Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
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Yoo Jae-suk recruits superstars Lee Hyo-ri, Rain to form group
Comedian Yoo Jae-suk is collaborating with singers Lee Hyo-ri and Rain as a group for Saturday’s episode of “Hangout with Yoo,” as revealed in the preview shown in last week’s episode where they were seen dancing onstage. MBC’s “Hangout with Yoo” features the popular comedian taking on different characters and trying new fields. So far, he has attempted cooking ramen, singing trot music and frying chicken. His latest attempt is to become a dance group
May 29, 2020
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Celebrity couple Lee Dong-gun, Cho Youn-hee divorce after 3-year marriage
South Korean celebrity couple Lee Dong-gun and Cho Youn-hee have legally parted ways following a three-year marriage, according to the latter's agency Thursday. "Cho Young-hee divorced Lee Dong-gun following a divorce settlement at a court in Seoul on May 22," said King Kong by Starship, Jo's management agency. The two actors, former co-stars in the 2017 TV series "The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop," tied the knot in May 2017. They have one daughter. The company said
May 28, 2020
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[Newsmaker] tvN’s ‘The Ramyeonator’ may be slapped with KCSC warning
The Korea Communication Standards Commission’s Broadcast Advertising Sub-Commission on Tuesday decided to recommend issuing a warning to CJ Olive Networks and tvN’s show “The Ramyeonator” for exposing a specific brand of Korean ramen on the show. “The Ramyeonator” featured a popular television show host, Kang Ho-dong, eating ramen with different ingredients, trying to find the tastiest ramen combination. Kang added everything from oyster, duck, clams and cra
May 27, 2020
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Retro trend continues with TV drama soundtracks
As the recent decade has seen a revival of the 1980s and 1990s in many sectors, such as fashion and food, retro music has been making its mark on South Korean pop culture, especially in TV dramas. The weekend romance series "When My Love Blooms" on tvN is a story about a middle-aged man and woman, who were in love in their 20s. Twenty years later, the two come across one another again and look back at their lives as college students. As the drama changes back and forth from the pre
May 26, 2020
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Afreeca TV star ChulGu makes triumphant return
Broadcasting jockey ChulGu’s return to Afreeca TV on Sunday night was watched by nearly 330,000 fans who had eagerly awaited his comeback following his discharge from military service on May 15. “Hello everyone, it’s been a very long time,” said ChulGu as he started streaming. “I’ve come back for the first time in a year and seven months,” he continued as he expressed being nervous turning on his stream for the first time after his discharge. When Chu
May 25, 2020
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Competition for trot music shows heating up among TV networks
Television networks are doubling down on shows centered around the recent trot-music hype -- launching new shows and snatching up stars who are becoming increasingly high in demand. SBS TV is currently airing "Here Comes Trot God," and TV Chosun has two shows, "Call Center of Love" and "Bbongsoongah School," in its regular programming. TV Chosun is credited with ushering in the renaissance of trot -- a soulful genre with repetitive rhythm, simple chords and no-n
May 22, 2020
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Young actors move to online platforms as TV producers woo bankable veterans
Young actors and actresses in their 20s and early 30s have been losing their presence on the South Korean small screen as producers are not willing to take chances by casting new faces in marquee roles. The fantasy romance "The King: Eternal Monarch," starring Lee Min-ho and Kim Go-eun, and the mystery drama "Born Again," starring Jang Ki-yong and Jin Se-yeon, seem to be the only two TV series led by young stars out of dozens of soap operas and shows currently on air in the
May 22, 2020
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Long-running TV programs disappear into history on new media trend
In recent years, many famous TV shows that had lasted around 20 years at public TV stations like KBS and MBC have disappeared into history amid changes in the media landscape. Over the past three years, the two broadcasters have ended or launched a complete facelift of around 10 long-running programs. MBC terminated its 23-year-old investigative journalism program "Sisa Magazine 2580" in August 2017 and the following year it stopped airing the hit reality show "Infinite Challe
May 20, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Actress denies having partied in Itaewon amid outbreak
Actress Lee Min-jung on Wednesday denied allegations that she partied in Seoul's nightlife district of Itaewon after the area emerged as a hotbed for coronavirus cluster infections earlier this month. "Lee did not visit Itaewon. Instead she went to a friend's birthday party at a cafe in Cheongdam (in southern Seoul). All she did was take a picture while dropping off a gift," a representative at MSTeam Entertainment, Lee's management company, told Yonhap News Agency over the phone on
May 20, 2020
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Hwang Jeong-eum, Yook Sung-jae offer mysterious counseling at ‘Mystic Pop-Up Bar’
South Korean rom-com queen Hwang Jeong-eum is returning to the small screen after two years -- this time as a mysterious, hot-tempered bar owner named Wol-joo in the upcoming JTBC drama “Mystic Pop-Up Bar.” Based on a popular Korean webtoon of the same title, the fantasy drama tells the story of Wol-joo and her employees, Han Kang-bae and Chief Gwi, who visit their customers in dreams to help them resolve their inner demons. Singer-actor Yook Sung-jae plays Kang-bae, and veteran ac
May 19, 2020
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[Herald Interview] Writer says ‘Extracurricular’ digs into society’s wounds
Prostitution is not a common subject in South Korean television dramas, let alone dramas in which the main characters are teenagers. Jin Han-sae, creator of the sensational Netflix original series “Extracurricular,” says he felt a huge burden when writing the story, in which he says the protagonists are pushed into situations that are extreme beyond imagination. “I felt like I was setting a time bomb, as it might end up looking like glorifying wrong behaviors. I almost compu
May 18, 2020
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Star screenwriter struggling with lower-than-expected popularity of 'The King'
SBS' fantasy romance "The King: Eternal Monarch" was one of the most anticipated TV series for the first half of 2020 in South Korea, for the reunion of star screenwriter Kim Eun-sook and actor Lee Min-ho. Lee chose the show as his post-military comeback project after "The Heirs" (2013). But the big-budget series, which was also financed by US streaming giant Netflix, saw its viewership ratings drop to a record low of 6.3 percent on its ninth episode that aired on Saturday
May 18, 2020
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[Herald Interview] Tyler Rasch on escaping ‘The Box’
While young Koreans are experiencing a chronic collective despair in past decades, partly due to the stagnant economy, American TV personality Tyler Rasch -- familiar to the public for his TV appearances -- hopes to encourage them through an independent documentary series. To make his message more sincere, Rasch did not turn to major production companies to launch his new serial show “The Box,” but rather decided to take the reins himself. “I did not want my message compromi
May 17, 2020
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[Newsmaker] ‘World of Married’ finishes on a high
The hit drama series “The World of the Married” wrapped up its 16-episode run Saturday, setting a record as the most-watched drama series on Korean cable TV channels. According to viewership research institute Nielsen Korea, the final episode of the JTBC series marked a record viewership of 28.3 percent, outrunning the previous record of 23.8 percent set by another JTBC hit “SKY Castle.” Drama “The World of the Married” centers around the character of
May 17, 2020
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Korean medical dramas break out of mold, heal viewers
One does not have to be a doctor or a nurse to be able to relate to what happens inside hospitals, where lives are born and deaths pronounced, wounds are healed and hurt minds are treated. It is for such reasons, perhaps, that medical dramas have flourished in the recent decade or so, the stories and themes becoming more diverse with time. Two of the most popular TV dramas so far this year take place in a hospital. The second season of SBS’ “Dr. Romantic” racked up a 28.4
May 16, 2020
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Star actress Choi Ji-woo gives birth to her first child
Star actress Choi Ji-woo gave birth to her first child Saturday, two years after she got married, her management said. "Choi gave birth to a daughter this morning," YG Entertainment said, adding that Choi and her baby are healthy and doing well. Choi, best known for her role in the 2002 hit Korean drama "Winter Sonata," plans to resume work as an actress following the childbirth to pursue her acting career more vibrantly, working at the same time while being a wife and mom
May 16, 2020
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‘Gag Concert’ to go on hiatus after 21 years
KBS’s “Gag Concert” is going on a break until further notice, signaling the end of comedy shows on terrestrial television networks. In the 2000s Koreans gathered in front of the TV on Sunday night to watch KBS’s “Gag Concert,” a comedy show that at one point enjoyed viewership rating of roughly 30 percent. Many people closed out the weekend with the guitar tunes that signaled the end of the episode on Sunday night and readied for another week. As “Gag
May 15, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Park Yu-chun apologizes on air for lying about drug use last year
Park Yu-chun, an actor and a member of K-pop group, JYJ, apologized for having lied about the drug charges against him last year in a TV interview aired on Monday. He said he had lost “rational judgement” when he swore to leave the entertainment industry if found guilty. “I really regret that I lied (about using drugs), and I still wonder ‘What if I had told the truth to people and sincerely asked for forgiveness (instead of insisting on innocence),’” Park
May 12, 2020
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‘The World of the Married’ Jeong Jun-won apologizes for controversial photos
Actor Jeong Jun-won, who appears in the popular drama series “The World of the Married,” has caused controversy after pictures of the 16-year-old drinking and smoking with friends went viral on the internet. On Sunday, pictures that appear to be screenshots from Jeong’s social media page were trending in a local online community. One of the pictures showed the actor and his friends sitting around a table full of soju bottles, while another showed them smoking. The legal dri
May 11, 2020
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YouTuber vet student denies abusing animals
A veterinary student and prominent YouTuber denied allegations that he abused and starved animals for his videos to get more traffic. According to a news report by local broadcaster Channel A on Thursday, an animal rights group filed a police complaint against Park Gab-su, the owner of the YouTube channel Gabsupasture, accusing him of abusing animals for his videos. Gabsupasture has more than 500,000 subscribers, having gained popularity for its videos on cats and dogs. The animal rights
May 8, 2020