Actress Kim Sun-a will play a counselor who works with children in MBC’s upcoming thriller “Children of Nobody.”Kim, who has a number of hit TV series under her belt, including “My Lovely Sam Soon,” will play Cha Woo-kyung on the Wednesday-Thursday show, which starts airing this week. Cha unravels a mystery surrounding a child, and she finds clues in poems.Speaking to the press during a showcase event on Tuesday, the actress said she had taken on the role because the original book was fun to rea

Television Nov. 20, 2018

Rapper San E has defended his song “Feminist,” despite facing public criticism the song is “sexist” and “ignorant” of what feminism actually stands for.In a statement posted to Instagram on Monday, the rapper said “Feminist” was not meant to bash women, as he encouraged fans to give his song a thorough listen.(Yonhap)“I chose the topic to highlight the pressing (social) issue of gender-based hate,” the statement read.“My intention was to point out the hypocrisy upheld by people like the narrator

Performance Nov. 19, 2018

Questions from this year’s English test for the Suneung, South Korea’s national college entrance exam, have baffled the internet community, including many Native English speakers.Final-year high school students all across South Korea took the exam Thursday, but many still cannot get over the difficulty of the English exam.(Yonhap)“When are we going to stop taking these exams with extremely difficult sentences that we are most likely not to encounter?” one user commented on web portal Naver. “It

Social Affairs Nov. 16, 2018

A South Korean student alleged she was assaulted by a group of “racist” teenagers in what she deems a “hate crime” in central London on Nov. 11, which has left her feeling “broken” and “helpless.”In a lengthy Facebook post Thursday, the student studying at the University of Creative Arts, said she was targeted by “a mixed group of racist white and black strangers” as she was walking down the street late Sunday afternoon.She wrote, “I first ignored the group following me, but they kept throwing t

Social Affairs Nov. 16, 2018

After nearly three years since appearing on popular TV show “Non-Summit,” Blair Williams’ name is back in entertainment news.This time, the spotlight was shared with his family, who recently appeared on “Welcome, First Time in Korea?”Sitting down at a cafe in the upscale neighborhood of Sinsa-dong, the 26-year-old, originally from Brisbane, Australia, looked back on showing his family around Korea on TV, an experience that he called “a blessing.”(Video shot and produced by Lim Jeong-yeo/The Kore

Television Nov. 16, 2018

When the press show for YouTube Premium series “Top Management” was held in Seoul in October, it received a great deal of attention from local media outlets.Starring up-and-coming actor and singer Cha Eun-woo of boy band Astro, the show’s pilot episode was watched nearly 1.7 million times in a week.Nadine Zylstra, head of YouTube Originals for the Asia-Pacific region, said at the event that the company recognizes how influential South Korean pop culture has become on the global stage. “Through t

Television Nov. 15, 2018

Though Jo Kwon’s career is currently on hold, LGBT fans cannot thank him enough for his support for the LGBT community on Twitter.The singer is currently serving in the military after enlisting earlier this month to fulfill South Korea’s mandatory military service requirement, but his online presence is stronger than ever. This is due in large part to his willingness to voice support for sexual minorities -- a rare bold move in the K-pop world.Jo Kwon. (Jo Kwon‘s Instagram)In one of the recent t

Television Nov. 15, 2018

E’Dawn from boy band Pentagon is leaving Cube Entertainment.The singer, who was mired in controversy after going public with his relationship with fellow singer HyunA, will no longer be at Cube Entertainment as of Wednesday, the agency confirmed in a statement.“Cube Entertainment agreed with E’Dawn to end his contract on the 14th,” the statement read. (E'Dawn's Instagram)The decision comes nearly a month after the agency cut ties with female solo artist HyunA, who remains romantically connected

Performance Nov. 14, 2018

BTS-related headlines had been mostly about breaking sales records or appearing on international TV programs; that was prior to Thursday, when Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi axed the group’s appearance last minute over a T-shirt worn by Jimin that was deemed too political.“There has been controversy over the design of a T-shirt worn by a member (of the group) and we asked the intention behind wearing (the shirt) and worked together with the record label. Regretfully, however, we decided to postpo

Television Nov. 11, 2018

The 2018 midterm elections, which saw some of the most highly contested battles in US politics and a record-high voter turnout, received close attention in South Korea, dominating Wednesday’s headlines. And just like the newly split US Congress, with the Republicans holding the Senate and the Democrats taking the House of Representatives, public opinion here is somewhat divided.A screen at the New York Stock Exchange shows US President Donald Trump at a press conference. (AP-Yonhap)On Thursday,

Politics Nov. 8, 2018

(Video shot and edited by Park Ju-young/The Korea Herald)K-pop stars descended on the red carpet at the 2018 MGA on Tuesday night, a music awards show jointly held by MBC Plus and Genie Music at Incheon’s Namdong Gymnasium.Members of the girl group (G)I-DLE cut chic figures in black outfits and matching boots.(G)I-DLE. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)The six-piece group, consisting of Miyeon, Minnie, Soojin, Soyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua, was the first to arrive on the scene. The artists were greeted

Television Nov. 6, 2018

Veteran South Korean TV presenter Song Hae, who has been presenting famous music show “National Singing Contest” since 1980, praised LGBT events during a recent TV appearance.Song, who is 91 years old, said there is “a lot to learn” from events celebrating sexual minorities when he discussed Jongno-gu, a district in Seoul often visited by older people, as well as members of the LGBT community, when he appeared on KBS’s talk show “Joy of Conversation” on Saturday.TV presenter Song Hae discusses a

Television Nov. 6, 2018

A significant number of South Koreans are stressed out over group chats on platforms such as KakaoTalk, according to a number of surveys in recent years.In a survey conducted last year by the Korea Press Foundation, nearly 7 in 10 Korean adults said they had stayed in chatrooms despite wanting to leave, with nearly half saying they had stayed to avoid hurting other people’s feelings.The survey, which involved a sample of some 1,000 people aged between 20 and 50, also found that one of the most c

Social Affairs Nov. 6, 2018

When singer HyunA parted ways with Cube Entertainment after going public with her relationship with fellow singer E’Dawn, many fans, particularly those outside Korea, did not seem to understand the fuss.“This is one thing I really don’t understand about the Korean entertainment industry. These performers don’t belong to the fans or the companies who manage them. Let them date or marry who they want ... they’re entitled to a life of their own,” one Twitter user said of the dating scandal.Emotions

Television Nov. 2, 2018

Upcoming cable series “Dear My Room,” which bills itself as a “do-it-yourself life drama” hopes to bring attention to interior design and the meaning of home on the small screen.The show, which first airs Tuesday on cable channel O’live, features four young main characters with design and arts backgrounds and their tangled relationships, including Shim Eun-joo, a former editorial designer now unemployed, played by Ryu Hye-yeong. Cast members and producers (from left) Yoon Ji-on, Park Ji-hyun, Ry

Television Nov. 1, 2018