[Feature] Is K-pop’s ‘universe’ building still worth it?

In recent years, K-pop idols have vied to create unique concepts with distinctive background stories. To help their acts stand out from the ever-growing crowd of K-pop groups, local entertainment agencies have been cudgeling their brains over making overarching concepts, creating so-called “universes.” Under such concepts, groups weave unique, attractive narratives for their images and albums when making a debut or comeback. The word “universe” originally stems from th

Aug. 24, 2022

BTS concert for Busan Expo bid will host 100,000 attendees

K-pop sensation BTS is holding a concert in Busan on Oct. 15 in support of the city‘s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. The event, titled “BTS 'Yet To Come' in Busan,” will take place on Oct. 15 in Gijang-gun, Busan, as part of the septet’s activities as the honorary ambassadors of the international event, according to a statement released by the act’s label Big Hit Music on Wednesday. “Yet To Come” is the title of BTS’ latest single from the band

Aug. 24, 2022

Rebranded MAMA to take place in Osaka at end-Nov.

The Mnet Asian Music Awards, or MAMA, the biggest annual music awards ceremony in the K-pop industry, will be held in Japan this year. The show‘s organizer CJ ENM has rebranded it as the “MAMA AWARDS.” The newly named event will take place at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan over two days, starting Nov. 29. The event will also be streamed live through global platforms, including YouTube, according to CJ ENM, on Wednesday. Japan has been the world’s second-largest music marke

Aug. 24, 2022

NewJeans’ ‘Cookie’ hit by claims of sexualizing teen members

“Cookies I made. It’s so soft (what?) I keep thinking of you (ayy)”; “If you want it, you can get it”; “(Keep) looking at my cookie. The scent is different (taste it), one bite is not enough (uh)”; “Take it, don’t break it, I wanna see you taste it.” These are few lines from girl group NewJeans’ debut lead single “Cookie,” which, according to the group’s agency Ador, is a song for fans “made with a sincer

Aug. 24, 2022

[Herald Interview] Park Eun-bin prepared like student for ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’

Entering a cafe in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, Park Eun-bin greeted the group of reporters with the same smile from the last scene of her hit TV series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” But the 29-year-old actor, in her low-pitched voice, let reporters know she was not Woo Young-woo, and shared how proud she was to have completed her long journey with the 16-part courtroom series. “I studied like a student preparing for an exam. I tried to memorize the script by writing down the

Aug. 24, 2022

‘Street Man Fighter’ to revive dance fever with male crews’ fiercer competition

After seeing phenomenal success with last year’s “Street Woman Fighter,” South Korean cable channel Mnet has returned with another dance competition program featuring one of the most talented male dancers in the country. Dubbed “Street Man Fighter,” the program will feature eight top-tier dance crews spanning a wide-range of dance genres such as hip-hop, krump and choreography. The teams will pit against one another through missions and battles to win the title of

Aug. 23, 2022

Jarasum Jazz Festival returns in full swing

After two pandemic-ridden years of online and scaled-back performances, the country‘s biggest jazz festival is set to return in October. The three-day Jarasum Jazz Festival will kick off on Oct. 1 on Jara Island, Gyeonggi Province, with 19 international performers and 13 Korean acts participating in the jazz-filled program. The 19th edition of the festival will open with singer Kim Hyun-chul, four-member keyboard band Hardpiano, jazz trio Winter To Spring and newcomers jazz vocalist Cho

Aug. 23, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink makes new record with “Pink Venom” music video

Blackpink broke its own record with the music video for “Pink Venom” on YouTube, according to the platform’s official tally. 　 The video logged 90.4 million views in 24 hours when it was unveiled on Friday, surpassing the record it set with the music video for “How You Like That” that amassed 86.3 million views. This is a record for a music video from a female artist, and the third-highest in the world. 　 The video for the pre-release from its upcoming second stu

Aug. 23, 2022

Yoo Ah-in returns with ‘Seoul Vibe,’ a movie full of hip-hop music, retro fashion

Movie star Yoo Ah-in is returning with Netflix’s “Seoul Vibe,” a film full of old hip-hop music and retro-inspired fashion. Directed by Moon Hyun-sung, “Seoul Vibe” revolves around talented driver Dong-wook (Yoo) who forms a team with his hipster friends to investigate the slush fund of a former president during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The film includes car chase scenes in Seoul as well as old-school hip-hop and Korean pop music. “It is a fun and brainless

Aug. 23, 2022

CIX delves into essence of love in ‘OK Not’

Boy band CIX has rounded out the summer by finally deciphering the code to its “OK” series. The quintet dropped its 5th EP “OK’ Episode 1: OK Not” on Monday evening. This marks the boy band’s first return to the local music world since the release of its first LP “‘Ok’ Prologue: Be OK” in August 2021. “We’ve poured all we got into this project because it’s been a year since we last released an album. From settling

Aug. 22, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s new single tops Spotify chart

   　 Blackpink’s single “Pink Venom” topped Spotify’s global top 50 chart upon release and maintained the spot on the following day, a first for a K-pop artist, according to YG Entertainment. 　 It was streamed over 7.93 million times on the first day on the platform. 　 “How You Like That,” the main track from the band’s first studio album, “The Album,” charted at No. 2 in 2020. 　 “Pink Venom” is a prerelease from

Aug. 22, 2022

Pianist Paik Kun-woo returns with music of Granados

Pianist Paik Kun-woo, who is known for focusing on one composer at a time, is set to bring the music of Spanish composer Enrique Granados to the stage. In an Oct. 8 recital at Seoul Arts Center, Paik will perform works by Granados, a composer who is not well-known in Korea. They include “Goyescas, Op. 11,” “Los Requiebros,” “Coloquio en la Reja,” “El Fandango de Candil,” “Quejas, o la Maja y el Ruisenor,” “El Amor y la Muerte:

Aug. 22, 2022

[Newsmaker] Sadness overload: the tricky art of ‘sinpa’ tear-jerkers

When Netflix‘s “Squid Game” became an international hit last year, Korean critics praised how the show’s emotional aspects helped its success among western audiences. Just a year later, the star-studded “Emergency Declaration,” one of the most anticipated films of 2022, went down in flames, obliterated by fans and critics alike, with criticism directed at its supposed tear-jerking moments. Comparing the differing responses these two received resurfaced a dec

Aug. 22, 2022

[Feature] Enter stage right: Musical theatre holds opportunities for K-pop idols

  Over the past few years, K-pop idols have been expanding their horizon through onstage debuts, with more singers entering the world of musical theatre, which was once considered an elitist realm only for the classically trained. The latest to make it on stage is Mamamoo‘s lead vocalist Solar, who made her debut in the titular role of “Mata Hari” in May. The cast included Chang-sub of boy band BTOB and rock band FT Island’s Lee Hong-ki, who played Armand, the mal

Aug. 22, 2022

Coupang Play denies apologizing to ‘Anna’ director

Local OTT platform operator Coupang Play on Monday denied apologizing to “Anna” director Lee Joo-young for editing her eight-episode drama series into a six-part series without her consent. 　“On Aug. 21, Song Young-hoon, a lawyer at Siwoo, the legal representative of Lee, released press material saying ‘Coupang Play apologized for the controversy in the editing process.’ This is not true. When we approached the lawyers about this, Jo Gwang-hee, another legal repr

Aug. 22, 2022

Blackpink continues record-breaking success with ‘Pink Venom’

K-pop girl group Blackpink is continuing a winning streak with its latest single “Pink Venom,” setting multiple records upon returning to the music scene after a 22-month hiatus. The quartet made a comeback on Friday with the first release from its upcoming second full-length album “Born Pink,” set to be released on Sept. 16. It marked the band‘s first full-group release since its first studio album titled “The Album” in October 2020. Upon release, th

Aug. 22, 2022

NMixx to drop new single ‘Entwurf’ on Sept. 19

Rookie girl group, NMixx of JYP Entertainment, is making is set to return next month. JYP Entertainment on Monday said through a statement that NMixx will return for the first time in seven months with its second single, “Entwurf,” on Sept. 19. Official promotion for the return kicked off earlier that day when the group tweeted the name of the track. A few minutes after the release of the poster, the band retweeted a post from a suspicious-seeming account, warning fans not to follo

Aug. 22, 2022

New LG Arts Center offers another chance to catch Cho Seong-jin, LSO in concert

Tickets for the performance by London Symphony Orchestra and pianist Cho Seong-jin at LG Arts Center on Oct. 13 will go on sale Sept. 1. The concert was originally planned as an invitation-only event, marking the reopening of LG Arts Center Seoul at its new location in Magok-dong, southwestern Seoul. In announcing the switch to making all of the theater’s seats available on its website Wednesday, the center said that all proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to support young art

Aug. 21, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ star Kang Ki-young revels in show's success

After making his debut in the stage musical, “Our Bad Magnet” (2009), actor Kang Ki-young starred in various projects, including hit TV dramas “Moment of Eighteen” (2018) and “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim” (2018) as well as movies “Crazy Romance” (2019) and “Exit” (2019). But it was his role as senior attorney Jung Myeong-seok in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” arguably the most successful project in his 14-year car

Aug. 21, 2022

BLACKPINK's 'Pink Venom' tops iTunes top songs charts in 69 countries

K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's new single "Pink Venom" debuted atop iTunes charts in 69 countries around the world, the group's agency said Saturday. YG Entertainment said the song, released the previous day, ranked No. 1 on iTunes Top Songs charts in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania as of Saturday. The song also started on top of domestic music streaming services such as Melon, Bugs, Vibe and Genie. Its music video surpassed 70 million views in just 15 hours af

Aug. 20, 2022