A TV variety show featuring K-pop idols is proving that TV and fandom-based online platforms could be a winning combination. K-pop groups have been running their own variety shows for a while on social media and the fan platform Weverse. But for "Nana Tour with Seventeen," the episodes were also broadcast on cable channel tvN, looking to simultaneously appeal to the K-pop super-fans and a wider audience among the general public -- while making use of Weverse's potential for aud

Even while serving in the South Korean military, global K-pop star RM of BTS remains in the public eye. On Thursday, a photo of him in a red military band uniform, holding a saxophone, went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter. As of Monday, the photo had garnered over 20,000 likes and 4,000 reposts. The viral post said, "I received a photo of Nam-joon (better known as RM) from an acquaintance who attended the military's basic training completion ceremony." The ceremony is only o

The 31st Hanteo Music Awards’ four grand prizes — Best Artist, Best Album, Best Performance and Best Song, went to NCT Dream, Seventeen, Stray Kids and Ive, respectively, on Sunday, the last day of the two-day event held in Seoul. NCT Dream bagged the Best Artist award for showing outstanding musical ability and powerful influence in the music industry. Only Mark, Jaemin and Chenle of NCT Dream attended the event, as other members of the group were working on the group’s upcomi

TWS is going global by partnering with the world’s leading music company Universal Music Group (UMG) labels in the US and Japan. According to TWS' agency Pledis Entertainment, a six-member boy band inked a partnership with UMG’s Geffen Records for its group promotion in the US and with Virgin Music under Universal Music Japan for its group promotion in Japan. Through this partnership, TWS will receive support from the above labels to promote and distribute its albums in the US a

J-Hope of BTS is presenting a new project in March. He dropped a teaser clip of the upcoming project, “Hope on the Street” on BTS’ official YouTube channel Sunday, a day before his birthday. The clip begins with J-Hope, who is the main dancer of BTS, working on his performance at a dance studio back in 2015. The clip then fast forwards to 2024, and J-Hope appears dancing to a beat with a night view of a city in the background. “J-Hope came up with his own idea for this pr

South Korean actor Choi Woo-shik, known for his role in hit TV shows and movies such as "Our Beloved Summer (2021)," "Parasite (2019)," and "Train to Busan (2016)," said he tried to portray the emotional turmoil of a character faced with the ethical dilemma of condemning evil through murder, in his latest work, "A Killer's Paradox." The 8-part Netflix original crime thriller drama series, based on the webtoon of the same title, tells the story of Yi T

Tomorrow X Together will make a comeback in April, according to a local media report on Friday. The band’s latest album was its third studio album “The Name Chapter: Freefall” that sold over 2.25 million copies in the first week when it came out in October last year and entered Billboard 200 at No. 3. The album stayed on the main albums chart for seven weeks in a row and reentered in the first week of January. The members told fans last month at an awards ceremony that they h

Ted Sarandos, the co-chief executive officer of Netflix, said on Friday he is excited about the return of several popular Netflix originals this year. "We're very excited about the return of 'Physical: 100' and 'Sweet Home,' and of course, 'Squid Game' this year," Sarandos said during a brief meeting with reporters at Netflix headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Friday. Sarandos is on a two-day visit to the country, which marks his second visit since Jun

A US court decided to shut down Kokoa TV, a streaming website which illegally streamed a slew of Korean contents to overseas streamers, while ruling in favor of Wavve Americas -- which raised a suit against the website for copyright and trademark infringement. According to the US District Court, District of Arizona, Tumi MAX, the operator of Kokoa TV, has been ordered to cease activities such as storing, reproducing, displaying, or distributing any of the copyrighted works, as of Feb. 9. The US

“Wonka” (US) Opened Jan. 31 Fantasy Directed by Paul King Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet), who dreams of becoming the world’s best chocolatier, encounters a “chocolate cartel” and a plot to kick him out of town as its business is threatened. But next to him are four trustworthy supporters whom he meets at Mrs. Scrubitt’s launderette. “Citizen of a Kind” (South Korea) Opened Jan. 24 Drama Directed by Park Young-ju Duk-hee (Ra Mi-ran), who lives an

In a collaboration between the French fashion house Chanel and the world of dance, a ballet performance will get a Korean premiere in April. "Modanse" is scheduled to be staged at the Seoul Arts Center on April 17 and 19-21, starring the renowned ballerina Svetlana Zakharova, according to InArt Production on Wednesday. The title "Modanse" is a combination of the French words "mode," meaning fashion, and "danse," meaning dance. The 120-minute performance is

NCT Wish will take the stage as part of a concert in Seoul for the first time on March 4, announced label SM Entertainment on Thursday. The band of six members are set to debut on Feb. 21, at the label’s all-star concert that will be held at Tokyo Dome. They will drop debut single “Wish” on Feb. 28 and the titular track will be included in the set list for the Seoul gig, dubbed “NCT Wish’s Wishlist.” The bandmates will also talk about their preparations for

YG Entertainment will hold an open audition in cooperation with Japanese entertainment company Avex, the first joint audition held by the two companies in about eight years since the "Younguns Audition" in 2016. The YG x Avex Audition 2024 will be held in seven major Japanese cities, kicking off in Sapporo on April 7. The other cities include Nagoya, Fukuoka, Osaka, Tokyo, Sendai and Okinawa. Those born between April 2, 2003, and April 1, 2013, are eligible to apply, regardless of thei

Five Korean films will be screened at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, which kicked off Thursday for a 10-day run in Berlin. One of the top three film festivals around the world, along with the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival, this year’s Berlin Film Festival opened with Belgian director Tim Mielants’ “Small Things Like These.” South Korean director Heo Myeong-haeng, who debuted recently with Netflix's original film “Badland Hunter

Epik High is set to hold its first concert of the year next month. The group is holding a standalone concert on March 16 at the Inspire Arena, according to an industry insider. The concert comes three months after the hip-hop trio’s 20th-anniversary concert at the SK Olympic Handball Arena in Seoul on Dec. 15-17. The trio was also on a world tour titled “All Time High Tour” last year, performing in 36 cities in seven countries in Asia, Europe and North America. Epik High debute