London East Asia Film Festival to retrospect auteur Chung Ji-young’s works

The 2023 London East Asia Film Festival will cover the 40-year career of auteur Chung Ji-young, introducing his eight representative films to European audiences next month. The eighth edition of the festival will celebrate the director's career spanning across decades and retrospect his filmography, making it the first such event covering Chung’s works. LEAFF said the special exhibition will be part of the major section during the 12-day event. Chung will attend to introduce his works

Sept. 7, 2023

[Herald Interview] 'Making harmony is the same' both for Korean and Western classsical music: Year Ja-kyung

South Korean conductor Year Ja-kyung recently ventured into a new sphere of music when she took the baton for the National Orchestra of Korea, a musical ensemble that specializes in traditional Korean music, on Sept. 1. Year was the inaugural artist in NOK's "Discovery," a series that delves into traditional Korean orchestral masterpieces from the perspective of accomplished conductors who have built their own unique musical worlds. "I realized gugak has become something quit

Sept. 7, 2023

'Grimento' explores shadows of school bullying through contemporary dance

A heavy sense of suspense hangs in the air. While everyone remains seated upright in their chairs, their gazes fixed straight ahead, one figure alone brazenly perches on a desk, scanning the room like a predator. He then reclines in the chair. With a casual flick of his arm, the other chairs collapse. He continues to contort his body with an impending threat. Titled “Grimento,” a contemporary dance performance is set to wrap up this year’s 12-part Sejong Center’s summer c

Sept. 6, 2023

DKZ's Jaechan debuts solo with 'JCFactory'

Jaechan from K-pop group DKZ officially made his solo debut Wednesday with "JCFactory," an album packed with self-written songs. "I'm debuting solo after 4 1/2 years. I feel both nervous and excited right now. I hope I can show a new side of myself," the singer-songwriter said Wednesday, during a media event held in Seoul a few hours ahead of the album's release at 6 p.m. that day. Jaechan's first solo EP, "JCFactory" is a collection of five songs mai

Sept. 6, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Enhypen tops Oricon chart with Japan single

Enhypen’s third single in Japan headed straight to the top of Oricon’s daily single ranking, said agency Belift Lab on Wednesday. Single “結 – You –” sold over 270,000 copies on the first day, easily surpassing that of previous single “Dimension: Senkou.” It consists of three tracks: new song “Blossom,” as well as the Japanese-language version of “Bite Me” and “Bills” from its fourth EP, “Dark Blood,”

Sept. 6, 2023

Hwasa drops digital single ‘I Love My Body’

K-pop diva Hwasa returned with a solo drop for the first time in two years with the new digital single “I Love My Body" Wednesday. It comes after Hwasa’s second single album, “Guilty Pleasure,” and it is her first release under her new agency, P Nation. Hwasa joined P Nation, which is led by K-pop veteran Psy, in June after her exclusive contract with RBW Entertainment came to an end. “I Love My Body,” of the soul-pop genre, has a dash of the 808 bass sou

Sept. 6, 2023

Late singer, actor's final film ‘Persona: Sulli’ to be released this year

The film “Persona: Sulli” featuring late singer and actor Sulli will be released this year, according to Mystic Story. The film’s production company Mystic Story dropped the main poster of “Persona: Sulli” on Wednesday, showing the actress looking downwards in a red outfit. The film is divided into two parts. The first part of the film is a short film called “4: Clean Island” created by directors Hwang Soo-ah and Kim Jee-hye. The short film is about a ma

Sept. 6, 2023

Kang Ha-neul, Jung So-min reunite as couple with amnesia in ‘30 Days’

Actors Kang Ha-neul and Jung So-min have reunited in upcoming romantic comedy “30 Days” as a couple with amnesia going through a comical divorce. "30 Days" revolves around Jung-yeol (Kang), an intelligent lawyer, and his wife Nara (Jung), who works in the film industry as a passionate producer. Despite their initial cute, idyllic newlywed life, the quirks that made them fall in love with each other eventually drive nerdy Jung-yeol and quick-tempered Nara apart. They agree t

Sept. 6, 2023

Seventeen to attract over 500,000 fans in Japan with 'Follow' dome tour

K-pop band Seventeen is set to meet over 500,000 fans in Japan with its new concert tour, "Follow," which will kick off at the Tokyo Dome on Wednesday, the country's biggest dome venue. "Follow" is Seventeen's second dome venue tour in Japan, which will start with a two-day run at the Tokyo Dome. With its latest concert series, the 13-piece band is set to hold a total of 12 shows in five Japanese cities. Following Tokyo, the band will head to Saitama where it will c

Sept. 6, 2023

[Herald Interview] Queen of performance Lee Chaeyeon says dance is what defines her

K-pop performance queen Lee Chaeyeon wanted to show her true self in her first single album, “The Move: Street,” which will be released Wednesday. “After the success of my previous single, ‘Knock,’ I contemplated what to present next. I figured the public would love me the most if I showed my true self. In that sense, I put more emphasis on 'dance.' The message of the title track, 'Let’s Dance' is to enjoy the moment by dancing freely with

Sept. 6, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink tops iTunes chart in 30 regions with game OST

Blackpink landed atop the iTunes top songs chart in 30 regions with its theme song for a mobile game, according to label YG Entertainment on Tuesday. Single “The Girls” hit Spotify’s daily top songs chart at No. 45 as well. Jennie and Rose participated in writing the words and melody for the song that encourages listeners to live in independent and courageous way. The music video for the song generated over 21 million views on YouTube, although it only features three-dimension

Sept. 5, 2023

Actor Song Kang-ho to host this year’s Busan International Film Festival

This year’s Busan International Film Festival, Asia’s largest film festival, will be hosted by actor Song Kang-ho amid the absence created by the resignations of the festival executive director and chairperson in May. On Tuesday, the BIFF announced that Song will fill in as the host, adding that renowned actors and filmmakers such as Luc Besson, Shunji Iwai, Hirokazu Koreeda, Fan Bingbing and Youn Yuh-jung and Chow Yun-fat will attend the festival. Chow Yun-fat was announced as the r

Sept. 5, 2023

FNC to debut new boy group next year

FNC, the agency behind popular K-pop groups SF9 and P1Harmony, will launch a new boy group next year. The agency made the announcement Tuesday, heralding of a new idol group for the first time in almost four years since the 2020 debut of P1Harmony. "We're launching a new boy group to lead the next generation of K-pop. The band will be a seven-piece group consisting of members each boasting outstanding talents and unique charms," FNC said in its statement on Tuesday. FNC Entertainm

Sept. 5, 2023

Rookie group Boynextdoor hopes to mature with fans

Rookie group Boynextdoor hopes to flourish and grow with its fans, upon the release of its first EP "Why.." on Monday. "Whatever music we do, we hope to sing to empathize. That's why we aspire to attempt all possible genres through which we could voice different emotions. We hope to become a group that matures with our fans," Jaehyun said at a press conference on Monday. The next step of Boynextdoor's odyssey of growth began with the new album, "Why..," wh

Sept. 5, 2023

SM’s new boy group Riize ready to rise and shine

Riize, the first K-pop boy group that SM has launched in seven years, made its grand debut on Monday. The seven-member group was produced by SM Wizard Production, one of SM’s five production companies, that is in charge of the labels housing popular boy groups Super Junior and EXO. “We combined the words ‘rise’ and ‘realize’ to come up with the name of the group. It’s a team that realizes dreams through continuous development,” Lee Sang-min, direct

Sept. 5, 2023

‘A Time Called You’ to recreate iconic series in its own way

“A Time Called You” director Kim Jin-won and actors Jeon Yeo-been, Ahn Hyo-seop and Kang Hoon are confident that the series' remake will be worth watching in its own right. Kim, who was a fan of the original Taiwanese series, “Someday or One Day,” said that balancing new changes in the remake with the original elements was his greatest challenge. “After hearing that a remake of ‘Someday or One Day’ would be made in Korea, I actually didn't wa

Sept. 5, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Ive to return with 1st EP in October

Ive will make a comeback with first EP “I’ve Mine” on Oct. 13, announced agency Starship Entertainment on Monday. The album will feature three focus tracks – “Either Way,” “Off The Record” and “Baddie.” The three songs will be rolled out one by one, starting with “Either Way” on Sept. 25, “Off The Record” on Oct. 6 and the last along with the full album. The EP comes about six months after its first full album &

Sept. 4, 2023

[Herald Review] Young K returns to stage with 'Letters with notes' after 2-year hiatus

Young K welcomed fall with his fans through his first standalone solo concert held at a university campus in Seoul. The concert venue was humble, but accentuated the romantic and youthful vibe that the artist was aiming to convey. Young K kicked off his solo concert with “waited,” one of the side tracks in his first full-length album “Letters with notes” which dropped on Monday. “The opening to today’s set list is also the first track in my new album. While wo

Sept. 4, 2023

Fifty Fifty's agency to launch new girl group next year

Attrakt, the company behind the beleaguered girl group Fifty Fifty, is gearing up to debut a new female team next year through an audition show. "Attrakt is kicking into a new project to nurture a new girl group. All the members of the group will be selected through an audition show, and the whole process will be made public," the company said in a statement, adding it aims to debut the group next year. While not much has been unveiled so far, Attrakt said the main point of its new aud

Sept. 4, 2023

Stray Kids ranks second in album sales in US

K-pop boy band Stray Kids has ranked second in the US in terms of album sales so far this year, the band's company, JYP Entertainment said Monday, citing Chart Data, one of the most credible music data sites online. Taylor Swift ranked in the number one position. Stray Kids' latest release, its third full-length album "5-Star," was the most-sold K-pop album this year, JYP Entertainment added. The group's EP, "Maxident," from last year also landed at the tenth s

Sept. 4, 2023