Some of the members took part in the production of the album, including Hwi, who penned two songs on the debut package. Hwi composed and arranged the first track on his own, “We On,” and teamed up with members KyungJun and JunHyeok in penning the song’s lyrics. The last track, “Your Favorite Melody,” is a song the 17-year-old Hwi had written even ahead of his debut. “I composed the last track be...

Veteran ballad singer returns to stage with 10th full-length album ‘Sory’

The foursome quickly gained recognition in 2018 after winning the Shinhan Card Hello Rookie Awards, with only one year of practice and no prior physical album released. To fans, the band encapsulates liveliness, with the members’ lighthearted playfulness and songs that takes the listener back to their youth. It was that spirit of youth that had pushed them forward despite the challenges they fa...

‘My Liberation Notes’: a portrait of a generation with little hope for a fulfilling life

Surging global demand for K-content drive international productions

The 19th edition of Music in PyeongChang is set to take place earlier and will be bigger than before, the festival’s artistic director Son Yeol-eum said Monday. The iconic music festival will be held for 22 days from July 2 to 23 at various places in Gangwon Province under the theme of “Mask.” “Because of the masks during the pandemic, we were able to stay connected during a time of disconnecti...

South Korean broadcasters are beginning to air TV programs filmed abroad as they resume long-suspended plans for shootings overseas. With the easing of travel restrictions, including mandatory quarantine for international arrivals and the reopening of international routes, broadcasters are keen to resume filming TV programs in exotic locations. Cable channel tvN recently released the new entert...

K-pop act returns to celebrate 15th anniversary

K-pop group Girls' Generation will make a comeback in August by dropping a new album to mark the 15th anniversary of its debut, the group's agency said Tuesday. All eight members of the group will take part in the album that will be the band's first release in five years, SM Entertainment said without giving any details on the upcoming album. Debuting in 2007, the group churned out hit after hi...

South Korea's major cinema chains remained in the red in the first quarter of this year amid the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, but the lifting of distancing rules will likely provide them fresh momentum for a possible turnaround in the coming quarters, data showed Tuesday. CJ CGV, the No. 1 multiplex operator under the wing of entertainment giant CJ Group, said its operating loss reached 54.9 bi...

Hollywood blockbuster "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" surpassed 5 million admissions Tuesday, data showed. The latest Marvel Studios' flick hit the milestone at 7:20 a.m., on the 13th day of its theatrical release in South Korea, according to the official box-office data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). It became the fastest movie to top 5 million in the past three years, out...

“The songs represent the unique colors the members have discovered over the past seven years,” JinJin said, adding, “preparing a full-length album always comes with some pressure, but seeing the result, we’re more than satisfied.” Regarding the bandmates attempting solo songs for the LP, Rocky said, “We’ve each worked hard on honing ourselves on lyric-writing and composing. We thought that we we...

Twice hinted that it may make a comeback soon, writing two dates on its Twitter account on Monday. The band tweeted the dates June 24 and Aug. 26, piquing the interests of its fans. Its previous album was the group’s third full album “Formula of Love: O+T= Label JYP Entertainment only said that specifics for the dates will be announced officially soon. In the meantime, the group wrapp...

“The Red Herring,” a documentary directed by Yi Seung-jun about the embattled ex-Justice Minister Cho Kuk, has raised a total of over 2.6 billion won ($2 million) from over 51,000 people on the crowdfunding platform Tumblbug as of Sunday, far exceeding its original goal of 50 million won. “I was very surprised by the Tumblbug funding result. I am moved by the support. Thank you,” Cho said in a v...

The cable channel previously created 39 copies of special NFTs based on the romance series “Thirty-Nine” in the digital art market BeWings in March, which were sold out within 8 minutes of their release. By Lee Si-jin ( sj_lee@heraldcorp.com )