As K-pop’s global reach continues to expand, so has attention on K-pop fan culture. It's common for fans around the world to devote their time and resources to their favorite celebrities, but Korean fans’ expression of their love stands out for the way in which it is more organized and systematic, and often based around communities. “On the way home” One fan phenomenon is named after the Korean expression that literally means “the way home after work,” a

Jihyo of Twice entered Billboard 200 at No. 14 with her first solo EP “Zone,” the publication tweeted Monday. It is the second highest spot for a solo female K-pop musician, after only bandmate Nayeon who notched No. 7 spot last year. Separately, Twice will go live at four more stadiums across the world, expand its ongoing international tour to 42 concerts in 25 cities in total, according to label JYP Entertainment on Tuesday. The management firm announced the additional destination

Netflix documentary series about the project will air in 2024

FT Island is returning to the music scene next month with a new album. The band’s last release was its eighth EP, “Lock Up,” in December 2021. The band unveiled a teaser clip of its upcoming ninth EP on social media on Monday. The teaser clip for the album scheduled for release on Sep. 7 shows the band performing in a living room. It also casts a spotlight on the performance of the three members of the band -- lead vocalist Lee Hong-gi, bassist Lee Jae-jin and drummer Choi Min

Hwasa is set to release a new solo album next month with a concept that will highlight another aspect of herself as a singer. P Nation unveiled a teaser image for Hwasa’s upcoming album on social media Tuesday, showing Hwasa surrounded by pink balloons in the shape of various letters of the alphabet. This solo comeback scheduled for Sept. 6 comes two years after Hwasa’s single “Guilty Pleasure.” The upcoming album is also Hwasa’s first release under the new agency,

A Seoul court rejected Monday an injunction request by K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty to suspend the effectiveness of its contract with its agency. The Seoul Central District Court denied the request the group filed on June 19, claiming the company, Attrakt, failed to fulfill its contractual obligations, such as providing financial documents and caring for their health. The court attempted to mediate a settlement between the two sides on Aug. 9 but failed. Earlier Monday, the group's legal re

NCT127 will return on Oct. 6 with a fifth full-length album, according to SM Entertainment on Sunday. The nine-piece subunit shared the news that it is bringing out a new album at the full-group concert on Saturday. “It will be of a huge scale,” said Taeyong after unveiling a teaser clip to the audience, and the LP “will be the epitome of NCT127,” added Jungwoo. The upcoming LP is titled “Fact Check,” and comes about nine months since “Ay-Yo,” a r

Twice’s Jihyo became a half-million seller with her solo debut album “Zone” in just a week since its release on Aug. 18. As of last Thursday, a total of 534,565 copies of the EP “Zone” were sold, according to local album sales tracker Hanteo Chart on Monday. This makes "Zone" the highest-selling mini album by a K-pop female soloist in the first week of its release. Her album and its title track “Killin’ Me Good” is currently thriving on t

Second-generation K-pop girl group Kara’s youngest member, Hur Youngji, is making her debut as a solo artist with a single album next month. The artist announced her solo debut with a teaser poster of her upcoming single album, “Toi Toi Toi,” on social media, according to DSP Media on Monday. The title of her first single album, "Toi Toi Toi," which drops on Sept. 12, comes from the expression used in the performing arts industry, derived from German, to wish an artis

BTS' V on Monday released a series of songs ahead of his solo debut, scheduled for early September. At 1 p.m. on Monday, the singer put out three self-made songs -- "Scenery," "Winter Bear" and "Snow Flower" -- all of which he had previously unveiled for free streaming. The song releases come as V gears up to drop his first solo EP, "Layover," on Sept. 8. V released "Scenery" in January 2019 for free download on SoundCloud. He composed and p

South Korea's Hybe and Universal Music Group affiliate Geffen Records are embarking on a global girl group project together, Tuesday. Hybe, the company behind global K-pop phenomenon BTS, on Monday in Korea announced it is set to hold a press conference in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon there to unveil its global girl group audition project called "The Debut: Dream Academy." The event will give a first look into the long-awaited female pop group project that the two companies hav

BTS member Jungkook's debut solo single, "Seven," became the third most-streamed song of the summer on the global streaming platform Spotify, his agency said Saturday. "Seven" was ranked only behind "Ella Baila Sola" by Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma at No. 1 and Bad Bunny's "Where She Goes" on Spotify's "most-streamed songs of the summer" list, BigHit Music said. Jungkook achieved the feat in only about 40 days following the releas

    An overexcited fan grabbed BTS member V by his hair in Tokyo on Wednesday, according to media reports. The singer was visiting the newly renovated flagship store of Celine in Omotesando as the global ambassador of the French house. It was first time in about four years since the artist visited the Japanese capital. He greeted fans who had gathered on the street, waving and even giving high fives. While he was trying to get in the vehicle to leave, a woman reached out and grabb

K-pop boy band DKB hopes to expand its reach beyond Korea's borders with the help of its latest English-language single, according to Brave Entertainment. DKB released its sixth mini album repackage, “We Love You,” on Aug. 14 which is led by two title tracks, “All yours” and “Told You.” The single, “All yours,” which garnered love from many foreign fans, is the group’s first song released completely in English. “We wanted to give b

Global short-form video platform TikTok announced Friday that K-pop girl group NewJeans’ “Super Shy” generated the most music-based content in Korea this summer. TikTok’s “Song of the Summer” list by country and globally shows the top 10 popular singles used to create short-form content from June to August by collecting data on the most used songs within the platform. K-pop sensation NewJeans topped the list for Korea with its latest single “Super Shy.&r