Three months in, House of BTS pop-up store in Seoul bustles with fans

Hirari Yamauchi, a 48-year-old Japanese housewife, and her teenage daughter flew to South Korea for a two-day trip this week, solely for a highly anticipated visit to a pop-up store themed around K-pop boy band BTS currently open in Seoul. The mother and daughter discovered BTS a year ago and have since been avid fans, and they were unable to miss a chance to see the first major BTS pop-up store in the band's home country.The pop-up store, House of BTS, kicked off its three-month run on Oct. 18

Dec. 25, 2019

Screenwriter says ‘Big Fish’ is a ‘very small human story’

Though the musical “Big Fish” may seem to be from far away -- it is, after all, a story from the American South -- it is a tale of fatherhood with which audiences around the world can relate, the show’s scriptwriter said.The family musical is based on a 1998 novel of the same name written by Daniel Wallace. The novel was adapted into a film in 2003 starring Ewan McGregor. Screenwriter John August is the mastermind behind the film and the musical productions, having written the

Dec. 24, 2019

Red Velvet's new album tops iTunes album charts in 42 countries

Girl group Red Velvet's latest "repackage album," "The ReVe Festival: Finale," has topped the iTunes album charts in 42 countries, its agency said Tuesday.The third of the five-member band's "The ReVe Festival" trilogy, the 16-track album was released on Monday (Korean time) and includes four new songs -- "Psycho," "In & Out," "Remember Forever" and "La Rouge." It took the top position on the iTunes album charts in the Uni

Dec. 24, 2019

BTS' latest three concerts in Seoul had economic effect of W1tr: report

K-pop boy band BTS created an economic effect worth 1 trillion won ($860.7 million) with its latest three concerts in Seoul, an academic report showed Monday.The septet finished off its latest world tour, "Love Yourself:Speak Yourself," with the final leg in Seoul where three evening concerts at Olympic Stadium on Oct. 26, 27 and 29 drew a total of some 130,000 fans.According to a report by a research team led by Pyun Ju-hyun, a business professor at Seoul's Korea University, the conce

Dec. 23, 2019

Overnight sensation, 30 years in the making

Of all the retro K-pop stars of the 1990s reemerging in recent years, Yang Joon-il is perhaps the least expected. For one thing, not many people liked him even back then.But the 50-year-old Korean-American returned to the country Friday after a decades-long hiatus, set to hold his first fan meeting event over 30 years after debuting in 1991. The event “A gift by Yang Joon-il” will be held on Dec. 31 at Sejong University in Seoul.“After a flurry of requests by the fans for Yang&

Dec. 22, 2019

Monsta X releases Latin music in collaboration with Sebastian Yatra

K-pop boy band Monsta X on Friday released a Latin music-inspired single in collaboration with Colombian singer-songwriter Sebastian Yatra.The digital single, "Magnetic," combines Yatra's Spanish-language singing with the K-pop band's Korean lines in a new love song.  The collaboration was arranged during Monsta X's meeting with the Colombian musician in the United States, according to the band's agency, Starship Entertainment. The Korean band performed at the 2019 iHeartRadio Jin

Dec. 20, 2019

Boy band WINNER's Mino becomes latest entertainer to debut as painter

Mino, a member of roaring boy band WINNER, officially debuted as a painter this week, the latest in a growing number of TV celebrities expanding their talent into the fine arts.An art exhibition including paintings by Mino, whose legal name is Song Min-ho began its run on Tuesday at the Seongnam Arts Center south of Seoul.The 26-year-old K-pop star submitted one oil and two acrylic paintings to the fine art show, "Special Exhibition for Emerging Artists 2019," which will run till next

Dec. 20, 2019

[Herald interview] String sounds of Pyongyang ring alive in Seoul

Though the gayageum, a 12-string zither-like instrument, can be traced back to ancient times, it has evolved in different ways in North and South Korea, according to a gayageum player who has traversed the two Koreas to practice her art.Park Soon-a, 51, will be performing various gayageum solo pieces composed and played in North Korea at her solo recital “North Korea Gayageum,” to be held Friday and Saturday at Seoul Namsan Gukakdang.Park is an ethnic Korean from Japan, known as a &l

Dec. 19, 2019

BTS chosen as Singer of Year by global K-pop fans: poll

Global sensation BTS has been tapped as the most beloved K-pop star of the year by K-pop fans around the world for the fourth consecutive year, a written survey showed Thursday. According to the poll by KBS World Radio of 7,855 listeners of its programs in 11 languages, 35.4 percent of the polled picked BTS as the K-pop Singer of the Year. Launched in 2016, the survey was conducted from Nov. 20-Dec. 4 via the state-run broadcaster's homepage and mobile app.    The boy group's &quo

Dec. 19, 2019

Mnet to refrain from producing audition shows amid vote-rigging scandal

South Korean cable channel Mnet said Wednesday that it will launch no new K-pop audition shows in the future amid a widening police probe into a vote-rigging scandal involving its popular competition series "Produce X101." "We will refrain from producing audition programs," Kang Ji-hoon from Mnet said in a session of the Korea Communications Standards Commission. "We are making efforts to create content focusing more on music." The music channel has been embroi

Dec. 18, 2019

BTS to perform at most-watched American New Year's Eve concert

K-pop boy band BTS will ring in the new year performing at the United States' most-watched New Year's Eve concert, the special program's organizer has said."Making 2020 right by ringing in the new year with BTS! Join us live from Times Square on New Year's Eve," the organizer of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2020" said on its Facebook page on Tuesday.  The special New Year's Eve program this year will air concerts from Times Square in New York a

Dec. 18, 2019

[Herald Review] Remembering singer Whitney Houston with ‘Bodyguard’

The name Whitney Houston takes many straight back to the 1980s and ’90s. The US singer took the world by storm soon after her 1985 debut. Her first two studio albums, “Whitney Houston” and “Whitney” topped the Billboard charts for weeks. Enjoying a huge success in the music scene, the singer took a leap to the big screen, making her acting debut on the film “The Bodyguard” in 1992. She recorded six new songs, including the iconic track “I’ll

Dec. 17, 2019

BTS' 'Map of the Soul' tops S. Korean album chart for 2019

Continuing its winning streak from a year earlier, boy band BTS topped the South Korean album sales chart for this year, chart results showed Tuesday.BTS' latest album, "Map of the Soul: Persona," sold more than 3.69 million copies since its release in April, topping the album sales category of the Gaon Music Chart compiled by the Korea Music Content Association. The album chart covers the period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 7.It marks overriding chart dominance by BTS following the band's No.

Dec. 17, 2019

BTS' 'Map of the Soul' album certified gold in France

"Map of the Soul: Persona," the latest album by K-pop boy band BTS, has been certified "Gold" by the French recording industry. Breaking the news, the National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing said in its official website and social media account on Monday that the BTS album has sold 50,000 equivalent copies. For the achievement, the album was certified "Or," the French word for Gold, the association said, adding a message, "Bravo!"The association hono

Dec. 17, 2019

From time-tested to new productions, diverse musicals on offer in 2020

‘Aida’ bids farewell, ‘Mamma Mia!’ returns and ‘Jamie’ gets Asian premiereWith the year winding to a close, local production companies and theaters have been announcing the musicals set for the stage next year, with lineups including licensed international hits and locally brewed shows alike.Last month, Seensee Company launched a local production of “Aida,” which will continue through Feb. 23 at Blue Square in Yongsan, central Seoul. What is slated

Dec. 16, 2019

[Herald Review] Eternal romance of ‘Phantom’ touches hearts of Koreans

Musical “The Phantom of the Opera” is set in the iconic Paris Opera House in central Paris, also known as the Palais Garnier. Built in the late 19th century by Charles Garnier, the establishment is one of the city’s must-see spots to this day. A mysterious figure referred to as the phantom lives beneath the opera house, away from others. He wears a mask to hide his scarred face. He falls in love with young soprano Christine Daae. Christine comes to believe the phantom is her &l

Dec. 15, 2019

Chandelier crashes, ‘Phantom’ returns to Korea

BUSAN -- Musical “The Phantom of the Opera” has finally landed in Korea, kicking off in Busan and taking the audience into the haunting love story set in Paris in the late 19th century. This is the first time the international tour of the opera is visiting Busan, having already performed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Tel Aviv, Israel; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. After Busan, the tour moves on to Seoul and Daegu.  Based on the novel of the same name written by Gaston Leroux, &

Dec. 15, 2019

Arko announces 25 performing arts productions for Arko Selection

A total of 25 performing arts productions will go onstage for three months, funded by the Art Council Korea (Arko) under a support program called the 2019 Arko Selection. For the past 12 years, Arko -- affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism -- has operated the Arko Selection program to support the local performing arts scene, covering the production costs for selected productions. The council released this year’s Arko Selection list Thursday.  A total of 25 produc

Dec. 12, 2019

BTS symbolizes cross-border pop culture in new media era: scholars

The sensational global ascent of K-pop band BTS has brought to the fore the emergence of a new breed of globally connected, dedicated fans as represented by ARMY, the group's fandom.Powered by the connectivity of the internet and social network services, ARMY engages in organized transnational operations to download BTS songs and vote for the septet en masse, spearheading the band's victories on Billboard and major American music awards.BTS fans also helped spawn a new YouTube "reaction vid

Dec. 11, 2019

[Newsmaker] Big Hit denies rumored disputes with BTS

Big Hit Entertainment has denied a recent report that the agency and BTS have been in dispute over profit distribution and the renewal of a contract. On Monday, broadcast station JTBC’s “News Room” aired a report that said the band and its members’ parents have been looking into taking legal action against the agency. A few hours after the news was broadcast, the agency released a statement saying, “The report is groundless.” “BTS and the members&rs

Dec. 10, 2019