Former divas return as Golden Girls

Korean divas of the ’80s and ’90s have embarked on a new journey as a girl group, with a new single to be dropped Friday. "Golden Girls" on KBS2 follows four divas -- Insooni, Park Mi-kyung, Shin Hyo-beom and Lee Eun-mi -- who debuted as solo vocalists more than 30 to 40 years ago as they "re-debut" as a K-pop girl group named Golden Girls. Park Jin-young, also known as J.Y. Park, leads JYP Entertainment, one of the country's top three entertainment agencies.

Nov. 29, 2023

[Herald Review] '12.12: The Day' avoids usual pitfalls of historical films

On Dec. 12, 1979, one of the most significant days in modern Korean history, Gen. Chun Doo-hwan led a military coup, establishing expanded martial law and leading to the shutdown of the National Assembly and universities, as well as the arrests of dissidents and members of the political opposition. The event later led to the Gwangju Democracy Uprising of May 1980. The director of “12.12: The Day”, Kim Seong-su, who has helmed various hit action noirs, including “Beat” (

Nov. 29, 2023

As streaming services raise fees, some turn to illegal streaming sites

Subscription rates for streaming services are rising amid already high inflation, and such price hikes are stoking a boom in Koreans' use of illegal streaming sites. Local streaming service Tving is the latest to jump on the bandwagon, raising its subscription price some 20 percent starting in December. The subscription price for Tving's basic plan -- which allows content viewing at a resolution of 720p and is limited to one viewer at a time -- will rise by 20.3 percent from 7,900 won

Nov. 29, 2023

BTS gets 6th top honor at 2023 MAMA Awards

K-pop sensation BTS notched the title of Worldwide Icon of the Year on Tuesday, the first day of the two-day 2023 MAMA Awards. The MAMA Awards, the world’s biggest K-pop festival organized by CJ ENM, is taking place at the Tokyo Dome, Japan’s top concert venue, this year. Worldwide Icon of the Year is one of the four top honors to be presented this year. Winners of the three other main awards-- artist of the year, song of the year and album of the year -- are to be announced Wednesda

Nov. 29, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] DAY6 to host full-group concert next month: report

DAY6 will hold a year-end concert with all four members present, a first in four years, according to a local media report on Tuesday. Label JYP Entertainment confirmed the news uploading a poster for its concert -- dubbed “The Present: You Are My Day” -- that will be held in Seoul from Dec. 22-24. “My Day” is the name of its official fandom community. It will be the first full-group effort since the bandmates completed their respective military duties. Wonpil was the las

Nov. 28, 2023

[Herald Interview] Strings of inspiration: Classic guitarist Deion Cho talks about decadelong journey to victory

The story reads like a movie script where the protagonist, after 10 attempts, finally clinches a grand prize. Such is the story of classical guitarist Deion Cho, who emerged triumphant at the 56th Francisco Tarrega International Guitar Competition in Spain this September. Previous winners of the prestigious competition established in 1967 in honor of Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909), the composer of “Memories of the Alhambra,” includes world-renowned guitar virtuoso David Russell. Cho,

Nov. 28, 2023

Music industry seeks solution to ticket scalping through public discussion

The Record Label Industry Association of Korea’s petition to revise the ticket scalping law submitted to the government on Nov. 19 has turned into a public petition, according to the association on Tuesday. The move requires the government to gather public opinion for 30 days to deal with the petition and announce the result within 90 days. In the petition, Record Label Industry Association of Korea Chairman Yoon Dong-hwan, argues that “ticket scalping is cancerous to society,”

Nov. 28, 2023

[Herald Review] ‘Single in Seoul’ a bland rom-com about modern single life

Im Soo-jung and Lee Dong-wook seem like a good match in Korean romance flicks – as seen in Lee’s special appearance as Im’s ex in “Search WWW” (2019) -- but their reunion in “Single in Seoul is something of a disappointment. Directed by Park Bum-soo and produced by the team behind “Architecture 101,” a 2012 hit film about young love, this romantic comedy film revolves around Young-ho (Lee) and Hyun-jin (Im), who slowly fall in love despite their di

Nov. 28, 2023

[Herald Interview] Nam Woo-hyun returns with solo studio album after rare cancer battle

It's been quite a year for Nam Woo-hyun of the K-pop boy group Infinite. He was diagnosed with a rare cancer for which he underwent hourslong surgery, and then joined the band for comeback concerts and the release of a mini-album. On Tuesday, he dropped his first solo LP and is due to hold concerts next month. “I was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal stromal tumor for which I underwent surgery at a university hospital in April. I was expecting a small surgery at first. But when the su

Nov. 28, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Enhypen enters Billboard 200 at No. 4

Enhypen’s fifth EP charted No. 4 on Billboard 200, according to the chart preview published on Sunday in the US. The EP “Orange Blood” notched the fourth rung on the main albums chart dated Dec. 2, tying the record it set with previous EP “Dark Blood.” It is the band’s sixth entry on the chart. The mini album was released on Nov. 17 and sold over 1.87 million copies in the first week, a new record for the seven-member act, and became its fourth million-sellin

Nov. 27, 2023

'12.12: The Day’ attracts 1.8m moviegoers in five days since opening

“12.12: The Day,” a political drama revisiting a military-led coup that took place in 1979, has attracted 1.87 million moviegoers in the first week of release, according to Korean Film Council data on Monday. The movie, which was released on Nov. 22, recorded the second-highest number of moviegoers in the opening week this year. “The Roundup: No Way Out” recorded 4.5 million admissions during its opening week in June. On Saturday and Sunday, a total of 1.2 million moviego

Nov. 27, 2023

[Herald Review] Korean and Welsh dance companies share creativity in 'Wales Connection'

The striking costumes of the three dancers immediately captured the audience's attention. From hats to sunglasses, and even socks, everything appeared to be mismatched, yet the patterns were vibrant and eye-catching. In “Catachory,” the dancers existed in their own bubbles, at times making rhythmic leaps while sitting or lying down, wriggling like caterpillars, at other times appearing like broken mannequins. The scene is from "Wales Connection," a collaborative projec

Nov. 27, 2023

YG’s new girl group Babymonster debuts with single 'Batter Up'

YG Entertainment’s new girl group Babymonster debuted on Monday with the release of its digital single “Batter Up.” “We are happy to welcome this day that we’ve dreamed of for a long time. We will do our best to show our unique musical colors. We are also preparing diverse content and events for our fans who have waited for our debut, so please look forward to them,” Babymonster said in a press release. The group's debut digital single topped iTunes&rsquo

Nov. 27, 2023

'Batter Up': YG rookie Babymonster to debut as six-piece

YG Entertainment's new girl group Babymonster takes to the plate on Nov. 27 with its debut song "Batter Up." The music video teaser was unveiled on Friday, giving the first sneak peek into what sounds like a powerful hip-hop anthem. "Attention!" bellowed out the six girls at the start of the half-minute clip. Lights flash above the members' faces in turn, as siren sounds rang in the backdrop over minimal repetitive beats. The video closes with the group singing, &qu

Nov. 26, 2023

‘The Nutcracker’ to bring year-end magic to stage

The iconic ballet “The Nutcracker” is set to make a festive return for year-end magic on the stage, as major ballet companies gear up for the holiday season. The classic Christmas spectacle wraps up the year with a colorful stage, glittering costumes and familiar melodies from Tchaikovsky’s score. Based on children’s story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” (1816) by German writer Ernst Hofmann, the heroine (Marie or Clara in different renditions) receives a

Nov. 26, 2023

‘Smugglers’ wins best picture at 44th Blue Dragon Film Awards

Director Ryoo Seung-wan’s blockbuster “Smugglers” on Friday won best picture at the 44th Blue Dragon Film Awards, a prestigious film awards show in South Korea. The 130-minute crime action film tells the story of a group of “haenyeo”-- female divers from Jeju Island -- who become involved in illegal smuggling to make ends meet. “Smugglers” secured an additional three trophies, including best supporting actor for Zo In-sung, best new actress for Go Min-

Nov. 26, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Five Nights at Freddy'” (US) Opened Nov. 15 Horror/Mystery Directed by Emma Tammi Mike starts working as a security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. Spending his first night shift on the job, he soon notices that his work at Freddy's won't be so easy to endure. “The Boy and the Heron” (Japan) Opened Oct. 25 Animation Directed by Hayao Miyazaki Twelve-year-old Mahito finds a new home following the death of his mom. But after encountering a talking

Nov. 25, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ V logs 200m Spotify streams with ‘Slow Dancing’

V of BTS hit a milestone 200 million streams on Spotify with “Slow Dancing,” according to Big Hit Music on Friday. The lead single from his first solo album “Layover” became V's fourth solo song to reach the landmark number, following “Love Me Again” from the same album, as well as TV drama theme songs “Sweet Night” and “Christmas Tree.” All six tracks from the solo album made Spotify’s global weekly chart in the first week, a fi

Nov. 24, 2023

[Herald Interview] Cha Seung-won feels less stressed about juggling different roles

The 2018 crime action film “Believer” gave Cha Seung-won a new image as the merciless villain Brian Lee recognized by his white suit and signature bob-cut hairstyle. Cha reprises the role as the director of an industrial company that secretly operates an illegal drug testing lab in the second installment of the franchise, “Believer 2,” which was released on Netflix on Nov. 15. “Believer 2” was ranked No. 1 on Netflix’s global top 10 non-English film sect

Nov. 24, 2023

Kim Hye-soo to step down as host of Blue Dragon Film Awards after 30 years

Actor Kim Hye-soo will wrap up 30 years of hosting one of South Korea's most prestigious film awards on Friday. Kim will host the Blue Dragon Film Awards ceremony, the 44th edition, for the last time at KBS Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. Fellow actor Yoo Yeon-seok will co-host the ceremony. Kim first took on the role as emcee in 1993 after rising to stardom through her debut film “Ggambo” (1986). She has since hosted the ceremony every year, except for in 1998. During her decadeslong

Nov. 24, 2023