BLACKPINK's 'Playing with Fire' tops 500m views

The video for BLACKPINK's 2016 song "Playing with Fire" topped the milestone of 500 million YouTube views Friday. The music video surpassed the threshold early in the day, becoming the group's fifth piece to achieve the feat following "Ddu-du Ddu-du," "Boombayah," "As If It's Your Last," and "Kill This Love," according to the K-pop band's management agency, YG Entertainment. BLACKPINK became the first K-pop girl band to have five music videos

May 8, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Escape From Pretoria (Australia) Opened May 6 Thriller, Drama Directed by Francis Annan In 1978, white South African anti-apartheid activists Tim Jenkin (Daniel Radcliffe) and Stephen Lee (Daniel Webber) are incarcerated in the notorious Pretoria Central Prison for helping the African National Congress. Facing malicious brutality from the guards, the two young prisoners hatch a plot to break out. Denis Goldberg (Ian Hart), an associate of Nelson Mandela, helps them plan their escape. A Rainy

May 8, 2020

[Herald Interview] EBS producer Chung Hyun-sook seeks common values in Asia

Over the past five years, Chung Hyun-sook, senior executive producer at the Educational Broadcasting System, has been producing international documentaries in collaboration with other Asian countries. Her ultimate goal as a producer is to make a cultural community for Asian countries. Chung, who has also been chair of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Kids since 2004, has focused on drama and documentaries mainly on kids. But her new fifth documentary, “Family Asia,” which aired Mon

May 8, 2020

Bol4 releases duet ‘Leo’ with EXO’s Baekhyun

Bol4 released the new single “Leo,” featuring Baekhyun of EXO, on Thursday. Released as one of two lead tracks from the one-man band’s upcoming “Youth Diary II” EP, “Leo” is a relaxing love song that fits this warm spring season. Balanced by jazz piano and string ensemble sounds, the mellifluous song teems with an array of instruments, adding layer to the lighthearted melody. Read as “Butterfly and Cat” by its Korean title, “Leo”

May 7, 2020

[Herald Review] Twice’s ‘Seize the Lights’ shows girl group as genuine as can be

Last year, Twice embarked on the girl group’s most monumental journey since debuting -- their first world tour: “Twicelights.” It was their longest tour yet, spanning almost a whole year, kicking off in Seoul on May 25, 2019, going around Southeast Asia and North America and closing in Japan just a couple of months ago. Their finale shows initially scheduled to be held in March at Tokyo Dome and KSPO Dome in Seoul were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. This isn&rsquo

May 7, 2020

‘Space Sweepers’ starring Song Joong-ki slated for summer release

The distributor for the upcoming sci-fi blockbuster “Space Sweepers” confirmed the film would be released this summer and unveiled a clip of the film Thursday. Distributor Merry Christmas released the first trailer for the film, saying the exact date of its release had not yet been confirmed. The star-studded film, better known by the Korean title “Spaceship Victory,” stars Song Joong-ki and Kim Tae-ri. Veteran actors Yoo Hai-jin and Jin Sun-kyu are also part of the ca

May 7, 2020

IU, Suga's collaboration song 'Eight' becomes chart sensation

Topping iTunes singles charts in 59 countries and territories Thursday, "Eight," a high-profile collaboration song between K-pop queen IU and BTS' Suga, became a chart sensation. Following its official release Wednesday evening, "Eight," a pop rock number, topped the iTunes singles chart in the United States, France, Singapore, New Zealand, Finland, Malaysia, the Philippines and 52 other countries and regions as of early Thursday, according to Edam Entertainment, the agency

May 7, 2020

IU drops collaboration single with BTS’ Suga

Ready to reign K-pop charts, IU’s new single “Eight,” featuring Suga of BTS, was released Wednesday evening. The much-anticipated song has been co-written and composed by the singer-songwriter and the BTS member, who’s not only served as a producer but also lent his vocal for the track. Its title refers to the age of the two musicians, as both are 28 (Korean age). “As musicians of the same age, the two singers could relate to one another and create their own uni

May 6, 2020

Performances resume as strict social distancing relaxed

As the spread of the new coronavirus continues to slow in South Korea, the nation has switched to a new strategy stressing disease prevention in everyday life, allowing national theaters and arts troupes to return to their normal routines.　 Five state-run performance venues -- the National Theater of Korea, National Gugak Center, Jeongdong Theater, Myeongdong Theater and Asia Culture Center -- that were shut down in late February will all resume operations, according to the Ministry of Culture

May 6, 2020

Girl group TWICE to release new Japanese single 'Fanfare' in July

K-pop sensation TWICE will release a new Japanese single, "Fanfare," in July, with the aim of making another megahit in the Japanese music scene. Uploading a video clip on its Japanese social media accounts Tuesday, the girl group broke the news of the album release. "We will release our sixth Japanese single, 'Fanfare,' on July 8," the members said in the video clip. "We can't wait to see you again. We hope you stay in good health until then," said the band mem

May 6, 2020

[Herald Interview] Designing cover of BTS’ ‘Map of the Soul: 7’

In February, BTS released the group’s fourth studio album “Map of the Soul: 7,” selling over 4 million copies within days of release. In numerous interviews, leader RM has said the No. 7 symbolizes both the number of bandmates and years they’ve spent together. “In a way, the biggest inspiration was the story of the BTS members and the seven years they spent together,” A Ji-hye, one half of graphic designer duo Sparks Edition, said in a recent interview wit

May 6, 2020

Film industry likely to go back to normal under relaxed social distancing

As South Korea switched to an everyday form of social distancing from Wednesday, the film industry, hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic, is slowly moving to go back to normal. The number of daily moviegoers plunged to an all-time low of 15,000 on April 5 as people have been asked to stay at home to prevent further the spread of infection. The country's total COVID-19 infections surpassed 10,000 on April 3. Consequently, the monthly number of viewers hit 972,000 for April, marking the f

May 6, 2020

BTS joins Obamas, Lady Gaga in YouTube virtual commencement next month

K-pop band BTS will join ex-US President Barack Obama, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and American pop icon Lady Gaga in giving speeches during a virtual commencement event by YouTube next month, the band's agency said Wednesday. The streaming event, "Dear Class of 2020" set for June 6 (US time), is a virtual commencement celebration, bringing together inspirational leaders, celebrities and YouTube creators to celebrate graduates and their families online, according to

May 6, 2020

[Feature] ‘Crisis will come again, and more indie theaters could prevent the worst’

More than three months into the coronavirus crisis, the South Korean film scene continues to struggle amid what cineastes describe as an unprecedented time of strife in more than 100 years of Korean cinema. The number of cinemagoers recorded new lows every month since January, and April saw the figure fall below 1 million for the first time since the Korean Film Council started compiling the data in 2004. Multiplexes, which dominate the market, temporarily shut down some screens, and as new

May 5, 2020

Monsta X postpones new album release due to member's injury

K-pop boy band Monsta X on Monday put off the release of a new album to late May due to member Shownu's back injury. "Ahead of the comeback, Shownu felt pain in his back while working on a choreography exercise, and the result of a medical test at a hospital prohibited him from fierce exercise or body movements, requiring him to receive treatment," the band's management agency, Starship Entertainment, said The release date of the upcoming album, "Fantasia X," will be moved

May 4, 2020

Revelations by alleged school bullying victims shake Korean TV industry

Postings on online communities by alleged victims who claim they were bullied by TV celebrities in their school years are rattling the show business industry. Freelance TV producer Kim Yoo-jin, who appeared on the MBC reality show “Don’t Be Jealous” with her husband-to-be, star chef Lee Won-il, was reportedly hospitalized Monday after posting a message that said she had been falsely accused and that hinted at a suicide. On Monday afternoon, Kim’s sister posted on soc

May 4, 2020

EXO's Suho temporarily leaves band to serve military term

Suho, the leader of the globally-loved K-pop boy band EXO, will temporarily leave the group to fulfill his military duty, the artist said Monday. The 29-year-old, whose legal name is Kim Jun-myeon, will begin his military term on May 14, he said in a hand-written letter uploaded on the fan community application, Lysn. "During the time, I think I may dearly miss you, EXO-L," Suho said, referring to the name of the EXO fandom. SM did not provide further details on his enlistment, inc

May 4, 2020

G-Dragon becomes 1st Korean artist to win Chinese ad deal since THAAD fallout: agency

G-Dragon became the first South Korean celebrity to sign a corporate endorsement deal with a Chinese company following Beijing's virtual ban on "hallyu," or South Korean pop culture, since 2016, the singer's agency said Monday. The singer-rapper of K-pop act BIGBANG recently signed a deal with Chinese bottled water giant Nongfu Spring Co. and will be featured in promotional material for the company's new tea drink brand, Chapai, YG Entertainment said. Online and social media marketi

May 4, 2020

BTS begins new journey for first self-produced album

Global band BTS has begun a new journey to produce an album, possibly the first self-produced album in the band's high-profile seven-year music career. Appearing on a live video log on YouTube last week, BTS member Jimin shared the news on the project, the band's new discographic journey that came as the coronavirus pandemic has put its globe-trotting concert tour on hold. "As our team's production of a new album has been assigned independently to ourselves, we named the project managers

May 4, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Four musketeers’ of ‘Time to Hunt’

Actors Lee Je-hoon and Choi Woo-shik teamed up for director Yoon Sung-hyun’s recently launched action thriller, “Time to Hunt.” The film takes place in a dystopian near future. The nation has turned into a slum in the aftermath of a catastrophic financial crisis, and four youths decide to flee this living hell. To escape, they knock off a casino run by mobsters. The gangsters hire an assassin to retrieve what they have lost, and from there begins the cat-and-mouse game betwe

May 3, 2020