At the Seoul Arts Center’s Opera Theater on Sunday evening, the Paris Opera Ballet etoile (principal dancer) Park Sae-eun warmly embraced the Mariinsky Ballet principal dancer Kim Ki-min, who had flown in directly from a performance in China. The two shared a wide smile as they hugged patting each other’s shoulders. Selected for the lead roles of Nikiya and Solor in the Korean National Ballet production of "La Bayadere," Kim and Park are set to go on stage Friday and Sunday

Veteran senior actors Shin Gu and Kang Boo-ja received the Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit, the second-highest medal, at the 2024 Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards held at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul on Thursday. The annual awards, now in its 15th edition, are the highest government honor in the field of popular culture and arts. Shin, who debuted onstage in 1962, remains a popular actor decades on with his heartfelt performances. “After every play run comes to an end, I am

“Amazon Bullseye” (South Korea) Opened Oct. 30 Drama/Adventure Directed by Kim Chang-joo Former archer Jin-bong (Ryoo Seung-ryong) crash-lands in Boledor where he meets Amazon tribe members and ends up bringing them to Korea to make them the national archery team of Boledor, with the help of a Korean interpreter Bbang-sik (Jin Seon-kyu). “Venom: The Last Dance” (US) Opened Oct. 23 Action/Sci-fi Directed by Kelly Marcel Former journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his

Kep1er, a project girl group formed through Mnet’s idol survival program “Girls Planet 999” in 2021, returns as seven with the new mini album “Tipi-Tap” on Friday. This is their first album release after Kang Ye-seo and Sakamoto Mashiro departed from the group in July. The remaining seven members of the group extended their exclusive contract with Klap Entertainment and WakeOne Entertainment becoming the first K-pop project group to prolong their activities beyond t

The second annual World Pansori Festival will kick off at Namsangol Hanok Village in Seoul this weekend, showcasing a blend of traditional culture and modern musical innovation. Co-hosted by the World Pansori Association and Namsangol Hanok Village, the festival running from Friday to Sunday celebrates pansori, Korea’s expressive vocal art form of narrative singing of epic stories and folklore. The Main Concert will have live pansori beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, followed by pansori buski

Zerobaseone claimed all three top spots on Oricon’s weekly video charts with its concert footage, said agency WakeOne Entertainment Thursday citing the Japanese tally. The band’s Blu-ray and DVD edition of its fan concert in Japan topped Oricon’s Weekly DVD, Bly-ray Disc and Music DVD/Blu-ray Disc rankings at the same time, a first for an international artist. The videos are of the nine members’ first such event held in March in Yokohama for which they put on stage 11 son

K-pop fans in Thailand, one of the strongest K-pop fan bases globally, are protesting against Hybe following the leak of an internal document that reportedly contained unverified rumors about YG Entertainment's Blackpink and its Thai member, Lisa, as well as numerous other artists. The so-called “music industry report,” disclosed during a recent National Assembly audit in Seoul, allegedly criticized Blackpink’s achievements and suggested that Lisa’s success at the MTV Vid

K-pop girl group Twice will become the first K-pop artist to perform on Amazon Music Live in the US. According to their agency, JYP Entertainment, Twice will take the stage on Amazon Music Live on Nov. 21 at 9 p.m., local time, with the performance later available on Amazon Prime Video and Twitch channels. Now in its third season, Amazon Music Live is an online streaming concert series that airs live right after the broadcast of games from the National Football League, one of the largest profess

Le Sserafim is set to take the stage at Europe's biggest music awards ceremony, MTV European Music Awards (EMAs), this year. The 2024 MTV EMAs take place in Manchester, UK, on Nov. 10. "There's no better feeling in the whole wide world than announcing Le Sserafim as a 2024 MTV EMA performer. See them take the stage on 10 November,” the EMAs announced on their official website on Wednesday. The ceremony, hosted by MTV Networks Europe, awards trophies to songs, music videos, a

"I am Solo," one of Korea’s most popular dating-themed reality shows, is accepting applications from foreign nationals interested in joining its matchmaking program. According to the program, the show is seeking "single foreign nationals living in Korea who are fluent in Korean," as well as "Korean national men who are interested in marrying foreign national women." Applicants should send a self-introduction email to lovematch911@naver.com. Selected candidates

Rose of popular K-pop girl group BLACKPINK set a new YouTube record for K-pop female solo artists with the music video for "APT.," her collaborative single with American pop star Bruno Mars. The video exceeded 200 million views around 11 a.m., in about 11 days and 22 hours after it was uploaded on the global video streaming service, according to her agency, The Black Label. This makes "APT." the fastest music video by a K-pop solo artist to hit 200 million views, breaking the

Novelist Park Sang-young is now a screenwriter, following the release of the television adaptation of his 2019 novel, “Love in the Big City.“ Park wrote the script for all eight episodes of the drama which explores the romantic and personal life of a young gay man in Seoul. The series was released in full on the local streaming platform Tving on Oct. 21. “As you may have guessed, it took some time to cast the actors and confirm the platform on which it will air due to the uni

Treading precariously on the fault line of socially accepted norms, satire often becomes a source of controversy. “Saturday Night Live Korea” -- running since 2011 with a three-year break before it was rebooted in 2021 -- enjoys the distinction of being the longest-running international adaptation of the iconic US show, and is appreciated by fans for its weekly satirical commentary on current affairs. However, not everyone approves of how its subjects are satirized. In a recent case,

Following the Seoul Central District Court's dismissal Tuesday of ousted Ador CEO Min Hee-jin's injunction request for her reinstatement as chief executive of the label home to girl group NewJeans, Hybe CEO Lee Jae-sang sent an email to employees the same day pledging to prioritize stabilizing operations at Ador. In the email, Lee described the court’s ruling as a "turning point" and expressed optimism in the clarity it brings to resolving issues that have emerged over

A Seoul court on Tuesday dismissed an injunction request by the former CEO of K-pop label ADOR seeking to be reinstated to her position, amid the ongoing dispute with ADOR's parent company, Hybe. Min filed for the injunction last month as she contested the board's decision to remove her from the job over Hybe accusing her of attempting to take control of ADOR and its flagship group, NewJeans. Min has denied the claims. The Seoul Central District Court said it was dismissing the case as

NewJeans hit the 600-million mark on Spotify with “Hype Boy,” agency Ador said Tuesday citing the platform. “Hype Boy” is one of the focus tracks from its namesake debut album released in August 2022. The single is the group’s fourth song to reach the milestone, after “OMG,” “Ditto” and “Super Shy.” It was the first song from the quintet to generate 100 million plays on the platform, doing so in 98 days. NME magazine picked it fir

A scruffy man with windblown hair is dragged down to kneel on the ground. Despite his untidy looks, his glaring eyes are fixed on the enemy as he swings his sword, a movement akin to dancing. The man is Gang Dong-won, portraying a seemingly unlikely character for the actor: Cheon-young, a main character in Netflix’s “Uprising.” Ranking third in some 190 countries on Netflix’s non-English Global Top 10 movie chart soon after its Oct. 11 release, the period action flick fol

Hybe CEO Lee Jae-sang on Tuesday apologized over the recent disclosure of an internal document that contained controversial remarks about K-pop artists. The document, intended for Hybe executives as part of an industry trends review on a weekly basis, surfaced during a National Assembly audit on Thursday and has since sparked widespread backlash. “I bow my head in apology to the artists, industry colleagues and fans affected by the language used in our monitoring document, which was highli

Kyuhyun is set to release his first full-length solo album, marking a decade since his solo debut. Kyuhyun’s agency Antenna announced his first LP "Colors" with a teaser image on the agency's official social media channels. The album is scheduled for release on Nov. 27. Known for his warm and steady vocals, Kyuhyun is a member of the veteran boy group Super Junior and a beloved ballad singer. The upcoming album will be Kyuhyun's first full-length album since his solo de

Rose’s single “APT.,” a collaboration with Bruno Mars, debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Nov. 2, marking a new record for female K-pop artists. According to Billboard, “APT.” is the first song by a female K-pop artist to enter the Hot 100’s top 10 chart. Previously, the highest-charting track by a K-pop female act was Blackpink's "Ice Cream," a collaboration with Selena Gomez that peaked at No. 13. Only BTS, its members Jimin