R&B singer Bobby Kim was investigated by the FBI for allegedly causing a disturbance and sexually harassing a flight attendant on an international flight, local media outlets reported Friday. The 41-year-old, who seemed intoxicated, started shouting at the crew five hours after the Korean Air flight left Incheon for San Francisco at 4:40 p.m. on Wednesday, reports said. Creating a ruckus, the U...

“I realized that I just chased after a win. Next year, I will not bet on one song. I will just focus on music now,” Psy said at a year-end concert. Riding high on the back of the retro sounds that swept Korea in 2014, veteran boy band Shinhwa will release its 12th studio album in February, nearly two years after it put out “The Classic.” Formed in 1998, the six-member band has remained together...

In its first-ever solo tour of Asia, K-pop boy band EXO drew 320,000 concert goers, proving their overseas fame, its label SM Entertainment said Friday. The hottest K-pop act, which debuted in 2012 as a 12-member group, held 30 concerts in major Asian countries including China and Indonesia from May until this week as part of its tour “EXO from Exoplanet: The Lost Tour.” The tour had been a tur...

South Korean boy band EXO proved its stature as a K-pop sensation across Asia by nabbing four awards at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards held in Hong Kong on Wednesday. EXO won four major prizes ― Best Asian Style, Best Male Group of the Year, Asian Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for its third EP, “Overdose.” The Asian Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year awards ...

A video series featuring Sandara Park, a member of the K-pop girl group 2NE1, and actor Steven Yeun has received a total of more than 1 million views just four days since its release. Released last week under the title “What’s Eating Steven Yeun?” by BeFUNNY Studios, the video series gained immediate attention from viewers. The series, composed of three parody videos and a highlight episode, te...

The world’s fastest elevator is to be installed in a skyscraper currently under construction in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. The elevator at the CTF Financial Center, to be completed in 2016, will ascend at 20 meters per second, allowing it to reach the 95th floor in just 43 seconds. The second-fastest lift will be in China’s 121-story Shanghai Tower, which will travel at 18 meters p...

Korea was the 25th most prosperous country in the world this year, moving up one notch from last year, according to a global index. The annual prosperity index, compiled by the Legatum Institute, ranks nations on eight indicators, including wealth, health, education and personal freedom. Korea’s ranking of 25th overall made it the fifth most prosperous country in Asia following Singapore at 18t...

The embattled South Korean hip-hop artist MC Mong, who was once mired in controversy over draft evasion, topped major local music charts with his latest track for the second straight day. As of Tuesday morning, the single “Did you miss me?” off his sixth full-length album “Miss Me or Diss Me,” took the No. 1 spot on all 10 online real-time music charts including Naver Music, MelOn, Daum and Mnet...

At a glance, Korean restaurants may seem to be far from high-end. People often cram into hole-in-the-wall restaurants looking for wallet-friendly, everyday Korean meals. They are served a bowl of rice, soup and several side dishes all at once, for the whole table to share. In recent years, however, a growing number of Korean restaurants have been seeking to offer a slightly different experience...

For many Koreans, Leo Kang is a celebrity chef who gained overnight fame after appearing as a judge on food-focused cable channel Olive-TV’s culinary competition “Master Chef Korea.” His straight-talking style, exemplary career and eye-catching looks helped put him on the map. But what matters more for him than being a celebrity is finding the true colors of his foods. “I have tried to present ...

Alan Eustace, a senior vice president of Google, has broken the world altitude record for a parachute jump that was set just two years ago. The 57-year-old jumped from near the edge of the stratosphere in a specially-designed spacesuit over the southern New Mexico desert. The American hit a top speed of 1,321 kph during a freefall that lasted four minutes and 27 seconds. He exceeded the speed o...

Nearly four decades ago, Venezuelan economist and musician Jose Antonio Abreu gathered 11 impoverished children in a parking garage in Caracas and started teaching them classical music. His notion was simple: free music education can lift the children out of poverty and crime, which in turn could tackle social problems plaguing the country. The initiative ― “El Sistema” or the System ― became h...

Sungmin, a member of K-pop boy band Super Junior, confirmed Tuesday that he will marry actress Kim Sa-eun in December, hours after Kim denied news reports about their betrothal. Sungmin himself announced his plan to marry Kim on Super Junior’s official homepage, apologizing to his fans for the fact that they had first heard the news through the news reports. “I met a good woman and will marry h...

Luhan, a member of K-pop boy band EXO, became the third Chinese idol to launch a legal battle against his label SM Entertainment, spawning speculation over the reasons behind their defections. Luhan filed a lawsuit against SM and its chief executive Kim Young-min, demanding the termination of the contract he signed with the nation’s largest talent agency in 2010. The exact reason for the lawsui...