National Theater of Korea celebrates 70th anniversary

The National Theater of Korea is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year by presenting numerous programs by various performing art troupes. The National Theater Center, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is the hub of Korea’s performing arts scene, with the National Changgeuk Company of Korea, National Dance Company of Korea and the National Orchestra of Korea under its wings. Founded in 1950, it is the oldest of its kind in Asia. To celebrate its 70 years of histor

Jan. 15, 2020

BTS' music label Big Hit expanding business portfolio after successful year

Big Hit Entertainment, the music label of K-pop super band BTS, is scrambling to expand its business portfolio of K-pop artists following a sensationally successful year in 2019.A media report said earlier this week that Big Hit is on its way to acquire and merge with Pledis Entertainment, home to an army of popular K-pop bands including NU'EST and Seventeen. Pledis was established in 2010 by Han Sung-soo, who worked as a manager of K-pop diva BoA under South Korea's biggest K-pop music label, S

Jan. 15, 2020

Berlin concertmaster to grace Seoul stage as soloist

Violinist Lee Ji-yoon may be only 28 years old, but she is a musician trained in the legacy of a 450-year-old orchestra. In 2020, she will be sharing the legacy with Korean audiences at Kumho Art Hall Yonsei. The prodigy-turned-virtuoso of the Staatskapelle Berlin was selected as Kumho Art Hall’s artist-in-residence for 2020. Each year the art hall run by the Kumho Art Cultural Foundation selects an under-30 classical musician for its program. Lee took the classical music scene by storm in

Jan. 14, 2020

Stray Kids, Ateez to kick off world tours over the next month

Two emerging K-pop boy bands, Stray Kids and Ateez, will kick off globe-trotting concert tours over the next month in a bid to expand their presence outside of their home country. Stray Kids, an eight-member boy band managed by JYP Entertainment, is scheduled to go on the overseas legs of its latest concert series, "District 9: Unlock," whose inaugural Seoul edition took place in November last year. The concert series' first overseas destination is New York on Jan. 29 and will be follo

Jan. 14, 2020

EXO's Chen breaks surprise marriage news, hints at fiance's pregnancy

Chen, a member of K-pop boy band EXO, made a surprise announcement Monday that he will get married soon, hinting that his fiance is pregnant."Chen decided to get married after getting into a precious relationship," EXO's management agency, SM Entertainment, said.  SM did not provide further details about the finance, only saying that she is not in show business. It also did not provide the exact date or location of the wedding, adding that the ceremony will be a closed affair amon

Jan. 13, 2020

MPyC to evolve into multigenre music festival

The biannual festival Music in PyeongChang (MPyC) festival hopes to carry on the legacy of the PyeongChang Olympics with programs that embrace diversity and peace. The event’s organizers announced the program for the winter edition of the festival on Monday at Four Seasons Seoul in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, with festival artistic director and pianist Son Yeol-eum, Gangwon Art & Culture Foundation Chairman Kim Sung-hwan and Feelgood Kim, the foundation’s new CEO, in attendance.&

Jan. 13, 2020

K-pop stars temporarily leaving music scene over anxiety disorders

At the height of their high-profile K-pop careers last year, Kang Daniel and Mina, a member of sensational girl group TWICE, temporarily left show business, complaining of anxiety and other mental disorders. The Japanese K-pop star, Mina was suffering from an anxiety disorder and suspended her stage career amid her group's globe-trotting concert tour in July. Kang abruptly withdrew from the public eye in early December due to depression and a panic disorder, one week after his second music relea

Jan. 13, 2020

BTS' 'Idol' becomes 6th music video to top 600m YouTube views

The music video of BTS' song "Idol" reached 600 million YouTube views Sunday, becoming the band's sixth video to accomplish the milestone.The music video of "Idol," the lead track of BTS' repackaged album "Love Yourself: Answer" released in 2018, achieved the feat early Sunday morning, according to the band's management agency, Big Hit Entertainment. The music video, which won the Music Video of 2018 at the E! People's Choice Awards, grabs the eyes with its impressi

Jan. 12, 2020

BTS unveils teaser video for new album

K-pop boy band BTS on Friday released the first teaser video for its new album slated for Feb. 21.The group uploaded "Interlude: Shadow," the first trailer of its fourth full-length album "Map of the Soul: 7" on its YouTube channel at 12 a.m. Friday.In the three-minute video, member Suga walks listeners through his ambitions and fears involving his band's globally acclaimed music career, carrying on the album series' Carl Jung-inspired theme of exploring the ego. The video em

Jan. 10, 2020

BTS' 'DNA' music video tops 900m YouTube views

The music video of BTS' 2017 hit song, "DNA," topped 900 million YouTube views Friday, the band's first music video to surpass that milestone. "DNA," the lead track of BTS' 2017 album, "Love Yourself: Her," achieved the feat Friday morning, according to the band's management agency, Big Hit Entertainment.  Released in September 2017, the song stayed on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for four consecutive weeks, and in February the following year, it was certified &qu

Jan. 10, 2020

BTS scores 3 awards at Gaon Chart Music Awards

K-pop boy band BTS has scored three major prizes at the 2020 Gaon Chart Music Awards, adding to its winning streak at local and overseas music awards. The septet picked up the "Artist of the Year" award in the physical album category for the second quarter of 2019 as well as the "Social Hot Star of the Year" and "Retail Album of the Year" awards at the 9th Gaon Chart Music Awards held at Seoul Sports Complex Wednesday evening.  The annual music awards are hoste

Jan. 9, 2020

BTS to pre-release single from upcoming album this month

K-pop super band BTS will drop a new digital single this month ahead of its official release of a new album in February, according to the band's management agency Thursday.Big Hit Entertainment posted a "comeback map" on the official BTS website early Thursday morning, providing the timeline of the band's release of "Map of the Soul: 7," set for Feb. 21, the second edition of BTS' ongoing "Map of the Soul" album series. According to the four-phase schedule, the band

Jan. 9, 2020

Danish pop icon Christopher bound for Seoul in March

Mesmerizing the city with his Danish charm last year, singer-songwriter Christopher Nissen is reuniting with his fans in less than a year this March.Known as Christopher professionally, the 28-year-old pop sensation debuted in 2011 with his single “Against the Odds” and has since released four studio albums, including “Colors,” “Told You So,” and “Closer.” The singer rose to stardom in 2014 with his second studio album “Told You So,&rdqu

Jan. 8, 2020

Some 180,000 fans visit BTS pop-up store in Seoul

Some 180,000 fans visited a BTS pop-up store during its 80-day run in Seoul, the management agency of the K-pop boy band said Wednesday. The pop-up store, "House of BTS," operated from Oct. 18 till Sunday in the bustling commercial and entertainment district of Gangnam in southern Seoul to entertain fans with BTS merchandise and exhibitions. About 2,200 fans were admitted to the four-story shopping and entertainment complex each day during the 80-day run and the pop-up store was abuzz

Jan. 8, 2020

Boy band Infinite's Sung-kyu discharged from military

Kim Sung-kyu, the leader of boy band Infinite, will return to show business following his discharge from the military Wednesday.Kim, also known by his stage name Sungkyu, officially completed his 20-month defense duty at the Army 22nd Division in Goseong, Gangwon Province.Some 1,300 fans from China, Japan and Southeast Asian countries, as well as at home, visited the site of his military discharge to greet him. Sungkyu's side arranged a small event for the visiting fans at a sports arena in the

Jan. 8, 2020

BTS to drop new album on Feb. 21

K-pop boy band BTS will return to the local music scene next month with a new album, the group's management agency said Wednesday.The group will put out "Map of the Soul: 7" on Feb. 21, the first release since it rolled out "Map of the Soul: Persona" in April last year, Big Hit Entertainment said. The group topped the Billboard 200 main albums chart for the previous "Map of the Soul: Persona" last year, with its album sales reaching a record 3.7 million copies in So

Jan. 8, 2020

Seoul to get more of Mika

South Korean fans have waited four years for Mika, and they just could not get enough of the singer.Mika will be holding an extra concert on March 4, after the tickets for the British singer-songwriter’s March 5 solo concert sold out in just three minutes. Both concerts will be held at the Jamsil Arena in southern Seoul. The Seoul concerts are part of his worldwide “Revelation Tour” that started in November, following the release of his fifth studio album “My Name Is Mich

Jan. 7, 2020

Super Junior to release 9th full-length album

K-pop boy band Super Junior's new album will hit the music scene this month, the finale of the band's time-themed album trilogy, the band's management agency said Tuesday. The upcoming album, "Timeless," scheduled for release on Jan. 28, is Super Junior's ninth full-length repackage album, according to Label SJ.  The album is the third in its album series inspired by time, following the first, "Time Slip," released in October and "Time Line" released in Novembe

Jan. 7, 2020

'Winter Flower,' Younha's collaboration with RM, tops iTunes charts in 43 countries

"Winter Flower," South Korean female singer Younha's collaborative song with BTS' RM, topped iTunes single charts in 43 countries Tuesday, her management agency said. The first track of Younha's new album, "Unstable Mindset," released on Monday, made her the first South Korean female soloist to top the U.S. iTunes Top Song chart as the track sat atop the iTunes single charts in 43 countries and regions, according to C9 Entertainment.  Including the 43 countries, the iTun

Jan. 7, 2020

Five-month-old boy band X1 disbands amid vote-rigging scandal

X1, a South Korean boy band, decided Monday to disband amid a vote-rigging scandal involving a cable TV audition show, through which it debuted five months ago. In a brief press release, Starship Entertainment, MBK Entertainment and seven other management agencies representing its 11 members said they decided to disband the boy group. "We negotiated (the band's fate) among the members' talent agencies toward a consensus, but failed, so we decided to break up the band," according to the

Jan. 6, 2020