Global band BTS has begun a new journey to produce an album, possibly the first self-produced album in the band's high-profile seven-year music career. Appearing on a live video log on YouTube last week, BTS member Jimin shared the news on the project, the band's new discographic journey that came as the coronavirus pandemic has put its globe-trotting concert tour on hold. "As our team's production of a new album has been assigned independently to ourselves, we named the project managers

Actors Lee Je-hoon and Choi Woo-shik teamed up for director Yoon Sung-hyun’s recently launched action thriller, “Time to Hunt.” The film takes place in a dystopian near future. The nation has turned into a slum in the aftermath of a catastrophic financial crisis, and four youths decide to flee this living hell. To escape, they knock off a casino run by mobsters. The gangsters hire an assassin to retrieve what they have lost, and from there begins the cat-and-mouse game betwe

After an involuntary two-month break, the performing arts scene is gearing up to get back on track while taking precautions against the new coronavirus. A total of 24 national cultural institutions have closed since late February. Private institutions were shut down in past weeks, too.  Now that the number of new cases has dropped and South Korea is on the verge of going back to its normal routines, performing arts institutions and troupes are planning to resume their activities Wednesd

The smash-hit series "The World of the Married" has become the most-watched drama on Korean cable TV, data showed Sunday. The 12th episode of the JTBC series, which airs every Friday and Saturday, logged a record viewership of 24.3 percent on Saturday, outrunning the previous record of 23.8 percent set by another JTBC hit, "SKY Castle," according to Nielsen Korea. This marks the highest viewership by a drama episode aired on local cable networks and the second-highest for

Walt Disney’s plans to launch its over-the-top video streaming service Disney Plus in service outside of the US have been disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Industry watchers expected Disney Plus to enter the Korean market toward the end of this year, but the outlook seems rather bleak. Earlier this month, it was reported that the US entertainment giant has furloughed more than 100,000 employees, nearly half of the company’s workforce. Production of Disney Plus origina

Jeonju International Film Festival will take place next month behind closed doors, a month after its scheduled opening. A scaled-down 21st edition of Jeonju IFF will run May 28-June 6, with only a limited number of judges and filmmakers from each competition section -- international competition, Korean competition and Korean shorts -- attending the event. “As the upcoming long holiday period in May is raising the alarm for public health officials, Jeonju IFF had no choice but to think

The Daejong Film Awards, a major South Korean film festival and award event, will be held in June with a smaller audience than usual after the event was postponed in February due to the coronavirus outbreak, its organizers said Thursday. The event's organizing committee announced that this year's 56th Daejong Film Awards, known as the Grand Bell Awards in English, has been scheduled for June 3 at a hotel in Seoul. "For the safety of visitors and artists who will attend the festival, we

Chen, a member of K-pop boy band EXO, became the father of a daughter Wednesday following his surprise marriage announcement in January. "Chen had a daughter born today as (reported)," EXO's management agency, SM Entertainment, said, confirming some media reports on the birth. The news came about three months after the 28-year-old, whose legal name is Kim Jong-dae, made a surprise marriage announcement in January in a handwritten letter. He said at that time that his fiancee was pr

Are teenagers responsible for their deliquency and are adults free of culpability for the teenagers’ crimes? Upcoming Netflix original series “Extracurricular” deviates from most Korean TV dramas about teenagers in exploring the dark reality of juvenile crimes. Yoon Sin-ae, CEO of the series’ production company Studio 329, said that when she received the script from budding writer Jin Han-sae, she knew she had to do it. “The series tells the story of teenagers w

In one of the highest-profile music collaboration projects to date in South Korea, female singer-songwriter IU and Suga of BTS are on course to hit the music scene with their collaboration song next week. "Eight," set for release next Wednesday, was jointly created by the K-pop queen and actress and the rapper from BTS, and comes with a rap part by the latter. The collaboration brings together the musical power of IU, arguably the country's most sought-after artist for music collabo

BTS will release next month a documentary series, "Break the Silence," which follows the band's globe-trotting 351-day concert journey last year, its management agency said Wednesday. According to Big Hit Entertainment, the seven-episode series will be unveiled exclusively on Weverse, a mobile application for the BTS fan community, at 9 p.m. on May 12. After the first two episodes are released on the day, each of the remaining five episodes will be available every Tuesday and Thursd

BTS, a South Korean boy band, has decided to reschedule its upcoming world tour due to the coronavirus pandemic, its agency said Tuesday. Big Hit Entertainment announced the decision to indefinitely put off the BTS Map of the Soul Tour, saying it was made in "foremost consideration" of the health and safety of the artists and fans. In a notice posted on the fan community Weverse, the agency said it "will completely reschedule the tour and provide a new tour schedule to our fans

Of all the remarkable moments in the life of Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, South Korea’s first Roman Catholic cardinal, the film “Beyond the Mountain” focuses on his childhood, as it is perhaps the most essential part of Kim’s life, according to director Choi Jong-tae. “It’s not a religious film. Cardinal Kim has always said he was ‘an ordinary person,’ and this is essentially where his greatness comes from,” Choi told The Korea Herald dur

An upcoming YouTube original series documenting K-pop girl group TWICE's struggles before its debut up till its record-setting global ascent could give a message of hope, the band said Tuesday. The eight-episode documentary series, "TWICE: Seize the Light," will hit YouTube on Wednesday as the global video streaming service's first original program featuring a K-pop girl group. It will be available in 81 countries and territories. The series is a tribute to the nine-member multinati

Classic Revolution 2020 Beethoven to be held at Lotte Concert Hall