The crime action film "The Merciless" took the top place at the South Korean box office on its opening day, data showed Thursday.The movie starring Seol Kyung-goo and Im Si-wan sold 95,261 tickets Wednesday, according to the computerized tally from the Korean Film Council. (Yonhap)"The Merciless" is about the friendship and betrayal between Jae-ho, played by Seol, plotting to become the leader of an organized crime ring after being released from prison, and the organization's fearless and ebulli

배우 송중기가 서울 이태원동 소재의 한 주택을 100억원에 매입한 것으로 17일 확인됐다.　코리아헤럴드가 단독입수한 자료에 따르면 송중기는 지난 1월 본인 명의로 지상 2층, 지하 1층짜리 단독주택을 사들였다. 대지면적 602 제곱미터(182평)에 건물 연면적은 371 제곱미터(110평)에 달하는 고가주택이다. 　 (사진=KBS 2TV)이태원동은 초고가의 주택이 많은 곳으로 재벌가와 연예인이 많이 거주하는 것으로 알려져 있다. 이에 대해 송중기 소속사 관계자는 “모르는 일”이라고 밝혔다.　　　 (사진=코리아헤럴드) 송중기는 지난해 tvN이 공개한 ‘명단공개 2016’에서 ‘연예계 부동산 재테크의 제왕’에 포함된 바 있다.　그는 현재 서울 반포동에 위치한 빌라도 소유하고 있다. 호가 25억원인 이곳에 부모님과 함께 살고 있다.　송중기는 지난해 KBS2TV 드라마 ‘태양의 후예’에서 카리스마 넘치는 유시진 대위 역을 맡았다.　 (사진=블러썸 엔터테인먼트)‘태후’ 출연으로 그는 편당 6천

Popular Korean authors will get to meet readers and translators in overseas literature events, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea said Tuesday. The photos provided by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea shows Kang Young-sook (left) and Jeong Ho-seung. (Yonhap)Novelists Hwang Sok-yong will attend the Turin International Book Fair in Italy from May 18-22. His book, including "Mr. Han's Chronicle" and "Princess Bari," have been translated into Italian.At the book fair, Hwang wi

Idol band iKON will release a new single album next week, its management agency said Wednesday. (Yonhap)YG Entertainment said the band will put out the as-of-yet unnamed album on Monday, its first brand-new release since "What You Doing" from May of last year. The company uploaded a teaser image on its official blog."The new song is iKON's best song to date," YG founder Yang Hyun-suk was quoted as saying by the company.iKON has gained a solid fandom and is widely expected to be the successor of

Singer-turned-actress Sung Yuri and her pro-golfer boyfriend Ahn Sung-hyun got married in a private ceremony at an undisclosed place, her agency said Tuesday."Sung Yuri and Ahn Sung-hyun, who have been in a close relationship for four years, married in the form of family worship with their immediate family on Monday," SLent said in a release. (Yonhap)The agency said it was unable to announce the marriage in advance "according to the will of the two people who wanted to focus on each other in a c

Season two of "Produce 101," Mnet's idol survival show, topped a benchmark TV popularity index for the fifth straight week, data showed Tuesday.It scored 267.6 points on the Content Power Index, becoming the most popular TV program from May 1-7.(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 survival audition show launched in 20

The Hollywood film "Alien: Covenant" took the top place from "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" in its first weekend at the South Korean box office, data showed Monday.The latest from Ridley Scott sold 524,613 tickets during the May 12-14 weekend, taking the throne on the weekend box office chart according to the computerized tally from the Korean Film Council. (20th Century Fox Korea)Released on Tuesday, the sixth in the Alien series has amassed 959,462 viewers until Sunday, staying on top of the

South Korean boy band BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, soared to No. 1 on Billboard's music chart that tracks shares and mentions of songs on Twitter, according to the publication Monday.According to Billboard's website, the band's 2017 song "Not Today" stood at the top of this week's Billboard Twitter Top Tracks, climbing 23 steps from the previous week. "Sweet Creature" by Harry Styles and Niall Horan's "Slow Hands" ranked third. (Yonhap)Another BTS song, "Fire," came in fourth.The chart is ra

South Korean boy band BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, rose to No. 1 on a major music chart in Japan with its latest Japanese mini album Thursday, its agency said. (Yonhap)"Blood Sweat & Tears," BTS' seventh Japanese single released Wednesday, topped the Oricon Daily Single Chart, selling over 141,000 copies as of Thursday morning, according to Big Hit Entertainment, the team's management agency.The mini album holds three songs previously released in South Korea -- "Blood Sweat & Tears" from 201

The director of "The Villainess," one of two South Korean midnight screening films at this year's Cannes Film Festival, said Thursday he tried experimenting with new filming techniques to capture footage that was unprecedented in previous action movies."As opposed to searching out movies to reference, I thought a lot about how I could film at an angle that no one has thought of before," director Jung Byung-gil said at a media event held at the CGV theater in Apgujeong-dong, southern Seoul. (Yonh

Rookie group SF9 is set to tour five Asian countries in June, its agency said Wednesday. “The tour will be titled, ‘2017 SF9 Be My Fantasy Asia Fan Meeting Tour,’” FNC Entertainment said. “Starting with June 16 in Bangkok, SF9 will visit Manila on June 18, Singapore on June 30, Taipei on July 9 and Hong Kong on July 16.” K-pop group SF9 (FNC Entertainment)Since debuting in October 2016 with its first single “Feeling Sensation,” SF9 has enjoyed popularity here and abroad. Within five months of it

South Korean idol rock band CNBLUE will unveil its 11th Japanese single album "Shake" on Wednesday, the group's management agency said.(Yonhap)Written and composed by member Jung Yong-hwa, the title piece "Shake" features a light band sound that makes its listeners want to shake their body, FNC Entertainment said. Besides the song, the album includes "Someone Else," also written and composed by Jung, and "Was So Perfect" by Lee Jong-hyun.CNBLUE is scheduled to hold a concert tour of Japanese cit

The 2017 Dream Concert -- one of the largest K-pop concerts in Asia -- announced its lineup of artists Tuesday.The annual music concert will be held June 3 at 6 p.m. at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul. Now in its 23rd year, Dream Concert will feature 26 acts, ranging from K-pop icons EXO, Twice, Red Velvet and SHINee’s Taemin to rookie groups Gugudan and Pristin.  (S.M. Entertainment/Tomaru)Other idol groups include popular boy bands NCT 127, NCT Dream, VIXX and Seventeen, as well as girl group

South Korean actor Lee Dong-gun and actress Cho Youn-hee, who played a fictional couple in a recent TV series, became an actual married couple, according to their agencies Tuesday."Legally speaking, they have become a married couple," FNC Entertainment and KINGKONG Entertainment said. The companies also announced that Cho is pregnant.(Yonhap)"We're waiting for our baby with gratitude and excitement," Lee said. He promised to "become a better actor and also present an image of a model father."The

The domestic crime-action flick "The Merciless" has been sold to 85 countries around the world before its domestic release, the film's local distributor said Tuesday.  (CJ Entertainment)The film starring Seol Kyung-gu and Im Si-wan is to be shown in the Midnight Screening, an out-of-competition slot in the 70th Cannes Film Festival set to open on May 17.According to the CJ Entertainment, the movie's distribution right was sold to companies in 85 countries, including France, the Netherlands, Belg