Actress So Yoo-jin gave birth to a baby girl, her management agency said Monday. 　  (So Yoo-jin's Instagram)　Star-J Entertainment said both the mother and her second baby were in good health, adding that So would return to work late this year or early next year. 　　So, 34, married celebrity chef Baek Jong-won, 15 years her senior, in January 2013. The two had their first child, a boy, in April last year. 　By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)

Singer and actor Kim Hyun-joong on Thursday said he will take full responsibility for the newborn baby born to his ex-girlfriend if the paternity test shows he is the father, putting a fresh spin on the dragged-out legal dispute between the former couple.  Lawyer Lee Jae-man represents Kim Hyun-joong at press conference held Thursday. (The Korea Herald/ Lim Jeong-yeo)　Kim, who began his mandatory military service in mid-May, expressed his intention to uphold his personal responsibility through h

Veteran singer Cho Yong-pil is set to hold a concert tour from November through December, ending a two-year hiatus. Cho, 65, will kick off his tour in Daegu on Nov. 14, followed by performances in Ilsan on Nov. 21, Gwangju on Nov. 28, Busan on Dec. 5 and Seoul on Dec. 12. (Cho Yong-pil's official website)Cho, who debuted in the ’70s, has a slew of hit songs over his four decades of celebrated career in music, including “The Woman Outside the Window,” “A Friend,” “Mona Lisa,” “Bounce” and “Hello.

Rookie girl group Mamamoo, who topped local charts with their latest song “Um Oh Ah Yeah,” released the new single “Girl Crush” on Wednesday. 　The new song was created for the soundtrack of the new online game “Innisia Nest,” developed by local game company Entermate. The women of the group have also been cast as models for the upcoming game.  Mamamoo (Loen Entertainment)　The retro-pop “Girl Crush” was written and composed by Park Woo-sang, who worked on the group’s previous soundtrack work “Lov

Veteran singer Lee Seung-hwan will release new EP “3+3,“ Dream Factory, his agency, said Wednesday. Having released the album “Fall to Fly” in March last year, he will return to the music scene, ending a 18-month hiatus. The upcoming album contains three new tracks along with three previously released tracks.  (Dream Factory)Before dropping his album, Lee will prerelease Monday one of the tracks, “That One Person,” which was featured on the soundtrack of KBS TV drama “Discovery of Love” in 2014.

K-pop boy group iKON made its much-awaited debut Tuesday with the single “My Type,” which was topping all major charts immediately after its midnight release. 　Medium tempo hip-hop track “My Type” ranked No.1 on eight local charts, including Melon, Genie and Olleh. 　The song also nabbed the top spot on iTunes’ singles chart in seven regions, including Hong Kong, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. 　iKON is the newest act from YG Entertainment, home to K-pop heavyweights from Big Bang and Psy

Jonghyun of SHINee will release a self-composed, self-written EP on Thursday. 　The nine-track album, titled “Story Op. 1,” includes the lead track “End of the Day,” a ballad highlighting Jonghyun’s warm and soft vocals and piano melody.  Jonghyun (SM Entertainment)Jonghyun, who is a disc jockey for MBC music radio show “Blue Night,” revealed his self-written songs on a special program on the radio station titled “Blue Night Lyrics, That Man’s Composition.” The songs that were introduced in the p

  (C-Jes Entertainment)　 Junsu, a member of K-pop group JYJ, is set to release a solo album in October and to hold an Asian tour, C-Jes Entertainment said. “Junsu has gained a lot of popularity both in and outside the country by releasing three regular albums, successfully pulling off his solo career,” said a representative from C-Jes Entertainment. Junsu sold a record 120,000 copies of his album “Tarantallegra” after making his solo debut and successfully completing a world tour. His third albu

Director Ryoo Seung-wan on Wednesday said he is considering making a sequel to his hit film “Veteran,” which sold more than 12 million tickets. "We’re currently researching what social issues the public is interested in and what kind of individual they are curious to know more about,” Ryoo told reporters. (CJ Entertainment)The high-flying “Veteran” portrayed a seasoned investigator’s struggle and cathartic victory in uncovering criminal acts of a corrupt corporate heir. Kang Hye-jeong, CEO of Fi

South Korean singer and actor Rain has decided to part ways with his agency Cube Entertainment. (OSEN)“After a long discussion with Hong Seung-sung, head of the agency, I decided to leave Cube Entertainment. I want to thank him for all the support he has given, and I will announce my future plans as soon as I can,” said Rain on his Instagram on Monday.After finishing his mandatory military service, the 34-year-old joined Cube Entertainment in 2013.He is currently starring in the Chinese TV drama

The “Digital, Media and Culture Festival” kicked off with the “K-pop Super Concert” at the Sangam Culture Plaza in Seoul on Saturday. Hosted by TV personality Kim Sung-joo and SNSD’s Tiffany and Yuri, the concert saw some of the biggest names in K-pop take to the stage to kick-start the nine-day festival.Jointly hosted by broadcaster MBC and the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the DMC Festival will continue until Sept. 13.The festival aims at promoting the Korean Wave a step furthe

G-Dragon of boy band Big Bang has officially declared himself single.“I don’t have a girlfriend,” he said in Wednesday night’s live broadcast on Naver’s V app, a real-time video-streaming application for K-pop stars. The announcement comes after reports alleged the K-pop singer-songwriter had broken up with his recent girlfriend, Japanese model Kiko Mizuhara. Rumors of G-Dragon and Mizuhara’s relationship have circulated since 2010 -- though neither of the two celebrities have ever publically ad

 Actor-singer Jang Keun-suk will hold a solo concert in Seoul on Saturday.　Jang’s concert, titled “Jang Keun-suk Live in Seoul 2015,” will take place at Jangchung Gymnasium at 7 p.m. It is his first Seoul concert in three years since “2012 Jang Keun-suk Asia Tour Cri Show 2 in Seoul.” Concert poster of Jang Keun-suk (Tree J Company)For the upcoming show, the 27-year-old star will perform a string of his hit songs, including “What Should I Do?” and “Can You Hear Me Part 2.” 　“Jang has high expect

New forms and routes of global communication between stars and fans are surfacing

(OSEN)Popular boy group EXO is set to make its official debut in Japan on Nov. 4. EXO said Saturday at the Japanese music festival “A-nation” in Yanmar Stadium, Osaka, that it would drop a Japanese single next month, according to SM Entertainment. The group debuted in South Korea with “What Is Love” in January 2012, and released many hit songs, including “Growl,” “Overdose,” “Love Me Right” and “Call Me Baby.”EXO is set to hold concerts for its “EXO PLANET #2 - The EXO’luXion” tour in Japan on N