[Herald Interview] Ha Jung-woo calls shooting ‘Hijacking 1971’ ‘something sublime’

South Korean actor Ha Jung-woo, the youngest actor here to have accumulated over 100 million ticket sales through 25 films he has appeared in since debuting in 2005, becomes the character he plays. From a serial killer, to a top prime-time news anchor to a taxi driver struggling to make ends meet, Ha has never shown dull acting. His acting is always full of realism, energy and wit, consistently entertaining audiences over the past two decades. In his recent action drama flick, “Hijacking

June 24, 2024

Britpop legends Suede to perform in Seoul

The band Suede, which helped create and lead the Britpop musical movement in the 1990s, will perform in Korea for the first time in eight years. Suede will perform "Suede Live in Seoul" at KBS Arena in Gangseo-gu on Aug. 23. This will be the band's first performance in Korea since they played at the 2016 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival. Formed in London in 1989, Suede is recognized as a key Britpop band alongside Blur, Pulp and Oasis. Britpop, a type of alternative rock that origi

June 24, 2024

NewJeans tops Oricon chart with first Japanese album ‘Supernatural’

K-pop girl group NewJeans notched the No. 1 spot on Oricon’s daily singles ranking Friday, the day its first Japanese single album, “Supernatural,” was released in Japan. NewJeans is also performing well on major Korean and Japanese music charts. The titular track “Supernatural” topped real-time music charts of the Japanese music platforms including Line Music and AWA. It also landed at No. 13 on Melon’s Top 100 dated June 22. NewJeans has 10 songs on Melon&rs

June 23, 2024

KNCDC's contemporary 'Jungle' to tour Paris, Italy, Austria, Kazakhstan

The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company is on an international tour with "Jungle," which premiered in October as the curtain raiser at the International Modern Dance Festival. The company is performing "Jungle" at Theatre 13 in Paris on Sunday and Monday, as part of the 2024 Korea Season organized by the Culture Ministry to coincide with the 2024 Paris Olympics, which kicks off July 26. Choreographed by Kim Sung-yong, the company's director and artistic director, &

June 23, 2024

Seventeen’s Jeonghan, Wonwoo unveil director’s cut of ‘Last Night’ MV

Seventeen’s Jeonghan and Wonwoo dropped the director’s cut version of the music video for “Last Night (Guitar by Park Ju-won)” on Sunday. The song is the main track of the duo’s first single, “This Man,” released on June 17. The director’s cut includes a two-minute-and-45-second-long black-and-white comic that begins with “This is the story of a man who turns into a nightmare and another man who lives in fear of being forgotten.” &ldquo

June 23, 2024

Final season of "Sweet Home" to hit Netflix on July

The third and final season of "Sweet Home" is set to premiere on Netflix on July 19, bringing the popular monster horror series to a conclusion. The first season of "Sweet Home," (2020) directed by Lee Eung-bok, who helmed megahits such as "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" (2016) and "Mr. Sunshine" (2018), narrated the stories of residents in a rundown apartment complex named Green Home who struggled to survive as people around them transformed into m

June 22, 2024

Streaming services gradually dominate sports broadcasts amid mixed reactions from fans

Korean streaming services are increasingly securing exclusive rights to sports broadcasts to expand their viewer base. While fans acknowledge that this enhances the quality of the viewing experience, the shift from free to paid access is generating widespread criticism. Starting in May, Tving, which secured exclusive online broadcasting rights for the Korea Baseball Organization, began offering KBO-related broadcasts exclusively to its subscribers. Tving is also set to exclusively live-broadcast

June 22, 2024

'Inside Out 2' tops 3m admissions in S. Korea

US studio Pixar's animated film "Inside Out 2" surpassed 3 million admissions at the South Korean box office Saturday, the film's local distributor said. The coming-of-age movie hit the milestone on its 11th day of release, seven days faster than "Inside Out" (2015), according to Walt Disney Company Korea. If the current trend continues, the sequel is expected to easily surpass the previous film, which was seen by 4.97 million people. "Inside Out 2," which

June 22, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink to release tour film for 8th debut anniversary

Blackpink’s world tour that ended last year was made into a movie and will come to movie theaters on July 31, in time for the group’s eighth debut anniversary, label YG Entertainment said Friday. Dubbed “Blackpink World Tour Born Pink in Cinemas,” the film will chronicle the quintet’s international tour held in 34 cities from 2022 to 2023. It consisted of 66 concerts and drew about 1.8 million fans, the largest for a K-pop girl group ever. The movie will be shown on

June 21, 2024

Hybe confirms Illit’s concert in Macau despite China’s restriction on K-pop gigs

Hybe confirmed Friday that Illit, the K-pop girl band under its music label Belift Lab, will be among the K-pop artists to participate in the Tencent Music Entertainment Awards in Macau, China, on July 19. The quintet shared the award poster on their official account on Chinese social media platform Weibo, Wednesday, announcing their first live performance at the music festival in China. “Illit will perform at the Tencent Music Entertainment Award as planned. The post on (Illit’s) We

June 21, 2024

Ador, Krafton vow to address sexual harassment involving NewJeans

Music label Ador and video game publisher Krafton vowed to take action against the recent misuse of Battlegrounds and NewJeans' collaboration content in a jointly released announcement on the official community page of PUBG: Battlegrounds on Thursday. "Recently, some users have been creating and sharing inappropriate posts using the NewJeans characters. This behavior does not align with our brand image and values and is offensive to all fans," the two companies said as they highli

June 21, 2024

Red Velvet to kick off Asia fan concert tour

Red Velvet is set to connect with fans across Asia with their upcoming fancon tour “Happiness: My Dear, ReVeluv” which will kick off with a two-day event in Seoul at the Olympic Handball Gymnasium, scheduled for Aug. 3-4. The announcement of the tour was marked by the release of a vibrant poster, shared on Red Velvet’s official fan club community and social media platforms Wednesday. The performance holds significance as they will celebrate their 10th anniversary with fans on A

June 21, 2024

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Inside Out 2” (US) Opened June 12 Animation Directed by Kelsey Mann A now-teenaged Riley sees her “mind headquarters” undergo a sudden demolition to make room for new emotions that emerge during puberty, with the addition of four new feelings to the mix: anxiety, envy, ennui and embarrassment. “Handsome Guys” (South Korea) Opened June 26 Comedy Directed by Nam Dong-hyub Jae-pil (Lee Sung-min) and his friend Sang-gu (Lee Hee-jun), two well-meaning carpenters

June 21, 2024

'My name is Gabriel' to showcase top celebs switching lives with individuals abroad

"My Name is Gabriel," a new variety show, will feature top celebrities swapping lives with real people living abroad, and will provide compelling and authentic storytelling, according to the producer on Thursday. The show features comedians Park Myung-soo and Hong Jin-kyung, actors Yeom Hye-ran, Park Bo-gum and Ji Chang-wook, dancer Shin Ga-bee (Gabee), and TV personality Kim Jin-young (Dex). The seven cast members embark on quests to live under different identities from various countr

June 20, 2024

First hearing for lawsuit involving Fifty Fifty scheduled for August

The first hearing in a suit seeking 13 billion won ($9.4 million) in damages filed by Attrakt against three former members of K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty – Saena, Sio and Aran – as well as The Givers CEO Ahn Sung-il has been set for Aug. 29, the agency said Thursday. According to Fifty Fifty's agency Attrakt, the lawsuit also includes the parents of the three former bandmates and an executive of The Givers surnamed Baek. The legal action stems from conflicts that arose after Fi

June 20, 2024

Jeonju Intl. Sori Festival moved up to summer for 2024

The 23rd Jeonju International Sori Festival is set to run from Aug. 14 to 18, featuring a rich lineup of 105 performances across 78 programs of different genres including traditional Korean music, or "gugak," classical music and world music. The performances will take place at Sori Arts Center of North Jeolla Province and cities across North Jeolla Province. Opening the festival is "Pungmul Pankut," which transforms "nongak" into a theatrical performance. Nongak tra

June 20, 2024

NewJeans to make Japan debut, collaborate with local art moguls

K-pop girl group NewJeans, under the Ador music label of Hybe, is set to make its debut in Japan on Friday with their first Japanese EP, "Supernatural," the agency announced Thursday. The quintet’s mini-album includes four tracks – the titular track, B-side “Right Now” and instrumental versions of both songs. "Supernatural" is a nostalgic new jack swing-style song, featuring contributions from pop star Pharrell Williams, the agency explained. Teasers f

June 20, 2024

H1-Key returns with rebellious ‘Let It burn’

K-pop girl group H1-Key has returned as lovely rebels. The quartet's new mini-album “Love or Hate” marks H1-Key’s return after four months and includes four tracks: the title song “Let It Burn,” along with “(heart) Letter,” “Iconic,” and “Rainfalls.” The lead single “Let It Burn” combines a groovy boom-bap hip-hop rhythm with intense rock elements. “The title song’s rebellious, straightforward lyrics a

June 20, 2024

[Herald Interview] K.Will talks about relationships in new album

It took six years for singer-songwriter K.Will, known for his numerous hit ballads, to release a new album. On Thursday, K.Will will unveil “All the Way,” his seventh EP, talking about his relationships with the people he encounters. “I asked myself what evokes my emotions. For me, it isn’t certain happenings that make me happy or sad. Instead, my feelings revolve around my relationships with people around me. So I wanted this album to talk about feelings such as happines

June 20, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Stray Kids floats teaser for ninth EP

Stray Kids uploaded a teaser trailer for ninth EP “Ate” Wednesday via label JYP Entertainment. The eight members look around everywhere for a new fortune cookie that breaks the series of unfortunate events apparently brought on by one they opened that said: “Your luck no longer lasts from now on.” The mini album will be rolled out on July 19 about eight months since its previous EP, “Rock-Star.” The album made a hot-shot debut on the Billboard 200 as did its t

June 19, 2024