Red Velvet's Joy goes retro in debut solo album

For her first solo album, Joy of K-pop girl group Red Velvet decided to travel back in time to the 1990s and 2000s, when K-pop was far from the glitzy empire it has become. The 24-year-old singer, who picked six songs, including one that was released in the year she was born, said singing these oldies but goodies was natural for her. "I really like the retro sentiment to the extent that I think I want to be born in that era," Joy said in a livestream news conference marking her debut

June 1, 2021

BTS megahit 'Dynamite' breaks 1.1b views on YouTube

The BTS megahit "Dynamite" has racked up 1.1 billion views on YouTube, becoming the band's third music video to reach the milestone. The seven-piece act's first English-language single hit the milestone at 3:46 a.m. on Tuesday, according to Big Hit Music. The feat comes roughly 10 months after the group released the upbeat disco-pop track on Aug. 21. The song earned BTS its first No. 1 debut on the Billboard's main singles chart as well as its first Grammy nomination. BTS now has th

June 1, 2021

TXT starts on new journey with 'The Chaos Chapter: Freeze'

Moving on from the first stage of their story, “The Dream Chapter,” boy band Tomorrow X Together, also known as TXT in short, turned the page to the next part with their second full-length album “The Chaos Chapter: Freeze.” Ahead of the release of their new album Monday, the five-piece act conducted a media showcase. Originally set to take place in person, the event was moved online after it was discovered the members may have come in contact with a COVID-19 patient. Al

May 31, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] TXT puts out 2nd LP

Tomorrow X Together hosted an online media showcase to promote its second full-length album, “The Chaos Chapter: Freeze,” Monday. 　 The eight-track album is about “a boy who just freezes up when he encounters an experience that shakes up his peaceful existence,” explained Yeonjun. 　 “The emotions got deeper,” added Soobin. 　 The track “0X1=Lovesong (I Know I Love You) feat. Seori” is a trendy hybrid pop rock number, and Beomgyu confessed that he&r

May 31, 2021

CJ ENM hopes to become ‘Asia’s Marvel’ in streaming wars

Media giant CJ ENM has earmarked 5 trillion won ($4.49 billion) for content creation over the next five years to boost growth of its streaming platform Tving. The Korean company has also set its sights on becoming a worldwide leader in the entertainment industry, it said Monday. “We will establish a sound IP creating system and infrastructure, so we have decided to inject more money into creating content,” CJ ENM CEO Kang Ho-Sung said during a press event held in Sangam-dong, Seou

May 31, 2021

Dream Concert to be held online

The Dream Concert, one of the world’s biggest K-pop events, will be held online in June amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Korea Entertainment Producer’s Association, the 27th Dream Concert will take place June 26 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo-gu, western Seoul. Last year, the concert was held online for the first time due to the virus crisis. Called “Dream Concert Connect:D,” the event made use of the latest media technologies such as virtual reali

May 31, 2021

Star ballet dancers to put on gala show

Korean ballet dancers with overseas dance companies will join a gala show for the 2021 Ballet Festival Korea at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul, June 24-25. More than 100 prominent ballet stars who perform on the international ballet scene have participated in the annual gala since its inception in 2001. This year, organizers have invited dancers such as Lee Choong-hoon from the Dance Theater of Harlem in New York, Kim Seok-ju of the Boston Ballet, Lee Ju-ho of the Estonia Vanemuine O

May 30, 2021

Gugak center to release 30 music videos of traditional performances

The National Gugak Center is to release a music video online every Wednesday, featuring traditional Korean music and dance. The Gugak In project, led by the state-run institution, kicked off last year, to help traditional performing artists who have been experiencing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, a total of 20 acts were selected for the project. The center produced a series of music videos featuring the artists’ performances at scenic spots across the greater Se

May 29, 2021

[Herald Interview] K-pop artist AleXa says single with Arab singer shows ‘mix of culture’

With a distinctive reggaeton beat, K-pop artist AleXa and Kuwaiti-Saudi-based singer Bader AlShuaibi sing back and forth about their affection for each other in three different languages in their new collaborative single “Is It On.” “It is a mix of culture. We have Arab side from Bader, then we have me singing in Korean and English,” AleXa said during her interview with The Korea Herald. “I tried multiple times to figure out what my interpretation of the song is.

May 29, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] BTS wins 2 iHeartRadio awards

BTS received two awards from the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards held in Los Angeles on Thursday, local time. 　 The artists’ digital single “Dynamite” was given the best music video award and their fandom Army was named as the best fan army. This is the second time they won best music video after last year’s “Boy With Luv” and the fourth time since 2018 they won best fan army. 　 Big Hit Music’s performance director Son Sung-deuk won the favorite music vid

May 28, 2021

Musical ‘Good Morning Dokdo’ returns to Seoul Arts Center

“Good Morning Dokdo,” a musical about South Korea’s easternmost islets and the territorial dispute with Japan, is coming back to the Seoul Arts Center from June 10-13. The show, which first opened in May 2020, has been upgraded with new cast members and visual effects, said the Seoul Arts Center, which held open auditions. “Good Morning Dokdo” follows the Dokdo Lovers, a group that shares an interest in protecting the islets’ sovereignty, as they travel the

May 28, 2021

[Herald Interview] Director of black comedy ‘Pipeline’ has nomadic mindset

  Veteran director Yoo Ha’s new film, “Pipeline,” has a completely different vibe from his previous hits. While he’s best known for serious crime films such as “Little Odessa,” “Gangnam Blues” and “Spirit of Jeet Keun Do -- Once Upon a Time in High School,” this time he has come out with a black comedy. “I have the mindset of a nomad. I like challenging myself by directing new genres that I haven’t done before,”

May 28, 2021

Smartstudy drops animated version of NCT Dream’s ‘Hot Sauce’

Global content company Smartstudy announced that it will release an animated version of “Hot Sauce,” from K-pop boy band NCT Dream, Friday at 7 p.m. The video will be on the official YouTube channels of both NCT Dream and Smartstudy’s education brand Pinkfong. “Hot Sauce” is the title song of the group’s first studio album, which sold over 1 million copies last week. The track consists of up-tempo hip-hop beats and Afro-beats. According to the content cr

May 28, 2021

Korean indie musicians team up to support democratization in Myanmar

South Korean indie musicians have teamed up to support activists struggling against the military junta in Myanmar, an association of Korean indie musicians for democratization in Myanmar said Thursday.　 On Monday they plan to release a rock version of “March for the Beloved,” originally a tribute to the victims of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. Thirteen vocalists from 10 indie bands, including Tacopy, ABTB, Shingaram Band, Fishingirls and Walking After U, collaborated on th

May 28, 2021

BTS to drop 'Hotter' version of new single 'Butter'

BTS is set to release what its label called a "Hotter" remix of its latest single "Butter" that has been making a splash around the globe. The new version leans more toward electro dance, offering a different charm from the upbeat and vibrant original track, according to Big Hit Music. The release is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday, exactly a week after the seven-piece act rolled out "Butter" globally on May 21. A music video for the remix is also set for release at 1

May 28, 2021

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Pipeline (Korea) Opened May 26 Crime Directed by Yoo Ha Pindol (Seo In-guk), the best pipeline-drilling technician in South Korea, decides to take up an offer from Gun-woo (Lee Soo-hyuk), heir to a large conglomerate, to be part of a dangerous oil heist. For the job, Gun-woo rounds up a team of four thieves -- Jeobsae (Eum Moon-suk), Manager Na (Yoo Seung-mok), Keunsab (Tae Hang-ho) and Counter (Bae Da-bin). Voyagers (US) Opened May 26 Science Fiction Directed by Neil Burger In 2063, the fut

May 28, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] BTS makes appearance on “Friends: The Reunion” special

BTS made a 13-second guest appearance in the special episode of “Friends: The Reunion,” as the much-anticipated sitcom returned on Thursday, local time. 　 The bandmates appeared sitting on and around a sofa with subtitles that introduced them as “BTS: Biggest Boy Band on the Planet” complete with a Korean national flag. 　 “My mom bought me the DVDs of the whole series when I was in elementary school. ‘Friends’ really had a big hand in teaching me Englis

May 27, 2021

BTS adds 5 Guinness World Records with new song 'Butter'

BTS has set five new Guinness World Records (GWR) titles with its latest release "Butter." Most of the records came from YouTube, where the group outdid its own records achieved with the 2020 megahit "Dynamite." On YouTube, the music video for the septet's new single was certified for achieving the most views in 24 hours with 108.2 million views and as the most-viewed video by a K-pop group in 24 hours, according to the website of GWR. It also garnered the most views for t

May 27, 2021

S. Korean director Bong Joon-ho listed in French encyclopedia

South Korea's Cannes-winning filmmaker Bong Joon-ho has had his name listed in a renowned French encyclopedia for his cinematic achievements and recognition in the European nation, a report showed Thursday. In the latest edition of "Petit Larousse Illustre," a French-language encyclopedic dictionary launched in 1905, the South Korean director won a page, along with 40 new figures from various sectors like literature, cinema and sports, according to the report by the Korea Creative Con

May 27, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] NCT Dream’s 1st LP surpasses 2 million in sales

The first studio album of NCT Dream sold over 2 million units, according to label SM Entertainment on Wednesday. 　 The album, titled “Hot Sauce,” surpassed the 1 million-sales mark in a week since it came out on May 10 and reached 2 million in 16 days, and about 300,000 units more than the pre-orders. 　 The LP hit the No. 1 spot on the iTunes top albums chart in 37 regions, Oricon’s weekly album chart and Billboard Japan’s top sales album chart a well. With the same-tit

May 26, 2021