Oh My Girl to make this summer its golden time

Oh My Girl returned as a full unit for the first time in a year and four months with its ninth mini album “Golden Hourglass” on Monday. “The title of this album is a combination of ‘golden time’ and ‘hourglass.’ Once the sand goes down the hourglass, it does not go back up on its own. But we wanted to convey the meaning that we will make our own golden time by flipping the hourglass because our golden time is now,” said Hyojung, the band's lea

July 25, 2023

BTS' Jungkook lands No.1 spot on Billboard Hot 100

BTS' member Jungkook has taken the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100 chart with the single "Seven (feat. Latto)." The US music publication on Monday released its latest weekly chart data, which showed Jungkook's solo single "Seven (feat. Latto)" led the main singles chart Hot 100. This is the second time a South Korean solo singer has topped the singles chart, following his bandmate Jimin's song "Like Crazy" topped the list in April. "Seven&qu

July 25, 2023

First Filipino K-pop group HORI7ON sets sail

K-pop's first all-Filipino boy band, HORI7ON, arrived in Seoul on Monday, officially embarking on their journey as a global pop group. Debuting under the local agency MLD Entertainment, HORI7ON's seven members -- Vinci, Kim, Kyler, Reyster, Winston, Jeromy and Marcus -- were brought together through Filipino TV audition program "Dream Maker," which was jointly launched by MLD and Filipino TV broadcaster ABS-CBN. They then went through around 100 days of so-called "K-trai

July 24, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] NCT Dream sells 3.65m copies of LP No. 3

   NCT Dream’s third full-length album “ISTJ” sold more than 3.65 million copies in the first week of sales, according to label SM Entertainment on Monday. It is a record for the band and the third-highest in K-pop history, only after Stray Kids’ third LP “5-Star” at 4.61 million and Seventeen’s tenth EP “FML” at 4.59 million. The LP received 4.2 million units in pre-orders. In the meantime, Haechan resumed activities on Monday. He

July 24, 2023

Jung Woo-sung seeks ‘newness in familiarity’ with directorial debut ‘A Man of Reason’

Renowned South Korean actor Jung Woo-sung is making his directoral debut with the action drama film “A Man of Reason,” in which he challenged himself to put a twist on a familiar storyline to express “newness in familiarity.” “At first, people suggested that I just act in the film as the protagonist Soo-hyuk. But after hearing the plot, which has a simple structure and a familiar story ... I thought it could be a good challenge for me to add my own color through dir

July 24, 2023

[Herald Review] Seventeen's extravaganza reembarks with dome tour 'Follow'

For Seventeen, a concert is what completes every chapter of their musical journey. The performance-driven 13-piece K-pop juggernaut don't just bring their music and spirit live to the stage, but enchant the whole space with their phenomenal energy and synchronization on stage. On the shoulders of such a reputation, the band did not disappoint with their latest concert series, "'Follow' to Seoul," held on Friday and Saturday at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul. The

July 24, 2023

NewJeans likely to see 3 songs from 2nd EP on Billboard Hot 100

K-pop girl group NewJeans is making strides in the US, the world's largest music market. According to Ador, the agency which houses NewJeans, all six tracks of the group's second EP, “Get Up,” landed on Spotify US’ Daily Top Song Chart -- “Super Shy” at No. 10, “Cool With You” at No. 16, “New Jeans” at No. 20, “ETA” at No. 22,” “ASAP at No. 25 and “Get Up” at No. 32. This is the first time for a K

July 24, 2023

StayC to drop 3rd EP ‘Teenfresh’ next month

K-pop girl group StayC is releasing its third mini album “Teenfresh” on Aug. 16, according to agency High-Up Entertainment. StayC unveiled a teaser poster of its upcoming album on its official social media account on Monday. The orange-colored poster shows the title of the new album with a message saying “coming soon.” The new album comes six months after the group dropped its fourth single album “Teddy Bear” in February. The single “Teddy Bear” wa

July 24, 2023

National Theater of Korea to present 60 works, including 24 new pieces, next season

The National Theater of Korea is in full-swing preparations to showcase captivating works that blend novelty with tradition for the upcoming season, including a grand-scale musical cantata featuring 300 artists and a traditional concert accompanied by liquor. The artistic directors of three national troupes affiliated with the theater -- the National Changgeuk Company, National Dance Company and National Orchestra -- unveiled the lineup for the 2023-24 program scheduled for Sept. 1 to June 30, 2

July 23, 2023

Webtoon creator, screenwriter Kang Full takes on epic K-superhero project

Making his debut as a screenwriter in upcoming Disney+ action drama series “Moving,” webtoon creator Kang Full exudes confidence in delighting both his devoted webtoon readers and those new to his fictional world with Korean-style superheroes. In 2015, “Moving” started out as an action webtoon series on Daum Webtoon, garnering Kang more than 200 million accumulated reads in Korea. The story revolves around high school students endowed with supernatural powers and their pa

July 23, 2023

BTS’ Jungkook debuts on UK's Official Singles Chart at No. 3

Jungkook of BTS made his successful debut on the UK's Official Singles Chart “Top 100” at No. 3 on Saturday with his solo debut single “Seven.” The Official Singles Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company, based on sales of downloads, CDs, vinyl, audio streams, and video streams. The Official Singles Chart is one of the two most recognized music charts in the world along with the Billboard chart. Jungkook is the K-pop soloist with the second-highest record o

July 23, 2023

[Eye Interview] Pulitzer-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen on HBO's upcoming 'Sympathizer' with Park Chan-wook

The decision to make a television adaptation of his 2016 Pulitzer-winning novel "The Sympathizer” was a double joy for Vietnamese American writer Viet Thanh Nguyen. “It's a thrill for any writer to have their book adapted to the screen, and in my case, a particular thrill because I'm very excited to be working with Park Chan-wook, whose work I've greatly admired even before I wrote the novel,” Nguyen said in an interview with The Korea Herald in June. Powere

July 22, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] 2PM’s Junho drops single before solo Japan tour

  Lee Junho of 2PM will tour Japan on his own for the first time in almost five years, according to JYP Entertainment on Friday. Under the title “Mata Aeru Hi,” or “The Day We Can Meet Again,” the singer and actor will perform at arenas in three cities -- Yokohama this weekend, then Kobe and Nagoya the following two weekends. The final concert will also be broadcast live. Before commencing the tour, the artist on Friday released “Can I,” the main track fr

July 21, 2023

A year on, NewJeans continues to shift K-pop paradigms

NewJeans began their career last summer with the hopes of sharing their timeless music with their listeners. The past year has seen the five-piece group reign supreme on the music charts, both at home and abroad, with its debut EP, "New Jeans," as well as its following singles. The act's four-song debut EP saw its three title songs land on the top of local music charts, marking the biggest girl group entrance into the K-pop scene since Blackpink in 2016. Like a pair of jeans, &quo

July 21, 2023

Series of music, theater festivals to fill the summer

This summer the stage is set for a series of thrilling arts festivals, starting with the Miryang Summer Performing Arts Festival on Friday. As the season unfolds, various other festivals will return every week through the end of August. The 23rd edition of the Miryang Summer Performing Arts Festival will run until July 29 at Miryang Aria and other venues in the small city located in South Gyeongsang Province. The city has a population of about 100,000, but it will temporarily become the nation

July 21, 2023

Hit animation film ‘Blue Giant’ to close 19th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival

Jazz-themed hit Japanese animation “Blue Giant” will close this year’s Jecheon International Music & Film Festival, which kicks off on Aug. 10. Written and illustrated by Shinichi Ishizuka, with music by Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara, the film will be shown in Korea for the first time through the JIMFF. “Blue Giant” follows the story of a student band called Jass, comprised of tenor saxophonist Dai, pianist Sawabe and drummer Tamada, as they pl

July 21, 2023

Stray Kids to headline Lollapalooza Paris on Friday

Stray Kids are headlining Lollapalooza Paris on Friday. The eight-piece boy band will become the first K-pop act to headline the French music festival. Stray Kids are set to take the stage on the first of the three-day run, performing in front of some 65,000 daily concertgoers at the Hippodrome ParisLongchamp in Paris. Other headlining artists include Spanish singer Rosalia on Saturday and American rapper Kendrick Lamar on Sunday. Lollapalooza Paris is the French edition of the annual concert se

July 21, 2023

Blue Planet Future Festival in Busan set for Sept. 1

The Blue Planet Future Festival in Busan, a film and video screening event that aims to raise public awareness of the global environmental change, will kick off on Sept. 1 for a five-day run, featuring 52 films from 19 countries, the event organizer said Friday. Hosted and organized by Global Networks For Blue Planet and supported by the city of Busan, the second edition of BPFF will run under the slogan "Our Only Home.” The event organizer said it hopes for BPFF to work as a platform

July 21, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Barbie” (US) Opened June 19 Comedy/Drama Directed by Greta Gerwig Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) live in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. But, when Barbie discovers a crack in a portal that connects Barbie Land and the real world, she and Ken get a chance to travel to the real world and live among humans. “Insidious: The Red Door” (US) Opened July 19 Horror/Mystery Directed by Patrick Wilson The fifth installment of the "Insi

July 21, 2023

Boy band Mirae drops fresh album 'Boys will be Boys'

Recharged with youthful energy, K-pop band Mirae on Wednesday returned with its fifth EP, "Boys will be Boys." The band held a media showcase event that afternoon in Seoul just before the album release. This marks the seven-member group's return with a new release since with its fourth EP "Ourturn," which had marked the start of the group's new "Boy" series. With "Boys will be Boys," Mirae members said they turned away from the "cosmic fresh

July 20, 2023