BTS' J-Hope to spread hope in solo performance themed around 'ego' at 2022 Mama Awards

The 32nd Seoul Music Awards will be held on Jan. 19, 2023, at the Olympic Park’s Olympic Gymnastics Arena located in Seoul, according to an industry insider. The Seoul Music Awards is one of the biggest annual music awards in the K-pop industry and has been hosted by the local newspaper Sports Seoul since 1990. The annual ceremony honors artists of diverse genres including ballad, hip-hop, R&B and bands that have been loved the public during the past year by evaluating their profession

Singer Lim Young-woong and girl group Ive headlined this year's Melon Music Awards, each taking home multiple trophies including the awards' most-coveted grand prizes. The 2022 MMA took place at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Saturday night. This year's awards show marked the event's return to its home venue three years since it last held an offline ceremony there in December 2019 before the outbreak of the pandemic. Over the 4 1/2-hour ceremony, celebratory performances by

The 79th Golden Globe winner Oh Young-soo stepped down from his role in the local stage production “Love Letters,” scheduled to be performed Jan. 14 in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, after he was indicted on charges of indecent assault on Friday. A woman filed a complaint with the police against the 78-year-old actor in December 2021 and the case was sent to prosecutors in February. The case was returned to the police for additional investigation and the police dismissed the case in

Actor Lee Jung-jae wins best new director for his directorial debut 'Hunt'

The music video for Blackpink’s “Kill This Love” surpassed 1.7 billion views on YouTube, label YG Entertainment said Friday. It is the group’s second video to reach the milestone on the platform, following that of its mega hit “Ddu-du Ddu-du,” and the quartet became the first K-pop artist to have two to do so. “Kill This Love” is the titular track from its EP that came out in April 2019. The main track debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 4

After enjoying immense success with its first-ever world tour, K-pop girl group Itzy made its way back to the music charts with its new EP, “Cheshire,” which will be released on Wednesday evening. The EP comes after it dropped “Sneakers” in July. Itzy’s press conference was held five days ahead of the release as they will be attending the 2022 Mama Awards on Wednesday at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan. During Friday’s event, Lia said the latest release means some

Ahead of the 2022 Mama Awards set to take place at the end of the month in Japan, the awards organizers on Friday announced the star-studded lineup of presenters from both Korea and Japan. Veteran actors Hwang Jung-min and Jung Woo-sung, singer-turned-actors Ahn so-hee, Han Sun-hwa, Im Si-wan and Hwang Min-hyun, and actors Kim Dong-wook, Seo Ji-hye, Yeo Jin-goo, Woo Do-hwan and Nam Yoon-su were confirmed as presenters for the biggest annual music awards in the K-pop industry. Along with comedian

Anyone who is familiar with Korean surnames would assume that the German pianist Christopher Park has some Korean roots. And, indeed, he has. He was born to a German mother and a Korean American father in 1987, but it wasn’t until 2009 that he was able to make his first trip to South Korea. The opportunity came through a chance encounter of Park’s elementary school teacher and Pete Song, who runs a classical music production company, Pete Music, on a train in Germany in 2008. Upon he

A song with a Korean title that roughly translates as "Wild Flower Play" will be the main track of the first individual album from K-pop group BTS' leader RM, the band's agency said Friday. The rapper will drop the album "Indigo" next Friday to become the third BTS member to debut as a soloist. "Wild Flower Play" carries the rapper's wish to live just like a calm wild flower, not a flame that is flamboyant but disappears in an instant, according to Bi

The Night Owl (Korea) Opened Nov. 23 Drama Directed by An Tae-jin Set in the Joseon era (1392-1910), Kyeong-soo (Ryu Jun-yeol) is a day-blind acupuncturist working in the palace. He is unable to see anything during daytime, but, strangely, he can see fine at night. One evening, Kyeong-soo happens to witness the death of Crown Prince Sohyeon. This death leads the prince's father, King Injo (Yoo Hae-jin), to madness. Kyeong-soo, who is used to keeping secrets, considers revealing the truth

　South Korean supergroup BTS has been nominated in two categories for the 2023 Grammy Awards, becoming the first K-pop act to receive Grammy nominations for the third consecutive year. 　The septet was nominated for the best pop duo or group performance for “My Universe,” along with British rock band Coldplay, and best music video for “Yet to Come,” during the official Grammy nomination ceremony livestreamed by the US Recording Academy. 　The best pop duo/group performan

NCT Dream announced that it will add two concerts to its ongoing Japan tour. At the end of its first show in Nagoya on Wednesday, the bandmates told the audience that it will take the stage at Kyocera Dome in Osaka on Feb. 17-19. This extends the “In A Dream” tour which was originally planned for Nagoya, Yokohama and Fukuoka. The seven-member act will also release the single “Best Friend Ever” on Feb. 8 to mark its Japan tour. The single will consist of two songs –

Film director Ma Dae-yoon said he aimed to retell Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper” in his new comedy film “Switch.” “At the beginning, I thought about making a movie about a protagonist having an epiphany, like ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Then I added ‘The Prince and the Pauper’ element to it,” Ma said in a press conference at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University on Wednesday. Leading actors Kwon Sang-woo, Oh Jung-se and Lee Min-jung

BTS’ member Jin is to begin his military service in one of the northernmost military bases in South Korea, on Dec. 13, according to the South Korean military. The bootcamp where he begins his 18 months of military service is that of the 5th Infantry Division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. The 5th Infantry Division has a reputation for being a tough unit to serve in, due to harsh winters. Yeoncheon often sees the coldest temperatures in Gyeonggi Province. The average temperature ranges fr