There’s good news for people who struggle to spell Korean names correctly in English: The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Friday decided to standardize the Romanization of Korean names into “family name + given name” instead of the widely used “given name + family name” as written in Western countries.In an attempt to respect the Korean tradition of placing more value on family names, the government said the new guideline would affect all Korean names on government documents, websites

In its third-year running, the Seoulsonic international music festival announced the events for its 2013 North America Tour 3.0, which will feature local rock bands Goonam, Lowdown 30 and No Brain.Seoulsonic artists will perform at some of North America’s biggest music festivals including: South By Southwest in Austin, Texas; Canadian Music Week, Canada’s largest music festival; as well as additional concert dates in Providence, Rhode Island; New York City; San Diego; and Los Angeles. Seoulsonic

Ballad singer Baek Ji-young will soon make her official singing debut in Japan.Baek will sing the Japanese version of her famous track “That Woman,” from the original soundtrack of SBS drama series “Secret Garden,” on May 1, according to a Japanese media report. Released in 2010, “Secret Garden” starred hallyu stars Hyun-bin and Ha Ji-won. Immensely popular in Korea, the last episode of the series recorded a 37.9 percent viewer rating. The series also aired in Japan, on the NHK BS Premium channe

“Gift from Room 7,” a heartwarming comedy which drew more than 11 million viewers in South Korea, is getting a mixed reception. The film, depicting a mentally challenged father who is wrongfully imprisoned in Room 7 for murder, has been lauded for its impressive performances by the main actors and its touching storyline.But for all the praise, some viewers had negative views about the plot. They said that several scenes did not logically follow from the previous ones, distracting viewers. “The l

Popular K-pop group CNBLUE unveiled its official concert poster and additional tour dates for their world tour, “2013 BLUE MOON World Tour.”“CNBLUE will perform in Australia and the Philippines on June 1 and 15. We are currently working with promoters to bring the concert to Europe and North America as well,” the group’s agency, FNC Entertainment, announced on Saturday.CNBLUE will start the tour in Taiwan on April 6, before traveling to Singapore on April 13. The four-member group will then stag

Korean boy band B.A.P’s new single, “One Shot,” topped the March 2 Billboard World Chart upon release. The “conquer” of the non-English lyrics section of the world’s most respected album chart was based on the album and digital sales in North America. The song also topped iTunes’ U.S. hip-hop album chart.This is the second time the band, which debuted last year, made it to the chart. It’s single, “Warrior” was ranked 10th in the same category on Feb. 11 last year. Fellow K-pop stars G-Dragon, SN

South Korea’s TV star Ahn Jae-wook is recovering after an emergency surgery for a stroke in the United States, his management agency said Wednesday.According to Jable Entertainment, Ahn received surgery for a subarachnoid hemorrhage berry aneurysm at a hospital in Las Vegas on Monday after experiencing serious headaches the previous day.He was visiting the home of the agency chief at that time, the agency said.“He is now recovering in an intensive care unit of the hospital and has no problem com

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) ― South Korea’s “Gangnam Style” star Psy will take part in carnival celebrations in Rio and Salvador next week, according to the sponsors.The rapper, whose hit song made history as the most-watched video on YouTube, will perform jointly with Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte Friday in the northeastern city of Salvador, the Gilette company said.The week-long Salvador Carnival, often dubbed the biggest street party in the world, attracts two million people annually.The next day,

American music website Billboard.com launched a new K-pop column called “K-town” on Tuesday, in a move to bring K-pop news, songs and music videos to its readers each week.The column will also feature exclusive content including interviews, photos and videos, according to Jeff Benjamin, a Billboard Korea staff member. The first K-pop act to be featured in the “K-town” column was INFINITE under the title, “Infinite Video Q&A with the Rising K-Pop Superstars.” Earlier this year, INIFINITE’s “The C

This is the 11th in a series about foreigners who work in Korea’s entertainment industry. ― Ed.The past few months have been a whirlwind for Canadian couple Simon and Martina, the masterminds behind popular entertainment website Eat Your Kimchi. The two not only made the move from Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, to Seoul, but decided to register Eat Your Kimchi as a company in Korea and opened their own studio in Hongdae.“Since the fundraiser to what we’re doing now, everything has changed so dramat

Sun Yao talks about ‘The Beauties’ Chatterbox’ and life after

Korean pop star Rain and actress Kim Tae-hee have been dating for the past three months despite the singer being at the barracks for mandatory military service, local media said Tuesday. According to online media outlet Dispatch, Rain and Kim started dating last September, months after they first met on the set of a Coupang commercial in October 2011. They met every time Rain was on leave. Dispatch said they met every week in the month of December. They reportedly used their cars for dates or s

Performances by Big Bang and 2NE1 have been included in the New York Times’ “Best Concerts of 2012.” In a list compiled by the music critics of the newspaper, 2NE1 and Big Bang placed second after rapper Jay-Z.Although both groups have yet to release a hit song in the U.S., their fan base there is big enough to earn them the spotlight, the newspaper said. The critics said that the concerts, both held at the Prudential Center, Newark, captivated “thousands of young, paying fans eager to see the g

  Actor Jang Keun-suk has received a "Jang Keun-suk Bus" to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his debut, his agency said on Wednesday.　Since his debut in 1992 as a child model, hallyu star Jang has emerged as a leader representing the Korean Wave in Japan and elsewhere. To celebrate the anniversary, Japanese fans prepared a surprise gift -- a bus with congratulatory remarks.“People in South Korea, we are regaining our strength due to so much support from the last massive earthquake,”Jang fans