KCON, the world’s largest Korean culture and music celebration, attracted 23,000 people in Saudi Arabia on Friday and Saturday, according to organizer CJ ENM on Sunday. Around 3.5 million more from around 171 countries enjoyed a live stream of the concert. Under the theme “Be A KCONer,” KCON offered diverse Korean cultural content such as talk shows with K-pop artists and K-pop performances. Many Korean brands from the food and beverage, cosmetic and lifestyle sectors opened up

K-pop Oct. 8, 2023

ONF, the first K-pop boy group whose members enlisted in the military at the same time, has returned to the music scene after a 1 1/2-year hiatus. “We really missed being on stage and our fans during the time we were serving in the Army," said E-Tion of ONF during a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. "We put all the emotions that we felt during the past months into our new album that revolves around a single theme, love.” The six-member group dropped its seventh mini

K-pop Oct. 5, 2023

Legendary K-pop boy group TVXQ will be celebrating its 20th debut anniversary with its fans by releasing a new album, holding a concert and opening an exhibition in December. TVXQ debuted in December 2003 with its debut single, “Hug,” and will mark its 20th debut anniversary on Dec. 26. On the day, the group will be releasing its ninth full-length album, marking its first release in five years since the special album, “New Chapter No. 2: The Truth of Love,” in December 20

K-pop Oct. 5, 2023

K-pop soloist Sunmi is unveiling her new digital single “Stranger” on Oct. 17. The single carries a total of three tracks—the title track “Stranger,” and two side tracks “Calm myself” and “Call my name.” Sunmi took part in producing and writing the lyrics to all of the tracks in her single album, according to Abyss Company. The teaser image of the upcoming single album shows Sunmi in a red outfit staring forward with a mysterious man standing

K-pop Oct. 4, 2023

K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty’s agency, Attrakt, filed a compensation claim for 1 billion won ($736,000) against its subcontractor, The Givers, as well as The Givers' head, Siahn, and senior director, Baek Jin-sil, late last month, according to Attrakt on Wednesday. “The head producer of The Givers, Siahn, and its senior director, Baek Jin-sil, not only violated its business service contract obligations to Attrakt but also impeded our business and caused asset damage by deceiving

K-pop Oct. 4, 2023

A diverse lineup of music festivals and concerts are set to welcome the fall season. The Jarasum Jazz Festival, the country’s biggest jazz festival which marks its 20th anniversary this year, kicks off on Oct. 6 and runs for four days on Jara Island, Gyeonggi Province. The event invites 19 foreign artists and 22 Korean artists including Birell Lagrene and Ulf Wakenlus, Julian Lage, Shai Maestro Quartet, Youn Sun-nah, Ju Hyun-mi Jazz Project and the Pasquale Grasso Trio. The venue for the f

Travel Sept. 30, 2023

The inflation rate for food prices at dining establishments and prices of processed foods has been increasing at a faster pace than the overall inflation rate for consumer goods, a state-led agency’s data showed Saturday. According to Statistics Korea, the inflation rate for food prices at dining establishments in August came to 5.3 percent, while the inflation of consumer prices reached 3.4 percent. Government data also showed that food prices at restaurants have been increasing for 27 st

Economy Sept. 30, 2023

Jungkook of BTS topped iTunes’ Top Songs charts in 100 different regions with his second solo single “3D,” according to Big Hit Music. The single “3D” featuring Jack Harlow swept iTunes charts in numerous countries, including the US, the UK, Japan, Canada, and Italy, immediately upon its release on Friday. The instrumental and alternate versions of “3D” also reached No. 2 and No. 3 on iTunes’ Top Songs charts in various countries. The music video f

K-pop Sept. 30, 2023

NCT Dream will be featured in the annual iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour which kicks off on Nov. 26. The iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour is a holiday concert presented by Capital One, with the year’s top artists performing their No. 1 hits. NCT Dream will take the stage in Boston on Dec. 10, Washington D.C., on Dec. 11 and Atlanta on Dec. 14. Other artists joining the star-studded lineup for the event include SZA, Nicki Minaj, OneRepublic, Flo Rida, and Sabrina Carpenter. NCT Dream has been expa

K-pop Sept. 30, 2023

K-pop girl group NewJeans will sing the anthem of the 2023 League of Legends World Championship, “Gods,” according to Riot Games. The anthem will be released on Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. The game developer has worked with popular musical artists for the championship theme song for the past 10 years, such as Imagine Dragons, Zedd and Lil Nas X, but it is the first time it is collaborating with a K-pop artist. Sebastien Najand, the head music producer of Riot Games, and Mako who produced the or

K-pop Sept. 27, 2023

Dawn opened a new chapter in his journey as a solo artist this year, coinciding with some meaningful changes in his life. His single “Dear My Light,” released early this year, opened listeners' hearts to a heartfelt message. It was his first release since the end of a long-term relationship, and after joining a new agency. “Entering my 30s next year, I wanted to start off anew and open a new chapter in my life. For that, I wanted to convey who the artist Dawn is through my

K-pop Sept. 25, 2023

Mudeungsan Mountain located in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, fully opened its door to the public for the first time in 57 years on Saturday. Civilian access to the top of the mountain had been restricted since 1966 as air force units were stationed in the respective location. Many visitors gathered on the day of the opening to enjoy a round-trip hike of approximately 390 meters that goes from Seoseokdae columnar joints to Inwangbong Observatory.

Travel Sept. 23, 2023

Suga of BTS began his mandatory military service on Friday. He will be fulfilling his compulsory military service by doing alternative service after receiving basic training for the first few weeks during boot camp. “I was able to come this far thanks to you ARMY (the name of BTS' fan community). Now it’s time for me (to begin my mandatory military service). I will do my utmost to fulfill my national duty. Stay warm as the weather is getting cold. Stay healthy and let’s me

K-pop Sept. 22, 2023

Fantasy Boys embarked on its journey as K-pop artists with its debut album “New Tomorrow” on Thursday. The group consists of 11 members who are among the top 12 finalists from MBC’s idol survival program “Fantasy Boys.” “Because our fans have supported us through the program up until now, we were able to introduce our debut album. With this album, we want to show that each of our members is talented in their own way,” said member Hong Sungmin during a pr

K-pop Sept. 21, 2023

The MAMA Awards, hosted by CJ ENM, will be held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on Nov. 28-29. This is the first time a Korean award ceremony will be held at the Tokyo Dome, CJ ENM said Thursday. The MAMA Awards has been working toward the globalization of K-pop by hosting the event in various Asian countries in the past, including Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Japan. This will the second time that the event is being held in Japan, which is the second biggest importer of K-pop. The annual

K-pop Sept. 21, 2023