University festivals criticized for K-pop concert ticket scalping

Local universities are under fire for ticket scalping by students who sell tickets to K-pop concerts held as part of the school festivals to outsiders. Every May and June, universities around the country host a two-to-four-day campus festival for students and alumni, organizing events such as sports games, club performances and K-pop concerts. In recent years, schools have been competing to book bigger names to appear at their festivals to boost their reputation. It resulted in drawing not onl

May 29, 2024

Popular Korean webtoons to be remade into international TV series

Popular Korean webtoons are set to be adapted into international drama series, riding high on the webtoons' appeal to global audiences and the widespread perception that webtoon-based content is entertaining. The Naver romance webtoon series "Take Me, I'm Yours" will be remade as a Japanese drama series and broadcast on Nippon Television Network starting July 5, according to Naver Webtoon. Titled "With Me," (translated) the series, which was produced by Nippon Telev

May 29, 2024

Legendary rock stars to hold joint concert

Two South Korean rock icons, Jeon In-kwon and Boohwal, will hold a joint concert in June. The two giants of 1980s Korean rock will host "The Age of Rock" on June 15 at the KBS Arena in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. The concert was originally scheduled for April, but was postponed to June. After playing with various bands in the 1970s, vocalist Jeon In-kwon formed Deulgukhwa in 1984, a band that became a cornerstone of Korean rock. Known for his unique, almost anguished vocal style, Jeon sang hits

May 29, 2024

'The Player' hopes to continue tvN's success streak

"The Player 2: Master of Swindlers" will be larger in scale than its first season, is set to hit screens with the goal of continuing tvN's successful track record. The cable channel appears to be on a winning streak with hit series such as "Queen of Tears" and "Marry My Husband" capturing audiences worldwide. "The Player" series, which aired in 2018 on cable movie channel OCN, is making its comeback on tvN. Actors Song Seung-heon, Lee Si-eon and Tae W

May 28, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen to greet fans in Seoul in July

Seventeen will host its eighth official fan meetup in Seoul July 23-24, agency Pledis Entertainment announced Tuesday. The event dubbed “Seventeen in Carat Land” will be livestreamed as well. The 13 members wrapped up their stadium tour in Japan and Korea last week, and the final concert put them on stage at Nissan Stadium in Kanagawa, Japan, the largest concert venue in the country. They celebrated their debut ninth anniversary at the stadium with over 70,000 fans. The tour began in

May 28, 2024

Korean shows most-viewed of Netflix's non-English titles: report

Among non-English content streamed on Netflix during the second half of 2023, Korean shows were watched the most, according to a Netflix report. "What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report" released Friday, showed that non-English content accounted for some 30 percent of all viewing on Netflix. Titles in Korean (9 percent), Spanish (7 percent) and Japanese (5 percent) captured the largest shares of viewership outside of English, respectively. Among Korean series, JTBC's romance

May 28, 2024

[Herald Review] Doyoung of NCT portrays youth in his first standalone concert

Inside one of the many semi-transparent cubicles representing city skyscrapers, Doyoung of NCT appeared in a glittering white jacket and pants singing “Beginning,” a B-side track from his first solo album “Youth.” His mellow voice quickly mesmerized around 3,500 people gathered at Kyung Hee University’s Grand Peace Palace on Monday for the final performance of Doyoung’s three-day concert, “Dear Youth.” Doyoung’s first-ever standalone concert

May 28, 2024

RM drops new MV full of natural, honest vibes

RM of BTS has released the music video for "Groin" off the album "Right Place, Wrong Person," which came out Friday. The album marks RM's first release since his solo debut album "Indigo" in December 2022. RM completed the work on this album before beginning his mandatory military service in December last year. In the alternative hip-hop song, RM candidly expresses his thoughts on people who dislike him. In the music video, RM, sporting a short haircut, appears

May 28, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink hits record 2.2b views with ‘Ddu-du Ddu-du’ music video

Blackpink reached the 2.2 billion views milestone on YouTube with the music video for “Ddu-du Ddu-du,” label YG Entertainment said Monday. This cements the record Blackpink holds as the most-viewed music video from a K-pop artist. “Ddu-du Ddu-du” is the lead single from the group’s first EP “Square Up” which was released in June 2018. It not only dominated every domestic music chart but also claimed No. 50 on Billboard’s Hot 100 while the mini al

May 27, 2024

Westlife to return to Korea after 13 years

The Irish pop band Westlife will perform in South Korea for the first time in 13 years. According to Mohegan Inspire Resort on Monday, Westlife will hold "Westlife: The Hits Tour" at Incheon Inspire Arena on July 6-7. Mohegan Inspire Resort’s Inspire Arena located in Yeongjongdo, Incheon, is the first multipurpose arena in South Korea. Westlife will be the second overseas artist to perform in the venue following Maroon 5. Westlife, known for their emotional melodies and rich harm

May 27, 2024

Aespa breaks silence on Hybe chairman’s remark to ‘crush’ them

SM Entertainment girl group aespa broke its silence about Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s recent controversial remark targeting them, saying they were not taking it seriously. “We know about the issue and people around us have been telling us about it. But because we had our first full-length studio album coming up, we were so focused on preparing for the album only,” Karina, one of the aespa members, said during a press conference held in Seoul on Monday. Last month, Ador CEO M

May 27, 2024

'Handsome Guys' to depict Hollywood occult vibe

South Korean comedy occult flick "Handsome Guys," starring veteran actors Lee Hee-jun and Lee Sung-min, will set itself apart from recent occult box office hit "Exhuma" by incorporating a Hollywood occult vibe, alongside a narrative rife with comedic scenes, said the director, Monday. "Handsome Guys" tells the story of Jae-pil (played by Lee Sung-min) and Sang-gu (played by Lee Hee-jun), two friends who decide to move to a new house in a rural area. In there, they d

May 27, 2024

[Herald Review] Shinee wraps up 6th world tour with Onew back from hiatus

As K-pop veteran Shinee's final encore concert began Sunday at the Inspire Arena in Incheon, the giant LED screens showed video art of the boy band's silhouette. When the mid-section of the LED screens lowered, they revealed the main stage with Onew, Minho, Key and Taemin. The members kicked off the final performance of their three-day encore concert, "Perfect Illumination: Shinee’s Back," with their mega-hit singles “Clue” and "Sherlock." The enco

May 27, 2024

[Music in drama] Delve into destined love story with touching melodies

Romance with a divine being is always intriguing, yet never simple or safe -- at least in Korean dramas. "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God," aired through tvN from December 2016 to January 2017, is a series that reinterprets beings from Korean folklore into a modern, touching love story. The male protagonist, Kim Shin (Gong Yoo), an immortal being that can be roughly translated as a goblin, is a general wrongfully killed a thousand years ago, who now longs for rest. He meets Ji Eun-t

May 27, 2024

[Herald Review] ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ expands gripping universe of ‘Mad Max’ franchise

The hit action blockbuster "Mad Max" franchise has returned after nine years. This time, instead of releasing a sequel to 2015's “Mad Max: Fury Road,” director George Miller decided to create a prequel to that film with a young Furiosa (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) narrating her 18-year-long vengeful journey back home to find warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) in “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” What’s unique about this grand-scale movie is the universe desig

May 27, 2024

[Herald Interview] 'The 8 Show' questions capitalism's class system

The director and one of the actors of Netflix's original series, "The 8 Show," sought to criticize capitalism today while asking how far creators should go in the pursuit of entertainment. Based on popular webtoons "Money Game" and "Pie Game," "The 8 Show" follows the stories of eight contestants in dire financial straits as they strive to earn money in a mysterious reality variety show. The participants are trapped on separate floors in an eight-st

May 27, 2024

[Herald Interview] ‘Imagination’ key to acting, says Gang Dong-won

In his 21-year acting career, actor Gang Dong-won has played many different types of characters, hardly any of them overlapping. While his previous roles have been somewhat witty, easygoing characters with boyish charm, “The Plot,” his latest film, portrays the actor at his coldest. With no smile on his face, Gang plays Yeong-il, the mastermind of contract killings that appear to be accidents. Many of his scenes involve tight shots showing his dry and sharp eyes. He also has few line

May 27, 2024

[Herald Interview] SM subsidiary KMR aims to broaden K-pop spectrum

Even as K-pop giant Hybe’s multilabel system is being tested by the ongoing feud with the CEO of one of its subsidiaries, Ador’s Min Hee-jin, the longest-standing K-pop agency, SM Entertainment is forging ahead with establishing its own multilabel system, dubbed “SM 3.0.” SM 3.0 focuses on broadening the spectrum of K-pop, according to Choi Jin-suk, global A&R executive of Kreation Music Rights (KMR), a music publishing subsidiary of SM Entertainment. “Within KM

May 26, 2024

[Africa Forum] Traditional Korean, African dances celebrate ties

Traditional Korean and African dances by both the Little Angels and TAGG marked the Africa Day 2024 Korea Business Forum on Thursday, with a side event introducing African food and craft. Twenty-three members of the Little Angles opened the celebrations with “buchaechum,” or fan dance, followed by the singing of “A Beautiful Country,” a Korean song, at the forum cohosted by Herald Media Group and the African Group of Ambassadors at the Swiss Grand Hotel Convention Center

May 26, 2024

Battle of petitions is latest in Hybe-Ador dispute

Ahead of Ador’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting Friday to decide on the dismissal of CEO Min Hee-jin, NewJeans fans and Hybe staffers are showing their respective support by submitting petitions to the Seoul court. In a petition submitted to the Seoul Central District Court on May 24, NewJeans fans wrote, “Until it is legally concluded that Min acted unlawfully, the contract terms signed between Min and Hybe should be respected and we hope she remains the CEO of Ador. We kn

May 26, 2024