[Today’s K-pop] Zico to drop pre-release single from 4th EP

Zico will release a track from upcoming fourth EP in advance, according to agency KOZ Entertainment on Friday. 　 Single “Seoul Drift” from EP “Grown Ass Kid” will be dropped on July 19 and the teaser photograph that came with the news showed him taking a break on a motorcycle against a dizzying night view of Seoul. 　 On Thursday, he shared the list of songs for the five-track EP including focus track “Freak.” The musician participated in writing all songs a

July 15, 2022

J-Hope’s ‘Jack In The Box’ walks through fire by flaming his musical passion

J-Hope’s first-ever solo studio album “Jack In The Box” comes with a desire to make changes: It reflects his aspirations to break the mold and grow further. The singer-turned-soloist is having fun with his solo venture, and his 10-song package describes how he is in the spring of his life. But unlike hopeful messages and bright tunes the boy band is known for, this time, J-Hope showed a new less-sunny side of himself. Stepping away from the glitz and the glamour of BTS, he

July 15, 2022

Pinkfong to expand IP-based NFTs

Pinkfong, the company behind the hit YouTube “Baby Shark Dance,” is set to sell shark family-related non-fungible tokens on the digital art platform and marketplace MakersPlace in the third quarter of the year. According to the company, a total of 10,000 generative art NFTs, including the members of shark family -- Mommy Shark, Daddy Shark, Grandma Shark, Alec (the grandfather shark) and Ollie, the Little Baby Shark -- and background images, will be produced for the upcoming projec

July 15, 2022

Girl group ITZY to drop new EP 'Checkmate'

K-pop girl group ITZY will roll out a new EP on Friday, to be followed by its first-ever US tour, the group's agency said. The album titled "Checkmate," set to be out at 1 p.m., is the band's fifth EP and first release in about 10 months since its first full-length album "Crazy in Love" last September. Preorders for the upcoming album had surpassed 720,000 copies as of Thursday afternoon, a record for the group. "Checkmate" has seven tracks led by the main

July 15, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Elvis (US) Opened July 13 Drama Directed by Baz Luhrmann Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) is an ordinary 19-year-old boy who dreams of becoming a musician. He lives in one of the poorest parts of Mississippi. But one day, Elvis gets to sing on a small stage for a local radio station and his performance is incredible. Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), who is working in the entertainment business, sees the performance and promises Elvis he will make him a star.  Thor: Love and Thunder (US)

July 15, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Aespa sets record with first-week sales of EP No. 2

Rookie band aespa set a record with its second EP “Girls.” 　 The EP sold more than 1 million copies in the first week of sales, a first for a girl group in K-pop history. 　 The album consists of nine songs including titular track and its first English-language song “Life’s Too Short” which was dropped in advance to the full release. 　 The quintet “has been surrounded by a lot of buzz since its debut … but the root of it all is the music,” said

July 14, 2022

Netflix sees Korea as proving ground for hit content

Global streaming service Netflix seeks to catch the eyes of Korean viewers by strengthening its unscripted content lineup. “I personally think the Korean viewers have strict standards and high expectations of variety programs. Our team believes that winning the local audiences’ heart is important. This may lead the show to become a global hit like ‘Single’s Inferno,’” Yoo Ki-hwan, Netflix’s manager of content, said in a press conference held at Communi

July 14, 2022

Choi Dong-hoon hopes 'Alienoid' is as entertaining as 'The Avengers'

From a boomerang-shaped spaceship, an exoskeleton powered by a fictional source and a time-traveling vehicle to a dynamic gun fight and fan-wielding magician from the Goryeo period (918-1391), director Choi Dong-hoon’s latest sci-fi-action film “Alienoid” has many elements that connect past, present and future. “I wanted to make a movie as fun as Marvel‘s ’The Avengers,‘ but with a Korean twist. I really wanted the audience to enjoy ’Alienoid&lsq

July 14, 2022

BTS Global Interdisciplinary Conference highlights need for ‘new humanity’ after pandemic

  The third edition of the BTS Global Interdisciplinary Conference was held Thursday, shedding light on how to face new challenges and make new opportunities after the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event was held under the theme of “The Post-Pandemic Era, Welcome to the New Humanity” at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, inviting scholars, experts and BTS fans in and out of Korea. The first conference was held at Kingston University in London, England, in

July 14, 2022

Yearning for peace, music festival at DMZ to kick off July 24

A three-month music festival in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas is set to kick off July 24, the festival organizer said Wednesday. The Peace and Life Zone Festival this year will host about 20 performances and other events, beginning with an opening concert at Jejin Station located inside the civilian-controlled area within the DMZ, in Goseong, Gangwon Province, featuring the event’s artistic director and pianist Im Mi-jung, clarinetist Kim Han and the Seoul Virtuosi

July 13, 2022

[Herald Interview] Lim Hyang-hwa, 70, returns to stage 4 decades late

In the 1970s, a Korean woman with a college degree from a prestigious university would have a promising career in what she was passionate about. But it would be a brief career as she would typically quit upon getting married, thinking that’s what all other people did, and she would become a devoted wife, mom and daughter-in-law, just like most other women. Lim Hyang-hwa -- whose life followed a similar trajectory after she put aside her acting dreams for more than 40 years to take care

July 13, 2022

SF9 sets off a new wave as a six-piece with ‘Scream’

Returning to the music scene after eight months, boy band SF9 embarked on a new journey as a sextet with the group’s 11th EP, “The Wave Of9,” Wednesday. Ahead of dropping the new album that evening, six members of the originally nine-member group -- Jaeyoon, Zuho, Dawon, Yoo Taeyang, Hwiyoung and Chani -- conducted a media showcase in Seoul. Inseong and Youngbin were absent due to their mandatory military enlistment, while Rwoon could not take part in the activities due to a

July 13, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Twice to drop new EP next month

Twice will return with its 11th EP on Aug. 26, announced label JYP Entertainment on Wednesday. 　 The EP is titled “Between 1&2,” hinting that the group is ready for the second part of its career. All nine members renewed their contracts with the label before their expiration in October. 　 It has been about nine months since its third studio album, “Formula of Love: O+T=<3,” hit the Billboard 200 at No. 3, the band’s career-high. 　 Last month the group cel

July 13, 2022

Twice breaks ‘7-year jinx’ by renewing contract with JYP

All nine bandmates of girl group Twice have renewed their contracts with JYP Entertainment, standing the test of time and the “seven-year jinx.” On Tuesday, the company said that the two sides have decided to continue “based on trust” and “renew their contracts early” via a press release. The band members’ exclusive contracts were due to expire in autumn, but all of them chose to stay and signed in advance. “Twice played a crucial role in estab

July 13, 2022

'Squid Game' nets 14 Emmy nominations

Netflix’s South Korean megahit “Squid Game” has been nominated for 14 awards at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, becoming the first non-English best drama series nominee, the Academy of Television Arts and Science announced Tuesday. The 16-part “Squid Game” vies for the best drama series award with “Better Call Saul,” “Euphoria,” “Ozark,” “Stranger Things,” “Succession” and “Yellowjackets,” whi

July 13, 2022

Korean drama 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' tops Netflix's weekly viewership chart

The South Korean drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" has topped Netflix's latest weekly viewership chart of non-English TV shows, the global video streaming service said Wednesday. The TV series, which has aired every Wednesday and Thursday on the cable channel ENA from June 29, marked 23.9 million hours of viewing for the week of July 4-10 to lead Netflix's official top 10 list for non-English TV programs available on the service, according to the company. It became the secon

July 13, 2022

'Squid Game' wins 14 nominations including best drama series at Emmys

The survival drama "Squid Game" earned 14 nominations including best drama series at this year's Primetime Emmy Awards, becoming the first South Korean TV show to compete at America's biggest honor for the broadcasting industry. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences on Tuesday (US time) unveiled the final list of nominations for the 2022 Emmys awarded to best primetime TV programs from June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2022. "Squid Game," a Korean-language Netflix origi

July 13, 2022

BTS' 'Proof' spends fourth week on Billboard albums' chart

K-pop supergroup BTS has ranked high on the US Billboard's main albums chart for the fourth consecutive week with its anthology album "Proof." The album came in 17th, four notches down from the previous week's 13th, on this week's Billboard 200 chart, released Tuesday (US time). "Proof" is a three-CD album that wraps up the first chapter of BTS' nine-year career. Released June 10, the album debuted atop the chart four weeks ago. Besides the albums chart, &

July 13, 2022

Super Junior writes page of K-pop history with ‘The Road: Keep on Going’

K-pop guru Super Junior has returned to the stage with new songs, setting a remarkable record as the act with the most full-length albums under SM Entertainment. The nine-member group held an online press event on Tuesday ahead of its new album release at 6 p.m. on the same day. Leeteuk, Eunhyuk, Kyuhyun, Donghae, Siwon, Yesung, Ryeowook and Shindong attended the event, with Heechul absent due to a schedule conflict. “Although there are several artists with long-running music careers un

July 12, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] All Twice members renew contract

All nine members of Twice have renewed their contracts, label JYP Entertainment announced Tuesday. 　 Their exclusive contracts were due to expire in October but all of them decided to stay and signed well in advance. 　 The group debuted in 2015 with studio album “Twicetagram.” It has established itself as one of the leading female bands in K-pop, setting a series of records. It put its third full album at No. 3 on Billboard 200 and has 20 music videos with over 100 million views e

July 12, 2022