MBC’s drama series “Phoenix” from 2004 that featured actor Lee Seo-jin, Mun Jung-hyuk and the late Lee Eun-ju returns as an SBS daily morning soap opera starting from Monday at 8:35 a.m. The script for the 2020 “Phoenix” remake is once again written by Lee Yoo-jin, who wrote the original series. “Pheonix” revolves around Jang Se-hoon, who is poor, and Lee Ji-eun, from a rich family, as they get married, get divorced and meet again after their financi

As the popularity of YouTubers and social media influencers rise, so too do controversies surrounding them. With the online stars appearing on popular television shows and in advertisements, verification of their background has become a rising issue. Controversy arose last week when Rhee Keun, popularly known as “Lt. Lee,” faced allegations that he was convicted for a 2017 sexual assault. Lee had already gone through a debt scandal at the beginning of the month when he was accused

Rhee Keun, also known as Ken Rhee, sued YouTube content creator Kim Yong-ho on Wednesday for claiming that Rhee lied about having worked at the United Nations. Kim raised suspicions about the document that Rhee, popularly known as “Lt. Lee,” posted on Instagram on Monday as proof of his stint at the UN. An earlier video by Kim had raised questioned about Rhee’s career record. Rhee sued Kim on charges of obstruction, defamation and dissemination of false information at around

Actress Bae Suzy has joined hands with screenwriter Park Hye-ryun and director Oh Choong-hwan once again in the newest tvN drama, “Start-up,” set to start airing at 9 p.m. on Saturday. Suzy has appeared as the lead actor in several of Park‘s dramas, including KBS’ “Dream High” (2011) and SBS’ “While You Were Sleeping” (2017), which was also directed by Oh. “I had the opportunity to work with our director and screenwriter again, and p

Over a month has passed since Kakao M launched Kakao TV, a mobile content streaming platform, on Sept. 1, with seven of the 25 original shows that it promised until the end of the year. On Monday, producers and celebrities on original Kakao TV entertainment shows gathered for an online news conference to talk about how the shows came into being and the reasons for joining the platform. “We prepared a new form of entertainment show to lead the changing trend and environment,” said

Three dramas from different broadcasting stations -- JTBC’s “Private Lives,” tvN’s “Tale of the Nine Tailed” and KBS’ “Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol” -- began last week, competing for Wednesday-Thursday viewership. The dramas all had online press conference Wednesday afternoon, before their first episodes, a presage of the head-on competition ahead. The viewership rating of the first two episodes showed tvN’s “Tale of the Nine Taile

One of the trainers in the first season of popular YouTube show “Fake Men,” “Lieutenant” Rhee Keun, also known as Ken Rhee, uploaded a 91-second video Monday morning announcing that the monetary conflict with one of his acquaintances, identified as Kim, has been resolved and that he has paid back all debt owed to him. The conflict rose to the surface when Kim posted on Instagram on Friday accusing Rhee of not paying back 2 million won ($1,720) he had borrowed. Although&

The second season of reality show “Fake Men,” which was originally created for YouTube, is now also streaming through two local platforms -- Kakao TV and Watcha. The first season of the show, made by channel operator Physical Gallery with security and tactics consulting firm MUSAT, featured YouTube celebrities in extreme situations as they participated in MUSAT’s simulated Underwater Demolition Team training program. The show was initially a parody of MBC’s “Real

On chilly fall nights, monsters, ghosts and zombies are poised to thrill or even scare South Korean TV viewers and binge-watchers. The horror show "Sweet Home," based on a famous web cartoon with the same title, will be released on Netflix later this year. The series is about a student who faces scary experiences after moving into a new apartment, where its residents turn into monsters. It has drawn wide attention from viewers as the Netflix debut by renowned South Korean director L

Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, is all about families returning to their hometowns and paying tribute to their ancestors by visiting graves and sharing a big meal. Also, the Chuseok holidays are the busiest time of the year for movie theaters with lots of new family movies being released. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has the Health Ministry strongly encouraging the public to stay home and keep a safe distance during the nation’s major traditional holiday. Although foll

The number of subscribers of the local video streaming service giant Wavve has topped 10 million on rising demand for a wide variety of content, the company said Monday. Wavve was launched last year by South Korea's top mobile carrier, SK Telecom Co., and terrestrial broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS. "Despite a slight slowdown in the first half of this year, our memberships have been on a strong rise since July thanks to new releases of Wavve original series and exclusive foreign titles,&quo

The first season of Netflix original drama series “The School Nurse Files” was released Friday, bringing Chung Se-rang’s fantasy novel “School Nurse Ahn Eun- young” to life in over 190 countries around the globe. The highly anticipated drama series reached the top of the list of most popular TV shows on Netflix in Korea upon its release, according to data analytics firm FlixPatrol. The six 50-minute episodes of the first season of “The School Nurse Files&rd

KBS’ ‘When Camellia Blooms’ sweeps awards with five wins

Actress Park So-dam is returning to small screen for the first time in four years with the new tvN series “Record of Youth” set to start airing at 9 p.m. on Monday. Park, who had a breakthrough year in 2019 for her role in the Academy Award-winning film “Parasite,” is partnered with heartthrob Park Bo-gum and up-and-coming actor Byeon Woo-seok in the new series. The drama revolves around three 25-year-olds in the modeling business, each striving towards their dreams i

This year’s Seoul International Drama Awards will go ahead without any audience, including the nominees, award presenters and guests. In accordance with the government’s “Level 2.5” social distancing measure currently placed over the Seoul area, the 15th edition of the television drama awards will be taking a different format, the event’s organizing committee announced Thursday. The organizers will personally be delivering the trophies to both the local and over