MU:CON 2020 to explore future of global music industry in pandemic era

MU:CON, South Korea's largest international music industry trade show, will be held virtually this year and will explore challenges and opportunities the global music industry faces during the age of COVID-19, organizers said Wednesday. MU:CON Online 2020 will be held from Sept. 23-26 in Seoul under the theme "Post Corona, Next Music Industry" but with no audience members or overseas speakers attending in person, according to the state-run Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA). Confe

Sept. 16, 2020

Calls to boycott 'Mulan' rise in S. Korea ahead of release

With the South Korean release of Walt Disney's live-action remake "Mulan" just a day away, refreshed calls to boycott the film have been growing here on social media due to a few controversies. The film has been under fire since its lead actress Liu Yifei posted comments supporting Hong Kong's police in their crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations last year. Recently, a second phase of debate has been rekindled as "Mulan," already released on Disney+ in the United State

Sept. 16, 2020

Webtoon OST goes mainstream

While it has become common for songs from movie and drama soundtracks to hit the top of music charts, songs related to webtoon stories have not generally reached that level of recognition. That may no longer be the case. After its release in July 20, “Slightly Tipsy,” a song from the soundtrack of Daum Webtoon “She is My Type” by K-pop group B1A4’s Sandeul steadily climbed the charts to reach the No. 2 spot on the Melon charts, just after BTS’s “Dyna

Sept. 16, 2020

Free drive-in circus comes to Seoul

A circus to be held in Seoul in the era of COVID-19 will involve cars instead of circus tents. The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture will host the Seoul Circus Festival from Friday to Oct. 11 at Oil Tank Culture Park in Mapo, western Seoul. The event, normally held in May every year, was postponed twice due to the nationwide spread of the new coronavirus. To guard against the further spread of the virus, it will be a drive-in event. The festival will consist of two parts. The Circus C

Sept. 16, 2020

BLACKPINK's 'Ice Cream' stays on Billboard Hot 100 for 2nd week

SEOUL -- K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's single "Ice Cream" remained on Billboard's main singles Hot 100 chart for the second week since its release. "Ice Cream," featuring American pop singer Selena Gomez, finished at 49th on the latest Hot 100 chart after debuting at No. 13 last week, according to Billboard on Tuesday (US time). The Hot 100 debut of "Ice Cream" last week marked the highest position ever by a K-pop girl group on Billboard's main chart. The quartet'

Sept. 16, 2020

Brazilian TV series wins best honor at Seoul Drama Awards

Brazilian serial drama “Orphan of a Nation” won the grand prize at this year’s Seoul International Drama Awards, the nation’s biggest international television drama awards event. Instead of the usual live ceremony, a prerecorded version of the awards ceremony conducted without an audience aired at 3 p.m. on Tuesday on MBC. “Orphan of a Nation” is a 154-episode television series revolving around two refugees, a Syrian woman and a Lebanese man, in Brazil who

Sept. 15, 2020

Drawing the fine line: Artistic expression and offensive content

Following widespread controversy over violent and sexually explicit content in his work, Naver webtoon “Hellper” author Sakk apologized Monday and said he was taking a break. It was the 248th episode of the webtoon’s second season. While controversy over “Hellper” began brewing as soon as the new season kicked off in 2016, things came to a head Sept. 11 when the local media picked up comments that had appeared on an online community site a few days earlier. The w

Sept. 15, 2020

DMZ documentary fest gets underway Thursday with closed-door screenings

After a week of repeated changes of plan due to the resurgence of COVID-19, the 12th DMZ International Documentary Festival released its final schedule Tuesday, two days ahead of the kickoff. Originally slated to take place entirely on-site with members of the general public in the audience, the weeklong festival will now have closed-door screenings, with each screening limited to 30 people. The official festival lineup -- comprising 122 films from 33 countries -- will be screened at the Mega

Sept. 15, 2020

Actress Oh In-hye dies aged 36

Actor Oh In-hye died in the hospital Monday after beign found unconscious at her home. Incheon Yeonsu Police on Tuesday confirmed the death of the 36-year-old actor, who was hospitalized after being discovered in a state of cardiac arrest at her home around 5 a.m. on Monday. The police said there were no signs of foul play. An investigation into the circumstances leading to her death will be conducted, the police said. Oh made her film debut in 2011 with “Sin of a Family” and la

Sept. 15, 2020

KF to look into role of K-pop in post-COVID-19 era

The Korea Foundation, the public diplomacy arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Asia Society Switzerland will co-host an online conference on K-pop on Wednesday. The event, titled “KF-Asia Society Switzerland Virtual Dialogue on K-Culture” will look into how K-pop is changing the entertainment industry in the post-coronavirus era. Kim Young-min, group CEO of S.M. Entertainment Group, will give the presentation “Online Business Strategy of S.M. Entertainment After th

Sept. 15, 2020

Seventeen earns fourth-consecutive Oricon album chart win with '24H'

K-pop boy band Seventeen scored its fourth-straight win on Japan's Oricon weekly album chart with its latest Japanese record "24H," the group's management agency said Tuesday. "24H," the 13-member boy group's second Japanese EP record, ranked at No. 1 on Oricon's weekly album chart for the week of Sept. 7-15, according to Pledis Entertainment. The album was released on Sept. 9. Seventeen took the top spot on the Oricon weekly album chart with all of its previous releases

Sept. 15, 2020

BTS' 'Dynamite' ranks 2nd on Billboard Hot 100 for third week

WASHINGTON-- K-pop boy band BTS' single "Dynamite" finished second on Billboard's main singles chart after spending two weeks at the top, Billboard reported Monday (U.S. time). BTS' "Dynamite" dipped to No. 2 on the latest Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending Sept. 19, the American music publication said. Cardi B's "WAP," featuring Megan Thee Stallion, regained the top spot after being dethroned by "Dynamite" two weeks ago. BTS made history last

Sept. 15, 2020

BTS says new album will touch on pending global issues

The themes and messages on the upcoming new album by BTS will revolve around major issues faced by the global community, the group hinted Monday. "(The album) will include various genres of songs, so it's hard to generalize the album as being of such and such genre," BTS leader RM said during an interview on MBC Radio's "Bae Chul-soo's Music Camp." "The message will include topics that are deemed most necessary (for discussion) nowadays." he added. The seven-memb

Sept. 14, 2020

BIFF to showcase 192 films, but possibility of fest cancellation not ruled out

The 25th Busan International Film Festival is ready to showcase 192 titles from 68 countries, including 23 cinematic works from the 73rd Cannes Film Festival’s official selection. The details of this year‘s festival slated for Oct. 21-30 in Busan were announced Monday during an online press conference held by the BIFF organizing committee. On Friday, the committee announced it would proceed with an onsite festival, but that it would be pushed back two weeks and be significantly down

Sept. 14, 2020

'#Alive' captures global Netflix audience

Korean zombie thriller “#Alive,” by director Cho Il-hyung, continues to be one of the most streamed movies on Netflix in many countries around the globe, currently standing at No. 2 in global Netflix movie rankings worldwide, according to streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol. “#Alive,” starring Yoo Ah-in and Park Shin-hye, is a story about two survivors trapped in an apartment complex during a zombie apocalypse. It was the first movie released since March to sell more th

Sept. 14, 2020

Ahn Joo-won becomes ABT's first Korean male principal dancer

Ahn Joo-won became the first Korean male principal dancer of American Ballet Theater. ABT recently announced promotions for six soloists, elevating them to the role of principal dancer. Ahn was promoted to principal dancer a year after being promoted as a soloist in September 2019. Ahn was a student at the Korea National University of Arts in Seoul when he was invited to join the company in 2013 after winning the Gold Medal at Youth America Grand Prix in New York. He joined the ABT as an a

Sept. 14, 2020

[The Arts Amid COVID-19] Performance arts move to paid streaming

While the second wave of COVID-19 that hit the country in mid-August has canceled virtually all performances, the local performing arts scene is getting ready to take the leap into the world of for-pay virtual shows. In recent years, global performing arts establishments have been sharing their shows online, including the Royal National Theatre in London and Berlin Philharmonic. However, the practice had been limited to internationally renowned establishments with ample budgets and large fan ba

Sept. 14, 2020

‘Moving On’ wins best feature at New York Asian Film Festival

Director Yoon Dan-bi’s “Moving On” won the Uncaged Award for Best Feature Film, for which freshman and sophomore directors are eligible, at the New York Asian Film Festival on Saturday evening. Now in its 19th year, the film festival celebrating Asian films across genres was held online from Aug. 29 to Saturday due to the spread of COVID-19. In previous years, the two-week festival had been held around June. Several Korean films were presented at the online festival, includ

Sept. 13, 2020

ILUV's Minah again attempts to take life amidst ongoing conflict with former agency

Minah, formerly of K-pop group ILUV, was found attempting suicide on the Seongsan Bridge in Seoul around noon on Wednesday, according to the police. The singer posted, “What I am thinking right now. I want to disappear,”on her social media before going to the Han River. On Thursday, Minah, via social media, pleaded for people to stop posting negative comments about her. She also posted a video showing her former agency WKS ENE commenting on her YouTube video a web link that direct

Sept. 13, 2020

[Herald Review] Stage turns into playground of masked ‘Cats’

The international tour production of “Cats” kicked off its Seoul run on Wednesday, trying to adapt to the turbulent times of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the iconic musical’s Seoul schedule was decided in July, the COVID-19 situation in South Korea was on a steady path to recovery with the number of coronavirus cases dropping sharply. Except for the two-week self-quarantine requirement for the 40 foreign nationals on the “Cats” team, it seemed as if the disease wou

Sept. 12, 2020