Author: Denise Coley
On Monday May 13, 2019, FNC Entertainment announced Mina will depart AOA and the company after her contract comes to an end. The company confirmed Mina’s departure while confirming that Jimin, Yuna, Hyejeong, Seolhyun, and Chanmi renewed their contracts in a statement. Hello. This is FNC Entertainment. We recently renewed our contract with five AOA members Jimin, Yuna, Hyejeong, Seolhyun and Chanmi. The five AOA members agreed to maintain their team and renew their contract with a unified support for their fans. We have been working with AOA based on mutual trust, and we will provide full support for…
2PM’s Taecyeon will be discharged from his 20-month military service May 16, 2019. Taecyeon, who enlisted September 2017, served his mandatory service as an active-duty soldier in 9th Armed Forces Division in Gyeonggi Province. Taecyeon gave up his United States citizenship and received surgery for a herniated disk so he could serve in the Korean army. During his tenure, he was awarded for his exemplary service and promoted to sergeant this past February. “I’m very honored and grateful to receive this award on behalf of the many people who serve in the military. I’ve learned so much during my…
Giveaway: Mother’s Day Skincare Prize Pack! Mother’s Day is May 12, 2019, so we’re giving away an amazing prize pack of Korean skincare for you AND your mom. How sweet will it be for you and your mom to share in the fun of being pampered and gorgeous through glowing skin? This giveaway is part of our amazing fifth anniversary celebration! Prize Package: The winner will receive two cosmetic cases filled with skincare ranging from face cleansers to creams and masks. Each case will have identical items with only one difference between them. The prize package is worth $150 total,…
ARMY has more reasons to be excited! Netmarble, the company behind the mobile games Lineage 2: Revolution and Marvel Future Fight, announced on May 9, 2019 that pre-registration for their upcoming BTS World game opened. Created in conjunction with BTS, BTS World is a mobile, story-based simulation game that will take players on an interactive journey with the group. Users will not only get to play using their favorite members, but they will also have access to 10,000 new photos and 100 exclusive video clips of BTS. “BTS World was developed with the players in mind from the very…
On May 10, 2019, Jung Joon Young and his legal representation appeared at the Seoul’s Central District Court to plead guilty to 11 charges of filming and distributing illegal, sexually explicit videos via social platforms. “We admit to all indicted charges and agree with all of the evidence presented by police,” Jung’s attorney said. Jung’s court appearance was for his first preparatory hearing for violating Korea’s Special Act on Punishment of Sexual Crimes. A preparatory hearing allows courts to decide how to proceed with a case after hearing arguments from the prosecution and the defense. While he was not…
We are proud to inform you that the dates for the 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN or PIFAN) is out, along with the reveal of this year’s official posters. The unicorn in Ridley Scott’s movie Blade Runner – the movie was based on a novel by Philip K. Dick – is said to be the main inspiration for the two posters for the 2019’s International Film Festival held in Bucheon, South Korea. As many of you know, Blade Runner is an acclaimed sci-fi movie, released in 1982; set in the year 2019. The two unveiled posters promote the science fiction genre, which…
In a sad piece of news, actress Han Ji Sung, 28, was killed in a three-car crash early May 8, 2019. Initially, Han’s name was not released. According to reports, Han and her husband pulled over on the right lane of the Incheon International Airport Expressway, so her husband could use the bathroom. While he was away, Han exited the vehicle and was then struck by two cars in succession. According to the police, the vehicle’s warning lights were on. According to Allkpop, Han was struck by a 56-year-old taxi driver and a 73-year-old male driver. Both may face…
On May 6, 2019, Big Hit Entertainment announced plans to change TXT’s fan club name after the name, Young One, stirred controversy. Fans weren’t happy that Big Hit’s male rookie group announced Young One was their chosen fan club name as it is the same name as Tiffany Young’s fan club. Young, who is still considered a member of Girls’ Generation despite leaving SM Entertainment in 2017, announced Young Ones as her fan club name in 2018 and expressed the significance of the name. Her fan club and SONE reached out to Bit Hit asking them to reconsider TXT’s fandom…
On May 7, 2019, Girls’ Generation member and actress Sooyoung signed with Saram Entertainment! “Choi Sooyoung has showed stable performances through various characters, regardless of genre, including movies and dramas,” Saram Entertainment said. “She has proved infinite potential by continuing her global career based on a positive mindset and confident attitude. We will fully support her efforts to continue her activities in more diverse areas based on trust and communication.” Sooyoung’s transition into acting has been met with much success. In 2014, she won the Excellence Award for the miniseries My Spring Days (MBC Drama Awards), and in 2015, she…
Congratulations are in order again for BTS, as they just snagged two awards at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards! During the May 1, 2019, BTS scored the “Top Social Artist” award for the third consecutive year. This year, they were nominated alongside EXO, GOT7, Ariana Grande, and former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson. You voted and the results are in! Congrats @BTS_twt, our #BBMAs Top Social Artist! pic.twitter.com/javTPx2ces — Billboard Music Awards (@BBMAs) May 1, 2019 Additionally, the group also snagged the “Top Duo/Group” award. BTS won over Dan + Shay, Maroon5, Imagine Dragons, and Panic! at the…
May 2019 is shaping up to be a hot month for comebacks as Ladies’ Code have also thrown their hats into the comeback ring! On May 3, Polaris Entertainment released a teaser photo featuring Ashley, Sojung, and Zuny with the comeback date as May 16, 2019. This will be Ladies’ Code first comeback since “The Rain” and the mini album Strang3r in October 2016; they released the digital single “The Last Holiday” in December 2018. Between group activities, Ashley and Sojung both released solo tracks. Sojung released “Better Than Me” and “Stay Here” and May 2017 and March 2018,…
On May 3, 2019, Banana Republic provided an update on the contract talks with EXID. In a statement, the company announced the LE, Solji, and Hyerin have renewed their contracts, while Hani and Junghwa have decided to look for new agencies. Upon the announcement, Banana Republic released the following statement: Hello, this is Banana Culture Entertainment. This is our official statement about EXID’s contracts. Solji, LE, and Hyelin expressed their wishes to remain with the agency and re-signed with us. Hani and Junghwa have, after a long discussion with the agency, reached an agreement with us and decided to…
*Japan is made up of 6,852 islands. The four largest are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu – over 400 of these islands are inhabited. *Japan’s capital city, Tokyo hosts over 36 million people. The name was originally “Edo” but got changed to “Tokyo” in 1890, in light of the Meiji Restoration. Tokyo is believed to be the second most expensive city in the world to reside in. *The highest point in Japan is the Mount Fuji, at 3,776m (12,388ft). Over one million people climb the volcanic mountain each year, during the climbing season of July and August. *Japan hosted the…
After 19 days of denials, the now-former singer and actor, Park Yoochun (TVXQ, JYJ), has admitted to taking drugs. His admission comes days after he tested positive for drugs following a hair sample analysis and days following his arrest. On April 29, 2019, Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency stated that Yoochun confessed to the drug allegations after he began meeting with his former fiancée, Hwang Hana, again. The confession came after his April 27 questioning. During his admittance, Yoochun said, “I was afraid to let go of myself. I feel like I need to accept what needs to be accepted…
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…
Seungri’s scandal continues to get uglier, since another female is now claiming that she was raped by one of the men in question. A reported on “SBS 8 O’Clock News”, on April 19, the woman who only goes by her surname Lee, visited Korea from abroad to give her testimony. Lee made a statement that she was invited to a get-together overseas in 2016, to join Seungri, Roy Kim and former Yuri Holdings CEO (and Seungri’s business partner) and other unnamed members of their clique. She didn’t know any of the males but accepted the invitation, because her female…
NATURE is a Korean girl group, consisting of nine members from Korea, Japan and China – the group has three sub-units – Charming, Twinkle, and Cutie. The name of their fandom is LEAF, which is a natural complement to the group’s name. NATURE was formed by n.CH Entertainment in August of 2018, and the company’s founder is the former SM Entertainment executive Jung Chang-hwan. On August 3, 2018, NATURE made their debut with the single album Girls and Flowers, Allegro Cantabile, which is a remake of the opening to Nodame Cantabile, a Japanese anime. In August, NATURE won their first ever award, “New Artist of the Year” at Soribada Best K-Music Awards.…
Earlier, it was reported that HELLOVENUS would disband when their contracts end in May. Originally, Fantagio Entertainment denied the group would disband, but on April 26, 2019, Fantagio finally confirmed the female group will no longer be a group in a statement. Hello. This is Fantagio Music. First of all, we express sincere gratitude to the fans who have cherished and loved the group Hello Venus for a long time. The exclusive contracts of some members of Hello Venus (Alice, Nara, Lime, Yooyoung, Seoyoung, Yeoreum) with Fantagio Music will expire on May 8, 2019. After much discussion with the members…
Dallas BLINKs will now only have one chance to see BLACKPINK in concert as the May 9, 2019 concert has been canceled without an explanation. While there was speculation the show may be canceled following Ticketmaster’s removal of the May 9 ticketing page, confirmation came April 27 from both Ticketmaster and AXS that the show has been canceled. YG Entertainment has yet to provide a reason for the cancelation, but an explanation may be provided soon. AXS and Ticketmaster will be providing refunds to fans in the coming days. The May 8, 2019 concert in Dallas/Ft. Worth will still go…
May’s already looking like an exciting month for comebacks! On April 26, 2019, Oh My Girl (OMG) and Weki Meki both announced that they will be making comebacks in May. OMG released a teaser image April 26 showing the girls dressed as dancers in an oil painting. WM Entertainment states the new album—OMG’s first full album—will be released May 8. The album, titled The Fifth Season, will be OMG’s seventh overall release and the first since Remember Me in September 2018. “Oh My Girl has officially set their comeback date for May 8. As this will be the group’s…