to and a way to be creative that had a little joy baked into

Dec. 21, 2021

[Herald Review] Three-day Seoul concert links NCT 127 and fans

K-pop boy band NCT 127 reunited with fans in person for the first time in three years through their concert “Neo City : Seoul - The Link” last week. The three-day concert took place on Dec. 17-19 in Gocheock Sky Dome in western Seoul. The recent entertainment was the second concert of NCT 127, a subunit of S.M. Entertainment’s popular boy band NCT, since their debut in July 2016. Chinese member Winwin did not take part, as was the case of the group’s first concert conc

Dec. 21, 2021

'Snowdrop' under fire for distorting modern S. Korean history

The romance series "Snowdrop" has sparked criticism that it distorted the history of South Korea's pro-democracy movement of the late 1980s, prompting calls for the show's cancellation and withdrawals of corporate sponsorship. The weekend primetime drama on JTBC is about a romantic relationship between Young-ro, a female South Korean university student, and Su-ho, a North Korean spy, before the 1987 presidential election. Fierce criticism arose after the first two episodes this weeke

Dec. 21, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] aespa remakes 90s hit song

aespa put out its own take on “Dreams Come True,” a 1998 hit song by S.E.S., on Monday. 　 BoA participated in producing the remake for the rookie girl group adding fresh energy and hip-hop vibes to the dreamy sounds of the main track from the second studio album of S.E.S. 　 This is part of a project by label SM Entertainment and YouTube that seeks to upgrade the music videos and songs of legendary artists produced by the entertainment giant from over the past two decades. 　 On Thur

Dec. 20, 2021

Hybe teases BTS webtoon ‘7 Fates: CHAKHO’

Hybe, the K-pop powerhouse behind the superband BTS, has released an official teaser for “7 Fates: CHAKHO,” an upcoming original webtoon collaboration among BTS members, Hybe and Naver Webtoon. The one-minute video, starring RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, talks about fate -- the central theme of the upcoming webtoon. In the teaser clip, the members are seen reaching toward a ball of light as a dramatic instrumental song plays in the background. Drawn from the tiger

Dec. 20, 2021

[Video] Meet this painter behind the viral portraits in Korea

What started as a split-second decision to follow a friend’s suggestion to go on an adventure to Asia became a turning point in Aaron Cossrow’s life. Find out why the Philadelphia native is painting everyday people in Seoul and how he put together an exhibition in the middle of the bustling city. 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 (hone

Dec. 20, 2021

‘The Policeman’s Lineage’ to be first Korean film in theaters next year

“The Policeman’s Lineage,” directed by Lee Kyu-man, will be the first Korean film in the theaters next year, according to the film’s distributor Acemaker Movieworks on Monday. “Despite the toughened Level 4 social distancing rules this summer, Korean films like ‘Escape from Mogadishu,’ ‘Sinkhole’ and ‘Hostage: Missing Celebrity’ were screened,” the distributor said in a statement. “Although we are in a pandemic situat

Dec. 20, 2021

Nine independent films to be screened for free at Cinematech KOFA

The Korean Film Archive on Monday announced it will screen nine Korean independent films that were well received between December last year and November this year at Cinematech KOFA in Sangam-dong, Seoul. The nine films are “Happy Children” by Lee Ji-won, “I Don’t Fire Myself” by Lee Tae-gyeom, “Snowball” by Lee Woo-jung, “Festival” by Kim Rok-kyung, “Black Light” by Bae Jong-dae, “Short Vacation” by Kwon Min-pyo and

Dec. 20, 2021

Calls to halt JTBC ‘Snowdrop’ mount after two episodes

JTBC drama series “Snowdrop” has come under fire for alleged distortions of history after having aired just two episodes. 　 “Snowdrop” centers around the romance between a North Korean spy and South Korean university student during the 1987 presidential election. An online petition was posted to the Cheong Wa Dae website on Sunday demanding a halt to the broadcasting of the drama. “The broadcaster previously faced controversy after releasing the (drama) synopsis

Dec. 20, 2021

'Spider-Man' smashes S. Korea box office in its 1st week

"Spider-Man: No Way Home," Marvel's latest Spider-Man series film, is smashing the South Korean box office to become the most-watched movie in the first week since the pandemic, data showed Monday. The blockbuster attracted 1.74 million people from Friday-Sunday, bringing its cumulative total to 2.27 million in the five days following its release, according to the data by the Korea Film Council. It is the largest five-day record by a film released since the COVID-19 pandemic started

Dec. 20, 2021

First female director’s failed journey a story of inspiration, says actor Lee So-yeon

A 30-something female filmmaker strives to make her first movie, a film about a widow; it’s a commercial failure and, ironically, she gets divorced shortly afterward. Although this trajectory of trial and failure feels common in modern society, now imagine this same story occurring in 1954, right after the Korean War. This is no fiction, but rather the real life of South Korea’s first female filmmaker, Park Nam-ok. The movie director’s story has been brought back to life in

Dec. 19, 2021

BTS nominated for 2022 BRIT Awards International Group of the Year

K-pop superband BTS has been nominated for the 2022 BRIT Awards for International Group of the Year, the awards' website showed Sunday. This is the second consecutive year the group has been nominated for the British annual music awards, both times in the same category. BTS will be competing against four other contenders -- ABBA, Maneskin, Silk Sonic and The War On Drugs. The awards ceremony is slated for Feb. 8, 2022. (Yonhap)

Dec. 19, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Twice’s Seoul concert partially canceled

Twice decided to cancel the first show of its three-day concert that was originally planned to start from Dec. 24-26. 　 This is to keep in line with strengthened measures to curb the recent upsurge in COVID-19 cases, according to which the concert venue has to close at 10 p.m. The first day’s concert was to begin at 7:30 p.m. and running time was 2 1/2 hours. 　 The concerts on the following two days start at 6 p.m. and 5 p.m. respectively and will be held as scheduled. The Sunday concer

Dec. 17, 2021