Drama series adaptations of renowned South Korean webtoons are set to open the new year, riding high on the continued success of Korean webtoon-based dramas on global streaming services. "Man and Woman," a 10-part drama series adaptation of the hit Naver webtoon series of the same name, began airing on cable TV network Channel A Dec. 26 and continues through to Feb. 27. The webtoon series ranked seventh on Naver Webtoon's Top 10 most-read list despite its R-rating, meaning you hav

Road-rage Netflix drama nabs best TV series, Steven Yeun and Ali Wong also win best male and female actors

In a bid to more actively target the global market, South Korea's major entertainment agencies are gearing up to debut increasingly diverse groups with multinational members. Katseye, a new girl group under Hybe, will debut in the US this year. The six-member group was created through “The Debut: Dream Academy,” a global audition show jointly conducted by Hybe and Geffen Records. Katseye's members hail from a range of different countries, including Switzerland, the Philippi

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ㅡ In the recent TV drama series “Maestra,” South Korea’s prominent actor Lee Young-ae plays a charismatic conductor. Based on a 2018 French thriller “Philharmonia,” "Maestra" centers around world-class conductor, Cha Se-eum, who returns home to lead a local orchestra after conquering New York. Chin Sol, a young South Korean conductor, was responsible for Lee's transformation into a charismatic conductor in a space of a few months. “Actors seem

I’ll-It, the soon-to-launch girl group from the K-pop powerhouse Hybe’s subsidiary Belift Lab, will debut as a five-piece instead of a sextet as announced earlier. Such change comes as one of the members, Youngseo, has left the agency. “Following in-depth discussions about future activities, Belift Lab and Youngseo have come to a mutual agreement to terminate the exclusive contract,” announced Belift Lab on the fan communication platform Weverse on Friday. “I’

Korean Canadian filmmaker and playwright Celine Song’s directorial debut, “Past Lives,” was named Best Picture of 2023 at the National Society of Film Critics Awards. “Past Lives,” a semi-autobiographical romantic drama film about Korean writer Nora (Greta Lee) living in New York who reunites with her childhood sweetheart, Hae-sung (Teo Yoo), after 20 years, won the top prize at the 58th annual awards. Other contenders were “Oppenheimer” and “The Z

K-pop boy band Seventeen notched Album of the Year at the 38th Golden Disc Awards Saturday with its 10th EP, “FML.” The Golden Disc Awards, one of the most prestigious annual K-pop awards, took place at Jakarta International Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Saturday. “We are grateful to have members that work hard. We think we have continuously shown growth each year at the Golden Disc Awards. We are so proud to receive this top honor today," said Mingyu of Seventeen duri

NewJeans garnered 400 plays on Spotify with “Super Shy,” according to agency Ador on Friday. It is the group’s fourth song to achieve the feat after “OMG,” “Ditto” and “Hype Boy.” “Super Shy” is one of the three title tracks from its second EP “Get Up” that came out in July last year. It enjoyed eight weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 and nine weeks in the top 10 among Spotify’s global top songs chart. The rook

Actress Park Eun-bin released her first digital single, "Present," on Thursday, ahead of her first fan concert. The new album consists of three songs, including the vibrant, catchy title song, “Do-re-mi-fa," a rhythmical electronic pop genre song, "Into The Light," and a heartfelt ballad, "Now." Park has released some songs from the TV series she had starred in, but this is the first official album of her career. While Park was already well-known for her

Kakao Entertainment, a content arm under Korea’s IT giant Kakao Corp., said Friday that a spin-off webtoon series of the Netflix original "Gyeongseong Creature" will be released on Kakao Webtoon and KakaoPage starting Jan. 20. Netflix's 10-part thriller drama "Gyeongseong Creature" centers around the stories of Jang Tae-sang (Park Seo-jun) and Yoon Chae-ok (Han So-hee), who infiltrate a hospital in the city of Gyeongseong (now Seoul) in 1945 -- where human experime

SM Entertainment's Riize and JYP Entertainment's VCHA were named "25 Artists To Watch In 2024," according to Grammy.com on Thursday. Among those listed, the two K-pop groups were the only Korean artists. "(The group) has solidified themselves as one of K-pop’s fifth-generation leaders. Their mini-album, “Get A Guitar,” sold over one million copies in less than a week and quickly landed them at the top of Korea’s music charts," Grammy editors

“Noryang: Deadly Sea” (South Korea) Opened Dec. 20 History/Action Directed by Kim Han-min In 1598, the seven-year Japanese invasion of Korea nears the end as Joseon national hero Adm. Yi Sun-sin leads an allied fleet of Joseon and Ming to the Noryang Strait and annihilates the Wae army. “12.12: The Day” (South Korea) Opened Nov. 22 Drama/Action Directed by Kim Seong-su Over the course of nine hours on Dec. 12, 1979, Gen. Chun Doo-gwang (Hwang Jung-min) attempts a coup,

Two plays highlight lesser-known female independent activists

Wheein of Mamamoo will host her first concert as a solo act, The Live announced Thursday. The singer will take to the stage in Seoul on Feb. 24 and 25 for the first time on her own in her 10-year music career. The concert is likely to expand into a tour, as the title “1st World Tour: Whee In The Mood [Beyond]” suggests. The name of the concert also comes from her first solo studio album, “In the Mood,” that was released in October last year. Wheein debuted as part of Mam