HONG KONG -- Vivo Fung Lok-yin is a shy, soft spoken 20-year-old from Hong Kong, but the moment Blackpink’s “Shut Down” blasts from the speakers, she comes alive. She levels a confident stare at her reflection in the mirror-covered studio as she dances to the hip-hop track, a tiny smirk gracing her face. You wouldn’t think that four years ago, she could barely look herself in the mirror while dancing. “I would say I’m a very shy person … I was too scare

K-pop Aug. 8, 2023

Close to a third of K-pop idols-in-training at Hybe, the company behind boy group BTS, are non-Korean nationals, The Korea Herald has learned. Roughly 28 percent of trainees under Hybe’s domestic labels are of foreign nationality, the firm said in response to a media inquiry from the Herald. “Although we don’t have a particular strategy aimed at increasing the proportion of foreign trainees, Hybe supports the selection and development of trainees irrespective of country or regi

K-pop July 31, 2023

At the chime of the school bell, ten 15-year-olds rise from their seats and bow to the teacher, chirping in unison, “annyeonghaseyo,” or “hello” in Korean. It’s an unusual greeting to hear in Hong Kong schools, where the corridors are usually filled with a cacophonic mix of Cantonese, English and Mandarin. But at Mu Kuang English School, a middle and high school partly subsidized by the government, it’s how 90 students begin their weekly Korean classes. Over t

Hello Hangeul May 1, 2023

Harry, who has called South Korea home for 16 years, is considering moving someplace else with more affordable child care. A senior semiconductor engineer working for a conglomerate here, he and his wife pay some 1 million won ($810) a month for their two young children to attend day care. Unlike Korean parents, who pay far less for day care thanks to monthly government subsidies, foreigners are not eligible for the aid. “If I’m able to find a job or get a good offer from any country

Social Affairs Jan. 17, 2023