Kakao Entertainment on Wednesday revealed four webtoons -- “Call Sign,” “Strange Neighbor” (unofficial translation), “Return of the Disastrous Hero” (working title) and “The Unwelcome Guests of House Fildette” -- as some of the most anticipated projects to be released in the first half of the year. “Call Sign,” written by the Kakao Page’s best-known author Cho Seok-ho, revolves around a rookie firefighter who has the ability to

Cartoon Jan. 5, 2022

Television director Lee Seung-young, who was behind popular crime thriller “Missing Noir M” (2015) and “Voice Season 2” (2018), said that his upcoming Wavve series “Tracer” is a family-oriented drama. “Many viewers might consider the drama to be serious, because we will be talking about government officials working on taxes. But all characters have unique charms that will exceed the viewers’ expectations,“ Lee said during an online press co

Television Jan. 5, 2022

An accomplished actor, Jung Woo-sung, 48, wishes to offer stunning Korean content to viewers as a producer. “‘The Silent Sea’ was my second experience in reproducing a short film, following ‘Remember You’ in 2014. I always find the task of an executive producer difficult, but I wish to continue this work to bring the splendid projects created by the skilled directors to more viewers,” executive producer Jung said in an online interview Tuesday. The actor and

Television Jan. 4, 2022

Ahead of the release of its final episodes later this week, Korean reality dating show “Single’s Inferno,” first released on Dec. 18, 2021, notched the 10th spot on Netflix’s global TV list as of Monday. The series became the first Korean reality show to be listed on the service’s global top 10 chart. While the streaming service had previously showcased a number of Korean reality shows -- “Busted!” (2018), travel documentary “Twogether” (20

Television Jan. 4, 2022

With the success of Korean original content on Netflix in 2021, the makers and stars of “The Silent Sea,” the streaming provider’s last Korean release of 2021, might have felt under pressure. But actors Bae Doo-na and Gong Yoo are more than satisfied with their Netflix sci-fi mystery and hope the project can lead to the development of the genre in Korea. “I am well aware of the different opinions from the critics and the viewers. And I totally respect them all,”

Film Jan. 3, 2022

The metaverse, regarded as a technology whose emergence was seen as timely in the pandemic era, has cemented its position as a key avenue to pushing cultural experiences to another level. While prepandemic cultural contents were based on face-to-face experience, the virtual world-centered metaverse emerged as a notable alternative, offering a similar experience as face-to-face encounters as the coronavirus and a multitude of its variants have changed the way people interact. With the advances

Culture Jan. 3, 2022

For the top 10 contestants of TV Chosun’s K-pop audition program, “Tomorrow’s National Singer,” their range of music is what differentiates them from other outstanding singers from other audition programs. “From a folk singer to vocalist in a rock band and from a K-pop boy band to actor in a musical stage, all the members have unique charms to make an appeal to the public,” Park Jang-hyun said in an interview in Gangnam, southern Seoul, on Wednesday. “

Performance Dec. 31, 2021

Everland Winter Wishes Everland Winter Wishes started Dec. 3 and will run through March 1 at Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The festival is a fantastic winter event, where tourists can enjoy various attractions like T-express, Thunder Falls, Lost Valley and Safari Ride more freely than during other seasons. The beautiful lights have a golden concept this year, and create a romantic Christmas ambience. The carol songs are played all day long, with a special Christmas parade once a day

Travel Dec. 31, 2021

Controversy over “Snowdrop” continued this week, with viewers calling for the drama to be pulled, while some insiders claimed that such calls limited producers’ freedom to apply creative license. “Snowdrop,” a highly anticipated JTBC series, also available on Disney+, features Blackpink’s Jisoo and top actor Jung Hae-in. But the star-studded production drew calls for its cancellation from members of the public, who accuse the show of distorting the history a

Television Dec. 30, 2021

Top comedian Yoo Jae-suk, arguably the biggest television celebrity in Korean broadcasting, won the grand prize at the MBC Entertainment Awards on Wednesday. This year’s award makes it the 16th grand prize win for the 49-year-old comedian if combined with his previous awards from the country’s three major broadcasters -- at KBS in 2005 and 2014, at SBS in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019, and at MBC in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2020. This year’s award recog

Television Dec. 30, 2021

With an attempt to tame the spread of COVID-19 and the newly confirmed omicron variant, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and local governments have decided to cancel their annual year-end and New Year’s ceremonies. The traditional bell-ringing ceremony at Bosingak in Jongno, central Seoul, at midnight on New Year’s Eve will be held online for a second year in a row, according to the city. Ringing the bell 33 times, people bid farewell to the old and welcome the new year. Ten civi

Travel Dec. 28, 2021

Local broadcaster SBS announced plans to restore viewers’ trust with a complete change of the production team for its women-led soccer show, “Kick a Goal,” Monday. “We have decided the television directors and chief producer should first hold themselves accountable for the carelessness of tampering with some of the footage in the program. After conducting a thorough self-investigation, we have found that the order of the scores was changed on some of the episodes in &ls

Television Dec. 28, 2021

The largest South Korean streaming platform Wavve is scheduled to release its first 2022 original series “Tracer” on Jan. 7. The series will also get its terrestrial broadcast premiere on MBC as their new Friday-Saturday drama series following “The Red Sleeve.” Directed by Lee Seung-young, who was behind crime thriller “Missing Noir M” (2015) and “Voice Season 2” (2018), “Tracer” is an action drama about the National Tax Service&rsquo

Television Dec. 27, 2021

Though terrestrial network SBS admitted its carelessness and has apologized for tampering with some of the footage in its women-led soccer show, “Kick a Goal,” on Friday, public outrage over the program is not likely to cease any time soon as additional doubts about the show are being raised by netizens. On Friday, the production staff of “Kick a Goal” uploaded an apology on its official website, after its most recent episode drew accusations from an anonymous writer th

Television Dec. 26, 2021

Comedian Moon Se-yoon wrapped up 2021 in triumph, winning the grand prize at the KBS Entertainment Awards on Saturday. Recognized for his achievements on three TV shows -- “Godfather,” “Trot Magic” and “2 Days & 1 Night,” the 39-year-old entertainer was awarded the top prize at KBS headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul. There were four other nominees for the grand prize this year, including 2020 grand prize winner Kim Sook, singer and entertainer Kim J

Television Dec. 26, 2021