Korean National Ballet unveils new ‘Mata Hari’

Strong theatricality and musicality sum up the Korean National Ballet’s “Mata Hari.” The ballet company unveiled “Mata Hari” to the public and press Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the opening performance at the Seoul Arts Center the same evening. “Mata Hari” runs until Sunday.  The Korean National Ballet’s principal dancer, Kim Ji-young (right), performs with Lee Jae-woo during a “Mata Hari” press call Tuesday afternoon at the Seoul Arts Center. (Yonhap) The Korean National Ballet’s principal dance

Oct. 31, 2018

Korean actresses struggle to repeat Hollywood success at home

After meeting global audiences via Hollywood productions, actresses Bae Doo-na and Kim Yun-jin have returned to their home turf, taking lead roles in local TV series. Bae stars in KBS2’s “The Best Divorce,” a Korean remake of a popular Japanese drama, in the role of a warmhearted wife who divorces her cranky husband. Continuing to live with each other after the divorce for practical reasons, the two come to understand what true love is.  Bae Doo-na speaks at a press event held to promote MBC TV

Oct. 31, 2018

EXO beats own record, surpassing 1.1m album preorders

Global sensation EXO has beaten its own record for album preorders with “Don’t Mess Up My Tempo.”According to the group’s agency, S.M. Entertainment, the LP, which is slated for release Nov. 2, recorded 1,104,617 preorders as of Monday, surpassing the band’s previous record of 1.1 million. (S.M. Entertainment)This makes EXO a quintuple-million seller, as all five of the LPs the band has released since its debut have hit the milestone of a million albums sold.“Don’t Mess Up My Tempo” marks a much

Oct. 31, 2018

BTS' 'Love Yourself: Answer' stays on Billboard 200 for 9th week

K-pop superstars BTS' "Love Yourself: Answer" has stayed on the Billboard main albums chart for the ninth consecutive week, the chart showed Wednesday.The repackaged album came in 50th on the Billboard 200 chart this week, down from last week's 27th. It debuted atop the list in September. (Instagram)The septet also remained on top of the Social 50 chart for the 68th week in a row.Also this week, "mono.," a new solo album by BTS leader RM, landed in the 26th spot of the Billboard 200 albums chart

Oct. 31, 2018

'Dear Husband of 100 Days' maintains grip on TV audience

"Dear Husband of 100 Days," a historical drama that mixes romance and politics, continued its rein on the weekly TV chart, data showed Wednesday.The tvN series, also known as "100 Days My Prince," topped the chart for the third week in a row, by recording a Content Power Index score of 283.3 for the week of Oct. 22-28.(tvN)On top of its strong performance on the chart, it also garnered high viewership ratings. The final episode broadcast Tuesday recorded a 14.4 percent rating, the fourth-highest

Oct. 31, 2018

‘Only God knows when I will stop dancing’

One of the greatest living ballerinas, Bolshoi Ballet’s prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova will perform in the Universal Ballet’s “La Bayadere,” returning to Seoul for the first time since 2005 when she performed Giselle with the Universal Ballet in her late 20s.Although it has been some 13 years, Zakharova said that does not make a huge difference. “I still feel like I am a student. There is still much to learn. I am working on this project, and it keeps me going,” Zakharova said during a press

Oct. 30, 2018

Moon Chae-won as age-defying fairy in ‘Gyeryong Fairy Tale’

Actress Moon Chae-won will star in the upcoming fantasy rom-com “Gyeryong Fairy Tale” as an age-defying fairy, which is scheduled to air Nov. 5.The new tvN series is based on the famous Korean webtoon series of the same title and features a main character played by Moon, a fairy who has spent 699 years waiting for her husband and becomes a barista in the modern world.The show walks a fine line between fantasy and reality, with the main characters having extraordinary ability and an interesting b

Oct. 30, 2018

BTOB to return with new album in mid-November

BTOB released a teaser image of special album “Hour Moment” through its official social media account on Oct. 30. The image contains a date and the album name with a photo of BTOB walking down a wide path. (Cube Entertainment)The new album has raised expectations, including a track that BTOB leader Seo Eun-kwang participated in before his enlistment for mandatory military service. According to the group’s agency Cube Entertainment, BTOB plans to promote the album as a six-piece unit -- excluding

Oct. 30, 2018

[Herald Review] ‘The Villagers’ has heart, could use more thrill

“The Villagers,” an upcoming action thriller directed by Im Jin-sun, has an interesting premise, a promising set-up, good acting and a strong first act -- but maybe not enough thrill, and bit of a letdown in the third act.The film starts off with former boxing coach Yeok Gi-cheol -- Ma Dong-seok -- getting a job as a physical education teacher in a rural town. There he meets Kang Yoo-jin -- Kim Sae-ron -- a high-school student with an attitude seeking a friend who has gone missing, and Ji Sung,

Oct. 30, 2018

Black Pink’s ‘As If It’s Your Last’ dance practice video hits 100m views

K-pop sensation Black Pink’s dance practice video for “As If It’s Your Last” surpassed 100 million views on YouTube on Tuesday.Yang Hyun-suk, the head of the group’s agency, YG Entertainment, posted a poster on social media celebrating the milestone.  (Instagram)This achievement means Black Pink now has two dance practice videos to have earned 100 million views on YouTube. All its music videos have been viewed at least as often.  (Instagram)On Oct. 24, Black Pink became the first K-pop group wit

Oct. 30, 2018

Girl's Day helps paperless Thai children become visible and heard

K-pop group Girl’s Day’s Hyeri, famous for her lead female role in “Reply 1988,” wrote a letter to fans to raise awareness for children without birth registration certificates around the world.“Across the world, there are around 230 million children under the age of 5 who have not had their birth registered,” Hyeri wrote on a fundraising site.“This lack of documentation prevents these children from enrolling in schools or receiving state-sponsored medical care.” (Happy Bean)Girl’s Day, as the am

Oct. 30, 2018

Fresh out of idol competition show, girl band Iz One debuts with 'Color*Iz'

The new 12-member Korean-Japanese girl band Iz One, also stylized as IZ*ONE, debuted on the K-pop scene with their first EP, "Color*Iz," on Monday.The group's nine Korean and three Japanese members were the final winners of the Korean reality talent recruitment show "Produce 48," broadcast by the Mnet cable channel from June to August.They were selected by live audience voting out of the total 96 Korean and Japanese young women who competed in the show. Iz One is the latest music band formed thr

Oct. 29, 2018

[Video] Cha Eun-woo to star in YouTube Original show ‘Top Management’

Singer and actor Cha Eun-woo is breaking new ground for Korean dramas with the YouTube Original show “Top Management.”Cha, who appeared in the hit TV series “Gangnam Beauty,” will play the role of Yeon Woo, a young man who wants to be an idol star alongside his friends, in the upcoming 16-episode series.“Top Management” is the fourth original series from YouTube Premium in South Korea. It follows variety show “Run, Bigbang Scout!” and documentaries “BTS: Burn the Stage” and “Kwon Ji Yong Act III

Oct. 29, 2018

Korea’s presence in global entertainment grows

While the latest achievements by BTS appear to be in headlines nearly every day, it is not just the K-pop boy band enjoying unprecedented success in the global entertainment industry. More Korean actors have come into the limelight, starring in major productions created for international audiences. 　Before, it was not easy to see an Asian lead actor in Hollywood productions. Asian actors usually landed small, supporting roles. Typecasting was common, too, as many were hired to reflect stereotype

Oct. 29, 2018

[Video] K-pop spreading to older, more mainstream, fan base

The growing number of K-pop fans in Korea and elsewhere is generating a stronger cultural and commercial impact than ever before, as the boom led by high-profile groups such as BTS expands to a wider range of market segments. In recent years, it is not only high school students embracing K-pop music. People in their 20s and older -- those with more purchasing power -- are fueling the exponential growth of K-pop and its associated merchandise market.The Korea Herald met two passionate K-pop fans

Oct. 29, 2018

Gmarket runs campaign for authentic K-pop goods

EBay Korea’s online Korean goods shopping site Gmarket Global store will run a sale on K-pop goods from Nov. 1 through Nov. 11. The store will pair the sale with a verification campaign to boost its reliability as the place to go for genuine goods. (Gmarket)The aim of this campaign is to protect K-pop artists’ rights to their official goods against copycat products, according to Gmarket.Shoppers can check the authenticity of their purchases using the QR code printed on the card that comes with t

Oct. 29, 2018

BTS and the art of Twitter

BTS is one of the most social media-savvy celebrities around.The band has two Twitter accounts under its name, one managed by the label Big Hit Entertainment (@BTS_BigHit) and another operated by the members themselves (@BTS_twt). The former, followed by 12.8 million users, is more official in tone, primarily used for announcements, press releases and music videos. The latter, with 16.9 million people following, is more personal, serving mostly as a platform for communication with fans. On the s

Oct. 29, 2018

Jeju Island to host star-studded K-pop concert

The first 2018 Jeju Hallyu Festival will kick off on Nov. 4 at Jeju Stadium. Korea Management Federation, which has been running the Korea Music Festival at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul for the previous two years, is behind the new annual K-pop festival on Jeju Island.Wanna One, AOA, Red Velvet, EXID, Oh My Girl, Momoland, NCT Dream, 9 Muses, GFriend, Hwang Chi-yeol, N.Flying, Pentagon, Stray Kids, The Boyz, Dreamcatcher and more will perform for the festival this year. Tickets for the stands can b

Oct. 28, 2018

[Video] Zion.T at Busan One Asia Festival

The 3rd Busan One Asia Festival boasted a star-studded line up throughout its nine-day run at multiple locations in the southwestern city.Zion.T was one of the singers that took to the stage on Gunam-ro to perform live in front of Haeundae Beach on Friday.(Shot and edited by Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Herald)During his performance, the singer-songwriter sang his latest song, “Hello Tutorial” featuring Red Velvet’s Seulgi. “You may notice that Seulgi is not here with me. This means you must help me

Oct. 28, 2018

[Herald Interview] Grace Kelly takes ‘leap of faith’ by blending music genres

Musician Grace Kelly -- perhaps like the legendary actress-turned-princess of the same name -- is a person who likes to take chances and travel the world.But of all the paths she has taken since being identified as a jazz prodigy in her preteen years, Kelly said her recent album was the biggest challenge and the greatest source of pride.“GO TiME: Brooklyn 2,” released Oct. 12, definitely ventures into unfamiliar territory for the 26-year-old musician, toying with electronic, pop and other genres

Oct. 28, 2018