[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Voice of Silence (Korea) Opened Oct. 15 Crime, Drama Directed by Hong Eui-jeong Tae-in (Yoo Ah-in) has the unusual job of disposing of corpses and cleaning up crime scenes for an organized crime syndicate, along with Chang-bok (Yoo Jae-myung). One day, Tae-in and Chang-bok become responsible for taking care of a girl (Moon Seung-ah) when her kidnapper, a member of a criminal organization, suddenly dies. Unhinged (US) Opened Oct. 7 Thriller, Action Directed by Derrick Borte Rachel Hunter (C

Oct. 23, 2020

SBS drama ‘The Penthouse: War in Life’ to show row over education, real estate

Different human desires are set to clash in SBS’ new suspense drama “The Penthouse: War in Life” starting at 10 p.m., Monday. Director Joo Dong-min and screenwriter Kim Soon-ok have joined hands again for this drama after “The Last Empress,” their previous SBS drama featuring actress Jang Na-ra, met with success in 2018. “The Penthouse: War in Life” is set in Hera Palace, a 100-story luxury apartment in the heart of Seoul. It deals with two of the hot

Oct. 22, 2020

New boy band from TV audition show releases trailer ahead of Nov. debut

ENHYPEN, the seven-member band consisting of reality audition program "I-Land" winners, unveiled its first trailer on Thursday ahead of its debut next month. ENHYPEN's seven members were selected through a televised survival program co-organized by entertainment giant CJ ENM and BTS' agency Big Hit Entertainment. Big Hit's chief Bang Si-hyuk himself took part in selecting the final seven winners from a pool of 23 candidates. The trailer "Choose-Chosen," posted on the band'

Oct. 22, 2020

'The Man Standing Next' chosen as S. Korea's 2021 Oscars entry

A political thriller depicting the intense power struggle among former President Park Chung-hee's top aides before one of them assassinated him in 1979 will represent South Korea in next year's Oscars. The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) said Thursday that it has chosen "The Man Standing Next" out of 13 films as the country's entry for the best international feature film category of the 93rd Academy Awards. The selection came after South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite"

Oct. 22, 2020

BLACKPINK's 'How You Like That' racks up 600m views

South Korean all-female band BLACKPINK's music video "How You Like That" has earned 600 million views on YouTube in what its agency said was reached in the shortest time for a K-pop act. The quartet's music video of the hit song reached the milestone at around 1 a.m. on Thursday, roughly 117 days and seven hours after it was released on June 26, according to YG Entertainment. The agency said the band set the record about two months earlier than its "Kill This Love" music vi

Oct. 22, 2020

Naver accused of excessive censorship of webtoons after string of controversies

After the success of K-pop, K-drama and even K-movies internationally, the letter “K” is now often placed in front of Korean products that make Koreans proud. “K-quarantine” was a word used in multiple headlines this year to recognize the relative success of Korea in containing the COVID-19. However, there is one K- word that became widespread online this year that does the opposite: “K-censorship” is a derogatory term used to criticize excessive censorship

Oct. 21, 2020

BLACKPINK appears on US talk show 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'

K-pop quartet BLACKPINK performed and shared its stories on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," becoming the first K-pop girl group to appear on the US late-night show. The band, which Kimmel introduced as "the most popular all-female group in the vast realm of music known as K-pop" joined the show through video chat on Tuesday (US time). BLACKPINK's four members -- Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa -- talked about their successful gig at the Coachella music festival last year and behind-the-s

Oct. 21, 2020

Busan International Film Festival kicks off without fanfare

The 25th Busan International Film Festival kicked off Wednesday for a 10-day run in a year that has seen many film festivals around the world canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this year’s BIFF is a much scaled down version with all large crowd-attracting events such as the opening and closing ceremonies, outdoor greetings and open talk sessions canceled. “Many leading overseas film festivals were canceled due to COVID-19, but we decided to hold it, as we have trust i

Oct. 21, 2020

‘Cats’ singing in Korea as ‘beacon of hope’

While Broadway remains in a prolonged shutdown and the West End is just now coming back to life after seven months of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the felines of “Cats” continue to sing and dance in South Korea. Three cast members from the international tour production of “Cats” -- Joanna Ampil, playing Grizabella; Dan Partridge, playing Rum Tum Tugger; and Brad Little, playing Old Deuteronomy -- spoke about being part of the hit Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in

Oct. 21, 2020

Key takeaways from Big Hit’s big stock debut

At 8:50 a.m. on Thursday, Chairman Bang Si-hyuk of Big Hit Entertainment, home to K-pop phenom BTS, rang the bells marking the company’s initial public offering at the Korea Exchange headquarters in Seoul. A huge step forward for the 15-year-old company, and also one of the most anticipated IPOs of the year, the listing ceremony was livestreamed on YouTube -- a first in the bourse operator’s history. “We began as a small entertainment company that set out to bring healing th

Oct. 20, 2020

Hit drama ‘Phoenix’ rises again 16 years later

MBC’s drama series “Phoenix” from 2004 that featured actor Lee Seo-jin, Mun Jung-hyuk and the late Lee Eun-ju returns as an SBS daily morning soap opera starting from Monday at 8:35 a.m. The script for the 2020 “Phoenix” remake is once again written by Lee Yoo-jin, who wrote the original series. “Pheonix” revolves around Jang Se-hoon, who is poor, and Lee Ji-eun, from a rich family, as they get married, get divorced and meet again after their financi

Oct. 20, 2020

Stop politicizing K-pop, warn experts

In the last few years, K-pop has become more than just a music genre. Its influence has not only been proven on the Billboard charts and on US TV shows, but has also spilled over into the realm of diplomacy. Recently, global sensation BTS faced an uproar after the group received an award from the Korea Society, which celebrates South Korea-US ties. In an acceptance speech, leader RM mentioned the “pain of history” in a reference to the 1950-1953 Korean War. His seemingly innocuou

Oct. 20, 2020

Rapper Owen steps down from ‘Show Me the Money’ after report of drug use

Mnet announced Tuesday that rapper Owen of MKIT Rain Records is stepping down from the rap competition program “Show Me the Money,” following a local media report that he and four other rappers were found to have used marijuana last year. The local Channel A News reported Monday that the police investigated MKIT Rain Records and found all five rappers of the label had used marijuana sometime in August and September last year at the company’s office. The five rappers were Nafl

Oct. 20, 2020

BTS' 'Dynamite' ranks No. 5 on Billboard singles chart

K-pop megastar BTS has ranked fifth on the Billboard's main singles chart with its latest hit "Dynamite" that had topped the list for three weeks, Billboard reported. "BTS' 'Dynamite' drops 2-5 on the Hot 100, after three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, as it posts an eighth week atop Digital Song Sales," the US music publisher said Monday (US time). The seven-member act made history with the English-lyric pop song by becoming the first South Korean band to top the Hot 100 c

Oct. 20, 2020

With ‘Semicolon,’ Seventeen says it’s OK to take a break

Seventeen released its new album, “Semicolon,” Monday, with a message of encouragement for young people to take some time off in their busy lives. “Just like the album’s title symbolizes a pause in a sentence, we wanted to convey a message that it’s OK to take a break from the everyday struggles and that it’s going to be a preparation for a journey called life,” said Vernon during an online press conference in Seoul on Monday. Marking the group&rsquo

Oct. 20, 2020

SPO preps for return to stage

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra is gearing up for a new start, after months of lull due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Like most other orchestras and music acts around the world, the SPO has had a rather underwhelming 2020. This year, the SPO took to the stage stage in February -- when its music director Osmo Vanska led two inaugural concerts in Seoul -- and in June and July, before performances were halted again as the number of COVID-19 cases spiked in August. But as Korea has eased

Oct. 19, 2020

BLACKPINK's 1st full album ranks No. 6 on Billboard 200 in 2nd week

K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's latest album ranked No. 6 on Billboard's main album chart this week, coming in the top 10 on the chart for the second consecutive week, according to Billboard. "The Album," the first full-length album of the quartet, ranked No. 6 with 35,000 equivalent album units earned in the second week of its release, Billboard reported Sunday (US time). The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart last week, setting a new record for a South Korean girl gro

Oct. 19, 2020

Broadcasters, companies pay the price for YouTube star’s unchecked background

As the popularity of YouTubers and social media influencers rise, so too do controversies surrounding them. With the online stars appearing on popular television shows and in advertisements, verification of their background has become a rising issue. Controversy arose last week when Rhee Keun, popularly known as “Lt. Lee,” faced allegations that he was convicted for a 2017 sexual assault. Lee had already gone through a debt scandal at the beginning of the month when he was accused

Oct. 18, 2020

Gwangju, the 'City of Light'

Though 40 years have passed, memories of 1980 still cast a shadow over the city of Gwangju. This year, those memories have been woven into a story and put onstage in a new original musical: “City of Light,” produced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Gwangju Metropolitan City. The May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising, which marked its 40th anniversary this year, took place in the metropolitan city surrounded by South Jeolla Province. Hundreds of pro-democracy protest

Oct. 17, 2020

EXO's Chen to join military this month

Chen, a member of K-pop boy band EXO, will join the military later this month to fulfill his mandatory military service, his agency said Friday. The 28-year-old, whose legal name is Kim Jong-dae, is set to enlist on Oct. 26, according to SM Entertainment. The agency did not elaborate further on the venue and schedule of the enlistment. "I will fulfill my duty with a fit mind and body so that I can come back and say hello as a more mature person," he said in a handwritten note posted

Oct. 16, 2020