Dance crew Turns wins Mnet ‘Street Dance Girls Fighter’

Five-member dance crew Turns became the final winner of Mnet’s dance competition “Street Dance Girls Fighter” on Tuesday, taking home the top honor along with 10 million won ($8,350) in prize money. “Street Dance Girls Fighter,” which premiered in November as a spinoff from the cable network’s hit “Street Woman Fighter,” captured viewers by introducing passionate and talented high schoolers’ dance moves. The six finalists -- Newnion, Floo

Jan. 5, 2022

B.I performs ‘Nineteen’ on Grammy’s ‘Global Spin’

South Korean rapper-songwriter B.I showcased his song “Nineteen” on Grammy’s digital performance series “Global Spin,” featuring on the show as the first South Korean artist. Known for its music awards Grammy kicked off “Global Spin” in September to celebrate the diversity of music around the world. Each episode of the biweekly series has featured performances by aspiring artists and groups to celebrate both the creators and their home countries. Gramm

Jan. 5, 2022

Omega X returns bold and laddish with ‘Love Me Like’

Rookie boy band Omega X welcomed the frosty season and hopped on the January music craze by dropping their second EP, “Love Me Like,” Wednesday afternoon, coming four months after their previous release. In an online press conference Wednesday, the 11-member group described the latest effort as “an album that aims to show that Omega X is a band that could have different tunes and concepts tailored to them.” The group added that their five-song package is different from

Jan. 5, 2022

Choi Woo-shik learns to value process through ‘The Policeman’s Lineage’

Through the story of two very different police officers, the Korean film “The Policeman’s Lineage” by director Lee Kyu-man asks an ethical question: Is it OK to do bad to achieve a greater good? Kang-yoon (Cho Jin-woong) is a cop who is not afraid of conducting illegal investigations or even joining hands with criminals to make an arrest. On the other hand, there is Min-jae (Choi Woo-shik), a cop with strict ethics. Min-jae is sent to Kang-yoon’s team to secretly keep a

Jan. 5, 2022

'The Silent Sea' tops Netflix's official weekly chart

South Korean sci-fi horror "The Silent Sea" was the most-viewed non-English TV show over a recent one-week period among those on Netflix, the global video streaming service said Wednesday. The drama topped Netflix's official weekly chart for non-English TV programs with 47.8 million hours of viewing for the week from Dec. 27-Jan. 2, far outnumbering "The Queen of Flow: Season 2" with 29.5 million hours and "Money Heist: Part 5" with 26.3 million hours. It marked a

Jan. 5, 2022

'Spider-Man: No Way Home' becomes 1st foreign film to top Korean annual box office in 10 yrs

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" topped the annual South Korean box office last year to become the first foreign film to achieve the feat in 10 years, data showed Wednesday. The latest Marvel Studios superhero film garnered a combined 5.56 million people for 17 days since its official release on Dec. 15, according to the data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). It became the No. 1 hit movie of the year, far outnumbering the homegrown disaster film "Escape from Mogadishu," which

Jan. 5, 2022

BTS V's 'Christmas Tree' debuts on Billboard's Hot 100 chart

V, a member of the K-pop supergroup BTS, is about to make it onto the Billboard main singles chart for this week with his individual single "Christmas Tree." The song will debut at No. 79 on the Hot 100 for this week, Billboard said on its Twitter on Tuesday (US time), with the chart set to be refreshed in a day. Released on Dec. 24, "Christmas Tree" is a song from the soundtrack of the South Korean TV series "Our Beloved Summer," starring Choi Woo-shik of the Can

Jan. 5, 2022

[Exclusive] Mnet to air ‘Street Man Fighter’ this summer

South Korean cable channel Mnet is planning to air the men’s version of its hit dance competition show “Street Woman Fighter,” featuring some of the most talented male dancers in Korea this summer, according to industry sources on Tuesday. “Kwon Young-chan, the chief producer of ‘Street Woman Fighter’ and the same staff members from the program are set to lead ‘Street Man Fighter,’” an industry official who wished to remain anonymous told T

Jan. 4, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Lisa sets more records on Billboard’s radio chart

Blackpink Lisa’s solo song “Money” placed at No. 35 on Billboard’s pop airplay chart, the highest record for a K-pop solo female musician. 　 The song came out in September as a track from her solo debut album “Lalisa,” and joined the top 40 list that was announced on Monday in the US. The song entered the chart three weeks ago as the first entry by a solo female K-pop musician. Lisa is the first K-pop female artist to have a track on the chart for three weeks

Jan. 4, 2022

Jeon Do-yeon, Seol Kyung-gu to star in Netflix‘s ‘Kill Boksoon’

Global streaming platform Netflix on Tuesday announced that it will produce director Byun Sung-hyun‘s “Kill Boksoon,” an action thriller with big names Jeon Do-yeon and Seol Kyung-gu. Jeon will play legendary assassin Kill Bok-soon, who is put into a life-threatening situation before renewing her contract with her employer M.K. Enterprise. Kill is also a single mother of a 15-year-old daughter. Seol will play Cha Min-kyu, the CEO of M.K. Enterprise. The two actors are wor

Jan. 4, 2022

[Herald Interview] Playing villain in ‘Special Cargo’ gave Song Sae-byeok ’bad headaches‘

Even for veteran performer Song Se-byeok, 42, who debuted in 1988 as a stage actor, understanding the reckless character of Kyung-pil in the upcoming film “Special Cargo” by Park Dae-min was not easy. “Special Cargo” is a crime-action film that centers around a professional delivery driver named Eun-ha (Park So-dam). She delivers anything that cannot be delivered legally. One day, Eun-ha receives a mission to deliver a young boy named Seo-won (Jung Hyeon-jun) who is bei

Jan. 4, 2022

Naver Webtoon campaign featuring BTS on display at Coex K-pop Square

Naver Webtoon’s “Super Casting” campaign featuring boy band BTS will be displayed at Coex’s K-pop Square until Jan. 14. The billboard advertisement was put up on Dec. 25 as part of its campaign to invite fans and webtoon readers to join a farcical universe with BTS. The company added that it used ultra-high-definition technology for the display, in which the seven bandmates are swirled into a new world in Naver’s webtoon portal. Located in Seoul’s Samseon

Jan. 4, 2022

BTS Army accuse Hybe of exploiting fandom in business expansion

K-pop has grown into a mega-sized industry with local acts becoming household names worldwide that are supported by fans from all over the globe. While the local agencies behind the artists have all expanded their businesses, Hybe, the K-pop powerhouse behind boy band BTS, is at the fore. But BTS Army, the global fan base of the K-pop sensation, has recently expressed its anger with the entertainment firm for its aggressive expansion. Many fans are complaining that the agency is bent on making

Jan. 4, 2022

Violinist Kim Dong-hyun to kick off Kumho Art Hall’s 2022 season

Kumho Art Hall’s artist-in-residence violinist Kim Dong-hyun will kick off the new season at the concert hall Jan. 13 with the first of the Beautiful Thursday Concerts series. At the upcoming recital themed “22 degrees: Refreshing,” Kim will play Morzart’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 32 in B-flat Major, K. 454, Ysaye’s Sonata for Solo Violin No. 6 in E Major, Op. 27/6 and Hubay’s “Carmen -- Fantasie Brillante“ for Violin and Piano, Op.3/3.

Jan. 4, 2022

Chinese version of Korean musical 'Brothers Karamazov' to be staged at Shanghai Grand Theater

”The Brothers Karamazov,” an original musical produced by a South Korean production company, will hit a major theater in Shanghai in June, Orchard Musical Co. said Tuesday. The Korean musical is the first original musical licensed to take the stage at the Shanghai Grand Theater. “The Brothers Karamazov” is a small-budget musical that is based on Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel of the same title. The show premiered in 2018 in South Korea and has returned

Jan. 4, 2022

[Herald Interview] Actor Jung Woo-sung open to more challenges as producer

An accomplished actor, Jung Woo-sung, 48, wishes to offer stunning Korean content to viewers as a producer. “‘The Silent Sea’ was my second experience in reproducing a short film, following ‘Remember You’ in 2014. I always find the task of an executive producer difficult, but I wish to continue this work to bring the splendid projects created by the skilled directors to more viewers,” executive producer Jung said in an online interview Tuesday. The actor and

Jan. 4, 2022

Winter album sets new sales record for S.M. seasonal releases

S.M. Entertainment’s special winter album has made a successful return after a 10 year break, racking up highest sales among all seasonal project releases from the K-pop powerhouse. According to S.M., the album, “2021 Winter SMTown: SMCU Express,” has notched up over 416,000 units since its release on Dec. 27. The star-studded album from SMTOWN -- which refers to the collective of artists affiliated to S.M. -- was the first special winter release since the release of “2

Jan. 4, 2022

More BTS members released from COVID-19 isolation

Two more members of the K-pop supergroup BTS -- RM and Jin -- were confirmed to have fully recovered from the new coronavirus and released from isolation Tuesday after Suga, their agency said. "Members RM and Jin were released from isolation at noon as they were confirmed to have been fully recovered from COVID-19," Big Hit Music said. "The two showed no serious symptoms of the virus during the isolation period," it added. "Jin had mild symptoms, such as a mild fever a

Jan. 4, 2022

Can ‘Single’s Inferno’ repeat Korean drama series’ success on Netflix?

Ahead of the release of its final episodes later this week, Korean reality dating show “Single’s Inferno,” first released on Dec. 18, 2021, notched the 10th spot on Netflix’s global TV list as of Monday. The series became the first Korean reality show to be listed on the service’s global top 10 chart. While the streaming service had previously showcased a number of Korean reality shows -- “Busted!” (2018), travel documentary “Twogether” (20

Jan. 4, 2022

Webtoon-based TV series set to catch eyes of viewers in 2022

In 2022 TV lineups released by South Korean broadcasters and global streaming services, a slew of webtoon-based series are drawing attention from Korean drama fans at home and abroad. In recent years, homegrown webtoons, or web-based comics, have risen as a tried-and-true source of fresh ideas for producers and screenwriters here. Many of their TV adaptations, including the drama "Itaewon Class" (2020) and Netflix's original "Hellbound" (2021), have become global hits. Tvin

Jan. 4, 2022