The continued success of modern historical drama flick “12.12: The Day” has led to improved November ticket sales at local theaters overall, according to the Korean Film Council. According to KOFIC data, November ticket sales at local theaters reached 70.2 percent of pre-pandemic levels at 41.1 billion won – up by 22.5 percent on-year. The average number of November ticket sales at cinemas from 2017 to 2019 stands at 58.6 billion won. The KOFIC said “12.12: The Day”

“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, while another commander, Lee Tae-shin (Jung Woo-sung), tries to stop the secret plan from unfolding. “Our Season” (South Korea) Opened Dec. 6 Drama Directed by Yuk Sang-hyo Bok-ja (Kim Hae-sook) visits her daughter Jin-joo (Shin Min-a) as part of her “vacation from heaven” af

Jeonghan of Seventeen will take some time off, according to Pledis Entertainment on Thursday. The singer has hurt his left ankle in the past and has been carrying on activities while receiving treatment as he wanted to participate in all of the band's schedule for this year. The pain, however, worsened over the band’s recent tour and he had to undergo surgery on Thursday. The surgery went well but Jeonghan will need time to recover and will have to miss activities for the time being, incl

SM Entertainment, one of the largest K-pop agencies in South Korea, is holding a global audition in its pursuit of future K-pop stars. The agency began accepting pre-registration applications for the “2024 SM Global Audition” on its global audition website, Tuesday. Anyone born between 2005 and 2013 can apply regardless of their gender and nationality. Applicants must choose one of the categories: vocal, rap, dance and acting. Applications can be made only once and only as an ind

Inspired by the true story of a Joseon court lady and a French diplomat who fell in love with her, the musical "Lee Jin: The Woman of Light" brings to life the poignant love story set in the dramatic final years of the Korean Empire. Yi Jin (also spelled Lee Jin) is a court dancer who meets a newly arrived French envoy, Victor Collin de Plancy. As they teach each other their languages and waltz together, Yi yearns for freedom and dreams of a new life. Playwright Jung Ho-yoon said he dr

"An apple has fallen. The Earth felt excruciating pain as it was breaking apart. The final." Thirteen actors chant the poem “The Final” by writer-poet Yi Sang over and over at Yi’s funeral. Meanwhile, Yi's eyes pop open at the altar. He senses someone touching his face to create his death mask. He is bewildered by everything around him, as the actors chant: "Why am I lying here? Why are these people crying by my side? What does my face look like?" Yi Sa

Director Kim Han-min returned to the silver screen after 1 1/2 years to bring to a close his decadelong project on Admiral Yi Sun-sin, this time with the epic finale “Noryang: Deadly Sea.” A lot larger in scale, “Noryang" features epic characters and more sophisticated computer graphics than its first installment “The Admiral: Roaring Currents,” South Korea’s biggest hit of all time with 17 million admissions, and its prequel “Hansan: Rising Dragon.

Lee Junho of 2PM will hold a standalone solo concert in Seoul on Jan. 13-14 next year, announced label JYP Entertainment on Wednesday. The solo gig, titled “The Day We Meet Again,” is in line with his arena tour in Japan for which the singer and actor played to sold-out audiences in July and August. He will be hosting a solo live show in Korea for the first time in about five years. He has greeted fans in eight cities across Asia for solo fan meet tour after the successful run of th

Girl group Twice will hold its fifth world tour encore concert at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in March. The group’s agency JYP Entertainment has released the poster of an encore concert of Twice's fifth world tour “Ready to Be” on its official social media feeds. The concert will take place at the 65,000-capacity Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, on March 16, 2024. As part of its fifth world tour, Twice has held concerts at large venues in Asia, Oceania and North Amer

Hybe, driven by the strong performance of various artists under its wings including K-pop sensation BTS, has recorded global tour sales of about 250 billion won ($189 million) this year. The agency ranked fifth in Billboard's "Top Promoter" chart, making it the only Korean company to be ranked among the top 10. Billboard's "The Year In Tour 2023" report on world tours of pop stars from Nov. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30 shows that Hybe’s artists attracted about 1.6 mill

The first season of South Korean Netflix original drama series "The Glory" was the third-most watched title on Netflix globally in the first half of this year, according to Netflix. On Wednesday, Netflix released its first biannual report titled "What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report," covering some 18,000 titles ranked based on the hours viewed during the January to June period. The report shows "The Glory: Season 1," which includes parts 1 and 2, ranked as

Jungkook of BTS amassed 300 million views on YouTube with the music video for his solo single “Seven (Feat. Latto),” Big Hit Music announced Tuesday. The video took about five months to reach the milestone, after having hit 100 million views on the platform in 10 days. The single swept music charts across the world, debuting atop Billboard’s Hot 100 and ranking No. 3 on the UK’s Official top 100 singles chart. It topped iTunes top songs chart in 106 regions and charted N

Experts say CJ ENM will focus on distributing Asia’s unique content to Hollywood

Girl group Itzy, who will open the new year with a new album and world tour, has raised anticipation with its first teaser image for the upcoming release. The album "Born To Be," which will be released on Jan. 8, features 10 songs, including the title track "Untouchable." The teaser image released on the group's official website showed the members posing like warriors against a red and blue background. One of the highlights is that the album features each member's f

Jimin and Jungkook of the internationally loved boy band BTS began their mandatory military service, Tuesday, as the last members to be enlisted. All seven members of BTS are now in the military. Jimin and Jungkook entered the boot camp at the 5th Infantry Division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. Prior to the members’ enlistment, BTS’ agency asked fans to refrain from visiting the training center to prevent possible safety accidents by congestion. Fans posted placards and sent buses