The music video of Blackpink’s “As If It’s Your Last” surpassed 1.1 billion views on YouTube on Thursday, according to label YG Entertainment. 　 The band now has four music videos -- including those of “Ddu-du Ddu-du,” “Kill This Love” and “Boombayah” -- that reached the milestone, the most for a K-pop artist. 　 “As If It’s Your Last” came out in June 2017 as a single and the dance number was included in YouTube&rsquo

For director Yeon Sang-ho, 43, producing new Netflix series “Hellbound” felt like creating his own playground. “When I was creating ‘Hellbound’ as a web comic, I was expecting to reproduce the series as a video. The project shows different sides of humans in a desperate situation surrounded by extreme social chaos. I want to keep presenting my views about humanity via ‘Hellbound.’ I will continue to play around by creating unique characters and stories

A time capsule that global K-pop phenomenon BTS presented to President Moon Jae-in on Sept. 19 during an event marking Youth Day held at Cheong Wa Dae is now on display at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. The box is displayed in the permanent exhibition hall located on the fifth floor of the museum. The box measures 40 centimeters in length, 30 centimeters in width and 26 centimeters in depth, according to the museum. The box is purple -- a color associated with the band and

Ahead of the 47th Seoul Independent Film Festival, program committee members Huh Nam-woong and Jung Ji-hye on Wednesday recommended 17 films for viewing. Ten recommended features include “Hot in Day, Cold at Night,” directed by Park Song-yeol, which depicts the story of Young-tae and his wife, Jeong-hee, who make ends meet with part-time jobs. The film is a great example of how a minimum amount of directing and acting can be effective, according to the programmers. “The Con

NCT dropped teaser photos for its third studio album, “Universe,” Wednesday. 　 Taeil, Taeyong, Doyoung, Jaemin, Yangyang and Jisung were featured in the first batch of photographs, which were imbued with a futuristic and sophisticated ambience. The phrase “New Axis” is shone onto the face of the youngest member. 　 It has been about 14 months since the band put out a full-group album. The second album “Resonance” sold over 2 million copies. Subunits NCT 127 a

Tenor John Noh, who appeared on cable channel JTBC’s audition show “Phantom Singer 3,” has received multi-platinum certification from the local recording industry. More than 20,000 physical copies of Noh’s latest album, “The Classic Album: NSQG,” have sold since its release in September under Warner Music Korea. According to Noh’s agency, Credia, the local recording industry gives multi-platinum certification to albums that sell more than 20,000 physic

The South Korean sensation "Squid Game" has posted a total of 1.65 billion hours of streaming in the first four weeks of release, becoming the most-watched Netflix content of all time. Netflix on Tuesday (US time) released the global top 10 lists of films and TV shows based on hours viewed in their respective first 28 days on its platform. "Squid Game" topped the non-English popular TV show list with an aggregate 1.65 billion hours of viewing over the first four weeks follo

With travel restrictions eased under the "living with COVID-19" scheme, big-name K-pop stars are heading overseas to hold live concerts with foreign fans that have not been held for nearly two years. Superband BTS is at the forefront of the move, scheduled to throw a series of live in-person concerts in Los Angeles, titled "BTS Permission To Dance On Stage - LA" to be held at SoFi Stadium on Nov. 27 and 28 and Dec. 1 and 2. They will be the septet's first live in-person con

Chen of EXO will have another child soon, according to a local media report on Tuesday. 　 His label, S.M. Entertainment, later confirmed that his wife is pregnant with their second child. 　 The veteran idol announced that he was marrying his girlfriend in January 2020. The news sent fans into shock, and some went so far as to demand that he be expelled from the band. 　 Sometime after a private wedding, they welcomed a daughter and recently were reported to have celebrated her first birthday at

CJ ENM maps out a new vision to take the K-pop award into the US market

Gergiev, Mariinsky Stradivarius Ensemble to have two concerts on Nov. 24

K-pop super rookie AleXa is set to hold a fan meeting on the metaverse on Nov. 21, her agency ZB Label announced Monday. The event marks the first such attempt in the K-pop industry, according to the agency. AleXa came to attention in 2016 through K-pop community website Soompi’s audition program, “Rising Legends.” AleXa appeared two year’s later on Mnet’s “Produce 48.” AleXa made her official debut in October 2019, with her first digital single &ld

Great news for French film fans in Korea: French Cinema Week 2021, organized by the French Embassy in Seoul and the association of Korean Buyers & Distributors of Foreign Films in Korea, kicked off Monday with screenings of 40 films. The event, running through Sunday, is being held at 14 local theaters in five different cities, including Seoul, Incheon and Daejeon. This year’s French Cinema Week is held under the theme of “Save Our Cinema.” “We hope to support the

NCT 127 will meet fans in person with a three-day concert series in Seoul in December, announced label SM Entertainment on Monday. 　 The subunit of NCT will host “NCT 127 2nd Tour ‘NEO City: Seoul - The Link’” from Dec. 17-19, almost three years since its last concert. The live performance on the final day will also be broadcast across the world via Naver’s V Live. The group will then tour through a string of major international cities. 　 The nine-member act relea