[Today’s K-pop] Ateez sells 1.7m copies of 2nd LP

Ateez sold over 1.7 million units of its second studio album in the first week, according to KQ Entertainment Friday. LP “The World Ep Fin: Will” became its third million-selling album and set a first-week sales record for the band, surpassing that of its previous album – its ninth EP “The World Ep. 2: Outlaw,” which ranked No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart when it came out in June. The new album swept all major albums chart at home and a series of those across the

Dec. 8, 2023

'The Glory' notches two accolades at AACA including best drama series award

South Korean drama production Studio Dragon said Friday it notched accolades at the 2023 Asian Academy Creative Awards for the second consecutive year with its megahit Netflix original series "The Glory." The AACA is the largest content awards ceremony in Asia held annually in December in Singapore. Works from 17 countries across the Asia-Pacific, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Viet

Dec. 8, 2023

Antenna concert series mixes music, art and cocktails

Jazz melodies and fragrant cocktails captivated the audience at the LG Art Center, Wednesday, marking the first day of a series of special performances presented by the music agency Antenna. "Club Arc Antenna" showcases the work of six Antenna singer-songwriters, offering music, art and cocktails, as well as allowing the audience to visit backstage areas and mingle with the performers. Renowned jazz pianist Yun Seok-cheol kicked off the series on Wednesday, and will be followed by sing

Dec. 8, 2023

BTS’ V to star IU’s new music video next year

BTS member V will appear in the new music video of a singer-songwriter IU. IU's agency, Edam Entertainment, confirmed that she wrapped up filming the music video with V on Tuesday. The new album is likely to be released within the first half of 2024. V appeared as a guest on IU's official YouTube channel in September, showing their close friendship. The new music video was directed by Um Tae-hwa, who directed the 2023 film “Concrete Utopia.” Um was also in charge of directi

Dec. 8, 2023

Filming set for season 2 of 'Squid Game' unveiled to press

Global streaming service Netflix on Thursday unveiled part of the set for the second season of "Squid Game" to the press as it continues production, with filming scheduled to extend into 2024. "We have been filming the second season of 'Squid Game' since July with the interest and support of many viewers. We are burdened with the pressure to do well, but we will make sure to repay viewers with a good result," said Hwang Dong-hyuk, the director of the 2021 Netflix su

Dec. 8, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Single in Seoul” (South Korea) Opened Nov. 29 Romance Directed by Park Bum-soo Young-ho (Lee Dong-wook) -- who dreamt of being single forever and enjoying every moment of his life by himself -- meets Hyun-jin (Im Soo-jung), who gives the men around her a sense of meaning in their actions. “12.12: The Day” (South Korea) Opened Nov. 22 Drama/Action Directed by Kim Seong-su The film covers nine hours on Dec. 12, 1979 during a coup attempt by Gen. Chun Doo-gwang (Hwang Jun

Dec. 8, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Aespa makes New York Times’ best song list

  Girl group aespa’s English-language single “Better Things” was chosen as one of the “Best Songs of 2023” listed by New York Times. It is the only K-pop song on the list that described it as “a K-pop kiss-off with ingeniously cascading vocal harmonies and absolutely no regrets.” The minimal dance tune was dropped in August and was put on stage for the first time at the group’s concert in Los Angeles in advance. Last month, the foursome releas

Dec. 7, 2023

Lee Young-ae returns with 'Maestra: Strings of Truth'

South Korean actor Lee Young-ae will be making her comeback to television after a near two-year hiatus via cable TV channel tvN's 12-episode drama series, "Maestra: Strings of Truth." Based on French television series "Philharmonia," the series narrates the story of a globally renowned female violinist-turned-conductor with a secret past. After returning to Korea, Cha Se-eum, played by Lee Young-ae, becomes the conductor of a Korean orchestra where mysterious incidents h

Dec. 7, 2023

BTS' V and Blackpink's Jennie break up: sources

BTS' V and Blackpink's Jennie, who were rumored to have been dating, recently broke up, music industry sources said Wednesday. The two K-pop stars have been caught up in rumors that they are in a romantic relationship after an online post claimed they spent time together on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju last year. In May, a video posted online also showed what appeared to be V and Jennie seemingly on a date in Paris. Their respective agencies, BigHit Music and YG En

Dec. 6, 2023

Actors, musicians unite for Hakchon Theater's closing act

Actors and musicians have come together for a relay performance to bid a heartfelt farewell to the Hakchon Theater, an iconic venue for Korean performing arts in Seoul's Daehangno district. Established in March 1991, the Hakchon Theater will close its doors on March 15, its 33rd anniversary, due to chronic financial difficulties and CEO Kim Min-gi's health issues. Upon hearing the news, singer Park Hak-ki gathered fellow artists and created the "Hakchon Again'' project -

Dec. 6, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Riize to return on Jan. 5: report

Rookie boy band Riize is set to release a new single on Jan. 5, according to a local media report on Wednesday. Label SM Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. The band’s latest release was the digital single “Talk Saxy” that was released in October and topped the iTunes top songs chart in seven regions. Riize debuted in September with the single album “Get A Guitar” that sold over a million copies in the first week, and topped Oricon’s daily

Dec. 6, 2023

Four Korean drama series nominated for Critics Choice Awards

Four South Korean dramas have been nominated at the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards, which is slated to be held in Los Angeles on Jan. 14. Of the seven nominations for the best foreign language series, four are Korean dramas -- Korean streaming service Tving's original series “Bargain,” Netflix's original series "The Glory" and "Mask Girl" and Disney+'s original series "Moving" -- according to the Critics Choice Association on Tuesday.

Dec. 6, 2023

Berlin Philharmonic's 'Unsuk Chin Edition': Unthinkable becomes reality

“Something unthinkable has become a reality. It feels like a lifetime achievement to some degree,” said Korean composer Chin Un-suk of the Berlin Philharmonic album dedicated to her music. Titled “The Unsuk Chin Edition,” the album released last month contains six works Chin performed by the world’s top orchestra between 2005 and 2022. It is a rare album of a living composer and only the second time after the philharmonic released, in 2017, an album of John Adams, w

Dec. 6, 2023

Things look bright for ‘Past Lives’ Oscars prospects

Hopes are growing that Korean Canadian director and playwright Celine Song’s directorial debut “Past Lives” could repeat the success of Lee Isaac Chung's heartwarming family drama “Minari," nominated in six categories at the 2021 Academy Awards. The 2024 Academy Awards are slated to take place March 10, 2024. "Past Lives," which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in January, quickly garnered international critical attention. The film opened i

Dec. 6, 2023

Solbi talks about dealing with malicious online comments in documentary

Appearing in a US documentary, singer and painter Solbi has impressed viewers with her courageous journey in overcoming malicious comments. Solbi appeared in a documentary entitled "Painting Through Pain" as part of the Voice of America's 52 Documentary series on YouTube, sharing the painful experience of malicious comments and cyberbullying and how she overcame them. Directed by Komeil Soheili, the documentary was part of the weekly documentary series released from the VOA. Accor

Dec. 6, 2023

Blackpink survives 7-year curse, renews exclusive contract with YG

Jennie, Lisa, Rose and Jisoo will remain as Blackpink, defying K-pop's infamous “seven-year curse.” The seven-year curse in K-pop refers to the disbanding of most K-pop groups seven years after their debut as the exclusive contracts with their agencies come to an end. “Based on our strong trust in one another, Blackpink renewed its exclusive contract with the agency for group activities,” YG Entertainment announced Wednesday. YG said it plans to actively support Blac

Dec. 6, 2023

5 cities in Japan splashed with Seventeen

K-pop boy group Seventeen is adorning five different cities in Japan through The City, a project which hosts diverse events across a specific region for its fans to enjoy. The project is being carried out at 70 different places across Tokyo, Saitama, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka along with 30 companies in time for the group’s visits to these cities as part of its dome tour in Japan, according to Hybe. “The project also took place last year in three different cities in Japan with 25 loca

Dec. 6, 2023

BTS to open new chapter after military service

RM, V, Jimin and Jungkook of BTS communicated with their fans through a livestream on Weverse on Tuesday night ahead of starting their mandatory military service next week. “We are looking forward to the day that we resume working as a full unit. We know that together we will generate significant synergy. With this in mind, we will spend the coming year and a half in the military,” said the members. RM and V are enlisting on Dec. 11, and Jimin and Jungkook on Dec. 12, according to in

Dec. 6, 2023

[Herald Interview] Zion.T aims to rebrand with new LP ‘Zip’

Singer-songwriter Zion.T contemplated how to reach new listeners when working on his third studio album, “Zip,” which is his first album release in five years. “I (wanted) to present a good album that rebrands my identity as a musician to attract new listeners. I want this album to open a new chapter of my career,” Zion.T said during an interview with a group of reporters on Monday. Zion.T has made his mark on the music industry over the last 12 years as a creative si

Dec. 6, 2023

Musical 'Yujin and Yujin' captivates Taiwanese audience

Taipei, TAIWAN -- On Nov. 25, about 160 seats of the Experimental Theater at the National Theater & Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan were full. In front of the audience were two Taiwanese actresses -- Da Tian and Lee Ling-Wei -- and a cello and piano duo. The actresses sitting facing the audience on two simple chairs turned into two characters, both named Yujin: "Big Yujin" and "Little Yujin." With their lines and dramatic songs, the two actresses led the audience into th

Dec. 5, 2023