‘The Jump’ and ‘Me and the Cult Leader’ win Grand Prix at EIDF 2021

Lithuanian director Giedre Zickyte’s “The Jump” won the Grand Prix in the global category at the 18th EBS International Documentary Festival, the broadcaster announced Tuesday. Twenty-one films vied for prizes in the three competitive categories -- Festival Choice in Global, Festival Choice in Asia and a mobile shorts competition. “The Jump” centers around a Lithuanian sailor, Simas Kudirka, who jumped from a Soviet fishing boat and swam to a US vessel in the Atla

Aug. 31, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] BTOB keeps branching out

BTOB held an online media conference Monday and discussed the band’s new album. 　 Seo Eunkwang, Lee Minhyuk, Lee Changsub and Peniel came out with a special album titled “4U: Outside,” nine months after the band’s previous work. The four performers are functioning as a subunit because Yook Sungjae and Im Hyunsik are currently serving their military duty. 　 “My heart is all aflutter,” confided Seo, especially since it was the first new music the band had put

Aug. 30, 2021

Winners of Queen Elisabeth Competition to perform in Korea

Two winners of the 2021 Queen Elisabeth Competition are to hold performances across Korea starting next month. French pianist Jonathan Fournel and Japanese pianist Keigo Mukawa who took the first and the third place in this year’s competition, respectively, will kick off their schedule at the 2021 PLZ Festival held in Goseong, Gangwon Province, on Sept. 8. They will also hold recitals in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, on Sept. 10 and in Gwangju on Sept. 12. Fournel will presen

Aug. 30, 2021

KOCCA to present Korean broadcasting content to global market

Broadcast Worldwide 2021 will be held Sept. 6-10 under the slogan “Content, Traveling to a New World,” the Korea Creative Content Agency said Monday. The annual event is being held online for the second consecutive year. Asia’s largest broadcasting content market, BCWW seeks to present outstanding content and insights to the broadcast industry around the world. According to KOCCA, 367 buyers and officials from 31 countries have registered for the event, including Warner Med

Aug. 30, 2021

Homegrown action film ‘Escape from Mogadishu’ sells more than 3m tickets

“Escape from Mogadishu” directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, which was released on July 28, has sold more than 3 million tickets, according to film distributor Lotte Entertainment Sunday. The action film overtook Marvel Studios’ superhero movie “Black Widow,” which sold over 2.95 million tickets, to be the most-watched film of 2021. The release of “Escape from Mogadishu” was possible with support from the Korean Theater Association, which includes among its mem

Aug. 30, 2021

BIFF to screen streaming platform originals

Busan International Film Festival will launch the “On Screen” program this year, moving streaming content to the big screen during the festival. The 26th BIFF will be held from Oct. 6 to 15. The new section was added to reflect the expansion of streaming platforms and their content’s influence in the global market. A number of international film festivals, including Venice International Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, have created similar sections to i

Aug. 29, 2021

Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival to go online again

The Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival will be held online again this year as the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to be contained. According to the festival organizers Thursday, the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2021 will take place Oct. 9-10 as an online event, free of charge. In 2020, the festival went online for the first time since its launch in 2006, gathering a total of around 780,000 viewers.  The primary lineup released Thursday consists of leading rock acts here suc

Aug. 28, 2021

[Eye interview] 'The stage is to die for'

What does a pianist who travels the world on concert tours do when the world goes into a lockdown? You go on an emotional roller coaster, refocus and record your first studio album. That is what pianist Sunwoo Yekwon did. “I was going through the same mental stages as other people,” said Sunwoo Yekwon in an interview with The Korea Herald on Aug. 17 at the Universal Music office in Seoul. “In the beginning, I was quite hopeful, hoping that things will get better soon,&rdquo

Aug. 28, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Mamamoo preparing a greatest hits album: report

Mamamoo is putting together a compilation album slated to be released in September, according to local media reports on Friday. 　 The album will chronicle the band’s seven-year career, with each track selected by the four bandmates, in addition to two songs that have not been released. 　 This is the quartet’s first album since its three members -- Solar, Moonbyeol and Hwasa -- renewed their contracts with management firm RBW Entertainment in June. Wheein decided not to sign with th

Aug. 27, 2021

Joseph Nye to lecture in EBS series ‘Great Minds’

Public education broadcaster EBS said Tuesday that it would air a lecture series called “Great Minds,” starring acclaimed academics including American political scientist Joseph S. Nye. “Great Minds” aims to close knowledge gaps exacerbated by the extended COVID-19 and fake news in social networking services. According to the broadcaster, a total of 40 scholars will star in the 200-part lecture series. The production crew visited the scholars to film the lectures in pe

Aug. 27, 2021

SBS offers new fantasy romance drama ‘Red Sky’

For television director Jang Tae-yoo, seeing the chemistry between the actors in the upcoming Monday-Tuesday SBS drama “Red Sky” was a huge pleasure. “The vibe in our filming site was literally crazy. The relationship between the cast and the staff was really good and all I had to do was to make sure that the cameras worked,” the director said during an online press conference Thursday afternoon. The fantasy romance drama, an adaptation of a novel of the same title by

Aug. 27, 2021

Cho Seong-jin releases new Chopin album

Concert pianist Cho Seong-jin, the first Korean to win the International Chopin Piano Competition, released his second Frederic Chopin album Friday. The new album, released under the Deutsche Grammophon label, features Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21. On the album, Cho is accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra led by the Italian maestro Gianandrea Noseda. Though Cho has performed the work on multiple occasions, including a performance at the BBC Proms in 2018, it

Aug. 27, 2021

BTS refutes chart manipulation claims, saying being K-pop band with loyal fans makes it 'easy target'

K-pop superband BTS has refuted the recent online allegations of Billboard chart manipulation, pointing out that they are easily subject to such accusations just because they are a peripheral band from Korea. The septet's English-language songs "Butter" and "Permission to Dance" have stayed atop the Hot 100 main singles chart for a combined 10 weeks this summer thanks to overwhelming physical album sales and digital downloads. Typically, on the other hand, most of the Hot

Aug. 27, 2021

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Hostage: Missing Celebrity (Korea) Opened Aug. 18 Thriller, Action Directed by Pil Gam-seong Famous actor Hwang Jung-min, played by himself, is kidnapped in Seoul without any witnesses or evidence left behind. At first, the actor thinks it is a prank, but he soon realizes the seriousness of the situation. He tries to escape from the kidnappers who demand a huge ransom within 24 hours. Sinkhole (Korea) Opened Aug. 11 Comedy Directed by Kim Ji-hoon Although he has an annoying neighbor (Cha Se

Aug. 27, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] BTS sets new record with “Butter”

BTS bounced back up to No. 1 on Billboard’s Artist 100, returning to the top after dropping to No. 2 last week, the publication revealed on Thursday in the US. 　 This is the 20th time the septet hit No. 1 on the chart that was launched in 2014. BTS is the first group to top the list for 20 weeks. Only three artists have stayed longer than the band, and all are solo musicians: Taylor Swift (48 weeks), Drake (32) and The Weeknd (22).  　 The Artist 100 combines a performer’s per

Aug. 26, 2021

‘D.P.’ to present unfamiliar side of Korean Army

“D.P.,” directed by Han Jun-hee, will be released Aug. 27 starring Jung Hae-in as a young private assigned to capture Army deserters. Short for “Deserter Pursuit,” the upcoming Netflix original series shows the life of Pvt. Jun-ho (played by Jung) and Cpl. Ho-yeol (played by Koo Kyo-hwan) and reveals the reasons some soldiers try to escape the Army. “For Koreans, the Army is a place with a lot of meaning, so I was focused on making the audience feel empathy while

Aug. 26, 2021

BLACKPINK's Lisa to debut as solo artist next month

Lisa, a member of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, will debut as a solo artist next month, her management agency said Thursday. The rapper-dancer will release her first individual single album titled "Lalisa" at 12 a.m. on Sept. 10 (US eastern time), YG Entertainment said. "The upcoming album will feature Lisa's natural and authentic side as implied by its title," the agency said, though it did not elaborate on the tracklist of the album. She dropped a teaser poster for her for

Aug. 26, 2021

Stage musicals embrace Korean traditional music to meet diversified demand

South Korea's stage musicals have joined hands with gukak, or Korean traditional music, to meet the rising demand of Korean people for diversified cross-genre shows. Musical "Pan" has been gaining more-than-expected popularity since it premiered in July at Jeongdong Theater, a state-run venue that stages traditional performing arts. Set in the late 19th century of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the show tells the story of Dalsu, a nobleman who wants to become the best storyteller in

Aug. 26, 2021

[Herald Interview] Colde: Spreading love through music with spirit of resistance

The high ceiling and spaced out arrangement of achromatic furniture inside Colde's office in Seongu-dong, Seoul, gave off a cool energy. But exceptions here and there nodded to his more dynamic tastes: the bright yellow cabinet, the brilliant red, heart-shaped chair, and the colorful array of books half-neatly stacked behind his desk. Colde entered the room still on his phone. After dropping his recent single “When Dawn Comes Again” last month, the singer-songwrit

Aug. 26, 2021

BTS, Megan Thee Stallion to release 'Butter' remix Friday

South Korean superband BTS and American rapper Megan Thee Stallion are set to release a remix of the group's single "Butter" Friday, the septet's agency announced. The collaboration will drop at 1 p.m. Friday (Korean time) amid the original single's continued success on music charts, including the Billboard Hot 100. "(The remix) will have a new charm as BTS' unique style contained in the original version of 'Butter' combines with Megan Thee Stallion's rap," Big Hit Music, t

Aug. 26, 2021