The 9th edition of K-Music Festival, hosted by the Korean Cultural Centre UK, is set to bring an experience beyond K-pop with a lineup of artists that use traditional Korean music to find new sounds during the eight-week event. K-Music 2022 will kick off Oct. 5 with a joint concert by Dal:um and ReMidas at the Barbican Centre in London. Dal:um, a musical duo featuring gayageum player Ha Su-yean and geomungo player Hwang Hye-young, made their London debut at the Purcell Room last year. This time,

Blackpink has placed two songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 dated Oct. 1. “Shut Down,” the main track from its second studio album “Born Pink,” hit the chart at No. 25 while the pre-release from the album “Pink Venom” ranked No. 57, extending its stay to fifth week. The two songs were No. 1 and No. 2 on Billboard’s Global 200, respectively, as well as on the Global Excl. the US. Blackpink is the fourth artist ever to top both charts at the same time, af

With the rush of cool air, boy bands are welcoming the year's colder seasons with new music, and some big names, from Treasure to Stray Kids, are in for a clash in the coming weeks. Among the most anticipated returns will be Treasure, the rookie boy band of K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment. Treasure is set to drop its new album, "The Second Step: Chapter Two," on Oct. 4. The act's second EP, "The Second Step: Chapter Two," will be fronted by the main track "He

After a beat drops, three participants in colorful clothing begin delivering a rhythmic speech about their lives while breaking out in dance. The crowd surrounding them erupts into cheers when they spit out punchlines. What looks like an ordinary hip-hop rap battle scene in the upcoming comedy film “Daemuga” is a reinterpretation of “gut,” a special performance by a Korean modern-day shaman to bring back spirits. “It (shamanism) is a surreal topic and I wanted to d

Market experts paint rosy outlook on SM’s share price, Lee likely to accelerate stake sale

Namkoong Min is to wed his longtime girlfriend, model and actor Jin Ah-reum, next month, according to Namkoong's agency. “Actor Namkoong Min and his longtime partner Jin Ah-reum will be tying the knot,” 935 Entertainment announced Wednesday. “The private wedding will be held Oct. 7 in Seoul with close friends and families in attendance,” the agency said. The couple met in Namkoong’s directorial debut short film “Light My Fire” (2016), in which Jin s

The National Gugak Center, a state-supported organization that aims to foster Korean traditional music, is set to perform a set of cantatas featuring Korea’s "Jongmyo Jeryeak" and "Arirang." The concert, conducted by Lee Yong-tak, the artistic director of the Contemporary Gugak Orchestra, will present a harmonious sound created by 123 performers. The first part, which will run for 45 minutes, will premiere a new rearrangement of "Jongmyo Jeryeak" by Suwon Un

At the beginning of this year, global streaming giant Netflix, which had not produced films here since its arrival in 2016, announced a plan to release five original Korean-language movies. The list included the romance film "Moral Sense," action film "Carter," action blockbuster "Seoul Vibe," sci-fi film "Jung_E" and romance film "20th Century Girl." So far, the streaming platform has released three films that were on the list and an additio

    Mamamoo will make a comeback with its 12th EP on Oct. 11, according to agency RBW Entertainment on Tuesday. The company uploaded a poster for the EP “Mic On,” signaling the group’s first full-group return in about a month. It released the best-of album “I Say Mamamoo: The Best” in September last year to mark its seventh anniversary. Last month Solar and Moonbyul dropped the single “Better” as the quartet’s first subunit Mamamoo P

One thing K-pop fans, or listeners who love Korean music in general, haven’t heard much of and enjoyed in the past few years is retro K-pop. Younger music aficionados may not know much about this genre, but songs from those earlier times had catchy melodies that were easy on the ears and simply fun to listen to on repeat. That’s what Xiumin of boy band Exo hopes to do with his first-ever solo musical project, “Brand New,” which was released on Monday evening. As a singer

Global streaming service Netflix is set to unveil its new alien comedy thriller “Glitch,” notable for an absence of bloody fights, thundering gunfire or life-threatening actions, which have been essential elements behind previous Netflix Korean originals like “Squid Game,” “All of Us Are Dead” and “Hellbound.” Though the most eye-catching role in “Glitch” may be its green hat-wearing alien, series creator Roh Deok shared that the chem

    NCT 127 had its fourth studio album place at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, according to the publication’s online article that came out on Sunday in the US. The LP “2 Baddies” tied the band’s previous career-high, achieved with third LP “Stickers” last year. Its second LP, “NCT #127 Neo Zone,” ranked No. 5 on the chart. The new LP sold over 1.54 million copies in its first week and swept a series of major music charts at home and in