Celebrities around the globe join #SafeHands challenge

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is nominating high-profile people around the world to participate in WHO’s “SafeHands” challenge on Twitter, including K-pop boy band BTS. So far, 62 Twitter accounts have been targeted, with the list of nominees ranging from Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio to 17-year-old Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. Of the 62 nominees, 15 had tweeted videos of themselves washing their hands as of Wednesday at noon. Phumzile

March 18, 2020

WINNER to drop 3rd full-length album next month

K-pop boy band WINNER will drop its third full-length album, "Remember," next month, in its return to the music scene, its agency said Wednesday. Ahead of the official album launch on April 9, the band will release lead single "Hold" on March 26, according to YG Entertainment. The album is WINNER's first full-length album since "Everyday," released in 2018. Including "Hold," the new album carries a total of 12 tracks. This is likely to be WINNER's las

March 18, 2020

S. Korean bands push K-pop horizon on Billboard 200

Since K-pop band BTS' first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in 2018, other K-pop boy bands have entered the top five of the albums chart, pushing the horizon for South Korean pop in the global music market. This week, K-pop boy band NCT 127's new album, "NCT #127 Neo-Zone," debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart dated March 21, becoming the fourth K-pop band to score a top-five hit on the albums chart. Also this week, BTS' latest album, "Map of the Soul: 7,"

March 18, 2020

Some films set to hit local screens amid slowdown in virus spread

The virus-hit South Korean film community is gradually regaining vitality, with some movies poised to hit local screens in the coming weeks, as the country's coronavirus infections have been seemingly slowing down. South Korea reported an additional 93 cases of COVID-19 infection on Wednesday, bringing the total to 8,413 with 84 deaths. The Wednesday figure marked the fourth consecutive day of double-digit daily increases. "Judy," a biographical drama film about American singer and

March 18, 2020

BTS postpones ticketing for Europe leg of new world tour over coronavirus

K-pop boy band BTS has postponed ticket sales for the European leg of its new world tour, "Map of the Soul Tour," set for July, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. "Due to recent events, BTS 'Map of the Soul Tour - Europe' ticket sale will be rescheduled," the British branch of Live Nation, which organizes the European leg, said in an SNS message Tuesday (local time). According to the message, ticket presales for the members of Army, the official BTS fandom, has been r

March 18, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Acting is about cultivating knowledge’

Actress Shim Eun-kyung won the best actress award at this year’s Japan Academy Film Prize, six years after winning the best acting award at South Korea’s Baeksang Arts Awards in 2014. “I’m truly grateful for all the congratulatory messages. It still doesn’t feel real,” Shim, currently living in Japan, told The Korea Herald through an email. “I’m very thankful to all the staff members who took part in making ‘The Journalist’ and ever

March 17, 2020

[Newsmaker] Korean National Ballet fires dancer for breaking quarantine

The Korean National Ballet has fired a dancer for inappropriate behavior, the first such action since the troupe was founded in 1962. Na Dae-han, 28, corps de ballet dancer at the Korean National Ballet, was fired for traveling to Japan during home quarantine period. The national ballet company held a disciplinary committee meeting on Monday where the decision was made to fire Na. Other members of the state ballet company were suspended for conducting private lessons during the home quarant

March 17, 2020

Conductor Teodor Currentzis’ Korean engagement canceled due to COVID-19

Conductor Teodor Currentzis and his MusicAeterna’s much-awaited performances in Seoul have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Currentzis, a rising star conductor in the classical music scene, and MusicAeterna were to hold concerts at the Lotte Concert Hall on April 7 and 8.  “Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna have been strongly looking forward to their first ever concerts in South Korea, and to meeting with an audience that is well known for its appreciation of mu

March 17, 2020

National Ballet dancer dismissed for breaking self-quarantine rules

A dancer at the Korean National Ballet has been fired for traveling to Japan during a self-quarantine period amid the rapid spread of the infectious coronavirus, the KNB said Tuesday. The decision about the dancer, identified only as Na, was made during a disciplinary committee the previous day. Na, a member of the corps de ballet, or the group of non-soloist dancers, went to Japan in late February and uploaded some photos of his trip with his girlfriend on a social media account. All member

March 17, 2020

Jung Hae-in says ‘A Piece of Your Mind’ is enough to start love

Iconic romantic male lead actor Jung Hae-in will take on the role of an artificial intelligence programmer, Ha-won, who has loved one woman for a long time in the upcoming tvN series “A Piece of Your Mind.” The Korean title of the drama -- “Half of Half” -- comes from Jung’s line in the drama “Even half of the half of her (his crush) heart is enough.” The drama will tell four different stories of unrequited love of different characters. “The d

March 16, 2020

[Herald Interview] Women of 40-somethings who still dream, challenge

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the film “Lucky Chan-sil” is maintaining a steady performance in the box office, just like the protagonist who endures unexpected hardships in the film. While the release of many films have been postponed due to the historically low turnout at cinemas due the spread of the highly contagious respiratory illness, director Kim Cho-hee said she decided to open her latest film as scheduled because of her belief, which she says is also the main message of &

March 16, 2020

Hit musicals continue their successful run

Though COVID-19 has been pushing the performing art scene in South Korea to the brink, hit musical shows are continuing their run backed by avid fans. Popular musical show “Rebecca” wrapped up its four-month run at the Chungmu Art Center in central Seoul on Sunday. The show, now in its fifth season, opened in November and recorded sold out performances for 86 shows.   According to EMK Musical Company, an average of 92 percent of the 1,255 available seats were occupied for the

March 16, 2020

Wonho says sorry to fans, explains why he left Monsta X

Wonho said he decided to leave Monsta X to save the group after past allegations of cannabis use emerged, despite having never touched drugs. The singer, who was recently cleared of all drug charges following a police investigation, got candid in a recent interview with local news site Dispatch. “I didn’t want to see Monsta X break apart because of me. I thought the group could be saved if I left the group as soon as possible.” He also apologized to fans, saying, “I pr

March 16, 2020

BTS' N. American concerts at risk of cancellation amid virus spread in US

Having canceled the inaugural Seoul leg of its new world concert tour series, "Map of the Soul Tour," K-pop boy band BTS is at risk of having part of the following American leg rolled back amid the ongoing coronavirus spread in the United States. The septet was to kick off the new world tour series in mid-April in Seoul with four concerts at Olympic Stadium. But the band's management agency, Big Hit Entertainment, canceled the inaugural Seoul leg in late February when COVID-19 showed

March 16, 2020

Will Naver’s Vibe introduce a system that works for artists?

Naver’s music-streaming service Vibe has recently announced a payment system that it believes is more transparent and profitable for artists. Currently, streaming platforms such as South Korea’s Melon and Sweden’s Spotify use a “pro-rata” model that shares streaming revenue with artists by collecting all fees from users and dividing that pool of money according to the percentage of streams each artist receives. That means even if you never listen to the most fre

March 16, 2020

K-pop boy band NCT 127's new album debuts at 5th on Billboard 200

The new album by K-pop boy band NCT 127 debuted at fifth on the Billboard 200 albums chart this week, the band's strongest feat on the chart, the music magazine said Monday.  "Korean pop group NCT 127 lands its first top 10 effort, as 'NCT #127 Neo-Zone,' the 2nd (full-length) album debuts at No. 5," the Billboard website showed Monday (Korean time). "The act's previous high was claimed with its last release, 2019's 'NCT #127 We Are Superhuman,' which debuted and peaked a

March 16, 2020

Lim Young-woong declared ‘Mr. Trot’ winner after delay in vote counts

Lim Young-woong was declared the victor on TV Chosun’s popular trot singer audition show, “Mr. Trot,” during a special live broadcast Saturday. Host Kim Seung-joo announced that Lim Young-woong took first place in the fan votes, which accounted for 30 percent of the total score, receiving 1,374,748 votes. This led to Lim, who was second after Lee Chan-won before the final fan voting, to overtake Lee and win. “Thank you to all the viewers who watched for such a long ti

March 15, 2020

US stadium, set for BTS concerts in April, closes operations over virus woes

A stadium in California where K-pop superband BTS planned to hold concerts next month said Thursday (local time) it will suspend operations for the time being due to concerns about the new coronavirus. Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, tweeted, "In light of guidelines issued yesterday by the federal government to stop the spread of COVID-19, the SAP Performance Center and Levi's Stadium will close operations beginning March 13 until further notice." BTS was scheduled to lau

March 13, 2020

Sejong Center declares ‘brief halt’ to prevent virus spread

On Friday, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts announced a “brief halt” as part of the nation’s “social distancing” campaign to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  According to Friday’s announcement, most of the programs slated to run at the center between now and late March have been canceled or postponed. The Seoul Dance Metropolitan Theatre’s 2020 opening show, “N.O.T,” has been postponed. The Seoul Metropolitan Junior Chorus&rsq

March 13, 2020

EBS takes action to protect copyrights over Pengsoo

The Educational Broadcasting System is finally taking action to protect its copyrights over the popular character Pengsoo, after numerous infringements since the beloved penguin debuted last year. The broadcasting company announced Friday that it had signed a contract with the MIJU Law Firm, which specializes in intellectual property rights infringement issues online. “EBS and MIJU Law Firm already investigated both online and offline cases of copyright infringement of Pengsoo. We are

March 13, 2020