[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Don’t Look Up (US) Opened Dec. 8 Comedy Directed by Adam McKay Astronomy graduate student Kate Dibiaski (Jennifer Lawrence) and professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) discover a comet headed straight for Earth on a devastating collision course. However, no one cares about the news of an approaching comet that can destroy the planet. The two decide to go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy everything. Encanto (US) Opened Nov. 24 Animati

Dec. 17, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen dominates Japanese charts with single

Seventeen continues to reign at the top of Japanese charts with its special single “Ainochikara.”  The single topped Billboard Japan’s weekly single sales chart, logging close to 247,000 copies in sales. It also was No. 2 on Billboard Japan’s Hot 100, according to the publication’s latest announcement on Wednesday. It was released on Dec. 8 and landed atop Oricon’s daily single ranking and maintained the spot for six days before hitting its weekly sing

Dec. 16, 2021

‘The Apartment with Two Women’ invited to Berlin film festival

Korean director Kim Se-in’s “The Apartment With Two Women” will be screened during the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival’s Panorama program in February. The panorama program is a noncompetition category of the annual film festival. This year, 13 titles will be screened in the program alongside Kim’s 140-minute film. The 72nd edition of the film festival will kick off Feb. 10. Kim’s debut feature was created through a feature film production program

Dec. 16, 2021

'Spider-Man' sets opening-day record since pandemic

"Spider-Man: No Way Home," Marvel's latest Spider-Man series film, has set the best opening-day record at the South Korean box office since the new coronavirus broke out, data showed Thursday. The blockbuster garnered about 635,000 viewers upon its debut Wednesday, accounting for 96.9 percent of the tickets sold on the day, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). It marked the largest first-day score for a film since the COVID-19 pandemic started early last year, outnumbering t

Dec. 16, 2021

‘Squid Game’ racking up US award nominations

“Squid Game” is racking up nominations at US TV awards, as it continues to write new Korean TV history. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association on Monday announced the nomination of Netflix’s South Korean megahit in three categories at 79th Golden Globes -- actors Lee Jung-jae in best television actor in the drama series, Oh Young-soo in best supporting actor and “Squid Game” in the best drama series. “Squid Game” also earned three nominations at 27th

Dec. 15, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] NCT sweeps iTunes chart in 30 regions

NCT’s third full-length album “Universe” landed atop iTunes top albums chart in 30 regions as well as all major charts in Korea. 　 The 13-track album was fully unveiled on Tuesday and won the platinum album certification from China’s largest music platform QQ Music for having logged over 1 million yuan ($157,000) in sales. 　 NCT U, a subunit of the 21-member band, performed “Universe (Let’s Play Ball),” one of the double title tracks of the LP, in advan

Dec. 15, 2021

Musical ‘Frankenstein’ a hit among foreigners. What do they like about it?

On the first Saturday of December, it was another full house for the musical “Frankenstein” at Shinhan Card Hall, a space dedicated to musicals within Blue Square. In its fourth run, the Korean original musical written, composed and produced by Korean creators, has attracted roughly 500,000 people since its 2014 premiere. Among the theatergoers that day were several foreigners with limited understanding of Korean -- a newly dispatched US soldier and several English teachers, on

Dec. 15, 2021

Local broadcasters unveil lineups for year-end music festivals

With the end of the year fast approaching, broadcasters are preparing to hold their annual year-end music festivals, featuring star-studded lineups of artists and hosts. The final list of performers for the state-run KBS’ “Song Festival” shows 20 groups and artists, including Red Velvet, Enhypen, Aespa, Lee Mu-jin, Seventeen, Sunmi, Nu’est, Kang Daniel, Astro, Brave Girls, NCT U, Kim Woo-seok, StayC and Ive. Under the theme of “With K-Culture,” performances

Dec. 15, 2021

‘Squid Game,’ ‘Parasite’ music director Jung Jae-il wins Chanel Next Prize

Music director Jung Jae-il of Netflix’s hit series “Squid Game” and Oscar-winning “Parasite“ was named as one of the 10 winners of the 2021 Chanel Next Prize, the high-end fashion house announced. On Tuesday, Chanel announced its newly-established international award winners who have supported innovations in art and culture. Jung was recognized for opening up a new genre that fuses traditional Korean music with the sounds of western instruments, the French Luxury b

Dec. 15, 2021

Yoo Jae-suk’s COVID-19 diagnosis to change year-end plans for local television

The COVID-19 pandemic is once again standing in the way of the local broadcasting industry, with a long list of TV shows featuring top Korean comedian Yoo Jae-suk being canceled Tuesday, after he tested positive for coronavirus. Yoo will not be participating in both local broadcaster SBS’ hit TV show “Running Man” and the annual SBS Entertainment Awards this Saturday, which Yoo has been attending for the past 11 years. “The original six members will film “Running

Dec. 14, 2021

Netflix’s 'D.P.' to return with season 2

Netflix on Tuesday confirmed the return of its Korean original series “D.P.” with a second season. Short for “Deserter Pursuit,” the series presents the life of Pvt. Jun-ho (played by Jung Hae-in) and Cpl. Ho-yeol (played by Koo Kyo-hwan) and reveals the reasons that some soldiers try to escape the army. The series, helmed by “Coinlocker Girl” and “Hit-and-Run Squad” director Han Jun-hee, is an adaptation of a webtoon of the same title by Kim B

Dec. 14, 2021

Political film ‘Kingmaker’ throws question mark on ethical dilemma

While the South Korean presidential election is less than three months away, the fact-based political drama “Kingmaker” aims to raise a question about using unjust means to achieve a goal. Set in the 1960s-70s, “Kingmaker” revolves around an opposition party politician who dreams of becoming president and his excellent strategist. It was motivated by mysterious election strategist Eom Chang-rok, who worked for former President Kim Dae-jung, who became president in 1998

Dec. 14, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] NCT’s 3rd LP sells over 1.7m copies in preorders

NCT has sold more than 1.7 million units of its third full-length album in preorders, according to label SM Entertainment. 　 The album, named “Universe,” is due out Tuesday and would become another million-seller for the band. 　 “Beautiful,” one of the double title tracks, hopes to remind listeners that each and every one of them is a special and unique being, and they should pursue their dreams even though life can be challenging. Johnny, Taeyong, Mark and Hendery part

Dec. 14, 2021

Lee Jung-jae and Oh Young-soo nominated for Golden Globes

Netflix’s South Korean megahit “Squid Game” earned three nominations at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, which honors the best in television and films, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Monday. Korean actor Lee Jung-jae, who took on the role of debt-ridden divorcee Seong Gi-hun on the show, has been nominated for the best television actor in the drama series, along with actors Brain Cox and Jeremy Strong of HBO’s “Succession,” Billy Porter of Ne

Dec. 14, 2021

'Squid Game' earns three nominations at Golden Globes

South Korea's sensational survival drama "Squid Game" has been nominated in three categories, including the best TV drama series, at the 79th annual Golden Globe Awards. According to the nominations announced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) on Monday (US time), the Netflix original was listed in the categories -- Best TV Series-Drama, Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Drama and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role on TV. "Squid Game"

Dec. 14, 2021

Korean voice actors say Netflix, Disney+ have not improved their lives

After the success of Netflix’s “Squid Game,” a local news outlet reported that the expansion of global streaming services has improved Korean voice actors’ lives as such platforms can provide more jobs. The article noted that there are more jobs for voice actors, especially after Disney+, which has a lot of animation content that needs to be dubbed into Korean, entered the Korean market this year. However, Korean voice actor Choi Jae-ho says global streaming servic

Dec. 13, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen’s Woozi to drop 1st solo mixtape next month: report

Woozi of Seventeen will put out his first solo mixtape in January, according to a local media report on Monday. 　 He is the leader of the vocal team within the band and has been writing and producing songs as one of the two main producers of the 13-member act since its debut. He won the best producer award at 2021 Asia Artist Awards.  　 “I am overwhelmed and wonder if I deserve to receive an award with such big title when I’m only 26 years old,” said the musician at the c

Dec. 13, 2021

Will Naver gain exclusive use of the term ‘webtoon’ overseas?

While Korean webtoons enjoy new heights of popularity and gain global recognition as cultural content, the local webtoon industry is concerned that the use of the term “webtoon” may become exclusive for the South Korean internet giant Naver. A type of web comic, webtoons are electronic cartoons and graphic novels that are read by scrolling down the screen, mostly on smartphones and tablet PCs. Amid the successful adaptation of webtoons to movies, drama series and games, a controve

Dec. 13, 2021

Top comedian tests positive for COVID-19

Comedian Yoo Jae-suk, 49, tested positive for the coronavirus Monday, according to his entertainment agency Antenna. The company announced Monday that Yoo, who received his second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in September, received PCR tests after he was notified Saturday that he had been in close contact with an individual diagnosed with COVID-19. After he was found negative on Saturday, Yoo was instructed to take a second PCR test Monday, which came out positive later the same day. “Al

Dec. 13, 2021

Audio therapy: Koreans turn to ambient music to relax, reduce stress

As the prolonged pandemic has continued to take a toll on people’s mental health, Koreans are increasingly turning to different sound genres to unwind. In Korea, Kokkiri and Mabo are two apps that are looking to tap into the market for ambient music. The apps have themes describing the user’s state of mind -- from anxiety, depression to anger and sleeplessness. There are subcategories of meditation sounds and auditory training sessions. To allow the users to keep track of the pla

Dec. 13, 2021