Seoul Gangnam Police Station said it has started an internal investigation into popular social media page Travelholic on Sunday, a day after its CEO Jo Jun-ki allegedly uploaded illegal porn to its Instagram account. Travelholic, a company that introduces travel destinations and tourist attractions via social media platforms, uploaded a post introducing a sheep farm in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, to its Instagram account with over 1.2 million followers at around 6 p.m. Saturday. However, on

Riot Games Korea on Friday announced the 10 preferred bidders for negotiating for LoL Champions Korea franchises next year, along with five teams that have the next priority, should negotiations with any of the 10 teams fail. The 10 preferred bidders included nine current LCK teams and hyFresh Blade in the Challengers Korea league. The nine current LCK teams selected as preferred bidders in the LCK franchise negotiations are Afreeca Freecs, Damwon Gaming, DRX, Gen. G, T1, Team Dynamics, Sandbo

Stay at Mayfield Hotel with Asiana Airlines mileage Mayfield Hotel Seoul is offering a chance for guests to use their Asiana Airlines mileage while COVID-19 precludes international travel. Guests can reserve rooms at the hotel with Asiana mileage until Sept. 16 for stays before the end of the year, excluding blackout days (Sept. 30 through Oct. 3, Oct. 31 and Dec. 24-26). Guests interested in using mileage will have to call the hotel for a reservation number and present personal identificatio

The postseason for 2020 League of Legends Champions Korea Summer season kicked off with Afreeca Freecs playing against T1 in a best-of-3 series on Wednesday and resulted in a major upset where Afreeca won 2-1. Many analysts had predicted victory for T1, as it won both rounds against Afreeca in the regular season. T1 was the fourth place team of the regular season and the nine-time LCK Champions while Afreeca Freecs was the fifth place team. There were many key points leading up to the Wednes

As COVID-19 brings many changes to the culture industry, international leaders in cultural communication came together online Wednesday and Thursday to discuss changing delivery methods for cultural content in the COVID-19 era at the 11th Cultural Communications Forum. Due to the spread of COVID-19, international scholars invited to the forum joined remotely through videoconference. The Corea Image Communication Institute organized the forum jointly with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tou

Chinese viewers remained unappeased and continued to demand an apology after the producers of the MBC program “Hangout With Yoo” posted a statement Monday about a comment that singer Lee Hyo-ri made on Saturday’s episode. The problem arose when Lee suggested Mao as the name of her character in “Hangout With Yoo.” “Let’s make a Chinese to be more global. How about Mao?” said Lee on Saturday’s episode. Lee’s statement infuriated man

People riding subways will want to keep a close eye on the destination information screens on subway trains and at stations for the next few weeks: The Seoul Metro International Subway Film Festival kicked off Monday, bringing short films to commuters through Sept. 18. The official slogan for this year’s festival, now in its 11th year, is “90 seconds, enjoy the subway!” “I hope many people using the subways can enjoy arts and culture by watching the super-short films,&

As major regions in League of Legends hold on to their seats with summer playoffs starting, many Korean players can be found in teams outside the LCK, hoping to qualify for the LoL World Championship starting in September at Shanghai. Korean players in North America particularly expressed hopes for LCK teams at Worlds and the determination to face them on the big stage. Of six teams in contention for three spots at Worlds in North America’s LCS, four teams have a Korean player in their

A boy falling in love at first sight on a rainy day, a chance meeting as a teacher and a student a few days later and a romantic bike ride in the countryside seem too cliche for a Korean romance drama in a year when a series featuring a husband and wife cheating on each other was a huge hit. Yet MBC’s new romance drama, “When I Was Most Beautiful,” does just that, presenting a romance drama reminiscent of those from the 1990s and early 2000s. “When I Was Most Beautiful

The Korean Methodist Church put Rev. Lee Dong-hwan of Glory Jeil Church on trial Friday for giving a blessing to sexual minorities during a queer festival in August 2019. The case marks the first time a person is being tried by the Korean Methodist Church for supporting homosexuality. The church doctrine states “Violating laws regarding drugs and performing activities supporting or agreeing with gambling or homosexuality” are punishable. Lee participated in a queer festival in Inc

Riot Games Korea announced that the rest of the matches for the summer season will be held online, starting Friday, in response to the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the capital area. LoL Champions Korea had been holding matches in LoL Park Arena in Jongno, Seoul, without an audience since the start of the season before the resurgence of COVID-19. “As the spread of COVID-19 has recently worsened around Seoul, we believe stronger preemptive measures are necessary to ensure the safet

Stay at Mayfield Hotel with Asiana Airlines mileage Mayfield Hotel Seoul is offering a chance for guests to use their Asiana Airlines mileage while COVID-19 precludes international travel. Guests can reserve rooms at the hotel with Asiana mileage until Sept. 16 for stays before the end of the year, excluding blackout days (Sept. 30 through Oct. 3, Oct. 31 and Dec. 24-26). Guests interested in using mileage will have to call the hotel for a reservation number and present personal identificatio

The broadcast and political worlds are on heightened alert after a reporter for local radio broadcaster Christian Broadcasting System, who appeared on the same CBS radio program as Democratic Party leadership contender Rep. Lee Nak-yon on Monday morning, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. Rep. Lee, the former prime minister and a leading presidential candidate, immediately canceled all scheduled activities upon learning of the development and went into quarantine after being tested Tues

As COVID-19 cases surge, the release of “The Golden Holiday,” which was scheduled to hit the screens Wednesday, has been delayed until further notice. The announcement came just two days before the scheduled premiere date, making it the first major film to have its release delayed since June. “As the social distancing level is raised and concern about infection clusters in our society rises, we decided that the release of a new movie and gathering audiences in theaters could

Superstar trio Ssak 3 bid farewell to fans, as the group wrapped up its three-month project on Saturday’s episode of MBC’s “Hangout With Yoo.” During the Saturday, the trio of entertainer Yoo Jae-seok and singers Lee Hyo-ri and Rain thanked fans and each other while also expressing regret at not being able to meet fans in-person because of the coronavirus situation. “We actually formed Ssak 3 to meet all the people here, but we couldn’t. That’s why our

Popular webtoon, or digital comic, writer Kian84 apologized and revised his latest work “Bokhakwang,” as controversy over the latest episode posted Tuesday sparked online protests. “Bokhakwang,” which means king of returning to school, is the most popular work by Kian84 that is uploaded at around 11 p.m. on Tuesdays on web portal Naver. “I am very sorry for causing concern with inappropriate depictions in my work,” Kian84 wrote on his webtoon page on Thursd

Leading figures in cultural communication from around the world will join offline panel members to discuss the changes in how cultural contents are delivered in the post COVID-19 era at the 11th Cultural Communications Forum being held from Aug. 26-27. The two-day forum will feature speakers from the EU in the evening of the first day and speakers from North America in the morning of the second day, due to the time difference of the countries from where the speakers will join via video call. E

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Korea‘s liberation from Japanese colonial rule this Saturday, the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, is putting the country’s oldest Taegeukgi, the national flag, on display in its Korean Empire Hall through Aug. 23. The oldest known extant Taegeukgi is held by the Smithsonian museum. Gojong, the last Joseon king and and the first Emperor of Korea, presented the flag to his diplomatic adviser Owen N. Denny from the US when Den

The South Korean film industry faces an unprecedented crisis with COVID-19, but at a forum earlier this month some industry representatives argued that the pandemic only amplified a preexisting problem. The forum, held at the National Assembly on Aug. 7, was hosted by Rep. Lim O-kyeong and organized by the Korean Film Council. It was the first such opportunity for movie industry personnel to speak with legislators about the issues the industry faces and discuss possible solutions. Barunson E

Cho Seung-woo returns to the small screen once again as the righteous and lonely prosecutor Hwang Si-mok, in the second season of tvN’s crime thriller drama “Stranger.” “There are still four days left until the 15th, so I’d be grateful if people reviewed the first season,” said Cho at Tuesday’s online press conference as he struggled to fully explain his character to those who had not watched the show. The first season is gaining renewed popularity on