Author: Denise Coley
Actor Um Ki Joon will be walking down the aisle with his partner this December. On December 12, Um Ki Joon’s agency clarified that their client would marry on December 22. The actor is set to marry his non-celebrity wife at a private event in Seoul. Um Ki Joon made his relationship status public in May announcing the exciting engagement news. Um Ki Joon, who debuted in 1995 with the ‘Richard 3’ play is known for his acting skills in several drams including “Little Women” and “The Penthouse: War in Life” among others. —-Karen Mwenda #UmKiJoon #koreanactor #KoreanWedding…
South Korea’s president asserted that his martial law declaration was in order and that he would fight to the end to protect the country. On December 12, south President Yoon Suk Yeol released a statement with regards to calls for resignation and martial law declaration. The president said that he has the legal power to declare martial law to return the country’s administrative affairs to normalcy and save it from administrative paralysis. The president also added that perceiving an emergency act, meant to rescue the nation, as an act of treason portrays the grave danger in the country’s legal system.…
BTS’ Jin and renowned chef Baek Jong Won have teamed up to launch a traditional Korean liquor. According to reports, Jin and Baek Jong Won have already started their traditional liquor venture after co-founding the ‘Yesan Doga’ agricultural corporation scheduled to release ‘IGIN’ distilled liquor soon. The duo’s company will also launch ‘IGIN Sweet Tonic’ and ‘IGIN Tangy Tonic’ ready-to-drink beverages. It’s also been reported that “The Godfather of Korean Traditional Liquor”, Park Rok Dam, will serve as the product development and quality advisor. —-Karen Mwenda #JIN #BTSJIN #launchIGIN #ChefBaekJongWon #IGINSweetTonic #IGINTangyTonic #kcrush #kpop #kidol #BTSIdol #readytodrinkbeverages #koreanculture…
Pledis Entertainment’s founder Han Sung Soo received a government commendation for his contribution to the global growth of K-content Han Sung Soo received commendation from the Prime Minister for his contribution towards the expansion of Korean content. Sung Soo is the founder of Pledis Entertainment which houses notable groups like SEVENTEEN and TWS. On December 11, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism hosted the 2024 Korea Content Awards where Han Sung Soo received accreditation under the Overseas Advancement Contribution accreditation area. —-Karen Mwenda #PLEDIS #PLEDISEntertainment #SEVENTEEN #TWS #kcrush #MinistryofCultureSportsandTourism #kpop #KoreanContent #2024 KoreaContentAwards #HanSungSoo #accreditationundertheOverseasAdvancement #Contributionaccreditationarea #koreanculture…
The Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) has called out NewJeans and Min Hee Jin in their recent statement. On December 13, KMCA expressed its concerns on the rising tampering attempts that have tainted and undermined the integrity of Korea’s music industry. Tampering involves preemptively engaging with artists or artist representatives before contractual agreements are concluded with current agencies. This follows recent cases including FIFTY FIFTY’s poaching incident, NewJeans’ contract termination incident, and Min Hee Jin’s tampering allegations. KMCA stated that producers working for entertainment agencies are misusing their power to sway young artists into canceling their contracts. KMCA called out…
Seventeen, Stray Kids, and BTS’ Jungkook showcased K-pop’s global footing through outstanding performances and taking home awards. On December 13, the 2024 Billboard Music Awards took place at the Santa Monica Pier. Seventeen and Stray Kids mesmerized the attendees with classic performances. Seventeen performed ” Love, Money, Fame” track while Stray Kids performed “Jjam” and “Chl Chl Boom” tracks. Seventeen took home the ‘Top K-Pop Touring Artist’ award. On the other hand, Stray Kids bagged the ‘Top Global K-Pop Artist’ award. Jungkook won the ‘Top K-Pop Album’ for the Golden album and ‘Top Global K-Pop Song’ award thanks to the…
As the year comes to an end, here are the top 10 K-pop boy group rankings for December. 1. SEVENTEEN SEVENTEEN took first place with a brand index ranking of 6,106, 152. The band rose from its November’s no.2 position whose brand index ranking was 4,562,920. 2. BIGBANG BIGBANG made the most improvement after moving from last month’s no.16 to position 2 this month. BIGBANG’s brand index rankings improved from 1,064,193 to 4,696,756. 3. BTS BTS dropped from no.1 to no.3 this month. The group brand index ranking also fell from 5,447,345 to 4,533,725. 4. Stray Kids Stray Kids rose…
Taemin, the renowned K-pop artist, is set to embark on his first solo world tour, the 2024-25 TAEMIN WORLD TOUR [Ephemeral Gaze], across Europe. Kicking off in South Korea, the tour has already captivated audiences across Asia, and is now moving to Europe. Taemin will perform in five vibrant cities, bringing his highly anticipated solo performances to fans across the continent. The dates and cities for the tour are as follows: March 4 (Tuesday) Helsinki, Ice-Hall March 7 (Friday) Frankfurt, Stadthalle Offenbach March 9 (Sunday) London, Troxy March 11 (Tuesday) Tilburg, 013 Poppodium March 12 (Wednesday) Paris, Zénith Paris –…
For her debut feature film Pierce, writer and director Nelicia Low (Freeze, Let Her Eat Cake) took a look back to her past a member of the national Singapore fencing team, and her curiosity at the complicated relationship between her and her older brother who is autistic, to craft a technically impressive and emotionally dynamic story about a very intensely dysfunctional relationship between two brothers that share a love of fencing and mistrust of each other. Image courtesy of Magnify There’s no one that can understand you and frustrate you like a sibling can, and for Zi-jie (Liu Hsui-fu)…
A second official teaser for BTS’s V “Winter Ahead” seasonal track is out. V is collaborating with Park Hyo Shin to give ARMY and Hyo Shin’s fans a Christmas to remember. The collaboration’s “Winter Ahead” track is scheduled for release on 29 November. Park Hyo Shin is a renowned legendary Korean ballad singer. The collaboration is expected to set the Christmas mood as two exceptional voices blend into a fusion of delight. V is still undertaking his mandatory military service scheduled to finish in June 2025. —-Karen Mwenda #V #BTSV #ParkHyoShin #BalladSinger #kcrush #Visstillawaitingtheconclusionofhismandatorymilitaryservice #kpop #koreanpop #hallyucollaboration #kcrushamerica…
Stray Kids has released teaser images for the upcoming ‘HP’ mixtape. Stray Kids is gearing up to release the ‘KZHOP HIPTAPE’ in December 13. The mixtape’s “Walkin On Water” track is said to be composed by some of the group’s members. The band recently entered UK charts thanks to the recently released “Giant” track. Stray Kids also charted on the Billboard World Albums chart as their “ATE” track scoped position No. 6 this week. Stray Kids is currently on their ‘DOMINATE’ world tour which kicked off in August 2024. The band recently added Latin America, North America, and Europe Stops…
Song Joong Ki will return to the screens in December with a Colombian vibe. The legendary Song Joong Ki will be appearing in the highly anticipated ‘Bogota: The Land of Last Chance’ film. The film is set to be released to theaters on December 31, 2024. ‘Bogota: The Land of Last Chance’ revolves around characters seeking new opportunities on foreign soil only to be bombarded by an array of uncertainties. The film’s teaser and trailer are out. Song Joong Ki will work with Lee Hee Jun, Kwon Hae Hyo, Park Ji Hwan, and Jo Hyun Chul. A few days ago,…
Download & streaming links: https://ohashitrio.lnk.to/goldhour Japanese musician ohashiTrio released his latest album ‘GOLD HOUR’ on November 13. This is ohashiTrio’s first original full-length album in about three years, and follows his 2023 EP ‘Karatachi no Yume’, which included the opening theme to Season 2 of the hit drama series ‘What Did You Eat Yesterday?’, as well as the theme song for the NHK Saturday drama series ‘Tantei Romance’. Last year he also released the collaboration album ‘Trio & Charm’ with Japanese group THE CHARM PARK. ‘GOLD HOUR’ contains a total of 10 songs, including four songs taken from last October’s…
Japanese boyband WATWING held their first solo concert, titled WATWING LIVE TOUR 2024 – Get Em Back – at Makuhari Messe, on November 9 and 10 at the huge Makuhari Messe venue in Chiba, just outside of Tokyo. WATWING are the first boyband from Japanese agency Horipro. The group features six members who won the Star Boys Audition: Ryo Furuhata, Asahi Suzuki, Fu Takahashi, Rintaro Hachimura, Ryuta Kuwayama and Noa Fukuzawa Nozomi. This year marks the 5th anniversary of their formation; the group kicked off the year with a sold-out show at the revered Tokyo venue Nippon Budokan in February.…
Download hi-res artwork HERE Following their bold self-titled debut, MEOVV prowls back with two new singles and music videos that further showcase the breadth of their musical spectrum: “TOXIC,” an emotional pop/R&B anthem, and “BODY,” a vibrant, dance-inducing hit – now available via THEBLACKLABEL / Capitol Records. “TOXIC,” which was co-written by MEOVV members GAWON and NARIN, features a minimalist rhythm that spotlights the unique vocal tones of MEOVV’s five members. With honest, delicate lyrics that capture the inescapable feeling of being caught in an emotional whirlwind, the song immerses listeners in its captivating atmosphere. “TOXIC” was written by Billy…
ROSÉ’S FIRST STUDIO ALBUM ‘rosie’ ARRIVES DECEMBER 6TH “APT.” WITH BRUNO MARS CONTINUES TO SMASH GLOBALLY WATCH “number one girl” VIDEO: LINK STREAM “number one girl”: LINK Global icon ROSÉ has released new single “number one girl’ – available now via Atlantic Records/THEBLACKLABEL alongside an official music video directed by ROSÉ. “number one girl” (co-penned/produced by Amy Allen, D-Mile, Omer Fedi, Carter Lang, Bruno Mars & Dylan Wiggins) marks the second release off ROSÉ’s first studio album rosie, arriving December 6th and available for pre-order now (link). The 12-track collection marks ROSÉ’s most personal and candid release to date with…
TWS is the latest member to join the CELINE French luxury brand family even as they celebrate wins at the MAMA Awards US. On November 22, CELINE announced that the TWS band had joined its ambassadorship family. The Pledis Entertainment boy band will join Park Bp Geum and BTS’s V. Suzy Bae also joined the family days ago. TWS band also took home 2 MAMA Awards on November 21 during the MAMA Awards US at the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles. TWS won the Best Male Rookie award and Best Dance Performance – Male Group award. The rookie band’s latest release…
Written and directed by Heo Sung-wan, All the Days feels like a series of snapshots of the ordinary days in the lives of three 20-something young people trying to figure out what the next steps in their lives are. All the Days which had its world premiere in the Country program of the 2024 Ulju Mountain Film Festival, in South Korea, is a film that would be perfectly described by the phrase “still waters run deep”, because on the surface the story being told about three young people seems very calm and ordinary, but the closer you lean in to…
PLAVE is a virtual K-pop boy group making millstones in the entertainment world a few months after debuting. PLAVE is a virtual group that debuted in March 2023 with the “Asterum” single under VLAST. PLAVE is derived from a combination of “Play” and “Rave” which aligns with the members’ purpose of creating a new world to realize their dreams. The band is made up of avatar members resembling webtoon characters. The real character members include Yejun, Noah, Hamin, Eunho, and Bamby. The virtual AI avatars use body motion suits to capture the gestures, dancing, voices, and body motions of the…
Min Hee Jin has officially left ADOR and HYBE after a 5-year work relationship. On November 20, Min Hee Jin announced that she had parted ways with both ADOR and HYBE. Min Hee Jin has been serving as the CEO of ADOR. Min Hee Jin stated that she has terminated her shareholders’ agreement with HYBE agency and resigned from her ADOR internal director position. Min Hee added that she had done all she could to protect NewJeans, especially throughout the past few months. Min He Jin’s misfortunes started early this year and escalated during the April audits. Min Hee confirmed…