Ups and downs of K-dramas in first half 2020

The first half of this year was an especially bumpy road for Korean television. Although the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 halted some productions for a while, small-screen content came into a new limelight as a source of joy and comfort for people stuck at home in the period of quarantine. JTBC becomes big name JTBC ran strong last year with “Sky Castle,” which set a record viewership rating for the cable channel. And the broadcaster has further built on its success this year.

July 6, 2020

K-pop stars expose personal conflict in social media

More and more previous and current members of K-pop groups are revealing conflict with other members on social media. FNC Entertainment announced late Saturday night that Jimin, leader of AOA, will be leaving the group and will quit all activity following former bandmate Mina’s exposure of Jimin’s harsh actions. “The company also feels responsible for the entire situation and will do everything possible to take care of its artists. We are once again sorry for causing worry f

July 5, 2020

[The Arts Amid COVID-19] With venues closed, performing arts look for new outlets

During the COVID-19 pandemic, paid subscription models such as Netflix and YouTube Premium may be an answer for the performing arts scene, according to the CEO of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. While it has become the norm for performing art troupes to reach out to audiences at home online in recent months, the Sejong Center’s CEO Kim Sung-kyu believes a sustainable business model must be built soon. As of now, most performances are streamed online free of charge. “Vi

July 4, 2020

VR gugak experience stretches out from palace to hanok

The National Gugak Center has released a second series of virtual reality performances, following the previous release in March. In March, the state-funded music institution released a series of videos made with virtual reality technology, introducing various gugak instruments.  It released 20 more VR videos Wednesday, recorded at venues that show the beauty of traditional Korean architecture. A total of eight court music and court dance videos were filmed in Changdeokgung, a Joseon-era

July 4, 2020

Jang Sung-kyu releases song ‘Workman’ to support job seekers

Celebrity Jang Sung-kyu released his latest song “Workman” featuring Jay Park and Sik-K on Wednesday. The making of the song was shown through a video that was uploaded on his popular YouTube channel Workman on June 24. In his channel that has over 3 million subscribers, Jang introduces and shares his experience with different jobs, ranging from working in an aquarium to a construction site. “All the proceeds will be donated to financially support industrial accident workers

July 4, 2020

Yeowoorak Festival to open online

The 2020 Yeowoorak Festival, a gugak-themed festival organized by the National Theater of Korea, will kick off online a day later than its original schedule. As the government suspended operation of state-run museums and theaters in the Seoul metropolitan area on June 12 until further notice, the National Theater of Korea must remain closed. Although it is shut down, the theater will continue with its annual festival, streaming two of the shows online via its channels on Naver TV and YouTub

July 3, 2020

Show must go on -- even if it means waiting extra two weeks

Overseas-based artists are continuing to perform onstage in Korea, even if it means going through the two-week self-quarantine periods. Though rules on overseas travel have lately been relaxed -- allowing essential overseas trips -- still, crossing borders at a time like this is not easy. Many performances across the world have been canceled, with artists unable to travel around the way they used to. Here in Korea, some performances with foreign artists are carrying on, as the artists have b

July 3, 2020

Virus-hit performing arts scene faces grim prospects for H2

The South Korean performing arts sector has gradually returned to life after a monthslong slump, but the lingering novel coronavirus pandemic is casting a dark cloud over the scene for the remainder of 2020. According to the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS) on Thursday, aggregate ticket sales of musicals, theatrical plays, classical concerts and other performances reached 95.24 billion won ($79.3 million) in the first six months of the year. The system is managed by

July 3, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

The Singer (Korea) Opened July 1 Drama, Musical Directed by Cho Jung-lae In 1734 , a talented pansori singer -- sorikkun -- Shim Hak-gyu (Lee Bong-geun) sets on a journey to find his wife Gan-nan (Lee Yu-ri) who was kidnapped by a notorious group of human traffickers. Hak-gyu and his daughter Cheong is joined by drummer Dae-bong (Park Chul-min), an impoverished aristocrat (Kim Dong-wan) and a few more supporters, and the band travels around the country, moving from village to village as Hak-gy

July 3, 2020

Summit takes place on submarine in ‘Steel Rain 2’

The lead actors of 2017 film “Steel Rain,” Jung Woo-sung and Kwak Do-won, flip their roles in the upcoming “complementary sequel” to the first movie, as put by the director of both films Yang Woo-seok. Jung, who previously played a North Korean special agent, takes up the role of the South Korean president, and Kwak, a presidential secretary of the South in the first film, becomes the North Korean regime’s chief of security. With Yoo Yeon-seok playing the North

July 2, 2020

K-pop labels call for fair profit-sharing rules for TV show clips

Entertainment labels are no longer willing to tolerate broadcasters that release and sell unaired behind-the-scene clips or “fancams” of their artists without permission. The Korea Music Content Association, Korea Management Federation and Korea Entertainment Producers’ Association on Wednesday filed a petition to the nation’s Fair Trade Commission calling for a revision to the current unfair contract practices with TV stations. In Korea, pop artists appear in music sh

July 2, 2020

Nana throws hat ‘Into the Ring’

Singer-turned-actor takes on her first lead role in a romantic comedy with new KBS drama “Into the Ring.” Im Jin-ah, who goes by the stage name Nana, plays the role of Sera, who decides to give up on looking for a job and finds herself a spot on the local assembly. Park Sung-hoon plays Nana’s counterpart, Seo Gong-myung, an elite public servant at a local district office who goes on to team up with Sera and punish the corrupt politicians around them. The two actors and the T

July 2, 2020

Blackpink’s winning formula: from ‘Boombayah’ to ‘How You Like That’

For this piece, we spoke to Azodi, a music producer who specializes in K-pop and J-pop and has a YouTube channel where he analyzes the production of K-pop songs. In recent years, Blackpink has become one of the biggest girl groups in the world, dominating the music scene with their signature powerful trap anthems. The group debuted in the summer of 2016 with the double-sided single “Square One” featuring “Boombayah” and “Whistle.” Through their journey to g

July 2, 2020

BLACKPINK wins 5 Guinness World Record titles with 'How You Like That'

K-pop girl group BLACKPINK has set five new Guinness World Record titles with the music video for its latest song "How You Like That." The video won three titles from the Guinness World Records by racking up 86.3 million views within 24 hours of its release at 6 p.m. last Friday, according to the Guinness World Records website Thursday. It was certified as the most viewed video, music video and K-pop video on YouTube in 24 hours. A separate live premiere video for "How You Li

July 2, 2020

Gwangju Uprising: 40th anniversary, missing 4 hours

At around 1 p.m. on May 21, 1980, some 200 protestors stood in front of the South Jeolla Provincial Office building in Gwangju, confronting armed soldiers. With the sound of the national anthem as the signal, the military, from both the ground and air, opened fire on the civilians. Only a picture of a wounded protestor being pulled away on the street remains from that afternoon, during which 54 civilians were killed. No one -- not even journalists, local or foreign, who reported about the Gwan

July 1, 2020

Int’l tour of ‘Cats’ to hit Seoul stage in September

Though the global musical scene has been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the international tour production of “Cats” will go on stage from Sept. 9 to Nov. 8 at the Charlotte Theater in eastern Seoul. 　 “Cats” is a musical created by iconic composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and producer Cameron Mackintosh, inspired by the 1939 poetry collection “Old Possum‘s Book of Practical Cats” by T. S. Eliot. The musical has won numerous awards, including the

July 1, 2020

Actor Lee Soon-jae’s agency apologizes to former manager but claims exaggeration

Veteran actor Lee Soon-jae’s agency SG Way entertainment released a press statement Wednesday providing details surrounding the firing of his former manager and apologizing to him as the dispute between them continued. The conflict between Lee’s previous road manager and Lee’s agency came to light when SBS aired an interview with the former manager Monday for its evening news segment. According to the report, the manager, who worked for Lee for two months starting March befor

July 1, 2020

'Parasite' director Bong's interpreter Choi receives prestigious diplomacy award

Choi Sung-jae, known for her eloquent interpretation for director Bong Joon-ho of the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," received an annual diplomacy award in Seoul on Wednesday for her role in enhancing South Korea's national image, foreign ministry officials said. Choi, better known as Sharon Choi, won this year's YoungSan Diplomat Award that the nonprofit Seoul Forum for International Affairs gives to a public official and a civilian each year for their contribution to improving Kore

July 1, 2020

'Parasite' cast, crew invited to join academy

The cast and lead crew of director Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning "Parasite" were invited to join the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, according to the Hollywood film trade organization on Tuesday (local time). The academy announced on its website that it extended invitations to 819 artists and executives "who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures." Choi Woo-shik, Jang Hye-jin, Jo Yeo-jeong, Lee Jung-eun and Park S

July 1, 2020

Webtoon ‘The Sound of Your Heart’ ends in 14 years

South Korea’s longest running webcomic series “The Sound of Your Heart” by illustrator Cho Seok has come to an end after 14 years. Officially launched on internet portal Naver’s webtoon platform on Sept. 8, 2006, the webcomic -- known as “The Sound of Heart” in Korean -- ended Tuesday with its 1229th episode. “I feel lucky to be able to feel ‘done’ with the comic,” the 37-year-old cartoonist said in the final episode, adding words o

June 30, 2020