The Korea Herald

S. Korean firms to participate in K-pop convention in Japan

Apr 19, 2015

Dozens of South Korea's small- and medium-sized enterprises will set up booths at a K-pop convention in Japan this week, organizers said Sunday. The organizers, including the Small and Medium Business Administration, said more than 40 small- and medium-sized firms will participate in KCON Japan for three days starting Monday. It is the first time the annual K-pop convention is taking place outs...
CL to perform at N. American music fest in summer

Apr 19, 2015

South Korean singer CL will be performing at a North American music festival this summer, her agency said Sunday. CL, who leads South Korean girl group 2NE1, is taking part in this year's Mad Decent Block Party, YG Entertainment said. The festival will make stops in 19 North American cities from July 31 to Sept. 26. CL is performing in Brooklyn, New York, on Aug. 9; Berkeley, California, on Se...
Epik High wins Chinese music award

Apr 12, 2015

South Korean hip-hop group Epik High nabbed one of the top honors at a Chinese music awards event Saturday. The trio scooped the Best Performance Artist of the Year at the third YINYUE V-Chart Awards held at the MasterCard Center in Beijing. “Thank you, Chinese fans. We love you. We will come to China more often,” Epik High said during its acceptance speech. Epik High performed two of its hit ...
Miss A holds onto No. 1 with ‘Only You’

Apr 3, 2015

K-pop girl group Miss A has held onto the No. 1 spot on Korea’s music charts with its latest track “Only You” for five straight days. As of Friday morning, “Only You,” from the group’s seventh project album “Colors,” came in first on Korea’s nine major real-time charts, including Melon, Genie Music, Olleh Music, Naver Music and Daum Music. Produced by Black Eyed Pilseung, who is behind Sistar h...
TVXQ’s Yunho to join military

Apr 3, 2015

Yunho, one half of K-pop idol duo TVXQ, will enter military service this year, his label SM Entertainment told media Friday. His exact enlistment date is yet to be confirmed. The announcement came after a Japanese media outlet, the Sankei Shimbun, reported Friday that the 30-year-old singer’s enlistment was approaching. He is reported to have cried at a recent Tokyo Dome concert and said he won...
Big Bang to release new album in May

Apr 1, 2015

K-pop boy group Big Bang will make a grand return to the music scene in May, its agency YG Entertainment said Wednesday. Big Bang will release a new album on May 1, more than three years after putting out its mega-hit album “Still Alive” in 2012, the label said on Facebook. The announcement was made with a poster titled “Big Bang,” with the dates from May 1 to Sept. 1 listed, suggesting the gro...
Suzy and Miss A return

Mar 31, 2015

The unexpected news that mega celebrities Suzy and hallyu star Lee Min-ho are dating has been all the buzz in the local entertainment industry this past week. Exactly one week since the story broke, K-pop star Suzy returned to the stage Monday alongside the other members of Miss A, to promote the album “Colors,” the act’s first EP in more than a year. Despite Miss A reigning at the top of the c...
JYJ’s Jaejoong, Super Junior’s Sungmin join the Army

Mar 31, 2015

JYJ’s Jaejoong and Super Junior’s Sungmin both enlisted in the Army Tuesday for their mandatory military service. Jaejoong made a low-key enlistment. It is not known where he will receive his weeks-long training before entering active military duty. “Kim would see her husband off to the army. He is going to enter the training camp quietly, accompanied with his family,” a source close to Sungmin...
K.Will drops new EP, renews contract with Starship

Mar 24, 2015

K.Will, one of the K-pop world’s most popular R&B ballad singers, will drop his latest six-track EP “[re:]” on Wednesday, the musician said Tuesday. Continuing his signature passionate vocals and gut-wrenchingly heartfelt lyrics, the singer’s new EP features his latest ballad “Growing.” For his newest title track the singer teamed up with composer Kim Dong-hoon, who was behind his 2009 hit sing...
Tae Jin-ah denies gambling rumor, vows legal action

Mar 24, 2015

South Korean singer Tae Jin-ah, 61, has denied reports about his alleged illegal gambling at a casino in the U.S. and vowed to take legal action against the media which put out the article in question. “I have never spent hundreds of million won on gambling in the U.S. My son did not even participate in the gambling,” he said at a press conference held in Seoul on Tuesday. “I already made it cl...
K-pop helps fan battle cancer

Mar 17, 2015

“Hallyu” continues to grow worldwide as Korean artists become more active internationally than they do at home. Also known as the Korean Wave, referring to the popularity of Korean pop culture, most hallyu fandom starts at a young age, as do the K-pop artists and teen idol groups. However, this wasn’t the case for Katherine Kokenes, a mother of three college graduates. Kokenes has been in love...
‘Little Psy’ recuperates from brain tumor

Mar 17, 2015

Eleven year-old Jeon Min-woo, known as a child double of Korean singer Psy, has seemingly recuperated from a terminal brain tumor, local media reported on Tuesday. Jeon, who is Korean-Chinese, was diagnosed last summer with a terminal illness of the brain that left him with just six months to live. However, in an interview on Tuesday, Jeon’s mother revealed that an MRI scan in December had show...
Psy mired in legal wrangling over ‘Gangnam’ building

Mar 16, 2015

“Gangnam Style” superstar Psy, who owns a building in Seoul’s affluent district of Gangnam, is embroiled in a legal battle with his tenant over a rental contract, it was belatedly reported on Monday. The 38-year-old rapper filed for an eviction suit last August against a tenant running a cafe in his building even after the contract expired. Local news media reported that Psy’s contractors got i...
Amber’s ‘Shake That Brass’ most viewed K-pop video in U.S.

Mar 15, 2015

The music video for girl group f(x) member Amber’s “Shake That Brass” became the most-watched K-pop music video in the U.S. for February, according to Billboard. The 22-year-old singer topped the list with the video clip for the lead single “Shake That Brass” of her solo debut EP “Beautiful,” released in February. Also, the American-born Chinese singer’s video for the EP’s eponymous track earne...
Kim Jang-hoon fined for smoking on plane

Mar 15, 2015

Singer Kim Jang-hoon was fined for smoking on board a Korea-bound plane from France, the court said Sunday. The Incheon District Court handed down a fine of 1 million won ($890) against the 50-year-old singer for violating the domestic aviation safety law. He would otherwise have to complete 10 days of manual labor, the court said. Kim was indicted in January after smoking a cigarette on Dec. 1...