[Today’s K-pop] Enhypen to return next month: report

Enhypen is gearing up for a return in November, according to a local media report on Thursday. Agency Belift Lab confirmed the news following the report adding that specific dates will be announced later. It will be about six months since its fourth EP “Dark Blood” that entered the Billboard 200 at No. 4. The album stayed on the main albums chart for 10 weeks in a row, a record for the band. It topped the iTunes top albums chart in 30 regions as well as Oricon’s weekly and wee

Oct. 5, 2023

Wavve’s ‘The Deal’ to expand into 200 countries

Wavve announced Wednesday that its upcoming mystery thriller, “The Deal” is scheduled to be released in some 200 countries, including South Korea, Taiwan and more. Domestically, “The Deal” will be released on Wavve. Overseas, Taiwan-based streaming platform FriDay and global streaming service Rakuten Viki will offer the eight-part crime thriller. Adapted from a popular 2021-webtoon series of the same title by author Woonam20, the show tells the story of a reunion betw

Oct. 5, 2023

ONF hopes to open new chapter upon return from military service

ONF, the first K-pop boy group whose members enlisted in the military at the same time, has returned to the music scene after a 1 1/2-year hiatus. “We really missed being on stage and our fans during the time we were serving in the Army," said E-Tion of ONF during a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. "We put all the emotions that we felt during the past months into our new album that revolves around a single theme, love.” The six-member group dropped its seventh mini

Oct. 5, 2023

TVXQ to release 9th LP on Dec. 26, marking 20th anniversary

Legendary K-pop boy group TVXQ will be celebrating its 20th debut anniversary with its fans by releasing a new album, holding a concert and opening an exhibition in December. TVXQ debuted in December 2003 with its debut single, “Hug,” and will mark its 20th debut anniversary on Dec. 26. On the day, the group will be releasing its ninth full-length album, marking its first release in five years since the special album, “New Chapter No. 2: The Truth of Love,” in December 20

Oct. 5, 2023

Fan meeting offers 'Break Time' for 'Dream Academy' trainees on their way to debut

The 18 trainees vying to be part of the group who debuts with Hybe and Geffen's joint girl group project held their first gathering with fans in Seoul on Wednesday. Hybe and Geffen's joint girl group project, "The Debut: Dream Academy," held its first fan gathering in Seoul on Wednesday and came face-to-face with their fans for the first time. The 18 trainees of the project, "Dream Academy" in short, took the stage at the event held at a local theater in Gangnam, Se

Oct. 4, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Stray Kids’ 1st Japan EP sells 1m copies

Stray Kids logged 1 million shipments in Japan with its first EP in the country, according to label JYP Entertainment on Wednesday. The EP “Social Path (feat. LiSA) / Super Bowl -Japanese ver.-” rolled out on Sept. 6 and reached the milestone last week. It notched first place on Oricon’s weekly album ranking after staying atop its daily album ranking for six days in a row. The five-track mini album was No. 1 on Billboard Japan’s main albums chart as well as the iTunes to

Oct. 4, 2023

[Herald Interview] Kim Nam-gil says 'Song of the Bandits' was full of new challenges

Veteran actor Kim Nam-gil, 43, remembers his debut Netflix series, “Song of the Bandits,” as a project full of never-before-seen challenges in his 24-year acting career. From handling rifles to weathering the elements in sandstorm scenes, Kim said almost every aspect in shooting the show was new to him, especially as not many Korean films and dramas have been inspired by the Western genre. Kim explained that he spent a lot of time getting used to an unfamiliar weapon, the Winchester

Oct. 4, 2023

Zandari Festa kicks off with local, foreign indie bands

Zandari Festa, an indie rock festival launched in 2012, kicks off Thursday for a three-day run. This year's festival will feature up-and-coming indie bands as well as well-established musicians, including Galaxy Express, Band Nam, Leenalchi, Teresa in the Moon and the Royston Club. The lineup comprises 35 acts from South Korea, the US, France, the UK, China and the Philippines. Performances will take place at four live music venues in Seoul's Hongdae area -- Musinsa Garage, Veloso Hong

Oct. 4, 2023

Actor Park Eun-bin opens 28th Busan International Film Festival’s opening ceremony

Actor Park Eun-bin opened this year’s Busan International Film Festival Wednesday, Asia’s largest film festival which will showcase a total of 269 films from 69 countries on 25 screens in Busan throughout the 10 day-long festival. The related Asian content and film market will be held Oct. 7-10. Park, the breakout star of hit drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022), was the festival’s first-ever solo host for the opening ceremony, due to a sudden surgery of actor Lee Je-hoon. L

Oct. 4, 2023

Sunmi to return with new digital single ‘Stranger’

K-pop soloist Sunmi is unveiling her new digital single “Stranger” on Oct. 17. The single carries a total of three tracks—the title track “Stranger,” and two side tracks “Calm myself” and “Call my name.” Sunmi took part in producing and writing the lyrics to all of the tracks in her single album, according to Abyss Company. The teaser image of the upcoming single album shows Sunmi in a red outfit staring forward with a mysterious man standing

Oct. 4, 2023

Fifty Fifty’s agency, Attrakt, files W1b compensation claim against The Givers

K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty’s agency, Attrakt, filed a compensation claim for 1 billion won ($736,000) against its subcontractor, The Givers, as well as The Givers' head, Siahn, and senior director, Baek Jin-sil, late last month, according to Attrakt on Wednesday. “The head producer of The Givers, Siahn, and its senior director, Baek Jin-sil, not only violated its business service contract obligations to Attrakt but also impeded our business and caused asset damage by deceiving

Oct. 4, 2023

Blackpink's Jennie to drop new solo single on Oct. 6

Blackpink's Jennie is making a solo comeback. YG Entertainment, the quartet's agency, on Wednesday announced the singer was dropping a new solo single, "You & Me," on Oct. 6. The song will be only the second solo outing for the singer with the first release being 2018 single "Solo." According to YG, "You & Me" will come out at 1 p.m. on Oct. 6. It will be a long-awaited official release of the song which Jennie had performed onstage during the group's recent

Oct. 4, 2023

Jarasum Jazz Fest to kick off Friday

The Jarasum International Jazz Festival kicks off Friday on the small river island of Jaraseom in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, for a four-day run. The festival is to open Friday with performances by Yejurang, a trio of a pianist and two vocalists, and Breath of 8, which consists of eight saxophonists, a pianist, a drummer and a bassist. South Korean ska band Kingston Rudieska and the Ju Hyun Mi Project -- vocalist Ju Hyun-mi and jazz musician Phil Yoon -- will also perform Friday. Admission to F

Oct. 4, 2023

BTS' Jungkook to extend solo parade with 1st album 'Golden'

Jungkook of K-pop sensation BTS will release his first solo album, "Golden," next month, the next step in his journey as a solo artist. BTS' agency Big Hit Music on Wednesday announced that the album will drop at 1 p.m. on Nov. 3. "'Golden' is an album inspired from solo artist Jungkook's golden moment," the firm said in its statement, adding, "Jungkook will manifest his identity and colors candidly through the album." The upcoming album will be an 11-track collecti

Oct. 4, 2023

Live music festival Block Party to return to Haebangchon

“Tiger is Coming” band Leenalchi will join more than 100 performers in Haebangchon this weekend as 10 venues in the area open for a cultural festival. Showcase music festival Block Party will return for a second year Saturday and Sunday with more stages and a wider variety of performances. Music will still be at the heart of the event, with alternative pop band Leenalchi being joined Saturday by the hard rock sounds of Galaxy Express and Drinking Boys and Girls Choir, as well as Ja

Oct. 3, 2023

[Herald Interview] When ‘comedy freak’ filmmaker makes rom-com '30 Days’

Director Nam Dae-jung who directed comedy flicks “The Last Ride" (2016) and “Homme Fatale” (2019), has returned with “30 Days,” a rom-com featuring a couple with amnesia going through a comical divorce. Nam said he watched the film hundreds of times while editing. “The film ended shooting in February this year. Since then until the opening of the film, I think I’ve watched the film more than 600 times while editing. This is because, for comedy films

Oct. 2, 2023

Where is Blackpink headed?

Will Blackpink continue or will the group disband? Are the members moving to a different label or will they go independent? Rumors have been swirling as K-pop's biggest girl group and its agency, YG Entertainment, remain silent on the future, despite their seven-year contract having apparently reached the end of its term in August. On Tuesday, it was reported Jennie and Jisoo had established their own independent labels, though YG Entertainment denied to confirm the reports. "Nothing has be

Oct. 1, 2023

Music festivals and concerts for the fall season

A diverse lineup of music festivals and concerts are set to welcome the fall season. The Jarasum Jazz Festival, the country’s biggest jazz festival which marks its 20th anniversary this year, kicks off on Oct. 6 and runs for four days on Jara Island, Gyeonggi Province. The event invites 19 foreign artists and 22 Korean artists including Birell Lagrene and Ulf Wakenlus, Julian Lage, Shai Maestro Quartet, Youn Sun-nah, Ju Hyun-mi Jazz Project and the Pasquale Grasso Trio. The venue for the f

Sept. 30, 2023

Maestro Bychkov to debut in Korea with all-Dvorak program

Semyon Bychkov, a Soviet-born conductor who denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is set to make his Korean debut in October, leading the Czech Philharmonic for an all-Dvorak program. The program -- Dvorak’s "Carnival Overture," Op.92, Piano Concerto in G minor, Op.33, and Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op.70 -- is more of a practical choice as it includes pieces that are being performed during their regular season in Prague, where they will perform Dvorak’s three symphoni

Sept. 30, 2023

Jungkook of BTS sweeps iTunes’ Top Songs charts in 100 different regions

Jungkook of BTS topped iTunes’ Top Songs charts in 100 different regions with his second solo single “3D,” according to Big Hit Music. The single “3D” featuring Jack Harlow swept iTunes charts in numerous countries, including the US, the UK, Japan, Canada, and Italy, immediately upon its release on Friday. The instrumental and alternate versions of “3D” also reached No. 2 and No. 3 on iTunes’ Top Songs charts in various countries. The music video f

Sept. 30, 2023