Veteran director Kwak Kyung-taek takes on new challenges in audio movie ‘Far East’

  Veteran filmmaker Kwak Kyung-taek, best known for directing 2001 box-office hit “Friend,” has taken on new challenges in his new audio movie, “Far East.” “There were challenges that I did not expect. For instance, I had to make sure that the voice of actors who play minor roles do not sound similar to main cast members,” Kwak said in an online press conference Thursday. Also, in action scenes it was not easy directing actors to control their breath i

Sept. 1, 2022

Free BTS concert in Busan faces snowballing concerns

Voices of concern are mounting over a megasized BTS concert in Busan, as problems stemming from an influx of concertgoers remain unresolved ahead of the event’s launch in October. On Oct. 15, under the title "BTS ‘Yet to Come’ in Busan," the K-pop septet will hold a concert in Gijang-gun of Busan as part of an effort to support the coastal city in its bid to host the 2030 World Expo. The seven members of BTS are honorary ambassadors of the 2030 Busan World Expo. Th

Sept. 1, 2022

Spotify’s Korean hip-hop playlist rebranded as ‘KrOWN’

Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming platform, has rebranded its flagship Korean hip-hop playlist “K-Hip-Hop+82” to “KrOWN,” the company said Wednesday. K-Hip-Hop +82 was first launched in April 2017 as Spotify’s first-ever editorial playlist focusing on South Korea’s East-meets-West music. The playlist on the platform presents the latest and most famous Korean hip-hop tracks on the playlist. The word is a coined term combining “Korea,&r

Sept. 1, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] SHINee’s Key tops iTunes chart in 23 regions with 2nd solo LP

    Key of SHINee landed atop the iTunes top albums chart in 23 regions with his second solo studio album. The LP “Gasoline” consists of 11 tracks including the titular track, which compares the explosive power of fuel to Key making his own way without hesitation, to an addictive hip-hop beat. The veteran idol wrote the words himself. The LP is his first solo work since first EP “Bad Love” that ranked No. 1 on iTunes top albums chart in 32 regions. His firs

Aug. 31, 2022

Hit film directors say copyright law must change for K-movies' global success

Members of the Directors Guild of Korea on Wednesday gathered at the National Assembly Members' Office Building to talk about why the current Copyright Act should be revised for fair remuneration of filmmakers’ work and Korean movies' further global success. The event was jointly hosted by the DGK and Yoo Jung-ju, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea. At the beginning of the meeting, director Park Chan-wook, who is currently in Los Angeles, joined via videoconference to show his su

Aug. 31, 2022

[Herald Review] SM Town Live in Tokyo: SM Entertainment’s yearslong milestone

TOKYO -- Under the starry, lofty dome of Japan’s largest concert venue, it was made crystal clear during a concert that ran over four hours with a whopping 41-song setlist: SM Entertainment, one of Korea’s largest entertainment agencies, has not only successfully recaptured the spirit of its early heydays, but also embodied the pinnacle of collective power made possible by bringing together various music genres. The label’s joint label concert, dubbed "SMTown Live 2022 :

Aug. 31, 2022

'Attorney Woo' makers Astory stress importance of IP at BCWW 2022

Broadcast Worldwide 2022, an annual event showcasing South Korean content and insights to the broadcast industry around the world, kicked off its three-day run at Art Hall 1 and 2 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Jung-gu, Seoul. With its two previous events held in online, BCWW was excited to welcome the industry insiders and visitors. Wednesday’s opening day event began with a session on the power and future of K-contents, featuring Lee Sang-baek, CEO of Astory, the production company behind

Aug. 31, 2022

Making irregular the regular: NCT 127 on crafting own sonic identity

  In the cutthroat K-pop industry, many bands throw their glitzy hats into the ring with elements that make up the so-called “idol sound,” high production value with catchy hooks sung by camera-ready idols. But NCT 127 did it in a way nobody has ever done before. Short for Neo Culture Technology, NCT was formed under SM Entertainment in 2016 in a bid to produce an endless number of international boy bands under the NCT umbrella. It’s currently the biggest group in the mu

Aug. 31, 2022

Lang Lang reinterprets Disney music in new album

As The Walt Disney Company celebrates 100 years, pianist Lang Lang is set to release “The Disney Book,” which contains 27 songs from the entertainment giant’s iconic films. 　Speaking to Korean reporters on Tuesday in an online interview, Lang Lang said the project took him several years as he and his production team tried to make sure the new arrangement would be on par with the music of great composers like Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and so on. 　“I always w

Aug. 31, 2022

Super rookie group Ive gains ground in cutthroat K-pop industry

Surviving the cutthroat K-pop industry is a daunting challenge for any group. It has been about nine months since rookie girl group Ive began its musical career, and the six-piece act not only surviving, but thriving in the K-pop scene. According to Aug. 22-28 data from local album sales tracker Hanteo Chart published Monday, Ive sold 924,363 copies of its third single "After Like" in the first week of its release. While first-week sales tallies usually indicate the size and loyalty

Aug. 31, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s “Pink Venom” debuts on Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 22

Blackpink’s single “Pink Venom” hit Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 22, according to the publication on Monday in the US.  This is the highest spot for a K-pop female act, although the group’s collaboration with Selena Gomez, “Ice Cream,” ranked No. 13 on the chart in 2020. The previous record holder was Blackpink’s “How You Like That” at No. 33. “Pink Venom” is the pre-release from the quartet’s upcoming second stu

Aug. 30, 2022

150,000 flock to 'SMTown Live' in Tokyo

K-pop giant SM Entertainment on Monday closed the curtains to its joint label concert "SMTown Live 2022 : SMCU Express @Tokyo" in a huge success, with the three-day show attracting 150,000 live fans in Tokyo. Held as part of the K-pop label's world concert tour, "SMTown Live 2022," the event took place at Tokyo Dome in the Japanese capital between Saturday-Monday. This marks the return of the K-pop concert series to Tokyo in three years since it was last held in 2019, prior

Aug. 30, 2022

Music worth a listen: Key on his 2nd LP ‘Gasoline’

  To make the case that his presence is the one and only and greatest of all time in the cutthroat K-pop industry, Key of boy band Shinee welcomed the beauty of the new season with his second LP, “Gasoline,” released Tuesday evening. This marks a return for the singer-turned-soloist nearly 11 months since he dropped his first EP, “Bad Love,” in September 2021. It is also his first full-length studio album since his first LP, “Face,” in November 2018. &

Aug. 30, 2022

‘Kim Min-young of the Report Card,’ an independent film about high school friendship

  Some people say you make your lifelong friends in high school, while others say it is only normal for high school friends to drift apart later in life. The new Korean independent film “Kim Min-young of the Report Card” deals with the topic realistically. Co-directed by Lee Jae-eun and Lim Ji-sun, the film centers around a girl name Jeong-hee (Kim Joo-ah) who has two best friends -- Min-young (Yoon Ah-jung) and Soosanna (Son Da-hyun). Jeong-hee goes to Min-young’s house

Aug. 30, 2022

Not the ‘Little Women’ you know from the novel

Inspired by American author Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 coming-of-age novel of the same title, tvN drama series “Little Women” seeks to bring a different taste to the story loved around the world. “I imagined the 'little women' from the novel coming to South Korea. We start off by presenting the money problem, a harsh reality that many viewers can easily relate to, and the story ends with a huge twist that will exceed all expectations,” director Kim Hee-won, who was p

Aug. 30, 2022

Mamamoo’s first subunit to release single ‘Better’

Mamamoo+, K-pop quartet Mamamoo’s first subunit, will release its first single, “Better” at 6 p.m. on Tuesday via online streaming sites. The duo consists of Solar and Moonbyul. According to the duo’s label RBW, “Better” is a romantic song about the comfort of being with a loved one. It features the bandmates’ refreshing vocals. as well as rapper Big Naughty as a featured artist. The subunit’s name is meant to denote that the members will continue

Aug. 30, 2022

Rocket Punch hopes to become ‘rising stars’ with 2nd single ‘Flash’

K-pop girl group Rocket Punch on Monday returned with the new single “Flash.” Ahead of dropping “Flash,” Rocket Punch conducted an online media press conference Monday afternoon. The second single from Rocket Punch, “Flash” marks a return for the group just six months since the act dropped its fourth EP, “Yellow Punch,” in February. Rocket Punch is a six-piece group consisting of Yeonhee, Juri, Yunkyung, Sohee, Suyun and Dahyun. “We&rsqu

Aug. 30, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] NCT127 announces world tour plans

NCT127 will extend its second world tour to North America and South America, as well as to more cities in Asia, announced label SM Entertainment on Monday. 　 The band kicked off its tour “Neo City – The Link” in Seoul in December. It performed in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya in Japan, as well as in Singapore. In September, it will head to Manila, the Philippines, and in October, begin the US leg of the tour, landing in Los Angeles first. More destinations in Latin America and Asia

Aug. 29, 2022

‘Min Hee-jin Effect’: How the K-pop mastermind and NewJeans are doing things differently

Min Hee-jin, CEO of label Ador (All Doors One Room), in 2010 said in an interview with a local media outlet that “physical CDs are no longer something to be heard but seen,” because “it’s through the CD covers that the consumer meets new music.” Then the manager of SM Entertainment’s visual directing team, Min shared her strategy to overcome the drop in physical album sales. As visual director, Min not only designed the album cover and styles, but she turned

Aug. 29, 2022

Chamber Orchestra of Europe, pianist Kim Sun-wook to take stage in November

Korean concert pianist Kim Sun-wook will join forces with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, this time led by conductor Kirill Karabits, to bring the 18th and 19th German and Austrian music to Korea in November. On Nov. 5, the London-based orchestra and Kim will perform Schubert Overture in the Italian Style, D.59, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 37, and Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4, Op. 90. It is an all-Beethoven program on Nov. 8 with Coriolan Overture Op. 62,Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 58

Aug. 29, 2022