A few months ago, K-pop darlings Oh My Girl was a group of seven young women secretly whispering “Inside me I have a precious place only for me” in its shimmering single “Secret Garden.” Who would have thought those ladies would turn into monkeys dancing to a comical tune with a banana in their hands?The seven-piece act Oh My Girl returned with its new EP “Banana Allergy Monkey” Tuesday, aiming for a dramatic change in the group’s image. The album, which is the group’s first pop-up album, featur

EXO-CBX, a subunit of EXO, will release an EP on April 10.The group’s agency S.M. Entertainment said Tuesday that the act’s second EP is titled “Blooming Days,” fronted by a lead track with a similar name.The lead track “Booming Day” will be a light-hearted dance pop love song that suits the warm weather of spring, the agency said.  (S.M. Entertainment)The subunit, consisting of three members from EXO -- Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin -- debuted with an EP titled “Hey Mama!” in October 2016. It also

The 2018 Dream Concert, an annual K-pop concert held since 1995, will be take place in Seoul in May. K-pop stars at Dream Concert 2017, held in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, in November last year. (Yonhap)The K-pop event now in its 24th year will be staged at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul on May 12, according to the organizer, the Korea Entertainment Producer‘s Association. Last year’s event was held on Nov. 4 in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, where the 2018 Winter Olympics took place. It fe

For the last 13 years, MBC’s “Infinite Challenge” has been more than a just a ludicrous variety show. As one of Korea’s oldest-running and most successful shows, it was like a welcome-rain to people who used to say “Watching the show on Saturday is the highlight of my week.” And when MBC announced the show’s finale for this Saturday, many might have felt wistful, as if bidding goodbye to an old friend.  For the show’s program director Kim Tae-ho, however, those years haven’t always been joyful.

Traveling to a completely unknown place is a great way to escape from the routine, to reinvigorate, or to begin again. But it can also be a huge challenge, if the travelers are musicians with a reputation and solid career, if they have to play music in front of a crowd who have no idea who they are. (Shot and edited by Park Ju-young / The Korea Herald)The second season of JTBC’s music variety show “Begin Again” focuses on how renowned Korean musicians turn into buskers and deal with performing t

K-pop act Super Junior has teamed up with foreign artists for the first time since its debut.The act’s agency Label SJ said Friday that “Lo Siento,” a Latin-pop tinged lead track of Super Junior’s upcoming repackaged edition of its eighth full-length album “Play,” will feature vocals from Leslie Grace, an American singer-songwriter known for her specialty in Latin pop. Play N Skillz, a renowned DJ duo from the US, produced the album, according to the agency.  Super Junior (Label SJ) Leslie Grace

Star producer Primary will hit the K-pop scene with a new project album on April 3.The artist’s agency Amoeba Culture said Friday that the upcoming “Do worry Be happy” will be released on April 3, and features various up-and-coming artists such as Colde of hip-hop duo offonoff, Xin Seha, 1of1 and Kevin Oh. Primary is teaming up with Korean songstress Anda, who lends her hand in creating and singing songs for the album. Signed under the label Emperor Entertainment, Anda has sometimes been labeled

U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin of legendary K-pop duo TVXQ have always been invincible as a pair. In 2011, they confidently proclaimed, “This is the return of the king,” in “Keep Your Head Down,” their first release after three members left the originally five-piece act. The pair’s 2015 album was also titled “Rise as God.” This time, TVXQ has returned with a new album fully charged with love. After breaking records worldwide, including in Japan, the duo released its eighth full-length album “New

Stray Kids“I am NOT”IRVER Upon seeing the Stray Kids on a music chart, one may not be so intrigued to press the play button. One might think, “What a name. Maybe it is one of many K-pop rookie groups trying to ride the latest trends.” But hear the throbbing beats of “District 9,” from Stray Kid’s debut album, “I am NOT,” and one will be convinced it’s only a matter of time for this nine-piece act to rise to the fame level of, let’s say, BTS. The reason for comparing Stray Kids with super star BT

A North Korean art troupe might take part in an upcoming music festival to be held in Seoul and near the Demilitarized Zone in Gangwon Province. The organizers of the DMZ Peace Train Music Festival said Tuesday they are considering officially inviting North Korean musicians to the event at the end of April. “While nothing has been set yet, we are planning to send an invitation to the North after the South-North summit, scheduled for the end of April,” said Gangwon Province Gov. Choi Moon-soon at

CNBLUE’s Jung Yong-hwa, who is currently serving in the Army, will release a new Japanese song in May, according to the artist’s agency FNC Entertainment on Tuesday.The CNBLUE frontman’s new Japanese song, “Letter,” will be released in Japan on May 21, and will be the first part of his “Feel the Five Y” project, through which he plans to release five Japanese singles. “Letter” will be followed by “Brothers,” “Melody, “Jellyfish” and “The Moment,” all of which will be released during his time in

Spicy, aromatic and rich in taste and texture, phad tai and tom yang goong are definitely one of the most ubiquitous Thai dishes served in Thai restaurants in Korea. While many of them are said to be cooked up in the most authentic way, tvN’s new variety show “Will This Do Well Locally?” asks, “Will Thai food cooked by Koreans capture hearts of Thai people?”  From left, Lee Min-woo, Hong Suk-chun and Yeo Jin-gu pose during a press conference for tvN’s new variety show “Will This Do Well Locally?

Each of them has a different story and world view, but the members of Monsta X said they are all connected after all.  The seven-piece boy band returned with its sixth EP “The Connect” on Monday, bringing to an end its coming-of-age story that began unfolding in its previous album “The Code” from last November.After hopping about different years as time travelers in “The Code,” the members stand side-by-side as a full-group in its new album, delivering the message, “We are one after all.”  "Seve

After taking over the global charts with its pre-debut release, Stray Kids, a new boy band under JYP Entertainment, finally made what could be the most intriguing K-pop debut of the year. The nine-member group was formed through an Mnet competition show of the same name that aired last year. Equipped with talents not only for vocals but also song writing and producing, Stray Kids had garnered attention even before its debut as it was JYP’s first boy band in four years. And rather than gradually

K-pop group Twice will return with the new EP “What is Love” on April 9, its agency JYP Entertainment said Sunday. The group’s fifth EP will be fronted by the lead track “What is Love.” The nine-member act will promote the new EP from March 26 until the day of its release, according the agency’s official website Sunday.  A promotional image for Twice’s upcoming EP “What is Love” (JYP Entertainment)Twice is also scheduled to stage a series of concerts titled “TWICELAND ZONE 2: Fantasy Park” at Ja

Gazing at portraits created during the Joseon era, one is struck by the extreme delicacy with which the models’ facial features are depicted, from the fine wrinkle lines to tiny spots and faint scars.Lee Sung-nack, a board member at the Kansong Art and Culture Foundation, spotted such sophistication in the centuries-old portrait paintings and suggested that the portraits reflect signs of medical conditions that the subjects may have suffered. A dermatologist and professor who earned a doctoral d

After disbanding 21 years ago, R&B trio Solid returned with the album “Into the Light” on Tuesday.The group may sound unfamiliar to many young K-pop fans, but those who listened to Solid’s breakout hits “Holding on to Tonight” and “Destiny” in the 1990s may have taken a trip down memory lane when Kim Jo-han, Lee Joon and Jeong Jae-yoon made a surprise announcement about their reunion last week.Consisting of members who all hail from the US, Solid shot to stardom after its debut in 1993, breathin

Wanna One"0+1=1 (I Promise You)”(CJ E&M Music)Albeit efforts to judge the album based on its musicality and not its artists’ off-camera behavior, Wanna One’s new release still needs explanation. Made up of the winners of the second season of the audition program “Produce 101,” this 11-piece K-pop group often says, “Our success is all due to fans’ love and support.” Its second EP “0+1=1 (I Promise You)” is another cupid’s arrow aiming at the hearts of its loyal fans, but it seems to be in trouble

K-pop boy group Wanna One has come under fire for remarks it made that were accidently aired during a live broadcast Monday.About four hours before the release of the act’s new album “0+1=1” EP, the members appeared on Mnet’s onelife broadcast “Star Live” to celebrate its comeback. The live show featured the members waiting in a green room before the official broadcast, but the trouble began with Kang Daniel shouting out, “Why aren’t we getting our payment?”Kang’s remark was followed by Park Ji-

Rock musician Yoon Do-hyun, the leader of band YB, has denied reports he was invited to perform in Pyongyang next month with a South Korean art troupe performing there.Earlier Monday, local media reported that YB had been contacted by the government to join the South Korea’s yet-to-be announced art troupe that is set to perform in Pyongyang in April as part of a series of cultural exchanges agreed upon by the two governments. Yoon’s Dee Company agency, however, declined to confirm the reports or