Author: Denise Coley

It hasn’t even been a full year since their debut, but up-and-coming power rookies, ATEEZ, have signed with the American music agency RCA Records. On July 24, 2019, the group (full name ATEEnagerZ ) announced their signing with RCA Records. Sony Music Entertainment Korea, KQ Entertainment—the group’s managing company—and RCA Records shared their excitement over the news. “We’ve been watching the success of ATEEZ build for the last few months and are excited to partner with Sony Korea and KQ Entertainment to help take them to the next level,” says John Fleckenstein, co-president, RCA Records. “K-pop is undeniable, and…

From October 25 to November 3, 2019, you can have your chance to see TEENTOP in one of five US locations! TEENTOP will return to the US for another tour, this time with their PARTY to. N9ne tour. The five-member group last toured the US in December 2018 with their 2018 TEENTOP Night in the USA tour. For the 2019 tour, StudioPav and Top Media will bring the group to Dallas, Puerto Rico, Chicago, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Tickets will go on-sale in August. Will you be happy to see TEENTOP again? —-Olivia Murray

B.A.P’s leader, Bang Yongguk, will enlist this coming August. He will be the first B.A.P member to enlist. It should be noted that while B.A.P dissolved upon leaving TS Entertainment, the group does not consider themselves disbanded. Bang will enlist August 1, 2019 as an active duty soldier. His enlistment time and location has not been revealed. “I think of it as a time during which I’ll be able to take a brief break,” Bang said of his upcoming enlistment date. Prior to the military announcement, the rapper also announced the release of his new single, “Orange Drive.” …

On the third Friday of July 2019, Stock shares of Korea’s entertainment agencies’ (both former and current) owners have dropped approximately 30 percent, as the industry struggles with a long list of scandals, and due to Korea’s current political and economic dispute with Japan. The combined value of stocks held by seven of the country’s top entertainment agency owners fell a drastic 28.7 percent to 512 billion won ($435.5 million) as of July 19th, which is 41.5 percent less from the start of 2019. Former CEO of YG Entertainment Yang Hyun-suk experienced the most decline, with his value of…

Chie Izuno works full time at an office Branch. Though she’s 30, she’s very young at heart and kind of innocent. She tries hard to go into the dating field but finds herself struggling due to her weight and self-esteem issues. She meets up with one of the company’s investors, Jin Harada, a super sucessful and young business man. However Jin has a severe lack of social skills. Chie strives to make a deal with Jin in order to aide her in her goal to lose weight and gain confidence, she tells Jin she can help him with his own…

Kyoto, Japan: A suspected arson attack has left 34 dead and 34 injured at Kyoto Animation (KyoAni). According to CNN, the attack is Japan’s worst mass-killing in over 20 years. In 2001, an arsonist killed 44 people in Tokyo. Among those dead include 12 men, 20 women, and one person whose identity is unknown. Their ages ranged from their 20s and 30s. Six of the victims were in their 40s, while one was at least 60-years old. Many of the victims just joined the animation team. One victim is a South Korean national who is in critical condition. Kyoto…

by:  Free Bird The California sun beat down on them hard. While RapMon had been used to the harshness of the climate, J-Hope and G-Dragon were both unused to it. As they continued to the nearest hotel it didn’t take long for them to ditch their outer layers. They felt confident that no one would recognize them in this part of town. All three of them now had simple tees on and felt very content feeling the breeze on their skin. Almost immediately they had grabbed the attention of the L.A. people, in particular the women. It wasn’t often…

B.A.P’s Kim Himchan appeared in court July 12, 2019 for a hearing regarding indecent acts by compulsion charges against him. In 2018, Kim was accused of sexually assaulting/harassing* a woman in her twenties while on a vacation with friends. The woman reported the incident to police. At the time, Kim stated the feelings between the two were mutual. Both admit they were drinking. Kim’s legal team denied the allegations against the idol. “There were feelings of interest between the two. It wasn’t explicit consent, but there was implied consent, which is why it is not indecent act by compulsion,”…

*China is officially called the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with a population of around 1.404 billion. *China belongs to the continent of Asia, which borders Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam. *One in every five people in the world is Chinese. Chinese is one of the six official languages used by the U.N. *China’s population is four times larger than the US. *It’s approximated that thirty-four babies are born each minute. *China has only one time zone. In the past, China had 5 different time zones but in…

Tragedy struck a member of the K-Pop world today as Jose Arredondo, the father of K-Pop idol Samuel Kim, was found dead in his home in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico following an apparent home invasion. Arredondo, who just turned 58-years old July 8, 2019, showed signs of blunt force trauma according to prosecutors. The reports indicate he may have been beaten to death. Arredondo’s pastor stated the well-known car dealer was stabbed. Cabo’s local news outlet, Tribunal de Los Cabos, reports the same details. Several media outlets consider Arredondo’s life to be a classic “rags-to-riches” tale. Arredondo was the…

Following Kang Ji-Hwan’s admittance that he sexually assaulted two female staffers at his Gwangju home following a dinner party and an evening of drinking, Huayi Brothers decided to nullify their contract with the 42-year-old actor. The company announced their decision July 16, 2019 via a statement. Hello. This is Huayi Brothers Korea. We signed a contract with Kang Ji Hwan in May 2019 on the basis of trust, but as a result of an unexpected, disgraceful event, that trust has crumbled. Following, we are unable to continue our exclusive contract [with Kang Ji Hwan] and have decided to…

On July 9, 2019, actor Kang Ji-Hwan (Joseon Survival, Be Strong, Geum-Soon!, 90 Days, Time to Love), 42, was apprehended at his Gwanju home for “indecent assault.” According to reports, Kang and two outsourced female staffers went out for drinks following a company dinner. The trio then went to Kang’s house where the two women fell asleep. One of the women woke up and noticed her clothes were disheveled; she then alleges she saw Kang on top of the other woman. From there, police state she messaged a friend and asked her to contact the police. Regarding the phone…

Forbes recently released their “Celebrity 100” list that details the world’s highest paid entertainers. This year’s list calculated pre-tax earnings between June 2018-June 2019 and counts income before fees for managers, lawyers, and agents. According to Soompi, Forbes’ figures are “based on numbers from Nielsen Music, Pollstar, IMDB, NPD BookScan, and ComScore, in addition to interviews with industry experts and some of the stars themselves.” BTS cracked the top 50 at 43 (tied with Bradley Cooper) with their earnings set at $57 million. This is the first time BTS made the list. According to Forbes, BTS’ earning stemmed from…

Fresh off the heels of Super Junior’s groundbreaking tour stop in Saudi Arabia, Big Hit Entertainment announced that BTS will perform in the kingdom this coming October! BTS will bring the Speak Yourself stadium tour to Saudi Arabia, making them the first K-Pop act to hold a stadium tour in the country. Behind Super Junior, they are only the second K-Pop act to perform a solo concert there. Super Junior performed a solo concert July 12, 2019. However, it should be noted that Stray Kids performed at the Jeddah Season Festival Saturday July 13, 2019, but the performance was…

Earlier in July 2019, Dubai Stars announced that BTS will have a star on the Dubai Walk of Fame. BTS were selected to have a star following a Dubai Stars project fan vote. Starting in March, fans had an opportunity to vote for the group using the Twitter hashtag #BTSDubaiStar. On July 1, the Dubai Stars Twitter page announced BTS’ selection. “A Dubai Star is now dedicated to the popular South Korean boy band from Seoul—@bts_bighit,” the tweet reads. “Will you be cheering for them at our launch event this October?” A Dubai Star is now dedicated to…

Super Junior made history July 12, 2019 when they became the first K-Pop act to perform in Saudi Arabia. Super Junior ‘s welcoming video display from Arab ELF. SJ are shinning in the sky of Jeddah ?✨ pic.twitter.com/OHXaLJZLT6#SuperJuniorInKSA#SS7SinJEDDAH Cr. DonghaeArab, ArabSiwonest_pr — ? moon (@eejwithyou) July 11, 2019 The group—sans Kangin (who announced his departure earlier in the week) and Sungmin—brought their Super Show 7S to the Middle Eastern country and performed in front of an estimated 15 thousand fans. The group performed in Jeddah at King Abdullah Sports City. When the tour stop was announced, high…

On July 6, 2019, BIGBANG’s T.O.P was discharged from his mandatory military service. When T.O.P enlisted as a conscripted police officer February 9, 2017, he was set to be discharged November 8, 2018. However, the actor/rapper was wrapped up in a marijuana controversy and indictment in 2018 that added time to his service. Additionally, he spent time in the hospital when he overdosed on a prescribed medication. However, due to changes to Korea’s enlistment rules, T.O.P was eligible for early dismissal, much to Netizens’ chagrin. The VIP fandom even made efforts to thwart the media upon T.O.P’s service release.…

NOIR is a Korean 9-member boy band formed by Luk Factory, and group made their official debut on April 9, 2018 with album Twenty’s Noir. We’re very pleased to have attained an interview from the 9-member-group and would like to take this chance to thank the boys and their management for making this happen. We wish them all the best with their careers and hope their fans enjoy reading. *Thank you for your precious time. Please introduce yourselves to our readers please. Seunghoon: Hi ~ This is Shin Seunghoon, the leader of NOIR ^^. I’m the rapper, composer…

Hiromu Kitagawa was born and raised in Los Angeles, and served in the U.S military during the Korean War. Kitagawa later worked at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, where he was inspired to promote boy bands after seeing the movie West Side Story. In 1962, Kitagawa formed the talent agency Johnny & Associates. Since then, his agency gave birth to such successful all-male acts as Shonentai, Hikaru Genji, KinKi Kids, Tokio and many more. Kitagawa’s Guinness World Records include the most No. 1 singles produced by an individual. On June 18, Kitagawa was rushed to the hospital after suffering…

In news that isn’t surprising, Kangin announced his departure from Super Junior. Kangin has been plagued with a bevy of scandals involving alcohol including drinking and driving and an alleged bar brawl. E.L.F have started petitions and called for his departure. Kangin officially announced his leave in a statement shared on Instagram. View this post on Instagram 안녕하세요. 강인입니다. 정말 오랜만에 여러분들께 소식을 전하네요. 좋지 않은 소식이라 마음이 무겁지만 고심 끝에 글을 올립니다. 저는 이제 오랜 시간 함께했던 ‘슈퍼주니어’란 이름을 놓으려 합니다. 항상 멤버들에게는 미안한 마음뿐이었습니다 하루라도 빨리 결심하는 것이 맞다고 항상 생각해왔지만 못난 저를 변함 없이 응원해 주시는 분들과 회사 식구들이 마음에 걸려 쉽사리 용기 내지 못했고 그 어떤것도 제가 혼자 결정해서는 안된다는 생각도 했습니다 하지만 제 문제로 인해 겪지 않아도 될 일들을 겪는 멤버들을 지켜보면서 더 이상 늦춰서는 안되겠다는 판단을 하게 되었습니다. 무엇보다 14년이란 오랜 시간 동안 언제나 과분한 사랑을 주신 E.L.F. 여러분들께 가장 죄송한 마음입니다. 많이 늦었지만 슈퍼주니어란 이름을 내려놓고 홀로 걷는 길에도 항상 미안함과 고마움을 가슴에 새기고 나아가겠습니다. 끝까지 저를 배려해 준 멤버들과 회사 식구분들께 정말 감사하다는 말씀 드리고 싶습니다. 언제나 슈퍼주니어가 승승장구하기를 응원하겠습니다. 감사합니다. A post shared by 강인 (@kanginnim) on Jul 10, 2019 at 9:02pm PDT Hello. This is Kangin. I am greeting you for the…