(Cinema Factory)Actor Ryu Jun-yeol turned into a villain for the upcoming thriller movie “No tomorrow.” 　According to the production company, Ryu drastically transformed himself for the character. Even though he was given a relatively small role, Ryu went through various changes such as dying a section of his hair bright yellow and putting on braces.　　Through talking extensively with the director, Ryu had come up with the unique concept for the character himself. The braces represent the wealth

China’s leading entertainment agency Yue Hua Entertainment is entering the Korean market by launching a local office Monday, according to company officials. 　“We’re aiming to introduce and develop a new paradigm in the entertainment industry in Korea,” the company said in an emailed statement Monday.　Jung Hae-chang, former head of Pledis Entertainment, and industry expert Lee Sang-kyu have been appointed as co-CEOs of the Korean arm. Pledis Entertainment is home to some of the most popular Korea

Kim Jun-su (C-JeS Entertainment)This is the third article in a series that explores the driving forces behind hallyu and the global rise of Korean pop culture. --Ed.Dubbed Korea’s “ticket power king” for his ability to sell out performances at the snap of a finger, K-pop and musical icon Kim Jun-su (also known as Xia) is inarguably one of the original driving forces of hallyu. Despite being entangled in a series of legal battles throughout his career, Kim has still managed to rise above all odds

The girl group is going full speed ahead with their first concert, the announcement of their fan club’s name and even a new mascot

The number of global hallyu fan club members surpassed 35 million across 86 countries last year, up from 21.8 million in 2014, according to new data from the Korea Foundation Tuesday. There were a total of 1,493 official hallyu fan clubs worldwide, a 21 percent increase from 2014 when there were 1,229 clubs. A total of 26.21 million fan club members were reported in Asia-Pacific -- a 48 percent increase from 2014. The Americas had 7.58 million fans, a staggering 182 percent rise from 2014 to 201

Six-member rookie girl group GFriend, which debuted last year, released the new seven-track EP “Snowflake” on Monday. The much-anticipated album comes after the group snagged rookie awards with their hit songs “Glass Bead” and “Me Gustas Tu” at major music award cermonies last year, including the Melon Music Awards and SBS Gayo Daejeon last year and this year at the Golden Disk Awards. The girls returned this time keeping their signature schoolgirl uniforms and maintaining their innocent image.

Rapper Psy, members of the multicultural talk show “Non-summit” and violinist Clara Jumi Kang have been chosen as winners of the Corea Image Communication Institute awards, CICI announced Wednesday. The awards recognize their contribution toward promoting Korea’s image.Psy, who achieved global fame with 2012 dance track “Gangnam Style” and recently released his seventh album, “Chiljip Psy-da,” will be awarded the Stepping Stone Award for showing the “vibrant, dynamic creativity” of hallyu and pr

Kim Soo-hyun, Park Shin-hye participate in campaigns to boost Korea’s image

Indulging in reminiscence with 2000s megahits like “Phone Number,” veteran hip-hop duo Jinusean raised the curtain for the first exclusive concert in their 18-year history Sunday at the Olympic Hall in Olympic Park, Seoul.　As fans brimmed with expectation, the concert “Jinusean Bomb” kicked off with a witty video clip of Jinu and Sean explaining the group’s long history, parodying the epic U.S. film from 1994, “Forrest Gump.”　 Hip-hop duo Jinusean’s concert “Jinusean Bomb” held at Olympic Hall,

K-pop group Girls’ Generation subunit TTS dressed in regal crimson red ball gowns for a Christmas carol teaser video, published to YouTube on Monday. (YouTube)Taeyeon styled voluptuous blonde curls against her halter bodice, while Tiffany chose a dress with a plummeting neckline and frilly train. Seohyun, sitting at a piano, opted for a strapless dress matched with a glittering crystal statement necklace. (Seohyun's Instagram)Taeyeon, Tiffany and Seohyun’s first carol album “Dear Santa” will be

Actress Han Ga-in, who is married to actor Yeon Jung-hoon, has been pregnant for nearly five months, according to a press release from Han’s agency, BH Entertainment, Monday. (OSEN)"Han and Yeon will become parents next year. Han has been very cautious about everything since her pregnancy. She even tries to refrain from going outside,” said a person familiar with the matter. The couple tied the knot in 2005 but did not have their first child until recently. Last year, Han made headlines after ge

Singer-songwriter IU stood by a song she wrote inspired by a 5-year-old boy character from a classic novel and for which she was mired in a controversy over pedophilia. At her solo concert in Seoul on Saturday, the 22-year-old singer-songwriter performed the controversial song, “Zeze,” explaining to the audience that she “still dearly loves it.” (Loen Entertainment)A track on IU’s latest EP “Chat-shire,” the song is named after the boy protagonist of Portuguese novel “My Sweet Orange Tree.” Its

A self-admitted die-hard K-pop fan, Zhang Yu Ting of China was already wandering around the five-story complex of SMTOWN@coexartium just minutes after its doors opened Wednesday morning. Sitting at the “LIVErary Cafe,” Zhang kept close guard of one particular white cafe table, constantly caressing and photographing the tabletop religiously with her phone. Upon closer look, one can see the table was autographed by mega K-pop idol duo TVXQ.  SMTOWN@coexartium in Gangnam, Seoul. (Julie Jackson/The