Singer Son Ho-young, who attempted suicide, was transferred from an intensive care unit to a general ward on Sunday, his agency said. According to CJ E&M’s officials, Son’s condition improved but he still needs more psychological stability. The member of former pop group g.o.d was visited at his hospital room by fellow members Kim Tae-woo and Danny Ahn, though they could not have a long conversation due to Son’s health status, the agency said. Son’s suicide attempt, which came on the heels of hi

T-ara’s subunit to meet fans at U.S. concertT-ara N4, the first subunit of the popular K-pop girl group, left for the United States to meet with their fans at star Chris Brown’s solo concert scheduled to be held in Las Vegas on May 26.The N4 unit members -- Eun-jung, Hyo-min, Ji-yeon, A-reum -- already made their first visit to the U.S last week where they met Chris Brown and other major musicians and artists including T.I.Of the seven-member T-ara, Bo-ram, So-yeon and Q-ri organized a second s

Korean rap star Psy graced the stage of “American Idol” last week for its season 12 finale show where he performed his “Gangnam Style” follow-up single “Gentleman.” However, promises of pelvic thrusting and hip-swaying proved insufficient to salvage the show’s plunging ratings. The season concluded with its lowest finale rating in its 13-year history. The once must-watch audition program that revolutionized the U.S. TV and music industry was desperate in its attempts to revitalize its viewership

Iconic tough guy Choi Min-soo held a showcase titled “Let’s play Min-soo” as a member of rock band 36.5 degrees at Rolling Hall in Hongdae on Monday. As vocalist of the band, he performed a number of songs, including originals “Smoky Mountain” and “Rusty Bike Saddle” in his unique and captivating voice. “There is no formality at a play ground. Positions are meaningless when you are having fun. When you’re in the mood, you party together,” Choi said at the event. He added, “Formats are only there

Kim Hyun-joong, a former member of K-pop idol group SS501, has donated 100 million won for the victims of the Ya’an earthquake in China. The 2013 Lushsan earthquake left approximately 200 dead or missing and at least 13,000 injured. The One Foundation, a private charity organization in China established by Chinese actor Jet Li, disclosed Kim’s donation and conveyed his good wishes to Ya’an citizens via Chinese social platform Weibo on Friday. In return, the charity promised to use the money wise

Korean survival shows hitting global circuit

Popular K-pop girl group T-ara N4 is releasing an album in the U.S. and will perform during Chris Brown’s upcoming concert next week, according to news reports.The girl group reportedly met with recording artist Chris Brown in the U.S. last week, and signed a deal with an American record label to release their upcoming U.S. album, “Jeonwon Diary.”The upcoming album will include a total of five different English-language versions of the group’s Korean debut single, “Jeonwon Diary.” Popular U.S. r

Violinist Eugene Park discussed rumors about him in a documentary that aired Saturday, revealing that he suffers from bipolar disorder. Last month, a photo of Park performing at a small local restaurant in a shabby outfit shocked his fans, coming just four years after he made headlines for being practically enslaved by his agency for five years. Explaining the photo on Saturday, Park said that he was working at the restaurant of an acquaintance for his mother.  He added, “My mother is sick. So I

Singer Baek Ji-young and actor Chung Seok-won are to become parents in the fall.Contradicting their statement denying the pregnancy last month, when they announced their June wedding, Chung’s agency Forestar Entertainment said Tuesday that the couple decided to release the news of the pregnancy in response to “widespread media speculation concerning their wedding.” According to an insider, Baek is now four months pregnant and getting prenatal checkups. The source also stated, “Since Baek is in t

Non-spicy seasoning key to globalizing kimchi, chef says

Korean superstar Psy gave a speech at Harvard University on Thursday, cracking jokes and buying bibimbap for the students of the elite U.S. university. The lecture, streamed live on the school’s online channel, was the singer’s second at an internationally renowned school following last year’s speech at the University of Oxford. Psy, who spoke without a script, making him the first person since Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1838 to give an “unorthodox lecture” at the school, started by describing his p

“K-POP Festival in Gangwon 2013” invites hallyu fans to South Korea in September to celebrate becoming a successful host of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.“Unlike the last year’s festival, we are promoting a ‘cover dance preliminary’ which will provide a chance to introduce the upcoming Olympics to be held in PyeongChang and also a chance to promote Gangwon Province’s tourism,” an official said. Hosted by Visit Korea Committee, a quasi-government organization, Gangwon Province and the city of Wo

Psy’s one-hit wonder worries are behind him. His latest release “Gentleman” has broken the world record for having the most viewed online video in 24 hours, Guinness World Records has confirmed. The Korean rap star’s “Gentleman” music video was uploaded onto YouTube on April 14 and received 38,409,306 views within the first 24 hours. Less than three weeks later, the music video has now surpassed 261 million hits and garnered more than 1.9 million “likes.” Psy’s first global hit, “Gangnam Style,”

Cho Yong-pil’s new album “Hello” is selling faster than his company can supply it. On the day of its release, the first batch of 20,000 albums sold out in hours. An additional 10,000 albums sent for sale two days later sold out as well. Currently orders for about 40,000 copies have piled up. “Currently our supply cannot meet the demand even with two factories running, so we are looking for another factory. We expect to supply an additional 30,000 copies by this week,” Cho’s agency YPC Production