Under heavy pressure from fans, Karina of aespa and actor Lee Jae-wook have parted ways, just five weeks after their relationship became public. “Actor Lee Jae-wook decided to break up with Karina to concentrate on work. The two of them will continue to support each other as colleagues working in the same industry," said Lee Jae-wook’s agency, CJes Studios, in a press release Tuesday. The breakup was confirmed by Karina's agency. “Karina and Lee Jae-wook have decided

K-pop April 2, 2024

K-pop boy group Super Junior’s duo, Donghae and Eunhyuk, also known as Super Junior-D&E, is set to tour Japan, according to Ode Entertainment. The duo's “Departure” tour kicks off with a concert in Osaka on April 12 followed by concerts in Tokyo, Shizuoka, Aichi, Saitama, Kanagawa, Fukuoka, Hiroshima and Hyogo for a total of 17 shows. The initial plan was to perform 13 shows but four more concerts were added as tickets sold out quickly. The duo is set to perform a setl

K-pop April 2, 2024

Dropping the group's first EP, “Babymos7er,” Monday, YG Entertainment’s latest girl group, Babymonster, made its official debut. “We are announcing our new beginning as a group of seven with Ahyeon joining us for the promotion of this album,” said Rora of Babymonster during a group interview with local reporters on Monday. Babymonster previously debuted with a digital single, “Batter Up,” on Nov. 27, 2023 as a group of six -- Ruka, Pharita, Asa, Ram

K-pop April 1, 2024

Surrounded by some 28,000 people that had gathered at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium on Sunday, all 13 members of Seventeen slowly descended towards the stage in lifts shaped like rectangular cuboids. Sporting glittering silver jackets, the K-pop sensations kicked off the last day of its two-day concert with “Super.” The group added a dance break to the song, during which fireworks exploded, ramping up the energy throughout the stadium. Fans were excited finally to see all 13 members

K-pop April 1, 2024

J-Hope of BTS opened a street dance-themed pop-up store in Seongsu-dong, Seoul on Saturday, according to Big Hit Music. The “Hope on the Street” pop-up store promotes J-Hope’s special album “Hope on the Street Vol. 1” released Friday and the documentary series “Hope on the Street” which began streaming Thursday. J-Hope is the first member of BTS to organize a solo pop-up store. Three floors are filled with content related to the special album, the docume

K-pop March 31, 2024

J-Hope of BTS unveiled the first episode of his documentary series “Hope on the Street” on Thursday via online streaming platforms Tving in South Korea and Amazon's Prime Video for overseas viewers. “With the mandatory military service enlistment ahead of me, I kept asking myself what helped me become the person I am now and the answer was 'dance,'" J-Hope said, explaining his decision to create the documentary series. The first episode of the series begins

K-pop March 28, 2024

Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming highlighted the potential for South Korea and China to lead in a broader global market by synergizing their respective strengths during his welcome remarks at The Korea Herald’s Global Business Forum on Wednesday. Xing noted that there has been a notable increase in cooperation between Korea and China in recent years, particularly in innovative and future-oriented industries such as electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar products. &quo

People March 28, 2024

Unis, a K-pop girl group consisting of eight finalists from the SBS audition program “Universe Ticket,” made its debut Wednesday with its first mini album, “We Unis.” The group is made up of four Korean members, Hyeonju, Yunha, Yoona and Seowon; two members from the Philippines, Elisia and Gehlee Dangka; and two Japanese members, Nana and Kotoko. “We finally get to debut as Unis. My life from the day I began dreaming about becoming a K-pop artist to the day that I w

K-pop March 27, 2024

NewJeans is set to release a single in Korea on May 24 and make its debut in Japan with another single on June 21, according to Ador, the group's agency. The single to be released in Korea on May 24, “How Sweet,” will come with three B-sides including “Bubble Gum,” and instrumental versions of both songs. “Bubble Gum” will be unveiled next month as part of a Japanese commercial and a theme song for a TV program before the official album release. The group

K-pop March 27, 2024

K-pop boy group Zerobaseone has topped Oricon’s Weekly Singles Chart with its debut Japanese single album, “Yurayura-unmei no hana.” Zerobaseone made its Japanese debut with the album's release on March 20 under Sony Music. Selling around 302,000 copies of the Japanese single album within five days of its release, the group took the throne on the Weekly Singles Chart dated April 1, which is based on physical album sales. This is a record-breaking number for a foreign album

K-pop March 26, 2024

Hybe’s new girl group Illit made its debut Monday with its first EP, “Super Real Me.” Illit consists of three Korean members Yunah, Minju and Wonhee, and two Japanese members, Moka and Iroha, who were the finalists of the JTBC global girl group survival program “R U Next?” which aired for three months starting June 2023. “The name of our group is a combination of the words ‘will,’ which depicts our independent and adventurous will, and ‘it,&r

K-pop March 26, 2024

J-Hope of BTS released a teaser video for his upcoming documentary series “Hope on the Street” via the boy band's official YouTube channel on Monday. The clip shows an interview with J-Hope sitting on a couch wearing a knitted hat, a dark jacket and jeans. “This documentary is about dance, which is what I consider my roots and the most important thing in my life and career,” J-Hope says in introducing the upcoming documentary series. “You will be able to learn

K-pop March 25, 2024

K-pop boy band Zerobaseone has topped Oricon’s daily singles chart for two consecutive days with its debut Japanese single album, “Yurayura-unmeinohana.” Selling 187,694 copies of the Japanese single album on the day of its release, the group landed at No. 1 on the daily singles chart, which is based on physical album sales. Zerobaseone made its official debut in Japan with the release on March 20 under a contract with Sony Music Label. The single album is led by the titular &l

K-pop March 22, 2024

K-pop powerhouse Hybe has a roster of artists waiting to make spring that much sweeter, beginning with J-Hope of BTS releasing a special album on March 29, followed by TXT on April 1 and Boynextdoor on April 15. J-Hope is also set to release a documentary series, “Hope on the Street,” on March 28, a day before the release of “Hope on the Street Vol. 1.” The documentary series comes in six episodes that show J-Hope visiting Osaka in Japan, Paris, New York and his hometown

K-pop March 22, 2024

British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden visited K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment during his visit to South Korea for the 3rd Summit for Democracy, according to SM Entertainment. Dowden met with chief officials of the agency including the Chief Executive Officer Jang Cheol-hyuk and the Chief Global Officer Choi Mi-na, at the headquarters of SM Entertainment in Seoul on Tuesday. British Ambassador to South Korea Colin Crooks and Edward de Minckwitz, a special adviser to Dowden, were also pres

K-pop March 21, 2024