Jay Park, also known as Park Jae-beom, is to hold his first solo fan meetings in 11 years. According to his agency More Vision, Jay Park will host "Jay Park Season 3: Dedicated 2 U" at the Myunghwa Live Hall in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 10 and 11. The event marks the first solo fan meetings for the singer since "Jay Effect" in 2013. It is the third of the season projects that the singer kicked off in April with a video trailer promising fans that he would focus on music

Waterbomb, a summer festival that combines music and water activities, has returned to cool down the summer. The festival, however, also faces criticism for water waste and environmental issues. At Waterbomb, participants can enjoy performances and water activities at the same time. Since its inception in 2015, the festival has been held every year except 2020 and 2021, when the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As an event where alcohol is allowed and therefore restricted to adul

Artists from Korea and Southeast Asia will gather in Busan for two nights of special concerts to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Korea-ASEAN ties. The “Round in Korea” music festival, co-hosted by KBS and the ASEAN Culture House under the Korea Foundation, will be held on Saturday and Sunday at KBS Busan Hall. BamBam of GOT7 will host the event, and the lineup includes singer Kim Yoon-ah from Jaurim, and bands Nell, Touched and Nerd Connection. K-pop group H1-KEY will join them

A Korean-Taiwanese collaborative K-pop audition TV program is searching for ambitious boys who wish to be a next-generation K-pop star. According to SBS M, applications for the global boy group debut show "Scool," will be open until July 14. Any male applicant born before 2000 who loves K-pop can apply. Applicants wishing to apply must fill out an application form on the official website and send a photo taken within the last three months, a dance and singing video for the audition, an

Lee Chaeyeon has returned with her 3rd mini album, “Showdown,” some 10 months after the release of her first single, “The Move: Street.” The singer stressed that she played a large part in producing the album, from writing the lyrics to the choreography. The featured track, “Don’t,” is a two-step dance pop song with a fresh infusion of everyday sounds such as phone rings. Along with repetitive lyrics and addictive melody, the lyrics depict the mind of so

With an aspiration to imprint themselves on K-pop fans worldwide, rising boy band All(H)ours is marking a return -- this time as charismatic goblins. All(H)ours is the first boy band from Eden Entertainment, the agency established by Cho Hae-sung, a former executive of K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment. The septet debuted in January with “All Ours” and returned after about six months with the second mini album “Witness.” Lead track "Shock" is a drift phonk song

StayC is back, and full of confidence and charisma. The group's first full-length album "Metamorphic" was released Monday. It follows "Teenfresh," a mini-album that came out in August last year. The new album features 14 tracks, including unit and solo songs. "We have been preparing for this full-length album for a long time. As the album's title suggests, listeners will see a transformed version of StayC. We were worried about whether we could pull off all 14

Aespa held the second “Synk: Parallel Line" concert in Seoul over the weekend as it started a world tour. Over Saturday and Sunday, approximately 12,000 spectators attended the concert held at Jamsil Indoor Stadium. On Sunday, the quartet appeared on the stage in dazzling black attire, and kicked off the concert with intense tracks -- “Drama,” “Black Mamba,” and “Salty & Sweet.” Members changed into bright costumes with metallic fabric, and fill

Despite their young ages, Kim Da-hyun (15) from South Korea and Sumita Aiko (16) from Japan are remarkable singers. Both were selected as the youngest contestants, respectively, on audition programs "The Current King" in Korea and "Trot Girls Japan" in Japan, which aired from November last year to February this year. The two young singers met on MBN program "Korea-Japan King's Battle" -- which aired from April to May -- where they engaged in friendly competitio

Despite K-pop's global expansion, the K-pop industry and Korean society in general remain conservative in several aspects, particularly on LGBTQ+ issues. Amid this backdrop, Lionesses, K-pop's first-ever LGBTQ+ group, has shattered barriers and is sharing courage with fans and listeners. Debuting in 2021 with "Show Me Your Pride," Lionesses is a pioneering LGBTQ+ K-pop trio. Leader Damjun identifies as bisexual, Lee Marlang is gay and Kanghan is a questioning, who continues t

The Korean band Surl released a Thai version of their song through a collaboration with a dubbing company. According to their agency MPMG Music, Surl released the Thai version of "Dry Flower" at 6 p.m. Thursday. "Dry Flower" is the title track from Surl's 2nd mini album "I Know," released in 2019. The music video has been played 5.6 million times on the global music streaming platform Spotify, consistently receiving positive responses from listeners both domest

B.D.U, the winning team of Mnet’s vocals-centric TV competition “Build Up: Vocal Boy Group Survival," made an impressive debut with the mini album “Wishpool.” The four bandmates -- Bitsaeon, Seunghun, Jay Chang and Minseo -- showcased their powerful and emotional voices throughout the program, earning the opportunity to take to the stage as a project group for two years. “Our group name B.D.U is an abbreviation of ‘Boys Define Universe,’ implying th

FT Island is returning with a full-length album after eight years. The promotion schedule for FT Island's 7th full-length album “Serious” was posted on the group's social media channels announcing the pre-release of "Burn it," one of the double title tracks, and its music video out on June 27. Leading up to the official release of their new album on July 10, the group will sequentially unveil content such as the track list, mood poster, album jacket poster and a h

A proposal inspired by the aesthetic beauty of Hangeul won the top prize in a competition of new ideas to represent Korea, organized by the Corea Image Communication Institute as part of its 15th Culture Communication Forum, held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, Monday. Also at the event, an AI-generated image of a Korean person wearing a blend of traditional and modern clothing won the grand prize in the Korea Image Created by AI Contest. The winners were selected through online voting by the forum pa

Irish pop band Westlife's concert has been postponed to November. According to Mohegan Inspire Entertainment Resort, Westlife, initially scheduled to perform “The Hits Tour” in Korea at the Incheon Inspire Arena on July 6-7, will now hold one concert, on Nov. 23. The band last performed in Korea in October 2011 as part of its "Gravity Tour." Tickets for Westlife’s concert in Korea, which were sold through pre-booking, will be automatically canceled and full refun

The band Suede, which helped create and lead the Britpop musical movement in the 1990s, will perform in Korea for the first time in eight years. Suede will perform "Suede Live in Seoul" at KBS Arena in Gangseo-gu on Aug. 23. This will be the band's first performance in Korea since they played at the 2016 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival. Formed in London in 1989, Suede is recognized as a key Britpop band alongside Blur, Pulp and Oasis. Britpop, a type of alternative rock that origi

Red Velvet is set to connect with fans across Asia with their upcoming fancon tour “Happiness: My Dear, ReVeluv” which will kick off with a two-day event in Seoul at the Olympic Handball Gymnasium, scheduled for Aug. 3-4. The announcement of the tour was marked by the release of a vibrant poster, shared on Red Velvet’s official fan club community and social media platforms Wednesday. The performance holds significance as they will celebrate their 10th anniversary with fans on A

Kith Seoul emerges as Seoul’s premier flagship store Seongsu-dong has become a hot spot for young locals and international tourists alike. Among the bustling streets, the newest attraction drawing crowds is Kith’s flagship store, which opened its doors on May 31. Originating from New York, Kith is both a select shop and a fashion brand. What sets Kith Seoul apart is its distinction as the only Kith flagship store worldwide occupying an entire four-story building. The ground floor

K-pop girl group H1-Key has returned as lovely rebels. The quartet's new mini-album “Love or Hate” marks H1-Key’s return after four months and includes four tracks: the title song “Let It Burn,” along with “(heart) Letter,” “Iconic,” and “Rainfalls.” The lead single “Let It Burn” combines a groovy boom-bap hip-hop rhythm with intense rock elements. “The title song’s rebellious, straightforward lyrics a

Lisa of Blackpink will return with a new single, "Rockstar," at 9 a.m., June 28, according to a statement from her distributor, Sony Music Entertainment Korea. The previous day, Lisa revealed the artwork for "Rockstar" on the official Instagram of her label, Lloud Company. "Rockstar" is the first song to be released in partnership between Lisa’s newly established Lloud Company and RCA Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music, one of the top three major music distri