Actors reunite 15 years after “Take Off” in this action thriller

Blackpink earned a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry with its first studio album, the organization announced Tuesday. LP “The Album” logged 100,000 in sales in the country, and the quartet became the first K-pop female artist to do so. The album from May 2020 ranked No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the main albums chart for 26 weeks straight, a record for a K-pop female act at the time. It also was No. 2 on the UK’s Official Top Albums chart. The

On-stage dialogue brings new dimension in ballet

The 14th Korea Ballet Festival is set to kick off next week at the Seoul Arts Center, boasting a lineup of 12 works, including one special production, three invited pieces and eight selected through open submissions. A diverse array of ballet performances ranges from classics like "Don Quixote" and "The Barber of Seville" to reimagined literary works such as "Scent of Chrysanthemums" and "The Desolate House," alongside contemporary productions forecasting

Belift Lab, a K-pop agency home to a rookie girl band Illit and a sister subsidiary to Ador under Hybe, sued Ador CEO Min Hee-jin for obstruction of business and defamation, the company said Wednesday in a statement. Min has been arguing that Illit had plagiarized NewJean’s style shortly after Illit's debut in March. It is the first time Belift Lab spoke out regarding the ongoing feud. Hybe had been speaking in place of Belift Lab when addressing Min’s allegations until now. Bel

Quintet drops new album after touring globally

SM Entertainment signed a memorandum of understanding with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday to enhance its contribution to conserving urban biodiversity by expanding Kwangya Forest. Kwangya Forest was established on 400 square meters of land in Seoul Forest located at Seongdong-gu, Seoul in May 2023. This partnership involves SM’s financial support in expanding Kwangya Forest and its maintenance for the next five years, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s provision of

Stray Kids entered Billboard’s Hot 100 for the second time with “Lose My Breath,” a Charlie Puth collaboration, according to the publication on Monday. The band of eight teamed up with the American singer and songwriter who co-authored the song with the songwriting trio of Bang Chan, Changbin and Han. The digital single was dropped on May 10 and tied the record the group set on the main singles chart with “Lalalala” last year. “Lalalala” was the focus tr

The director of "High School Mystery Club 3," a popular Korean mystery reality show series, aimed to address current societal issues by incorporating such themes into a mystery reality show. "Considering the genre of 'High School Mystery Club,' the show must deal with subject matter related to crimes and I did not want to create a program which lightly and humorously dealt with the matter," said Im Soo-jung, the producer of "High School Mystery Club 3," du

South Korean filmmaker Ryoo Seung-wan’s new action blockbuster “I, The Executioner” premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on Monday. The 77th edition of the film festival kicked off Wednesday last week and runs through Saturday. “I, The Executioner,” also known as “Veteran 2” here, is a sequel to the 2015 hit blockbuster “Veteran” which attracted 13.41 million viewers. The movie is the only Korean film that has been invited to the offici

JYP Entertainment launched its first Japanese boy group, Nexz, Monday -- the agency's first boy group in six years. Nexz consists of six Japanese nationals and one South Korean national born and raised in Japan, selected through the K-pop agency’s “Nizi Project Season 2” audition program which aired on YouTube and Hulu Japan last year. The audition program is part of JYP Entertainment’s “Globalization by Localization” project aimed at localizing K-pop in

Seven Korean dance groups are scheduled to tour Budapest and the US from Tuesday to June 16. The tour will cover four cities: Budapest in Hungary, Seattle, Hudson Valley and Manhattan in the United States, starting with the 11th International Monodance Festival held at the Bethlen Theater in Budapest on Tuesday. On June 2, the "Seoul-Mate Korea Dance Festival" will be showcased at the Stissing Center for Arts and Culture in Hudson Valley, New York, and at the Cosmopolitan Club in Manha

The 28th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival is holding a special exhibition on celebrated South Korean actor Son Ye-jin. She is the sixth actor to have a retrospective exhibition at BIFAN. Other luminaries in the Korean film industry such as actors Choi Min-sik, Jeon Do-yeon, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Hye-soo and Sol Kyung-ku have been previously highlighted in BIFAN exhibitions. The 28th BIFAN kicks off July 4 and runs through July 14. Titled “Unrivaled Son Ye-jin” (direct trans

Junghan and Wonwoo of Seventeen will form a new subunit and roll out the single “This Man-The City” on June 17, agency Pledis Entertainment announced Monday. The news came through a video of nighttime in a city that goes black after lightning strikes. Expectations are high for the two, especially since they are an unlikely pair, Junghan from its “vocal team” and Wonwoo from “hip-hop team.” The latter sang with Mingyu for the digital single “Bittersweet (

NewJeans, the popular K-pop girl band of Hybe’s music subsidiary Ador, is turning out to be the biggest victim in the ongoing feud between Hybe and Ador CEO Min Hee-jin, sparked by Min's alleged breach of trust, an industry source said Monday. It was all about NewJeans from the start, when Min sent an email to the executives of Hybe on April 3 arguing that new girl group Illit, which debuted under Belift Lab, another Hybe subsidiary, had plagiarized NewJeans’ style and concept.