Moon Se-yoon wins his 1st grand prize at KBS Entertainment Awards

Comedian Moon Se-yoon wrapped up 2021 in triumph, winning the grand prize at the KBS Entertainment Awards on Saturday. Recognized for his achievements on three TV shows -- “Godfather,” “Trot Magic” and “2 Days & 1 Night,” the 39-year-old entertainer was awarded the top prize at KBS headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul. There were four other nominees for the grand prize this year, including 2020 grand prize winner Kim Sook, singer and entertainer Kim J

Dec. 26, 2021

K-pop artists ring in Christmas with splendid performances at SBS Music Awards

K-pop singers have gathered at local broadcaster SBS’ year-end music show, making Christmas even more special for both music fans and viewers on Saturday. Under the theme of “Welcome,” this year’s SBS Music Awards took place at the Namdong Gymnasium, in Incheon. The show was broadcast live on its main channel at 6 p.m., while a live audience was invited to the venue. SHINee’s Key, ITZY’s Yuna and Boom hosted the show. For the opening stage, a total of 25 t

Dec. 26, 2021

Tongyeong music fest marks 20th edition with diversity

The Tongyeong International Music Festival, an annual classical music gala, will take place March 25 to April 3, under the theme of “Vision in Diversity.” Marking its 20th anniversary, the annual music festival aims to contemplate diversity. The festival held in the southern coastal city of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, will be directed by composer Chin Un-suk and feature classical to contemporary music. For the opening concert, Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska will lead t

Dec. 26, 2021

’Spider-Man’ likely to become most-watched film in theaters this year

Hollywood’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” by Jon Watts is likely to overtake director Ryoo Seung-wan’s “Escape from Mogadishu,” which sold more than 3.61 million tickets this year. Ryoo’s film, which is so far the most-watched film this year, was released with support from the Korean Theater Association. The association’s members include the top three multiplex operators: CGV, Lotte Cinema and Megabox. Earlier in June, the association decided to fo

Dec. 24, 2021

KpopersXBoric: K-pop fans who rallied support for Chile’s millennial president-elect

Former student protest leader Gabriel Boric has made history in winning Chile’s presidential election on Sunday. And among his coalition of supporters were local K-pop fans -- many of whom, armed with a strong social media presence and digital skills, flocked to support the progressive millennial in the second round of the elections. ‘Like a genius joke that went too far’ For Claudia Patino, a 27-year-old graduate student from Chile who decided to study international relati

Dec. 24, 2021

Suga of BTS tests positive for COVID-19

Suga, a member of K-pop superband BTS, has tested positive for the new coronavirus, his management agency said Friday. Suga was confirmed to have the virus in a polymerase chain reaction test after arriving in Seoul from the United States on Thursday, according to Big Hit Music. "Suga received his second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in late August," it said. "He has no special symptoms and is staying at home in accordance with the guidelines of the quarantine authorities." T

Dec. 24, 2021

S. Korean webtoon market jumps to top W1tr in sales in 2020

The South Korean webtoon industry saw its combined sales top 1 trillion won ($843.6 million) for the first time last year, government data showed Friday. The total sales of the local web-based comic market amounted to 1.05 trillion won in 2020, up 64.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the culture ministry and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA). It is the first time that the annual industrywide sales surpassed the 1 trillion-won threshold since 2017, when the ministr

Dec. 24, 2021

BTS becomes best-selling artist of year in Japan for 1st time

K-pop superband BTS has become the first international act to be best-selling artist of the year in Japan. According to the annual rankings released by Japanese music tracker Oricon on Friday, the septet placed No. 1 on the total sales by artist, based on the aggregated sales of albums, DVDs, online streamings and online singles. The company said BTS is the first non-Japanese artist to top the annual comprehensive sales chart. Oricon earlier said BTS' Japanese-language compilation album "

Dec. 24, 2021

Tracing the root of Koreans’ ‘white skin obsession’

Weeks after Korean series “Hellbound” became a massive hit on Netflix, another show -- “Single’s Inferno” -- has started a fire, possibly for all the wrong reasons. The dating reality show recently became the subject of a dispute among viewers abroad over one of its cast members’ comment on a female cast member, specifically about her “white skin color.” The controversy, appears to stem from a combination of factors including a lack of understa

Dec. 24, 2021

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Spider-Man: No Way Home (US) Opened Dec. 15 Action Directed by Jon Watts 　 With Spider-Man‘s identity now revealed, Peter (Tom Holland) asks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help. But Doctor Strange’s spell goes wrong and dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man. 　 Encanto (US) Opened Nov. 24 Animation Directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard In the deep mountains of Colombia, there is a special place call

Dec. 24, 2021

Blackpink’s first day on Weverse racks up highest number of daily users: report

Global fandom platform Weverse saw the biggest number of daily visitors this year on Aug. 3, when girl group Blackpink launched its community, according to Weverse’s Fandom Trend report released Thursday. Weverse, the online fan community operated by K-pop powerhouse Hybe, released the annual report, wrapping up the year’s significant trends inside the mobile fandom platform. The report also showed that Blackpink’s fandom, known as Blink, grew the fastest, with over 1 million

Dec. 23, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] TXT releases 1st carol

  Tomorrow X Together surprised fans with the group’s first carol, “Sweet Dreams,” Thursday.   　 The band gave just three hours’ prior notice in announcing the song’s release. The news came with an image that showed the five bandmates, each as a stamp, with a Christmas tree.   　 In the R&B-based tune featuring melodic piano sounds, they wish everyone a warm Christmas despite the challenging time, with only good things in the future.  

Dec. 23, 2021

Looking ahead to Korea’s 2022 classical music season

Though the resurgence of coronavirus infections and the spread of the omicron variant have been threatening the industry, next year‘s lineup of classical music performances is already being announced, packed with concerts previously delayed due to the pandemic as well as big names returning to Korea after several years. The concert schedule announced by classical music production company Vincero comprises 15 performances between March 17 and Dec. 8. While most of the concerts are schedu

Dec. 23, 2021

Violinist Park Sueye’s ‘Journey Through a Century’ chosen as Gramophone’s Recordings of the Year

South Korean violinist Park Sueye’s album “Journey Through a Century” has been picked as one of UK magazine Gramophone‘s Recordings of the Year 2021, the artist’s agency MOC Production said on Thursday. The magazine announced the list of honorees through its annual Gramophone Digital Special published earlier this month, featuring all of this year’s Editor’s Choice albums, Recordings of the Month and the winners of the recording categories of the Gramop

Dec. 23, 2021

Erick Oh’s ‘Namoo’ makes 94th Oscar shortlist

South Korean director Erick Oh’s short animation “Namoo,” which means tree in Korean, on Wednesday made it onto the 94th Oscar shortlist after being nominated in the animated short film category. The Academy Awards will announce the final list of nominees on Feb. 9 and the awards ceremony will take place on March 27, 2022. Oh’s new animation follows the journey of a man’s life -- from beginning to end -- next to a tree that collects all of his memories. Oh creat

Dec. 22, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] BTS is 1st international group to top Oricon’s annual ranking

BTS has topped the albums category of Oricon’s annual ranking 2021 with its best-of album in Japan, “BTS, The Best,” according to the Japanese chart on Wednesday. 　 This is the first time an international group topped the list and the second time for an international artist. Michael Jackson was the only one to take the spot with “Thriller” in 1984. 　 The album debuted as No. 1 on its weekly album ranking (June 28) selling 782,000 copies in the first week of sales, a

Dec. 22, 2021

Netflix series ‘The Silent Sea’ starring Bae Doo-na pioneers Korean sci-fi drama

For most of the cast and staff of Netflix’s “The Silent Sea,” they jumped at the chance to join the production of the sci-fi thriller series, quickly overcoming any hesitancy.  “I think I was a little reluctant about starring in a Korean space-related project. Even after receiving the scenario, I was uncertain about the moon exploration series. But my attitude completely changed after watching the director‘s short film ‘The Silent Sea,’” B

Dec. 22, 2021

‘Joseon pop’ pioneer Seodo Band wins JTBC’s ‘Poongryu’

Seodo Band -- which describes itself as the creators of Joseon pop -- took home the top prize from the hit JTBC music competition show “Poongryu” on Tuesday, which included 100 million won ($83,880) in prize money. “Poongryu,” which premiered in September, captured viewers by introducing a variety of twists on traditional Korean music, or gugak, melding it with elements of other Western music genres such as R&B, K-pop, hip-hop music and even breaking. The six finali

Dec. 22, 2021

Musical ‘The Lion King’ to be delayed due to COVID-related travel problems

The opening of the musical version of “The Lion King” will be delayed, as performers and crew face difficulties in flying into Korea after several airlines abruptly canceled flights bound for the country, according to S&Co, the production company of the international tour. “Our performance team members’ entry (into Korea) has been delayed due to COVID-related travel problems,” S&Co said in a statement released Tuesday. The statement further read that thos

Dec. 22, 2021

Watcha’s first music variety show ‘Double Trouble’ to feature star-studded duet performances

South Korean over-the-top service provider Watcha is set to air its first original music variety show “Double Trouble,” featuring duets by 10 K-pop stars. “Double Trouble” presents a series of performance battles in which 10 male and female idol members compete for the title of “Best Duo.” During its 10-episode run, the artists will pair up with different partners to put on five performances. “K-pop idols often take to the stage together for special

Dec. 22, 2021