Pledis Entertainment and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on Friday announced a partnership to produce K-pop content featuring the island’s unique features. Pledis, a subsidiary of entertainment giant Hybe, and Jeju Island held a signing ceremony for the memorandum of understanding at Hybe’s Yongsan headquarters to promote K-pop content related to Jeju. Pledis CEO Lee Da-hye, Jeju Gov. Oh Young-hun, and other representatives from both sides attended the ceremony. Pledis Entertain

“My Dearest Fu Bao” (South Korea) Opened Documentary Directed by Shim Hyung-joon Follow Fu Bao on the big screen in her last three months in Korea and see her interactions with the “Fu Bao grandpa” zookeepers, as well as the heart-touching moment when Kang Cheol-won reunites with Fu Bao three months after she is sent to China. “Alien: Romulus” (US) Opened Aug. 14 Horror/Sci-fi Directed by Fede Alvarez In 2142, a group of young space colonizers go on an

Jeonghan of Seventeen will begin serving his mandatory military duty on Sept. 26, his agency Pledis Entertainment announced Thursday. He will be the first member of the 13-piece act to enlist. He will serve as an alternative social agent, as he had ankle surgery about nine months ago. He, at 29, is one of the three oldest members along with S.Coups and Joshua, but S.Coups was exempted from the duty after knee surgery and Joshua is a US citizen. As previously notified, he will be absent from prom

Lisa of Blackpink, who is also a solo artist, won the Best K-Pop award at the MTV Video Music Awards for the second time. The ceremony took place Wednesday at the UBS Arena in New York City. Lisa clinched the Best K-Pop award with her song "Rockstar," surpassing strong contenders like BTS Jungkook's "Seven," NCT Dream's "Smoothie," NewJeans' "Super Shy," Stray Kids' "Lock” and Tomorrow X Together's "Deja Vu." &

K-pop group NewJeans has issued an ultimatum against Hybe, demanding the reinstatement of Min Hee-jin as CEO of Ador, by the deadline of Sept. 25. The request was announced during a livestream they held on YouTube Wednesday evening, the post about which was subsequently deleted from X, formerly Twitter. “What we want is for Ador to be restored to its original state with Min Hee-jin as the CEO, where management and producing are integrated. Restore Ador to its original state by Sept. 25,&rd

Featuring Japanese heartthrob Kentaro Sakaguchi and Korean actor Lee Se-young, the upcoming Coupang Play's romance series "What Comes After Love" explores a timeless question: What happens when former lovers unexpectedly cross paths once again. "What Comes After Love" narrates the story of Choi Hong (Lee Se-young) and Aoki Jungo (Kentaro Sakaguchi), who meet again by chance five years after splitting up. The series is adapted from the novel of the same name, co-authored

Singer-turned-actor Hyeri’s latest teen cheerleading flick “Victory” was embroiled in a rumor that people related to the movie have hoarded tickets to increase sales, causing production firm Mind Mark to release a statement. According to the Korea Film Council data, “Victory,” which opened in local theaters on Aug. 14, has topped the box office as of Thursday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, more than 26,000 moviegoers watched the film, placing the movie at the top of the

Katseye, a multinational and multiethnic K-pop girl group formed by Hybe in collaboration with Geffen Records, kicked off its ambitious Asia promotion to broaden its reach. The six-member group consists of: Daniela, whose father is Venezuelan, mother is Cuban and grew up in Los Angeles; Megan, whose father is white American, mother is Chinese Singaporean and grew up in Hawaii; Lara, who was born in India and grew up in LA; Manon, whose father is Ghanaian, mother is Swiss-Italian and grew up in Z

BTS was named as one of the “greatest pop stars of the 21st century” by Billboard magazine. In an article published on Tuesday in the US, the band ranked No. 19 on the list of 25. It described the superband as “the septet that took K-pop to new global heights, and set the standard for high-level hitmaking and fan devotion,” and looked back at how it “crashed through every door of what it takes to be a successful pop act and expanded that with a scope never quite see

Major K-pop agencies such as JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment and Cube Entertainment have declared war on deepfake visual content created using images of their K-pop artists. This comes at a time when deepfake crimes have attracted renewed attention in South Korea, after the revelation of online rooms in which users shared AI-generated pornographic videos of local women and acquaintances. It is becoming more and more common for K-pop singers to fall victim to deepfake pornography, according t

The 2024 Seoul Street Arts Festival will take place in downtown Seoul, across Seoul Plaza, Cheonggyecheon and Mugyo-ro areas during the three-day Chuseok holiday, from Monday to Wednesday. Over 300 artists from Korea and abroad from eight countries, including Spain, Italy and Japan will participate in this outdoor celebration, showcasing 24 programs -- including street theater, dance, circus acts, traditional performances, large-scale installations and interactive art pieces. The festival will o

Netflix's "Culinary Class Wars" will be the biggest cooking survival show in Korean entertainment show history, according to the show's producers, Wednesday. "Culinary Class Wars" features cook-offs featuring 100 contestants split into two teams: the white team, composed of Korea's top chefs, and the black team, made up of little-known chefs and cooks such as local restaurant owners. The contestants will face off in multiple elimination rounds with a panel of j

In writer Kim Hye-jin’s best-selling novel, “Concerning My Daughter,” the story is told from 50-something Sang-ok’s point of view. She is a caregiver at a nursing home, and an unexpected life event occurs in which she is forced to live with her adult daughter and her daughter’s girlfriend of seven years in her rundown house. Distancing the film from the original novel, director Lee Mi-rang, who has made her directorial debut with film “Concerning My Daughter

Boynextdoor is back, and they have brought their life stories with them. Speaking at a press conference held at Blue Square Mastercard Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Monday, to mark the release of “19.99,” the group's third mini-album, the group emphasized that they put a lot of effort into incorporating stories that everyone can relate to, as well as their personal stories. “In the past, we sang about things we imagined or stories of others, but this time, we’ve infused

Netflix original film “Officer Black Belt” explores the world of probation officers -- a little covered topic in Korea -- with witty comedy and thrilling action sequences. This coming-of-age comedy action “Officer Black Belt” revolves around Lee Jung-do (Kim Woo-bin) who has exceptional martial arts skills and goes on to assist probation officer Kim Sun-min (Kim Sung-kyun). The two pair up to keep an eye on criminals wearing ankle monitors. Director Jason Kim (“Midn

The Korean content industry should seek out ways to diverse monetizing opportunities, experts told a global conference on streaming industries in Asia. Speaking at the conference titled "Korea in View" held Aug. 29, Marianne Lee, chief of content acquisition and development at streaming platform Viu, said the content industry in Korea is going through a "correction period," in which the industry is now struggling to keep up with soaring production costs, which have risen four

Le Sserafim’s newly released song “Crazy” ranked No. 76 on Billboard’s Hot 100, said agency Source Music Tuesday citing the publication. This is the second time the group made the main songs chart, after “Easy” which entered it at No. 99 in March. Le Sserafim is one of only two K-pop girl groups to make the chart this year -- along with Illit. “Crazy” is the lead single from the group's fourth EP of the same title, which debuted at No. 7 on Bi

K-pop idols are increasingly succumbing to illness and exhaustion as they face the relentless pressure of participating in a growing number of music awards, where the demands for performances, rehearsals and public appearances are higher than ever. As the competitive nature of the industry pushes them constantly to excel and maintain a flawless image, many artists are experiencing the physical and mental toll of this grueling schedule, raising serious concerns about their long-term health and th

Jung Hae-in of “I, the Executioner” said he didn’t feel under pressure to match up to Yoo Ah-in’s portrayal of ruthless villain Jo Tae-oh in the film’s prequel “Veteran,” despite the huge buzz Jo created in the 2015 original. Filmmaker Ryoo Seung-wan’s upcoming action blockbuster -- also known as “Veteran 2” -- picks up the story of veteran detective Seo Do-chul (Hwang Jung-min) nine years after the first installment, as he is joined by

Yungin, a Korean-American audio engineer boasting three Grammy Awards, made his music producer debut Tuesday with the launch of his first full-length album, "Did You Know? Part 1.” The album is a landmark project featuring a roster of prominent Korean hip-hop artists including Jay Park, Jessi, Camo, Lil Cherry, Changmo, Paul Blanco, Since, Sokodomo, BM, Bobby, Loopy, Dok2 and Koala, according to All Up In The Mix Korea, the agency representing Yungin. “Since the release of '