South Korean historical romance series starring young and up-and-coming actors are creating a fresh buzz at home and abroad for their dramatic settings and resonating love stories. KBS' "The King's Affection," based on the popular webtoon "Yeonmo," is a story of a fictional princess of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), who has been raised as her deceased twin brother and becomes a king. Starring Park Eun-bin, the 20-episode series airing every Monday and Tuesday saw its viewe

Church leaders fear bashing Christianity is becoming trendy

South Korean fantasy horror "Hellbound" has dropped to second place on Netflix's weekly official viewership chart for non-English TV programs in its second week of release, the global video streaming service said Wednesday. Yeon Sang-ho's dystopian horror ranked No. 2 on the chart for the week from Nov. 22-28, posting 67.5 million hours of viewing. It was closely followed by the Colombian telenovela "The Queen of Flow: Season 2" with 69 million hours. The Korean-language

Mnet’s upcoming dance competition show “Street Dance Girls Fighter” is aiming to continue growing interest in dance by reviving the premise of the cable channel’s hit program “Street Woman Fighter,” this time with talented teenage female dance crews. The program will feature dance crews comprised of high school girls competing to win a 10 million-won ($8,420) prize. Top-tier female crews -- YGX, Lachica, Want, WayB, Coca N Butter, Prowdmon, HolyBang and Hook

Netflix’s “Squid Game” has proven original content’s power to attract subscribers. Following the release of the Korean content in September, the global streaming platform’s monthly active users here reached 9.48 million, the highest since the company entered the Korean market, according to data from Nielsen Korea. Many of the major Korean streaming platforms have been creating original content to secure their own market shares in the Korean market. CJ ENM’

Public educational TV channel EBS is launching two extended reality science programs, “The Home” and “The Dreamer,” this week. Extended reality is an umbrella term encompassing virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. The computing technology can merge physical and virtual worlds, bringing digital elements to the viewers. “There has been a few music programs partly applying XR technology, but ‘The Home’ and ‘The Dreamer’ are t

With the arrival of Disney+ and Apple TV+ setting off fierce competition in the country’s video streaming market, Netflix is seeking to cement its top position with a slew of new reality shows. The global streaming giant is premiering three original Korean variety shows for the year-end season, hoping to continue its dominance there on the back of recent global hit drama series like “Squid Game,” “My Name” and “Hellbound.” Starring six celebrities --

MBC’s upcoming global audition program “Teenage Girls” is set to premiere on Sunday, with scores of contestants competing to form a seven-member girl group with the potential of making it on the Billboard charts. Viewers will see 83 trainees from South Korea, Japan, China and other countries display entertainment skills such as singing, dancing and rapping. The trainees will be split across four categories based on age. MBC teamed up with Naver and Han Dong-chul, who produc

South Korean fantasy horror "Hellbound" was the most-viewed TV show over a recent one-week period among those on Netflix, the global video streaming service said Wednesday. "Hellbound" topped Netflix's official weekly chart for non-English TV programs with 43.5 million hours of viewing for the week from Nov. 15-21, outnumbering "The Queen of Flower" with 38.6 million hours and "Squid Game" with 30.4 million hours. The feat is remarkable, considering &qu

The South Korean fantasy horror "Hellbound" has regained the global No. 1 position on Netflix's popular TV show rankings. According to data released by streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol on Monday (US time), "Hellbound" rose one notch to top the list of the most-watched Netflix TV shows, replacing the former No. 1 "Arcane," an animated series based on the online battle game "League of Legends." The Korean-language show debuted No. 1 on the day after its

The South Korean fantasy horror "Hellbound" has topped the world's popular TV show rankings on the day after its release. According to data by streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol, the Korean-language Netflix original became the most-watched TV program on the streaming platform Saturday (US time), a day after its global premier. The show placed No. 1 on the most-watched show list in 24 nations, including South Korea, Belgium and Mexico, while it finished third in several countries lik

Entertainer Kim Jong-kook is seeking to put an end to doping rumors, and most recently he appeared in a YouTube video with a media lawyer to talk about defamation. In the video, posted Thursday on Kim’s bodybuilding channel, media and telecommunications practice lawyer Park Min-chul joined the singer as he denied the doping rumors. “I have worked as a television celebrity for 27 years and believed that the most important role as a celebrity is to bring joy and happiness to the pu

TvN’s new Friday-Saturday drama “Bad and Crazy” is scheduled to kick off on Dec. 17, after “Happiness” comes to an end Dec. 11. Directed by You Sun-dong who produced OCN’s hit drama “The Uncanny Counter,” the cable network presented a 15-second teaser Friday showing its lead characters. Top actor Lee Dong-wook takes the role of “bad” detective Ryu Su-yeol, who is willing to do anything and everything to accomplish his objectives. Co

The South Korean sensation "Squid Game" has posted a total of 1.65 billion hours of streaming in the first four weeks of release, becoming the most-watched Netflix content of all time. Netflix on Tuesday (US time) released the global top 10 lists of films and TV shows based on hours viewed in their respective first 28 days on its platform. "Squid Game" topped the non-English popular TV show list with an aggregate 1.65 billion hours of viewing over the first four weeks follo

While made-for-television political satires have had little success in Korea, “The Blue House Family” is ready to take a jab at the genre early next year. It so happens that 2022 is a presidential election year in Korea, and Astory, the production company behind the 10-episode sitcom, is betting that content related to politics will grab viewers’ attention. 　 “Politics and comedy go well together. Many comedians and content creators view the political scenes as a treasu