Yeon Sang-ho teams up with acclaimed Mexican director for upcoming Netflix film

SEOUL, June 21 (AJU PRESS) - Filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho is set to team up with Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón for his upcoming project, Netflix said Thursday. The collaboration is already garnering much attention among their fans. Based on Yeon's popular webtoon series, "Revelations" follows the story of a pastor who believes it is God's revelation to punish the perpetrator of a missing case and a detective haunted by visions of his deceased sibling while inves

June 21, 2024

Crooner Crush to take break due to back surgery

SEOUL, June 20 (AJU PRESS) - Singer Crush has been forced to halt all activities after being diagnosed with a herniated disk, the singer-songwriter's agency said Thursday. Entertainment agency Pnation, run by rapper Psy who earned global fame thanks to his viral song "Gangnam Style," said that Crush underwent medical checkups due to his worsening back pain, and he is going under the knife soon. "Crush will temporarily suspend all scheduled activities

June 20, 2024

Lim Young-woong voted Korea's most favorite singer

SEOUL, June 20 (AJU PRESS) - Lim Young-woong has been named Korea's most favorite singer, according to a poll by Gallup Korea. In the survey of some 1,777 people aged over 13 across the country except for Jeju Island, some 10.3 percent of respondents picked him as their top choice. Next came versatile young star IU with nine percent, followed by K-pop juggernaut BTS with 4.8 percent. Girl band NewJeans ranked fifth with 3.5 percent while another girl band Blackpink came in te

June 20, 2024

Korea aims to nurture more foreign K-pop trainees with special visa program

SEOUL, June 19 (AJU PRESS) - Foreigners aspiring to be K-pop stars are expected to benefit from a special visa program that allows them to stay in Korea for a longer period of time. This is part of plans, announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance early this week, to attract more tourists from overseas and boost tourism. Currently, K-pop trainees under contracts with major talent mills can obtain an E-6 visa, enabling them to stay for up to two years, while those witho

June 19, 2024

Fifty Fifty to return with fresh lineup this fall

SEOUL, June 17 (AJU PRESS) - Girl band Fifty Fifty will return to the K-pop scene this fall with new members, according to their agency Attrackt. Initially planned for June, their comeback is now slated for September to allow for more preparation. "We planned to return to the stage in June, but decided to meet fans in September as we want to spend more time on final tune-ups," the agency said last week. "But we will release part of tracks ahead of the release of ou

June 17, 2024

Girl band aespa to meet fans in metaverse K-pop fan community

SEOUL, June 10 (AJU PRESS) - Girl band aespa will interact with global fans at a virtual K-pop hotel created on "Ifland," a metaverse platform developed by SK Telecom (SKT), starting on Monday. The Korean telecom operator announced the launch of the metaverse fan community titled "K-pop Hotel." This virtual fan community incorporates the unique features of K-pop artists using three-dimensional (3D) and extended reality (XR) technologies. The hotel spans 99 flo

June 10, 2024

G-Dragon joins KAIST as visiting professor

SEOUL, June 5 (AJU PRESS) - G-Dragon of boy band Big Bang has joined the Korea Institute of Science and Technology as a visiting professor, the tech-heavy school said Wednesday. He will offer lectures for graduate and undergraduate students in Department of Mechanical Engineering during his two-year tenure until June 2026. Known for his flamboyant style and interest in fashion, the singer is expected to bridge cutting-edge technology with pop culture, sharing his experiences as a

June 5, 2024

Netflix' erroneous Spanish subtitle for East Sea triggers anger among Koreans

SEOUL, June 5 (AJU PRESS) - Netflix's latest Korean hit series caused a stir by erroneously referring the East Sea as the "Sea of Japan" in its Spanish subtitle, reigniting patriotic Koreans' sentiments about the geographical name. "The 8 Show," which has been popular since its release last month, used the "unproper" exonym for Koreans in a scene where one male character sings Korea's national anthem. The erroneous description quickly r

June 5, 2024

SM Entertainment warns cyberbullies targeting boy band NCT members

SEOUL, June 5 (AJU PRESS) - SM Entertainment, one of Korea's iconic entertainment powerhouses, sent out a stern warning against cyberbullies on Wednesday, pledging to take legal action against groundless online rumors without leniency, regardless of who they are. The announcement came shortly after social media posts written in Japanese were uploaded early this week, accusing two members of the boy band NCT -- Johnny and Haechan -- of visiting a hotel with a fan in Japan. Thes

June 5, 2024

BTS' Jin set to meet fans after completing military service

SEOUL, June 4 (AJU PRESS) - Jin of boy band Bangtan Boys, also known as BTS, will make his return to fans next week after completing his mandatory military service for 18 months. He will be discharged from the military on June 12 and will meet fans in Seoul the following day, his management agency HYBE said in a press release early this week. June 13 marks the day when the iconic K-pop band made their debut in 2013. Jin, the eldest of the band, was the first to enlist in the army

June 4, 2024