South Korean pianist Lee Hyuk became joint first prize winner of the 2022 Long Thibaud International Competition, along with Japanese pianist Kamei Masaya, according to its organizers Sunday. Lee is the second Korean pianist to win the prize, following Lim Dong-hyek, who won the prize in 2001. The third prize was given to American pianist Davidman Michael. The 22-year-old will receive 27,500 euros ($28,300) in prize money in addition to an opportunity to participate in about 20 concerts and mu

Since making a name for himself with the hit crime film “The Outlaws” in 2017, Jin Sun-kyu has been mesmerizing the Korean audience playing charismatic, hard-boiled characters in various projects, including “Dark Figure of Crime” (2018), “Extreme Job” (2019) and “Confidential Assignment 2: International,” released in September. While many fans already consider him one of the nation's go-to actors with an impressive filmography and a long lis

Director Hwang in-ho's thriller “Decibel” will be released in theaters in North America on Dec. 2. Shaw Entertainment, which has introduced hit Koreans films including Park Chan-wook's “The Handmaiden,” Yoon Je-kyoon's “Ode to My Father” and “The Admiral: Roaring Currents,” directed by Kim Han-min, to the North American market, will be distributing the new Korean thriller. In Hwang’s new film, former Korean Navy commander D

The music video for K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's debut song "Boombayah" has surpassed 1.5 billion views on YouTube, the group's agency said Saturday. YG Entertainment said the video passed the milestone at about 3:50 a.m. the same day, six years after the K-pop quartet launched its debut EP album, "SQUARE ONE," in August 2016. Boombayah is one of the two songs on "SQUARE ONE," along with "Whistle." As of Saturday, three BLACKPINK videos have garn

The title of BTS leader RM’s solo album will be “Indigo,” according to label Big Hit Music on Friday. The album will evoke a diary that conveys the artist’s concerns and thoughts, and will demonstrate his musical spectrum with collaborations with a range of musicians. RM has put out two mixtapes on his own -- “RM” from March 2015 and “mono.” From October 2018. The former was listed as “The 50 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2015” by Spin, an Am

Singer Jung Eun-ji drops a remake album of songs that allowed her to heal

About six months after becoming the winner of NBC’s “American Song Contest" singer AleXa has returned to the K-pop scene with a new EP, “Girls Gone Vogue,” aiming to show her multi-faceted sides to a global audience. The K-pop singer held a press showcase to talk about the new release and its production at Ilchi Art Hall in Seoul, Friday, ahead of the EP's release at noon, the same day. She made a comeback with more seasoned music and diverse tones. “I wan

In 2023, a year without an artistic director, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will offer a season with a series of programs with 11 guest conductors including outgoing and incoming artistic directors. Osmo Vanska, whose term is ending this year, will continue the ‘Sibelius Cycle,’ a project to perform all of the Finish composer’s symphonies,’ until March next year, as a guest conductor. He began the project in April this year and will open SPO's next season with Sibeliu

NCSOFT Corp., a major South Korean online and mobile game developer, said Friday its third-quarter net income soared more than 80 percent from a year earlier, led by strong sales from the latest entry of its popular "Lineage" franchise. It logged a net profit of 182.1 billion won ($132.2 million) on a consolidated basis in the three months ending in September, compared with 99.5 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. For the quarter, NCSOFT posted an opera

Confession (Korea) Opened Oct. 26 Thriller Directed by Yoon Jong-seok Tech company CEO Yoo Min-ho (So Ji-sub) is a suspect in the murder of Kim Se-hee (Nana). To prove his innocence, he meets up with Yang Sin-ae (Kim Yun-jin), a talented lawyer, at a remote hut. There, the lawyer insists that she will only represent him if he trusts her and tells her everything that happened in the hotel room where Se-hee died. Yang says that only then can she construct a credible alibi for him to win the case i

Former Highlight member drops new solo EP "Loner"

Tomorrow X Together will return in January next year with a fifth EP, Hybe said Thursday during a corporate briefing. The album comes about nine months after its previous EP, “Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child,” debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 4. The album stayed on the chart for 14 weeks, a record streak for the boy band. It will be the first group or artist under the Hybe label to release an album next year. Separately, TXT earned the group's first nominations at the MTV Euro

Plans for next year include four new groups, a Le Sserafim world tour and new music from TXT, Seventeen and more

Star documentary director urges fellow creators to adapt to changing viewer attitudes and broadcast environment

The first solo single from Jin of BTS made Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 51, according to the chart published Wednesday. Single “The Astronaut,” a collaboration with Brit band Coldplay, landed atop its digital song sales chart dated Nov. 12 and ranked No. 10 and No. 6 on its Global 200 and Global excl. US. It headed straight to the top of Oricon’s daily single ranking as well after sweeping all charts at home. It was No. 61 on UK’s Official Single Chart Top 100. Meanw