BTS scoops up second Billboard Music Award for Top Social Artist

K-pop sensation BTS won a Billboard Music Award in the Top Social Artist category on Monday, dominating the fan-voted category for the second year in a row.The South Korean septet defeated four competing singers including Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande to grab the award at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday (US time).As their name was called, the seven-member act took the stage with bright smiles amid roaring cheers from fans.  BTS attends the 2

May 21, 2018

BTS' 'Blood Sweat & Tears' video tops 300m YouTube views

A publicity photo of South Korea boy band BTS, provided by Big Hit Entertainment (Yonhap)The video for BTS' "Blood Sweat & Tears" has garnered more than 300 million views on YouTube, becoming the fourth video by the K-pop sensation to hit the milestone.The video for the lead song on "Wings," the group's second full-length album, released in October 2016, reached 300 million views on the global video-hosting site Sunday evening, according to Big Hit Entertainment. BTS has three other songs -- "D

May 21, 2018

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ second-most successful foreign film in Korea

Now the highest-grossing comic-based film of all time in Korea and around the world, “Avengers: Infinity War” has become the second-most successful foreign film at the Korean box office with 10.57 million tickets sold. According to data from the Korean Film Council on Sunday, the film sold 128,294 tickets on Saturday, which took it to the No. 2 spot after “Deadpool 2.” It reclaimed the spot from Lee Chang-dong’s critically acclaimed “Burning,” which won the Fipresci International Critics’ Prize

May 20, 2018

Black Pink announces additional concert for Japan tour

Fans are flocking to watch Black Pink perform in Japan, as the girl group recently added one more concert to its first tour of arenas in the country. According to Japanese media, the tour was originally to consist of six concerts in Osaka, Fukuoka and Chiba Prefecture from July 24 to Aug. 26. But YG Entertainment decided to add one more concert in Chiba, due to a flood of requests from fans. The tour is expected to attract 66,000 fans. Last year, Black Pink held its debut showcase in the country

May 20, 2018

‘Burning’ gets critics’ approval with Fipresci prize at Cannes

Despite failing to win the top prize at the 71st Cannes Film Festival, Lee Chang-dong’s “Burning” was recognized with the Fipresci International Critics’ Prize for best film in the main competition.The mystery drama was considered one of the favorites to win the Palme d’Or, along with “Capernaum” by Nadine Labaki, “BlacKkKlansman” by Spike Lee and “Shoplifters” by Hirokazu Kore-eda, which took home the top prize.However, the Korean auteur’s masterful depiction of the insecurity, anxiety, pent-up

May 20, 2018

Hwanhee of Fly to the Sky to release new single Tuesday

Hwanhee of R&B duo Fly to the Sky will return as a soloist on Tuesday, according to the artist’s agency H2 Media. The agency recently said that the singer’s upcoming single will be titled “Obvious” (working title) and feature rapping by BTOB’s Ilhoon. He will be resuming his solo career for the first time in 14 months.  Hwanhee (H2 Media)“Hwanhee, who has showcased sensitive vocal before, sought a dramatic musical change with the upcoming single,” an agency official said.Hwanhee debuted as a mem

May 20, 2018

BTS’ ‘Fake Love’ enters Spotify’s Global Top 200

K-pop heavyweight BTS once again reached a new milestone by entering Spotify’s Global Top 200 Chart at No. 17, the highest ranking for any K-pop act to date.According to the global music streaming service Sunday, “Fake Love,” the group’s single from its recently released “Love Yourself: Tear” album, was the top ranking song from the album. BTS (Big Hit Entertainment)With the new ranking, BTS also broke its own record on the list. Its previous hit “DNA” made it to No. 41 in September last year, m

May 20, 2018

‘Shoplifters’ wins Palme d’Or, grand prize to Spike Lee

CANNES, France -- A tumultuous Cannes Film Festival concluded Saturday with the Palme d’Or awarded to Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Shoplifters,” a tender portrait of a poor, impoverished family, while Harvey Weinstein accuser Asia Argento vowed justice will come to all sexual predators.At the closing ceremony for the 71st edition of the French Riviera extravaganza, the Cate Blanchett-led jury selected one of the festival’s most acclaimed entries, one hailed as a modest masterpiece from

May 20, 2018

BTS' new album tops iTunes charts in 65 nations

The new album by BTS has dominated the iTunes charts globally, within hours of its release, its agency said Saturday. Big Hit Entertainment said the seven-member act's third full-length album, titled "Love Yourself: Tear," claimed the top spot on iTunes' Top Albums charts in 65 countries including the US, Australia and Brazil. The main track, "Fake Love," ranked top of the iTunes' Top Songs chart in 52 nations including Denmark, Finland and Chile. All 11 songs made it into the top 20 songs of th

May 20, 2018

[Eye] Cho Yong-pil, king of Korean pop music

Before there was BTS, Psy, Girls’ Generation or Big Bang, there was Cho Yong-pil. Widely referred to as “Gawang,” which literally means the king of singing, Cho occupies a unique place in the popular music genre in Korea as the O.G. idol singer, pioneer of many genres and the most influential figure in the scene today.  Cho Yong-pil (Yonhap)Last week’s concert in Seoul commemorating the 50th anniversary of his debut was a reminder of his prominence in the Korean music scene. The tickets sold out

May 18, 2018

GD, Taeyang’s ‘Good Boy’ hits 200 million views

The official music video for “Good Boy” by Big Bang’s G-Dragon and Taeyang hit 200 million views on Friday. The video, released in November 2014, has gained popularity with its flashy neon images and unique camera movement, according to YG Entertainment.  (YG Entertainment)Along with the music video’s popularity, a video of the two-member unit’s performance for “Good Boy” at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards was the K-pop video with the most views around the world at the time.Other songs by Big B

May 18, 2018

‘Burning’ sets record high score at Cannes jury grid

Director Lee Chang-dong’s “Burning” garnered a record high score in the Cannes Film Festival’s daily newsletter upon its jury screening. With a 3.8 average, the film has nabbed the highest score in the history of Screen’s Cannes jury grid, surpassing the previous record of 3.7 set by Maren Ade’s “Tony Erdmann” in 2016.All but two critics awarded the film the full four stars, with two giving three stars. Screen’s review described the film as “quietly devastating…a film of wondrous complexity and

May 18, 2018

[K-Talk] BTS’ new album sent early by mistake

BTS’ third full-length album “‘Love Yourself: Tear” was shipped out earlier than scheduled due to a mistake by the US-based shipping company.  BTS (Big Hit Entertainment)According to BTS‘ agency company Big Hit Entertainment, American commerce company Amazon made a shipping mistake with BTS‘ new album scheduled to be released at 6 p.m. local time, Friday. The case was found as individual fans started to upload images of the boy band‘s physical album on their social media pages saying that they s

May 18, 2018

Whoops! Foreign BTS fans get hands on new album before release date

BTS’ third regular EP “Love Yourself: Tear” was allegedly leaked before the promised release time of 6 p.m. Friday, due to an error by US retail website Amazon, according to a Korean media report. A screenshot of the teaser from 'Fake Love''s music videoHankook Ilbo reported Friday that foreign fans of BTS have started updating pictures of the new BTS album to their social media accounts since Thursday. It seems Amazon had already distributed the EP, but the official release date was not until n

May 18, 2018

Fantastic love story ‘About Time’

From time to time, we can all wonder how much time we have left on this planet. What would it be like to have a “life watch” that tells you how much time you have remaining? The new tvN drama series “About Time” uses just such a device to depict a fantastic romance tale. Lee Sung-kyung plays Choi Mikaela in the 16-part production. She is able to see the invisible watch on people’s wrists, including her own. The watch tells how much time a person has left. With the knowledge of exactly how much t

May 17, 2018

Gugudan’s Mina joins cast of webtoon-based TV series ‘Gyeryong Fairy Tale’

Mina of the girl group Gugudan has joined the cast of the upcoming TV drama series “Gyeryong Fairy Tale.” Gugudan member Mina (Jellyfish Entertainment)Based on a well-known webtoon of the same title, “Gyeryong Fairy Tale” is a series that revolves around seonnyeo -- women who appear in Korean folklore and who live in heaven. In the series, actress Moon Chae-won plays a seonnyeo who tries to find her husband. Mina will play the daughter of the seonnyeo. In the story, the daughter reunites with he

May 17, 2018

Claims continue against use of Imperial Japan’s Rising Sun flag

While Steven Yeun’s “flag controversy” has yet to settle down, a music video from Puerto Rican singer Ozuna also stands accused of using the disputed symbol of the former Japanese Empire.Seo Kyoung-duk, professor of general education at Sungshin Women’s University, said Thursday that he has sent a letter of protest to Ozuna’s official Instagram and Facebook accounts regarding the official video of his song, “Siguelo Bailando.” A screenshot taken from the official music video of Ozuna's song, "Si

May 17, 2018

Big Bang’s Seungri becomes Tinder model

K-pop star Seungri has become a model for the online dating app Tinder in Korea, YG Entertainment announced Thursday. In one of the ads, Seungri is dressed in a suit and holds a champagne glass. In another, he is dressed casually with a smartphone in his hand.  (Tinder)“Friends of many nationalities that I meet through tours abroad and business use Tinder a lot,” said Seungri in a press release. “It’s a good fit for me, as I enjoy meeting new people,” he said on modeling for the app. Larger vers

May 17, 2018

MBC says ‘Omniscient’ staff did not intend offence with Sewol clip

Network broadcaster MBC on Wednesday said the producers of a controversial episode of its entertainment show “Omniscient” had no intention of offending the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster with the use of news footage of the accident.The committee formed on May 9 to conduct an internal audit over the entertainment show’s use of news clips and a word regarding the Sewol ferry disaster made the announcement during a press conference held at the network’s headquarters located in Sangam-dong, wes

May 17, 2018

SHINee to release three-part album

SHINee’s upcoming sixth album -- its first as a quartet -- will be released in three parts on three different dates.According to S.M. Entertainment, the boy band will release “The Story of Light EP.1,” the first segment of “The Story of Light” album, on May 28. The second and third parts will be released on June 11 and June 25, respectively. A teaser image for SHINee’s new album (S.M. Entertainment)Each part will consist of three songs and separate lead tracks, on which the group will focus its

May 16, 2018