Drama ‘King the Land’ criticized for cultural insensitivity

Cable channel JTBC’s latest rom-com series, “King the Land,” has come under fire over its character Prince Samir, with criticisms directed at the show's misleading representation of Arabic culture. Samir -- who is introduced as a prince with an Arabic background -- made his first appearance in the seventh episode of “King the Land” on July 8, surrounded by the women in a club. As Samir was scheduled to visit South Korea to negotiate the import of Korean warplan

July 11, 2023

[Herald Interview] Young Chinese interested in musicals starring Korean idols

K-Musical Market was launched in 2021 with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts Management Service to promote Korean original musicals internationally. The Korean government's hope is that Korean musicals might replicate the achievements of K-pop, movies and dramas. And that hope is not groundless. Musicals account for 75 percent of ticket revenue in the country's performing arts industry and the musical scene is burgeoning with countless bi

July 11, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] EXO’s 7th LP sells over 1.6m copies in pre-orders

The seventh studio album from EXO sold more than 1.6 million units in pre-orders, a record for the band. The LP “Exist” debuted Monday, over two years since the release of its special album “Don’t Fight The Feeling.” Its previous LP was “Obsession” that came out in November 2019. The new album was supposed to be the band’s full-group effort, but Kai will be absent from the promotional activities, as he was unexpectedly summoned to serve his milita

July 10, 2023

EXO returns after 2 year hiatus with 7th LP “Exist”

Legendary K-pop group EXO is back, releasing its seventh studio album “Exist” on Monday. It is the first group effort in over two years since the release of the special album, “Don’t Fight the Feeling.” Prior to its official release, “Exist” had racked up a total of 1.6 million pre-order sales as of Sunday, according to SM Entertainment. The new album is led by the title track “Cream Soda,” which is of the pop dance genre composed with rhythm

July 10, 2023

Attempts to poach popular K-pop artists nothing new

Allegations and controversy surrounding Fifty Fifty continue, but the group is not the first K-pop group to face suspicions over a potential buyout after rising to stardom in the competitive music industry. “Poaching members of a group or attempts to breach their exclusive contracts have been ongoing in the entertainment industry for a long time. These practices have impeded normal business activities, resulting in irreversible consequences for both the company and its artists,” said

July 10, 2023

Netflix to release new zombie-themed project ‘Zombieverse’

Netflix on Monday confirmed that its upcoming action variety program “Zombieverse” will premiere on Aug. 8. The global streaming service, which mesmerized many viewers with its hit zombie-themed projects -- “Kingdom” (2019) and “All of Us Are Dead” (2022), seeks to expand the Korean zombie sensation in variety shows as well. Popular TV directors Park Jin-kyung, who was behind MBC’s iconic entertainment show “My Little Television,” and Moon Sa

July 10, 2023

Jeonju International Sori Festival to highlight array of pansori sounds

A festival featuring the sounds of pansori in 105 performances will kick off in September. The Jeonju International Sori Festival is scheduled to take place at Jeonju Hanok Village as well as 14 cities across North Jeolla Province, from Sept. 15 to 24. “We aim to create a unique program with top-notch performances that cannot be experienced elsewhere,“ said Lee Wang-jun of the festival’s organizing committee during a press conference held in Seoul on Wednesday. Lee added that a

July 9, 2023

Broadcasters experiment with drama release dates, schedules

Responding to the fast-changing environment of the content industry, South Korean broadcasters are changing up drama release schedules. Terrestrial broadcasters SBS and MBC recently announced that they will showcase their upcoming drama projects with a different strategy, parting ways with the traditional schedule in which new episodes are released back-to-back over two consecutive days per week. While many TV channels air new episodes on either Mondays and Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays or

July 9, 2023

Director Uchida Eiji believes B-movies lower hurdle for filmmakers

Uchida Eiji, the Japanese filmmaker who helmed the award-winning “Midnight Swan” (2020), visited this year’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, which kicked off June 29, with the crime black comedy flick, “Life of Mariko in Kabukicho.” The movie's plot follows Mariko, a private investigator who runs a small bar in Shinjuku’s red-light district. One day, she receives a request to find an alien living among the people in Kabukicho. With the help

July 8, 2023

BTS' Jungkook to perform in 'Good Morning America' 2023 Summer Concert Series

Jungkook of K-pop megastar BTS will headline this year's "Good Morning America" Summer Concert Series, an annual summer concert hosted by the famous U.S. morning talk show. The vocalist will open the concert on July 14 at New York's Central Park with "Seven," his first official solo song set to come out earlier that day, the show's broadcaster ABC said on social media Friday (US time). It will be Jungkook's first performance in the annual event as a solo a

July 8, 2023

Infinite joins second-generation boy band comeback rush

K-pop boy band Infinite is returning as a full group this month, amid the rush of veteran boy band comebacks. The band's agency, Infinite Co., on Friday heralded the six-piece's long-awaited comeback for July 31 with a poster in black and gold. The sextet's return comes five years after it released its last album, its third LP "Top Seed," in 2018. This is the first time the group is getting together following its departure from its former agency Woolim Entertainment unde

July 7, 2023

Tomorrow X Together teams up with Jonas Brothers

Tomorrow X Together has unveiled a collaboration with US pop group Jonas Brothers. The K-pop quintet on Friday afternoon dropped its collaborative single with Jonas Brothers, "Do It Like That." The song and its music video was released globally at 1 p.m. The rhythmical dance pop tune gives out summer vibes as it spells out the enchanting feelings of fledgling love. The band, also known as TXT, said via Big Hit Music on Friday that "it will be the best summer song of 2023." &q

July 7, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (US) Opened June 28 Adventure/Action Directed by Danial Rifky The legendary archaeologist Indiana Jones returns, and welcoming him back are his goddaughter Helena and Jurgen Voller, a former Nazi who now works for NASA. Jones heads for another adventure to retrieve a dial that can change history. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (US) Opened June 21 Animation Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos The Multiverse opens up in front of S

July 7, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] TXT tops Oricon chart with 2nd Japan LP

Tomorrow X Together's second Japanese studio album placed atop Oricon’s daily album rankings dated for July 4, according to the chart announced Tuesday. LP “Sweet” also was No. 1 on Line Music’s real-time albums chart, as was the music video for main track “Sugar Rush Ride (Japanese Ver.)” on its weekly music videos chart. Its first LP in Japan, “Still Dreaming” from January 2021, hit the Billboard 200 at No. 173 and landed atop Oricon’s dai

July 6, 2023

BTS' Jimin tops as K-pop soloist on US' Pandora Music

Jimin of the world's biggest K-pop band BTS is setting new records as a Korean solo artist on Pandora Music. Jimin's first breakthrough on the American music streaming platform came on June 27 when he reached 500,000 monthly listeners as the first K-pop soloist to do so. The feat came around three months after his official solo debut in March with his album "Face." The number soared to 594,000 listeners on June 30, surpassing BTS' 571,000 and setting a new all-time high

July 6, 2023

Le Sserafim tops sales among rookie artists in Japan in the first half

Japan's Oricon named Le Sserafim as the nation's top-selling rookie artist of the first half of the year. Oricon, the biggest music chart provider in Japan, on Thursday announced that the five-piece topped album sales among the new artists in the local market dated between Dec. 12 and June 11. Since 2018, Oricon has been releasing the ranking based on the compiled sales of the artist's physical singles and albums, as well as streams, Blu-rays and DVDs. "Le Sserafim logged sal

July 6, 2023

EXO to open pop-up store in Seoul to promote upcoming album

EXO is opening a pop-up store in time for the release of its seventh LP, “EXIST.” According to SM Entertainment on Thursday, EXO’s pop-up store “EXOcial Club -- Cream Soda” will be open from July 11 to Aug. 6 at the D Museum and Understand Avenue in Seoul. The concept of this pop-up store is “Cream Soda,” which is also the name of the title track of EXO’s upcoming LP. There will be a photo zone similar to the “Cream Soda” music video se

July 6, 2023

‘The Hill of the Secrets’ cast attracted to atypical characters

Set in 1996, director Lee Ji-eun’s feature debut film “The Hill of Secrets” follows 12-year-old Myung-eun’s growing pains through her relationships with her family, teacher and friends. Starring actors Moon Seung-a, Kang Gil-woo, Im Seon-woo and Jang Sun, the film vividly depicts the adolescent life of Myung-eun (Moon), who compares her ill-fated family to those of her friends and feels an attachment with her homeroom teacher Ae-ran (Im). She pours all her secrets into he

July 5, 2023

Bucheon film fest shines spotlight on Korean genre films

BUCHEON, Gyeonggi Province – Now in its 27th year, the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival has long held a special place in the hearts of film buffs for the unique experiences it provides – sometimes gruesome, sometimes strange, always different. This year’s festival opened June 29 with Ari Aster’s “Beau is Not Afraid,” and runs for 11 days, presenting 262 films from 51 countries – 109 of which are making their world or international premiere a

July 5, 2023

Empty seats dampen Lim Yun-chan, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra concert

Piano sensation Lim Yun-chan's performance with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra was eagerly anticipated. It was Lim’s first concert with an overseas orchestra in South Korea and the first performance in six months here as the youngest winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition has been traveling around the world. It’s also Switzerland's oldest orchestra’s first return in four years, this time with new artistic director Michael Sanderling. Together, they

July 5, 2023