Universal Ballet opens season with ‘Korea Emotion’

Universal Ballet, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, kicks off its 2024 season with the original ballet production, "Korea Emotion," an artistic blend of traditional Korean music and ballet. The neo-classical ballet with gugak crossover scores is to be staged Feb. 16-18, at the Universal Arts Center. Choreographed by Universal Ballet Artistic Director Liu Bingxian, “Korea Emotion” is a collection of nine short episodes drawing inspiration from the complex and multi

Feb. 13, 2024

Coin fraud scandal rocks Korean entertainment industry

Allegations of cryptocurrency fraud are growing against multiple South Korean celebrities and popular YouTubers, with some denying their involvement and some admitting to having invested in the cryptocurrency. Winnerz -- a Korean blockchain sports platform that operates several businesses including issuing cryptocurrency -- has been accused of running a coin scam after anonymous investors alleged that the company was issuing fake cryptocurrency, gathering investments and forbidding investors t

Feb. 13, 2024

Maroon 5 to be first foreign act at Inspire arena

American pop-rock band Maroon 5 is visiting Korea in March and holding a concert at the country's first multipurpose arena. According to Mohegan Inspire Entertainment Resort, Maroon 5 will hold a two-day concert at Inspire Arena in Yeongjong-do, Incheon, on March 8 and 9. It will be the first performance by an overseas act at the venue. Inspire Arena, the first multipurpose arena in South Korea operated by Mohegan Inspire Entertainment Resort, opened in December last year. It is part of Ins

Feb. 13, 2024

Tang Wei stars in music video for IU’s upcoming single

Chinese actress Tang Wei will star in a music video for the singer-songwriter and actress IU’s upcoming album. Tang will appear in the music video of the side B track, “Shh…” in IU’s sixth mini album, “The Winning,” according to Edam Entertainment. In the teaser for the music video, released on YouTube Tuesday, Tang Wei appears inside a car leaning her face against the steering wheel and gazing out the window. The screen then turns black and white, and

Feb. 13, 2024

[Herald Interview] 'A Shop for Killers' an action drama with stories to tell

“A Shop for Killers” might appear to be an action drama, but the 8-part series is about the story of a lonely girl growing up, the choices various characters make and their consequences, which should give strength to the audience in enduring hardships, according to director Lee Kwon and the actor who portrayed the girl, Kim Hye-jun. Disney+ original "A Shop for Killers" narrates the story of Jung Ji-an (played by Kim Hye-jun), who is targeted by a slew of killers after her

Feb. 12, 2024

What does J-pop revival mean for S. Korea?

Choi Mi-yeon, a 25-year-old college student, recently purchased a ticket for Japanese band King Gnu's upcoming concert in Korea. Among her friends who attempted to buy tickets, she was the only one lucky enough to get a ticket for the concert, which is set to take place twice in April. All 6,000 tickets quickly sold out. "It feels like more and more Japanese musicians are visiting Korea since last year, and it's getting really hard to get tickets. J-pop is certainly gaining streng

Feb. 12, 2024

Ambitious rookies to unveil new albums in February

Several rookie boy groups who have debuted less than a year ago are making a comeback in February. The 10-member group n.SSign, which debuted in August last year, will return with a second mini album, "Happy &," on Feb. 15. The group has successfully kicked off their overseas career, holding three solo concerts at Ariake Arena in Tokyo even before their official debut. In the pre-released concept photos, the members wear boyish outfits with vivid colors, expressing playful energy.

Feb. 10, 2024

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Wonka” (US) Opened Jan. 31 Fantasy Directed by Paul King Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet), who dreams of becoming the world’s best chocolatier, encounters a “chocolate cartel” and a plot to kick him out of town as its business is threatened. But next to him are four trustworthy supporters whom he meets at Mrs. Scrubitt’s launderette. “Citizen of a Kind” (South Korea) Opened Jan. 24 Drama Directed by Park Young-ju Duk-hee (Ra Mi-ran), who lives an

Feb. 9, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Lisa sets up own company

  Lisa of Blackpink announced Thursday that she is establishing her own label, Lloud. With a photograph of herself wearing an androgynous suit, she wrote that it is a platform through which she will be able to showcase her vision for music and entertainment and asked fans to join the exciting journey that will navigate across new boundaries. She set her fans abuzz the previous day with a post that only said “Coming Soon.” The four members of the superstar group decided to let YG

Feb. 8, 2024

SM to debut British K-pop boy group

K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment is set to debut four new K-pop acts including NCT Wish this year. The frontrunner is NCT Wish which is to debut at the label concert, “SMTown Live,” slated to be held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on Feb. 21, according to SM Entertainment on Thursday. NCT Wish is the last subunit of NCT. Other subunits include NCT U, NCT 127, NCT Dream and WayV. SM also plans to launch a new girl group, its first virtual artist naevis known as aespa’s Kwangya help

Feb. 8, 2024

[New on the Scene] Director Hah Joon-won explores dangerous world of 'baji sajang'

After nearly five years of research into the world of "baji sajang," people who make money lending their names as figureheads to underground or illegal businesses, Hah Joon-won’s directorial debut film, “Dead Man, opened in local theaters on Feb. 7. “As I was doing research for a story about baji sajang and their nefarious businesses, I met with some people who were on the run. One day, (I met with) this man (who gave me his) business card (which said he was a CEO), a

Feb. 8, 2024

Fifty Fifty to return with new members in June

K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty is set to start anew with new members joining Keena in June. “We’ve started reorganizing Fifty Fifty around Keena. The lineup will be confirmed in April and the group will release a new single in June,” announced Attrakt, the agency representing Fifty Fifty, in a press release Thursday. Fifty Fifty debuted as a quartet with Keena, Aran, Sio and Saena in November 2022. But Aran, Sio and Saena left the group as Attrakt terminated its exclusive contrac

Feb. 8, 2024

ARKO Selection pushes theatrical boundaries

ARKO Selection's fourth set of productions, scheduled to kick off in mid-February, showcases five works -- three plays, one music concert and one ballet -- that stand out for notable directing techniques. The play "Teddy Daddy Run," slated to run Feb. 16-25, is a road trip action drama following 16-year-old Korean teen Yoon-seo and 15-year-old Korean Filipina Nina as the two search for their missing father across various locations in Manila, the Philippines. “We wanted to ad

Feb. 8, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Enhypen encore in US

    Enhypen will return to the US for encore tour Fate Plus, agency Belift Lab announced on Wednesday. The seven members will visit five cities in the country, starting in Anaheim, California on April 24. They will head over to Oakland; Tacoma, Washington; and Rosemont, Illinois before wrapping up the stateside leg at Belmont Park in San Diego on May 3. They are returning to the US about seven months after they went live in six cities for the “Fate” tour. The final des

Feb. 7, 2024

Is Shinsegae scion debuting as girl group member?

Some photos of possible members to debut as a K-pop girl group under The Black Label went viral early this week, leading the agency to announce they are launching a girl group in the first half of this year. Among those in the leaked photos was Moon Seo-yoon, a granddaughter of Shinsegae Group Chairwoman Lee Myung-hee and the eldest daughter of Chung Yoo-kyung, president of Shinsegae’s department store business. In the photo, she is seen posing with other girls including actress and model

Feb. 7, 2024

Le Sserafim's agency to hold audition for new girl group

Source Music, the agency of trending girl group Le Sserafim, announced that it will hold an audition, seeking members for the next-generation girl group. Source Music released the poster for the 2024 Source Music Audition on social media and the company's official website, announcing the audition schedule. Auditions will be held in six cities, starting with Seoul on March 2, followed by Daejeon on March 3, Busan on March 9, Gwangju and Daegu on March 10, and Jeju on March 16. It is Source M

Feb. 7, 2024

More CJ ENM series coming to Prime Video

South Korean series have been topping the charts on global streaming platforms amid the soaring popularity of K-content, according to entertainment giant CJ ENM on Wednesday. According to the US-based streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol, "Marry My Husband," a 16-part romantic drama series that aired its first episode on Jan. 1, topped the daily rankings for TV shows worldwide on Jan. 31 on Prime Video, the streaming service from Amazon. This marked the first time for a Korean series to

Feb. 7, 2024

IU collaborates with Tweety Bird for upcoming album

Singer-songwriter and actor IU is collaborating with Tweety Bird, the famous yellow canary character from the animated cartoon, “Looney Tunes,” produced and distributed by Warner Bros, to promote her upcoming album. That includes releasing a special version of the upcoming album with Tweety Bird on its cover, and various merchandise, according to Edam Entertainment on Wednesday. IU has some history with this character as she has been using Tweety Bird as the profile picture of her In

Feb. 7, 2024

Le Sserafim pop-up stores to open in Seoul, Tokyo

Pop-up stores marking the comeback of K-pop group Le Sserafim will open in both Korea and Japan, the agency Hybe announced Thursday. In Korea, "Le Sserafim 2024 S/S Pop Up" will open at Geumho Alver in Geumho-dong, Seoul, from Feb. 16 to March 3. The store, which celebrates the release of the group's third mini album "Easy," will be filled with media art that depicts the concept of the upcoming album and fashion items that members wore in the trailer video. At the three-

Feb. 7, 2024

[Herald Review] 'A Killer Paradox' faithfully reproduces legendary webtoon

Director Lee Chang-hee -- a K-thriller master who has produced a slew of hit series such as "Hell Is Other People" and the film "The Vanished" -- has successfully breathed life into the award-winning webtoon "A Killer Paradox" through strict adherence to the plot of the original webtoon series. “A Killer Paradox” follows the story of Yi Tang (played by Choi Woo-shik), a college student who commits a series of murders by accident. After he commits the mur

Feb. 7, 2024