TXT premieres VR concert

K-pop boy group TXT has announced its first virtual reality concert. From July 31 to Aug. 27, TXT is presenting its first VR concert, “Hyperfocus: Tomorrow X Together VR Concert,” at Megabox Coex in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. This VR concert will feature prefilmed performances of hit songs such as “Sugar Rush Ride” and “Deja Vu,” and run for approximately 60 minutes. For the virtual concert experience, the audience will wear VR headsets, immersing themselves in perfor

July 31, 2024

The next ‘Frozen’? Expectations for ‘Heartsping: Teenieping of Love’ soar with high reservation rate

The ticket reservation rate for “Heartsping: Teenieping of Love,” the film prequel to South Korean hit animation series “Catch! Teenieping,” has recorded 95 percent well before its opening at theaters on Aug. 7, according to ShowBox, the film’s distributor. The record is raising anticipation on whether the Korean animated film will become the next “Frozen,” a 2019 hit Disney animated film that saw the presales of tickets top 1.1 million -- the first anim

July 30, 2024

Internet drives K-pop stars to overwork

The punishing schedule and little rest that K-pop stars endure are not new. Big-name K-pop agencies have been consistently criticized for operating like factories in producing and managing artists. Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of K-pop powerhouse Hybe, acknowledged this issue in a CNN interview in March 2023. “It’s not a total urban legend. Of course, there was some element of it in the past,” he said. Bang suggested that the issue was a thing of the past and argued that today, K-pop

July 30, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jimin hits Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 14

Jimin of BTS claimed the No. 14 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 with “Who,” according to the chart preview published Tuesday. “Who” is the main track from his second solo EP “Muse” which notched the second-highest rung on the Billboard 200 as did his previous EP “Face.” Suga and V also tied with their solo albums on the main albums chart with “D-Day” and “Layover,” respectively. “Who” would be Jimin’s fif

July 30, 2024

International EBS festival to feature selection of well-crafted documentaries

The 21st EBS International Documentary Festival, the country's oldest documentary festival, takes place Aug. 19 to Aug. 25, when it will introduce a slew of well-made documentaries from around the world. Featuring 53 documentaries from 32 countries, this year's festival is being held under its slogan: "Bridge the Times." The slogan embodies the hope that humanity can bridge diverse values and cultures to strive for coexistence, said Kim Dong-gwan, director of EIDF, at a press

July 30, 2024

Veteran DJ Kim Chang-wan returns to radio

Singer-actor Kim Chang-wan, also a legendary radio DJ known for his warm, comforting messages, has returned to radio four months after stepping down from a show he had hosted for 23 years. Kim and SBS radio program producer Jung Han-sung held a press conference at the SBS headquarters to celebrate the launch of their new radio program, "6 O’clock Evening Breeze, Kim Chang-wan Ibnida" on July 22. After an emotional farewell shared during the last broadcast of his long-running morn

July 30, 2024

Zerobaseone to drop 4th EP ‘Cinema Paradise’ next month

K-pop boy group Zerobaseone is returning with its fourth EP “Cinema Paradise” next month. The group's third EP "You Had Me at Hello" was released just three months ago. The group dropped a teaser poster for its upcoming album on its X account on Monday. It also shared a spoiler film for the new album on YouTube which shows the nine-member group watching a film in a theater with a silhouette of someone walking through a door. The subtitle reads "with special appear

July 30, 2024

'Planet B' to shed light on recruitment process for K-pop survival show

CJ ENM announced on Monday that it will launch a new Mnet program called "Planet B," which will, for the first time, show how K-pop survival program participants are recruited. The producers behind Mnet K-pop idol survival programs such as the "I-LAND" series, which led to the creation of K-pop groups Enhypen and Izna; "Girls Planet 999: The Girls Saga," which resulted in Kep1er; and "Boys Planet," which created Zerobaseone, will be responsible for produci

July 29, 2024

Blackswan is back with 'Roll Up'

Blackswan, the first K-pop girl group consisting of all members who are not from South Korea, is set to make a comeback. The group will return with new album "Roll Up" on July 31 at 6 p.m. This EP is the group's first release since single album "That Karma" released in May last year, and includes a total of four tracks, with title song "Roll Up." The title track boasts an impressive lineup of producers, including: Rob Grimaldi, Alina Smith, Lauren Dyson, A Wrig

July 29, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Twice logs 800m views with ‘What is Love?’ music video

Twice garnered 800 million views on YouTube with the music video for “What is Love?,” label JYP Entertainment said Monday. It is the group’s first to reach the milestone. “What is Love?” is the title track from Twice's fifth EP which came out in 2018. Written by the label’s head producer Park Jin-young, the music video for the upbeat tune turned each member into a movie character. Twice holds the record as the girl group with the most music videos with ov

July 29, 2024

Le Sserafim unveils ‘Le Sserafim -- Make It Look Easy’ doc series

K-pop girl group Le Sserafim is to release its documentary series, "Le Sserafim -- Make It Look Easy,” starting from 8 p.m. on Monday. The new release follows “The World Is My Oyster,” the group's first documentary series released in September 2022. The quintet dropped a trailer for the upcoming documentary series on Monday in which the bandmates shared their thoughts about their performances and music. The group also dropped five teasers, each focusing on an individu

July 29, 2024

K-pop stars take top spots at Billboard 200

K-pop acts took over Billboard’s main album chart with Stray Kids nabbing its fifth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and BTS’ Jimin landing at No. 2. This marks the first time that K-pop albums have claimed the No.1 and No. 2 spots on Billboard 200. Stray Kids topped the Billboard 200 dated Aug. 3 with its ninth EP “Ate” earning 232,000 equivalent album units in the US, according to Billboard. The Billboard 200 chart, compiled by Luminate, ranks the best-performing albums in th

July 29, 2024

'My Name Is Gabriel' losing viewership battle with 'Jinny's Kitchen'

"My Name Is Gabriel," one of the most highly anticipated entertainment shows of this year, going head-to-head with the second season of star producer Na Young-seok's "Jinny's Kitchen," has continued to suffer low viewership, with experts noting the show has failed to leverage Kim's strengths. "My Name Is Gabriel" stars top celebrities such as actor Park Bo-gum and TV personality Kim Jin-young, otherwise known as Dex, who adopt different identities for

July 29, 2024

[Herald Interview] 'Tiny Desk Korea,' a small production with big goals

A small office filled with albums, books and LPs, a singer performing in a modest setup without any special effects or lighting — these are the images that come to mind when thinking of "Tiny Desk Concerts." "Tiny Desk Concerts," adapted from a popular National Public Radio segment in the United States that began in 2008, strives to capture the essence of music across genres and generations. Kang So-yeon and Kim Hee-won, project managers at South Korea's telecommun

July 29, 2024

Actor Son Suk-ku’s ‘Night Fishing’ wins award at Fantasia International Film Festival

South Korean actor Son Suk-ku’s 13-minute-long experimental film “Night Fishing” received the Best Editing Award at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival, which kicked off on July 18 and continues through Aug. 4 in Montreal, Canada. The “Night Fishing” story, which unfolds from the perspective of a car’s cameras, revolves around an anonymous agent (Son) on a mission to track down an unidentified creature flying in the sky. As the sun sets, he lies in a

July 29, 2024

[Herald Interview] Jo Jung-suk says his comical acting is instinctive, result of teamwork

Jo Jung-suk, whose scene-stealing acting entertains viewers on the silver screen, said his realistic, natural and even sly comical acting is based on instinct. In upcoming comedy film “Pilot,” he plays pilot Han Jung-woo, successfully performing the comical role of a man disguising himself as a woman in a way that is neither excessive nor dull. “It’s really important to get a sense (of comical acting.) It’s hard to explain. I think (my acting) is instinctive. &helli

July 29, 2024

Hybe's efforts to win fans’ hearts appear unproductive

Hybe continues to attempt to take control of the narrative in its ongoing dispute with Ador CEO Min Hee-jin as subsidiary Source Music, already entangled in a defamation lawsuit filed against Min on July 15, plans to release a documentary series depicting Le Sserafim's hardships over the past year. This move seems aimed at disproving Min's April press conference claims of Hybe's preferential treatment toward Le Sserafim by highlighting their success through hard work. Yet, it unde

July 28, 2024

Music festival Boiler Room Seoul halted due to overcrowding

The music festival "Boiler Room Seoul 2024," where DJ Peggy Gou was scheduled to perform, was abruptly halted due to excessive crowding. The festival was held at the Sfactory, a multipurpose cultural venue in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, but was stopped three hours earlier than scheduled for safety reasons as the venue became overcrowded. It was set to run from 9 p.m. Saturday to 4 a.m. Sunday, but the festival was forced to end around 1 a.m., just before Peggy Gou's performance. Festival

July 28, 2024

[Herald Review] Noel Gallagher rocks Korean music fans across generations

British rock legend Noel Gallagher, a key member of the rock band Oasis, thrilled fans in Korea last week with his second gig in the country in eight months. On Friday evening, around 18,000 fans gathered at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, for Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds concert. The audience included long-time fans who enjoyed Oasis's music during their youth in the 90s, as well as younger fans in their teens and twenties. South Korean band Silica Gel opened the concert a

July 28, 2024

[What to watch] 3 Korean box office flops with cult followings for unpredictable laughs

While it’s certainly harder to call Korea’s box office flops “great” movies to watch, some have gained cult followings similar to B-movies, due to being “so bad they’re good.” Korean movies in this vein don’t fall into a particular genre or follow a typical storyline. They are unpredictable and elicit uncontrollable laughs, rather than forced ones. How good these movies actually are is a tricky question to answer. But if you have any love for black

July 27, 2024