Singer-actress IU tops domestic song charts with new single 'Love wins all'

SEOUL -- Singer-actress Lee Ji-eun, known by her stage name IU, has topped South Korea's real-time song charts with her new single "Love wins all." The 30-year-old collaborated with BTS member V for the music video of the song. According to EDAM Entertainment, the artists' agency, the song dominated the song charts of major domestic online music services Melon, Genie, and Bugs as of 9 a.m. (1200 GMT) on January 25. Love wins all also secured the top positio

January 25, 2024

Boy band TWS sells 200,000 copies of album 'Sparking Blue' on debut day

SEOUL -- TWS, the brother band of boy group Seventeen, has sold more than 200,000 copies of its album "Sparking Blue" on its debut day. The debut album has also topped iTunes song charts in Thailand and India. According to album sales data released by South Korea's Hanteo Chart, 206,240 copies of Sparking Blue were sold on January 22. The new album entered the iTunes song charts in 11 countries including Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, and Italy as of January 22.

January 23, 2024

Singer-actress IU to go on world tour in 18 cities

SEOUL -- Singer-actress Lee Ji-eun, known by her stage name IU, will go on her first world tour in about five years since she went on a tour in Asian countries in 2019. The 30-year-old will interact with global fans in 18 cities including Los Angeles, Berlin, Jakarta, and Seoul. IU, who debuted in 2008 at the age of 15, is one of the most popular solo female artists in South Korea's entertainment scene. Not only IU is famous for her talent as a musician, but she is also wel

January 18, 2024

Girl band Le Sserafim to perform at US music festival Coachella

SEOUL -- Le Sserafim, a girl band formed by BTS agency Hybe's music label Source Music, will interact with global fans at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, a popular music event held in California. The annual event is known for showcasing popular artists in indie rock, hip-hop, and electronic dance music. Coachella is one of the largest music festivals in North America that attracted more than 200,000 fans every year. Along with K-pop girl band BLACKPINK, Puerto Ri

January 17, 2024

BTS' leader RM completes basic training at army boot camp as elite soldier

SEOUL -- BTS' leader RM has completed five weeks of basic training at South Korea's largest army boot camp. The 29-year-old started his mandatory military service with V, a 28-year-old member of the seven-member band on December 11, 2023. In South Korea, males aged 18 and above are obligated to fulfill their military service unless exempted for valid reasons. Those enlisted in the army serve for about 18 months. RM and V joined the boot camp in Nonsan some 154 kilometers (

January 16, 2024

Science fantasy film 'Alienoid: The Return to the Future' tops box-office on opening day

SEOUL -- Science fantasy action film "Alienoid: The Return to the Future," directed by Choi Dong-hoon, has topped South Korea's box-office on its opening day, getting ahead Walt Disney Animation Studio's animated musical film "Wish." The South Korean action film is the second part of the 2022 movie "Alienoid." In the "Alienoid Part 2," wizards from the Goryeo Dynasty, which ruled the Korean Peninsula from 901 to 1392, time-travel to

January 12, 2024

[CES2024] Singer G-Dragon explores high-tech products at CES 2024

LAS VEGAS -- Singer G-Dragon has visited the Consumer Electronics Show, the world's largest annual consumer electronics exhibition held in Las Vegas, on January 9. The 35-year-old former BIGBANG member explored various South Korean high-tech products including LG Electronic's next-generation mobility concept "Alpha-able" and "Ballie," an artificial intelligence-based home companion robot created by Samsung Electronics.

January 10, 2024

NewJeans wins grand prize at S. Korea's Golden Disc Awards

SEOUL -- Girl band NewJeans won the grand prize for the digital songs at South Korea's annual music awards. The five-member band lifted the top award trophy at the Golden Disc Awards with Ditto, the group's global hit song released in December 2022. The dance-pop song with a nostalgic vibe garnered more than 520 million streams on Spotify, the world's top music streaming service. NewJeans, which debuted in July 2022, was formed under the command of Min Hee-jin, a geni

January 8, 2024

BTS Jungkook's 'Golden' named on Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart for eight consecutive weeks

SEOUL -- "Golden," BTS member Jungkook's very first album, was named on Billboard's top 200 popular song chart for eight consecutive weeks. The album was released 39 days before the 26-year-old artist started his mandatory military service on December 12. Billboard's chart released on January 3 showed that Golden ranked 46th on the Billboard 200 chart. The album, containing 11 English songs, depicts the story of Jungkook's journey to becoming a global pop

January 4, 2024

Boy band NCT Dream takes grand prize at Seoul Music Awards

SEOUL -- Multinational K-pop boy band NCT Dream was awarded the grand prize at South Korea's annual music awards for this year. The seven-member band took the first place at the Seoul Music Awards two years in a row. NCT Dream is a subgroup of NCT, an 18-member project group formed by SM Entertainment in 2016. Billboard chose NCT Dream as one of the 21 most talented artists or groups under the age of 21 for the third time in 2021. The Billboard list is determined based on vari

January 3, 2024