Twelve weeks. That’s how long Kim Tae-hwan, 30, trained before getting his body profile picture taken. Kim had added body profile photos to his bucket list for 2020 after he found out about it while working out with a personal trainer. Kim hoped to have it checked off while he was still 30. The 12 weeks were not easy, as Kim, a construction site manager, tried to balance work and exercise while working out 14 hours a week. Spending an hour lifting weights, 40 minutes doing cardio exercis

KBS released an official statement on Wednesday saying it felt great responsibility for a spycam incident involving a comedian who appears on TV show “Gag Concert.” He is suspected of having installed hidden cameras in the women’s restroom inside one of its buildings. The state-run broadcaster, however, did not apologize for the incident, emphasizing that the comedian was not officially a KBS employee. “Although the suspect in the case is not a KBS employee, we feel gre

Many Korean celebrities joined the world in supporting the #blackouttuesday movement, posting black square images on their Instagram accounts on Tuesday. #Blackouttuesday was initiated by Atlanta Records marketing chief Jamila Thomas and Platoon’s Brianna Agyemang, who suggested putting the music industry on a pause and to think of ways to help the Black Lives Matter movement, following the police killing of George Floyd on May 25. With famous artists and major music labels joining the

A Chinese team became the inaugural champion of the League of Legends Mid-Season Cup on Sunday, defeating several Korean teams. The cup features the top four teams from the Korean and Chinese leagues in the popular multiplayer online battle game, based on their spring competitions. Only one of the three League of Legends Champions of Korea (LCK) teams in the tournament, Gen.G Esports, was able to qualify for the semifinals, while three teams of China’s LoL Pro League -- JD Gaming, Top

The post-COVID-19 era is looming, bringing changes to what people considered normal. As the world deals with this highly contagious disease and prepares for other viruses in the future, interior design experts imagine new layout models and architectural changes to minimize the spread of disease. To begin with, more people are expected to work from home, which calls for changes to architectural design so that households can accommodate workspaces. “People will spend more and more time at

Comedian Yoo Jae-suk is collaborating with singers Lee Hyo-ri and Rain as a group for Saturday’s episode of “Hangout with Yoo,” as revealed in the preview shown in last week’s episode where they were seen dancing onstage. MBC’s “Hangout with Yoo” features the popular comedian taking on different characters and trying new fields. So far, he has attempted cooking ramen, singing trot music and frying chicken. His latest attempt is to become a dance group

League of Legends Champions of Korea (LCK) teams T1 and Damwon Gaming (DWG), failed to qualify for the semifinals of Mid-Season Cup (MSC) on Thursday, ceding the qualifying ticket to League of Legends Pro League (LPL) teams, FunPlus Pheonix (FPX) and Top Esports (TES). The four teams played a best of 1 round robin on Thursday. The day started with a win for T1 in the opening match against FPX, in which T1 dismantled FPX with a poke composition featuring Canna’s Jayce and Faker’s

The Korea Communication Standards Commission’s Broadcast Advertising Sub-Commission on Tuesday decided to recommend issuing a warning to CJ Olive Networks and tvN’s show “The Ramyeonator” for exposing a specific brand of Korean ramen on the show. “The Ramyeonator” featured a popular television show host, Kang Ho-dong, eating ramen with different ingredients, trying to find the tastiest ramen combination. Kang added everything from oyster, duck, clams and cra

A minute-long video of a wave crashing screened on Korea’s biggest digital display at Coex K-pop Square has become the talk of the town, receiving local as well as international media coverage. The video of wave crashing down, made using anamorphic illusion by design company d’strict titled “Wave,” makes the display panel seem like a giant glass tank holding water. The curved screen made such illusion possible, but the design and application took more than three months

Broadcasting jockey ChulGu’s return to Afreeca TV on Sunday night was watched by nearly 330,000 fans who had eagerly awaited his comeback following his discharge from military service on May 15. “Hello everyone, it’s been a very long time,” said ChulGu as he started streaming. “I’ve come back for the first time in a year and seven months,” he continued as he expressed being nervous turning on his stream for the first time after his discharge. When Chu

The spread of COVID-19 has blocked the skyways, but Airbnb users from around the world have put together individual wish lists of places around the world they hope to visit once the crisis is over. Korean respondents had beachside houses in Jeju Island on their wish list more than any other places in in the country, with seven of the top 10 domestic locations on Jeju Island. The No. 1 location was Sometimes Jeju pension’s room 201, a one-bedroom apartment with an ocean view. “Be

The United Christian Churches of Korea have proclaimed May 31 “Korean Church Worship Restoration Day,” and are aiming for 80 percent attendance at Sunday services throughout the country on that day. Two churches in Incheon, Palbock Church and Onlove Church, had a scare recently when a cluster of infections traced to Seoul’s Itaewon area affected two church members and led to around 780 people being tested for the virus. The churches followed social distancing guidelines and as

Changes in roster and coaching staff are happening daily before the June 17 kick-off of the 2020 League of Legends Champions Korea Summer Split. The most exciting of the announcements made in the off season by Riot Games so far has been the Mid-Season Cup, to be held for four days starting on May 28, where the top four teams from China and Korea will compete for prize money of $600,000. Going into the summer split, Team Dynamics will replace Griffin in the LCK, which will allow new faces to e

FC Seoul posted a formal apology on social media on Monday for putting mannequins, which many contend are sex dolls, in the stands for the team’s first home game of the season, which was held Sunday without spectators. “We apologize to all the fans for causing deep concern regarding the cheer-mannequins set up during the game on the 17th. Although the mannequins differed from previous ones in that the material is human-like, from the start we confirmed that these products were not

Singer Rain is unfazed by the sudden popularity of his old music video, knowing full well the less than flattering reason behind it. “Gang,” from Rain’s mini-album “My Life” (2017), came back into the spotlight six months ago when a high school student uploaded a 27-second dance cover video of the song on YouTube. The cover video, which has over 2.2 million views, brought attention to the original. Rain’s iconic performance style -- exaggerated motions, int

When a new cluster of COVID-19 infections was linked to clubs in Seoul’s Itaewon area, many initial media reports highlighted the fact that some of the establishments were “gay clubs.” Gay bashing ensued, particularly on the internet, criticizing the gay community for causing a resurgence in the spread of a virus the nation appeared to have gotten under control. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced at Sunday’s regular COVID-19 briefing that 166

KBS’s “Gag Concert” is going on a break until further notice, signaling the end of comedy shows on terrestrial television networks. In the 2000s Koreans gathered in front of the TV on Sunday night to watch KBS’s “Gag Concert,” a comedy show that at one point enjoyed viewership rating of roughly 30 percent. Many people closed out the weekend with the guitar tunes that signaled the end of the episode on Sunday night and readied for another week. As “Gag

The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company’s home-training series, “Flexible Day,” kicked off with the first episode streaming Wednesday on KNCDC’s YouTube channel. “Flexible Day” is part of the online project “Dance on Air” by the KNCDC, which aims to show contemporary dance to the audience at home. Episodes of “Flexible Day” will be uploaded on YouTube and Naver TV every Wednesday and Friday for five weeks. Artistic director Nam

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause the postponement and cancellation of event after event, creating online replicas of the world using Minecraft to host events in the virtual world has become increasingly popular. In Minecraft, one of the most popular video games of all time, players explore a world made of unit-sized blocks and alter the environment to their choosing. In creative mode, players can build anything they want with limitless possibilities offered by the unit-sized blocks.

Gyeonggi Game Meister High School in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, opened March 1, but it was not until April 16 that the school began its academic year. And the school’s inaugural principal, Chung Suk-hee, who is also the head of the Korea Game Developers Association, is still waiting to welcome the school’s first incoming class to the campus as the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the start of on-site classes. “Usually principals are chosen from among those who have been teachin