A video providing a glimpse of Taeyang’s album-making process was released Wednesday. YG Entertainment, Taeyang’s Korean label, posted a 4-minute video titled “Journey to Rise” on its official blog. 　The video is composed of a series of comments from the idol’s close friends, fellow members of K-pop boy group Big Bang and his company staff.  (YG Entertainment)It starts with Taeyang saying, “I have learned a lot, there were good times and bad times. Now, I would like to tell you my story.”　G-Drag

Yoon Do-hyun, vocalist of South Korean veteran rock band YB, left a heartfelt comment about world star Psy’s latest song “Hangover.”  (OSEN)“Putting music or its contents aside, I can feel Psy’s agony from his latest song ‘Hangover.’ I hope the huge pressure and high expectation on him does not narrow the range of his musical experiments,” Yoon said on his Twitter on Thursday. 　“Hangover,” unveiled on June 9, is back under the international spotlight, garnering more than 41 million views by 3 p.

South Korean pop diva Lee Hyori talked about her life in Jejudo Island on Thursday on her blog, portraying it as “ironic.”(OSEN)“I don’t eat land animals, but I like eating sea animals. I love dogs, but I wear leather shoes,” she wrote. She went on to say, “I don’t drink milk, but I love ice cream. Fireflies are beautiful (so I cannot kill them), but I kill mosquitos. I love the forest, but I ruin it by building a house. I don’t eat pork, but I bow before a pig’s head during traditional rituals.

A shot of Girls’ Generation filming on a Chinese TV show was unveiled Wednesday by Chinese entertainer Peng Yu.(Facebook)　Girls’ Generation, along with Super Junior M, carried out the shooting for the upcoming episode of Chinese TV show “The Ultimate Group” on June 10. 　The nine members pose in the photo, making a “V” sign or thumbs-up.　“The Ultimate Group” is a Korean-Chinese joint TV show, hosted by f(x)‘s Victoria, Super Junior-M’s Zhoumi, Jeon Hyun-moo and Peng Yu.　By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.o

Thai boy group Millenium Boy (MB), known as the “EXO cover group,” came under attack from the popular K-pop group’s fans for its excessive imitation.  (Facebook)EXO fans accused the “knock-off” group of getting out of hand, illegally stealing the K-pop sensation’s name only to boost its profile. After debuting in 2012, MB rose to fame in Thailand as a cover group of EXO, composed of 12 fanboys. A cover group is made of members who do not sing, but only dance to their favorite singers’ music. The

Miryang city government and the police on Wednesday forcibly removed three camps of locals engaged in a prolonged protest against the construction of a high voltage power line in the area. A total of five tower construction sites had been occupied by protesters, and the Miryang authorities plan to clear the remaining two within the day. At about 6 a.m. Tuesday, officials from the South Gyeongsang Province city began taking down the protesters’ makeshift abodes with the support of about 2,000 pol

싸이가 9일 오전 스눕독과 함께 공개한 신곡 ‘행오버’가 국내 뿐 아니라 해외서도 극과극 반응을 얻고 있다. 싸이 ‘행오버’는 ‘숙취’라는 의미에 걸맞게 한국의 음주문화를 코믹하게 그려내 눈길을 끈다. ‘행오버’ 뮤비 속 싸이는 스눕독, 지드래곤, 씨엘 등 초호화 까메오와 함께 소주잔 돌려 마시기, 폭탄주 제조, 러브샷 등 다양한 음주문화를 선보였다. 유튜브를 통해 공개한 싸이의 ‘행오버’는 9일 오후 2시30분 현재 100만뷰를 넘어선 가운데 해외 팬들을 댓글을 통해 ‘행오버’에 대한 실시간 반응을 내놓고 있다. 일부 해외 팬들은 “정말 재미있다” “뮤직비디오는 좀 그렇지만 노래 자체는 아주 매력적이다” “이 정도면 매우 훌륭하다” "이상하게도 중독성 있다"고 긍정적인 반응을 보였다. 적지 않은 해외팬들은 “GD와 CL이 나온 부분이 제일 좋았다”며 빅뱅 지드래곤과 2NE1 씨엘의 카메오 출연을 반기기도 했다. 반면 부정적인 댓글도 만만찮았다.

Netizens have expressed mixed reactions to South Korean rapper Psy’s latest song, “Hangover,” which debuted on YouTube Monday morning, following his appearance on the U.S. talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night.” Some fans welcomed the viral sensation’s grand comeback, while others expressed their disappointment and concern over the song.  “PSY ft. Snoop Dogg? More like Snoop Dogg ft. PSY,“ said a YouTube user identified as cindy veloso. Another netizen, identified as Ashley Davidson, wrote, “

South Korea launched a foundation on Sunday to support forced laborers mobilized by colonial Japan and their family members after more than two years of preparations.The foundation will spearhead diverse projects to honor the victims and to care for their families, as well as conduct research on the history of the matter, a commission under the Prime Minister's Office that has been handling the issue said.The entity's tentative name translated into English is the "Foundation to Support Victims o

Taeyang, vocalist of K-pop group Big Bang, said Sunday that his latest track “Eyes, Nose, Lips” is based on his own personal story. (YG Entertainment)A short clip showing behind-the-scenes footage of the 26-year-old singer’s music video shoot for the R&B song “Eyes, Nose, Lips” was posted on the official blog of YG Entertainment, his management agency. “The title song tells of my sincere story. It is about missing a past love after a break-up. I believe those who listen to the song can see how I

The teaser video for viral sensation Psy’s latest single, “Hangover,” has surpassed one million views just two days after the sneak peek was posted on YouTube.The video was watched 1,194,546 times as of 1 p.m. Korean time on June 8. The 10-second video clip offers a quick glimpse into the long-awaited song that has a heavy bass line with an auto-tuned Snoop Dogg repeating the song’s title “Hangover.”The video, filmed in Korea, features the world-famous hip-hop artists taking a bath in a public f

Pictures of South Korean singer Rain and actress Kim Tae-hee heated up online fan forums, showing the two top stars striking the same pose at the same spot of the same pub that is run by rapper Bbaek Ga.   Kim Tae-hee (left), RainBbaek Ga, a member of veteran K-pop dance group Koyote, disclosed the photo of the actress taken at his restaurant 2.7gram on Saturday.Kim and Rain reportedly made separate visits to the pub, adding to the fans’ curiosity.Kim, who boasts a natural look with long, straig

As K-pop’s popularity surged at home and abroad in past years, a unique fan culture of buying luxurious gifts for favored stars took root. The culture, however, is now evolving into helping society, rather than just the stars.Not so long ago, it was traditionally the norm for K-pop fans to shower stars with expensive gifts, but the trend is often frowned upon when it goes to the extreme. Avid fans of K-pop boy band Super Junior, for example, were not afraid to spend $100,000 (about 100 million w

“Mr. Mr.” by K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation was picked as one of the 25 best songs of the year, the only one by an Asian group to make the list, the TIME magazine said Tuesday. It is only halfway through the year, but “it‘s never too early to start rounding up the strongest tracks of 2014,” the magazine noted.“Fans of K-pop juggernaut Girls‘ Generation won’t be disappointed by their latest dance-friendly single, and the addition of a scratchy electronic bass line and a hint of darkness shoul

Sandara Park and CL, members of K-pop girl group 2NE1, disclosed a photo taken after appearing on a KBS radio program hosted by actress Yoo In-na on Saturday. “DJ Dara and guest CL..... I would like to invite all our members to the program to make it crazy if given a second chance. Twen-night,” Sandara wrote alongside the photo on her Instagram account. Sandara Park served as a special DJ on the KBS radio program “Yoo In-na’s Volume Up” from May 26 to June 1. 　(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)

SISTAR member Hyorin recently adopted a new kitten and showed off the newest addition to her family on Twitter Monday.“I have adopted a pretty kitten! She is 3 months old and youngest in this house. She knows how to look at the camera! I will make you happy, CHU,” she wrote with the picture.(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)

(SM Entertainment)K-pop sensation SHINee once again electrified fans on Sunday at a concert held in Shanghai, China, the fifth country the idol group visited on its concert tour “SHINee WORLD Ⅲ.” At the group’s first solo concert in China’s richest city, SHINee performed 27 songs including a host of hits such as “Ring Ding Dong,” “Dream Girl,” “Sherlock,” and “Lucifer.”Local fans started to queue up in the early hours of the morning, even in rain, and added special touches to the show, such as s

Taeyang (left), G-DragonTaeyang, a member of the K-pop group Big Bang, said Monday that there is no rivalry between him and fellow member G-Dragon. “Jiyong (G-Dragon) is amazing, but I don’t feel the way many people do about him as I am always by his side. I thought I wanted to produce an album that does not lag behind his, but there is no competition between us,” he said at a press conference in Seoul.  G-Dragon and Taeyang have been at the forefront in terms of solo activities among the group

(SBS)Park Bom from K-pop girl group 2NE1 shed tears when talking about being lonely in the June 1 episode of SBS-TV reality show “Roommate.” In the fifth episode, the women on the show -- After School member Nana, actress Hong Su-hyun, model Lee So-ra, entertainer Song Ga-yeon and Park -- gathered in a room to have a deep conversation.Asked whether Park had any stars close to her, the vocalist said, “2NE1 members have no close celebrities. Nobody approached us. I don’t know what to do.“Our membe

(SM Entertainment)K-pop boy group EXO will put on a special performance for fans this week, with all 11 members going on stage together. EXO-K and EXO-M, the two subunits of the boy band, are expected to come together to perform their new song “Overdose,” a rare move for the groups, who have focused their activities in Korea and China, respectively. EXO is set to perform on MBC’s “Show! Music Core” on June 7, and on Mnet’s “M! Countdown” and SBS’ “Inkigayo” on June 8. The idol band is currently