Author: Denise Coley
K-Drama fans had a chance to rejoice this week as actor/singer Lee Minho and actor Ji Chang-Wook have been discharged after completing their mandatory military service. Lee, who served as a social worker at the Suseo General Social Welfare Center in Gangnam, was discharged April 25, 2019. He began his service May 2017. Lee was unable to enlist as an active duty soldier as past injuries kept him from doing so. During his last day of service, fans from around the world greeted him with signs and well wishes. On Twitter, #WelcomeBackLeeMinho trended. After his final day, Lee took…
Korean R&B artist and rapper, DΞΔN, will be releasing an English single in the United States this coming May! DΞΔN (Kwon Hyuk) posted the news in his Instagram story April 24, 2019. The post, which is written in Korean and English, states “new U.S. single in May. Keep yo eyes on me.” Details about the upcoming single have yet to be released, but fans will be anticipating the 26-year-old’s latest track. This isn’t DΞΔN’s first U.S track as he’s had a few since 2015. He debuted in the U.S. with “I’m Not Sorry,” a track he performed with Grammy winner…
TXT (Tomorrow X Together) announced their official fan club name on April 25, 2019. Big Hit Entertainment’s rookie group chose “Young One” as their fan club name after looking over fan name submissions provided by their fans. The name “Young One” means “we were nothing and then we became one.” “Young” means “zero” in Korean according to the official release on their international fan cafe, and when paired with “one” (Young-won), the name also means “forever.” However, while the name and meaning may be cute, controversy arose soon after the name’s announcement. Fans took issue with the fan club…
All parties are considered innocent until proven guilty. Current JYJ and former TVXQ member Yoochun announced his retirement from the entertainment industry after testing positive drugs. C-Jes Entertainment released a statement regarding Yoochun’s departure from the industry. Hello, this is C-Jes Entertainment. We have been following the investigation with trust in Park Yoochun’s claims that he was innocent, but yesterday, we learned through news reports that the National Forensic Service results showed positivity. Despite waiting for good results in the investigation with trust in our artist, we were faced with such news reports, and feel miserable. After concluding that we cannot reestablish…
On Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019, a wave of bombings killed over 300 people and injured dozens in what authorities consider an organized act of terror even though a group has yet to come forward claiming responsibility. Eight suicide bombings occurred across Sri Lanka in Kochchikade, Negombo, Colombo, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, and Batticaloa. The attacks are considered the country’s worst since the civil war ten years ago. At around 8:45am local time, the attacks occurred at churches and hotels on the Western part of the country apart from Batticaloa to the East. In three of the cities, the attacks occurred during Easter services at…
MustM Entertainment’s seven-member rookie group, MustB, was involved in a car accident April 21, 2019 at around 3:40am KST. The accident, which claimed the life of the group’s manager, occurred on Seoul’s Olympic-daero between the Seoulgyo and Yeouigyo bridges heading toward Jamsil. The group was returning to their dorm following a performance in Daegu. The van MustB rode in struck a guard rail. The group’s manager—identified as a 36-year-old male with the surname Son—was the driver of the vehicle. He sustained serious injuries in the crash and was transferred to Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.…
On May 7, 2019, Super Junior’s Kyuhyun will be discharged from his mandatory military service (he served as a public service worker), and it looks like he prepared to get back to work! SM Entertainment, in conjunction with Dream Maker Entertainment Limited, announced on April 17 that Kyuhyun will host his “We Meet Again Today!” fan meet May 19 at 6:30pm KST at Peace Hall in Seoul’s Kyunghee University. Tickets for the fan meet go on sale April 22 at 8pm KST for fan club members. For the general public, tickets go on sale April 24 at 8pm KST.…
On April 24, 2019, Super Junior’s Heechul will release his solo track “Old Movie,” Label SJ said. While Heechul has been a member of sub-units, specifically M&D with TRAxX’s Jungmo and Universe Cowards with Buzz’s Min Kyung Hoon, he has yet to release his own solo material. “Old Movie” will be his solo review. The single, which is said to be a rock ballad, will be a digital single that will be accompanied by an MV starring Heechul and SKY Castle star, Park Yoo-na. Fellow Super Junior member Donghae composed the track; Heechul wrote the lyrics. On April 19,…
The K-Pop world may have lost another group as HELLOVENUS allegedly agreed to disband following the end of their contracts in May 2019. HELLOVENUS, which originally consisted of members Alice, Nara, Yoonjo, Lime, Yooara, and Yooyoung, initially formed as a joint-venture between Fantagio and Pledis Entertainment under Tricell Entertainment in 2012. In 2014, Pledis and Fantagio abandoned the joint-venture. HELLOVENUS would still promote under Fantagio, but members Yooara and Yooyoung returned to Pledis and were no longer members of the group. In October 2014, Fantagio added two new members to HELLOVENUS: Seoyoung and Yeoreum. The group officially debuted May 9, 2012 with…
Former Korean TV personality, Amy (real name, Lee Yoon-Ji) potentially opened the doors to another celebrity-related drug and sex scandal due to an Instagram post shared April 16, 2019. Amy, who is Korean-American and was deported from South Korea in 2015 following her second drug charge, discussed incidents where she and a fellow celebrity, identified as “A” at the time, took propofol and Zolpidem together and that she covered up for him. In the now-deleted post, Amy said: Today is such an upsetting day, and my heart aches a lot. Even though it’s late, I’ve been reflecting on myself for the past few years,…
A recent photo of the actor from his Instagram account @yeojin9oo. From child actor to leading man Making his debut on the silver screen with ‘Sad Movie’ in 2005 when he was only eight years old, Yeo Jin Goo has definitely racked up a lot of screen time over the years, carving his initial interest to appear on television into a fulfilling career. Backed by supportive parents who cultivated his passion by providing acting lessons, the talented youngster quickly moved on towards more notable roles, mostly playing younger versions of the lead actors in popular dramas, the most notable…
BTS’ “Boy with Luv” is on fire! The track, which features Halsey, comes from their newest album, Map the Soul: Persona and was released April 12, 2019. As of this writing, “Boy with Luv” currently has over 135 million views on YouTube and is still trending on YouTube’s trend list (as of April 15, 2019, it is ranked 45). As it continues to rack up YouTube views, “Boy with Luv” and Map the Soul: Persona have been breaking records across several music charts. Map the Soul: Persona became BTS’ third album to rank number one on the Billboard 200 chart.…
SHINee’s Minho enlisted into the Marines April 15, 2019. Prior to his enlistment at the Marine Corps training center in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Minho shared a letter with SHAWOLs along with an image showing off his military haircut. #빛나는샤이니 #SHINee #샤이니 @shinee#민호 #MINHO #CHOIMINHO 건강하고 안전하게 ?? pic.twitter.com/JJ12SxMXse — SHINee (@SHINee) April 14, 2019 #빛나는샤이니 #SHINee #샤이니 @shinee#민호 #MINHO #CHOIMINHO 건강하고 안전하게 ?? pic.twitter.com/B0V3v9vkkN — SHINee (@SHINee) April 14, 2019 Minho wrote: Hello, everyone~ it’s SHINee’s Minho!! It seems like it’s been a while since I’ve written my feelings down. Everyone knows, right? I will be enlisting…
Brave Girls is a Korean girl group formed by the inventive rapper, songwriter and producer Brave Brother, the founder and CEO of Brave Entertainment. The group made their debut with the album The Difference in April of 2011. In July of the same year, Brave Girls released Easily from their mini album Back to da Future, and later promoted a remix version. The group went on a hiatus from early 2014 until 2016, and returned with seven members – the two founding members Hye-ran and Yoo-jin, joined by Eun-ji, Ha-yun, Min-young, Yu-jeong and Yu-na – while Eun-young, Seo-a and Ye-jin left…
Kcrush America K-Pop Top 30: March 2019
ONCES have double the chances to be excited as TWICE announced their new album, Fancy You, will be released April 22, 2019. Additionally, the title track, “Fancy,” will be coming out soon. Based on the teasers, the album and single may have a throwback vibe to it. Fancy You will be the girl group’s seventh EP since they debuted in 2015. The EP will have six songs. In addition to the lead single “Fancy,” other tracks include “Girls Like Us,” “Hot,” “Strawberry,” “Stuck in My Head,” and “Turn it Up.” Albums are available for pre-order on WithDrama, Ktown4U, Kpoptown, and…
Kang Ji Hwan in a still from 2018 reality show ‘Real Men 300’. His story Jo Tae-gyu, or better known under his stage name Kang Ji-hwan, is a 42 year old South Korean actor who first debuted as a musical actor before branching out into television dramas and movies, becoming a household name not only in his native country but also throughout Asia making him one of the Korean Hallyu (Korean wave) stars. After securing small roles in television in the early years, he won the lead role in the 2005 drama ‘Be Strong, Geum-soon!’, which opened the door…
EXO-Ls will soon have to start the process of waiting for their favorite idols to return from the military as EXO’s Xiumin has announced his plans to enlist in May. SM Entertainment and Xiumin both confirm that he will be enlisting as an active duty soldier May 7, 2019. The idol also wishes to enlist quietly, so there are no planned goodbye events or a fan sendoff. Details about when and where he will enlist are private. In a letter, Xiumin acknowledged his upcoming enlistment. Hello, EXO-L. This is Xiumin! Flowers have been blooming well these days. Have you…
Big Hit Entertainment, which is home to BTS, announced that their rookie group, TXT (TOMORROW x TOGETHER), will be holding their debut showcase tour in the United States. Powerhouse Live will be hosting the event. TXT debuted March 4, 2019 with the song “Crown” and their EP The Dream Chapter: Star. Plans for TXT’s debut were in-place starting in 2017, while confirmation of their debut was announced in November 2018. On January 10, 2019, the group was announced, and member introductions began soon after. The group, which is now over a month old, already has an impressive résumé as they…
The 17th Korea Times Music Festival is fast-approaching, and this year’s festival has a fantastic lineup in-store for fans! The Korea Times Music Festival is one of the United States’ most-successful Korean festivals as The Korea Times and its broadcast partners in South Korea bring several artists over the reflect many different generations. In addition to some of today’s hot and up-and-coming K-Pop groups, singers familiar to more mature generations also come over for this yearly family-friendly event. This year’s festival will be held Saturday April 27, 2019 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. The festival begins at 6pm…