Korean veteran actors to make streaming service debuts in 2024

A slew of South Korean veteran actors will be making their debuts on streaming services this year, amid a widespread shift of viewership toward online video platforms. According to Disney+, veteran actor Song Kang-ho, who starred in a slew of hit films such as "The Host," "Snowpiercer," and "Parasite," will be making his first streaming service, as well as drama series debut, via Disney+ original "Uncle Samsik." Set in the 1960s, Korea, "Uncle Samsi

March 10, 2024

Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra visits Korea on 10-day tour

The Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, the oldest symphony orchestra in the US, is returning to South Korea for the first time since 2015 in a tour of three cities. The HRO, comprising Harvard students and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was founded in 1808. The 110-member ensemble led by music director and conductor Federico Cortese will perform music by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Bernstein, making three stops across the country -- Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul on March 13, Moak Hall in Jeonju, Nort

March 10, 2024

[Herald Review] Slowdive captivates Korean fans with hypnotic performance

British shoegaze star band Slowdive presented absorbing hours to Korean fans with its first stand-alone concert in Seoul, Saturday. About 2,000 audience members gathered at the Myunghwa Live Hall, in west Seoul, to enjoy Slowdive's sold-out concert. The performance was held in a free, festive mood, with a small snack bar next to the venue entrance which sold beer and simple snacks. Slowdive, a representative band of the shoegaze genre, was formed by Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell in 1989.

March 10, 2024

Occult thriller 'Exhuma' tops 7m in admissions

The supernatural flick "Exhuma" has extended its strong box-office performance, topping 7 million in admissions, its distributor said Saturday. Released Feb. 22, the film topped 1 million admissions on its third day of release and hit the new milestone Friday, according to Showbox. Starring Choi Min-sik and Kim Go-eun, the movie follows two shamans, a feng shui expert and a mortician, who team up to get to the bottom of a series of mysterious events plaguing a wealthy U.S.-based fa

March 9, 2024

Golden Wave concert to visit Taiwan

Popular K-pop singers are due to perform in Taiwan next month, with the Golden Wave K-pop concert taking place at Kaohsiung National Stadium on April 13. Girls groups such as (G)I-dle, Nmixx, and StayC and boy bands such as Seventeen subunit BSS, Boynextdoor, Enhypen, Zerobaseone and &Team are participating in the concert in the southern Taiwan city of Kaohsiung, according to Studio JAMM, a Korea-based cultural content company. Rising actor Choo Young-Woo, who appeared in TV dramas "Oas

March 9, 2024

Celebrity monk returns to TV after uproar over his wealth, lifestyle

A star Buddhist monk, who saw his following plunge amid an uproar over what critics said was self-indulgence that betrayed the monk’s preaching, has returned as a TV show host after some three years out of the public eye. In the first episode of the weekly show “A Cafe Where Mind Finds Rest,” which aired Monday, the Ven. Haemin began the 42-minute episode by saying he “repents for not living up to the standards expected of a monk.” “Your words will be my teach

March 8, 2024

Dystopian musical 'The Origin of Evil by Darwin Young' returns for 4th run

The Seoul Performing Arts Company kicks off the fourth season of its original production, "The Origin of Evil by Darwin Young," on Friday. Adapted from the novel by late writer Park Ji-ri, the play is set in a meticulously segregated society based on caste, spanning from the privileged first district, where residents have to adhere to strict standards of behavior to maintain their status, to the slum-like ninth district, where an uprising was suppressed 60 years earlier. The musical pl

March 8, 2024

[Herald Review] 'Bea' challenges perspectives on life, death

In a vibrant dress, Bea (a nickname for Beatrice) dances joyfully to Madonna's "Ray of Light" and then, addressing the recently arrived Ray, implores him to write a letter on her behalf. She says, "I want to die." Ray and Bea's mother, Katherine, are taken aback, with Katherine painfully choosing to ignore the letter. The scene is part of stage drama "Bea," which kicked off its run on Feb. 17 at the LG Art Center in Gangseo-gu, western Seoul. Contrary to t

March 8, 2024

‘Exhuma’ leads local box offices, more K-occult films coming later this year

“Exhuma,” directed by acclaimed "master of K-occult" Jang Jae-hyun, continues its strong performance at the box office, likely to surpass 7 million total viewers this weekend -- the third weekend since the movie’s release on Feb. 22. According to Korean Film Council data, “Exhuma” accumulated a total of 6.7 million ticket sales as of Friday. The movie, which cost 1.4 billion won ($1 million) to produce, reached the breakeven point of 3.3 million ticket sal

March 8, 2024

Just one K-blockbuster helmed by female filmmaker in 2023: data

Of the 35 Korean blockbuster films that opened last year, just one film was directed by a female filmmaker, according to data. Korean Film Council data showed that director Yim Soon-rye of the action drama flick "The Point Men" was the only female filmmaker to have directed a movie with a budget of more than 3 billion won. Representing 2.7 percent of the 35 blockbusters, the figure is the lowest since KOFIC began gathering data in 2017. There was no female cinematographer for any Korea

March 8, 2024

'Indie musicians in need of government aid': report

There are 3,168 indie musician groups (7,545 individual indie musicians) in Korea as of February, according to a report by Xindie Lounge on Friday. Xindie Lounge is organization that helps promote indie music and is operated by the Record Label Industry Association of Korea. Musicians who have held at least two in-person shows were included in the survey. Most of the indie musicians, 2,806 groups, were based in Seoul. “The number of indie musicians continues to grow but they face difficult

March 8, 2024

Rapper Swings returns with LP ‘Upgrade V’

Rapper Swings released “Upgrade V,” his first studio album in four years, on Friday. His fifth LP carries 17 tracks led by the title track “Work,” composed by Swings. “I wanted to make a song that is perfect to tune into when working out at the gym, a song that will give you a boost of energy when lifting weights,” Swings said on MBC’s variety show “Point of Omniscient Interfere” on March 2. Swings took 16 years to come up with the tracks for

March 8, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] NewJeans picks up Billboard Women in Music award

NewJeans was named Group of the Year from 2024 Billboard Women in Music Awards, a first for a K-pop act. The five members picked up the trophy at the ceremony held in Los Angeles on Wednesday after performing “Super Shy” and “ETA” on stage in costumes fashioned after school uniforms. Participating in the awards alone “is so surreal and it’s hard to believe we’re in the same room as you all,” said Hanni for the acceptance speech. “I’

March 8, 2024

[Herald Interview] Song Joong-ki crafts his own kind of North Korean defector in 'My Name is Loh Kiwan'

Song Joong-ki, whose Netflix original film "My Name is Loh Kiwan” ranked 3rd on Netflix's non-English chart this week, said he was hesitant to play the character of North Korean defector Loh Ki-wan when he first received the script for the movie seven years ago. “I initially turned down the offer to play Loh Ki-wan seven years ago, because Ki-wan and Marie’s love affair didn't resonate with me. I told the production company that I didn’t think it was right

March 8, 2024

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Dune: Part Two” (US, Canada) Opened Feb. 28 Action/Sci-fi Directed by Denis Villeneuve In the year 10,191 on Arrakis, recently outcast heir to the throne of House Atreides Paul (Timothee Chalamet) finds a path to revenge against the emperor and, without knowing his choice could spell doom for the entire galaxy, he embarks on a holy war. “Exhuma” (South Korea) Opened Feb. 22 Mystery/Thriller Directed by Jang Jae-hyun A feng-shui expert, an undertaker and two shaman ex

March 8, 2024

Jennie of Blackpink’s collaboration with Matt Champion coming soon

Jennie of Blackpink is introduces her new single, “Slow Motion,” on Friday. The upcoming single is a collaboration between Jennie and Matt Champion, vocalist of American boy band Brockhampton. Matt Champion announced the release by posting a poster of the single in which he tagged Jennie. Jennie and Matt Champion had teased the single, each unveiling snippets of the single on their official social media channels. The single is a drum and bass song that will deliver a fresh and unique

March 7, 2024

K-pop artists spotted front-row at Paris Fashion Week

Iconic K-pop artists were invited to the Paris Fashion Week F/W 2024 as K-pop broadens its reach to the fashion industry. Paris Fashion Week F/W 2024 for womenswear took place in Paris, France Feb. 26- March 5. Lisa of Blackpink attended the Louis Vuitton show on March 5. She posted a picture taken with Nicolas Ghesquiere, the women’s creative director of Louis Vuitton, and wrote that “the final fashion week show ended beautifully.” Hyein of NewJeans and Nayeon of Twice also at

March 7, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] NCT Dream floats teaser for 5th EP

NCT Dream unveiled teaser photographs for the group's upcoming fifth EP on Wednesday. In line with the name of the teaser content -- “icantfeelanything” -- the seven bandmates can be seen standing expressionless on stairs and in front of a box gleaming in neon green. A series of props, from red yarn and a flower aflame to a broken mirror, also raised expectations for the story in the EP, “Dream()scape,” which rolls out on March 25. The EP will be the first to portray

March 7, 2024

'Queen of Tears' marks Kim Su-hyun's return to screen, explores woes of married life

South Korean actors Kim Ji-won and Kim Su-hyun will be depicting the woes of a married couple coming from vastly different backgrounds in tvN's latest drama series "Queen of Tears," set to air Saturday. Scripted by star screenwriter Park Ji-eun, who wrote the scripts for hit Korean romance dramas such as "My Love from the Star" and "Crash Landing on You," the 16-part drama series follows Baek Hyun-woo (played by Kim Su-hyun), a son of a supermarket owner from t

March 7, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink tops 300m views with ‘Lovesick Girls’ dance video

Blackpink's performance video for "Lovesick Girls" surpassed 300 million views as of Tuesday, according to label YG Entertainment on Wednesday. It is the group’s seventh dance video to reach the milestone and achieved the feat in almost 3 1/2 years. “Lovesick Girls” fronted Blackpink's first full album “The Album” and debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 59. The LP hit both the Billboard 200 and the UK’s Official albums chart at No

March 6, 2024