Popular K-pop girl band NewJeans talked about their band life and fans in an exclusive interview with a British monthly magazine, The Face in the June edition published Wednesday. “It’s helped us learn a lot about each other and grow very close. To me, it feels like being on a school trip, but a very extended one, with a bunch of friends,” NewJeans member Hanni said of living together as a band. On the unwavering devotion of their fan base, another member Minji said, “We&

K-pop May 29, 2024

  Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk on Tuesday met with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in South Korea on a two-day state visit, to discuss possible cooperation in K-pop ventures. While the details of the discussion have not been disclosed, Bang has reportedly shared his ideas of expanding K-pop's presence in the UAE, particularly by holding the entertainment company’s “The City” project in the country. "The City" project is a citywide festiv

Culture May 29, 2024

Local universities are under fire for ticket scalping by students who sell tickets to K-pop concerts held as part of the school festivals to outsiders. Every May and June, universities around the country host a two-to-four-day campus festival for students and alumni, organizing events such as sports games, club performances and K-pop concerts. In recent years, schools have been competing to book bigger names to appear at their festivals to boost their reputation. It resulted in drawing not onl

K-pop May 29, 2024

K-pop singer G-Dragon of Big Bang will give a speech at the 2024 Innovate Korea forum, a science and technology festival jointly hosted by Herald Corporation, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the National Research Council of Science and Technology, at KAIST’s campus in Daejeon, June 3. G-Dragon will share his ideas and thoughts on the combination of K-pop and artificial intelligence during the panel discussion with KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung and Galaxy Co

Culture May 28, 2024

SM Entertainment girl group aespa broke its silence about Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s recent controversial remark targeting them, saying they were not taking it seriously. “We know about the issue and people around us have been telling us about it. But because we had our first full-length studio album coming up, we were so focused on preparing for the album only,” Karina, one of the aespa members, said during a press conference held in Seoul on Monday. Last month, Ador CEO M

K-pop May 27, 2024

Ahead of Ador’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting Friday to decide on the dismissal of CEO Min Hee-jin, NewJeans fans and Hybe staffers are showing their respective support by submitting petitions to the Seoul court. In a petition submitted to the Seoul Central District Court on May 24, NewJeans fans wrote, “Until it is legally concluded that Min acted unlawfully, the contract terms signed between Min and Hybe should be respected and we hope she remains the CEO of Ador. We kn

K-pop May 26, 2024

SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment are benefiting from Hybe’s momentary breakdown, as the rival companies’ K-pop groups are successfully wresting the spotlight from Hybe artists. In a private mobile message between Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and Ador CEO Min Hee-jin, which was disclosed by Min following their fallout last month, Bang demanded that Min “crush” SM Entertainment’s popular girl band aespa. Exactly the opposite has unfolded since the message was made

K-pop May 23, 2024

The popular K-pop girl band NewJeans of Ador, a sublabel under Hybe, kept their silence on the ongoing dispute between their CEO Min Hee-jin and the parent company, at the 2024 Visit Korea Heritage Campaign & Korea On Stage in Seoul on Tuesday. It was the group’s first appearance on the public stage since the feud erupted last month. Group member Danielle, who hosted the event, also did not mention anything about the controversy throughout the 90-minute event. The youngest member, Hy

Culture May 22, 2024

Belift Lab, a K-pop agency home to a rookie girl band Illit and a sister subsidiary to Ador under Hybe, sued Ador CEO Min Hee-jin for obstruction of business and defamation, the company said Wednesday in a statement. Min has been arguing that Illit had plagiarized NewJean’s style shortly after Illit's debut in March. It is the first time Belift Lab spoke out regarding the ongoing feud. Hybe had been speaking in place of Belift Lab when addressing Min’s allegations until now. Bel

Culture May 22, 2024

Hybe and SM Entertainment have revealed their plans to launch new game content using K-pop bands’ intellectual property (IP) this year, but questions are still being raised over the games' chances of success. SM Entertainment said last month it is developing a mobile phone game tentatively titled “SM Game Station” in collaboration with Kakao Games, which will be available to the public in the second half of this year. A local game developer Com2us is also set to release a

Culture May 21, 2024

NewJeans, the popular K-pop girl band of Hybe’s music subsidiary Ador, is turning out to be the biggest victim in the ongoing feud between Hybe and Ador CEO Min Hee-jin, sparked by Min's alleged breach of trust, an industry source said Monday. It was all about NewJeans from the start, when Min sent an email to the executives of Hybe on April 3 arguing that new girl group Illit, which debuted under Belift Lab, another Hybe subsidiary, had plagiarized NewJeans’ style and concept.

K-pop May 20, 2024

In a petition filed with the court Friday, Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk made public for the first time his stance on the ongoing feud over Ador CEO Min Hee-jin’s alleged breach of trust. The Seoul Central District Court on Friday convened a hearing on the preliminary injunction filed by Min against Hybe to prohibit the parent company from exercising voting rights in favor of a proposal to dismiss her at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting scheduled for May 31. “The only way

Culture May 17, 2024

BTS' Jimin and actor Song Da-eun are embroiled in yet another romance scandal after Song on Thursday shared videos and photos on her social media that some have interpreted to mean the two are in a relationship. The actor posted a video of a man, covered by a big emoji, walking by the sea to her Instagram. Netizens argue that the seaside spot is the same location that Jimin visited in the “(Bangtan Bomb) A Boisterous Shooting of ‘3J -- BTS’" content released on BTS&rs

Culture May 17, 2024

Explore legendary Korean comics Visit the National Library of Korea this weekend to explore a special exhibition that delves into the history of Korean comics, or manhwa, by following the career of Lee Hyun-se -- the cartoonist behind one of Korea's most successful series ever published, "A Daunting Team." The exhibition, titled "The Road of Lee Hyun-se: Start of K-webtoon Legend," is free of charge and divided into three parts. The first part introduces various wor

Arts & Design May 17, 2024

If NewJeans, the popular K-pop girl band under the music label Ador, were "given" a year and a half "break" after their Tokyo Dome concerts in Japan next month as Hybe CEO Park Ji-won promised the parents of NewJeans members, the still-new band could be critically impacted, music critics said Thursday. Three parents of NewJeans members met with Park on April 25 -- the day Ador CEO Min Hee-jin held a press conference to refute an alleged attempt to usurp the management rights

Culture May 16, 2024