BTS member J-Hope completes basic training at army boot camp

SEOUL -- BTS' main dancer J-Hope has completed his basic training at an army boot camp located in Wonju some 86.8 kilometers (53.9 miles) east of Seoul. After receiving a military occupational specialty, the 29-year-old will be assigned to his unit where he would spend the rest of his time with fellow soldiers for about 16 months and three weeks. In South Korea, all able-bodied males who are 18 and older must do their military service unless they have a valid reason for exempti

May 24, 2023

Rookie K-pop girl band Fifty Fifty tops Billboard Global Excl. US chart with dance song Cupid

SEOUL -- Rookie girl band Fifty Fifty has topped Billboard's global chart through "Cupid," a disco song released in February 2023. The four-member band is the third South Korean group to top Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, after BTS and BLACKPINK. The single with relaxing vibes showcases the four members' strong feelings toward their crush. As of May 23, the music video for Cupid has garnered more than 65 million views on YouTube. Earlier this month, the grou

May 23, 2023

Busan to showcase 31 countries' cultural assets on global citizens' day

SEOUL -- South Korea's southern port city of Busan will host a cultural festival where visitors can enjoy 31 countries' unique cultural assets such as traditional dances. The event will take place on "Together Day," which is a commemorative day on May 20 designed to bridge the gap between domestic and foreign residents in South Korea. Traditional dance performances will be showcased by five nations -- Japan, Kazakhstan, Tanzania, Belarus, and Ecuador. There are so

May 19, 2023

Rookie K-pop girl band Fifty Fifty gains explosive popularity through dance song Cupid

SEOUL -- Fifty Fifty, a rookie girl band, has ranked 17th on Billboard's top 100 popular song chart with "Cupid," a disco song released in February 2023. The rookie girl group has expressed their strong feelings toward their crush through the single featuring a relaxing vibe. The four-member band stepped into the spotlight after releasing the single, which has also entered the UK Singles Chart. As of May 17, its music video has garnered more than 58 million views on Y

May 17, 2023

BTS agency unveils collaboration project with AI voice synthesis tech startup

SEOUL -- BTS agency has released a digital single created by combining the voice of a human artist and artificial intelligence-based voice synthesis technology. The new single titled "Masquerade" is available in six languages -- Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Masquerade, rolled out on May 15, was produced after Lee Hyun, a member of disbanded vocal group 8Eight, sang the song in six languages. Using AI voice synthesis technology by AI startup

May 15, 2023

AI company ESTsoft showcases virtual fitness trainer for Pilates trainees

SEOUL -- South Korean artificial intelligence company ESTsoft has released a virtual fitness trainer for those who want to learn pilates and yoga at home. After analyzing users' movements, the virtual instructor helps trainees to exercise properly and give various advice on Howfit, an AI-based fitness training application. Howfit said in its Instagram post on May 12: "We are showcasing virtual human Kim Yi-so’s pilates class on Howfit!" The virtual trainer crea

May 12, 2023

BLACKPINK member Lisa achieves Guinness World Record through first solo album LALISA

SEOUL -- LALISA, a solo album by Lisa, a Thai member of K-pop girl band BLACKPINK, was streamed more than one billion times on Spotify, the world's most popular music streaming service. The solo album which shows various Thailand's cultural assets been listed in Guinness World Records. Through the album's lead single of the same name, the Thai artist presented how K-pop could be mixed with other cultures by featuring Phanom Rung Stone Castle, a temple complex in Northea

May 11, 2023

Girl band NewJeans listed on 100 most influential Asians in US

SEOUL -- K-pop girl band NewJeans was included in the list of 100 most influential Asians in the United States by Gold House, a nonprofit organization that supports Asian and Pacific artists and creators. The five-member band that captivated global fans through dance songs such as Attention, Ditto, and OMG was listed along with American fashion designer Anna Sui and Shohei Ohtani, a Japanese baseball pitcher. "Just like a pair of jeans that has been a staple of every wardrobe

May 2, 2023

Seoul launches virtual pet service through metaverse world

SEOUL -- Seoul has created a metaverse world where users can adopt pets and raise them in the virtual space. Using an avatar, anyone can choose one animal among 10 different kinds including a dog, a cat, a rabbit, and a lizard. Users can receive points after completing training missions and purchase various items such as headbands and shoes. Metaverse enables humans to engage in different social, cultural, and economic activities in simulated virtual spaces. The virtual world, whic

May 2, 2023

BTS agency to showcase collaboration project with AI voice synthesis tech startup Supertone in May

SEOUL -- During an exclusive interview with Billboard, BTS creator Bang Si-hyuk announced that he would showcase a collaboration project with Supertone, an AI voice synthesis technology startup in South Korea. The AI company earlier acquired by Hybe has provided sound technology for Disney+'s drama series "Big Bet" to reproduce the voice of Choi Min-sik, a 60-year-old veteran actor who was playing a role of a young character in his 30s. In an interview released on Apr

April 27, 2023