Having reached the 10-year mark, which is very rare for any K-pop act, Girls’ Generation is considered a textbook example of how to succeed in the K-pop industry. The iconic group’s influence is enormous, notching countless awards and numerous hits. The revelation Monday night that three members of Girls‘ Generation are leaving their agency raises questions about the group‘s future: Will the group weather the storm intact or will it be the final straw for this legendary brand? On Monday evening,

Performance Oct. 10, 2017

Celebrating the group’s 12th anniversary with a new album, Super Junior will reveal how it prepared for its much-anticipated comeback in a special reality show. The show “SJ Returns -- Super Junior Real Comeback Story,” which started its six-week run Monday on the Naver TV Cast channel and V Live channel, captures how the members prepared for the new album over 120 days, according to the group’s agency Label SJ on Monday. A poster for Super Junior’s comeback reality show “SJ Returns - Super Juni

Performance Oct. 9, 2017

From Jay-Z and Eminem to Kendrick Lamar, the biggest names in hip-hop rap in English – naturally, given that the genre was born in the US. And as most Korean rappers cite American influence, their style inevitably reflects this, with a lot of their lyrics either being in English or using English words. But a few are resisting the temptation, writing rhymes exclusively in Korean.“If hip-hop music starts from wanting to express oneself as he or she is, I thought it was only natural that a Korean w

Culture Oct. 8, 2017

Listening to K-pop through digital media is no longer enough for many K-pop fans, as they are now demanding contact, either direct or indirect, with the stars in real life. Catering to those needs, major Korean agencies have been establishing multimedia complexes where fans can indulge in K-pop in ways other than music.  G-Dragon appears on a promotion video of Jeju Shinhwa Wolrd (Jeju Shinhwa World)At the forefront of this new K-pop business is YG Entertainment, which is preparing to launch a t

Culture Oct. 5, 2017

Only a decade ago Nucksal, the runner-up of the sixth season of Mnet’s hip-hop audition program “Show Me The Money,” was just an ordinary young man spending most of his time in his ever-changing part-time jobs. But the rapper said there’s always been a flash of light that brightened up his insipid life: Scribbling down hip-hop lyrics and practicing rapping whenever and wherever he was.   Rapper Nucksal poses during a recent interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul. (Park Hyun-koo / The Korea Her

Performance Oct. 2, 2017

With a long Chuseok holiday starting this Saturday, it’s almost certain that roads and highways will be jam-packed with honking cars. Rather than stress out sitting in crawling traffic, there is another option for a getaway: Hop on the subway, roam around Seoul and visit places you’ve never been. For your convenience, The Korea Herald has sorted Seoul attractions that are reachable by subway.K-pop hot spots  K-Live (Korea Tourism Organization)For fans of K-pop, there are spots around Seoul where

Culture Sept. 29, 2017

K-pop fans all over the globe will be able to enjoy KBS’ music program “Music Bank,” featuring onstage performances by Korea’s pop stars, live through Twitter’s live-streaming service starting mid-October, according to Twitter. A poster shows Twitter‘s upcoming livestream service for K-pop World Festival 2017 that will be held on Friday at Changwon Sports Complex Stadium. (Twitter)Twitter said Thursday that it will provide live-streaming services both on KBS.twitter.com and its Twitter account @

Performance Sept. 29, 2017

IU“A Flower Bookmark #2”Loen Entertainment Attempting to recreate the magic of classics, this 24-year-old songstress seems to be bent on proving that she isn‘t just an idolized K-pop singer. With her latest offering “A Flower Bookmark #2,” IU aims to present herself as a thoughtful musician whose heart belongs to the bygone decades.Maybe it’s her signature breathy and light vocals, but the cover album doesn’t quite bear the weight and complicated emotions of the originals.IU flaunts her crystal

Performance Sept. 28, 2017

Celebrating its 12th anniversary, global K-pop act Super Junior is set to return to the spotlight on Nov. 6, according to its agency Label SJ.The agency said Wednesday that Super Junior would release a new album that marks the first from the group since its albums “Devil” and “Magic” in 2015. A D-day logo shared on Super Junior’s website teasing the group’s return on Nov. 6 (Label SJl)Super Junior also set a D-day countdown clock on its official website that shows the logo “SJ returns” with the

Performance Sept. 27, 2017

When in the United States, do as the Americans do: James Minor, a music manager of the South by Southwest festival, believes that Korean agencies should adjust to how the local people do business in order to succeed in the US terrain. Having served as a general manager of the Austin-based international music festival for six years, Minor said there are major differences between the business styles of Korea and the US, with the key for those Korean agencies’ success in the US being “overcoming th

Culture Sept. 26, 2017

BTS’ latest EP “Love Yourself Seung Her” debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart on Sunday, setting yet another milestone for the hottest K-pop group of the moment.  Billboard reports on BTS’ “Love Yourself Seung Her” debuting at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart. (Big Hit Entertainment)BTS’s new EP became the highest-charting album ever on the Billboard 200 by a K-pop act, beating the group’s own record set last year with “Wings,” according to Billboard. The group’s 2016 album pe

Performance Sept. 25, 2017

대세 싱어송라이터로 떠오르는 ‘고막 남친’ 폴킴과 가수 정동하가 KBS2 ‘불후의 명곡’에서 다시 만난다. 폴킴의 소속사 관계자에 의하면 폴킴은 불후의 명곡 ‘내.친.소’ 특집편에 출연하여 선배 가수 정동하와 함께 무대를 선보일 예정이다. (사진제공=에버모어 뮤직)관계자는 또한 “이번 합동 무대는 정동하씨가 후배 가수 폴킴에게 먼저 제의를 한 것”이라 전했다.  정동하와 폴킴은 이미 이번 달 초 발라드 듀엣곡 ‘사람이’를 통해 환상의 케미를 보인 바 있다. 독보적인 가창력을 지닌 정동하와 감성 보이스의 조화가 기대된다. 떠오르는 신예 싱어송라이터 폴킴은 오는 27일 첫 정규 앨범 ‘Part.1’을 발매할 예정이다. 폴킴의 첫 정규앨범에는 타이틀곡 '길'을 포함해 리스너들의 가을 감성을 저격할 총 다섯 트랙이 수록돼 기대를 모으고 있다. 폴킴과 정동하의 ‘내.친.소’ 첫 녹화는 다음주 월요일에 진행된다. 코리아헤럴드 홍담영 기자 (lotus@heraldcorp.com)

한국어판 Sept. 23, 2017

BTS“Love Yourself Seung Her”Loen Entertainment When most media outlets put this K-pop group on a pedestal earlier this year for its impressive feats -- a Billboard award and several releases on the Billboard albums chart -- many wondered what would come next. And the result was “Love Yourself Seung Her,” which has become the group’s most successful release to date, as well as a mirror of BTS’ past, present and future. The nine-track album opens with “Intro: Serendipity,” a rather smooth preview

Performance Sept. 21, 2017

Once again, BTS proved its power as a global K-pop star with its latest EP “Love Yourself Seung Her,” which topped iTunes charts in a record-breaking 73 countries all over the globe. (Big Hit Entertainment)According to Big Hit Entertainment Tuesday, the new EP has ranked No.1 on iTunes album charts including the United States, Britain, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Japan, Spain, Poland, Brazil and Indonesia as of 8 a.m. The number of countries the group‘s new EP has swept is the largest f

Performance Sept. 19, 2017

The Korea Herald is introducing Korean singers, musicians and actors poised to join the next wave of top stars in a twice monthly series. -- Ed.Despite their different personalities, finding common elements among the five members of indie band Jannabi wasn’t difficult. In addition to having grown up in the same neighborhood, they are all undaunted about the future, worship iconic rock stars of the past and are truly and madly in love with music, especially old pop. “It’s really funny that we’ve

Performance Sept. 18, 2017