(Grazia)Grazia, a fashion magazine, put out a photo of Yoo Seung-ho, marking the first photo shoot for the actor since he was discharged from the military in December.In the photos, Yoo, who was conscripted in the army in March 2013, dressed in a Korean army uniform along with other casual wear. The fashion shoot, which took place in Paris, features the actor’s “bad boy” and masculine images, with his gaze into the lens with a laid-back and confident charisma. Yoo also gave his first interview t

(Weibo)Korean actor Lee Jong-suk boasted his flawless skin in a close-up selfie on Sunday.　In the photo uploaded on his weibo account, the heartthrob is pouting his lips and giving an impish look at the camera.　“Go for it this new year!” the actor wrote alongside the picture.　Lee is currently playing the main role of Choi Dal-po in SBS’s Wednesday-Thursday drama “Pinocchio.”　By Yoon Ji-soo (thankque@heraldcorp.com)

Kim Woo-bin has signed on to model for leading American outdoor brand Merrell in Korea for the second year. On Tuesday, it was confirmed that the actor renewed his contract with Merrell to promote a range of its outdoor fashion goods.(Merrell)A spokesman for Merrell said Kim well represents the “young and refined image” of the company, which helped boost the brand’s domestic popularity and sales last year.(Merrell)Kim, who won acclaim in the drama series “The Heirs” in 2013, stars in the movie “

(CJ Entertainment and Media)K-pop duo Davichi shared the cover of its upcoming album through fashion magazine 1st Look on Wednesday. The singers are set to make a comeback, with their new EP hitting stores on Jan. 21.The female idols, Kang Min-sung and Lee Hae-ri, appear to have revamped their girly image in favor of a more grown-up and edgy look.(CJ Entertainment and Media)On the album cover, the K-pop singers are wearing minimalist outfits, highlighting masculine silhouettes. They wore outsize

(Instagram)Victoria, a member of a K-pop girl group f(x), posted a photo of herself on Instagram on Tuesday.　 She wrote “Kai-aakmann,” the brand name of the khaki jacket she wears, alongside the picture. 　In the shot, her long black boots and sunglasses match well with the jacket, completing the casual and sporty look.　She stars in “My Sassy Girl 2,” a direct sequel to the 2001 original with the return of actor Cha Tae-hyun, to be released this year. 　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

HyunA of 4Minute. (Cube Entertainment)The music video of K-pop star HyunA’s hit single “Red” is the Rolling Stone’s No. 5 pick for the best music videos of 2014.Although the acclaimed magazine described the song itself as “a schizophrenic mess,” it gave an approving nod to the only K-pop video on its top 10 list, applauding the clip’s rapid scene shifts of monkey butts and giant red lips. “Some major Korean broadcasters thought the original video was too hot for TV, which means it might (be) jus

Big BangA host of K-pop idol groups, both old and new, are gearing up to make a comeback, raising hopes of fresh energy in the K-pop scene early this year.One of the long-awaited acts is K-pop sensation EXO, which proved its elevated stature across Asia by nabbing several year-end music awards at home and abroad last year.The 10-member group plans to release a new album in the first half of this year, with the exact date yet to be confirmed.  EXOEXO’s return marks a fresh start as the boy band h

Old-school K-pop icon Seo Taiji announced that he would be expanding the section of the Guapi Assu Brazilian forest named after him as part of his new “Be the Green” environmental preservation efforts.In 2012, a group of Seo Taiji fans raised 38.67 million won ($35,000) to earmark nearly five hectares of Brail’s vast tropical rainforest as the Seo Taiji Forest in honor of the star’s 20th anniversary as a singer. An aerial view of the future Seo Taiji Mania Forest in Brazil. (Seo Taiji Co.)The fa

In its first-ever solo tour of Asia, K-pop boy band EXO drew 320,000 concert goers, proving their overseas fame, its label SM Entertainment said Friday. The hottest K-pop act, which debuted in 2012 as a 12-member group, held 30 concerts in major Asian countries including China and Indonesia from May until this week as part of its tour “EXO from Exoplanet: The Lost Tour.” The tour had been a turbulent ride, with Chinese member Kris abruptly departing just before the first concert, and second memb

Afterschool’s Joo-yeon. (Pledis)K-pop starlet Joo-yeon may be parting ways from the eight-member girl group Afterschool as well as her label Pledis Entertainment, according to news reports that began circulating Monday. Her contract with Pledis is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31 and it was reported that Joo-yeon had no plans to renew her contract with the agency or remain as a member of Afterschool. The reports also said that her last activity with the group will be Afterschool’s upcoming Chinese

Beating out the cream of the crop in pop music such as Pharrell Williams and newcomer Sam Smith, the K-pop idols of 2NE1 have made their mark this year with the album “Crush” named in Rolling Stone’s “20 Best Pop Albums of 2014.” Taking the No. 6 spot on the magazine’s list of the year’s 20 best albums, “Crush” is only the K-pop group’s second full-length album. After its release on Feb. 27, the album went on to shatter a number of records, including becoming K-pop’s biggest selling album in the

CNBLUEBoy bands CNBLUE and FT Island made record-high profits in Taiwan this year, proving their overseas fame, a Singaporean media outlet reported Friday. According to My Paper, the two groups earned about 25 billion won ($22.7 million) from concerts and album sales in Taiwan. The four-member group CNBLUE made 2.8 billion won from its Asia tour concerts in the country, matching the record set by idol group Super Junior. Meanwhile, the five-member group FT Island earned about 1.4 billion won fro

‘K-pop Star 4’ contestant bullying rumors continue to spiral