BLACKPINK to join Hybe's fan community platform Weverse in Aug.

K-pop queen BLACKPINK will be the next act to go on Hybe's growing fan community platform Weverse, its agency said Wednesday. The four-piece act, which already has a massive fan base on YouTube, will join the virtual platform starting Aug. 2, according to YG Entertainment. The move follows a partnership between YG Entertainment and Hybe -- the K-pop powerhouse behind acts like BTS, Tomorrow X Together and Enhypen -- signed in January. The companies, two of the biggest agency-labels in the K-p

July 14, 2021

Korean-Thai horror 'The Medium' hits No. 1 in ticket presales

The Korean-Thai horror project "The Medium" topped the advance box-office sales in South Korea, raising hopes for a larger-than-expected success despite a surge in novel coronavirus infections, data showed Wednesday. The film, revolving around a family experiencing a shamanistic spiritual inheritance in a rural region of Thailand, recorded over 110,000 presold tickets as of 9 a.m., according to data from the Korean Film Council. It hit the local theaters earlier in the day. It accoun

July 14, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink Rose’s “On the Ground” video tops 200m views

The music video for “On the Ground,” the solo debut of Blackpink’s Rose, surpassed 200 million views on YouTube on Tuesday, announced label YG Entertainment on the same day.   　 It has been 123 days since the video’s release. It stormed past 100 million views in about a week, the shortest time for a video by a K-pop solo female artist. The song topped iTunes top songs chart in 51 regions and topped both of Billboard’s worldwide tallies, the Global 200 and Bil

July 13, 2021

Original Korean musical ‘The Devil’ set to tour in China

“The Devil,” an original Korean musical, has made its way onto the Chinese musical scene as a licensed production. According to co-producers of the musical, Page1 and R&D Works, “The Devil” -- known by the title “Rock Faust” in China -- is set for a 10-city tour across China starting July 23. The musical will be staged in Beijing, Ningbo and Suzhou, among others. The musical had its Chinese premiere at the Shanghai Grand Theatre from May 24-31, with s

July 13, 2021

JYP Entertainment teams up with Sony Music to create boy band

Sony Music Entertainment Japan announced Monday that it would team up with K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment to launch a new boy band. The two jointly held an online press conference in Korea and Japan to share their plans for the production of the new group, which will be elected through the survival reality program “Nizi Project.” The upcoming audition show will be aired in the latter half of the year. Park Jin-young, the chief of the label, expressed his excitement about cre

July 13, 2021

K-pop rookie Enhypen sweeps Oricon music charts with debut Japanese single

K-pop rookie Enhypen has topped a key daily and a weekly music chart in Japan with its debut Japanese single, music tracker Oricon said Tuesday. "Border: Hakanai" ranked No. 1 on Oricon's latest weekly singles chart, selling over 200,000 copies from July 5 to Sunday, according to Oricon News. The band's first Japanese single also sat atop Oricon's daily singles chart for the seventh consecutive day since its release last Tuesday. Enhypen, which debuted in November, is the first amon

July 13, 2021

Surging COVID-19 infections disrupt S. Korean entertainment scene

The South Korean entertainment scene is suffering a setback in the production of TV shows as the fourth wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic sweeps nearly every sector of the country. Last week, global media giant Netflix suspended the production of its original series "The Bride Of Black" for two weeks as actress Cha Ji-yeon tested positive for the virus. Her case also affected the stage musicals "Red Book" and "Gwanghwamun Sonata," as the actress is currently

July 13, 2021

BTS extends No. 1 streak on Billboard Hot 100 to seven straight weeks

K-pop sensation BTS' summery, up-tempo number "Butter" remained atop Billboard's main singles chart for the seventh consecutive week in the group's best chart record since its debut. ""Butter" is officially No. 1 on this week's #Hot100 chart for a seventh week," Billboard said on its Twitter account on Monday (US time). The septet's second English song drew 10.8 million US streams and sold 108,800 downloads in the week ending July 8, it said. The song also attract

July 13, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Lisa to shoot solo music video

Lisa of Blackpink will shoot a music video for her solo debut song this week, label YG Entertainment said Monday. 　 It confirmed an earlier media report that said she would start shooting the video and is set to drop her first solo music this summer. 　 The label announced last year that the members, except for Jennie who was the first to drop her solo album in 2018, will put out solo projects one by one after the release of the band’s full-length album in September. Rose rolled out hers

July 12, 2021

BIFAN screens XR films at Incheon Airport

The 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival is screening extended reality (XR) content through its program “Beyond Reality” at Incheon Airport. The program kicked off on July 1 as part of the 25th BIFAN and will continue until Sunday. XR is an umbrella term that is used to indicate all different kinds of real-and-virtual combined environments, encompassing augmented reality, mixed reality and virtual reality. “XR content are works that are difficult to describe

July 12, 2021

Star actor Lee Byung-hun donates W100m won to children's hospital on his birthday

Star actor Lee Byung-hun donated 100 million won (US$87,200) to a children's hospital in Seoul on his birthday Monday, according to his agency. The donation, delivered to the children's hospital of Asan Medical Center in southern Seoul, will be used to relieve the financial burdens of young patients and their families and help them continue necessary medical care, said BH Entertainment. "I wish to deliver a little comfort and support to children in a lengthy fight against sickness, and th

July 12, 2021

2 star musicians to perform with project orchestra

Two celebrated concert pianists are to take to the stage with a project orchestra consisting of young musicians, one with the baton in hand and the other playing the piano.  Pianist Kim Sun-wook will lead the Solasian Youth Orchestra for the upcoming performances in Daegu on Aug. 12 and in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, on Aug. 13. The program includes Glinkas’ overture for the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila,” Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466

July 12, 2021

'Black Widow' tops 1m admissions in first week of release

Marvel Studios' latest movie "Black Widow" smashed the weekend box office in South Korea, surpassing a cumulative 1 million admissions in its first week of release, despite a new wave of coronavirus infections, data showed Monday. The superhero blockbuster attracted 984,000 people over the Friday-Sunday period, bringing its combined total to 1.36 million, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. It became the sixth title released in 2021 to top the 1 million threshold, fol

July 12, 2021

[Graphic News] The 74th Cannes Film Festival in numbers

July 12, 2021

BTS' 'Permission to Dance' ranks No. 2 on Spotify's global chart

"Permission to Dance" by South Korean superband BTS snatched the No. 2 spot on Spotify's Global Top 200 chart, the global streaming giant said Sunday. The upbeat number was streamed 7,339,385 times on Spotify on the day of its release Friday, the streaming service said. The song was only second to "Beggin'" by Italian rock band Maneskin, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest this year. "Permission to Dance" also came in first on 13 regional top 200 charts

July 11, 2021

[Herald Review] It’s show time for ‘Beetlejuice’

After some hiccups, the curtain has finally been raised on the Seoul-run of the licensed musical “Beetlejuice.” The Korean-language musical opened Tuesday at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. The 150-minute musical was initially set to open June 18, but was twice delayed due to “technical issues.” Even on the opening day, the show started 15 minutes later than scheduled due to a ticketing system malfunction. On stage, however,

July 10, 2021

Ten TikTok-style short movies to be screened at 25th BIFAN

Global mobile video platform TikTok on Thursday announced that 10 TikTok-style short films will be screened at the 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, which kicked off Thursday and runs through July 18. The short movies will be screened during BIFAN’s “Vertical Short Film Special Screening: 25” program on Sunday, following their release on the global video platform on Friday. TikTok added that the films are edited to be three minutes long and in a vertical f

July 10, 2021

New BTS song 'Permission to Dance' tops iTunes charts in 92 regions

Supergroup BTS has swept more than 90 regional iTunes charts with its new release "Permission to Dance," the act's agency said Saturday.    The upbeat number, released at 1 p.m. the previous day, debuted at No. 1 on iTunes top songs charts in 92 regions, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan, according to Big Hit Music.    The music video for the song, also released at 1 p.m. on Friday, has proven to be a hit, breaking 10 million views on

July 10, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Twice tops Billboard world album chart

Twice rose to No. 1 on Billboard’s world albums chart with “Taste of Love,” according to the publication’s latest tally that became available Friday.   　 The band’s tenth EP came out on June 11 and stayed on three major Billboard charts for three consecutive weeks, ranking No. 90 on the Billboard 200 and No. 67 on the Artist 100 for the week of July 10. It has entered 11 charts in total, and is showing no signs of waning.   　 “Taste of Love”

July 9, 2021

BIFAN to proceed offline amid toughened virus curbs

The 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival announced Friday it will continue offline screening after concerns of a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections prompted organizers to consider canceling the event earlier. The announcement came after the government decided to raise virus curbs to the toughest level in Seoul and its neighboring Gyeonggi Province and Incheon from Monday for two weeks. The online-offline hybrid festival kicked off Thursday and will run through July 18 in Buche

July 9, 2021