Actor and singer Park Yu-chun of boy band JYJ on Friday was discharged from nearly two years of mandatory military service.Park was discharged late Friday from the Gangnam District Office in southern Seoul, where he served as a public worker in substitution for his military service. All able-bodied South Korean men between the ages of 18 and 35 must serve in the military for about two years, as the country remains technically at war with North Korea. Park Yu-chun (Yonhap)While serving his duty,

Actress Lee Young-ae on Monday made a donation to help those affected by an artillery accident last Friday, the Army said Wednesday.“I hope parents can be reassured about safety in the military, and I hope this country becomes a safer place for our children to grow” said Lee.Lee, a mother of twins, said she decided to make the donation upon learning that a sergeant who died in the incident left behind an 18-month-old son.The sergeant was among two soldiers killed when a K-9 Thunder self-propelle

KCON, a global Korean pop music and culture convention, wrapped up its Los Angeles event Sunday, bringing together tens of thousands of fans of cutting-edge South Korean musicians, fashion and other Korean-related cultural content.A crowd of 80,000 gathered at the three-day KCON LA 2017 held from Friday at the Los Angeles Convention Center and the Staples Center in the American west coast city, according to CJ E&M, organizer of KCON. (Yonhap)First launched in Irvine, California, in 2012, KCON is

South Korea's entertainment industry was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the diplomatic normalization with China in 1992. Its pop songs, dramas and movies flooded into the once banned communist country, which has become the springboard for "hallyu," or the growing popularity of South Korean popular culture. But they have recently emerged as a victim of politics. Korean showbiz faces the hardest time since entering China 25 years ago amid a raging anti-Korean sentiment and state restrictions

South Korean singer Seven, better known by his stage name “Se7en,” will begin a tour of Japan after a 7-month hiatus. Se7en will perform in Osaka on Sept. 15 and Tokyo on Sept. 17 and 18. The singer, whose real name is Choi Dong-wook, held concerts in Nagoya on Jan. 27, Osaka on Jan. 28 and Tokyo on Jan. 31. He met some 10,000 fans at the tour’s after-party on Feb. 2. His tour celebrated the release of his new album “Dangerman” in last December, which reached the 10th spot on the Japan Oricon da

K-pop artists managed by leading Korean entertainment agency S.M. Entertainment kicked off their sixth concert tour around the globe in Seoul on Saturday. A total of 61 singers thrilled some 45,000 fans at the SM Town Live World Tour VI concert at Seoul World Cup Stadium. It was the first SM Town Live concert in Seoul in three years since its fourth tour opened in the city in August 2014.  K-pop artists signed by S.M. Entertainment perform at the “SM Town Live World Tour VI” concert held at Seou

A growing number of Korean pop stars received death threats in recent months, raising questions as to why such incidents occur.From Apink to Twice to BTS, South Korea’s most beloved artists have faced serious threats from various anonymous persons online and over the phone. This has put the local entertainment industry on edge, amid growing concerns over how celebrities can be better protected from such threats.Most are written out of anger. Irrational jealousy over celebrities who are dating or

(Son Yeon-jae and Choi Jong-hoon's Instagram)National gymnast Son Yeon-jae and F.T. Island's Choi Jong-hoon are officially seeing each other, according to FNC Entertainment, Wednesday. The two stars came in to media attention on the day prior to the agency's announcement, following a local tabloid's release of photos of the two stars out on an apparent date.The photos showed the stars linking arms while walking with a bundle of gifts, flowers and a cake on May 27 -- the day before Son’s birthday

G-Dragon of K-pop group Big Bang has stormed onto the Billboard 200 album chart, marking the artist's third time to do so, his management company said Tuesday.YG Entertainment said his fourth solo album "Kwon Ji Yong," released on June 8, ranked 192nd on the chart as of June 12, local time.  (YG Entertainment)The Billboard 200 ranks the 200 most popular albums of the week, based on online and offline album sales and the number of streamings. He previously grabbed a spot on the chart in 2012 with

Hwang Chi-yeul had been an obscure singer for about 10 years since he debuted in 2007 with his first full-length album "Five Senses." He appeared on various TV and radio shows for about one year after his debut, but had to disappear from the stage when his previous management company closed due to financial difficulties.He spent his 20s working part-time jobs, and taught at music schools as a vocal coach for a living until late 2014.But he experienced a reversal of fortune early last year when C

Artists managed by YG Entertainment, one of the largest K-pop agencies in South Korea, are pouring out new albums back to back in the first half of this year.Starting with Akdong Musician in January, five other YG artists have presented new albums in a row -- Winner and Sechskies in April, Psy and iKON in May and G-Dragon in June. Girl group Black Pink will be the next to drop an album on June 22, according to the agency. (Yonhap)Recently, there has been some bad news. Big Bang member T.O.P was

K-pop act BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, will celebrate the fourth anniversary of its debut in “2017 BTS Home Party” on Tuesday.The upcoming event is a part of the group’s annual event titled, “BTS Festa,” which the group celebrates its big day every day, starting from June 1. BTS unveils new group photos for “2017 BTS Festa” (Big Hit Entertainment)For this year’s celebration, BTS has previously gifted new contents such as Jungkook and Jimin’s duet song “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” special choreog

South Korean actress Park Shin-hye has kicked off her fan-meeting tour of Asian cities in Hong Kong, her agency said Monday. "Park had a happy time with her local fans at Hong Kong's KITEC on Saturday," S.A.L.T. Entertainment said in a release.The actress performed six songs, including a song from the medical series "Doctors" where she played Yoo Hye-jung, a neurosurgeon, during the event.  (Yonhap)In the "Dr. Yoo's consultation section," she put on a doctor's gown and listened seriously to the

T.O.P’s family is disputing police reports that said the star is “asleep” under the influence of drugs he took. On Wednesday morning, T.O.P’s mother teared up in front of the reporters gathered at Ewha Womans University Medical Center in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, where T.O.P is hospitalized. She told the reporters, “My son is in bad shape. It’s as if he is dying. Police told the media that he’s drowsy from sleeping pills but that’s misinforming the public.”(Yonhap)“He was brought to the hospital unco

Season two of "Produce 101," Mnet's all-male idol audition show, topped a TV popularity index for the eighth straight week, data showed Tuesday. "Produce 101" scored 264.3 points on the Content Power Index (CPI), becoming the most popular TV program from May 22-28. (Yonhap)CPI, developed by entertainment company CJ E&M and Nielsen Korea, measures the popularity of TV shows based on the number of views of related news stories, online search tallies and buzz on social media.In the show, a group of