NCT Dream switches on love mode through ‘Glitch Mode’

Less than a year since NCT Dream spiced up the summer season with seven different flavors of “Hot Sauce” by releasing its first LP, the boy band dropped its second LP, “Glitch Mode” on Monday evening. This marks the group’s return in nearly nine months since their previous work. In a press conference Monday, Mark described the album as “an album that has upgraded compared to when we released our first LP last year, and the album consists of a total of 11 tr

March 28, 2022

Korean media laud Youn Yuh-jung’s Oscars presentation

Local news outlets and netizens complimented actor Youn Yuh-jung for using American Sign Language in presenting the best supporting actor Oscar to Troy Kotsur for his role in “CODA.” At the award ceremony held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Youn first signed Kotsur’s win before carefully pronouncing his name. She also held the Oscar trophy for Kotsur, who made history as the first deaf male actor to win the top prize, as he signed his acceptance speech. &ldqu

March 28, 2022

Three Korean actors of ‘Drive My Car’ attend 94th Academy Awards

Three Korean actors -- Park Yu-rim, Jin Dae-yeon and Ahn Hwi-tae -- attended the 94th Academy Awards ceremony Monday and celebrated the Japanese film “Drive My Car” directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi winning the best international feature film award. During Hamaguchi’s acceptance speech, the director expressed his gratitude toward the actors, including the three Korean actors. “I also would like to thank the actors here. Nishijima Hidetoshi, Okada Masaki, Kirishima Reika, P

March 28, 2022

[Herald Interview] Chin Unsuk returns to Korea to lead 20-year-old Tongyeong International Music Festival

TONGYEONG, South Gyeongsang Province -- On Friday evening at Tongyeong Concert Hall, Chin Unsuk, one of the world’s leading contemporary composers, sat down in the audience to witness the first performance of the Tongyeong International Music Festival, which she now leads as its artistic director for the next five years. Chin observed as Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska was met with rousing, minuteslong applause from the audience for her direction of Andrew Norman’s Asia premiere o

March 28, 2022

Youn Yuh-jung presents best supporting actor prize at Oscars

Oscar-winning actor Youn Yuh-jung on Monday presented the award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role to Troy Kotsur of “CODA” at the 94th Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. The veteran Korean actor presented the award wearing a black dress with a blue ribbon pin that says “#WithRefugees,“ showing her support for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees. “My mother used to say ‘you reap what you sow.’ I should have listened

March 28, 2022

‘Pachinko’ Jin Ha apologizes for his creep shots on Tumblr

Jin Ha, who plays the grandson Solomon in the recently released Apple TV+ series “Pachinko,” on Saturday released an apology statement -- both in English and Korean -- for posting inappropriate photos on his Tumblr account, including surreptitiously taken images of older Korean women. The apology came after online criticism of the actor for posting over 90 “creep shots” of the women that were taken in public without permission on his “Korean Flowers in Bloom&rdqu

March 27, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Hybe signals launch of 1st girl group

  The first girl group to debut under hit entertainment company Hybe kicked off a countdown to its launch on Friday. 　 Source Music, an agency under the mega label, opened a web page that only said “IM FEARLESS” alongside a clock. A project begin on March 28 and run until the group makes its official debut in May. 　 The company announced earlier this month that it has signed Miyawaki Sakura and Kim Chaewon, formerly of IZ*ONE, as many speculated. Bang Sihyuk, chairman of Hybe,

March 25, 2022

Rising above obstacles, Tongyeong International Musical Festival marks 20 years

Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province -- Twenty years after a music festival kicked off in a remote port city in southern South Korea with little music infrastructure, Tongyeong International Music Festival, armed with composer Chin Un-suk as its artistic director, began the 2022 edition Friday. The obstacles that TIMF has faced vary, according to Lee Yong-min, CEO of Tongyeong International Music Foundation, ranging from the physical distance to an audience unfamiliar with contemporary

March 25, 2022

Actor Gang Dong-won signs with CAA

Top actor Gang Dong-won has signed with the US-based talent agency Creative Artists Agency, US entertainment publication Variety reported Friday. While he will continue to be represented in Korea by his current agency YG Entertainment, Gang’s international representation will be made by the CAA. The 41-year-old model-turned-actor made his name hit movies including “Romance of Their Own” (2004), “Jeon Woochi: The Taoist Wizard” (2009), “A Violent Prosecutor&

March 25, 2022

Cardi B to star in 'Baby Shark’s Big Show!' as Sharki B

Pinkfong, the company behind the hit YouTube “Baby Shark Dance,” is collaborating with American rap superstar Cardi B. The rapper is scheduled to guest-star in “Baby Shark’s Big Show!”, a television program jointly produced by Pinkfong and children’s entertainment network Nickelodeon, according to a press release from The Pinkfong Company on Friday. “Inspired by the rapper, a new character Sharki B and her family -- Offshark (played by Cardi B’s

March 25, 2022

Iconic ‘Gayo Top 10’ revived after 25 years with K-pop artists performing on virtual stage

State-run broadcaster KBS’ legendary music program “Gayo Top 10” is set to return for the first time in 25 years on both YouTube and TV, bringing performances from some of the hottest acts in K-pop to the virtual world. “Virtual Gayo Top 10” will carry on the tradition of “Gayo Top 10,” which ended its 17-year run in February 1998. Applying the format of giving the “Golden Cup” to artists when their songs stay at the No. 1 spot for five con

March 25, 2022

[Video] Why I photograph Seoul at night, winner of Cyberpunk 2077 photo contest speaks

Video by Team Konnect Kim Min-jung (minjung.kim@heraldcorp.com) Choi Jeong-yoon (jychoi@heraldcorp.com) Kim Jeong-ryul (ryul@heraldcorp.com) Park Sun-yeong (psyworld0710@heraldcorp.com) By Korea Herald (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

March 25, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Hot Blooded (Korea) Opened March 23 Crime, Action Directed by Cheon Myoung-kwan In 1993 in Kuam, a small port town outside Busan, third-rate gangster Hee-su acts like a hotel manager under Don Son (Kim Kap-soo). One day, Yong-kang (Choi Mu-sung), who fled the country suspected of murder, returns home and begins causing trouble. Hee-su finds out that the trouble was caused by the drugs that Yong-kang has been smuggling. Spencer (UK) Opened March 16 Drama Directed by Pablo Larraín

March 25, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] NCT127 to tour Japan in May, June

NCT127 will head to Japan for a tour in May and June, its label SM Entertainment announced Thursday. 　 The band will perform five times in Japan, starting in Nagoya on May 22 and will travel to Tokyo before visiting Osaka in June. It will be the first time in more than three years the nine-member act will perform in Japan. It also marks the group’s first dome tour, with stops at some of the biggest venues in the country. 　 NCT127 topped Oricon’s daily, weekly and monthly charts with

March 24, 2022

[Herald Interview] French filmmaker Denis Dercourt not surprised to see Korean content thrive globally

French director Denis Dercourt said he is not surprised to see Korean films gain popularity worldwide. “It is no mystery that Korean films are everywhere in the world because they (Koreans) work so hard,” the director said during an interview with a group of Korean reporters Wednesday. He explained that the staff he worked with for his upcoming thriller, “Vanishing,” which was filmed entirely in Korea, had a deep understanding of cinema and also spent a lot of time wo

March 24, 2022

Han So-hee, Park Hyung-sik tell all about unrequited love in ‘Soundtrack#1’

Global streaming platform Disney+ didn’t forget the romance as it went musical with its third Korean-language series, “Soundtrack#1.” Starring Han So-hee and Park Hyung-sik, the music drama revolves around two characters who have been best friends for 20 years, as their relationship changes in a romantic way. Taking the role of songwriter Lee Eun-soo, Han, 27, said that her character is a bright, honest person who does not know much about love. “Unlike the character

March 24, 2022

Title of BIGBANG's upcoming release is 'Still Life,' says agency

K-pop juggernaut BIGBANG will drop "Still Life," its first single in four years, next month, the group's management agency said Thursday. YG Entertainment also unveiled a teaser poster featuring white, pink, yellow and red daisies in full bloom for the highly anticipated song set to be out on April 5 at midnight. The four-piece group has announced that it will come back to the K-pop scene that day without giving further details. "'Still Life' is a song that represents the members'

March 24, 2022

[From the Scene] ‘2022 Special Concert for World Peace’ presents hopes for world peace, harmony

Ranging from classical, jazz and pop to traditional Korean sounds, music filled the Seoul Arts Center’s concert hall Wednesday night in a concert held to wish for peace amid the war in Ukraine. The “2022 Special Concert for World Peace,” co-hosted by The Korea Herald and the Seoul Arts Center, delivered a message of peace and harmony led by the Seoul Pops Orchestra’s director and conductor Ha Sung-ho. “I am touched and amazed by how many people in Korea are sendin

March 23, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Brave Girls thank fans with 6th EP

  Brave Girls held a media showcase Wednesday to present their sixth EP, “Thank You.” The EP came out on March 14, but the showcase was pushed back as three of the bandmates tested positive for COVID-19.   　 The titular main track is intended to express their gratitude for the love they received last year, they said, as they felt they had not had the chance to do so properly.   　 “Fans thanked us for hanging in there, but we wanted to tell them that we could b

March 23, 2022

[Herald Interview] Jung Woo says he was instinctively attracted to noir film ‘Hot Blooded’

Jung Woo said he was instinctively attracted to the noir film “Hot Blooded,” directed by Cheon Myoung-kwan. “My heart told me to join the project, not my head,” he said in an interview with a group of local reporters Tuesday. “The film does not have the plot of a typical commercial film, but I really wanted to do a noir film.” He hesitated a little, however, when he found out that the film was set in Busan, as he had played multiple characters already from

March 23, 2022