Jung Woo returns to big screen as gangster in noir film ‘Hot Blooded’

Jung Woo, who rose to stardom with tvN drama “Reply 1994,” is returning to the big screen as third-rate gangster Hee-su in the noir film “Hot Blooded,” directed by Cheon Myoung-kwan. “‘Hot Blooded’ has its own unique mood. When I read the script -- it is difficult to describe it in words -- but I felt some sort of attraction,” Jung said at a press conference held at Yongsan CGV in Seoul on Wednesday. He explained that what set this new movie apar

March 19, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] BoA marks 20th debut anniversary in Japan with 10-week project

   　 BoA will celebrate the 20th anniversary of debut in Japan with a 10-week cover project. 　 She selected 10 of her songs with her fans and rearranged them. One song will be uploaded every week from March 21, as part of the “Self Cover Project.” 　 The first song will be “Aggressive,” a track from her sixth studio album in Japan “The Face” that came out in 2018. 　 The artist will also put out an album titled “The Greatest” on May

March 18, 2022

Stray Kids says odd is ordinary through new EP ‘Oddinary’

Being odd is ordinary, and everyone is special in their own ways, shouts Stray Kids through their new album “Oddinary.” The eight-member band conducted an online press conference on Friday, ahead of dropping the album at 1 p.m. later that day. “The album name puts together odd and ordinary. We all have an odd side to us even amid the ordinary, and we wanted to say that being odd is actually the ordinary,” Seungmin said. “If Stray Kids music had been focused on s

March 18, 2022

The Korean Symphony Orchestra officially adds ‘national’ lable to its name

  The Korean Symphony Orchestra on Friday is officially adding “national” into its name following the culture minister’s approval earlier this month. The name change for the orchestra, which is under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has been pushed for several years, but faced opposition from the KBS Symphony Orchestra, which was once the National Symphony Orchestra. Despite being an organization supported by a national budget, the orchestra has been long

March 18, 2022

Apple TV+ series ‘Pachinko’ to present Korean-specific, but also universal, story

Although the story of Apple TV+ series “Pachinko” appears to be specific to Korean history, the series’ co-director Kogonada said it is more than just that. “I think this story is specific to Korean history but also deeply universal,” Kogonada said during an online event with Korean media from Los Angeles on Friday. “Even today, we know that people are being displaced, and families are having to make choices on how to survive. And this is a common story thro

March 18, 2022

'Pachinko' tells universal story of immigrants through Korean family: director

A co-director of the upcoming period drama "Pachinko" said Friday the show is specifically about a Korean family moving to Japan in the 20th century, but it also tells a timelessly universal story of immigrants throughout the world. Based on the namesake novel written by Korean American author Min Jin Lee, the latest Apple TV+ original series depicts the life of Sunja, born to a poor family in Busan in the early 1900s. The 1910-1945 Japanese colonial rule forces her to move to Japan, a

March 18, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

In Our Prime (Korea) Opened March 9 Drama Directed by Park Dong-hoon Lee Hak-sung (Choi Min-sik) works as a school security guard, but is actually a mathematical genius who has defected from North Korea. Hak-sung meets Ji-woo (Kim Dong-hwi), a student who is having a hard time fitting in at school due to his different social background. After finding out about Hak-sung’s talent, Ji-woo asks Hak-sung to tutor him. 　 Blacklight (US) Opened March 9 Action Directed by Mark Williams

March 18, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen to return with 4th LP in May

    Seventeen will come out with its fourth studio album in May, local news reports said Thursday. 　 Agency Pledis Entertainment confirmed the news following the reports. 　 The 13-piece act debuted in 2015 and has been releasing a score of hits ever since. Its previous LP “An Ode” came out in September 2019 and sold over 700,000 copies in the first week, the best sales in the second half of the year. Its ninth EP “Attacca” ranked No. 13 on Billboard 200 las

March 17, 2022

LCK Spring finals to celebrate 10th anniversary in Kintex

The League of Legends Champions Korea 2022 Spring final returns to esports fans and spectators face-to-face at the country’s largest convention center, Kintex in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, just northwest of Seoul. In compliance with social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the last five final matches have been livestreamed. LCK announced it would close this year’s spring season at the No. 1 exhibition center in Kintex on April 2, where the first LCK final was

March 17, 2022

EXO to mark 10th anniversary with fan meet

K-pop boy group EXO will celebrate the 10th anniversary since its debut with an in-person fan meet in Seoul next month, the group's agency said Thursday. The "2022 Debut Anniversary Fan Event: EXO" will take place at Jamsil Gymnasium in southern Seoul at 7 p.m. on April 9, SM Entertainment said in a release. The event will also be streamed live on Beyond Live for the group's fans outside the country. Members Suho, Xiumin, D.O, Kai and Sehun will take part in the fan event, performing t

March 17, 2022

Global K-pop festival KCON to return to live concerts in May

The annual overseas K-pop concert series organized by entertainment giant CJ ENM will resume in-person this year after a two-year hiatus. This year’s KCON will be the first on-site festival since the coronavirus crisis began three years ago. CJ ENM held the festival as online events in 2020 and last year. The upcoming K-pop concert series will hit five cities around the world this year, including Seoul, Chiba, Chicago, Tokyo and Los Angeles. The lineups for the concerts have yet to be

March 17, 2022

Popularity of Korean TV series drives sales of original web comics

The rising global popularity of Korean TV adaptations of web comics has brought in increasing demand for their originals across the world, data showed Thursday. Starring Ahn Hyo-seop and Kim Se-jeong, the romantic comedy "Business Proposal," broadcast on SBS and available on Netflix, is currently one of the most talked about TV series at home and abroad. Starting on Feb. 28, the Monday-Tuesday weekly drama hit 10.1 percent in viewership ratings for its sixth episode aired Monday. From

March 17, 2022

'Squid Game' star Lee Jung-jae returns home after Critics Choice honor

Lee Jung-jae of "Squid Game" on Thursday returned home after winning best TV drama series actor at the Critics Choice Awards. "The award is not only given to myself but also to all people who love Korean content," Lee said through his management agency, after arriving at Incheon International Airport from the United States. "I hope to hear more pleasing and significant news about Korean content in the future." At the Critics Choice Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on

March 17, 2022

BLACKPINK Jennie's 'Solo' music video tops record 800m YouTube views

The music video for "Solo," an individual single from Jennie, a member of popular girl group BLACKPINK, has topped 800 million views on YouTube, a first for any female K-pop solo artist. The video hit the milestone Thursday at 3:24 a.m., three years and four months after it was uploaded, the group's agency YG Entertainment said. "Solo" became the first music video by any female solo artist from Korea to reach 800 million YouTube views. The individual debut single by Jennie is

March 17, 2022

[Herald Interview] Solar expresses individual beauty through ‘Face’

After nearly two years away as a solo artist, Solar of Mamamoo returned with her first-ever EP, “Face,” on Wednesday evening. The singer-turned-soloist said it took her a while to drop a new album because she was initially “musically lost.” She felt she had done everything in terms of being experimental while sprinkling in whatever she liked for her solo debut “Spit it out.” But messages and support from her fans helped the musician overcome her fears ab

March 16, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Big Bang gearing up for return: reports

Big Bang wrapped up shooting for a music video last week and is readying itself to make a much-awaited comeback, local media reported Wednesday. 　 Label YG Entertainment confirmed the news and said it will announce more details including the release date soon. 　 Last month, the company officially announced that the band is releasing new music this spring. Its last work was the single “Flower Road” from March 2018. Over the past four years, Seungri left the team in 2019 after becom

March 16, 2022

Pianist Kim Sun-wook to return in May

Concert pianist Kim Sun-wook is poised to hold three recitals in May, Vincero, a classical concert production company, said on Wednesday. At his first recital in Korea this year, Kim will showcase three different colors of three great composers with a program of Schubert’s Four Impromptus D. 899, Albeniz’s ‘Iberia’: Book II and Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor S. 178. The first concert will take place at 5:00 p.m. on May 15 at Seoul Arts Center. General ticketing

March 16, 2022

Cellist Kim Hyo-jeong to offer familar tunes at upcoming recital

Cellist Kim Hyo-jeong is set to play familiar favorites when she takes the stage on Sunday for her solo recital. At Sunday’s recital at Kumho Art Hall Yonsei in Seoul, Kim, 26, will perform Mendelssohn’s “Lied Onhne Worte,” Op. 109, Faure’s “Sicilienne,” Op. 78, Chopin’s Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65, and Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 49. “I chose familiar melodies by Mendelssohn and Faure to comfort people who are b

March 16, 2022

'Money Game' first Korean webtoon adapted for US reality show

Thriller webtoon “Money Game” has become the first Korean webtoon to be made into a web-based entertainment show in the US. Though a local adaptation of the webtoon series was made last year on Korean YouTube channel Jin Yong-jin, this is the first time a Korean webtoon’s IP is being adapted by foreign creators, production team and cast, according to Naver Webtoon. The five-part reality show on YouTube channel Jubilee features eight participants who are kept in separate cells

March 16, 2022

[Exclusive] Mastermind behind Twice’s global success to helm JYP USA

K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment’s newly established US arm will be led by the person largely responsible for the global success of the label’s girl group Twice. “Shin Hyun-kuk has been tapped to helm US operations. He is a chief director of one of the four artist management and marketing teams and JYP Three Sixty’s chief executive officer,” a JYP Entertainment official told The Korea Herald Tuesday evening. The official said JYP USA is currently “setting

March 16, 2022