BUSAN -- The Busan International Performing Arts Market (BPAM) concluded its five-day run Tuesday in the southern harbor city. The marketplace, organized by the Busan Cultural Foundation, aims to facilitate the domestic and international distribution of various performance genres, including dance, theater, music and multidisciplinary art. The event drew more than 300 industry professionals and 700 artists from 37 countries, including executives and programmers from major international festivals

Busan -- With the opening of a classical concert hall and an opera house next year, Busan is gearing up to position itself as an international city for the performing arts, said Lee Mee-yeon, CEO of the Busan Cultural Foundation. Speaking at the Busan International Performing Arts Market, now in its second year, Lee expressed her hopes for the event’s growing impact. “Many works produced in Busan are often confined only locally. That’s why we launched BPAM last year -- to promo

Even for Byun Yo-han, an actor with a 14-year career, the role of Go Jeong-woo in “Snow White Must Die – Black Out” was new and challenging. “Every role is a challenge, but this one lingers. Even though he's fictional, I keep worrying about Jeong-woo and hope for his happiness as if he were a real person,” Byun said during a group interview with reporters Tuesday. The MBC series “Snow White Must Die – Black Out,” which aired its last episode F

Netflix’s latest bet on Korean reality series has created another runaway hit. For the last two weeks, the cooking competition "Culinary Class Wars" topped its global weekly TV chart for non-English titles. The unscripted, 12-episode show started off with 100 chefs, divided into two categories. The “white spoons” run acclaimed places, many with Michelin stars; they’re pitted against underdog chefs tagged as “black spoons.” The final two episodes were

K-pop singer-rapper Jay Park returned Tuesday with a studio album his fans will want to own. Park's sixth full-length album, "The One You Wanted," features 20 tracks, including nine new songs alongside 11 previously released singles. It marks his first R&B album in eight years. The number of tracks is unusually large, given that most K-pop studio albums feature no more than 10 songs. "Since 'Everything You Wanted,' I had planned to release more R&B albums. B

Punishments for unfair consumer practices by K-pop merchandise producers are too light compared to their profits, a lawmaker argued in the National Assembly audit. Rep. Kang Yu-jung of the main opposition Democratic Party said Monday that entertainment giant Hybe was fined only 3 million won ($2,200) for violating the rights of K-pop product consumers while earning over 1 trillion won over a period of three years from selling such products, raising questions over the punishments’ effective

NCT Dream will return to Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul for a three-date concert that will close its world tour, label SM Entertainment announced Tuesday. The seven-member NCT subunit will host the encore concert "Finale in Seoul" from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1. The group will be hitting the same stage where it launched its tour “The Dream Show 3: Dreamscape” in May. The band has visited eight cities in Asia, 11 in North and Latin America, and it will begin touring five across Europe fr

“A Taxi Driver,” a 2017 action drama flick by Jang Hoon (“The Front Line,” “The Secret Reunion”), is not the first movie to have depicted the Gwangju Democratic Uprising of May 18, 1980. But unlike other movies cover the student-led democratization movement — “Peppermint Candy,” “May 18,” “26 Years” — “A Taxi Driver” sets itself apart by following the day’s events from an outsider’s point

Big Bang's G-Dragon helped write the girl group's new title track, "Drip"

K-pop agencies on Monday denied or sidestepped responsibility for major issues in the industry during a National Assembly audit in Yeouido, Seoul. YG Entertainment CEO Yang Min-suk, SM Entertainment CEO Jang Cheol-hyuk and JYP Entertainment CEO Jimmy Jeong appeared to answer lawmakers’ questions about chart manipulation, album bundling with photo cards, fair trade law violations and choreography copyright issues. Hybe was represented by Joon Choi, CEO of its subsidiary Weverse Co. Rep. Lim

Global streaming platforms like Netflix, Apple TV+ and Disney+ have been applying loose ratings, violating the Promotion of the Motion Pictures and Video Products Act, according to a report from a lawmaker on Monday. According to Korea Media Rating Board data obtained by Rep. Cho Gye-won of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, Netflix led in violating the law by applying lax ratings for provocative content, recording 76 such violations since the government approved the self-rating sy

Tomorrow X Together will make a comeback on Nov. 4 with seventh EP, Big Hit Music announced Monday. EP “The Star Chapter: Sanctuary” will be the first of its fourth series, which follows “chapters” of dream, chaos and name. The mini album comes about seven months since the band put out previous EP “minisode 3: Tomorrow,” which sold over a million copies on the day of release and swept music charts at home. The sixth EP debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 3 and

BUSAN -- Written and directed by Malaysian director Amanda Neel Eu, “Tiger Stripes” follows carefree 12-year-old Zaffan who starts to experience unexpected bodily changes as she is the first to get her period among her group of friends. For Zaffan, puberty becomes something she fights for in front of others after being publicly ostracized at school and in the community. Later, she embraces her anger and wrath to show everyone the beauty of her changing body. “Going through pube

“Come Back Home” echoed through the Olympic Hall in Olympic Park, Seoul, on Sunday evening, sparking ecstatic cheers from fans as all four members of the iconic K-pop girl group 2NE1 took to the stage for their first concert in over a decade. The group, comprising Sandara Park, CL, Park Bom and Minzy, dazzled in their signature eclectic outfits that have long defined their unique style. CL sported a striking red jacket with a large red ribbon, while Sandara Park showcased a bold bole

Japanese adaptations of popular Korean content are increasing, driven by growing challenges the Japanese content industry faces in importing Korean content as well as broadcasters' desire to air potential hits on their own terms. Naver Webtoon's "Hell is Other People," a horror that enjoyed immense popularity as both a webtoon and TV show, has since been adapted into a Japanese film set to release in theaters in Japan on Nov. 15. Directed by Wato Kodama, known for horror projects