[BTS' 10th] 2013-2023: A walk through 10 years of BTS

BTS started off as a hip-hop group on a small label in 2013. In the decade since, the group has grown into a global sensation, not just as musicians, but as speakers for youth. Here, we take a brief look into the years since their debut. 2013: Bulletproof Boys In 2013, BTS debuted with Big Hit Entertainment with their first single, "2 Cool 4 Skool." Their name was short for "Bulletproof Boys," referring to the band's aspiration to "shield themselves from the preju

June 11, 2023

[Herald Review] ‘The Childe’ signals Kim Seon-ho’s return to golden age

Director Park Hoon-jung, who helmed one of the most-loved Korean noir action films “New World” (2013), said he didn’t want any other actor except Kim Seon-ho for the starring role in “The Childe.” This is Kim's first major starring film role since a scandal in 2021. Watching the film at a press screening on Thursday, it was easy to see why Park chose Kim for the role. Far removed from Kim’s roster of attractive, charming male lead roles the audience is us

June 11, 2023

[Herald Interview] Ra Mi-ran feels she could not ask for more from 'The Good Bad Mother'

When veteran actress Ra Mi-ran walked in for an interview with a group of local reporters at a cafe in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul on Thursday, the traces of her latest character, Jin Young-soon, were long gone. Sporting a platinum blonde hairstyle for her upcoming project and speaking in a low tone, she appeared to have metamorphosed from her role as the rural pig farmer and single mother of “The Good Bad Mother.” The actress, who has starred in more than 60 projects -- including mus

June 11, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“The Roundup: No Way Out” (South Korea) Opened May 31 Action Directed by Lee Sang-yong Seven years after the roundup in Vietnam, Ma Seok-do (Don Lee) joins a new squad to investigate a murder case. He soon starts to dig deeper when he finds out the case involves a synthetic drug and a gang of thugs. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” (US) Opened June 6 Action Directed by Steven Caple Jr. Optimus Prime and the Autobots take on their biggest challenge yet. When a new thre

June 10, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Twice’s Jihyo to drop solo album in August

Jihyo of Twice will bring out her first solo album in August, announced label JYP Entertainment on Friday. She will be the second member of the nine-member group to do so, after Nayeon. A new poster showed her touching up her lipstick in a rear view mirror, revealing the owner of the hand on the wheel from the mysterious teaser poster that only said “Killin’ Me Good.” The group is slated to tour the US for about a month, starting in Los Angeles on Friday, hitting nine cities f

June 9, 2023

[Herald Interview] Violinist Kim Bomsori on Go and her nickname, "competition hunter"

It is true that the name "Bomsori" holds the beautiful meaning of "spring sound" in Korean and is quite rare to come across, but it is not the sole reason why violinist Kim Bomsori stands out. A recent email interview with Kim reveals what truly makes the 32-year-old violinist special. She fell in love with the string instrument at the age of five when she was mesmerized by the sound of Korean violinist Chung Kyung-wha’s performance, even though it didn’t take l

June 9, 2023

Star-studded ‘War and Revolt’ confirms Netflix production

The star-studded Netflix film “War and Revolt” confirmed its cast, the first project between award-winning auteur Park Chan-wook and the global contents streaming platform. According to Netflix Korea, this periodic film will star Gang Dong-won, who will play the servant Cheon-young of Jong-ryeo (Park Jung-min). Later, Cheon-young becomes a military officer of the Joseon-era King Seonjo (Cha Seung-won) and encounters Jong-ryeo again. The film will portray the friendship between Jong-r

June 9, 2023

BTS drops 10th anniversary song 'Take Two'

K-pop stars BTS on Friday have dropped a new song, "Take Two," in celebration of its 10th anniversary. The song was released at 1 p.m. on Friday through global music platforms. It marks the first new release from the band in around a year since it unveiled its ninth anniversary anthology album, "Proof," in June 2022. "Themed around 'take two,' which means chapter two, the song signifies BTS' second chapter and embodies the band's gratitude towards the fans and its promis

June 9, 2023

[Herald Interview] Versatile conductor Lahav Shani's golden triangle of inspiration

On June 19, 2016, Lahav Shani made his debut with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra as conductor of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique." Two months later, he was appointed as the chief conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra to lead it as its youngest conductor from September 2018. On the same date this year, Shani will lead the orchestra to perform the Symphony “Pathetique” for a Korean audience -- the symphony with which he made his first encounte

June 9, 2023

‘The Roundup: No Way Out’ becomes 4th-highest-grossing film globally

South Korean crime action franchise “The Roundup: No Way Out” starring Don Lee, also known as Ma Dong-seok, has become the fourth-highest-grossing film globally by raking in $25.3 million in ticket sales just 10 days after the movie’s opening. According to global box office ranking data aggregator comScore, the third installment of the Korean action franchise ranked fourth globally as of Wednesday. The film has opened not only in South Korean theaters but also in Hong Kong, Mac

June 9, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] TXT to return in July: report

Tomorrow X Together will drop a digital single in July, according to a local media report on Thursday. Label Big Hit Music confirmed that it is preparing to release a new song next month, following the report. The single comes about six months after its fifth EP “The Name Chapter: Temptation” that debuted atop the Billboard 200, a first for the band. The mini album is staying on the chart for 18 weeks in a row, the longest run for the quintet, tying the record BTS set for a K-pop ma

June 8, 2023

The New Six brings back '90s K-pop vibe

The New Six, also known as TNX, returned with their third mini album, “BOYHOOD,” which has a 1990s vibe through and through from the concept photos to their dance moves for the title track, “Kick It 4 Now.” “For this Y2K-inspired album, we looked into a lot of reference clips. Then we found pop duo Deux’s music video for their track ‘In Summer’ and we studied it a lot. They were very trendy and sensational,” said Sungjun of The New Six during

June 8, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] NCT to host 1st group concerts in August, September

NCT will hold its first offline concerts as a group in Korea and Japan, SM Entertainment announced Wednesday. Under the title “NCT Nation: To the World,” the full unit will perform in Incheon on Aug. 26 and in Japan's Osaka and Tokyo on Sept. 9-10 and 16-17, respectively. NCT is expected to bring out a full-group album later this year. Its second studio album “Resonance Pt. 1” made it to No. 6 on the Billboard 200 in 2020 and combined with “Resonance Pt. 2” s

June 7, 2023

French visionary Preljocaj's ballet 'Swan Lake' brings ecological narrative to timeless classic

French modern ballet choreographer Angelin Preljocaj brings his new take on the canonical classical ballet “Swan Lake” to the LG Arts Center from June 22-25. Preljocaj’s rendition of “Swan Lake” premiered in France in October 2020 as the visionary choreographer’s third production of narrative ballet, following “Romeo and Juliet” (1996) and “Snow White” (2008). Dancer-choreographer Preljocaj has been at the forefront of contemporary ball

June 7, 2023

Marking 20th year, Music In PyeongChang to highlight nature through classical music

Music in PyeongChang, an annual music festival held in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, will return to the theme of nature to celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. In 2004, the festival was inaugurated under the theme of “nature’s inspiration.” From July 26 to Aug. 5, the festival will showcase 20 concerts and eight outreach concerts with pieces such as Schumann's "Forest Scenes," Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons," and Schubert's "Trout Quin

June 7, 2023

‘His Man’ to return with season 2

Local streaming service Wavve on Tuesday confirmed the return of its popular reality dating show “His Man” with a second season. “His Man,” which premiered in July 2022, was South Korea’s first gay dating reality show. The 11-part series initially caught many viewers’ attention with its cast of gay male participants, the first ever in a dating reality show. As their romances developed, the couples' stories were seen as more real and sincere than any other

June 7, 2023

Major 2nd generation boy groups will return to K-pop scene

A number of familiar faces will return to the K-pop scene in the second half of the year. Some of the major second-generation K-pop boy groups poised to make a comeback starting this month include Teen Top, Infinite, U-Kiss and SHINee. Among them, SHINee will be the front runner, making its comeback on June 26 with its eighth studio album “HARD.” This album comes after more than two years since the group's last one. SHINee is celebrating its 15th debut anniversary this year wit

June 7, 2023

Woo Do-hwan, Lee Sang-yi unite for action-packed ‘Bloodhounds’

Woo Do-hwan and Lee Sang-yi band together against ruthless loan sharks in the upcoming Netflix original series “Bloodhounds,” the first series project by director Jason Kim, who helmed “Midnight Runners” (2017) and “The Divine Fury” (2019). In the eight-part series, Woo and Lee star as young boxers Gun-woo and Wop-jin, respectively, who seek to take down Myung-gil (Park Sung-woong). Myung-gil preys on the financially desperate, following an unfortunate inciden

June 7, 2023

Australian BTS fans in Seoul to celebrate group's 10th anniversary

Dressed in colorful hanbok, 28 BTS fans shouted out loud “BTS, we love you” as they posed for a group photo at Changdeokgung in Seoul on Wednesday. As members of the BTS fandom, Army, the fans from Australia are in South Korea as part of a special tour hosted by the Korea Tourism Organization to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the K-pop megastars' debut. Under the name “BTS Road,” the tour will focus on following in BTS' footsteps, visiting locations that hold special s

June 7, 2023

'Dynamite' tops 1.7 b YouTube views to become most-watched BTS MV

The music video of K-pop superband BTS' 2020 megahit single "Dynamite" has topped 1.7 billion YouTube views, becoming the most-viewed music video by the boy group, its agency said Tuesday. The "Dynamite" music video surpassed the threshold on YouTube at 8:37 p.m. on Monday, becoming the first music video by BTS to achieve the feat, BigHit Music said. "Dynamite" is an upbeat disco pop song carrying a message of hope. It was released in August 2020 in the depth

June 6, 2023