Direct from Korean news and other sources
KATSEYE has hit No. 1 for the first time in the United Kingdom! This week, KATSEYE topped two of the United Kingdom’s Official Charts (widely regarded as the U.K. equivalent to Billboard’s U.S. charts) for the very first time. Following its release on vinyl, the group’s hit single “Gabriela” debuted at No. 1 on both… The post appeared first on .
K-pop group CORTIS is set to reach a new milestone in the United States, becoming the first K-pop act to perform at the halftime show of an NBA All-Star Week marquee event — just six months after its debut. According to the NBA and ESPN on Wednesday, CORTIS will take the stage during halftime of the "2026 Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game" on Feb. 13 (local time) at the Kia Forum in California. The NBA and ESPN said CORTIS will be the first K-pop group to headline a halftime show in the history of the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, signaling high expectations for the group’s performance. The All-Star Celebrity Game is one of the signature events of NBA All-Star Week, featuring former NBA players, Hollywood actors, popular rappers and sports stars competing in a lighthearted exhibition match. The game is broadcast live nationwide in the United States on ESPN, drawing significant attention from basketball fans around the world. The appearance underscores CORTIS’ growing presence in the U.S., extending beyond music into the broader sports and entertainment industries. Earlier, the gro
Girl group NewJeans has begun erasing traces of ousted member Danielle and ex-label CEO Min Hee-jin across its official platforms. On Tuesday, NewJeans changed its official social media profile photo to an image of its official light stick, the “Binky Bong.” The banner image, previously a group photo, was also replaced with the group’s logo. Search results on platforms now show only the four remaining members when searching for “NewJeans,” with Danielle omitted. On Spotify, the artist bio no longer lists individual member names, and former CEO has also been deleted. The removal of Danielle and Min extends beyond social media to nearly all platforms associated with the group. Although member Minji’s future with the agency remains undecided, the move is widely seen as signaling that NewJeans has effectively entered a new phase as a four-member group. NewJeans attempted to terminate their exclusive contract, accusing Ador of breaching the agreement and seeking to pursue activities independently. However, their path ended abruptly when a court ruled in favor of Ador, confirming t
With a little more than a month left until BTS’ historic return to the stage, Seoul is already feeling the heat. The group’s concert on March 21 at Gwanghwamun Square — their first full-member performance in over three years — has sent ripple effects through Seoul’s hospitality, retail and aviation industries, with nearby luxury hotels booked out and even budget motels hiking rates to nearly 500,000 won ($344) a night. Hotel industry data and tourism platforms show that the “BTS effect” is alrea
The soon-to-be-released album from BTS amassed 3 million presaves on Spotify as of Wednesday. Its fifth full album “Arirang” has remained atop the platform's Countdown Chart Global for two weeks. The album will be available on March 20, a much-hyped return of the septet as a full group after more than 3 1/2 years away from the music scene. Fans have been listening to its old songs on repeat, pushing a number of them past milestones. “Yet To Come” from anthology album “Proof” and “Love Maze” from
Global excitement around BTS is reaching a fever pitch even before the group’s long-awaited comeback officially arrives. BTS’ fifth full-length album, "ARIRANG," surpassed 3 million presaves on Spotify as of Wednesday, signaling explosive worldwide anticipation months ahead of release. The album crossed 1 million presaves just two days after the campaign began, exceeded 2 million by day four and has continued to climb steadily since then. The figure has reignited comparisons with global pop heavyweights. Fans and industry watchers are closely watching whether BTS can overtake the all-time Spotify presave record set by Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," which drew around 6 million presaves. Momentum is also evident on Spotify’s "Countdown Charts Global," where "ARIRANG" ranked No. 1 for two consecutive weeks on Jan. 21 and Jan. 28. The chart tracks presave activity for upcoming albums and singles and is widely viewed as a barometer of global fan expectations. Interest is spilling over into fan platforms as well. After the album release and world tour annou
KiiiKiii has won their first music show trophy for their new title track “404 (New Era)”! On the February 4 episode of “Show Champion,” the candidates for first place were i-dle’s “Mono (Feat. skaiwater),” EXO‘s “Crown,” KiiiKiii’s “404 (New Era),” POW’s “Come True,” and WHIB’s “ROCK THE NATION.” The trophy ultimately went to KiiiKiii. Congratulations… The post appeared first on .
Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of Ador, is preparing to unveil her first project under newly founded K-pop agency Ooak Records, marking an early return to the industry amid ongoing legal disputes with Hybe, Ador’s parent company. Ooak Records posted a short teaser video featuring its corporate logo on social media Tuesday, accompanied by the message, “20260205 10AM Coming soon.” The following day, the company released additional images revealing its official website address and a newly created X ac
Le Sserafim wrapped up its first world tour, “Easy Crazy Hot,” with a sold-out encore concert in Seoul on Sunday, closing a run that spanned 31 shows across 20 cities. Held at Jamsil Indoor Stadium, the final performance drew a near-capacity crowd, excluding limited-view seats. The tour, which began in Incheon in April last year, marked nearly a full year on the road for the group. Despite the demanding schedule, the members powered through a three-hour set featuring 26 songs, including original
Like many other things in Korea, K-pop rarely pauses to explain itself. New groups debut, concepts cycle, controversies surface and fade. The industry absorbs the moment, recalibrates and quickly moves on. That forward momentum has long been part of its appeal. It is also what makes the system difficult to read from the outside. However, beneath the choreography and camera-ready polish, a quieter question persists: Why does K-pop feel so engineered, not just in sound or style, but in how its artists are trained, presented and sustained over time? That question sits at the center of "Almost Everything You Need to Know About K-pop," a new book by Choi Jung-kiu, published in Korea last December. Positioned as a cultural primer, the book breaks K-pop into its working parts, grounding its analysis in concrete examples drawn from active idol groups, recent releases and everyday industry practice. Rather than treating K-pop as a trend-driven genre or a series of isolated successes, Choi frames it as a system shaped over time, one in which training, production, performance, technology and fandom
With the confirmation that BTS will hold a massive free concert to mark its comeback at Gwanghwamun Square and the adjacent royal palace on March 21, attention is now shifting to how the K-pop megastars will use the historic backdrop for the spectacle. Current predictions suggest a performance that dramatically fuses Korean traditional heritage with state-of-the-art stage production. According to the music industry and Seoul city officials Wednesday, discussions are under way for an opening sequence of "BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang" set to begin at 8 p.m. that day. The seven members are expected to appear from within the palace grounds, walking through Geunjeongmun and Heungnyemun gates before exiting through the main Gwanghwamun Gate with the three major southern gates of Gyeongbok Palace thrown open, according to the sources. This scenario is supported by reports that the group has secured approval to utilize these three gates as well as the "woldae" — a restored ceremonial stage located in front of the main gate, historically used by kings of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) for ro
FTIsland is planning to hold a fan meeting in Seoul on March 7, its first in a decade, its agency FNC Entertainment said Wednesday. The band uploaded a poster with a detective agency theme, showing each of the three members dressed in suits. The event, dubbed “FT Agency,” also celebrates the three bandmates committing to the future of the group, having renewed contracts with the agency last week. The trio has been with the agency since the group's debut in 2007. Also on March 7, Lee Honggi will
Riize will give fans an early listen to its second single in Japan, unveiling the title track as a prerelease on Feb. 9, label SM Entertainment announced Wednesday. The group is set to release its single album “All of You” on Feb. 18, but will drop the title track beforehand. Starting with Shotaro’s narration, the hip-hop tune is a confession of love to the group's fans, peppered with “saranghae,” meaning "I love you" in Korean. The upcoming single follows about 1 1/2 years after Riize's first s
The Seoul metropolitan government compiled a set of crowd control and anti-price-gouging measures Wednesday to effectively handle the large crowds expected to gather for K-pop group BTS' comeback show next month. During a meeting led by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, the city government discussed ways to prepare for the concert set to be held at Gwanghwamun Square on March 21. With tens of thousands of fans expected to converge on the square and its surrounding areas, the local government said it plans
Twice’s subunit Misamo released its first studio album in Japan, “Play,” on Feb. 4, label JYP Entertainment announced Wednesday. Mina, Sana and Momo put out the LP as the final piece of an art-themed trilogy, following “Masterpiece” and “Haute Couture.” The former signaled the unit's debut in Japan in 2023, and the second EP came out in November 2024. The group's debut EP was the most-sold album from a female musician in Japan in 2023, and topped Oricon’s Daily and Weekly Album Rankings. The sec
"Golden" from the original soundtrack of Netflix's animated film sensation "KPop Demon Hunters" placed fourth on the latest U.S. Billboard singles chart. According to Billboard's chart released Tuesday (U.S. time), "Golden" remained at No. 4 on the Hot 100 for a second consecutive week, extending its streak to 32 weeks on the chart. The track won Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 68th Grammy Awards on Sunday, marking the first-ever Grammy victory for a K-pop genre song. Another track from the same soundtrack, "How It's Done," ranked 59th this week. Hybe's U.S.-based girl group Katseye placed two songs on the chart — "Gabriela" at No. 29 and "Internet Girl" at No. 80 — while its second EP "Beautiful Chaos" came in at No. 56 on the Billboard 200. The group's first EP "SIS (Soft Is Strong)" ranked No. 138. On the albums chart, the "KPop Demon Hunters" soundtrack stood at No. 8, while K-pop boy group Enhypen's latest album "The Sin: Vanish," which debuted at No. 2 last week, dropped to No. 21. Another boy group Stray Kids' "Do It" stayed at No. 88.
SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- "Golden" from the original soundtrack of Netflix's ani...
TREASURE has gone platinum in Japan with their latest release! In the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ)’s latest batch of official certifications, TREASURE’s most recent Korean mini album “LOVE PULSE” was certified platinum for over 250,000 units shipped in Japan. According to the RIAJ’s certification thresholds, albums are certified gold at 100,000 units shipped… The post appeared first on .
The cast of Netflix’s variety show “Agents of Mystery” has shared their thoughts on the new season! “Agents of Mystery” is a mystery adventure show in which a team of investigators tracks down and solves bizarre cases that cannot be explained by science. The show is produced by PD Jung Jong Yeon of “The Devil’s… The post appeared first on .
Kim Hyun Jin, Shin Hyun Soo, and Kang Na Eon have been confirmed to star in the upcoming drama “One-of-a-Kind Romance” (literal title) alongside Red Velvet’s Joy! Based on a popular webtoon, “One-of-a-Kind Romance” is a romantic comedy about Gong Yu Il, an ordinary woman on the job hunt, whose everyday life is turned upside… The post appeared first on .
Kim Myung Soo will star in the upcoming drama “Empathy Cell” (literal translation)! On January 4, the production team of the new drama “Empathy Cell” announced that Kim Myung Soo will star in the series. “Empathy Cell” is an emotional-transference romance about a woman who rejects empathy and a man burdened with empathy as they… The post appeared first on .
