[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Tune in for Love(Korea)Opened Aug. 28Romance, DramaDirected by Jung Ji-wooIn 1994, when singer Yoo Yeol appears on the air for the first time as host of the radio show “Yoo Yeol’s Music Album,” Hyeon-woo (Jung Hae-in) happens to run across Mi-su (Kim Go-eun) at the bakery where she works. Throughout the next decade, fate keeps pulling Hyeon-woo and Mi-su together and pushing them apart again as they try to figure out life on their own, and with each other.Metamorphosis(Korea)Op

Sept. 6, 2019

BIFF award recipients to open and close this year’s festival

Films by directors who previously received commendations will open and close the upcoming 24th Busan International Film Festival, which organizers said was a testament to the annual film festival’s contributions to the Asian film scene.Opening BIFF 2019 is “The Horse Thieves. Roads of Time” by Kazakhstan’s Yerlan Nurmukhambetov and Japan’s Lisa Takeba. The film is about a boy, his encounter with horse thieves and his life after his childhood is dismantled following

Sept. 4, 2019

BTS agency to hold global audition to launch girl group in 2021

The music label of boy band BTS said Wednesday it will throw a global audition this year to launch a K-pop girl group around 2021."In cooperation with Source Music, Big Hit is set to host the 'Plus Global Audition' to recruit members for a new girl group with a view to get it to debut in 2021," Big Hit Entertainment said, referring to the label for GFriend, which was merged into Big Hit earlier this year. The global audition will start off with its first sessions in Los Angeles and New

Sept. 4, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Bad Guys’ epitomizes why we love Don Lee

Don Lee, known here better by his Korean name Ma Dong-seok, has a unique place in Korean cinema. Never before had a muscle-bound, middle-aged man -- who looks like he could move a tank with his right hook -- become the image of “cuddly and cute.” What’s more bizarre is that he built the image not by playing family-friendly roles, but by bashing bad guys’ brains on screen.Comparisons of Lee to pro wrestling superstar and Hollywood darling Dwayne “The Rock” John

Sept. 4, 2019

'The Passionate Keyboard' of young pianists

Though the label “young pianist” may be subjective, “The Passionate Keyboard” event defines them as artists with potential and talent who have yet to become fully established. The Passionate Keyboard, a five-day event organized by Young Artist Forum & Festival, is aimed at finding such young pianists. The inaugural event featuring five performances, a pitch session and a forum will be held at the Sejong Center in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, Oct. 8-12. “We chose

Sept. 3, 2019

Fans create forest in celebration of BTS leader's birthday

In celebration of the 25th birthday of RM, the leader of the popular boy band BTS, his fans created a forest in his name at a public park along the Han River in Seoul, an environmental group said Tuesday.Some 250 fans gathered around the landmark clock tower on the Jamsil side of Han River Park last Saturday to celebrate RM's birthday, which falls on Sept. 12, with the forestation project, according to the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement.   The fans planted 1,250 trees at

Sept. 3, 2019

Amid divorce row, actress Ku Hye-sun temporarily suspends show biz career

Actress Ku Hye-sun, engulfed in a widely publicized divorce row, announced Monday that she will temporarily suspend her show business career. "Ku Hye-sun will halt her show business activities. She plans to resume her academic career at Sungkyunkwan University," an official at Liwu Law Group, representing the actress, told Yonhap News Agency. The news came one day after Ku alluded to the departure on her Instagram account.Announcing the release of her new book, "I Am Your Pet

Sept. 2, 2019

BoA to hold Seoul concert in October

BoA will hold a stand-alone concert in Seoul next month, her agency said Monday.According to S.M. Entertainment, the singer will take the stage at the Olympic Hall within Olympic Park, southern Seoul, Oct. 26-27. It will be her first concert in South Korea since December.Tickets will be made available at local online booking website Yes 24 at 8 p.m. on Sept. 19, and members of her official fan club will be able to book the tickets two days earlier at 8 p.m. Sept. 17. Prior to the concert, BoA wi

Sept. 2, 2019

EDC Korea attracts 90,000 with creative stage designs

Electric Daisy Carnival Korea premiered last weekend, attracting some 90,000 festivalgoers for two days of electronic dance music at Seoul Land.The event, known as EDC Korea and hosted by US festival company Insomniac for the past 23 years, is based in Las Vegas but travels around the world to countries including Mexico, China and Japan. The global festival landed in South Korea for the first time this year at Seoul Land, an amusement park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, a 30-minute drive from c

Sept. 2, 2019

LDP's 'Triple Bill' blends different contemporary dance choreographers

Laboratory Dance Project, a South Korean contemporary dance company that marks its 20th anniversary next year, is collaborating with guest choreographers in a project that might just lead to a stylistic breakthrough. 　The dance company has invited two well-known Korean choreographers, Jung Young-doo and Kim Seol-jin, in “Triple Bill,” its latest production that will run Sept. 26-29 at LG Arts Center in Seoul.“There is no reason not to be open to collaboration,” LDP&r

Sept. 1, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Tazza: One Eyed Jack’ a mediocre, but fun sequel

All that glitters is not gold, and all hit films are not masterpieces. But just because a movie isn’t that well made doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable.Director Kwon Oh-kwang’s “Tazza: One Eyed Jack,” the third in a series about swindling gamblers, is a far cry from a masterpiece, but manages to be fun and loose in its own way. It trades in most of the characters and philosophy of the original comic book that it was based on for a much simpler story and origin

Sept. 1, 2019

Barrier-breaking ‘Kim’s Convenience’ family reflects immigrant experience

Imaging hearing “appa” and “eomma” -- the affectionate words for dad and mom in Korean -- on an English-language TV channel, let alone a regular sitcom series in Canada. One would say, improbable.But that is what has been happening for more than three years now through “Kim’s Convenience,” a much loved sitcom on public broadcaster CBC that depicts a Korean Canadian family’s authentic everyday life.  The story revolves around the Kims, a Korean

Aug. 29, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Tune in for Love(Korea)Opened Aug. 28Romance, DramaDirected by Jung Ji-wooIn the year 1994 as singer Yoo Yeol hosts radio show “Yoo Yeol’s Music Album” for the first time, Hyeon-woo (Jung Hae-in) happens to run across Mi-su (Kim Go-eun) at a bakery where she works. Throughout the next decade, fate keeps pulling Hyeon-woo and Mi-su together and pushing them apart again as they try to figure out life on their own, and with each other.Metamorphosis(Korea)Opened Aug. 21Horror, Thri

Aug. 29, 2019

Israeli TV series tops Seoul International Drama Awards

Israeli TV series “On the Spectrum” won the Grand Prize at the 2019 Seoul International Drama Awards.The awards ceremony for the 14th edition of the event was held at the Grand Peace Hall at Kyung Hee University in central Seoul on Wednesday.  “On the Spectrum” is a 10-part comedy series about three roommates, each diagnosed with a disorder on the autistic spectrum. Rather than depicting those afflicted to be talented with an exceptional ability in mathematics or sci

Aug. 29, 2019

Short, flashy web-based dramas appeal to binge watch-loving new generation

As new digital media, like YouTube, has become a mainstream content distribution platform, web-based series have carved out an independent genre in South Korean show business based on explosive popularity among teenagers.Drama "A-Teen," produced by Playlist Global, a web drama studio under the wing of South Korea's largest internet portal operator Naver, is one of the biggest smash hit mini-dramas in the country.Premiering in July 2018, the series of 24 eight-minute episodes created a

Aug. 28, 2019

X1 defies vote-rigging scandal to debut as one of highest-profile

Vote-rigging allegations and an ongoing police probe surrounding new boy band X1 mattered little as the 11-member group made a high-profile debut Tuesday through an idol audition TV show known for producing breakout K-pop stars.It took only four months for the 11 members to rise from obscurity to stardom in the Mnet audition show, "Produce X 101,"through which three sensational bands -- I.O.I, Wanna One and IZ*ONE -- were formed and thrived.On Tuesday, the 11 final winners of the show'

Aug. 27, 2019

'Let Them Eat Money. Welche Zukunft?!' to get Korean premiere

Political drama constitutes one of the backbones of German theater, particularly that of the 20th century, and “Let Them Eat Money. Welche Zukunft?!” is a contemporary production in that tradition.The German play -- which premiered in Germany last September, the latter part of whose title means “Which Future?” -- will have its South Korean premiere Sept. 20-21 at the LG Arts Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.Directed by award-winning film and theater director Andres Veiel, the

Aug. 27, 2019

‘Super Show’ in October to herald return of ‘complete’ Super Junior

Super Junior on Tuesday announced that it will hold a standalone concert in October in Seoul, its first since 2008 to feature all nine members. All the band’s musicians have now been discharged from the military after fulfilling their mandatory military service.The promotional image released for “Super Junior World Tour -- Super Show 8” showed that the Seoul concert will be held Oct. 12-13 at the KSPO Dome at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul. Tickets will be available

Aug. 27, 2019

BTS honored at annual MTV music awards

Proving its massive success on the American pop scene once again, K-pop boy band BTS has picked up two trophies at the annual MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) held in New Jersey, the United States.The septet won in two categories -- best group and K-pop -- out of the five it was nominated for in the awards ceremony held at New Jersey's Prudential Center on Monday (US time). The other categories BTS was nominated for were art direction, collaboration and choreography. Currently on its first-ever off

Aug. 27, 2019

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma hopes to bring peace to Korea

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is to perform near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas during his stay in Seoul for The Bach Project.The cellist, 64, will perform J.S. Bach’s six cello suites for solo cello at the Olympic Park in Jamsil, eastern Seoul, as part of Credia Park Concert. The unaccompanied cello suites are iconic pieces that fully explore the instrument. The Olympic Park performance is a part of Ma’s The Bach Project, which began in August, aiming to raise awareness of

Aug. 26, 2019