BTS Suga admits drunk driving, apologizes

BTS member Suga, currently serving military duty as a public service agent, admitted Wednesday to drunk driving on Tuesday. He apologized for his actions and acknowledged his ignorance of the law regarding the use of electric scooters while intoxicated. “Last night, after drinking alcohol at dinner, I rode an electric scooter home. Underestimating the short distance and failing to recognize that the use of electric scooters is prohibited while under the influence, I violated traffic laws,&

Aug. 7, 2024

[Herald Review] ‘Mission: Cross,’ a high octane action flick with comedic elements

Kang-moo (Hwang Jung-min) is a stay-at-home husband who cooks and cleans while his wife Mi-seon (Yeom Jung-ah) is a veteran crime squad team member who was once an Asian Games silver medalist in shooting. Kang-moo, a warm-hearted man, helps Mi-seon by putting his past as a former agent behind and keeping it a secret from her – until he accidentally bumps into his former agent colleague Hee-joo (Jeon Hye-jin). After the encounter, he often goes out of contact and leaves the house all messy.

Aug. 7, 2024

Once megastar, G-Dragon finds new avenues for influence

G-Dragon, a member of YG Entertainment's biggest boy group Big Bang who dominated the K-pop scene from 2006 to 2018, has recently been making unique moves, moves that industry insiders say show that the musician is striving to maintain his fame and reputation as a cultural icon. On Monday, G-Dragon launched a new foundation, JusPeace, to help young artists with drug addiction. In June, he appeared at the Innovate Korea forum on the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology campus,

Aug. 7, 2024

Fifty Fifty to return with new members Sept. 20

K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty is finally making its long-awaited comeback on Sept. 20 with its second mini album. Attrakt, the K-pop agency housing Fifty Fifty, dropped Wednesday a poster with the group’s comeback schedule on social media platform X. The poster shows an event planned for Aug. 9 titled “Hello Fifty Fifty” and for Aug. 12-16 titled “We are Fifty Fifty,” hinting that these could be the dates on which the new members are announced. Fifty Fifty is returni

Aug. 7, 2024

[LLG] Son's mission to preserve memories of 93-year-old mom earns him unexpected recognition

Last year, Kang Heon-koo, 63, undertook an intriguing personal project: reconstructing a map of his family's now-defunct old village using the memories of his 93-year-old mother. The goal of the map-making was twofold: to visually preserve his mother’s memories before they fade and to keep himself engaged in a productive pursuit during retirement. With his old Samsung Galaxy smartphone, he recorded the process of piecing together the lost landscape of a small village in Bucheon, Gye

Aug. 7, 2024

Yoon San-ha of Astro ‘Dive’ into solo journey

Yoon San-ha of the boy band Astro set off on a journey as a soloist with his first mini album "Dusk." The singer debuted as the youngest member of Astro in 2016. The album's title symbolizes the transition from being an Astro member to his new solo artist identity. “When I started preparing the album, I pondered what kind of music I could make and my unique color. Then I decided to incorporate those struggles into the album,” said the singer at a press conference held

Aug. 7, 2024

'The Influencer' producers say influencers may be their rivals in future

Producers of Netflix Korea's new survival entertainment show said working on "The Influencer" helped them break their preconceptions about influencers and prompted them to rethink who their true competitors might be in the evolving content creation landscape. "The Influencer" brings together 77 of the most popular Korean content creators from various platforms, including YouTube, Afreeca TV and TikTok. The show follows the events that unfold as participants tackle variou

Aug. 6, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Stray Kids tease follow-up track

Stray Kids uploaded a trailer for the music video of a B-side track from their ninth EP “Ate” on Monday. The visual for “Jjam” is fashioned after that of a horror movie and follows the eight members as they roam around dark spaces before breaking into a run spooked by a mysterious presence and shattering a glass bottle. The single, written by Bang Chan and Changbin, claimed the No. 9 spot on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart last week. It follows the succes

Aug. 6, 2024

[Herald Review] ‘Revolver’ a slow-burning noir complete with icy protagonist, diverse characters

“Revolver” may give you a sense of an action-packed revenge noir, but the movie is about a former policewoman on the trail of vengeance. It’s a thriller -- or even a psychodrama -- revolving around a fearless woman obsessed with one goal: Getting her money back. Though ex-cop Ha Soo-young’s (Jeon Do-yeon) motive behind chasing after the some 700 million won ($509,447) she was promised in return for taking the rap and going to prison remains unclear to viewers, director Oh

Aug. 6, 2024

[Herald Interview] Jeon lauds color director brings to tale of broken promise

It was the fear of repeating her performance in “The Shameless (2015)” that led veteran star Jeon Do-yeon to think twice before teaming up again with director Oh Seung-uk for her latest noir “Revolver.” The actress had promised him to do the film, so she pressed on, constantly reminding herself of creative ways to play the new character who, Jeon says, is ironically identified by the notion of promise. “So I pushed hard against projecting emotions, being as understa

Aug. 6, 2024

Not just K-dramas anymore

Classic K-drama hits "Crash Landing on You" and "Vincenzo" are making comebacks as US remakes. Amidst the flurry of international remakes of hit Korean shows, these two series stand apart in a league of their own. Remaking a series typically involves selling the remake rights to an overseas studio, which then recreates the series without the involvement of the original creators. However, in the case of "Crash Landing on You" and "Vincenzo," Studio Dragon,

Aug. 6, 2024

Royal Opera House's 'Otello' to come to Seoul Arts Center

The Royal Opera House's 2017 production of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Otello" will be performed at the Seoul Arts Center from Aug. 18 to Aug. 25, featuring conductor Carlo Rizzi and top opera singers Lee Yong-hoon and Teodor Ilincai as Otello. This is the first time the Seoul Arts Center is presenting "Othello" since 2002. It also marks Korean tenor Lee Yong-hoon’s first time performing in “Otello” in Korea. “I had always dreamed of making my

Aug. 5, 2024

More K-pop singers turn to video streaming service

More K-pop musicians struggling to succeed in the entertainment industry are turning to the local livestreaming platform AfreecaTV as a way to make money. AfreecaTV has long been ill-received by the public due to its involvement in several social problems, including sex crimes and the abasement of disabled persons. For K-pop musicians, appearing on the platform’s video streaming service has been seen as taboo. However, for many former idols who have devoted their youth to training to becom

Aug. 5, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen to return in October

Seventeen will release its 12th EP in October, agency Pledis Entertainment said Monday. The band will also embark on a world tour to be held across North America and Asia where it will perform songs from the upcoming album. The tour will be named “Right Here,” after the group's best-of album “17 Is Right Here,” which was released in April. Consisting of 33 tracks, the compilation album set a record on the Oricon chart, topping its weekly combined album ranking for th

Aug. 5, 2024

‘Mission: Cross’ exudes simple, entertaining energy of detective wife and stay-at-home husband

Netflix's upcoming action comedy film “Mission: Cross” featuring a detective wife and stay-at-home husband with secret pasts, will exude entertaining energy, said the movie’s director and actors on Monday. Hwang Jung-min stars as Kang-moo, a stay-at-home husband who hides his past as a former agent, and Yeom Jung-ah plays veteran crime squad team member Mi-seon, who was once an Asian Game silver medalist in shooting. After learning about her husband’s past, Mi-seon g

Aug. 5, 2024

[Herald Review] Infinite leader Kim Sung-kyu mesmerizes fans with top-notch live performance with band

Kim Sung-kyu, the leader of veteran boy band Infinite, thrilled fans with a stand-alone concert last weekend, his first in 18 months. The singer's “LV3: Let's Vacay” concert took place over the weekend at Jamsil Student Gymnasium in Seoul. Following 2022's "LV1 : Light & Voice" and last year's "LV2: Like Your Vibes," the third iteration of the singer's branded concerts embraced the theme of summer vacation in steaming heat, subtitled &

Aug. 5, 2024

JYP launches new subsidiary Innit

JYP Entertainment announced on Monday the establishment of a new subsidiary, Innit Entertainment, aimed at enhancing its capabilities as a comprehensive entertainment company. According to JYP Entertainment, the name Innit derives from a shortened form of the English expression “isn’t it.” Innit Entertainment will handle various music genres including pop, ballad, trot and R&B; it plans to launch soloists, duos as well as actors, utilizing JYP Entertainment's training

Aug. 5, 2024

Hollywood superstars spotted enjoying summer in Korea

This summer has been punctuated by the arrival of several Hollywood superstars in South Korea, adding a touch of glamour to the season. English actor Simon Pegg, known for his roles in the "Mission Impossible" series, "Star Trek" and British sitcom "Spaced," has been seen touring around Korea recently. Pegg shared a video of himself on a train that seemed like the KTX on Friday on his Instagram account while featuring a montage of scenes from the film, "Train t

Aug. 5, 2024

International soccer superstars appear on 'SNL Korea'

World-class soccer players from Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich appeared as surprise guests on an episode of "SNL Korea," hours ahead of their friendly match held on Saturday evening. Tottenham Hotspur players Richarlison de Andrade and Jamie Donley, along with the club's captain, Son Heung-min, appeared in a comedy sketch of "SNL Korea" on Coupang Play Saturday, acting as new recruits for a fictional soccer club named the Sindorim Morning Soccer Club. The episode fe

Aug. 5, 2024

[Herald Review] (G)I-dle kicks off 'iDOL' world tour

“I am the top, super lady,” the first line of (G)I-dle’s hit track “Super Lady,” echoed through the KSPO Dome in Seoul evoking earsplitting cheers from the nearly 8,000 fans that filled the venue on Saturday. Soon after, (G)I-dle appeared from a lift like warriors, dressed in black sets, to kick off their world tour “iDOL” with a two-day concert in Seoul. As they slowly descended towards the main stage, they were welcomed by a mega dance crew that togeth

Aug. 4, 2024