SPAF kicks off with boundary-breaking performances

The Seoul Performing Arts Festival, celebrating its 23rd year, kicks off Friday and runs until Oct. 29 in various venues across Seoul, including the National Theater of Korea, the National Jeongdong Theater of Korea, the ARKO & Daehakro Arts Theater and Yohangza Theater. Nineteen Korean and international productions are set to deliver messages that transcend the boundaries of art and technology, as well as those between nations and regions. "We will introduce works that challenge conven

Oct. 6, 2023

'We overcame together': NCT127 returns on more solid ground

NCT127 seems to have safely survived K-pop's notorious "seven-year curse," although not things didn't go as smoothly as expected. "Reaching our seventh anniversary, it's been a tough year for all of us. Different thoughts and concerns have crossed our minds and we faced many temptations. We even felt lost at times," Taeyong, the group's leader, said during the band's press conference in Seoul on Friday. "It hit me then that NCT127 exists because

Oct. 6, 2023

Korean American actors, directors say 'Koreanness’ made them think more deeply about cinema

BUSAN -- Korean American actors and filmmakers including John Cho, Steven Yeun, Justin Chon and Lee Isaac Chung gathered Friday in the port city of Busan, South Korea, as part of the Busan International Film Festival’s newly established section, “Korea Diasporic Cinema,” which showcases critically acclaimed works by or featuring Korean Americans. The programmer of Asia’s largest film festival said that the festival organizers wanted to delve deeply into Korean Americans&r

Oct. 6, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] ZeroBaseOne to return next month with EP No. 2

Rookie boy band ZeroBaseOne will bring out its second EP on Nov. 6, announced agency WakeOne Entertainment on Friday. The agency uploaded a poster for EP “Melting Point” that showed the nine members as well as the snow field that was featured in the teaser video that was dropped along with its performance at KCON LA 2023 in August. They also appeared in a video clip uploaded the same day, opening up a door onto a snowy field while the melody of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star&rd

Oct. 6, 2023

Stray Kids to release new album 'Rock-Star' on Nov. 10

K-pop's powerhouse band Stray Kids are set to return with a new album next month, JYP Entertainment said Friday. The eight-piece boy group will drop its new album, "樂-Star (Rock-Star)," on Nov. 10, the band's agency announced Friday. The agency also released a prologue video on the group's official social media platforms. "樂," pronounced "rock" in Korean, is a Chinese letter that could mean both joy and music. The new album will mark the group's

Oct. 6, 2023

S. Korean breakdancers eye gold at Asian Games

South Korean breakdance competitors are eyeing the top stop for the Asian Games' first-ever breakdancing competitions, the preliminary round of which kicked off Friday. Two male and two female dancers Kim Heon-woo, Kim Hong-yul, Jeon Ji-ye and Kwon Seong-hui will represent Korea at the dance battle at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. They are stars in the breakdancing world, better known by their stage names -- Wing, Hong 10, Freshbella and Starry, respectively. Two golds are up for

Oct. 6, 2023

TvN’s ‘Unexpected Business’ to return with season 3

Cable channel tvN's reality show "Unexpected Business" is scheduled to return on a bigger scale with shooting overseas for its third season. The upcoming reality show revolves around the two beloved Korean actors, Cha Tae-hyun and Zo In-sung, as supermarket owners, meeting up and talking with the customers. Unlike in the previous seasons, in which Cha and Zo took over stores in remote areas in South Korea, “Unexpected Business 3" was shot in the seaside town of Monterey

Oct. 6, 2023

Netflix to release ‘Daily Dose of Sunshine’ in November

Global streaming service Netflix has announced the release of “Daily Dose of Sunshine," a heartwarming new drama, in early November. Adapted from a 2017 webtoon series of the same title by author Lee Ra-ha, the show presents the story of a young nurse named Jung Da-eun, who is moved from an internal medicine department to a psychiatric clinic. Based on the author’s real-life experiences, the series shows how Da-eun adapts to the new job, unfamiliar patients and work environment

Oct. 6, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“30 Days” (South Korea) Opened Oct. 3 Comedy Directed by Nam Dae-joong Jung-yeol (Kang Ha-neul), an intelligent lawyer, and his wife Nara (Jung So-min), a passionate film producer, see their idyllic newlywed life eventually drive nerdy Jung-yeol and quick-tempered Nara apart. “Dr. Cheon and The Lost Talisman” (South Korea) Opened Sept. 27 Fantasy/Mystery Directed by Kim Seong-sik Fraudulent exorcist Dr. Cheon (Gang Dong-won) meets a new client, You-kyung (Lee Som), who

Oct. 6, 2023

[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