Can Tuide carve out its own identity?

Hybe's newest girl group Tuide already found a way to attract attention before releasing a single song. The group's Seoyeon was revealed to be the younger sister of Jihyo, leader of JYP Entertainment's Twice. The connection quickly drew attention to Tuide, the first act launched by ABD, Hybe's new subsidiary dedicated to producing girl groups. But being Hybe's newest girl group inevitably invites another comparison: NewJeans. Four years after NewJeans' arrival reshaped the K-pop girl group lands

Could KiiiKiii become the 'next' NewJeans?

KiiiKiii, a rookie girl group under Starship Entertainment, home to Ive, has been steadily building momentum with each release, most recently with its third EP "WhyKiiiKiii," which dropped Monday. The EP's main track "Pop Off Pop Off" topped YouTube's worldwide trending music video chart shortly after release and had peaked at No. 27 on Melon's Top 100 as of Tuesday. The album also topped iTunes' K-pop albums chart in France, the Netherlands and Australia, and entered the top 10 in 13 countries.

K-pop's toughest stage comes after debut

Two K-pop acts have been making headlines in Korea this summer, and their stories are both triumphs of tenacity. Girl group Rescene finally topped a music chart with "Love Attack," a song that had gone largely unnoticed for two years. Ateez, a group long celebrated abroad but overlooked at home, cracked South Korea's own charts for the first time with its new single "Bad" — eight years into its career. Such reversals of fortune look glamorous from the outside. But they remain the exception, not

Grammy exit: 'Withdrawal of consent' vs. 'not for BTS'

BTS' announcement that it will not submit music to next year's Grammy Awards has set off a wave of reactions. The group's fandom answered on the charts. Army, as the group's fans are known, pushed "Aliens," a B-side from the group's fifth full-length album "Arirang" about being cast as outsiders and owning the label, to No. 1 on iTunes song charts in 78 regions this week, months after the album's release. Many see the group's decision as a protest against the Recording Academy's new best Asian p

Who really built hallyu?

A government-backed K-culture festival has revived a question that follows Korean pop culture abroad: how much of it was the government's doing? The question was put to the organizers of Fanomenon on Monday. The 11-day festival of concerts, fandom awards and industry exhibitions, set for December 2027, will be staged by Korea's four biggest music agencies — JYP Entertainment, Hybe, SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment — with state support, under the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exc

What Mirae Asset's SpaceX miss really says about Korea

Mirae Asset Securities, the South Korea-based brokerage that has long sought to expand its global footprint, hit a setback in its ambitions when it failed to secure SpaceX shares for local investors earlier this month for its initial public offering. The miss came as a surprise to the Korean market, given Mirae Asset's close ties with SpaceX. The market deemed Mirae Asset Securities had an upper hand in the IPO allocation, as Mirae Asset Financial Group was an early investor in the rocket compan

What Georgia raid changed for journalists heading to CES

It was a freezing morning when I lined up outside the US Embassy in Seoul on Nov. 17. Despite having a visa agency staffer hold a place for me, I waited more than 30 minutes just to enter the building, followed by another hour and a half for my interview — all to apply for an I-visa ahead of the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. This marked the first time Korean reporters were required to obtain an I-visa. In previous years, journalists had traveled under the Electronic System for

Stigma threatens Korea's gaming ascent

Korea stands tall as a global gaming powerhouse, fueled by cutting-edge tech, the widespread usage of personal computers and a passionate gaming community. Its thriving industry not only dominates at home but sends Korean games around the world, making the country the fourth-biggest game exporter in the world and driving 70 percent of Korea's total media content exports. Despite the success, the industry still battles a deep-rooted stigma linking games to harmful addiction. The latest controvers

Decision time for Korea’s next-gen destroyer program

The Korean Next-Generation Destroyer, or KDDX, program, has been pushed back once again, dampening the country’s roadmap to strengthen its naval forces and letting the fight between its top two shipbuilders -- Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries -- intensify. The KDDX, a 7.8 trillion won ($5.5 billion) project to build six 6,000-ton-class next-generation Aegis-equipped destroyers, was supposed to have a conclusion on who will build these state-of-the-art warships using homegrown technol

Deadline met, but vision missed: S. Korea's underwhelming show at Expo 2025 Osaka

Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, officially opened on April 13. As part of the international media, I had the opportunity to get an early look at several national pavilions on April 9. While many countries were still busy fine-tuning the details of their exhibits, South Korea’s pavilion stood out for its preparedness. As local media proudly reported, it was one of the few that met the official deadline and appeared fully ready to welcome visitors. According to local reports, only eight of the 47 count

Reporter's Notebook: Which art fairs will survive these challenging times?

The Korean art market is struggling amid adverse economic conditions. The harsh atmosphere was palpable at the past two art fairs in April -- Galleries Art Fair and Art OnO -- and similar concerns loom over the upcoming Art Busan. A gallerist I met at Galleries Art Fair, which ended on Sunday, said people seem to believe the price of art “will be cheaper tomorrow than it is today,” a sentiment also seen regarding the stock market. Galleries Art Fair is the oldest fair in the Korean art market, l