'Squid Game' becomes most-watched Netflix show with record 1.65b hours

The South Korean sensation "Squid Game" has posted a total of 1.65 billion hours of streaming in the first four weeks of release, becoming the most-watched Netflix content of all time. Netflix on Tuesday (US time) released the global top 10 lists of films and TV shows based on hours viewed in their respective first 28 days on its platform. "Squid Game" topped the non-English popular TV show list with an aggregate 1.65 billion hours of viewing over the first four weeks follo

Nov. 17, 2021

K-pop stars to resume world touring concerts amid eased travel restrictions

With travel restrictions eased under the "living with COVID-19" scheme, big-name K-pop stars are heading overseas to hold live concerts with foreign fans that have not been held for nearly two years. Superband BTS is at the forefront of the move, scheduled to throw a series of live in-person concerts in Los Angeles, titled "BTS Permission To Dance On Stage - LA" to be held at SoFi Stadium on Nov. 27 and 28 and Dec. 1 and 2. They will be the septet's first live in-person con

Nov. 17, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] EXO’s Chen expecting 2nd child: report

Chen of EXO will have another child soon, according to a local media report on Tuesday. 　 His label, S.M. Entertainment, later confirmed that his wife is pregnant with their second child. 　 The veteran idol announced that he was marrying his girlfriend in January 2020. The news sent fans into shock, and some went so far as to demand that he be expelled from the band. 　 Sometime after a private wedding, they welcomed a daughter and recently were reported to have celebrated her first birthday at

Nov. 16, 2021

MAMA ready to ‘make some noise’ with in-person ceremony next month

Turning the page to the post-COVID era, the nation’s biggest annual music ceremony, Mnet Asian Music Awards, will return as an in-person event after a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic. CJ ENM, the host of the music awards, on Tuesday conducted a global press conference during which it announced the details of this year’s edition to take place on Dec. 11 in Seoul. The entertainment arm of conglomerate CJ also revealed its vision to reposition the annual awarding ceremony as a glo

Nov. 16, 2021

Gergiev to go onstage in Korea

As Korea gradually opens it borders to foreign artists and acts, maestro Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Stradivarius Ensemble are to take to the stage here. The ensemble, led by the celebrated conductor Gergiev, is to go onstage at the Lotte Concerts Hall in eastern Seoul on Nov. 24 for two performances. Gergiev, one of the most sought-after conductors in the world, has been long affiliated with the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg. The Russian maestro is credited with raising the Ma

Nov. 16, 2021

AleXa to hold first ever K-pop metaverse fan meeting

K-pop super rookie AleXa is set to hold a fan meeting on the metaverse on Nov. 21, her agency ZB Label announced Monday. The event marks the first such attempt in the K-pop industry, according to the agency. AleXa came to attention in 2016 through K-pop community website Soompi’s audition program, “Rising Legends.” AleXa appeared two year’s later on Mnet’s “Produce 48.” AleXa made her official debut in October 2019, with her first digital single &ld

Nov. 16, 2021

French Cinema Week 2021 kicks off with new releases, classics

Great news for French film fans in Korea: French Cinema Week 2021, organized by the French Embassy in Seoul and the association of Korean Buyers & Distributors of Foreign Films in Korea, kicked off Monday with screenings of 40 films. The event, running through Sunday, is being held at 14 local theaters in five different cities, including Seoul, Incheon and Daejeon. This year’s French Cinema Week is held under the theme of “Save Our Cinema.” “We hope to support the

Nov. 15, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] NCT127 to hold 3 days of concert next month

NCT 127 will meet fans in person with a three-day concert series in Seoul in December, announced label SM Entertainment on Monday. 　 The subunit of NCT will host “NCT 127 2nd Tour ‘NEO City: Seoul - The Link’” from Dec. 17-19, almost three years since its last concert. The live performance on the final day will also be broadcast across the world via Naver’s V Live. The group will then tour through a string of major international cities. 　 The nine-member act relea

Nov. 15, 2021

‘The Blue House Family’ hopes to revive Korean sitcom

While made-for-television political satires have had little success in Korea, “The Blue House Family” is ready to take a jab at the genre early next year. It so happens that 2022 is a presidential election year in Korea, and Astory, the production company behind the 10-episode sitcom, is betting that content related to politics will grab viewers’ attention. 　 “Politics and comedy go well together. Many comedians and content creators view the political scenes as a treasu

Nov. 15, 2021

US conductor wins top prize at inaugural KSO International Conducting Competition

US conductor Elias Peter Brown won the top prize at the first KSO International Conducting Competition organized by the Korean Symphony Orchestra. Brown, 26, clinched the win with his performance of Debussy’s “La Mer” (The Sea), L. 109, CD. 111 at the finals of the competition held Sunday at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul. A graduate of Yale University and the Royal Academy of Music in England, he won third place at the Khachaturian International Conducting Competit

Nov. 15, 2021

BTS wins four prizes at MTV Europe Music Awards

K-pop megastar BTS has clinched four trophies at this year's MTV Europe Music Awards (EMA), the most at the annual ceremony. In the ceremony held in Budapest, Hungary, on Sunday (local time), the seven-member act took home Best Pop, Best Group, Best K-pop and Biggest Fans. BTS is one of just two names to clinch more than one trophy at this year's MTV EMA, along with British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran who claimed the most coveted Best Song for "Bad Habits" and Best Artist. The Kor

Nov. 15, 2021

'Eternals' retains No. 1 spot on S. Korea box office for 2nd week

Marvel's latest superhero film "Eternals" has topped the South Korean box office for the second consecutive week, data showed Monday. "Eternals" attracted a combined 501,000 people from Friday to Sunday, accounting for 55.9 percent of the period's total ticket sales at local theaters, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. The film topped the 2 million mark in attendance Friday, 10 days after its release on Nov. 3, bringing its total to 2.46 million as of Sunda

Nov. 15, 2021

Song Hye-kyo makes triumphant return with first episode of ‘Now We Are Breaking Up’

Actor Song Hye-kyo made a triumphant return to the small screen Friday with her first TV drama in two years, SBS’ “Now We Are Breaking Up.” The first episode recorded the highest viewership rating of all Friday-Saturday dramas that aired over those two days. The first showing on Friday marked an average nationwide rating of 6.4 and a peak of 8.4 percent. The ratings improved the following day, with the second episode scoring nationwide viewership ratings of 8.0 percent and

Nov. 14, 2021

SPO to go onstage with Chopin Competition winner

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra is to hold a concert with the winner of the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition, Bruce Liu. Liu, 24, the first prize winner of the competition which took place in Warsaw, Poland, in October, will go onstage with the Seoul-based orchestra on Nov. 27 at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul, under the baton of associate conductor Wilson Ng. The Canadian pianist will perform Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11. Other works on the prog

Nov. 14, 2021

Joseon pop: Tradition gets makeover

Young musicians’ efforts to create new styles of traditional Korean music are finally bearing fruit with a new school of music winning over television audiences. While artists such as gender-bending singer Lee Hee-moon, and traditional Korean music-inspired avant-rock band Jambinai have paved the way for fusion music, Joseon pop is now breaking through with a more mainstream sound. A reference to the Joseon era (1392-1910), Joseon pop mixes traditional music, known as “gugak,&rd

Nov. 14, 2021

Singer-songwriter Sam Kim, Indonesian singer Raisa drop single ‘Someday’

Singer-songwriter Sam Kim and Indonesian singer Raisa dropped their song “Someday” on Friday. It is the Korean American musician’s first time collaborating as a producer with a non-Korean artist. The two artists held a joint global press conference Friday afternoon in Jakarta, Indonesia, with Kim and the South Korean media attending through Zoom. Kim produced the song with the assistance of another Korean singer-songwriter, Jukjae, and it will be part of Raisa’s upcom

Nov. 12, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s “How You Like That” video tops 1b views

Blackpink now has five music videos with over 1 billion views each. 　 The music video of “How You Like That” had garnered 1 billion views on YouTube as of Friday, according to label YG Entertainment -- about 505 days since its release. 　 It follows the videos for “Ddu-du Ddu-du,” “Kill This Love,” “Boombayah” and “As If It’s Your Last.” 　 The song is from the band’s first studio album, “The Album,” and not onl

Nov. 12, 2021

Oh Na-ra talks about portraying a secret love affair in rom-com ‘Perhaps Love’

“Perhaps Love,” a new movie directed by Cho Eun-ji and starring Oh Na-ra, offers a different take on relationships than most South Korean films. Oh’s character, Mi-ae, secretly dates Soon-mo (played by Kim Hee-won), a close friend of her ex-husband, Hyun (played by Ryoo Seung-ryo). Soon-mo, a publisher, works with Hyun, a writer struggling to overcome writer’s block. Oh explained during an interview with a group of reporters via Google Meet that she hadn’t exper

Nov. 12, 2021

'Squid Game' emerges as big contender in upcoming year-end awards season in US

The South Korean breakout hit "Squid Game" has emerged as a big contender in the US year-end awards season, possibly to become the first Korean-made TV series winning a trophy at prestigious awards ceremonies. Starting in late fall, the highly competitive race for great TV shows and movies of the year is the biggest celebration for the US entertainment industry eying for the Emmys and Oscars next year. In the past two years, the American awards season unprecedentedly caught the eyes

Nov. 12, 2021

TWICE to drop third studio album

K-pop girl group TWICE will release its third studio album, titled "Formula of Love: O+T=<3," on Friday, its management agency said. Presales of the album reached 700,000 units, about 200,000 more than its previous release and last EP "Taste of Love," according to JYP Entertainment. The group said the name "Formula of Love: O+T=<3" expressed the group's relationship with its fandom ONCE in the form of a simple math equation using the initials of the fandom a

Nov. 12, 2021