BTS to hold concert in Busan to promote 2030 World Expo bid

K-pop phenomenon BTS is set to perform in Busan in October to help the city‘s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. The announcement came after entertainment company Hybe, with which the band’s label Big Hit Music is affiliated, held a meeting to discuss ways to promote the bid with Busan city on Thursday. “The bidding committee will officially appoint BTS as the ambassadors of 2030 Busan World Expo, and in order to promote the city‘s bid to host the World Expo, BTS is set

July 8, 2022

Girl group aespa's 'Girls' becomes most-preordered album by K-pop girl group

Rising rookie band aespa's upcoming new album has received the most preorders of any album by a K-pop girl group, with more than 1.61 million copies, its agency said Friday. "Girls," the band's second EP set to come out at 1 p.m., has gotten 1,610,517 preorders as of Friday morning, SM Entertainment said. The EP has a total of nine tracks, including the title track "Girls" and the English and Korean versions of "Life's Too Short," the band's firs

July 8, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Thor: Love and Thunder (US) Opened July 6 Action Directed by Taika Waititi Thor (Chris Hemsworth) attempts to find inner peace, but his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. Thor forms a special team to fight against Gorr and uncover the mystery behind his enemy’s revenge plans. Decision to Leave (Korea) Opened June 29 Romance Directed by Park Chan-wook Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) is a hardw

July 8, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Twice’s Nayeon sets record on Billboard with solo album

   　 The first solo album from Twice’s Nayeon debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 7, a record for a K-pop solo artist, according to label JYP Entertainment on Thursday. 　 “Im Nayeon” also topped the top current album sales, top album sales and world albums charts while placing the singer at No. 5 on its Artist 100. She is the first of the girl group’s nine members to release a solo album. 　 This is the third time the singer has made the Billboard 200 -- Tw

July 7, 2022

Gaon Chart aims to become global K-pop chart with new name

South Korean music sales tracker Gaon Chart has debuted a new name with an aim to provide the most accurate and diverse K-pop data for fans all around the world. The Korea Music Content Association, which operates the Gaon chart, held a proclamation ceremony in Jongno-gu, central Seoul, Thursday, during which it layed out a road map for its renewed K-pop chart, as well as unveiling the brand new name for the chart -- Circle Chart. Gaon Chart, founded in 2010, has operated as the country‘

July 7, 2022

‘The Roundup’ banned in Vietnam

“The Roundup,” a Korean action comedy that topped 10 million admissions in local theaters, will not be screened in Vietnam, officially because the film is considered “too violent.” Looking to distribute the film in the Southeast Asian country, Korea’s leading entertainment company Lotte Entertainment had applied for film certification for “The Roundup” from the Vietnamese Film Department, an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports

July 7, 2022

Marvel's 'Thor: Love and Thunder' tops S. Korean box office on its 1st day

Marvel Studios' latest blockbuster "Thor: Love and Thunder" has topped the South Korean box office on its opening day, data showed Thursday. The film posted 382,000 attendees on Wednesday, accounting for 70 percent of the day's total ticket sales, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. It beat the debut numbers by the previous No. 1, "Top Gun: Maverick," which garnered 188,000 viewers upon its debut on June 22. But its opening score is far behind Marvel

July 7, 2022

Viviz ready to revel in ‘Summer Vibe’ with second EP

After successfully embarking on a new musical journey as a rookie trio known as Viviz, the girl group is back with its second EP, “Summer Vibe,” which dropped Wednesday evening. This marks the three-piece act’s return following the release of its first EP, “Beam of Prism,” in February after departing their former group GFriend. Asked how it feels to make its way back to music charts, SinB said with a grin, “Since we’re returning after just five mont

July 6, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Jessi parts ways with P Nation

Jessi has decided to leave her agency P Nation upon her contract’s expiration, according to the company on Wednesday. 　 She was the first artist represented by the firm established by Psy, signing with the company in 2019. She had released a series of hit songs including “Nunu Nana” and “What Type of X.” The music video for the former amassed 180 million views on YouTube. In April, she dropped the single “Zoom,” whose music video surpassed 97 million v

July 6, 2022

Legendary rock band Songolmae to take time-slip adventure at reunion concert tour

Iconic South Korean rock band Songolmae is ready to start a time-slip adventure to the 1980s by embarking on a nationwide tour with the long-awaited reunion of Bae Cheol-soo and Koo Chang-mo. At a press conference to introduce Songolmae’s upcoming concert series, titled “Songolmae Live Tour 2022” in Hapjeong, Seoul, on Wednesday, the two best-known members of Songolmae shared their excitement for the upcoming rock ‘n’ roll event. “We will perform as if we a

July 6, 2022

ENA’s ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ to become webtoon series

Television channel ENA’s courtroom series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” will be adapted into a webtoon, media content company Astory announced Tuesday, unveiling a cartoon image of the lead character Woo Young-woo. According to the production company, the webtoon “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” will be serialized in 60 episodes, drawn by illustrator HwaUmJo and written by Yuil. The webtoon will be serviced in four languages -- Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese, t

July 6, 2022

Rookie girl group Irris ready to make it big with ‘Wanna Know’

In the cutthroat K-pop industry, making one‘s mark is no easy feat. But rookie girl group Irris believes they can achieve success. Produced by Justice Records, a subsidiary of film company Taewon Entertainment, and Mellow Entertainment, Irris threw their glitzy hats into the ring Wednesday evening with dreams to leave bold marks on the industry. The four bandmates -- I.L, Liv and Yun-seul from Korea, and Nina from Australia -- boldly stepped into the industry with their three-track rel

July 6, 2022

‘The Killer’ is an easy-to-watch action romp

If you‘re looking for an exciting action movie that doesn’t require too much thinking, “The Killer: The Girl Who Deserves to Die,” directed by Choi Jae-hoon, could be the film for you. During a media meeting that followed the press screening of the film at Yongsan CGV on Monday, director Choi noted that he intentionally kept things simple as he aimed to create an action film that people may enjoy without overthinking. “I focused on making the film entertaining and

July 6, 2022

Maroon 5 removes Rising Sun Flag on homepage amid controversy

American pop-rock band Maroon 5 removed the design of Japan's imperial-era flag from the band's official website Wednesday after the use of the image angered South Korean music fans ahead of its world tour that includes stops in Asian countries. According to sources in the music scene, the band deleted the image of the Rising Sun Flag from the website Wednesday morning, replacing it with an image of the band. Maroon 5 used the design in the background of a post released Saturday to ann

July 6, 2022

[Herald Interview] Son Yeol-eum: The shy girl from Gangwon to acclaimed pianist

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon -- As a child, Son Yeol-eum, the virtuoso pianist hailing from Wonju, a city in the scenic Gangwon Province, was very shy. So shy that she would choose to walk down small alleys rather than large streets. As the spotlight on her grew, as did the pressure of being a promising pianist, she was reluctant to embrace fame. She remembers asking her mom why they couldn’t be mutually exclusive -- playing the instrument she loved without all of the extra attention. Fast forwar

July 6, 2022

aespa calls for action on sustainable development goal

Rising South Korean girl group aespa has called for future generations to pay attention to and take action for the sustainable development goals during a speech in a UN forum. The band addressed the 2022 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development held at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday (US time). "The metaverse reflects reality. If our own reality is not sustainable, it would become difficult to sustain the possibilities of the virtual world," member Giselle said

July 6, 2022

Homegrown blockbusters set to hit screens in summer

The local box office in the upcoming summer peak season will highly likely be a four-way race among Korean blockbusters as theaters are gearing up for a continuous rush of filmgoers. The sci-fi action fantasy "Alienoid" will hit local theaters July 20, opening the largely all-Korean competition for the season. The new film by popular filmmaker Choi Dong-hoon, who has made many smash-hit films, including "The Thieves" (2012) and "Assassination" (2015), depicts two pa

July 6, 2022

Blackpink to drop new album in August

BLACKPINK, a top K-pop girl group, will make a long-awaited comeback in August, its management agency said Wednesday. "BLACKPINK is now at the final stage of recording its new album. They will embark on the filming of a music video within this month and release new songs in August," YG Entertainment said in a press release. It did not give details of the upcoming album but said the band has devoted itself for a long time to completing "multiple tracks featuring the band's sig

July 6, 2022

‘Queendom 2’ winner WJSN ready to start off fresh with single ‘Sequence’

K-pop girl group WJSN has returned to the stage, hoping to embark on a new start of its journey with the special single album “Sequence,” after winning a crown on the second season of Mnet’s hit TV competition “Queendom” last month. The 10-member act’s new release, “Sequence” marks a full-group return over 15 months after it released “Unnatural” in March last year. It is also all the more special to WJSN since one of the tracks, &ldqu

July 5, 2022

Winner kicks off its second chapter with best team chemistry so far

Nine years into its K-pop career, Winner declared it is embarking on a second chapter as a four-piece group with the fourth EP “Holiday.” “This is the starting point as Winner begins the second part of our journey. The members are all in their 30s now, and the album conveys the good energy of the more vigorous future laid out in front of us,” Winner’s leader Kang Seungyoon said in a press conference for the album on Tuesday. Ahead of dropping the new album in th

July 5, 2022