TVXQ draws more than legendary home acts in Japan

In Japan, more fans came to K-pop duo TVXQ’s concerts than to those of the legendary home acts of Arashi and Namie Amuro, according to S.M. Entertainment on Monday. The agency said TVXQ was atop the list compiled by Japan’s Nikkei Entertainment that gauged fan attendance at concerts in 2018.TVXQ concerts in Japan this year drew an accumulated 1.28 million people, more than any local or foreign performers with concerts in Japan. (S.M. Entertainment's Twitter)S.M. marked TVXQ’s success as meaningf

Nov. 5, 2018

Big Bang T.O.P’s fans from 4 countries donate W11m

Big Bang bandmate T.O.P’s fans from South Korea, China, Japan and Thailand collaborated to donate 11 million won ($9,900) to the Yongsan Public Welfare Foundation to help those less fortunate, marking the K-pop star’s birthday Sunday. T.O.P is currently serving his alternative military duty at the Yongsan Crafts Museum in Itaewon, central Seoul, after he was pulled from his previous position with the conscripted police force for failing a drug test. T.O.P was originally to be discharged from dut

Nov. 5, 2018

Cellists Lee Sang-eun and Lee Jeong-hyoun win Isang Yun Competition 2018

Korean cellists Lee Sang-eun and Lee Jeong-hyoun won first prize at Isang Yun Competition 2018, Tongyeong International Music Foundation announced Saturday. Third prize went to Russian cellist Lev Sivkov, and Chun Yeh-jin won the Seong-Yawng Park Special Prize. There was no winner of the Isang Yun Special Prize this year, as participants who were to perform Yun’s cello concertos all failed to proceed to the final round. The special prize is given to an artist who wins a prize with a Yun composit

Nov. 4, 2018

Red Velvet unveil US tour schedule in 2019

K-pop girl group Red Velvet will have concerts in five US cities starting next February, their Seoul-based agency confirmed on Saturday. According to SM Entertainment, Red Velvet will start their US tour in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2019, and will go to Dallas two days later. They will also perform in Miami on Feb. 13, followed by Chicago on Feb. 15 and Newark, New Jersey, on Feb. 17.  (Yonhap)This will be the first time that the five-member group has given concerts in the United States as the sole

Nov. 3, 2018

‘Lion King’ a musical with animals, but story of humans

“The Lion King,” one of most beloved Disney animations of all time, is also one of the most successful and well-made musicals of all time. However, the reason the show has been enjoyed by over 95 million theatergoers across 25 productions across the past two decades extends beyond its brilliant music, clever use of props, masks and the energy that bursts from the onstage re-enactment of an African savanna.“The Lion King” (Clip Service)“With the ‘Lion King,’ one of the best things about the show

Nov. 1, 2018

What dirt could Han Seo-hee have on T.O.P and YG? Speculations abound

Han Seo-hee, the controversial K-pop trainee who came to public attention in 2017 after being found that she had smoked marijuana with Big Bang’s T.O.P at his apartment, uploaded a lengthy Instagram post Wednesday night, implying she had undisclosed dirt on T.O.P and YG Entertainment.T.O.P, who had been serving as a conscripted policeman when he failed a drug test, has since been removed to serve alternative duty at a cultural center in Itaewon, Seoul. (Han Seo-hee's Instagram)Meanwhile, Han was

Nov. 1, 2018

Korean National Ballet unveils new ‘Mata Hari’

Strong theatricality and musicality sum up the Korean National Ballet’s “Mata Hari.” The ballet company unveiled “Mata Hari” to the public and press Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the opening performance at the Seoul Arts Center the same evening. “Mata Hari” runs until Sunday.  The Korean National Ballet’s principal dancer, Kim Ji-young (right), performs with Lee Jae-woo during a “Mata Hari” press call Tuesday afternoon at the Seoul Arts Center. (Yonhap) The Korean National Ballet’s principal dance

Oct. 31, 2018

EXO beats own record, surpassing 1.1m album preorders

Global sensation EXO has beaten its own record for album preorders with “Don’t Mess Up My Tempo.”According to the group’s agency, S.M. Entertainment, the LP, which is slated for release Nov. 2, recorded 1,104,617 preorders as of Monday, surpassing the band’s previous record of 1.1 million. (S.M. Entertainment)This makes EXO a quintuple-million seller, as all five of the LPs the band has released since its debut have hit the milestone of a million albums sold.“Don’t Mess Up My Tempo” marks a much

Oct. 31, 2018

BTS' 'Love Yourself: Answer' stays on Billboard 200 for 9th week

K-pop superstars BTS' "Love Yourself: Answer" has stayed on the Billboard main albums chart for the ninth consecutive week, the chart showed Wednesday.The repackaged album came in 50th on the Billboard 200 chart this week, down from last week's 27th. It debuted atop the list in September. (Instagram)The septet also remained on top of the Social 50 chart for the 68th week in a row.Also this week, "mono.," a new solo album by BTS leader RM, landed in the 26th spot of the Billboard 200 albums chart

Oct. 31, 2018

‘Only God knows when I will stop dancing’

One of the greatest living ballerinas, Bolshoi Ballet’s prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova will perform in the Universal Ballet’s “La Bayadere,” returning to Seoul for the first time since 2005 when she performed Giselle with the Universal Ballet in her late 20s.Although it has been some 13 years, Zakharova said that does not make a huge difference. “I still feel like I am a student. There is still much to learn. I am working on this project, and it keeps me going,” Zakharova said during a press

Oct. 30, 2018

BTOB to return with new album in mid-November

BTOB released a teaser image of special album “Hour Moment” through its official social media account on Oct. 30. The image contains a date and the album name with a photo of BTOB walking down a wide path. (Cube Entertainment)The new album has raised expectations, including a track that BTOB leader Seo Eun-kwang participated in before his enlistment for mandatory military service. According to the group’s agency Cube Entertainment, BTOB plans to promote the album as a six-piece unit -- excluding

Oct. 30, 2018

Black Pink’s ‘As If It’s Your Last’ dance practice video hits 100m views

K-pop sensation Black Pink’s dance practice video for “As If It’s Your Last” surpassed 100 million views on YouTube on Tuesday.Yang Hyun-suk, the head of the group’s agency, YG Entertainment, posted a poster on social media celebrating the milestone.  (Instagram)This achievement means Black Pink now has two dance practice videos to have earned 100 million views on YouTube. All its music videos have been viewed at least as often.  (Instagram)On Oct. 24, Black Pink became the first K-pop group wit

Oct. 30, 2018

Girl's Day helps paperless Thai children become visible and heard

K-pop group Girl’s Day’s Hyeri, famous for her lead female role in “Reply 1988,” wrote a letter to fans to raise awareness for children without birth registration certificates around the world.“Across the world, there are around 230 million children under the age of 5 who have not had their birth registered,” Hyeri wrote on a fundraising site.“This lack of documentation prevents these children from enrolling in schools or receiving state-sponsored medical care.” (Happy Bean)Girl’s Day, as the am

Oct. 30, 2018

Fresh out of idol competition show, girl band Iz One debuts with 'Color*Iz'

The new 12-member Korean-Japanese girl band Iz One, also stylized as IZ*ONE, debuted on the K-pop scene with their first EP, "Color*Iz," on Monday.The group's nine Korean and three Japanese members were the final winners of the Korean reality talent recruitment show "Produce 48," broadcast by the Mnet cable channel from June to August.They were selected by live audience voting out of the total 96 Korean and Japanese young women who competed in the show. Iz One is the latest music band formed thr

Oct. 29, 2018

[Video] K-pop spreading to older, more mainstream, fan base

The growing number of K-pop fans in Korea and elsewhere is generating a stronger cultural and commercial impact than ever before, as the boom led by high-profile groups such as BTS expands to a wider range of market segments. In recent years, it is not only high school students embracing K-pop music. People in their 20s and older -- those with more purchasing power -- are fueling the exponential growth of K-pop and its associated merchandise market.The Korea Herald met two passionate K-pop fans

Oct. 29, 2018

Gmarket runs campaign for authentic K-pop goods

EBay Korea’s online Korean goods shopping site Gmarket Global store will run a sale on K-pop goods from Nov. 1 through Nov. 11. The store will pair the sale with a verification campaign to boost its reliability as the place to go for genuine goods. (Gmarket)The aim of this campaign is to protect K-pop artists’ rights to their official goods against copycat products, according to Gmarket.Shoppers can check the authenticity of their purchases using the QR code printed on the card that comes with t

Oct. 29, 2018

BTS and the art of Twitter

BTS is one of the most social media-savvy celebrities around.The band has two Twitter accounts under its name, one managed by the label Big Hit Entertainment (@BTS_BigHit) and another operated by the members themselves (@BTS_twt). The former, followed by 12.8 million users, is more official in tone, primarily used for announcements, press releases and music videos. The latter, with 16.9 million people following, is more personal, serving mostly as a platform for communication with fans. On the s

Oct. 29, 2018

Jeju Island to host star-studded K-pop concert

The first 2018 Jeju Hallyu Festival will kick off on Nov. 4 at Jeju Stadium. Korea Management Federation, which has been running the Korea Music Festival at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul for the previous two years, is behind the new annual K-pop festival on Jeju Island.Wanna One, AOA, Red Velvet, EXID, Oh My Girl, Momoland, NCT Dream, 9 Muses, GFriend, Hwang Chi-yeol, N.Flying, Pentagon, Stray Kids, The Boyz, Dreamcatcher and more will perform for the festival this year. Tickets for the stands can b

Oct. 28, 2018

[Video] Zion.T at Busan One Asia Festival

The 3rd Busan One Asia Festival boasted a star-studded line up throughout its nine-day run at multiple locations in the southwestern city.Zion.T was one of the singers that took to the stage on Gunam-ro to perform live in front of Haeundae Beach on Friday.(Shot and edited by Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Herald)During his performance, the singer-songwriter sang his latest song, “Hello Tutorial” featuring Red Velvet’s Seulgi. “You may notice that Seulgi is not here with me. This means you must help me

Oct. 28, 2018

[Herald Interview] Grace Kelly takes ‘leap of faith’ by blending music genres

Musician Grace Kelly -- perhaps like the legendary actress-turned-princess of the same name -- is a person who likes to take chances and travel the world.But of all the paths she has taken since being identified as a jazz prodigy in her preteen years, Kelly said her recent album was the biggest challenge and the greatest source of pride.“GO TiME: Brooklyn 2,” released Oct. 12, definitely ventures into unfamiliar territory for the 26-year-old musician, toying with electronic, pop and other genres

Oct. 28, 2018