Teen boys get circumcised on air, sparking debate over rights of kids starring in TV shows

Veteran actor Ra Mi-ran expressed her confidence in reprising the role of politician Joo Sang-sook in the sequel to comedy film “Honest Candidate,” during a press conference at Megabox Coex in Seoul Tuesday. “I had to play her (Joo Sang-sook) in the movie again. I thought no other actor would be able to play her better. I also felt responsible,” Ra said. Ra's performance in the first installment won her the best actress award at the 41st Blue Dragon Film Awards in 2021.

Hybe defends against ongoing controversies surrounding expenditures for BTS' upcoming concert in Busan

While many terrestrial broadcasters and cable channels have stuck with airing the latest trend -- dating reality shows -- some creators are trying to offer fresh entertainment programs. But many seem to be veering away from the traditional route of presenting hilarious performances and comic moments in unscripted shows. In public broadcaster KBS' 21-part reality show “The Money School” in April, it shines the spotlight on scions of famous South Korean television celebrities an

This fall is going to brim with girl groups, with a barrel of female acts, both old and new, set to return in the coming months. First among the comeback rush is EXID, which will drop a new EP “X” on Sept. 29. Earlier this month, EXID members announced they will be making a surprise comeback this month in celebration of its debut 10th anniversary with a new album. They explained “X” stands for number ten in Greek and one of the letters of the group’s name. The EP wi

Walking through the door at a cafe in Nonhyeon-dong, southern Seoul, a slight smile on Kim Ju-hun’s face was more than enough to recall the self-satisfied smirk of his latest character Choi Do-ha, a middle-aged mayor in MBC’s crime thriller “Big Mouth.” Expressing gratitude toward the viewers for enjoying his character, Kim promised that he is not a bad person and shared how fortunate he was to star in the 16-part series. The evil character aside, the memory of workin

The musical version of "Crash Landing On You," based on the 2019 megahit TV series of the same title, was unveiled Friday. The musical features familiar names from both the TV and theater scenes in the iconic lead roles of Ri Jung-hyuk and Yoon Se-ri. Lee Jang-woo, Lee Kyu-hyung and Min Woo-hyuk take the role of Ri, the North Korean officer, while Im Hye-young, Kim Ryeo-won and Na Ha-na portray Yoon, the heiress to a South Korean conglomerate. The actors and the creative team alike s

Evgeni Koroliov, Alim Beisembayev, Andras Schiff, Francois-Frederic Guy, Igor Levit and Eric Lu. These are pianists who are set to perform in South Korea later this year, offering a wide-ranging repertoire by Bach, Beethoven and Chopin, among others. Russian pianist Evgeni Koroliov, known as a specialist in the Bach keyboard repertoire, will take the stage with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday for an all-Bach concert. The program consists of Bach Concerto for 3 Harpsichords in D mino

Jay B of GOT7 dropped his second solo EP on Wednesday and discussed the new album with a series of Q＆As in advance to the full release. As the title “Be Yourself” suggests, he wanted to encourage listeners to enjoy more and live more fully, taking a lighter approach. The singer and songwriter had his hands on all six tracks, and dipped into funk for the first time for lead track “go UP.” “I wanted to make a song that was so upbeat in both performance and music that

Seoul Metropolitan Opera will stage Charles Gounod’s French opera “Romeo et Juliette” at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul, from Thursday to Sunday. Inspired by Hector Berlioz’s dramatic symphony of the same title, Gounod wrote the opera based on Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet." The opera premiered at Theatre Lyrique in Paris in 1867. The troupe is set to perform the tragic love story of a son and daughter from two rival fam

The Korean National Symphony Orchestra is embarking on a European tour for the first time under its new name. Known as the Korean Symphony Orchestra until March this year, it added "National" to its name to reflect that it is supported by the national budget. The tour will visit three countries in Europe, celebrating the 130th anniversary of the establishment of the Korea-Austria relationship, the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the Korea Culture Center in Poland and newly foun

Offline flash events are more than just a place for album promotions

Leading K-pop agency SM Entertainment said on Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Everland, South Korea’s largest outdoor amusement park, to create a zone where parkgoers and fans of artists affiliated with SM can have fun. Under the joint partnership, the two companies will launch “Ever SM Town” to create various experience content combining “SM Culture Universe,” also known as “Kwangya,” which is a shared universe for the K-pop p

Pianist Paik Kun-woo saw Alicia de Larrocha performing Granados’ “Goyescas” when he was in New York as a student. That was likely a concert on Dec. 7, 1967, that took place at Carnegie Hall to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Granados. Even now he remembers vividly how deeply impressed he was by the performance and how the music filled the hall with warmth on a chilly night, thinking that he wanted to play it himself someday. That “someday” came half

   Ive will make its official debut in Japan on Oct. 19, the group confirmed Tuesday. The six-member band released a Japanese-language version of debut song “Eleven” in advance on the day, debuting at No. 16 on Line Music’s daily chart. The girl group stormed through major charts with the debut single in December last year and picked up 13 trophies on TV music chart shows. It had generated 100 million streams on Spotify as of last week and the music video surpassed 15