Blackpink gears up for comeback in 2 years, possible world tour

The world’s biggest K-pop girl group Blackpink is preparing to make its long-awaited return to the music scene within this year, or in a few months at the earliest. A few weeks after several local media outlets reported of the K-pop quartet’s possible new release this year, the bandmates confirmed of their comeback and a possible concert tour through a Rolling Stone interview published on May 26. Speaking about her health recovery following the band’s previous world tour th

June 3, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Hommage (Korea) Opened May 26 Drama Directed by Shin Su-won Director Ji-wan (Lee Jung-eun) is in a slump. She aims to entice 200,000 patrons to her new film but finds it difficult to reach her goal. Her family provides little support. One day Ji-wan gets a part-time job restoring an old film about the country‘s first female judge created by first-generation female director Hong Eun-won. Through this process, her passion for filmmaking is renewed. The Red Herring (Korea) Opened May

June 3, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Aespa sets date for 1st Japan showcase

Aespa will host the group’s first showcase in Japan in August, according to SM Entertainment on Thursday.   　 The girl group will hold the showcase “Sync” at an arena in Yokohama on Aug. 6-7.   　 “We’re expecting a huge response since this is the first performance aespa is putting on in Japan,” said the management company.   　 Now in its third year of a successful career so far, the band is gearing up for a full-fledged entry into the wider

June 2, 2022

Jo Yu-ri dances waltz to convey ‘amour propre’ in first EP

As warmer days are quickly approaching, singer-songwriter Jo Yu-ri returned with her first EP, “Op. 22 Y-Waltz: in Major,” to make the soundtrack of the season and get playlists in order. This marks a return for the singer nearly eight months after her previous work, “Glassy,” a digital single released in October. And with the new album, the singer aims to broaden her musical horizon as an artist by showcasing various music styles. In a press conference Thursday, the

June 2, 2022

Singer Rain to hold first show at Cheong Wa Dae after its opening to the public

  Rain is set to hold a solo performance at Cheong Wa Dae later this month. He will become the first artist to perform on the stage there since the former presidential office opened to the public on May 10. The musician announced on his Instagram that he is slated to perform exclusively at Cheong Wa Dae at 7 p.m. on June 17. “I would like to thank you all. I got a chance to hold a solo concert at Cheong Wa Dae,” he said in an Instagram post. “I’m planning to be wit

June 2, 2022

Kakao Entertainment to hold webtoon competition

Kakao Entertainment on Thursday announced the hosting of the webtoon competition “Global Raid Kakao Webtoon Contest.” The webtoon showdown, which will receive applications from Aug. 1-7, is aimed at discovering popular webtoon-IP targeting both local and global readers. The upcoming contest seeks to find creative projects in action fantasy, school action, noir, sports and martial arts genres. Both rookie and veteran creators can participate the contest individually or as a team.

June 2, 2022

CL to star in EBS ‘Baby Shark’s Big Show!’

Pinkfong, the company behind the hit YouTube “Baby Shark Dance,” is teaming up with Korean singer and rap superstar CL. The company announced Thursday that CL will voice the character of Sharki L, the Korean version of Sharki B who originally starred in a Nickelodeon “Baby Shark’s Big Show!” episode in April. “Considering her fearless character and splendid performances as an artist, we decided CL is the perfect voice actor for Sharki L when we scheduled to

June 2, 2022

Korean audiences’ feedbacks are more important than winning Cannes: Park Chan-wook

Feedback from Korean audiences for his new thriller-romance film “Decision to Leave” is more important than winning a trophy at Cannes Film Festival, director Park Chan-wook said during a press conference held at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul on Thursday. Park won the best director award for his new film on May 28 at the 75th Cannes Film Festival in southern France. “This film, in particular, is different from my previous work in that it has many elements that only Ko

June 2, 2022

Weekly K-pop chart show to debut on US radio

A weekly K-pop chart program is set to air on US satellite radio and will be the first American countdown show dedicated exclusively to Korean music. “K-pop Radar” will be broadcast on SiriusXM, a satellite radio service in North America with about 35 million subscribers, according to local music startup Space Oddity on Thursday. Beginning this week, the hour-long show will air at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time every Thursday on SiriusXM’s 88rising channel. The program will be

June 2, 2022

Girl group ITZY to drop new EP next month

K-pop girl group ITZY will roll out a new EP next month, to be followed by the its first-ever US tour, the group's agency said Thursday. The five-member group will release the EP titled "Checkmate" at 1 p.m. on July 15, JYP Entertainment said. It marks the band's first album in about 10 months since its first full-length album "Crazy in Love" last September. ITZY will later hold its first-ever US tour with the new EP, according to the agency. After kicking off the t

June 2, 2022

'Jurassic World Dominion' sets new opening day score in pandemic era

The sci-fi action adventure film "Jurassic World Dominion" has set the best opening-day record in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic, box office data showed Thursday. The latest installment of the "Jurassic Park" franchise garnered 763,000 viewers upon its debut Wednesday, accounting for 52.9 percent of the tickets sold on the day, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). It marked the largest first-day score for any release since the new coronavirus broke out in e

June 2, 2022

Director Kore-eda says Song Kang-ho inspired him to make ’Broker‘

Actor Song Kang-ho recalled what it was like to receive the best actor award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, a first for a Korean male, during a press conference for the film held Tuesday, just a day after returning from France. “Very few get to receive awards at Cannes. Only seven out of 21 movies (in competition) get awards. Before midnight, those seven films get a notice that they will receive awards. So I was really nervous before midnight,” Song said during the press confere

June 1, 2022

Victon offers overcoming through 7th EP ‘Chaos’

As the summer season is approaching and music charts are ready to revel in new summer anthems, boy band Victon is hopping on the summer music craze with its seventh EP, “Chaos.” This marks a return from the septet just five months since its previous work, “Chronograph,” released in January. In a press conference Tuesday, Seung-sik said that “confusion” and “chaos” are the two terms that best delineate the six-song package. “Chaos”

June 1, 2022

K-pop group aespa signs partnership deal with Warner Records

South Korean girl group aespa has reached a global partnership deal with the US giant Warner Records, its South Korean management company said Wednesday, as the quartet looks to establish its presence in international markets. SM Entertainment said the deal with Warner covers music content distribution and marketing promotion. "We're thrilled to become a family of Warner Records, and we're grateful to start our new chapter with Warner," aespa said in a statement through SM En

June 1, 2022

BTS visits White House to discuss combating hate crime surge

WASHINGTON -- K-Pop sensation BTS visited the White House on Tuesday to talk with President Joe Biden about combating the rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans -- bringing superstar sizzle to an otherwise sad and scary topic. Band members J-Hope, RM, Suga, Jungkook, V, Jin and Jimin joined White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at her briefing with reporters on the final day of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Jimin said the band had been "devastated by th

June 1, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Twice’s “Signal” music video tops 300m views

   The music video for Twice’s “Signal” amassed 300 million views on YouTube on Tuesday, according to label JYP Entertainment.   　 The band now has 14 music videos with more than 300 million views, the most for a girl group in the world.   　 “Signal” is the focus track from the group’s fourth EP that came out in 2017.   　 Meanwhile, Twice will release its fourth full album in Japan on July 27. The LP “Celebrate” marks the

May 31, 2022

Cannes-winning actor Song Kang-ho talks about historic award receiving moments

Song Kang-ho recalled what it was like to receive the country’s first best actor award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival during the first press conference for the film held after he returned from France on Tuesday. “Very few get to receive awards at Cannes. Only seven out of 21 movies (in competition) get awards. Before midnight those seven films get a notice that they will receive awards. So I was really nervous before midnight,” Song said during the press conference held at

May 31, 2022

K-pop pioneer Seo Taiji’s 30 years remembered in 30 hits

Referred to as the “culture president” of South Korean music, Seo Taiji is a living legend of K-pop who has paved the path in which the modern Korean music industry was built upon. Born Jeong Hyun-cheol in 1972, Seo kicked off his music career as part of a heavy metal band named Sinawe at the age of 17. In 1992 he formed Seo Taiji and Boys with members Yang Hyun-seok and Lee Juno and made his official debut with single “I Know” on March 23. The trio instantly shot to fa

May 31, 2022

Webtoons, animations emerge for business promotions

Television celebrities and movie stars may not only be competing with virtual social media influencers like Rozy, but also with other 2D characters for advertising gigs as a growing number of businesses show interest in webtoons and animations to target millennials and Generation Z, locally known as the MZ generation. Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Motor Group’s auto parts maker, revealed a racing animation titled “Dead or Arrive” on the company’s official YouTube channel &ldqu

May 31, 2022

Naver Webtoon looks for next big webtoon star

Naver Webtoon, South Korean tech giant Naver’s web-based cartoon platform, announced that it is receiving applications for “The Greatest Webtoon Contest 2022” starting Wednesday. The contest will be held twice this year, with the goal of promoting the creative content industry and local webtoons as well as finding webtoon creators to lead the company, Naver Webtoon said. Applicants are required to submit a maximum of three episodes and may present additional documents, inclu

May 31, 2022