“Golden Girls” – an entertainment show that features the journey of four legendary female singers from the ’80s and ’90s to transform into a trendy girl group – was a fresh adventure in the Korean music industry. The singers' challenge recorded a 5 percent viewership just after the second episode -- the highest among entertainment programs that KBS has aired on Friday night so far this year. The guerrilla concert held at Coex in southern Seoul on Dec. 5 d

Chewy rusk? Experimental bakery at Haebangchon Located on the way down the steep Haebangchon hill, O’pato, which has been loved for its homely European brunch and dining menu from soup to sandwiches, has newly opened a bakery offering a variety of experimental but irresistible bread. Although the bakery opened just a month ago, O’pato bakery’s chewing bread -- a chewy rusk made with a whole loaf of bread or salted butter roll -- has gone viral and can be purchased online and d

SM Entertainment, one of the largest K-pop agencies in South Korea, is holding a global audition in its pursuit of future K-pop stars. The agency began accepting pre-registration applications for the “2024 SM Global Audition” on its global audition website, Tuesday. Anyone born between 2005 and 2013 can apply regardless of their gender and nationality. Applicants must choose one of the categories: vocal, rap, dance and acting. Applications can be made only once and only as an ind

Girl group Twice will hold its fifth world tour encore concert at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in March. The group’s agency JYP Entertainment has released the poster of an encore concert of Twice's fifth world tour “Ready to Be” on its official social media feeds. The concert will take place at the 65,000-capacity Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, on March 16, 2024. As part of its fifth world tour, Twice has held concerts at large venues in Asia, Oceania and North Amer

Hybe, driven by the strong performance of various artists under its wings including K-pop sensation BTS, has recorded global tour sales of about 250 billion won ($189 million) this year. The agency ranked fifth in Billboard's "Top Promoter" chart, making it the only Korean company to be ranked among the top 10. Billboard's "The Year In Tour 2023" report on world tours of pop stars from Nov. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30 shows that Hybe’s artists attracted about 1.6 mill

Girl group Itzy, who will open the new year with a new album and world tour, has raised anticipation with its first teaser image for the upcoming release. The album "Born To Be," which will be released on Jan. 8, features 10 songs, including the title track "Untouchable." The teaser image released on the group's official website showed the members posing like warriors against a red and blue background. One of the highlights is that the album features each member's f

Jimin and Jungkook of the internationally loved boy band BTS began their mandatory military service, Tuesday, as the last members to be enlisted. All seven members of BTS are now in the military. Jimin and Jungkook entered the boot camp at the 5th Infantry Division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. Prior to the members’ enlistment, BTS’ agency asked fans to refrain from visiting the training center to prevent possible safety accidents by congestion. Fans posted placards and sent buses

Back with a new ambient record, singer-songwriter Lucid Fall returns as a diligent explorer who collects, combines, and twists sounds around us. “After some transition period, I feel like my identity has split into two parts: Lucid Fall who makes songs, and Lucid Fall who explores through sounds,” the artist said in a group interview Thursday. The album "Being-with," his second ambient music album after “Dancing With Water” in 2020, is a collection of five piece

This year, Korean YouTube users enjoyed talk shows and comedy videos the most while female idol groups showed outstanding performance in terms of viewership in the music video section. According to YouTube's statistics released Monday, an episode from Rapper Lee Young-ji’s talk show channel, “Not Much Prepared,” featuring aespa's Karina, topped the list of the most popular videos of the year. The video, which was released six months ago, had more than 16 million views

Jazz melodies and fragrant cocktails captivated the audience at the LG Art Center, Wednesday, marking the first day of a series of special performances presented by the music agency Antenna. "Club Arc Antenna" showcases the work of six Antenna singer-songwriters, offering music, art and cocktails, as well as allowing the audience to visit backstage areas and mingle with the performers. Renowned jazz pianist Yun Seok-cheol kicked off the series on Wednesday, and will be followed by sing

BTS member V will appear in the new music video of a singer-songwriter IU. IU's agency, Edam Entertainment, confirmed that she wrapped up filming the music video with V on Tuesday. The new album is likely to be released within the first half of 2024. V appeared as a guest on IU's official YouTube channel in September, showing their close friendship. The new music video was directed by Um Tae-hwa, who directed the 2023 film “Concrete Utopia.” Um was also in charge of directi

Appearing in a US documentary, singer and painter Solbi has impressed viewers with her courageous journey in overcoming malicious comments. Solbi appeared in a documentary entitled "Painting Through Pain" as part of the Voice of America's 52 Documentary series on YouTube, sharing the painful experience of malicious comments and cyberbullying and how she overcame them. Directed by Komeil Soheili, the documentary was part of the weekly documentary series released from the VOA. Accor

Lucy is back with "Boogie Man." The K-pop rock band, which has continued its musical transformation since debuting in 2019, dropped the new single album Tuesday evening. The titular "Boogie Man" is an emo pop song with a mysterious atmosphere, straying from the refreshing energy Lucy has been known for. The funky yet intense rock sounds are a new attempt, but the sounds of Shin Ye-chan's violin revel in Lucy's unique quality. The boogie man of the song refers to ano

Kim Yeon-soo, 27, was able to get her hands on a resale ticket for her favorite artist's concert, but at twice the regular price. “I wanted to see the concert so badly, I searched social media and resale websites. Hundreds of tickets were up for sale at ridiculous prices," said Kim, an office worker. "It's upsetting to give money to scalpers who take advantage of fans’ desperation, but I didn’t have a choice." Ticket scalpers are one of the biggest head

Minho of SHINee will begin the new year with his first solo fan concert, dubbed the "2024 Best Choi's Minho Fan-Con Multi-Chase," which is set to take place at Jangchung Arena in Seoul on Jan. 6-7. Minho also kicked 2023 with an event for his fans. From January to March, he traveled to Manila, the Philippines; Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong and Yokohama, Japan, for fan meets. The first solo fan concert scheduled next year is expected to be filled with performances and songs that show M

Korean divas of the ’80s and ’90s have embarked on a new journey as a girl group, with a new single to be dropped Friday. "Golden Girls" on KBS2 follows four divas -- Insooni, Park Mi-kyung, Shin Hyo-beom and Lee Eun-mi -- who debuted as solo vocalists more than 30 to 40 years ago as they "re-debut" as a K-pop girl group named Golden Girls. Park Jin-young, also known as J.Y. Park, leads JYP Entertainment, one of the country's top three entertainment agencies.

A cold wave is expected to peak over the weekend, dragging the mercury down further, the weather agency said Friday, after morning temperatures in most parts of South Korea fell below freezing. The cold wave advisory, which took effect in Seoul and Gangwon Province as of 9 p.m. Thursday, was lifted as temperatures rose Friday afternoon, but is still in effect in some parts of North and South Gyeongsang Provinces. The Korea Meteorological Administration predicted that Saturday morning's te

A woman convicted of killing another woman in her 20s and dismembering the body was sentenced to life in prison on Friday. The Busan District Court sentenced 23-year-old Jung Yoo-jung to a lifetime in prison, and required her to wear a location tracking device for the next 30 years. Explaining the sentence, the court said it believes the killing had been premeditated. Jung’s lawyer asked the court for a reduction in jail time, citing her family background and mental and physical weakness.

President Yoon Suk Yeol attended a Bureau of International Expositions banquet on Thursday as the first official event during his visit to Paris, in a bid to rally support for Busan in the vote taking place next week. Diplomats and BIE delegations from around the world attended the dinner held at a hotel in Paris. The chiefs from Korea's top conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Lot

This winter is expected to be warmer and wetter than usual, due to global warming and El Nino, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Thursday. Temperatures from December to February next year are likely to be higher than the average years by a 61 to 67 percent chance, the weather agency said in a briefing on its three-month climate forecast. On a monthly basis, there is a 40 percent probability that the temperatures in those three months will be similar to or higher than the average year