K-pop group Wonder Girls will be hitting Japan with their album titled “Nobody for Everybody” on July 25, Oricon reported Thursday.The Japanese version of their hit song “Nobody” is expected to be highlighted as their debut song.“In Korea the Wonder Girls are at a stage where they have reached their peak, and now we are ready for a bigger challenge,” Park Jin-young, CEO of the group’s label JYP Entertainment, stated.“We are very excited to meet our Japanese fans,” said Sohee, a member of the gro

SINGAPORE (AP) ― Korean entertainer Kim Hyun Joong is preparing to kick off his “2012 Asia Fan Meeting Tour’’ by high-fiving all 3,000 people expected to turn up ― a first for a pop star visiting Singapore.Event organizer “Running Into The Sun’’ said the original plan was for Kim to high-five 500 fans selected from the audience but Kim was insisting on high-fiving everyone.The tour that starts Friday includes Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and Thailand.Kim told the Associated Press the tour is his way

Lectures start to provide better understanding of Korean classics to content creatorsK-Arts Academy, supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, opened Monday as a part of the government’s effort to educate content creators on Korean traditional arts.The opening ceremony for the academy was held at Culture Station Seoul 284 with Culture Minister Choe Kwang-shik, directors from state-run art institutes and 150 producers and writers for films, TV programs, musicals and digital conten

Korea Year Committee announced the opening of the 2012 K-pop Cover Dance Festival. “Cover Dance” refers to emulating the choreography of popular K-pop groups. Those interested can participate by submitting their cover dance videos online at www.coverdance.org. The number of hits, votes for recommendation and experts’ evaluations will be used to decide on the qualifiers of the preliminary rounds. The website will receive applications from Wednesday through July. The deadline varies according to r

After becoming an animal and environmental activist, Lee Hyo-ri is making another foray outside music ― writing columns for a movie magazine. Weekly film magazine CINE 21 announced Lee would start writing for the publication this month. Her first column will appear in May’s first issue, said Doo Hwa-jin of the publication.“In addition to her singing and entertainment career, Lee has been vocal about various issues,” Doo told The Korea Herald when asked why they hired Lee. “She’s been active in r

Korean singer Se7en won the Best Overseas Performer Award at the China Music Award and Asian Influential Awards in Macau on April 13, YG Entertainment said.The 27-year-old K-pop artist was the only Korean singer invited to the event, the agency added.“I feel really grateful for receiving such a great award. I will do my best to meet my fans from China,” he said.  The awards show, in its 16th year, took place at CotaiArena in The Venetian Macao and was attended by many internationally known celeb

Four-member girl group brings mature, sexy look for summerKorean girl group Sistar stepped back into the spotlight with a press conference announcing their new mini album Thursday, breaking their eight-month hiatus.Titled “Alone,” the album reflects the group’s attempts to transform its image from energetic to sexy in all aspects ― music, dance, make-up and outfits, Sistar said. The four-member group wore flashy red dresses cut shorter in the front to show off their new subtle moves focusing on

Korean girl group Afterschool introduced Tuesday its newest member, Ga-eun.The 17-year-old will make her official debut on the group’s upcoming album, which will be released June 21.Ga-eun has the Afterschool “vibe” with a baby-face and a model-like figure, Afterschool’s management agency Pledis said. The company pointed out that Ga-eun demonstrated the most powerful vocal and dancing abilities among the candidates who vied to become the ninth member of the group. “Ga-eun went to junior high in

버스커 버스커 (김명섭/코리아헤럴드)버스커 장범준, “여자”에게서 곡 영감받아요!인기 밴드 버스커버스커의 장범준(22)이 곡을 쓸 때 영감을 “여자”에게서 받는다고 최근 코리아헤럴드와의 인터뷰에서 말했다.사랑의 설렘과 아픔, 이별등을 담은 첫 앨범 수록곡 모두 작사, 작곡을 한 그에게 곡을 쓸 때 어디서 영감을 얻냐고 묻자 “여자한테서요” 라며 주저없이 말했다.연애를 많이 해봤냐는 질문에는 “헤어짐에 대한 노래를 하려면 헤어져봐야 하니까요. 보편적으로 사랑에 대해 노래할 만큼만은 해봤죠” 라고 답했다.또한 다음 앨범 구상에 대해서는 “아직 셋의 스타일이 다르기 때문에 우리 셋이 완성 되가는 그림을 좀 보고 싶다. 다음 앨범에 어떤 색깔을 넣을지는 아직 생각 중 이다”라고 밝혔다.롤모델로 삼는 뮤지션이 있냐

Audition show band dominates K-pop charts with debut albumBusker Busker, who rose to fame through Mnet’s “Superstar K3,” became the talk of the town when the band swept the K-pop charts after the release of their debut album late last month. As of April 7, eight songs from their album “Busker Busker” ranked among the top 10 on Olleh Music’s weekly chart, easily beating out popular local stars. The album also ranked top on Billboard’s K-pop Hot 100 album chart on the same day, setting an example

Korean entertainer and race car driver Ryu Si-won is reported to be in divorce proceedings. Local dailies reported Monday that Ryu’s wife had filed for divorce on March 22, seeking to end the couple’s 18-month marriage. The reasons for the split have not been disclosed. On Monday, Ryu canceled the annual pre-race event for his team, EXR Team 106, scheduled for April 17. R’s Company, Ryu’s entertainment firm, explained that the cancellation was due to personal matters. R’s Company said through a

Korean girl group T-ara will add new members to become a nine-member group for the upcoming album, the group’s agency announced on Friday.The new members will be revealed together with T-ara’s new album release in July, according to the T-ara’s management agency Core Contents Media.“T-ara will change from the current seven to a nine-member system, and if needed, we will replace old members,” Kim Kwang-soo, head of Core Contents Media, said in a news release. The reason for the change, Kim added,

Korean girl group T-ara will add new members to become a nine-member group for the upcoming album, the group’s agency announced on Friday.The new members will be revealed together with T-ara’s new album release in July, according to the T-ara’s management agency Core Contents Media.“T-ara will change from the current seven to a nine-member system, and if needed, we will replace old members,” Kim K

An ad image of KARA and their new fragrance (3CY)Popular girl group KARA announced on Tuesday they will launch their first signature fragrance, becoming the first Asian celebrity to introduce a cosmetic product named after them and created with their input.“We have been working for a long time on developing K5J and are so excited that our signature fragrance is now a reality,” said KARA members i