Author: Denise Coley

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…

If you are visiting South Korea from July to August, these fabulous festivals will provide a lot of fun and entertainment that you can share with your family members and loved ones. Here’s the list of festivals you can attend. Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival Bucheon International Film Festival screens independent movies from all around the world and offers a chance to engage in free-style conversations with the film directors. The festival showcases movies of numerous genres like horror, mystery, thriller, sci-fi and many more. Period: June 27th ~ July 7th 2019 Venues: Bucheon City Hall, Bucheon Gymnasium, Korea Comics…

South Korean actor Kang Ji-Hwan (Jo Tae-Gyu) was arrested July 9, 2019 on suspicions of sexual assault according to reports. The 42-year-old actor, who is known for his roles in Be Strong, Geum-Soon!, Monster, Coffee House, and Incarnation of Money, was apprehended by police at his home in Gwangju. He was questioned by police following the arrest, but the police report that he was still intoxicated and did not recall anything. They plan on questioning him again later. “We have yet to fully investigate the matter, so other than that Kang Ji Hwan has been arrested for sexual assault, we…

(Left to right: JungA, Nina, E.You, YeHana, EunA and Ellie) We Girls (stylized WeGirls) are Korean girl group formed by Aftermoon Entertainment. WeGirls made their debut on August 31, 2018 with On Air and a mini-album with three tracks, produced by House Rulez. The members were announced through a Global Hallyu crowdfunding website Makestar on October 31, 2017. Through Makestar, participants voted which girls would make it to the group. WeGirls went through several member changes; the group is now set with 6 members, E.You, YeHana, JungA, EunA, Ellie and Nina. We would like to express “a big thank…

As we all know each Kpop group has fandom names for the fans like Monbebe (Monsta X), Shawols (SHINee) Blinks (Blackpink) and ARMY (BTS). Now I don’t mean EVERYONE from these fandoms just certain types of people.  Fandoms can help support the artist by buying products, streaming music and views on V live (V live is a live streaming app that you can watch a K-pop idol basically Instagram Live.) Though some fandoms help, they can also damage the name of some K-pop idols. Many people proclaim they don’t get into kpop due to the crazy fanbase. …

Shinhwa’s Lee Minwoo has been accused of sexual harassment following a June 29, 2019 bar incident. Lee was at a Gangnam-bar with other celebrity friends according to reports. While there, Lee and his party approached two women in their twenties sitting at another table. According to the alleged victims, Lee grabbed them by their faces and forcibly kissed and groped them without consent. The women filed a claim with the police the next morning. “I went to a drinking party and was severely sexually harassed.” One of the women stated. “Lee grabbed on to both my cheeks and kissed me…

Former TVXQ and JYJ member Park Yoochun received his sentence for buying and taking drugs. On July 2, 2019, Park received a sentence of two years of probation and fined 1.4 million KRW (around $1200 USD) at the conclusion of his trial for buying and taking Philopon, a Japanese methamphetamine. If Park violates any of the terms of his probation, he will have to serve 10 months in prison. The judge provided probation to Park due to this being his first offense and his cooperation during the investigation. The 33-year-old former idol was charged with buying and using Philopon with…

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…

Following their investigation, Jeonbuk Police confirmed that Jeon Mi-Seon, 48, committed suicide in her hotel room June 29, 2019. The police provided a statement regarding their findings following initial reports that the award-winning actress took her own life. “Jeon Mi-Seon checked into the hotel at 1AM in the morning, where she stayed by herself,” the police said. “After checking the CCTV, Jeon Mi-Seon went into the room alone, and no one else came in after her. There was no evidence of homicide or invasion, and no final letter was discovered.” The police continued, “A family member [of Jeon’s] recently…

On June 29, 2019, actress Jeon Mi-Seon was found dead in a hotel room located in Jeonju, South Korea. According to police, the 48-year-old actress allegedly committed suicide by hanging. There are conflicting reports regarding how her death was discovered. The award-winning actress—famous for her roles in the film Hide and Seek and the dramas The Return of Hwang Geun-Bok and Moon Embracing the Sun– was reportedly found by an acquaintance. However, The Korean Herald reports that her manager called police stating the actress was missing, but it’s not clear if police found Jeon or if the reported acquaintance…