Actor and singer Park Yu-chun of boy band JYJ on Friday was discharged from nearly two years of mandatory military service.Park was discharged late Friday from the Gangnam District Office in southern Seoul, where he served as a public worker in substitution for his military service. All able-bodied South Korean men between the ages of 18 and 35 must serve in the military for about two years, as the country remains technically at war with North Korea. Park Yu-chun (Yonhap)While serving his duty,

South Korean singer Seven, better known by his stage name “Se7en,” will begin a tour of Japan after a 7-month hiatus. Se7en will perform in Osaka on Sept. 15 and Tokyo on Sept. 17 and 18. The singer, whose real name is Choi Dong-wook, held concerts in Nagoya on Jan. 27, Osaka on Jan. 28 and Tokyo on Jan. 31. He met some 10,000 fans at the tour’s after-party on Feb. 2. His tour celebrated the release of his new album “Dangerman” in last December, which reached the 10th spot on the Japan Oricon da

K-pop artists managed by leading Korean entertainment agency S.M. Entertainment kicked off their sixth concert tour around the globe in Seoul on Saturday. A total of 61 singers thrilled some 45,000 fans at the SM Town Live World Tour VI concert at Seoul World Cup Stadium. It was the first SM Town Live concert in Seoul in three years since its fourth tour opened in the city in August 2014.  K-pop artists signed by S.M. Entertainment perform at the “SM Town Live World Tour VI” concert held at Seou

A growing number of Korean pop stars received death threats in recent months, raising questions as to why such incidents occur.From Apink to Twice to BTS, South Korea’s most beloved artists have faced serious threats from various anonymous persons online and over the phone. This has put the local entertainment industry on edge, amid growing concerns over how celebrities can be better protected from such threats.Most are written out of anger. Irrational jealousy over celebrities who are dating or

(Son Yeon-jae and Choi Jong-hoon's Instagram)National gymnast Son Yeon-jae and F.T. Island's Choi Jong-hoon are officially seeing each other, according to FNC Entertainment, Wednesday. The two stars came in to media attention on the day prior to the agency's announcement, following a local tabloid's release of photos of the two stars out on an apparent date.The photos showed the stars linking arms while walking with a bundle of gifts, flowers and a cake on May 27 -- the day before Son’s birthday

G-Dragon of K-pop group Big Bang has stormed onto the Billboard 200 album chart, marking the artist's third time to do so, his management company said Tuesday.YG Entertainment said his fourth solo album "Kwon Ji Yong," released on June 8, ranked 192nd on the chart as of June 12, local time.  (YG Entertainment)The Billboard 200 ranks the 200 most popular albums of the week, based on online and offline album sales and the number of streamings. He previously grabbed a spot on the chart in 2012 with

Hwang Chi-yeul had been an obscure singer for about 10 years since he debuted in 2007 with his first full-length album "Five Senses." He appeared on various TV and radio shows for about one year after his debut, but had to disappear from the stage when his previous management company closed due to financial difficulties.He spent his 20s working part-time jobs, and taught at music schools as a vocal coach for a living until late 2014.But he experienced a reversal of fortune early last year when C

Artists managed by YG Entertainment, one of the largest K-pop agencies in South Korea, are pouring out new albums back to back in the first half of this year.Starting with Akdong Musician in January, five other YG artists have presented new albums in a row -- Winner and Sechskies in April, Psy and iKON in May and G-Dragon in June. Girl group Black Pink will be the next to drop an album on June 22, according to the agency. (Yonhap)Recently, there has been some bad news. Big Bang member T.O.P was

K-pop act BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, will celebrate the fourth anniversary of its debut in “2017 BTS Home Party” on Tuesday.The upcoming event is a part of the group’s annual event titled, “BTS Festa,” which the group celebrates its big day every day, starting from June 1. BTS unveils new group photos for “2017 BTS Festa” (Big Hit Entertainment)For this year’s celebration, BTS has previously gifted new contents such as Jungkook and Jimin’s duet song “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” special choreog

T.O.P’s family is disputing police reports that said the star is “asleep” under the influence of drugs he took. On Wednesday morning, T.O.P’s mother teared up in front of the reporters gathered at Ewha Womans University Medical Center in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, where T.O.P is hospitalized. She told the reporters, “My son is in bad shape. It’s as if he is dying. Police told the media that he’s drowsy from sleeping pills but that’s misinforming the public.”(Yonhap)“He was brought to the hospital unco

Sistar's new and final song "Lonely" on Thursday rose to No. 1 on major South Korean music streaming charts."Lonely," an acoustic R&B song released Wednesday afternoon, topped seven music streaming charts, including Melon, Olleh Music, Naver Music and Bugs Music, as of 8:30 a.m. The track was produced by Sistar's longtime collaborator Black Eyed Philseung. (Yonhap)The seven-year-old K-pop team announced earlier that it will disband after releasing its final single album. Hyolyn and Soyou are exp

G-Dragon of boy band BIGBANG will release his first individual album in four years on June 8, his agency said Wednesday. (Yonhap)The YG Entertainment, however, did not give any details of the upcoming album.Debuting as a BIGBANG member in 2006, the singer whose name is Gwon Ji-yong made a solo debut in 2009 with "Heartbreaker." He has since released two more albums: "One of a kind" in 2012 and "Coup d'etat" in 2013.Following the release of the new album, the singer is to begin a concert tour of

Seowon Valley, a golf club on the northern outskirts of Seoul, will hold its annual K-pop charity concert this week, bringing together leading artists from a wide range of genres, according to the company Thursday.This year's Seowon Valley Charity Green Concert will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday at the country club in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, with the largest-ever lineup in its 17-year history. (Jellyfish Entertainment)Idol stars, including VIXX, Gugudan, Momoland and Lee Teuk of Super Junior, alon

South Korean boy band BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, soared to No. 1 on Billboard's music chart that tracks shares and mentions of songs on Twitter, according to the publication Monday.According to Billboard's website, the band's 2017 song "Not Today" stood at the top of this week's Billboard Twitter Top Tracks, climbing 23 steps from the previous week. "Sweet Creature" by Harry Styles and Niall Horan's "Slow Hands" ranked third. (Yonhap)Another BTS song, "Fire," came in fourth.The chart is ra

South Korean boy band BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, rose to No. 1 on a major music chart in Japan with its latest Japanese mini album Thursday, its agency said. (Yonhap)"Blood Sweat & Tears," BTS' seventh Japanese single released Wednesday, topped the Oricon Daily Single Chart, selling over 141,000 copies as of Thursday morning, according to Big Hit Entertainment, the team's management agency.The mini album holds three songs previously released in South Korea -- "Blood Sweat & Tears" from 201