Culture Ministry sets guideline for Romanizing Korean names

There’s good news for people who struggle to spell Korean names correctly in English: The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Friday decided to standardize the Romanization of Korean names into “family name + given name” instead of the widely used “given name + family name” as written in Western countries.In an attempt to respect the Korean tradition of placing more value on family names, the government said the new guideline would affect all Korean names on government documents, websites

March 10, 2013

Seoulsonic kicks off N. American tour

In its third-year running, the Seoulsonic international music festival announced the events for its 2013 North America Tour 3.0, which will feature local rock bands Goonam, Lowdown 30 and No Brain.Seoulsonic artists will perform at some of North America’s biggest music festivals including: South By Southwest in Austin, Texas; Canadian Music Week, Canada’s largest music festival; as well as additional concert dates in Providence, Rhode Island; New York City; San Diego; and Los Angeles. Seoulsonic

March 10, 2013

Baek Ji-young to make official debut in Japan

Ballad singer Baek Ji-young will soon make her official singing debut in Japan.Baek will sing the Japanese version of her famous track “That Woman,” from the original soundtrack of SBS drama series “Secret Garden,” on May 1, according to a Japanese media report. Released in 2010, “Secret Garden” starred hallyu stars Hyun-bin and Ha Ji-won. Immensely popular in Korea, the last episode of the series recorded a 37.9 percent viewer rating. The series also aired in Japan, on the NHK BS Premium channe

March 6, 2013

‘Gift from Room 7’ gets mixed reviews

“Gift from Room 7,” a heartwarming comedy which drew more than 11 million viewers in South Korea, is getting a mixed reception. The film, depicting a mentally challenged father who is wrongfully imprisoned in Room 7 for murder, has been lauded for its impressive performances by the main actors and its touching storyline.But for all the praise, some viewers had negative views about the plot. They said that several scenes did not logically follow from the previous ones, distracting viewers. “The l

March 5, 2013

CNBLUE unveils ‘2013 BLUE MOON World Tour’

Popular K-pop group CNBLUE unveiled its official concert poster and additional tour dates for their world tour, “2013 BLUE MOON World Tour.”“CNBLUE will perform in Australia and the Philippines on June 1 and 15. We are currently working with promoters to bring the concert to Europe and North America as well,” the group’s agency, FNC Entertainment, announced on Saturday.CNBLUE will start the tour in Taiwan on April 6, before traveling to Singapore on April 13. The four-member group will then stag

March 4, 2013

B.A.P tops Billboard World Chart

Korean boy band B.A.P’s new single, “One Shot,” topped the March 2 Billboard World Chart upon release. The “conquer” of the non-English lyrics section of the world’s most respected album chart was based on the album and digital sales in North America. The song also topped iTunes’ U.S. hip-hop album chart.This is the second time the band, which debuted last year, made it to the chart. It’s single, “Warrior” was ranked 10th in the same category on Feb. 11 last year. Fellow K-pop stars G-Dragon, SN

Feb. 24, 2013

Korean actor Ahn Jae-wook receives surgery in U.S.

South Korea’s TV star Ahn Jae-wook is recovering after an emergency surgery for a stroke in the United States, his management agency said Wednesday.According to Jable Entertainment, Ahn received surgery for a subarachnoid hemorrhage berry aneurysm at a hospital in Las Vegas on Monday after experiencing serious headaches the previous day.He was visiting the home of the agency chief at that time, the agency said.“He is now recovering in an intensive care unit of the hospital and has no problem com

Feb. 6, 2013

Psy to perform at Brazil Carnival

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) ― South Korea’s “Gangnam Style” star Psy will take part in carnival celebrations in Rio and Salvador next week, according to the sponsors.The rapper, whose hit song made history as the most-watched video on YouTube, will perform jointly with Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte Friday in the northeastern city of Salvador, the Gilette company said.The week-long Salvador Carnival, often dubbed the biggest street party in the world, attracts two million people annually.The next day,

Feb. 3, 2013

Billboard launches K-pop column with INFINITE

American music website Billboard.com launched a new K-pop column called “K-town” on Tuesday, in a move to bring K-pop news, songs and music videos to its readers each week.The column will also feature exclusive content including interviews, photos and videos, according to Jeff Benjamin, a Billboard Korea staff member. The first K-pop act to be featured in the “K-town” column was INFINITE under the title, “Infinite Video Q&A with the Rising K-Pop Superstars.” Earlier this year, INIFINITE’s “The C

Jan. 31, 2013

A lot more than just K-pop

This is the 11th in a series about foreigners who work in Korea’s entertainment industry. ― Ed.The past few months have been a whirlwind for Canadian couple Simon and Martina, the masterminds behind popular entertainment website Eat Your Kimchi. The two not only made the move from Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, to Seoul, but decided to register Eat Your Kimchi as a company in Korea and opened their own studio in Hongdae.“Since the fundraiser to what we’re doing now, everything has changed so dramat

Jan. 20, 2013

From student to celebrity

This is the 10th in a series about foreigners working in the Korean entertainment industry. ― Ed.Even before she moved to Korea from China, Sun Yao loved the country and the culture. She said she used to pass a Korean kindergarten every day and hear the little kids speaking Korean, which made her want to learn the language.She then forced her friend, who was “Chosunjok,” ethnic Korean in China, to teach her Korean. “The first thing I learned was ‘stand up,’ but its pronunciation for Chinese peop

Jan. 13, 2013

Rain and Kim Tae-hee dating: report

Korean pop star Rain and actress Kim Tae-hee have been dating for the past three months despite the singer being at the barracks for mandatory military service, local media said Tuesday. According to online media outlet Dispatch, Rain and Kim started dating last September, months after they first met on the set of a Coupang commercial in October 2011. They met every time Rain was on leave. Dispatch said they met every week in the month of December. They reportedly used their cars for dates or s

Jan. 1, 2013

Big Bang, 2NE1 make NYT’s ‘Best Concerts of 2012’

Performances by Big Bang and 2NE1 have been included in the New York Times’ “Best Concerts of 2012.” In a list compiled by the music critics of the newspaper, 2NE1 and Big Bang placed second after rapper Jay-Z.Although both groups have yet to release a hit song in the U.S., their fan base there is big enough to earn them the spotlight, the newspaper said. The critics said that the concerts, both held at the Prudential Center, Newark, captivated “thousands of young, paying fans eager to see the g

Dec. 28, 2012

Japanese fans present ‘Jang Keun-suk Bus’ to mark actor’s debut

  Actor Jang Keun-suk has received a "Jang Keun-suk Bus" to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his debut, his agency said on Wednesday.　Since his debut in 1992 as a child model, hallyu star Jang has emerged as a leader representing the Korean Wave in Japan and elsewhere. To celebrate the anniversary, Japanese fans prepared a surprise gift -- a bus with congratulatory remarks.“People in South Korea, we are regaining our strength due to so much support from the last massive earthquake,”Jang fans

Dec. 27, 2012

Psy’s agency seeks novelty to garner international appeal

In the ever-changing world of music, the key to success is to be constantly searching for “something new and fresh, something that will appeal to people from all over the globe,” the head of YG Entertainment said Sunday. “We’ve been trying different genres of music based upon hip-hop since the establishment of the agency, and our efforts to lead the global trend now seem to be paying off,” said Yang Hyun-seok whose singers have gained huge global attention this year.Yang, also known as Yang Goon

Dec. 24, 2012

Psy's 'Gangnam Style' at 1 billion YouTube view

South Korean pop sensation PSY‘s “Gangnam Style” video has become the first clip on YouTube to be viewed 1 billion times, the site says.YouTube trend manager Kevin Allocca said the video reached that milestone Thursday morning, MTV reported. Allocca told the Los Angeles Times it is now being watched about 20 million times every day.The clip has also been liked by more than 6 million people, another record, Yonhap News Agency reported.Presumably, since the world population is still a bit more tha

Dec. 23, 2012

More than just another Daniel Henney

This is the seventh in a series on foreign entertainers working in the Korean entertainment industry. ― Ed.Just listening to Fabien Yoon’s upbringing, it’s no wonder the young French actor ended up in entertainment.His mother was a script-writer and brought young Fabien up around stages and sets for TV shows. “I was always on the set with my mother, because my father was working and my mother wanted to raise me. So she didn’t want me to stay home with a nurse,” he said. “I had opportunities to s

Dec. 16, 2012