Singer-actor Lee Hye-ri won the Rising Star Award with the coming-of-age film “Victory” at the 2024 New York Asian Film Festival which kicked off Friday. The festival runs until July 28. “Victory” had its world premiere at the 23rd NYAFF by opening the festival held at New York Lincoln Center. In the movie set in 1999, Lee plays a high-school student Pil-sun who creates a cheerleading group to gain access to the school's dance room. The film marks Lee’s first r

Jimin of BTS swept the iTunes Top Songs chart in all 119 regions with the solo track “Filter.” The track is off the band’s fourth studio album “Map of the Soul: 7” which was rolled out in February 2020, making BTS the first group to top the chart in all regions. The artist already has three more songs of his own that did so – “Like Crazy,” “Closer Than This” and “With You.” “Like Crazy” is the main track from hi

Personal costs of becoming 'idol' seen as too much, given uncertain future

Legendary K-pop girl group Kara dropped a new song, “Hello,” on Tuesday. The song is a Side-B track from its upcoming digital single album, “I Do I Do,” set for release on July 24. “Hello” is a ballad number that sings about the happiness people experience when meeting new someone new and the sadness of bidding farewell. “This song was supposed to be included in the group’s fourth LP, ‘Full Bloom,’ released in September 2013. But we are

Veteran boy band Infinite held emotionally charged fan meetings Saturday and Sunday, the first in seven years. "Infinite Rally 4," two standalone fan meetings, took place over the weekend at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul. Fan meetings are similar to regular concerts but include more interaction between the artists and the audience. The meetings were the first in which all six members of the group took part in seven years. Across two days, about 20,000 seats were sold out. The perf

Singer Taeyang will be holding his first solo concerts in seven years in August. The singer's agency, The Black Label, revealed the poster for Taeyang's solo concert, "Taeyang 2024 Tour The Light Year in Seoul," through its official social media channels. The upcoming concert will be held Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at the Olympic Hall in Olympic Park. The solo concert marks Taeyang's first concert in about seven years since his second world tour, "White Night," in 201

Hallyu markets in US, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam to grow to $143 billion by 2030

Taeyang announced Monday that he will hold a solo concert in Seoul on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 via agency The Black Label. It will be his first standalone gig in seven years and the Seoul show will be followed by a tour in Asia. The veteran musician brought out his second solo EP “Down to Earth” last year which included “Vibe,” “Shoong!” and “Seed.” “Vibe” was a collaboration with Jimin of BTS and hit Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 76 and

Haru, a Japanese performer formerly of K-pop girl group Nature, apologized Sunday for causing worry among her fans. The apology came after news broke in April that she was working as a "kyabajo," or a host at a cabaret in Japan. In a handwritten letter posted on her social media account, Haru expressed mixed feelings, acknowledging the heartbreak the news might have caused for Nature’s fan club, known as Leaf. "At 18, I came to Korea alone without knowing the language and de

NewJeans' absence from Hybe exhibition in Los Angeles reminder of Ador-Hybe dispute

Netflix's original political drama series "The Whirlwind" starts strong with the sitting prime minister, Park Dong-ho (played by Sul Kyung-gu), killing the president by lacing the president's e-cigarette with poison. The plot quickly accelerates as Park, aiming to consolidate power in the president's absence, encounters opposition from Finance Minister Jung Soo-jin (played by Kim Hee-ae), who endeavors to dismantle his authority and ascend to the presidency herself. As

The 28th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, Asia’s largest genre film festival that showcases an array of films, including thrillers and fantasy movies, officially concluded Friday, announcing “The Last Stop in Yuma County” and “Esper’s Light” as the best films at the closing ceremony. The closing ceremony followed the screening of the festival’s closing film “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” by Hong Kong martial arts master S

"Right Place, Wrong Person," the second album of RM, the leader of BTS, was named the “Best K-Pop Album of 2024 (So Far)” by Billboard, according to Hybe on Saturday, highlighting RM's ongoing success and influence as a solo artist. Released in May, "Right Place, Wrong Person" debuted at No.5 on the Billboard 200, making RM the first K-pop solo artist to have two consecutive albums in the Top 5. The album reached No.37 on the UK Official Albums Chart, setting

"Inside Out 2" is the most-viewed Pixar film to open in Korean theaters. According to the Korean Film Council, as of Sunday at 9:30 a.m., the total number of admissions sold for "Inside Out 2" logged 7.45 million. This surpasses the 7.24 million tickets sold for the US animation studio's "Elemental" (2023), which previously held the record as the most-watched Pixar movie in Korean theaters. "Inside Out 2" is currently the third most-watched film in

South Korean occult flick "Exhuma," which set a record as this year's first film to hit 10 million admissions, will be released in Japanese theaters this October. According to Kadokawa, the Japanese distributor of "Exhuma," the film will hit local theaters across Japan on Oct. 18. Directed by Jang Jae-hyun, known for his success with occult films such as "The Priests" (2015) and "Svaha: The Sixth Finger" (2019), and featuring veteran actors Choi Min-s