JYP Entertainment, the K-pop agency-label that represents acts like TWICE, Itzy and Stray Kids, said Tuesday it has opened a pop-up store in Tokyo for fans there. The venue set up in the Ginza neighborhood of the Japanese capital opened Saturday and is set to run until Aug. 31, the company said. In addition to selling merchandise related to the agency's artists, an exhibition marking boy band 2PM's 10th debut anniversary in Japan is also taking place. The company said costumes that girl groups

The upcoming superhero film "Black Widow" is expected to smash the virus-hit South Korean box office, with its presale tickets reaching a fresh yearly high, data showed Tuesday. Marvel Studios' latest film recorded 218,000 presold tickets as of 9:00 a.m. a day before its local release, according to the data by the Korean Film Council. It accounted for 84.2 percent of all tickets reserved at that time, overwhelming Disney's live-action film "Cruella" with 3.4 percent and Kor

SEOUL (AP) -- “What happened to Kings of Convenience” was, until recently, a prominent search result that would appear when looking up info on the Norwegian indie-pop folk duo. Largely quiet since the release of their last album, the band recently broke their silence with “Peace Or Love,” Erlend Oye and Eirik Glambek Boe’s first album together in 12 years. The duo picked up exactly where they left off, returning with a bundle of warm melodies familiar in their ear

SF9 declared there is no limit for the band at a showcase held in Seoul on Monday.   　 The nine-piece act put out its ninth EP, “Turn Over,” a year following previous EP “9loryUS.”   　 “I feel nervous and excited at the same time coming up on the stage again after a year,” said Youngbin. The band is in high spirits, however, having built up confidence after participating in “Kingdom: Legendary War,” a contest show among boy bands, he a

Actor Cha Ji-yeon, 39, has been tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday, although the rest of the cast on the musical she was starring in tested negative. Cha’s agency C-JeS Entertainment announced Sunday that Cha -- who has been starring in musical “Red Book,” while preparing for upcoming musical show “Gwanghwamun Sonata” and an upcoming Netflix series “The Bride of Black” -- was confirmed with COVID-19. “Cha was being tested for COVID-1

Three Korean films -- “In Front of Your Face” by Hong Sang-soo, “Emergency Declaration” by Han Jae-rim and “Cicada” by Yoon Dae-won -- will be screened at the 74th Cannes Film Festival that kicks off Tuesday in France. “In Front of Your Face” was selected in the Cannes Premiere section, a new category dedicated to works from well-established filmmakers. This is Hong’s 11th movie to be invited to the Cannes Film Festival. “Emergency D

The Seoul Cinema, which opened in 1979, announced on Saturday that it will soon close its doors permanently. “The Seoul Cinema, which has been a beloved cultural center of Jongno-gu for over 40 years, will close permanently on Aug. 31, 2021,” theater operator Hapdong Film said in a statement. The operator added that it is currently preparing to make changes, but did not announce specific plans on how the facility will be used in the future. Established in 1964, Hapdong Film was

Filming for “Bogota: City of the Lost,” starring Song Joong-ki, was suspended after one of the actors tested positive for COVID-19. Shooting of the crime drama will not resume until all the cast members end their self-quarantine, according to the film‘s distributor Megabox Plus M. After being informed that a patient confirmed with COVID-19 had been on a filming site Wednesday, the film‘s main star Song immediately canceled all his engagements and was tested for the vi

Pianist Cho Jae-hyuck releases new studio recording of the Russian composer’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and No. 3

Korean action film “Escape from Mogadishu,” directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, features a story based on a true event involving South and North Korean diplomats in Somalia during the 1991 civil war. “Dexter Studios had plans to create a movie based on a true event. The company proposed to me to be part of the project,” director Ryoo said during an online press conference held on Thursday. “I only knew briefly about what happened in Somalia. As I did more research I became

Global superstar BTS has set another record on YouTube, with its music video for the 2017 song "DNA" earning 1.3 billion views on YouTube, the band's agency said Saturday. YouTube views for "DNA," released in September 2017, topped 1.3 billion around midnight Friday, becoming the seven-piece act's first music video to reach the milestone, according to Big Hit Entertainment. It took just five months for the music video to add an extra 100 million views after it broke 1.2 b

Only two homegrown movies made the top 10 in the local box office over the first six months of this year, while the Hollywood actioner "F9" became the biggest hit in South Korea, data showed Saturday. "F9," the latest chapter in the "Fast and Furious" series, was the most-watched film in the first half of 2021, drawing over 2.28 moviegoers at the end of June, according to the box office data compiled by the Korean Film Council. The Japanese animation "Demon

BTS will appear in an online talk show to discuss new music on July 9 after the release of its single CD “Butter.” 　 In the special show titled “A Butterful Getaway with BTS,” the band will perform its new song “Permission to Dance” for the first time. It is another collaborative work with British singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran. 　 The upcoming single CD consists of the new song as well as “Butter,” which has set multiple records, including staying

After a yearlong postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korea National Opera went onstage Thursday for the Korean premiere of Puccini’s 1910 opera “La Fanciulla del West.” After the Italian production team completed a two-week, mandatory self-quarantine, the national opera troupe took to the stage Thursday at the Seoul Arts Center. Every other seat at the theater was left empty due to coronavirus restrictions. “La Fanciulla del West” was written by Itali

Streaming platform Tving’s original action thriller “Midnight” has been invited to screen at the 25th Fantasia International Film Festival and the 20th New York Asian Film Festival. The horror flick centers around a woman with a hearing impairment who becomes a serial killer’s target after witnessing a murder at midnight. Since its release on Wednesday, the movie has topped the domestic box office and is set to premiere in France, Japan, Vietnam and elsewhere. It is d