Boy band Ateez tops Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart with 'THE WORLD EP. FIN: WILL'

SEOUL -- K-pop boy band Ateez has topped Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart with its second full album "THE WORLD EP. FIN: WILL," beating Taylor Swift's "1989" and "For All the Dogs" by Drake. The eight-member band became the seventh K-pop group to grab the top place on the weekly chart that ranks the 200 most popular albums in the United States. The album, released on December 1, arrived atop the list on the Billboard 200 chart with 152

December 11, 2023

BTS' leader RM anticipates finding inspiration from mandatory military service

SEOUL -- K-pop boy band BTS' leader RM hopes to find inspiration from his 18-month mandatory military service which he will start this month along with three other members. The artist will begin his service on December 11. In South Korea, males aged 18 and above are obligated to complete their military service unless exempted for valid reasons. Those enlisted in the army serve for about 18 months. Currently, three BTS members have begun their service -- Jin, J-Hope, and Suga.

December 7, 2023

YG Entertainment renews group contract with BLACKPINK members 

SEOUL -- K-pop girl band BLACKPINK has reached a consensus with its agency "YG Entertainment" to carry on with its group activities. The four-member band is currently discussing with its agency regarding the possibility of each member continuing individual activities. "We are happy to maintain our relationship with BLACKPINK," YG Entertainment's head Yang Hyun-suk said after signing the agreement with the group. The producer added: "BLACKPINK members wil

December 6, 2023

NewJeans' Super Shy selected as seventh best song by online music magazine Pitchfork

SEOUL -- "Super Shy," a summer-themed song by girl band NewJeans, was ranked seventh among this year's top 100 songs by American online music publication Pitchfork. The track is the only Korean language-based song chosen in the online magazine's top 100 songs list. Pitchfork is a prominent online music magazine with more than seven million monthly loyal readers. "Zero-to-hero anthem 'Super Shy' is the daydream wafting through the mind of an overlooked

December 5, 2023

Boy band TXT wraps up world tour with Seoul concert

SEOUL -- TXT (Tomorrow X Together), a five-member boy band organized by the agency of top K-pop band BTS, has completed its world tour that started in March 2023. The last concert took place at Gocheok Sky Dome, an iconic domed facility in the southwestern part of Seoul. The group has attracted some 407,000 fans through 29 concerts held in 15 cities including Los Angeles, Osaka, and Jakarta. The brother band of BTS wrapped up its world tour at Gocheok Sky Dome on December 3, Big Hit

December 4, 2023

Naver scores highest annual webtoon sales record in Japan in 2023

SEOUL -- South Korean web service giant Naver has scored the company's highest-ever webtoon sales in Japan, the home of manga (Japanese-style comic books) and anime (Japanese-style animated cartoons), by surpassing 100 billion yen ($6.1 billion). Webcomics, well-known by the name of webtoons, originated in South Korea in the early 2000s. Web service giants Kakao and Naver are the top players in the global market which is growing at an annual average growth rate of some 40 perc

December 1, 2023

World-class choreographer Lia Kim to incubate artists at LA-based K-pop agency   

SEOUL -- Lia Kim, a South Korean choreographer who trained girl band Girls' Generation and rapper Jay Park, has become chief performance officer at Taitan Content, the first K-pop agency based in the United States. The 39-year-old dancer will nurture global artists at the Los Angeles-based entertainment company. Kim has served as a choreographer and instructor for various artists at three entertainment powerhouses in South Korea -- SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Ent

December 1, 2023

Historical film about 1979 military coup d'état in Seoul garners 2 mln moviegoers in less than week

SEOUL -- More than two million moviegoers have flocked to cinemas to watch "12.12: The Day," a historical film directed by Kim Sung-su, in less than a week after the film was released on November 22, 2023. The film depicting the 1979 military coup d'état in Seoul aroused public anger towards the historic event that cornered South Korea into a new military dictatorship of eight years. The military coup in Seoul occurred on December 12, 1979, following the assassi

November 29, 2023

Justin Timberlake collaborates with BTS' Jungkook for remix version of '3D'

SEOUL -- American artist Justin Timberlake has collaborated with Jungkook, the youngest member of BTS for the remix version of "3D," a dance song by the South Korean singer released on September 29. The main vocalist of BTS worked with American rapper Jack Harlow for the original version with R&B features. The song portrays Jungkook's hope to meet his loved one in "three dimensions," and always stay together. The original song ranked fifth on Hot 100, Bil

November 25, 2023

BLACIPINK receives prestigious British order from King Charles III

SEOUL -- King Charles III has awarded K-pop girl band BLACKPINK for its significant contributions to raising awareness about global climate change. The four-member band served as the ambassador for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, a global summit chaired by Britain to address and tackle environmental challenges. BLACKPINK received the prestigious award on November 22 during South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's state visit to the United Kingdom (UK). All four

November 23, 2023