Indie films set off on screening tour

The Seoul Independent Film Festival on Monday announced the full lineup of its annual screening tour “Indie Picnic,” hosted by the organization. The lineup of 24 independent films that received awards or premiered at last year’s film fest includes five feature-length films and 19 short films. “Evaporated,” by director Kim Sung-min, winner of last year’s award for best long feature, tells the story of the family of a young child who disappears without a tra

April 6, 2020

‘Phantom of Opera’ production confirms 2 cases of COVID-19, others test negative

While two cast members of the international tour of musical “The Phantom of the Opera” have been confirmed with COVID-19 infection, the rest have tested negative. A Canadian ensemble cast member was confirmed with the virus infection on March 31. Two days later, her colleague, an American actor, was also confirmed.  The final test results came Monday, confirming the rest of the 128-member team had tested negative for COVID-19. However, they all remain in self-quarantine at a

April 6, 2020

BIGBANG’s top 50 tracks, ranked

Though BIGBANG’s previously scheduled comeback by way of Coachella in April didn’t happen, all signs point to their incoming return to the music scene. In March, the group put on a united front after a tough year as all four members renewed their contract with YG Entertainment, for the third time since their debut in 2006. And we are celebrating the group’s work with these top 50 tracks from the group’s back catalogue spanning over a decade. 50. I Don&rsquo

April 6, 2020

Number of weekend moviegoers plunges to record low

The number of moviegoers dropped to a record low over the weekend as lingering fears of the novel coronavirus keep people staying at home, data showed Monday. A total of 80,180 people went to cinemas on Saturday and Sunday, down sharply from a combined 86,274 tallied a week earlier, according to the data by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). It is the lowest weekend number since KOFIC started to compile local box office data in 2004. The record-breaking downbeat trend in the number of moviegoer

April 6, 2020

‘Snowpiercer’ to come to small screen sooner

The serial adaptation of Korean film “Snowpiercer” is moving up its premiere date to mid-May, two weeks ahead of the original schedule. According to news reports from several US entertainment media outlets Thursday, US cable network TNT has decided to advance the release date of “Snowpiercer” to May 17. The move comes in response to a growing thirst for more content on the small screen by viewers as the COVID-19 outbreak pushes back new releases elsewhere. “Snow

April 5, 2020

Jeongdong Theater to stream ‘Red Cliff’ online

Jeongdong Theater in central Seoul is to stream its signature show “Red Cliff” through YouTube on Wednesday. The show, originally slated to run from Feb. 14 to Sunday, has been on hold to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 since Feb. 24 after the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ordered all national theaters and art troupes to cancel their performances.   Instead, for patrons who had been eagerly awaiting the show, Jeongdong Theater will stream the show live Wednes

April 5, 2020

SUPERNOVA leader tests positive for COVID-19 as 1st infected entertainer

Jung Yun-hak, the leader of K-pop boy band SUPERNOVA, has tested positive for COVID-19 and is undergoing treatment in Seoul, the band has said. The band broke the news on its official Japanese website Friday, saying, "Having been in a bad condition, Yun-hak got tested on Tuesday, and the test result found the next day that he had been infected with the new coronavirus." He has been admitted to a hospital in Seoul and is focusing on treatment, the website said, apologizing for "

April 3, 2020

Seoul to monitor all 8,578 audiences of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’

The Seoul City government on Friday announced that it will monitor all the 8,578 people who watched “The Phantom of the Opera” at Blue Square in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. On Tuesday, a Canadian female ballet dancer of the show was confirmed with novel coronavirus infection and another American actor in the ensemble was tested positive on Thursday. “We have the list of all the audiences and will send out text messages,” Na Baek-joo, director of Seoul City’s public healt

April 3, 2020

K-pop star Kim Jae-joong cancels schedule amid public uproar over making April Fools‘ Day joke about coronavirus

K-pop group JYJ’s Kim Jae-joong canceled his schedule in Japan after criticism for announcing he had the new coronavirus as an April Fools‘ Day joke. Kim released his third Japanese single “Brava Brava Brava” in March and was scheduled to promote the album by appearing on several music shows in Japan. Kim’s agency CJes Entertainment on Friday announced that due to the current situation Kim would not appear as scheduled on TV Asahi’s music show “Musi

April 3, 2020

7 boy bands to compete in ‘Road to Kingdom’

Mnet’s new idol competition show “Road to Kingdom” has been unveiled, before its official premiere on April 30. Seven boy bands will go against each other and showcase their charm through various performances. The viewers will vote on their favorite team and stages, and the final winner will have a priority to join the subsequent show “Kingdom.” Teaser clips of the bands’ first performances were released Monday online along with a preshow preference poll

April 3, 2020

Smaller K-pop labels hit hard by coronavirus

Over the last few weeks, the novel coronavirus pandemic has brought the K-pop scene to an unprecedented standstill. Most concerts and meetup events, both at home and abroad, have been cancelled or postponed, while weekly TV shows are being held without audiences. The prolonged COVID-19 crisis may be taking a heavy toll on the whole K-pop industry, but small and midsized music labels in particular are feeling the pinch, as their business model relies heavily on tickets, physical albums and forei

April 2, 2020

Movie series to binge-watch in time of social distancing

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many people stuck indoors are coming up with ways to spend time at home, and for movie lovers it is an almost welcome chance to watch famous series one never had a chance to start or rewatch a favorite movie series. Two of the best-known series in cinema of the 21st century are “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001), “The Lord of the Rings: T

April 2, 2020

Film and drama crossover for sci-fi anthology series

A project aimed at creating and original science-fiction series has set off in South Korea, jointly led by filmmakers, television networks and an OTT service provider. Soo Film on Wednesday announced that it has started production of “SF8” an eight-episode sci-fi anthology, in conjunction with the Directors Guild of Korea. The series will be released on OTT platform Wavve and network broadcaster MBC in the summer. With each of the eight episodes helmed by a popular director, the s

April 2, 2020

New hobbies #TogetherAtHome with YouTube

Jin Ho-young and Yoon Jung-lin, the creators of YouTube channel “Sewing TV” said the number of subscribers to their channel has surged after they posted a video on making fabric masks with reusable filters at home in February. “Our channel is fairly new and small. After the mask-making video became popular among both Korean and foreign viewers, we saw the daily number of new subscribers jump almost a hundredfold,” Jin, the channel’s editor said during an online pr

April 2, 2020

‘Phantom of Opera’ tour production confirms one more case of COVID-19

A second cast member of international tour production of “The Phantom of the Opera” has tested positive for COVID-19, organizers said Thursday. After the first cast member was confirmed to have tested positive for the coronavirus, all 128 members of the production team were tested. On Thursday, another ensemble cast member was confirmed with the infection. Another 80 members of the team tested negative, while 46 were still waiting for results as of Thursday afternoon. The organi

April 2, 2020

‘Phantom of the Opera’ tour in Korea suspended after cast member infected with coronavirus

The international tour production of “The Phantom of the Opera” has decided to temporarily halt its Seoul run after one of its ensemble cast members tested positive for the new coronavirus. The cast member was confirmed with COVID-19 infection Tuesday and the show decided to cancel shows from Wednesday.   According to the organizers, the cast member was in self-quarantine with some symptoms of COVID-19 infection despite a normal body temperature. The production team, includin

April 1, 2020

Filming suspended indefinitely as COVID-19 spreads

The impact of the novel coronavirus on the film industry may continue into early next year, as films not only postpone imminent releases, but suspend shootings and push back entire production schedules. Filming of blockbuster aviation disaster flick “Emergency Declaration,” originally scheduled to start last month, has been postponed, according to the film’s distributor and investor Showbox. “As the film is set inside a plane, it’s a big project in itself and req

April 1, 2020

Cinemas get movie development fund reprieve as coronavirus decimates industry

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Wednesday announced that the government would exempt cinemas from paying into the movie development fund to help theaters weather the impact of COVID-19. The exemption will apply retroactively from February. The government expects the total amount that will be exempted to reach 54 billion won ($44.28 million), the average amount collected annually as movie development fund since 2016. Under the law, movie theaters are required to cont

April 1, 2020

Cube Entertainment founder resigns after ownership dispute

Founder and executive producer of Cube Entertainment Hong Seong-sung announced Tuesday that he was leaving the label, about a month after the firm’s ownership changed. He wrote on his Twitter that “I am leaving Cube Entertainment which I had bet my life on” and “I will stand in front of public again in some other way.” On his reasons for leaving, he said “It didn’t take much time for me to realize they, whom I thought would be good partners that prov

April 1, 2020

AleXa releases electrifying first EP “Do Or Die”

Singer AleXa released her very first EP “Do Or Die” on Wednesday. Featuring a total of eight tracks including the lead single “Do Or Die” and her previously single “Bomb,” the EP encompasses all of her work she’s released since her official debut last October and more. “Do Or Die” also features a EDM remix version of her debut single “Bomb” -- a stomping, bombastic pop song with a heavy dose of electro beats that helped her mak

April 1, 2020