Over 120 indie rock acts will participate in one of the biggest ever "Hongdae holidays.” The event, “2023 Kyungrockjeol -- Mapo Renaissance,” kicks off Feb. 8 and runs to Feb. 12 in hopes of reviving the indie, cultural and arts scene in Hongdae. The five-day festival is hosted by Crying Nut bassist Han Kyung-rock, also known as Captain Rock, celebrating the rock band’s 28th anniversary. Captain Rock Company announced on Monday the first lineup for this year’s

Jimin of BTS is set to drop his first solo album in February, according to a local media report Monday. Big Hit Music said that it would announce the specific date as soon as it is confirmed, following the report. Jimin will become the fourth member of the septet to put out solo work, following J-Hope, Jin and RM. The artist collaborated with Ha Sungwoon for the drama theme song “With You,” putting it atop iTunes top songs chart in 100 regions in record time. Along with Jin, V and J

GOT the beat, a seven-member female unit from K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment, unveiled its first mini-album “Stamp On It” on Monday. The title track “Stamp On It” is a R&B hip-hop dance song composed of a groovy piano sound and strong 808 bass beats. The lyrics center on the extreme competition to become the best on stage. Likewise, the music video for the title track is rough and powerful with a caper movie concept. GOT the beat is the first subunit that marked th

Apple TV+’s original series “Pachinko” was crowned as the best foreign language series at the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards held in Los Angeles, Monday. Filmed in Korean, Japanese and English, the period drama follows the life of a Korean family moving to Japan in the 20th century. The drama won the award over eight other competitors in the category. Also in the running was Korean legal drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” starring Park Eun-bin. “It’

“Jung_E,” an upcoming Netfilx sci-fi film, depicts a dystopian society through director Yeon Sang-ho’s iconic dark, inscrutable characters and futuristic setting. Having told stories through zombies in “Train to Busan” (2016) and humongous supernatural monsters in “Hellbound” (2021), Yeon has chosen AI robots for his latest sci-fi project -- a rare genre in South Korea. In this cyberpunk flick, Yeon said he wanted to portray AI robots in the most Korea

Taeyang, BTS' Jimin's collaborative single 'Vibe' tops iTunes, YouTube trending charts

Blackpink is returning to Paris to perform at the Yellow Pieces Gala next Wednesday, according to local reports. The Yellow Pieces Gala is a musical charity event held to raise funds for the Hospital Foundation, a charity institution chaired by France’s first lady Brigitte Macron. Brigitte Macron took over the chair position of the foundation from the former first lady of France, Bernadette Chirac, in 2019. Since its establishment in 1989, the Hospital Foundation has been raising funds to

South Korea’s exports of cultural content hit an all-time high of $12.4 billion in 2021, boosted by the global boom of Korean pop culture, a government report showed. According to a 2021 research study on the cultural content industry released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the industry’s exports increased 4.4 percent to $12.45 billion in 2021 from $11.92 billion in 2020. The content industry is an umbrella term for organizations that produce copyrighted works availa

Director Lee Hae-young’s upcoming period action flick “Phantom” is set in Korea under Japanese colonial rule, but patriotic or historical messages are well-hidden throughout a highly-charged plot. Rather, it invites the audience to immerse themselves in stunt-studded action. Lee’s articulate approach to mise-en-sceneis also on show through the five protagonists' outfits in leather or velvet that match their characters. After shortly showing the background on how anti

The 2023 Berlin International Film Festival has added Netflix' film "Kill Boksoon" at its Berlinale Special program, according to Netflix on Saturday. Selections for the Berlinale Special include documentary, feature and short films that elevate and explore cinema as an art form. The special films also try to reconnect the audience with beloved characters or people while reflecting upon current topics or history. A total of eight films have been invited to the program this year, i

Eleven-year-old Korean cellist Kim Jung-a won the first prize in the cello section at the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Russia, according to Korea National University of Arts on Thursday. Kim competed against seven other cellists in the final round, which was held at the Grand Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic on Monday. A total of 128 contestants from 14 countries participated in the piano, violin and cello categories this year. The finalists performed

The legendary K-pop idol group Bigbang’s Taeyang has made a comeback with a collaboration with BTS member Jimin. His new digital single, “Vibe,” was released Friday, six years after his last solo release, his third studio album “White Night.” “Vibe” is composed of addictive and strong beats that sing of subtle emotions in a relationship. Not only did the K-pop megastar take part by featuring the song but he also starred in the music video. The track is a

Forecasts for the domestic film industry's sales are pessimistic, amid a weaker than expected recovery at the box office. The number of moviegoers reached 112.8 million in 2022, according to the 2022 Korean film industry's sales report released by the Korean Film Council on Thursday. That was more than double the 52.28 million of the year before, but still sharply down from 226.68 million in the last pre-pandemic year of 2019. Sales were 1 trillion won ($807 million) last year, 49.8 pe

Blackpink was named as one of the nominees for 2023 The BRIT Awards, one of the most prestigious music awards in the UK. The group earned a nomination for international group of the year, along with Drake ＆ 21 Savage, First Aid Kit, Fontaines D.C. and Gabriels. The foursome is the only K-pop musicians to be nominated for the award besides BTS. BTS competed for the award in 2021 and 2022 but did not pick up the trophy. The award ceremony will be held on Feb. 12. Blackpink also was nominated for

“Mother Land,” South Korea’s first major stop-motion animated film in 45 years, did not use 3D effects in the film to better portray the mother nature story, the film’s director Park Jae-beom told reporters Tuesday. “When I first thought about the storyline of ‘Mother Land,’ it was obvious for me to turn it into a stop-motion animation. Not only because I’m a huge fan of stop-motion animation, but because I wanted to portray a story of mother natur