As the decade-old League of Legends Champions Korea matures, rookie players are replacing several veteran players this year with the introduction of the franchise system. The LCK teams have shown a preference for new, younger faces -- players with excellent mechanical skills to lead them for multiple years -- rather than experienced veterans who have only a few years left to play as their mechanical skills go downhill with age. Longtime veterans who represented the LCK such as Kuro, Smeb, Gori

Local video streaming platform Wavve announced that it is providing 140 movies for free as compensation for network failures this year. Wavve, which has the highest number of users of all Korean OTTs, faced network problems on Jan. 27 that lasted over a week and prevented users from viewing much of its content. Another network failure on Jan. 29 led to adult content being shown for several seconds during the children‘s film “Pororo Movie,” further infuriating users. “W

YG Entertainment and Universal Music Group have joined hands with Big Hit Entertainment and Kiswe to grow VenewLive into a global-scale digital livestreaming platform. YG Entertainment and Universal Music Group announced Wednesday that they had invested an undisclosed amount in KBYK Live, a joint venture founded last year by Big Hit Entertainment and Kiswe. KBYK Live created digital livestreaming concert service platform VenewLive last year, to much success, emphasizing the use of cutting-edge

Lee Seung-yoon -- singer No. 30 on the JTBC audition program “Sing Again” -- was declared the winner on Monday, bringing the three-month-long competition to a close. “Sing Again,” which aired its first episode in November, captured the audience by giving a second chance to 71 singers who had released albums in the past but never attained popularity. The singers were called by their numbers instead of their names, piquing viewers’ curiosity. The six finalists -- Y

While a stock investing artificial intelligence system was able to make steady profit compared to South Korea’s main bourse Kospi and Kosdaq, it still wasn’t enough to surpass legendary stock investor Mach Seven. With only two competitions remaining in SBS’ reality show “Battle of the Century: AI vs Human,” the most recent episode on Saturday showed the stock investing AI battling it out with the CEO of Tastock Han Bong-ho, better known by his nickname Mach Seven.

The first Korean sci-fi blockbuster set in space, “Space Sweepers” reached the top of the Netflix movie chart on Saturday after its worldwide release Friday, showing the potential of Korean-made sci-fi flicks despite some shortcomings. Set in 2092, “Space Sweepers” by director Jo Sung-hee is about a space cleanup crew trying to sell a weapon of mass destruction: humanoid Dorothy. The movie, with a star-studded line up of Song Joong-ki and Kim Tae-ri, reached the top

The Korea Creative Content Agency is making headway in helping small and medium-sized Korean game companies expand to the global market with its Game Global Service Platform Plus project. While previous years saw KOCCA assigning selected gaming companies with service companies to help them reach the global market, the agency reorganized the project last year to allow gaming companies to directly choose the service that they need from open market platform GSP Plus. Successful applicants are g

From social media account troubles to player misconduct, teams in League of Legends Champions Korea are under fire for their glaring lack of professionalism. The latest trouble involves the Twitter account of 2020 world champions DWG KIA. Fans noticed that DWG’s official Twitter account had liked a post with pornographic content, making the post appear on its news feed around 1 a.m. on Jan. 26. About an hour later, DWG issued an official statement saying its account had been hacked. Lat

Park Hyatt Busan presents ‘Just 4 Fun’ The Park Hyatt Busan provides a comfortable and safe staycation for four guests with its new package Just 4 Fun, until the end of the year. The package includes a one-night stay in one of its family suites with extra beds. A complimentary breakfast at the hotel restaurant, welcome amenities including one bottle of red wine and fruit, and late checkout are among the benefits offered. The package starts at 490,000 won and is available until Dec

Terrestrial broadcaster KBS has denied claims that it intentionally aired the aria “Song to the Moon” during one of its shows on President Moon Jae-in’s birthday to gain approval from the nation’s leader. On Tuesday, KBS’ music program “Open Concert” released an official statement in response to a controversy over soprano Kang Hye-jung’s performance of the “Song to the Moon” during the program which aired on Jan. 24. That date also h

Anticipation for Friday’s worldwide Netflix release of the first Korean sci-fi blockbuster movie set in space, “Space Sweepers,” could be felt by the cast members and director during an online press conference and fan meeting held Tuesday. Set in 2092, “Space Sweepers” from director Jo Sung-hee revolves around a space cleanup crew trying to sell a weapon of mass destruction: humanoid Dorothy. “Around 10 years ago, a friend of mine told me about the trash i

Omnibus drama “Love Scene Number,” spotlights themes of love, marriage and sex, with an emphasis on showcasing a woman’s point of view. The drama, made by streaming platform Wavve and terrestrial broadcaster MBC in a collaborative effort, kicked off Monday on both platforms. Wavve, the streaming platform created by three terrestrial broadcasters -- KBS, MBC and SBS -- and SK Telecom released all four episodes of “Love Scene Number” on Monday morning as soon as t

Jungwook Hong, a former National Assembly representative and former chairman of Herald Corp., has released a book of 50 essays about his journey to find his life’s purpose. Hong is a bestselling author whose 1993 autobiography, “Seven Acts, Seven Scenes,” sold over 1 million copies. That first book, which centered on his personal experience of studying in the US at Choate Rosemary Hall and Harvard University, led many wealthy South Korean parents to consider sending their tee

The National Council of Churches in Korea, along with Young Men’s Christian Association and Young Women’s Christian Association, apologized on Friday for Christian organizations’ frequent links coronavirus cluster infections and called on churches to follow distancing guidelines. “We look back on the reality of how Korean churches have been recognized as one of the main institutions causing harm to public health and sincerely apologize to the people of Korea,” sai

South Korean game maker NCSoft launched its K-pop entertainment platform Universe in 134 countries on Thursday. The all-in-one platform allows users to access exclusive content such as music videos, entertainment shows K-pop groups appear on and celebrity photos, while also allowing artists and fans to interact. Fans can also share their creations on the platform. One of the platform’s most noticeable features is a private messaging and call function powered by artificial intelligence

Terrestrial broadcaster SBS’ newest entertainment show “Battle of the Century: AI vs Human” will have experts in six different fields pitched against the latest artificial intelligence programs in a competition, starting with the first episode at 10 p.m., Friday. The producers were inspired by the famous competition between Korean Go master Lee Se-dol and Google’s artificial intelligence program AlphaGo in 2016. “I enjoyed watching AlphaGo vs. Lee Se-dol in 201

InterContinental Seoul Coex presents ‘Wise Drinking Life with Cookat Market’ InterContinental Seoul Coex in Samseong-dong is offering the Wise Drinking Life With Cookat Market package starting in February. The package comprises the popular traditional drink Goheung yuzu liquor, a dessert called the Strawberry-in-Milk Sticky Rice Cake and three spreads from convenience food store Cookat Market. During the Lunar New Year holiday, guests born in the Year of the Ox are offered a 10

Kim Hong-sun, the director of multiple hit OCN dramas, is back Monday with a tvN action drama titled “L.U.C.A.: The Beginning.” “L.U.C.A.: The Beginning” centers on an experimental cell, Ji-O, that was created through the L.U.C.A. project. The aim of the project was to create the Last Universal Common Ancestor -- the cell that holds the secret to all life forms in existence. Ji-O takes human form and has supernatural powers, but loses his memory after escaping the faci

Kakao TV’s original series “No, Thank You” placed in the top 10 most popular dramas’ list on streaming platform Wavve, the first such feat for a Kakao TV original drama, according to Wavve on Tuesday. The drama list is compiled based on the number of minutes played in total on Wavve in the fourth week of January. “No, Thank You” ranked 10th while SBS megahit drama “The Penthouse: War in Life” took the top spot and SBS’ “Delayed Justic

With Korean players enjoying success in the League of Legends World Championships since 2013, teams from all around the world are keen on importing Korean talents to help them enter and win the big tournament. Koreans were the most represented nationality at the world stage every year since 2013, with the exception of 2014 when LMQ, consisting of all Chinese players, played for North America. Two of the five players in the two Chinese teams that won the world championships in 2018 and 2019 wer