Girl group (G)I-dle to go on first world tour in April

Popular K-pop girl group, (G)I-dle will kick off its first world-trotting concert tour in April, according to its management agency Thursday. "I-LAND: WHO AM I" will kick off in Bangkok on April 4 and move to major cities in the United States, Europe and Asia before wrapping up in Seoul about three months later, according to Cube Entertainment. Under the world tour, the group will land in 32 cities across the globe, including Seattle, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Moscow,

Jan. 30, 2020

SuperM to appear on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' show next month

K-pop boy band SuperM will appear on American TV show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" next month to promote its Billboard-topping album, according to the band's management agency on Thursday. The septet is scheduled to hit the late night talk show from US broadcaster ABC on Feb. 11 and perform "Jopping," a track from the band's first EP, "SuperM," according to SM Entertainment. The self-titled album topped the Billboard 200 chart in mid-October. This is the band's latest

Jan. 30, 2020

Hong Sang-soo's new film included in Berlin fest competition lineup

South Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo's latest film has been nominated to compete at the Berlin International Film Festival next month. In a press conference held Tuesday, festival organizers unveiled a list of 18 movies that will vie for the Gold and Silver Bears at the festival scheduled from Feb. 20 to March 1. Hong's film, "The Woman Who Ran," is his 24th feature as well the seventh film starring his muse Kim Min-hee. The director was first invited to the film fest in 1997 with h

Jan. 29, 2020

Park Hae-jin, Cho Bo-ah usher in spring with ‘Forest’

The first episode of KBS2’s upcoming drama series “Forest,” a love story between a perfect-but-heartless man and a hurting-but-warm-hearted woman that unfolds in the woods, is slated to air Wednesday night. Park Hye-jin plays corporate takeover specialist Kang San-hyeok, who, looking for new prey fakes his way into working as a special rescue worker at Miryeong Forest. Here, Kang comes face-to-face with past trauma that has been causing a burning pain in his arm and tumbles

Jan. 29, 2020

BTS delivers barefoot performance of ‘Black Swan’ on The Late Late Show

BTS delivered its very first onstage performance of “Black Swan” on the “Late Late Show” on Wednesday. It is the first single to be released from the upcoming album “Map of The Soul: 7.” The seven band members wore all-black outfits as they sang the orchestral emo hip-hop song against a dimly lit forest background and executed performance art-like choreography without shoes. Wednesday marks the third time the group has appeared on the late-night talk show, a

Jan. 29, 2020

Margot Robbie explains Harley Quinn’s return in ‘Birds of Prey’

Harley Quinn does not cope well with the breakup from her “pudding” Joker in the beginning of “Birds of Prey,” but this may just be her first step out into the world, said Margot Robbie, who reprises her role from “Suicide Squad,” during a video press conference Tuesday. Robbie was joined by director Cathy Yan and lead actors Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Ella Jay Basco. In the first DC flick to hit the screens this year -- “Bir

Jan. 29, 2020

BTS’ ‘Connect’ global art project kicks off in Seoul

BTS’ global art project “Connect, BTS” has landed in Seoul, combining music and art with the group’s philosophy. The press event for the Korean leg of the exhibition was held Tuesday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in downtown Seoul, the fourth destination of the project following London, Berlin and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The exhibition involves 22 artists and curators across five cities around the world who resonate with BTS’ philosophy centering on diversity, lo

Jan. 29, 2020

S. Korean entertainment field on alert amid deadly virus outbreak

  The South Korean entertainment and broadcasting industries have been on full alert amid continued concerns over the Chinese coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 130 people and spread to many other countries and regions, industry sources said Wednesday. An increasing number of entertainment agencies have decided to defer live concerts at which hundreds of fans would come into contact with each other and run the risk of being infected with the virus that originated in the centra

Jan. 29, 2020

'Parasite' screened at over 1,000 theaters in North America

The number of theaters in North America screening director Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" surpassed 1,000 over the weekend, industry watcher Box Office Mojo has said. According to the US website tracking film revenues early this week, the South Korean black comedy was screened in 1,060 cinemas Sunday. Since it opened in three theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Oct. 11, the movie took $30.91 million at the North American box office, the seventh largest ever among foreign language f

Jan. 29, 2020

Films about S. Korean immigrant family in 1980s US, Kim Jong-nam murder premiere at Sundance

Actress Han Ye-ri, Korean American actor Steven Yeun and veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung received a standing ovation for “Minari” at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday. The festival, which kicked off Thursday at Park City in Utah, runs until Sunday. The annual event is one of the largest indie and documentary film festivals in North America where up-and-coming filmmakers and original titles aim for a big break. The movie “Minari” tells the story of a South Korean fam

Jan. 28, 2020

NCT 127 to drop new full-length album in March

K-pop boy band NCT 127 will return with a new studio album in March, its agency said Tuesday. SM Entertainment said the group's second full-length album, "NCT #127 Neo Zone," will be released in March. It will be NCT 127's first full album since "NCT #127 Regular-Irregular" was published in October 2018. Jungwoo, who has been taking a break due to a health problem, will rejoin the group for the new album, according to SM Entertainment. The group's previous six-track EP,

Jan. 28, 2020

Billie Eilish to have concert in Seoul in August

Grammy-winning teenage pop star Billie Eilish will have a concert in Seoul in August, marking the first South Korea visit by the chart-topping sensation. According to the announcement on the singer's official website last week, Eilish's 2020 world tour, titled "Where Do We Go?" will start March 9 in Miami, Florida, and run through September in 19 countries, including Mexico, Argentina, Germany, France and Italy. She will perform in Seoul on Aug. 23, with the venue to be determined l

Jan. 28, 2020

BTS new single 'Black Swan' ranks 57th on Billboard singles chart

K-pop super band BTS' new song "Black Swan" landed at 57th on Billboard's latest main singles chart. "'Black Swan' by BTS debuts at No. 57 on Billboard Hot 100. This becomes their eighth entry to the chart," Billboard said on its social media accounts Tuesday (Korean time), with its weekly chart results to be officially updated later in the day. The song released Jan. 17 is a track from the band's upcoming "Map of the Soul: 7." Last year, "Boy With Luv,&quo

Jan. 28, 2020

S.M. Entertainment chief producer makes Billboard's '2020 Impact List'

Lee Soo-man, founder and chief producer of South Korea's biggest K-pop label, S.M. Entertainment, was listed by Billboard as one of the world's influential music industry leaders, the agency said Monday. Lee was the only South Korean chosen to be on "The 2020 Billboard Impact List" that recognizes 22 individuals for their influence over the future of the global music industry, according to S.M.  "SuperM, the 'supergroup' recruited from members of other Korean boy bands and

Jan. 27, 2020

BTS becomes first K-pop act to perform at Grammys

K-pop super band BTS has performed at the Grammys, becoming the first South Korean act to do so, in the latest in a series of milestones the band has accomplished in Korean music history. The septet teamed up with rapper Lil Nas X to take the stage at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony held Sunday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band's rappers -- RM, J-Hope and Suga -- joined the American rapper to perform his record hit "Old Town Road" with lines from the remix "

Jan. 27, 2020

Future that Beethoven dreamed of

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of maestro Beethoven’s birth, a contemporary music recital will be held at Kumho Art Hall on Thursday, featuring up-and-coming composer-conductor Choi Jae-hyuck and his chamber music ensemble. Since 2017 -- the 190th anniversary of Beethoven’s death -- the art hall, under the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation, has featured a series of 25 programs in homage to the maestro, ranging from piano and violin solo performances to chamber music recital

Jan. 27, 2020

Twice’s Chaeyoung hits out at infamous stalker

Twice’s Chaeyoung lashed out at a stalker on Sunday after her personal phone number was released on social media. The K-pop group’s agency, JYP Entertainment, released an official statement Sunday, saying it would immediately sue the person who first disclosed Chaeyoung’s private number online. A few hours later, Chaeyoung took to Instagram to deliver a direct message to the stalker. “We’re at our limits to stay quiet and wait for you to stop,” began the

Jan. 27, 2020

Return of A-list bands to heat up K-pop scene this spring

The return of a group of A-list K-pop bands will heat up the music scene here this spring. After setting a record for most album sales with "Map of the Soul: Persona" last year, K-pop super band BTS will drop "Map of the Soul: 7" on Feb. 21, the second issue in the "Map of the Soul" album series. The upcoming album is likely to rewrite some K-pop records after BTS made K-pop history by winning three No. 1s on the Billboard 200 in a span of one year last year.

Jan. 27, 2020

‘The Man Standing Next’ attracts more than 1.12 million viewers

“The Man Standing Next” has attracted more than 1.12 million moviegoers since the political thriller‘s release three days ago, box-office data showed Saturday, highlighting its popularity during the ongoing Lunar New Year holiday.The accumulated attendance for the film, which was released Wednesday, was tallied at 1,127,757, according to the computerized tally from the Korean Film Council. It was trailed by “Hitman: Agent Jun” that has attracted 220,805 viewers so f

Jan. 25, 2020

‘Parasite’ team beefs up last-minute Oscar campaign

Director Bong Joon-ho and the cast of “Parasite” are entering the final stretch in the heated race for the upcoming Oscars.The genre-bending family satire was nominated in six categories -- best picture, best director, best screenplay, best editing, best production design and best international feature film -- for the 2020 Academy Awards slated for Feb. 9.It is the first time that a South Korean-made film has earned a nod for one of the world‘s biggest film events.According to

Jan. 25, 2020