Actor Song Joong-ki, who has wowed the audience with both commercial and critical TV success through “Reborn Rich” (2022) and “Vincenzo” (2021), chose to show his rough side this time through rookie director Kim Chang-hoon’s noir flick “Hopeless.” Song, who returned to Korea after spending time with his newborn son and British wife in Rome for nine months, said he has always been on the lookout for opportunities to try new genres and projects internation

Halfway through its 2 1/2-year stint, project girl group Kep1er voiced hopes it can keep on going through its new album "Magic Hour." Formed through Mnet's audition program "Girls Planet 999" in 2021, the nonet officially debuted in January 2022 as a project team set to terminate in July 2024. The nine-piece girl group on Monday released the album, its fifth EP, five months since putting out "Lovestruck!" in April. Since then, the girls held their first arena t

The teaser video for Seventeen’s 11th EP was brought down on Sunday, said agency Pledis Entertainment. The Beijing version of the trailer for “Svt Right Here,” one of the promotions for the EP “Seventeenth Heaven,” was uploaded on Saturday. It portrayed chamomile flowers bloom against the backdrop of the Great Wall of China. Some fans, however, pointed out that it was insensitive considering that China is strictly against content set against its cultural heritage.

SM Entertainment, home to some of the biggest K-pop names like aespa, Red Velvet and NCT, covered Jakarta in pink -- the company's iconic color -- on Saturday with its label concert, "SMTown Live 2023." The star-studded event, officially titled "SMTown Live 2023 SMCU Palace @Jakarta with KB Bank," took place on Saturday evening at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium located in Central Jakarta, Indonesia. The one-day gig is the latest edition of the company's joint label

This year’s Benois de la Danse winner, Kang Mi-sun, is set to perform the classic ballet “Don Quixote” at the Seoul Arts Center’s Opera Theater next month. Kang, a principal dancer at Universal Ballet in Seoul, clinched the top prize at the prestigious Benois de la Danse, an esteemed annual ballet competition held in Moscow. Kang is the fifth Korean national to win the prize. The upcoming performance is Kang's return to the stage with a full-length production at the

Dawn opened a new chapter in his journey as a solo artist this year, coinciding with some meaningful changes in his life. His single “Dear My Light,” released early this year, opened listeners' hearts to a heartfelt message. It was his first release since the end of a long-term relationship, and after joining a new agency. “Entering my 30s next year, I wanted to start off anew and open a new chapter in my life. For that, I wanted to convey who the artist Dawn is through my

Just like director Kim Yeol in “Cobweb,” the film's 58-year-old director, Kim Jee-won, is adamant about what he does as a filmmaker. “Amid the unprecedented crisis that Korean cinema is facing, all I ask for (regarding the release of my film) is for ‘Cobweb’ to create a momentum for the revival of the Korean cinema,” Kim told The Korea Herald in an interview in Seoul on Sept. 21. Kim was behind hit projects like “The Good, The Bad, The Strange&rdquo

Hit filmmaker Kim Jee-woon has returned with black comedy “Cobweb,” joining forces with Cannes-winning actor Song Kang-ho to bring a breath of fresh air to the box office where plot-missing disaster flicks and childish romantic comedy films have been dominating recently. “Cobweb” follows a fresh plot development, storyline and characters. The weighty question “What is film?” penetrates the 130-minute running time, anchoring the scenes of witty, funny and sad m

Rookie K-pop bands rarely remain off the radar for even a month after debuting, but Mimiirose stayed out of the limelight for over a year after it debuted in September 2022. After a yearlong break, the five-piece girl group said it felt more than ready to reintroduce itself as a brand new group. "There was a time when we felt anxious after having our comeback postponed several times, although we had just debuted. But every time, the members stayed together and encouraged each other," Y

The National Changgeuk Company of Korea, which recently premiered its modern take on traditional changgeuk performances in “Jeong-nyeon” and “The Merchants of Venice,” returns with a traditional Korean pansori, “Shimcheong-ga” for the Chuseok holiday. The production is based on the classic Korean pansori and folktale of Sim Cheong, a young girl who makes a selfless sacrifice to the king of the underwater world in a desperate attempt to restore her blind father

BTS' Jungkook will be back with a new song, "3D," on Friday, his agency said Sunday. Big Hit Music announced the singer will unveil his second solo single at 1 p.m. on Friday. The new song will feature American rapper-singer Jack Harlow. The upcoming single is the latest release from Jungkook since he first came out solo in July with "Seven (feat. Latto)." The 26-year-old singer had a successful start then, with "Seven" nabbing the top place on Billboard's

In director Kim Jee-woon’s upcoming black comedy, “Cobweb,” Jung Soo-jung, also known as Krystal from K-pop girl group f(x), plays a chic and edgy rising star, Han Yu-rim, giving the role her own, almost flawless interpretation. The 28-year-old actor seamlessly reproduces a unique tone that actors would use in the 1970s, making it hard to believe that “Cobweb” is Jung's first commercial film role. Jung has previously starred in the indie film, “More Than

In Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn’s new documentary “Another Body,” a 23-year-old engineering student named Taylor finds herself victimized in a uniquely modern-day form of abuse: deepfake pornography. But this eye-opening 80-minute film doesn’t just show Taylor tracking down who has digitally planted her face over the bodies of porn stars -- it also shows how she navigates the devastating situation and manages her mental health. “Another Body” is told from

  Seventeen dropped a hint about where it will conduct its promotional activities for 11th EP “Seventeenth Heaven.” Agency Pledis Entertainment uploaded a teaser video for one of the activities, “Svt Right Here,” on Friday, that spelled out five cities: Seoul, Tokyo, Paris, New York and Beijing. “Svt Right Here” conveys the band’s signature sound and along with the following phrase “@Everywhere,” set fans abuzz with expectations for the

French director Sylvain George's “Obscure Night” won the grand prize at the 2023 DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, or DMZ Docs, which took place Sept. 14-21. On Thursday evening, DMZ Docs held its closing ceremony at the CGV Goyang Baekseok theater in Gyeonggi Province, awarding 10 documentary films. George's “Obscure Night” was praised for its in-depth depiction of young migrants in Morocco who are trying to travel from Africa to Europe via land rout

Suga of BTS began his mandatory military service on Friday. He will be fulfilling his compulsory military service by doing alternative service after receiving basic training for the first few weeks during boot camp. “I was able to come this far thanks to you ARMY (the name of BTS' fan community). Now it’s time for me (to begin my mandatory military service). I will do my utmost to fulfill my national duty. Stay warm as the weather is getting cold. Stay healthy and let’s me

The French drama series titled “The Fragile Colossus” received the Grand Prize at the Seoul International Drama Awards 2023 on Thursday. SIDA 2023 honored a total of 11 drama series as well as 15 actors, screenwriters and directors from around the world in a ceremony held at KBS Hall in Seoul. The French drama series was praised for its in-depth depiction of sexual violence. The plot of “The Fragile Colossus” revolves around Sebastien, a former rugby player who was sexu

TvN recently confirmed the launch of “Wise Resident Life” (unofficial translation) -- a new spinoff of its hit 2020 medical drama “Hospital Playlist” -- starring rising actor Go Youn-jung. The upcoming series will offer the medical stories of doctors and professors in Jongno branch of Yulje Hospital, the setting for the original "Hospital Playlist." Go, 27, who garnered both local and global drama fans’ interest with “Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shad

Dr. Cheon, the fake, comical exorcist Gang Dong-won portrays in the upcoming occult comedy flick “Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman,” has many similarities to the characters he played in 2009’s “Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard” and 2016’s “A Violent Prosecutor.” “I did intend to set the tone of Dr. Cheon character to be somewhere in between Woo-chi and Chi-won -- at least in the first half of the story where Dr. Cheon’s cunning wits had t

“Sleep” (South Korea) Opened Sept. 6 Mystery/Thriller Directed by Jason Yu A pregnant Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) discovers that her husband, Hyun-soo (Lee Sun-kyun), has started exhibiting strange behaviors while asleep. Overcome with anxiety that he may be a danger to the family, Soo-jin goes to great lengths to protect them and their baby. “A Haunting in Venice” (US) Opened Sept. 13 Mystery/Crime Directed by Kenneth Branagh Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot returns to his peace