Popular variety show aims for relaxation with mountain goats, picturesque island village and countryside banter

“Falsify,” a drama-thriller series revolving around journalists seeking to expose social injustices, is leading ratings. The show clinched first place among drama series aired Mondays and Tuesdays at 10 p.m., with 12.1 percent viewership as of Tuesday, according to Nielsen Korea. 　 “Falsify” (SBS)“Falsify” kicked off on July 24. It stars Namgoong Min as the temperamental tabloid reporter Han Moo-young. 　Uhm Ji-won plays a jaded prosecutor who has learned that the road to justice is paved with in

Actress still not comfortable with being called a ‘lead,’ but she may have more such roles coming her way

Crime-thriller series “Stranger” ended with much fanfare Sunday, achieving 7.3 percent viewership at one point during its last episode.　The tvN drama that aired Saturdays and Sundays was lauded for its gripping plot and strong performances.　Viewers have eagerly demanded a second season, to which tvN replied Monday that “no specific plans are in place as of yet.” 　“I believed that we could ... have a good-hearted influence on the world,” actor Jo Seung-woo said of the series.　Jo played seemingly

YG Entertainment said Sunday it will produce its own reality TV program featuring its stars as the company is set to push its boundaries beyond the music industry. "From September, we will start shooting a reality show titled 'YG JeonJa' based on real-life episodes happening inside YG," the company said in a statement. "JeonJa" in Korean is short for strategic archive. It also unveiled a teaser video titled "Planning Meeting of YG JeonJa."

K-pop group Apink and rapper-producer Heize, whose songs have been topping local music charts, were featured on Park Jin-young’s talk show, during which they discussed stardom and past loves.　The musicians appeared on the second episode of “Party People,” producer-singer JYP’s first foray into hosting a late-night talk show.Apink performed its hit songs “No No No” and “Mr. Chu,” and discussed the pressures of the K-pop scene.　“There was a point when I didn’t know if the public and our fans would

"Idol School," Mnet's new idol trainee competition show, debuted at the top of a benchmark TV popularity index, data showed Tuesday.The Thursday-evening program scored 278.7 points on the Content Power Index, becoming the most popular TV program from July 10-16.CPI, developed by entertainment company CJ E&M and Nielsen Korea, measures the popularity of TV shows based on the number of views of related news stories, online search tallies and buzz on social media.The show puts 41 young female conte

The creators of MBC drama series “Man Who Dies to Live” apologized on Sunday for the show’s controversial depiction of Islamic culture. The show, which airs every Wednesday and Thursday, came under fire for depicting a caricature of what appears to be Islamic culture in a comical fashion. (MBC)“Our intent was not to maliciously distort of comically depict Islamic or Arabic culture. We apologize for causing concern with our inappropriate depiction,” officials said, issuing the apology in Korean,

Soon-to-be-married couple Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo were asked to hold their wedding ceremony at the “Descendants of the Sun” theme park in Taebaek, Gangwon Province. City officials recently visited Song Joong-ki’s agency and relayed hopes of the city’s residents for the couple to wed at the theme park. The city also outlined the details of the city‘s support for the wedding, including the officiant’s message, outdoor wedding facilities and honeymoon accommodations, to the agency. Song Joon

Actress Yeom Jung-ah and K-pop diva Lee Hyo-ri will be the first guests on producer and singer Park Jin-young’s upcoming talk show, SBS announced Thursday.　It is the first time Park, commonly dubbed JYP, will host a talk show in the 25 years of the performer and songwriter’s career. 　The show is set break the traditional talk show format. Its set is staged like a club, with audience members enjoying themselves while standing in front of the stage. 　 Set of “Party People” (SBS)During the first sh

Women dominate Westeros as never before, and it’s the same with the “Game of Thrones” ratings.The HBO drama’s seventh-season premiere last weekend drew a record-setting 10.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen company figures released Tuesday. That eclipsed previous top-rated “Game of Thrones” episodes, including the 8.11 million who watched the season five finale in 2015 and the 8 million who tuned in to that year’s opener. (HBO)The numbers represent viewers who watched the episodes as they f

Actor Ji Chang-wook said Tuesday that he will return to big and small screens after faithfully and safely completing his nearly two years of military duty."I'm starting too late," Ji said during a news conference to mark the end of SBS TV's Wednesday-Thursday series "Suspicious Partner," referring to his conscription schedule set for Aug. 14."But I'll be back after having more fun in the Army (than those who've gone before me), and faithfully and healthily finishing my duty." (Glorious Entertain

Kim Jae-Joong from boy band JYJ sustained an injury to his left thumb while shooting for a new TV series, his agency said.C-JeS Entertainment said the actor and singer cut his finger on a glass bottle Monday night on the set for KBS 2TV's Wednesday-Thursday drama "Man-Hole."Kim had a doctor stitch the wound and took a day off from shooting.  (Yonhap)"It is actually not a light injury but Kim's acting portion is too big for him to rest for more than a day," the agency said, adding that he needs t

South Korea's cultural content surplus plunged 25.4 percent in the first five months of 2017 from a year earlier, official data showed Tuesday, a decline widely blamed on Chinese restrictions on imports of local pop culture over an ongoing missile row.The balance of audio visual and related services came to $156.6 million in the black in the January-May period down from $209.8 million for the period last year, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea.For the whole of last year, the ba

South Korea‘s three major television networks -- KBS, MBC and SBS -- began a joint streaming service to quickly provide their drama and entertainment programs to American viewers on Monday. (The Korea Content Wave)The Korea Content Wave (KOCOWA) is available both on the internet and mobile and the range of service will be expanded to other continents in the future, the broadcasters said. This marks the first time that the terrestrial TV stations have launched a streaming platform to directly cir