BTS becomes first Korean artists to top British chart

K-pop sensations BTS has topped the British chart with its new album, becoming the first South Korean artists to do so.The new album “Map of the Soul: Persona” landed at the top with 26,500 combined sales on Friday (local time), the Official Charts Co. said.The album's main track, “Boy With Luv,” is also the band’s first ever British Top 15 single, charting at number 13 on Friday, it said. (Yonhap)“Map of The Soul: Persona” is BTS‘ fourth collection to chart in the UK Top 40, following their thr

April 20, 2019

'Avengers: Endgame' breaks ticket presales record in S. Korea

Advance sales of tickets for the upcoming Marvel film "Avengers: Endgame" reached 1.23 million on Friday, setting a new record for advance box office sales in South Korea, according to data by the Korean Film Council.Presales of tickets for the final "Avengers" flick, set to hit local screens on Wednesday, reached 1,230,181 as of 4:21 p.m., the real-time data showed. At that moment, the superhero film accounted for 92.1 percent of all the tickets sold in advance.The presales figure marks a new r

April 19, 2019

[Eye Plus] Paradise for music players

In Seoul, there is a paradise for music players.Nakwon Instrument Arcade, otherwise known as Nakwon Music Mall, is a one-stop shopping center of over 300 independent music stores -- selling virtually everything related to music.  (Park Hyun-koo / The Korea Herald)Located in the vicinity of the tourist-heavy Insa-dong and currently Seoul’s hippest street Ikseon-dong, this shop cluster occupies the second and third floors of Nagwon building, which also houses eateries, practice rooms, a concert st

April 19, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Birthday (Korea)Opened April 3DramaDirected by Lee Jeong-eonJeong-il (Sol Kyung-gu), Sun-nam (Jeon Do-yeon) and their daughter Ye-sol (Kim Bo-min) have to cope with life without Su-ho (Yoon Chan-Young), as the boy died in the 2014 Sewol tragedy. On Su-ho’s birthday, the family and friends gather to share special memories.Another Child (Korea)Opened April 11DramaDirected by Kim Yoon-seokSeventeen-year-old Ju-ri (Kim Hye-jun) struggles with the knowledge of her father Kwon Dae-won (Kim) having an

April 19, 2019

BTS breaks its own record for highest first-week album sales with 'Map of the Soul: Persona'

K-pop sensations BTS sold more than 2.13 million copies of their new album, "Map of the Soul: Persona," in the first week of the album's release, setting a new record of highest first-week record sales, the band's management agency said Friday.The new album sold 2,130,480 copies in the seven days since its release last Friday, Big Hit Entertainment said, quoting figures from local chart compiler Hanteo. BTS (Big Hit Entertainment)This makes "Map of the Soul: Persona" the highest-selling K-pop al

April 19, 2019

Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' chosen for competition in Cannes

The Cannes Film Festival on Thursday announced the feature selection for the 2019 competition, which includes South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite."    It is Bong's second time competing for the Palme d'Or, or Golden Palm, following the selection of his adventure film "Okja" in 2017. "Parasite" (CJ ENM)    It is also the fourth consecutive year that a South Korean film has been chosen to compete in the international film festival, following Park Chan-wook's "The Handmaiden" in 2016 and

April 18, 2019

[Graphic News] From BTS to BoA, a look back on K-pop acts ons Billboard 200

　BTS is set to make history as the boy band is on course to have its third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 album chart for the week ending April 27.　While the group’s “Map of the Soul: Persona” is the latest K-pop record to top the high-profile chart, it’s worth nothing there were other South Korean artists who had a crack at the US market and left their mark.　In 2009, BoA became the first K-pop singer to enter Billboard’s albums chart with her self-titled US debut album, which peaked at No. 12

April 18, 2019

Highlight's Lee Gi-kwang to start mandatory military service

South Korean boy band Highlight's Lee Gi-kwang will begin his military service Thursday, his management agency said.The singer will undergo a four-week basic training in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, and then he will be assigned to a police unit, according to Around Us Entertainment. (Yonhap)Lee plans to unveil a two-track digital single album Thursday afternoon to say goodbye to his fans."I've been so happy for the past 10 years because of you," he said through a handwritten letter releas

April 18, 2019

BTS returns with new chart-topping album in ode to fans

Having made an incredible splash on the music scene with the new chart-topping album “Map of the Soul: Persona,” BTS wants to delve into the power of love, which is what catapulted the band to global stardom, the band said Wednesday. At a global press conference livestreamed on YouTube, the septet talked about their new music, their collaboration with pop heavyweights Halsey and Ed Sheeran, their upcoming sold-out stadium concerts, their recent “Saturday Night Live” appearance and the weight of

April 17, 2019

‘Tracking Down the Steel Container’ looks at apartments, a microcosm of Korean society

A decent apartment in Seoul has long been a symbol of middle-class success. Apartment ownership is also a measure by which social strata are divided.Based on Kim Yoon-young’s novel by the same title, “Tracking Down the Steel Container” is a drama that tackles the divide, as well as how people look at poverty -- and at people living in public housing in particular.  A scene from “Tracking Down the Steel Container” (DAC)The drama unfolds in Suseo-dong, Gangnam-gu, a wealthy district at the souther

April 16, 2019

BTS on course to take 3rd No. 1 on Billboard 200 with 'Map of Soul: Persona'

Global K-pop sensation BTS is on its way to score its third No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart with their latest, staggeringly popular new record, which was released last week, Billboard's official website showed Tuesday."Industry forecasters suggest the set, which was released on April 12, could earn between 200,000 and 225,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending April 18," Billboard said in a posting uploaded on Monday (U.S. time), reporting that the septet is "bound for

April 16, 2019

‘Avengers: Endgame’ to be culmination of MCU

The name of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 22nd film certainly does it justice, as the studio’s chief Kevin Feige stressed that “Avengers: Endgame” would be what the world’s largest superhero franchise had been building up to over the past 11 years.“This film is the endgame. This film is the culmination of the 22 films that we’ve made up to this point,” Feige said at a press conference in Seoul on Monday. Attending the event were directors Anthony and Joe Russo, producer Trinh Tran and cast members

April 15, 2019

Five years after tragedy, films deal with Sewol

The 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry left more than 300 dead or missing, exposed irregularities in society and scarred the nation. There have been documentaries and independent films about the tragedy as well as many tribute songs, but using it as a subject in popular culture has remained an unspoken taboo.This is about to change, as two films talking about Sewol opened in March and April: “Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage” by Lee Jeong-beom and “Birthday” by Lee Jong-eon, respectively.The two films d

April 15, 2019

BTS to perform with Halsey during Billboard Music Awards

K-pop superstars BTS will perform their new song, "Boy With Luv," with Halsey during the 2019 Billboard Music Awards next month, the band's management agency said Monday."During the 2019 Billboard Music Awards on May 1, BTS will stage their first-ever collaboration performance with world-class singer Halsey," Big Hit Entertainment said.  BTS and Halsey (Instagram)Last week, BTS world-premiered the main track of their new album, "Map of the Soul: Persona," as a musical guest on American late nigh

April 15, 2019

BTS' 'Boy With Luv' becomes fastest video ever to top 100 mln YouTube views

The video of massively popular boy band BTS's new song has surpassed 100 million views on YouTube at the fastest pace ever.The music video for "Boy With Luv," the main track off the group's latest album, "Map of the Soul: Persona," released Friday at 6 p.m., topped 100 million views at about 7:37 a.m. Sunday, according to the band's management agency, Big Hit Entertainment. (Youtube)BTS achieved the milestone 37 hours and 37 minutes after the video was uploaded to the global video sharing servic

April 14, 2019

Different festival to rock Jisan this year

The preliminary lineup for the 2019 Jisan Rock Festival, slated to take place from July 26 to 28, was announced Friday, including some of the most prominent bands here. Guckkastens, Monni, Galaxy Express and Huckleberry Finn are some of the names announced by the organizers. The second lineup, including major foreign musicians, will be revealed May 3. The festival will be held at Jisan Forest Resort in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, an hour’s drive southwest of Seoul.This year marks the first editio

April 12, 2019

BTS' new album featuring Halsey, Ed Sheeran hits world music scene

K-pop band BTS' new album featuring two high-profile pop stars, Halsey and Ed Sheeran, will hit the world music scene Friday, revealing the band's stories of love, self and the outside world."Map of the Soul: Persona," poised for release on major online music stores Friday evening (Korean time), is the opener of BTS' new "Map of the Soul" album series following their two-year-long "Love Yourself" album trilogy that won two No. 1s on the Billboard 200 album chart.Having recorded sensational disco

April 12, 2019

Emma Stone plays BTS fangirl in SNL teasers

Hollywood actress Emma Stone acted a BTS fangirl in a Saturday Night Live promo video for the episode she will be hosting.(SNL)SNL released on Thursday on its YouTube channel a teaser clip featuring the actress and cast member Cecily Strong surrounded by the seven bandmates, welcoming the members, and at the same time, going crazy over them. (SNL YouTube)In another clip released the day before, the actress is featured along with other female guests of the episode as excited fans of the K-pop sen

April 12, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Birthday(Korea)Opened April 3DramaDirected by Lee Jeong-eonJeong-il (Sol Kyung-gu), Sun-nam (Jeon Do-yeon) and their daughter Ye-sol (Kim Bo-min) have to cope with life without Su-ho (Yoon Chan-Young), as the boy died in the 2014 Sewol tragedy. On Su-ho’s birthday, the family and friends gather to share special memories of Su-ho.Shazam!(US)Opened April 3Action, Adventure, Comedy Directed by David F. SandbergBilly Batson (Asher Angel/Zachary Levi) has trouble adjusting to his new foster home beca

April 12, 2019

Director Kim Ki-duk named president of jury for Moscow Film Festival

Acclaimed South Korean movie director Kim Ki-duk has been named the president of the jury for the 41st Moscow International Film Festival, the homepage of the event showed Thursday, an appointment likely to stir up controversy over his ethical qualifications.Kim has shunned public appearances in his home country since he was accused last year of sexually assaulting actresses while filming.  Kim Ki-duk (Yonhap)He recently filed damage suits against an actress who raised a sexual violence accusati

April 11, 2019