SM Entertainment denied rumors that its artists bought sex and used drugs at an adult entertainment establishment in Japan. “Currently, groundless rumors about Johnny and Haechan of NCT regarding prostitution, drugs and other disturbing content are being spread and reproduced indiscriminately online. These rumors are completely false and spreading these rumors are criminal acts that severely defame our artists,” wrote SM Entertainment on Kwangya 119, its website established for repor

K-pop singer G-Dragon of Big Bang was named a visiting professor of the department of mechanical engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), on Wednesday. The singer‘s appointment is aimed at expanding the global competitiveness of Korean culture by incorporating the latest science and technology developed at KAIST into K-content, according to KAIST. “I am honored to be a visiting professor at KAIST, a school that produces many scientific geniuses

BTS member J-Hope, who is currently serving in the military, won the top prize in an Army presentation contest with his honest speech about his experience as a soldier. J-Hope, whose real name is Jung Ho-seok, participated in the competition held under the theme “2024 Strong Warrior, Army” at the War Memorial of Korea, Wednesday. About 170 soldiers and civilian workers attended the event that commemorates the month of patriots and veterans in Korea. J-Hope delivered a speech about

South Korean heartthrobs Suzy and Park Bo-gum said they were satisfied with their romantic chemistry as portrayed in upcoming AI fantasy romance movie “Wonderland.” Helmed by Kim Tae-yong of “Late Autumn” (2010), the movie revolves around people reuniting through AI in a simulated virtual world called Wonderland. Suzy and Park, who have developed special rapport as emcees of the Baeksang Arts Awards for many years, showed their special on-screen chemistry in “Wonder

K-pop powerhouses such as Hybe and SM Entertainment have recently shown increasing interest in the music market of the Middle East. Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk last week met with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss possible cooperation in K-pop ventures, upon his request. SM Entertainment, led by its founder and former chief producer Lee Soo-man, got its feet in the door early, signing a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture to

The 10th Gyechon Classic Festival concluded Sunday with the final concert featuring the Gyeonggi Philharmonic led by pianist-turned-conductor Kim Sun-wook and pianist Cho Seong-jin. The last performance of the three-day festival began right after a half-hour rain delay. The orchestra and star pianist Cho performed Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 35 in front of 7,000 spectators. For the encore, Kim and Cho joined forces to perform Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5, whi

Le Sserafim was named artist of the month by MTV’s Push campaign, a first for a K-pop girl group, according to agency Source Music on Tuesday. The campaign for “breakthrough” artists shed a spotlight on the quintet by uploading an interview clip as well as performance videos of “Easy” and “Smart” from its third EP, also named “Easy.” The mini album was released in February and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 8 while the titular track debuted

The tvN romance series "Lovely Runner," which aired its last episode May 28, has taken not only Korea but also the world by storm. The show, topping the charts in 130 countries on the global streaming platform Rakuten Viki, also made history in the Korean streaming services sector. On the day of the series finale, Tving, the exclusive domestic streaming platform for "Lovely Runner," surpassed Netflix in daily viewing hours for the first time. According to Mobile Index, Tving&

SM Entertainment’s China-based K-pop boy group WayV released its fifth EP, “Give Me That,” on Monday. The new EP includes six tracks led by the titular track “Give Me That” released in Chinese and Korean. This is the first time WayV has included a Korean song in their album. “We are glad to introduce a Korean song because it means that we now have more fans in Korea. We hope to meet with our fans from all around the world by making it to global music charts wi

Kep1er held a media conference Monday in Seoul to introduce its first full-length album “Kep1going On.” The 10-track album comes nine months after the group's fifth EP “Magic Hour.” “Since we are coming back after a long while, we wanted to show a more mature side of us,” said Hikaru. Every song counts and “the album celebrates the time we have been together with fans,” added Choi Yujin. The album will be a “turning point” for the

A few years ago, Lee Yo-sup, who directed the 2016 small-budget film“Queen of Crimes,” had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to remake his all-time favorite movie “Accident” (2009). While he changed the majority of the plot and added a different array of characters, one thing he wanted to keep was the original work’s mood. “I wrote the scenario (of the remake version) as a big fan of the original work. That gave me a lot of things to consider, and it took some

The bandmates of BTS, the K-pop phenomenon under entertainment powerhouse Hybe, are emerging to save the day for the company embroiled in a bruising battle with a subsidiary. Jungkook, the youngest of the boy band, plans to release a new song for fans on June 7, while the group's eldest, Jin, is holding a fan meeting a day after his discharge from military service on June 12. Big Hit Entertainment, a subsidiary of Hybe and the label of BTS, said Monday that Jungkook will drop a new digita

K-pop boy group Big Bang's member T.O.P will not go to the moon after the world's first civilian moon mission, “dearMoon,” was canceled Saturday. T.O.P. was to blast off as part of what would have been the first civilian mission to the moon on a rocket developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The launch had been scheduled for 2023. “It’s unfortunate to announce that ‘dearMoon,’ the first private circum-lunar flight project, will be canceled. We thank e

K-pop sibling duo AKMU released its third EP, “Love Episode,” on Monday. The new release consists of six tracks, led by “Hero.” Lee Chan-hyuk, the older brother, took part in composing and writing the lyrics for the entire album. “The songs convey acoustic sounds with various genre variations, giving them newness. They are light and comfortable easy-listening music under the theme of ‘love’ that anyone can sympathize with,” YG Entertainment said in

The Netflix teen romance series "Hierarchy," rife with luxurious mise-en-scenes, will chronicle the tales of youths attempting to break free from an established hierarchical structure based on wealth, according to producers, Monday. The 7-part series follows the story of Kang Ha (played by Lee Chae-min), who, after receiving a scholarship, transfers to Jushin High School, where the wealth and social status of students' families are pivotal in assessing the students' value.