Celebrities who accompanied South Korean President Moon Jae-in during his three-day visit to North Korea were back in Seoul on Thursday night.While a recent survey marked the visit as mostly successful, the question lingers over why Zico, Ailee, Ali, Kim Hyeong-seok and magician Choe Hyeon-u, among others, were not given the live TV treatment like their predecessors.Ali arrives in Seoul after her visit to Pyongyang on Thursday night. (Yonhap)In a tweet Thursday night, Kim thanked everyone involv

Television Sept. 21, 2018

K-pop singers Zico and Aliee watched a gymnastics show held at Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, the largest stadium in the world, on Wednesday night as a massive North Korean crowd of 150,000 cheered on.The huge propaganda “Glorious Country” festival took place on the second day of Moon’s three-day visit to the North, as South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his counterpart Kim Jong-un watched together.Ailee, Choi Hyun-woo, Zico and Ali at Okryu Children's Hospital. (Joint Press Corp.)The

Television Sept. 20, 2018

Some K-pop fans are up in arms over Seo In-young’s attempt to return to the entertainment scene.Despite having apologized for a controversial video in which she was heard swearing and lashing out at staff members on a TV filming set, the singer continues to encounter criticism online.Reports that she was recording music at a studio last week were bombarded with critical comments. (Soribada)“Are you going to explode again if something doesn’t work out the way you want while recording?” one Naver

Television Sept. 19, 2018

K-pop sensation BTS will appear on “The Tonight Show,” one of the most popular and longest-running nighttime talk shows in the US.The group, who recently appeared on “America’s Got Talent,” will continue its US TV promotions on NBC’s late-night show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon, the show’s Twitter account confirmed Tuesday in US time.The tweet has since been liked over 120,000 times, and fans soon shared the hashtag #BTSonFallon soon on the social media. (Big Hit Entertainment)The confirmatio

Television Sept. 19, 2018

Singer Goo Ha-ra has said she wants to end the “mudslinging” with her boyfriend over a recent assault case.Goo, who was questioned at the Gangnam police station in Seoul on Tuesday, told the local media outlet Edaily that she wanted to end the “commotion,” which has drawn attention throughout the nation. (Yonhap)“It’s impossible for just one of us to be at fault. My boyfriend and I are both in the wrong for the scuffle. But I want to forgive and be forgiven by the person that I once loved,” the

Television Sept. 19, 2018

Naver has updated its V Live platform, introducing a Korean edition of the news section V Today and a new layout allowing users to better categorize their content.Beginning Wednesday afternoon, the video-streaming platform, which features numerous K-pop stars’ channels, will offer V Today in the Korean language so that it is more accessible to Korean users. Until now, V Today was available only in English and Vietnamese because its main target viewers were global fans of K-pop content such as ne

Television Sept. 19, 2018

A panel of experts including leading sea ice scientist Peter Wadhams gathered in Seoul on Tuesday to discuss the growing threat of climate change on the opening day of Peace BAR Festival 2018 at Kyung Hee University.The 37th Peace BAR Festival began in the run-up to the United Nations’ International Day of Peace on Friday, with peace and climate change set to take center stage during the event. Kicking off the three-day academic event, professor Wadhams, who is visiting Korea for the first time,

People Sept. 19, 2018

Singers Zico, Ailee and Ali left for Pyongyang this morning to attend the third inter-Korean summit.The celebrities were seen arriving at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, as part of a some-200-strong delegation that will accompany South Korean President Moon Jae-in.Zico opted for a clean-cut look in a navy suit befitting the seriousness of the event, while Ailee wore a blue dress as the two got ready to board the presidential plane.(Video taken by Song Su-hyun, edited by Lim Jeong-

North Korea Sept. 18, 2018

The new season of tvN’s variety show “Sound of Grazing Grass” is returning on Monday at 8:10 p.m.The autumn edition of the show is joined by popular comedian Park Na-rae and Hwang Chan-sung from the boy band 2PM, as well as a young farmer Han Tae-woong, who is a 16-year-old but carries himself more like a 61-year-old.(CJ E&M)Han’s mature mannerisms lightened the mood during the showcase Monday, which was held at CJ E&M Center in western Seoul. Han sang a trot song, a genre mostly for older peopl

Television Sept. 18, 2018

Politicians and experts clashed over the best way to deal with the growing number of violent juvenile crimes across South Korea during last night’s special debate program on KBS.During the two-hour special “Citizens’ Assembly,” lawmakers Pyo Chang-won and Keum Tae-seop, both from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, went head to head with their differing views on whether toughening punishments for youth crimes would prove effective.Rep. Pyo, who wants to see tougher youth penalties introduced,

Television Sept. 17, 2018

Singer Goo Ha-ra, who shot to stardom as a member of the K-pop group KARA, now faces a public image crisis amid a dating violence scandal after her boyfriend alleged she assaulted him for wanting to break up.Her image suffered severe damage over the weekend after her boyfriend spoke with the Chosun Ilbo and shared a picture of his face, which seemed to bear deep scratches around his eyebrows and on his forehead. He said they were the result of a scuffle he had with the singer Wednesday night.The

Performance Sept. 16, 2018

Singer Goo Ha-ra was reportedly embroiled in a scuffle with her boyfriend at her flat late Wednesday night after her boyfriend tried to end their relationship.Her boyfriend called police to accuse Goo of assault during a row at her flat in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul around midnight Wednesday. (Yonhap)The 27-year-old singer claims that both parties were involved in assault, according to Gangnam Police Station.Police said both parties will be called in for questioning as part of the ongoing investigatio

Television Sept. 13, 2018

Audiences were strongly divided over the casting of Jung Yu-mi for the film adaption of the feminist novel “Kim Ji-young, Born in 1982.”A torrent of comments followed Wednesday’s news that Jung, who has appeared in hit films like “Train to Busan,” had been cast for the main role in the film. Many were critical of the actress’ decision to take on the role. Jung Yu-mi pictured above (Management SOOP)Her Instagram soon became a forum for heated debate as critics and supporters of Jung headed to her

Film Sept. 13, 2018

Berry Good has decided to continue promotions for its new album as a five-piece act after bandmate Sehyung injured her foot last week. Sehyung injured herself while getting out of a vehicle during the DMC Festival. On Saturday, she took to social media to promise fans she would return soon. The originally six-piece group was quick to reorganize itself as it is in the midst of TV promotions for its album “Free Travel.” An official image of Berry Good. (JTG Entertainment)JTG Entertainment said the

Performance Sept. 11, 2018

After swapping positions back and forth, Sunmi came out on top at last in the latest weekly charts, fending off competition from Girls’ Generation.Sunmi’s new single “Siren” secured the top spot on last week’s singles chart on multiple streaming services like Bugs, Melon and Mnet during the week ending Sunday.Last week saw one of the hardest fought chart battles in K-pop history, with Sunmi, formerly of girl group Wonder Girls, releasing her new single “Siren” on Tuesday and Girls’ Generation’s

Performance Sept. 11, 2018