[Today’s K-pop] Red Velvet, aespa team up for Christmas carol

Red Velvet and aespa will jointly release a Christmas carol, according to label SM Entertainment on Monday. The two girl groups will roll out “Beautiful Christmas” on Wednesday in advance of the full release of the label’s winter album “2022 Winter SM Town: SMCU Palace.” The carol will front the album that is due out on Dec. 26. The upcoming single will be full of festivities, as the idols sing of how spending time together with a loved one makes for the best day e

Dec. 12, 2022

[Herald Interview] 'TikTok will be the ultimate entertainment commerce platform'

Soon Ent. is South Korea's top TikTok creator management firm, home to over 140 creators whose total number of followers amounts to 940 million. This includes the nation's No. 2 creator WonJeong, who recently surpassed 50 million followers. He is the only South Korean to reach the milestone other than K-pop supergroup BTS. Soon Ent.'s CEO and founder Park Chang-woo said the company is now looking to expand its global outreach, not just in terms of its creators but also its busines

Dec. 12, 2022

BTS' Jin begins 18 months of military service

BTS member Jin is beginning his military service on Tuesday in one of the northernmost military bases in South Korea. Jin shared a selfie of his short shaved hair on the fan community platform Weverse on Monday in preparation for his 18 months of military service. According to the South Korean military, the boot camp where Jin begins military service is that of the 5th Infantry Division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. Jin will be admitted to the boot camp with around 200 other new soldiers. Aft

Dec. 12, 2022

Which 'Nutcracker' to see this Christmas season?

The iconic ballet “The Nutcracker” returns for year-end magic on the stage this month. This year, one of the most beloved and widely performed classical ballets celebrates its 130th anniversary, first premiering at the Mariinsky Theater in Russia in 1892. Based on the children’s story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” (1816) by German writer Ernst Hofmann, the heroine receives a nutcracker as a Christmas gift from her godfather. On Christmas Eve, she falls asleep

Dec. 12, 2022

Song Joong-ki’s ‘Reborn Rich’ dominates year-end ratings

Cable channel JTBC’s hit drama “Reborn Rich” is on track to becoming one of the most-watched TV shows in South Korea, according to ratings firm Nielsen Korea, Monday. The latest episode, which aired Sunday, recorded a 21.1 percent viewership, becoming the first TV series this year to reach over a 20 percent viewership rating among terrestrial broadcast and cable channels. The highest viewership ratings for cable channel ENA’s megahit legal drama “Extraordinary Attor

Dec. 12, 2022

Korean period thriller tops S. Korea box office for 3rd week

The South Korean period thriller "The Night Owl" has stayed atop the weekend box office for the third time in a row, data showed Monday. The movie topped the box office chart for last weekend beginning Friday, selling about 468,000 tickets, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. The flick has been on top of the weekend chart as well as the daily chart since it opened in South Korean theaters on Nov. 23, amassing 2.52 million viewers. Set in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910),

Dec. 12, 2022

TikTok creators front 58th Daejong Awards

Star TikTok creators brought a fresh new wave to the Daejong International Film Awards as honorary ambassadors of the traditional film fest. The 58th Daejong Awards, also known as the Grand Bell Awards, took place at the New Millennium Grand Theater at Konkuk University in Seoul on Friday night. The night kicked off with a red carpet ceremony where prominent actors and directors including Park Hae-il, Park So-dam and director Kim Han-min were in attendance. Alongside the cineastes were four TikT

Dec. 11, 2022

‘Decision To Leave’ snatches 3 awards at 58th Daejong Film Awards

In an attempt to bring it back to its former glory, the 58th Daejong Film Awards was held Friday in Seoul in a smaller scale with only a few actors in attendance. Film director Park Chan-wook’s Cannes-winning romance-thriller “Decision to Leave” won the most coveted best picture and scenario award at this year’s Daejong Film Awards, also known as the Grand Bell Awards. Park, who is currently working on his next project abroad, delivered his acceptance speech via a voice

Dec. 9, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Taeyang to collaborate with Jimin for solo album: report

  Taeyang of Big Bang and Jimin of BTS will work together for Taeyang's upcoming solo album, according to a local media report on Friday. Jimin will be a featuring artist for one of the songs that is said to be released in January next year. Local media reported last week that the musician will make a comeback as a solo musician, about 5 1/2 years since his third solo full album “White Night.” Taeyang’s label YG Entertainment said “nothing has been confirmed yet&rd

Dec. 9, 2022

[Newsmaker] Big Bang’s T.O.P to fly to moon next year

T.O.P of K-pop boy band Big Bang will be traveling to the moon next year, joining the first civilian moon mission led by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. The eight crew members flying with Maezawa on the “dearMoon” mission are American DJ Steve Aoki, Indian actor Dev Joshi, American YouTuber Tim Dodd, Czech choreographer Yemi A.D., Irish photographer Rhiannon Adam, British photographer Karim Iliya, American filmmaker Brendan Hall and T.O.P of South Korea, Maezawa announced Friday

Dec. 9, 2022

BTS' RM unveils performance video of 1st solo album shot at New York museum

RM, leader of the K-pop supergroup BTS, on Friday released a video of a live performance of tracks off his first individual album at Dia Beacon, a contemporary art museum in New York. The rapper has sung four songs off the album -- the title track "Wild Flower," "Still Life," "Change pt. 2" and "No. 2" --- in the video available on the group's official YouTube channel. RM performed the tracks walking through the museum's maze-like garden and betw

Dec. 9, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Even If This Love Disappears Tonight (Japan) Opened Nov. 30 Romance Directed by Takahiro Miki The movie, based on the novel by the same title by the Japanese author Misaki Ichijo, tells a story of high school students Toru Kamiya (Shunsuke Michieda) and Maori Hino (Riko Fukumoto) who go on a date despite Maori suffering from a condition in which she loses all memory of the previous day upon waking up the next morning. Overcoming such a hurdle, Toru promises Maori as many happy memories as possib

Dec. 9, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] NCT 127 to hit 7 cities in North, Latin America

NCT 127 announced its plans Thursday to visit North and Latin America in January. The band added nine concerts in seven cities in the region, expanding its ongoing international tour. It will take to the stage in Chicago on Jan. 9 and hop over to Houston and Atlanta before flying over to Brazil. The tour will bring it to Santiago, Chile and Bogota, Colombia before the final destination, Mexico City. The nine-member act kicked off its second world tour in Seoul in December last year and has perf

Dec. 8, 2022

[Herald Review] Jazz vocalist Woong San and musicians share message for environment

A jazz concert calling for action to save the environment took place on Nodeul Island, in Yongsan, central Seoul, Wednesday evening. Eleven jazz vocalists teamed up for the Seoul Green Art Festival, which is part of the Green Jazz Movement, led by Woong San. As a major jazz vocalist in the local and international scene for decades, the artist also serves as chair of the Korea Jazz Association. Opening the performance at Live House, Woong San said, “The project started when I thought &lsquo

Dec. 8, 2022

Freedom of Expression Film Festival to screen once blacklisted films

The Korean Film Council will hold the Freedom of Expression Film Festival from Friday until Dec. 18, with local independent film theaters screening 20 films that were blacklisted during previous conservative administrations. The existence of the blacklist came to light in 2016. The 20 films include director Park Chan-wook’s “Joint Security Area” (2000), “The Handmaiden” (2016), director Chung Ji-young’s “National Security” (2012) and movies starrin

Dec. 8, 2022

[Herald Interview] Bidding a 'beautiful farewell' to a painful yet stellar decade

It was in the winter of 2017 when singer-songwriter Saay first witnessed a death in her life. The shock and sorrow were overwhelming, as it was none other than her dearest grandmother. It took Saay three years to embrace the demise of her loved one and sublimate it into writing her song "Interstellar," which starts with the lyrics "I saw death three years ago when my grandma passed away." "I wrote that line in 2020 when I was making my second EP 'FEELosophy.' I

Dec. 8, 2022

[Herald Interview] “My ambition is huge, but there’s one thing I don’t want to change”: Dermot Kennedy

Once Dublin-born Dermot Kennedy walks down the stage and grabs a microphone, his smoldering vocal evokes a whirlwind of emotions, sometimes eruptive, grainy, melancholy, but ironically at peace. His heartfelt, down-to-earth lyrics boldly share the complexities and beautiful sides of life, embracing a light of hope although it may not always a ray of sunshine. Hailing from Ireland, Dermot Kennedy said this intense connection with his listeners and speaking to them through music have always been -

Dec. 7, 2022

'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' 2nd-most searched keyword by S. Korean users in 2022: Google

The title of the mega-hit Korean TV series "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" was the second-most popular search keyword on Google among South Koreans this year, the U.S. tech giant said Wednesday. The legal drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," aired on local cable channel ENA in June and available on Netflix, was just behind "climate change" on the annual trending list in South Korea released by Google. "Ultrashort-term precipitation prediction" came in thi

Dec. 7, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink announces plan for Japan tour

Blackpink will go live in Tokyo and Osaka, announced label YG Entertainment on Wednesday. The company uploaded a poster adding the two cities to its ongoing international tour. The group will hold two concerts each at Tokyo Dome and Kyocera Dome, on April 8-9 and June 3-4, respectively. This expands the Asian leg of its tour to 11 cities and 18 concerts in total. The foursome will perform in Japan for the first time in three years, since its “In Your Area” gig that brought about som

Dec. 7, 2022

Hybe's first Japanese band &Team makes global debut

Hybe's first Japanese idol group &Team has made its long-awaited debut. Hybe Labels Japan, the K-pop juggernaut's Japanese branch, launched its first group &Team on Wednesday. Hybe is known for housing the world's biggest K-pop group BTS. &Team made its official debut on Wednesday with its first album "First Howling: Me." According to Hybe, Bang Si-hyuk, the company's executive producer and founder, took the helm of the album's production. The nine-

Dec. 7, 2022