Touted as the most anticipated Netflix original Korean drama series of the second half of the year, "Gyeongseong Creature," the latest work of director Jung Dong-yoon, fell flat upon its release. Set against the backdrop of Gyeongseong, today's Seoul, in 1945, "Gyeongseong Creature" is a 10-part thriller drama that centers around the stories of two individuals who encounter monsters in a mysterious hospital. While the series proclaimed itself as a monster horror series,

Television Dec. 27, 2023

South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, 48, was one of Korea's most decorated actors on television to silver screen, both domestically and internationally. Lee debuted as the lead actor in the short film "Psyco Drama" in 2000, a story about a lonely nurse. On television, Lee first appeared on broadcaster MBC's sitcom series "Lovers" in 2001, playing an unemployed troublemaker. Lee rose to stardom with the character Choi Do-young in MBC's megahit medical drama "Be

Film Dec. 27, 2023

The most searched-for television program on the mobile version of the nation's most popularly used search engine was "The Glory," with the most searched-for movie being "The Roundup: No Way Out," according to a report from Naver. According to Naver's report on popularly searched for keywords in 2023 released Thursday -- which made use of Naver's data collected from January to November -- the most searches for a television show on Naver's mobile application

Film Dec. 26, 2023

The Korea Communications Commission will examine the activities of video streaming platforms in Korea for potential violations of the law, following a series of price hikes in their subscription rates. The KCC on Thursday announced that the media regulation agency will inspect whether there has been any violation of the Telecommunications Business Act, regarding appropriate announcement of the fee increases and terms of conditions. "The KCC plans to convert the inspection into an investig

Television Dec. 22, 2023

Seoul Lantern Festival The annual Seoul Lantern Festival, held until Jan. 21, 2024, is made all the more memorable this year with the event spanning areas from Gwanghwamun Square to Seoul Plaza. The areas light up from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The lighting show, which first began in 2009, features installations and media facades, as well as on-site programs. The festival is taking place concurrently with the Gwanghwamun Flea Market, a pilot program that took off last year. The market offers not only ha

Culture Dec. 22, 2023

South Korean actor Seo In-guk said that through his latest drama series "Death's Game," he sought to deliver the message that all moments in life are worth living, even those that we consider a "waste of time." "Death's Game," Korean streaming service Tving's original series, is an 8-part fantasy drama series based on the popular webtoon of the same title, in which an unemployed man attempts suicide after a series of misfortunes. As he attempts suicid

Television Dec. 20, 2023

The Korea Creative Content Agency announced on Tuesday its plans for 2024 to support Korean content firms and revamp internal management, in a bid to promote K-content both domestically and globally. The agency's main goals for next year center around K-content export, structural reorganization and the implementation of environmental, social and governance values in its business activities. To accelerate the export of K-content, KOCCA said it will increase the number of its overseas busines

Culture Dec. 19, 2023

Social networking service Instagram is slowly rising as one of Korea's most popular platforms for reading webtoons. The new content format known locally as "instatoon" is growing in popularity as people increasingly seek freely serialized webtoons, autobiographical content and easy access to webtoons. In a Korea Creative Content Agency survey of 3,500 Korean webtoon readers aged 10 to 69 conducted between July 2022 and May 2023, Instagram was ranked as the fifth most-used platform

Culture Dec. 19, 2023

Hyundai Motor's luxury vehicle brand Genesis has won an award for its contribution to raising South Korea's image globally, the Corea Image Communication Institute said Monday. The award will be presented at the Korea Image Award ceremony in Seoul on Jan. 10, 2024. The Korea Image Stepping Stone Award, awarded to Genesis, recognizes individuals or businesses who played a part in advancing South Korea's image on the global stage. Swiss architect Mario Botta was named the Korea Imag

Culture Dec. 18, 2023

South Korean romance reality shows are taking the world by storm. The latest to heat up the screens is the third season of the Korean Netflix original series "Single's Inferno" released Tuesday. The first season secured a spot on Netflix's Global Top 10 TV Shows list for three consecutive weeks following its December 2021 release, the first Korean reality show to accomplish such a feat. "Single's Inferno 2," which was released a year later after the explosive r

Television Dec. 16, 2023

South Korean actor Yoo Yeon-seok, famous for playing kindhearted, gentle heartthrobs in hit dramas such as "Dr. Romantic" and "Hospital Playlist," said he sought to change dramatically his well-known image through his latest thriller drama series, "A Bloody Lucky Day." Korean streaming service Tving original series "A Bloody Lucky Day" is a 10-part drama series based on the webtoon of the same title, which focuses on the story of an innocent taxi driver wh

Television Dec. 15, 2023

Naver Webtoon on Thursday said that Webtoon Entertainment, Naver's subsidiary in the United States responsible for the webtoon service's North American business, has made a new addition to its top brass. David J. Lee has been appointed chief financial officer and chief operating officer at Webtoon Entertainment, according to Naver Webtoon. Upon taking the new role, Lee will be in charge of unifying and overseeing global corporate, financial and operations teams at Webtoon Entertainment

Culture Dec. 14, 2023

The first season of South Korean Netflix original drama series "The Glory" was the third-most watched title on Netflix globally in the first half of this year, according to Netflix. On Wednesday, Netflix released its first biannual report titled "What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report," covering some 18,000 titles ranked based on the hours viewed during the January to June period. The report shows "The Glory: Season 1," which includes parts 1 and 2, ranked as

Television Dec. 13, 2023

Samansa, a streaming platform that specializes in short films, has soft-launched operations in South Korea, becoming its second country of operations. The service, founded in Japan in 2021, provides some 800 short films from around the world, with subtitle options including Japanese and Korean. The platform claims 45,000 subscribers and 200,000 monthly active users in Japan, with numbers growing by 10 to 15 percent, monthly. "There's rapid technological development in the way people wa

Film Dec. 11, 2023

The American epic sci-fi film "Dune," which grossed $402 million worldwide, will hit local theaters in February with its long-awaited sequel. "Dune" is the film adaptation of Frank Herbert's renowned novel of the same title released on 2021. The film follows the narrative of Paul Atreides -- a young nobleman who rises to command a desert army in a conflict for dominance over the planet's precious resource, Spice. Denis Villeneuve, the French Canadian film director a

Film Dec. 8, 2023