New K-pop group P1Harmony to debut through film

As more and more K-pop groups create backstories and universes of their own, FNC Entertainment’s newest K-pop group, P1Harmony, is debuting in a sci-fi movie starring the six band members. The 99-minute movie, “P1H: The Beginning of a New World,” by director Yoon Hong-seung, who also goes by “Director Chang,” shows the P1Harmony universe and how each member of P1Harmony finds his own superpower that can help save the world from a deadly virus. The movie will come

Sept. 22, 2020

Musical ‘Sonata of a Flame’ viewed online in 45 countries

Original Korean musical “Sonata of a Flame” has been viewed in 45 countries online, according to its production company Shins Wave on Tuesday. The musical, which kicked off its run on Sept. 11 in Daehangno, Seoul, livestreams 13 of 18 live in-person performances. The 13 performances are streamed globally, with the exception of China and Indonesia, via a local tech startup‘s online platform, Presented Live. According to a press release shared by Shins Wave on Tuesday, viewer

Sept. 22, 2020

Youth romantic TV series gain popularity in S. Korea

In recent years, youth dramas or youth romance series have not been the pick of many South Korean TV viewers, who think such series are boring and prefer R-rated melodramas or romantic thrillers, like "The World of the Married" (2020). Now, however, the latest youth shows "Record of Youth" and "Do You Like Brahms?" are spearheading the move that veers away from the prevailing tastes on the small screen. "Record of Youth," a 16-episode series on tvN, has

Sept. 22, 2020

New project K-pop act NCT 2020 to drop album next month

  NCT 2020, a new project K-pop band from SM Entertainment, will drop the first of the group's two-part debut studio album next month, according to the company Tuesday. The boy band with a massive lineup of 23 members will release "NCT 2020: Resonance Pt. 1" on Oct. 12, according to SM. NCT 2020 is an umbrella team that brings together members from pre-existing teams under SM's "NCT" brand -- NCT 127, NCT Dream, WayV and an upcoming NCT-branded act that has yet to of

Sept. 22, 2020

BTS again ranks No. 2 on Billboard Hot 100, tops new global chart

WASHINGTON -- South Korean boy band BTS' new single, "Dynamite," again finished second on Billboard's main singles chart, spending its fourth week in the top two spots of the chart, Billboard reported Monday. "BTS' "Dynamite" ranks No. 2 on the Hot 100 for a second week after spending its first two weeks on the chart at No. 1," the report said. The Hot 100 chart is refreshed every Tuesday. The BTS' song continued to dominate the music industry in terms of digital

Sept. 22, 2020

Yoo Ah-in stars in ‘Voice of Silence’ without a single line

Actor Yoo Ah-in’s second film of the year has him playing a character with no lines. In the upcoming criminal drama “Voice of Silence,” Yoo plays Tae-in, whose job is to dispose of corpses and clean up crime scenes for an organized crime syndicate. “As an actor, a character without any lines was easy to act but at the same time challenging,” Yoo said during an online press conference Monday. “My character does make some noise in the movie, so I think he ca

Sept. 21, 2020

Tongyeong to expand Yun I-sang Award

Though many musical events have been postponed or canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the southern city of Tongyeong is looking forward to Isang Yun Prize 2020, which celebrates the legacy of iconic composer Yun I-sang (1917-1995). Tongyeong, a port city in South Gyeongsang Province, is Yun’s birthplace. Based in Berlin in his later years, the composer became internationally recognized for his attempts to bridge the music of the East and the West. The Tongyeong Internatio

Sept. 21, 2020

K-pop awards show MAMA to be held online due to COVID-19

The Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), the K-pop industry's biggest annual year-end music awards show, will be held virtually in South Korea in December with no audience, its organizer said Monday. CJ ENM, which hosts the annual event, said the 2020 MAMA will be held online on Dec. 6 due to COVID-19. The extravagant year-end music show featuring leading K-pop acts has usually been held as a multiday event staged across several venues in Asian countries. "MAMA has grown throughout the years

Sept. 21, 2020

Catching fire: How BTS finally vaulted into US radio airwaves with 'Dynamite'

K-pop super group BTS is no stranger when it comes to smashing album sales and breaking music streaming records. But against its colossal brand recognition, the one nagging caveat for BTS especially in the West had been its lack of ample presence on radio airwaves -- a key index in measuring the broad public appeal of an artist. That was until its latest single "Dynamite" exploded globally, and especially more prominently in the United States and other Western territories, such as Br

Sept. 21, 2020

[Herald Interview] Shin Min-ah says ‘Diva’ is like flesh to her

For actor Shin Min-ah, her latest film “Diva,” slated to hit local theaters Wednesday, feels like a part of her flesh. “I put my whole self from head-to-toe into preparing for the film, and that is not something I can experience often,” Shin told local reporters during a joint media interview conducted through group chat due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 36-year-old actor is returning to the silver screen with her first commercial film since “My Love, My Bride&rd

Sept. 20, 2020

K-pop superstar BTS performs at iHeartRadio Music Festival

K-pop superstar BTS has delivered a performance of its new single "Dynamite" and several of its past hits at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in the United States. The seven-member boy band presented a prerecorded live stage performance of its new disco-pop single, along with its past hits -- "Make It Right," "Spring Day" and "Boy With Luv" -- at the event, which was streamed online Friday evening (US time). BTS was booked along with Alicia Keys, Migos, Th

Sept. 19, 2020

BTS shares emotional pep talk at S. Korea's inaugural Youth Day ceremony

The members of global K-pop superstar BTS on Saturday delivered a powerful motivational speech for South Korean youth, sharing candid tales of their inner struggles on the path to becoming one of the world's most popular music acts in history. The speech, delivered in turns by all of the group's seven members, was made at the country's inaugural Youth Day ceremony at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. BTS made history last month by becoming the first South Korean recording artists to reach

Sept. 19, 2020

Korea Queer Film Festival kicks off online

The Korea Queer Film Festival is being held online on the streaming platform Purplay from Friday to Sept. 29, showing 20 films related to queer life. KQFF, now in its 20th year, aims to share the diverse lives of sexual minorities through the screenings while providing a place for queer people in the film industry to network and contribute to the development of queer movies. Although the festival is usually held around June, it was postponed due to the spread of COVID-19. The slogan for this

Sept. 18, 2020

Ex-Girls' Generation singer to release book on S. Korean showbiz

Former Girls' Generation singer Jessica will release an autobiographical novel this month that is based on her experience in South Korea's entertainment industry, the book's publisher said Friday. The Korean version of the book "Shine," a "hyper realism" story that follows the fictional K-pop star Rachel Kim, will be released Sept. 29, RH Korea said. The book was originally written in English. The novel revolves around Kim who signs up with major management agency DB Ente

Sept. 18, 2020

BTS to release four evening-friendly remixes of 'Dynamite'

K-pop giant BTS plans to release four additional remix tracks of its smash hit single "Dynamite" on Friday, according to its label-management agency Big Hit Entertainment. BTS will drop the "Slow Jam," "Midnight," "Retro" and "Bedroom" remixes of the song digitally at 1 p.m. (Korea time) on major streaming services, Big Hit announced on Weverse, a fan community-mobile commerce platform for the company's artists. Rearrangements of the latest re

Sept. 18, 2020

‘Mulan’ tops Korean box office amid boycott movement

The Walt Disney Co.’s live-action adaptation of animation “Mulan” hit local cinemas Thursday amid boycotts connected with the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and the treatment of Uighur Muslims in northwestern China. The film topped the local box office chart ahead of its release, according to Korean Film Council data, with ticket sales apparently unaffected by the growing global movement against the film. “The success of the movie itself is unrelated to our moveme

Sept. 17, 2020

New BTS documentary to hit S. Korean cinemas next week

A new feature-length documentary film on K-pop group BTS will hit theaters next week in South Korea following a postponement due to a resurgence of the new coronavirus across the country, multiplex chain CGV announced Thursday. "Break The Silence: The Movie" will be released on Sept. 24 exclusively at CGV theaters in South Korea, according to CGV. The release was initially scheduled for Sept. 10 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 situation. The fourth documentary on the global

Sept. 17, 2020

TWICE tops 2 Japanese music charts with new compilation album

K-pop girl group TWICE debuted at the top of two daily music charts in Japan with its latest compilation album "#TWICE3," according to its agency Thursday. The record, which repackages the group's past Korean and Japanese hits, topped Oricon's Daily Albums chart by scoring 67,808 points, JYP Entertainment said, citing Oricon data. The album released Wednesday also ranked first on the daily album sales chart run by the Japanese unit of international music retailer Tower Records. The

Sept. 17, 2020

Film production falls 22% in first 8 months of this year due to pandemic

The number of film productions in South Korea decreased more than 20 percent in the first eight months of this year due to the protracted novel coronavirus pandemic, a report showed Thursday. A total of 18 films were shot from January through August, down 22 percent from 23 over the same period last year, according to the monthly report by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). The fantasy drama "Our Season" and the crime movie "Bogota," starring Song Joong-ki, started filming i

Sept. 17, 2020

BTS delivers 'Dynamite' performance on 'America's Got Talent'

K-pop super group BTS delivered a performance of "Dynamite," its latest smash-hit single, on the popular US talent competition show "America's Got Talent." The seven-member band presented a prerecorded live performance of "Dynamite" on the weekly TV program, now in its 15th season, aired Monday (US time) on American television network NBC. The performance held against the backdrop of a vacant late-night amusement park was taped at Everland, South Korea's largest

Sept. 17, 2020