The highlight of the spectacle-filled Korean culture event “K Culture Festival 2022” beckoned fans from in and out of the country to “The-K Concert.” Founded in 2020 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism and its affiliated private Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, the festival has been held annually to promote Hallyu, or the Korean Wave. Jointly hosted by the two, the Culture Ministry’s annual large-scale, global event commenced on Sept. 3

K-pop singers met with the audience at a K-pop concert titled “The-K Concert” on Friday at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in southern Seoul. Jointly hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and its affiliated private Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, the festival has been held annually to promote Hallyu, or the Korean Wave.

As once-verdant leaves are transforming into reds and browns of autumn, Stray Kids welcomed the season with their new album “Maxident” on Friday evening to navigate the seasons of love. This marks the boy band’s return nearly seven months after it released its sixth EP, “Oddinary,” in March. “We didn’t know how to prepare for our new album. We’ve received so much love in the thick of our second ‘Maniac’ world tour, and our skills and st

Dramatic drum rolls, electric guitar riffs and flashing lights built an electric atmosphere at KBS Arena Thursday night ahead of Australian singer-songwriter and rapper The Kid LAROI bursting onto the stage. As the crowd roared, the singer jumped onstage with a beaming smile on his face. The 90-minute set jumped back and forth through the musician’s three-year musical journey, switching from an upbeat ballad to several unreleased tracks, showing off what it felt like to return to pre-pande

With much anticipation, Treasure is ready to hop on a new treasure hunt with its second EP, “The Second Step: Chapter Two,” making its grand return eight months since enjoying success with its first EP, “The Second Step: Chapter One.” Ahead of the album’s release on Tuesday, the rookie boy band’s members shared their thoughts and musical ideas that went into its forthcoming musical project via an official press release Q&A. Q. How does it feel to release a

Actor and songstress Suzy is making a return to music with a new digital single, “Cape,” on Thursday. According to her agency Management Soop, the singer-songwriter is making her way back seven months after the release of “Satellite” on Feb. 17, which she wrote the lyrics for. It added that her upcoming single has also been written by the musician. “Cape” has a folk-based melody that gives off an ethereal ambiance. The song’s musical arrangement is mainl

After three years of pandemic-related setbacks, the Melon Music Awards are returning offline, according to Kakao Entertainment, which runs Melon, the nation’s largest music streaming platform. The South Korean entertainment giant said Thursday that the 14th edition of the event will be held at its usual ceremony venue at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, southwestern Seoul, on Nov. 26. This year’s event will be presented by Kakao Bank, the banking affiliate of the Korean internet firm. &l

South Korean music producer Don Spike was arrested on Monday for illegal drug use and is currently under investigation on charges of violating the Narcos Control Act, according to Nowon police. Don Spike was arrested at a hotel in Gangnam, southern Seoul, around 8 p.m. on Monday, where police seized 30 grams of methamphetamine. Don Spike tested positive for the drug. The amount of drugs that was found is equivalent to approximately 1,000 doses, considering the average dose of methamphetamine is

One thing K-pop fans, or listeners who love Korean music in general, haven’t heard much of and enjoyed in the past few years is retro K-pop. Younger music aficionados may not know much about this genre, but songs from those earlier times had catchy melodies that were easy on the ears and simply fun to listen to on repeat. That’s what Xiumin of boy band Exo hopes to do with his first-ever solo musical project, “Brand New,” which was released on Monday evening. As a singer

Months after celebrating his 10th anniversary, Xiumin of boy band EXO welcomed the rustling sound of falling leaves with his first-ever solo album, “Brand New,” released Monday evening. The singer-turned-soloist is the seventh bandmate to go solo, while other members like Baekhyun, Kai and Suho have branched out as a soloist with their own musical projects. In a press conference Monday hosted by his bandmate Sehun, Xiumin described the new album as his “turning point.” &l

K-pop Herald, an in-house unit under the nation’s largest English daily The Korea Herald, held the first-ever “Herald K Awards with Twitter” to celebrate the global popularity of K-pop. Officially supported by Twitter, a total of 25 K-pop acts took awards in five categories: My Solo, an award for the best singer-turned-soloist; My Boys, the best male group; My Girls, the best female group; My Song, the song of the year award; and My Rookie, the rookie of the year. Voting for

On May 30, thousands of fans flocked to The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido during the early morning hours to line up for Stray Kids’ pop-up store. A long single-file queue at Yeouido Station Exit No. 3 connecting the department store to the subway station was jam-packed, hours before the event opened its doors at 10 a.m. Dubbed “Stray Kids x SKZOO Pop-up Store ‘The Victory’ in Seoul,” the animal character-themed set was designed after the boy band. According to JYP Entert

Seven months after making its debut, JYP Entertainment’s rookie girl group NMIXX beckoned music listeners to revel in its second digital single, “ENTWURF,” released Monday evening, just right in time for the new season. This marks a return for the act since it threw its hat into the ring with its debut single “Ad Mare” on Feb. 22. The band’s latest musical project is a follow-up to its debut single. The title of the seven-member act’s debut album transla

Like the way hyphens connect differently to make new meanings, Enhypen was formed in September 2020 through TV competition “I-Land.” True to their words, the boy band populated the 4,000-seat venue Saturday night to signal the start of its first world tour, “Manifesto.” A sign in light-emitting diodes of “Enhypen World Tour Manifesto” beckoned Engenes, the group’s official fandom, who flocked to the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium. And as the sold-out aren

Girl group Kara will make a long-awaited comeback in November in celebration of its 15th anniversary. After rumors that the K-pop act is gearing for a return, the band’s agency RBW confirmed Monday that the band will drop a new album sometime in November. “Since the new musical project is to celebrate the band’s 15th anniversary and is coming out after a long hiatus, we plan to fully support the members in gifting their fans with new music as much as possible,” the agency

Blackpink is officially back in your area. The global K-pop sensation is back with its second LP, which dropped Friday. Aptly titled “Born Pink,” the eight-song set is born out of confidence, wildness, and slick, groovy and seasoned music. With YG Entertainment producer Teddy at the helm along with 24, Danny Chung, Bekuh Boom and R.Tee, it was clear why it took two years for Blackpink to return with "Born Pink" and why it was worth the wait. Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo and Rose, wh

As a new season is right around the corner, K-pop sensation Blackpink is returning with a new batch of songs to fill the soft breeze of fall. After a 23-month hiatus, girl group Blackpink is making grand return with its second LP, “Born Pink.” Ahead of the album's release on Friday, the four bandmates shared their thoughts and musical ideas that went into their upcoming music project via an official press release. Ji-soo says she's just as excited for fans to hear the new

The first music video to reach 1 billion views on YouTube, the most-streamed group on global music platform Spotify and the bestselling foreign touring act in Japan -- these are feats achieved by K-pop stars Psy, BTS and TVXQ, respectfully. A handful of years ago, entering the Billboard charts was a tough milestone, especially for non-English-speaking artists or those outside the US market. But recently, Korean singers have created a space for themselves on the charts and in the world’s bi

Less than two months since its debut, NewJeans is taking the music world by storm with its namesake debut album, setting new records on Spotify, the world’s largest streaming platform. According to the music platform, the rookie band reached the highest number of monthly listeners on Spotify among fourth-generation K-pop bands, garnering more than 8.8 million listeners over the past 28 days. NewJeans also became the first K-pop act to log a debut track on the global music platform’s

Global K-pop sensation Blackpink is ready to open a new era of K-pop with its second LP, “Born Pink,” which hits global music platforms on Sept. 16. On Wednesday, YG Entertainment released a poster emblazoned “Shut Down,” the title of its upcoming lead track. “There’s a special form of intuition in the track and it also gives a mysterious ambiance. As the term ‘shut down’ is synonymous with the act of stopping an operation or activity, it makes