KBS2’s “2 Days & 1 Night” has been awarded a Presidential Citation for promoting domestic tourism. In light of the 45th World Tourism Day, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism awarded 24 figures for contributing to the local tourism industry.  From left: Singer Jung Joon-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-hwan and TV personality Kim Jong-min pose for photos at the World Tourism Day ceremony held at the National Museum of Korea in central Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)Whil

After impressing the world with its heartfelt speech at the UN, BTS made a stop at Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show,” one of the most popular and longest-running nighttime talk shows in the US, to talk about its recent feat and next goal. The show’s highly-anticipated episode, aired on Tuesday night in US time, kicked off with BTS members, clad in flamboyant outfits, introducing themselves. RM introduced himself as a translator for the group, while Jin and J-Hope drew out cheers from crowd by callin

MBC’s annual “Idol Star Athletics Championships -- Chuseok Special” aired its first episode on Tuesday with many K-pop stars showcasing impressive athletic performances.On the first day of the sports event, K-pop stars competed in various sports categories: jokgu, archery, bowling, rhythmic gymnastics and track and field. Key events included the semi-final rounds in bowling and archery, final rounds in jokgu and rhythmic gymnastics.  (Screen-captured from MBC’s “Idol Star Atheltcis Championships

High-profile art troupe comes back from Pyongyang without televised performance

K-pop singers Zico and Aliee watched a gymnastics show held at Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, the largest stadium in the world, on Wednesday night as a massive North Korean crowd of 150,000 cheered on.The huge propaganda “Glorious Country” festival took place on the second day of Moon’s three-day visit to the North, as South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his counterpart Kim Jong-un watched together.Ailee, Choi Hyun-woo, Zico and Ali at Okryu Children's Hospital. (Joint Press Corp.)The

Some K-pop fans are up in arms over Seo In-young’s attempt to return to the entertainment scene.Despite having apologized for a controversial video in which she was heard swearing and lashing out at staff members on a TV filming set, the singer continues to encounter criticism online.Reports that she was recording music at a studio last week were bombarded with critical comments. (Soribada)“Are you going to explode again if something doesn’t work out the way you want while recording?” one Naver

K-pop sensation BTS will appear on “The Tonight Show,” one of the most popular and longest-running nighttime talk shows in the US.The group, who recently appeared on “America’s Got Talent,” will continue its US TV promotions on NBC’s late-night show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon, the show’s Twitter account confirmed Tuesday in US time.The tweet has since been liked over 120,000 times, and fans soon shared the hashtag #BTSonFallon soon on the social media. (Big Hit Entertainment)The confirmatio

A new cable channel specializing in North Korea will be launched early next year, its promoter said Wednesday. It will feature North Korean society, culture, tourism and food and will produce programs for the unification of the two Koreas, its preparatory committee, led by Korean-American journalist Jin Cheon-gyu, said in a news conference in Seoul.  (Yonhap)Jin has visited North Korea several times for news coverage.Former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun and former National Intelligence Serv

Singer Goo Ha-ra has said she wants to end the “mudslinging” with her boyfriend over a recent assault case.Goo, who was questioned at the Gangnam police station in Seoul on Tuesday, told the local media outlet Edaily that she wanted to end the “commotion,” which has drawn attention throughout the nation. (Yonhap)“It’s impossible for just one of us to be at fault. My boyfriend and I are both in the wrong for the scuffle. But I want to forgive and be forgiven by the person that I once loved,” the

Naver has updated its V Live platform, introducing a Korean edition of the news section V Today and a new layout allowing users to better categorize their content.Beginning Wednesday afternoon, the video-streaming platform, which features numerous K-pop stars’ channels, will offer V Today in the Korean language so that it is more accessible to Korean users. Until now, V Today was available only in English and Vietnamese because its main target viewers were global fans of K-pop content such as ne

BANGKOK (The Nation/ANN) -- Her dream of meeting and shaking hands with her South Korean idol may have come true but an indiscrete revelation of how she had accomplished the feat on her Facebook page has landed the fan in a soup and could end in her being jailed.The fan, along with another person, met Lee Jong-suk, 29, in a restricted area inside Suvarnabhumi Airport.Sirote Duangratana, the general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, on Sunday said that security camera footage showed that the incid

The new season of tvN’s variety show “Sound of Grazing Grass” is returning on Monday at 8:10 p.m.The autumn edition of the show is joined by popular comedian Park Na-rae and Hwang Chan-sung from the boy band 2PM, as well as a young farmer Han Tae-woong, who is a 16-year-old but carries himself more like a 61-year-old.(CJ E&M)Han’s mature mannerisms lightened the mood during the showcase Monday, which was held at CJ E&M Center in western Seoul. Han sang a trot song, a genre mostly for older peopl

Politicians and experts clashed over the best way to deal with the growing number of violent juvenile crimes across South Korea during last night’s special debate program on KBS.During the two-hour special “Citizens’ Assembly,” lawmakers Pyo Chang-won and Keum Tae-seop, both from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, went head to head with their differing views on whether toughening punishments for youth crimes would prove effective.Rep. Pyo, who wants to see tougher youth penalties introduced,

Singer Goo Ha-ra was reportedly embroiled in a scuffle with her boyfriend at her flat late Wednesday night after her boyfriend tried to end their relationship.Her boyfriend called police to accuse Goo of assault during a row at her flat in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul around midnight Wednesday. (Yonhap)The 27-year-old singer claims that both parties were involved in assault, according to Gangnam Police Station.Police said both parties will be called in for questioning as part of the ongoing investigatio

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