The Art Of KPop Demon Hunters: Platinum Edition, a 144-page book with 500 pieces of concept art and design work exploring the film’s mythology and K-pop inspirations, will be released September 8 with a holographic-plated platinum edition available for preorder
Blitzway Entertainment announced it will pursue both civil and criminal legal action against individuals spreading false information, defamation, sexual harassment, and privacy violations targeting Doh Kyung Soo (D.O.). Weverse launched a beta AI search assistant powered by Google’s Gemini that combines results from Weverse and Weverse Shop, letting fans search announcements, archived Weverse Live moments (with timestamps), and merchandise details in their preferred language. With BLACKPINK's Aug. 8 10th anniversary days away, fans are criticizing YG Entertainment's focus on merchandise and digital badges instead of member-centered celebrations like live streams, videos, or new music, while some urge patience after recent tour and EP activities. South Korea's culture ministry unveiled plans to boost K-culture and creative industries and prepare to welcome 40 million annual foreign visitors by expanding financing for content, supporting AI and copyright reform, improving artists' work conditions, and training 18,000 cultural professionals by 2030. SM Entertainment also released its official comeback schedule for the remainder of 2026, confirming Girls’ Generation-HRS will debut a single in Q3 and announcing major Q3–Q4 releases from NCT 127, NCT DREAM, Taeyeon, Jaehyun, Minho, WayV, Yesung and others, plus multiple world tour plans. Stray Kids return with the mini album THIS & THAT as part of a packed August calendar that also includes ENHYPEN's first release as a six-piece after Heeseung's departure and NCT 127's long-awaited BLINGY promoted by five members while Doyoung and Jungwoo complete military service. Seoyeon, the youngest sister of TWICE’s Jihyo, will debut Aug. 24 as a member of HYBE/ABD’s seven-member girl group TUIDE. CORTIS opened the North American leg of its sold-out "Put Your Phone Down" tour (all 14 dates reported sold out) and its EP GreenGreen logged a 12th consecutive week on the Billboard 200; Mnet confirmed ALPHA DRIVE ONE will join its horror survival-variety show SUMBAKKOKJIL 2 as the second lineup following CORTIS, with ALPHA DRIVE ONE’s episode premiering on Mnet Plus Aug 14 at 6:00 p.m. KST and airing on Mnet Aug 15 at 11:00 p.m. KST. KATSEYE’s "Animal" earned major Billboard placements and Jennie reached Billboard's Songs of the Summer top 10; NCT 127's "Kick It" MV surpassed 200 million views, BIGBANG revealed a 20th-anniversary light stick, and ONF's E-Tion will limit movement after a partial rotator cuff tear.
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Seoyeon, the youngest sister of TWICE’s Jihyo, will debut Aug. 24 as a member of HYBE/ABD’s seven-member girl group TUIDE, which will release its first EP TUNE & PLAY. The family now has multiple siblings active in entertainment, including Jihyo and sister Lee Ha-eum
KATSEYE’s single “Animal” debuted at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is included on their third EP Wild, due Aug. 14; their HYBE collaboration “Iconic By Mistake” with LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT slid to No. 76 after seven weeks on the chart. BLACKPINK’s Jennie held at No. 6 with “Dracula” (featuring Tame Impala), BTS placed two songs on the Hot 100 — “Swim” at No. 82 and “Normal” at No. 89 — and on the Billboard 200 BTS’s fifth studio album Arirang ranked No. 15 while the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack was No. 29 and Cortis’s GreenGreen came in at No. 114
NOWZ released the disco-inspired digital single "Achilles," their first Korean comeback in 10 months, and held a Seoul press showcase discussing the group's more mature, sensual concept and plans for a Coex busking event and international appearances
Stray Kids return with the mini album THIS & THAT as part of a packed August calendar that also includes ENHYPEN’s first release as a six-piece after Heeseung’s departure and NCT 127’s long-awaited BLINGY promoted by five members while Doyoung and Jungwoo complete military service
South Korea's culture ministry unveiled plans to make K‑culture a national growth engine, aiming to attract 40 million foreign visitors annually by expanding content-industry support, promoting AI in production, training 18,000 professionals by 2030, and improving artists' working conditions
Tomorrow X Together's Yeonjun will throw the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 13 and perform during the Dodgers' Korean Heritage Night as part of his U.S. promotional run around his second solo EP; he also has GMA, Billboard and KCON LA appearances lined up
BTS members J-Hope and Jungkook and Seventeen joined the Spider-Man: Brand New Day craze — J-Hope shared a Spider-Man–themed NYC Instagram story and mentioned seeing the film on tour while Jungkook mimicked the web-slinging gesture, and Seventeen hosted a red-themed group movie night
SM Entertainment confirmed its second-half lineup, including a solo EP from SHINee's Minho, an EP from WayV, NCT 127's upcoming LP 'Blingy,' and a single from Girls' Generation members Hyoyeon, Yuri and Sooyoung as the new unit HyoRiSoo, with additional Q4 releases and tours planned
With BLACKPINK's Aug. 8 10th anniversary days away, fans are criticizing YG Entertainment's focus on merchandise and digital badges instead of member-centered celebrations like live streams, videos, or new music, while some urge patience after recent tour and EP activities
Brazilian first lady Rosangela “Janja” da Silva said she and President Lula plan to welcome BTS during the group's October São Paulo tour dates, and local reports say talks are underway about a possible meeting with the presidential couple, though no schedule is confirmed
Cortis opened the North American leg of its sold-out "Put Your Phone Down" tour in Toronto and has all 14 tour dates across Korea, North America and Japan reported sold out; their EP GreenGreen also logged a 12th consecutive week on the Billboard 200
Weverse launched a beta AI search assistant powered by Google’s Gemini that combines results from Weverse and Weverse Shop, letting fans search announcements, archived Weverse Live moments (with timestamps), and merchandise details in their preferred language
82MAJOR announced a September 1 comeback at 6 p.m. KST and released a sports-themed first teaser titled "82club," teasing a bold, rebellious concept ahead of the return
NouerA earned their first-ever music show trophy on Show Champion (Aug. 5) with “.exe,” celebrating a tearful win; the episode also featured performances from KARD, POW, PENTAGON’s Hui, LUN8, 8TURN, Kim Si Hun, IRION, and more
ALPHA DRIVE ONE will join Mnet's horror survival-variety show SUMBAKKOKJIL 2 as the second lineup following CORTIS, with their episode premiering on Mnet Plus Aug 14 at 6:00 p.m. KST and airing on Mnet Aug 15 at 11:00 p.m. KST
Blitzway Entertainment announced it will pursue both civil and criminal legal action against individuals spreading false information, defamation, sexual harassment, and privacy violations targeting Doh Kyung Soo (D.O.)
SM Entertainment revealed its comeback schedule for the rest of 2026, confirming Girls’ Generation-HRS will debut a single in Q3 and announcing major Q3–Q4 releases from NCT 127, Minho, WayV, Taeyeon, Yesung, Jaehyun, NCT DREAM, and more, plus multiple world tour plans
SEVENTEEN's Seungkwan, Ko Kyung Pyo, SUPER JUNIOR's Shindong, Kim Jong Min, Kim Dong Hyun, and Yoo Byung Jae have been confirmed for the new season of The Great Escape, which will premiere on TVING in the second half of 2026
Jang Gyuri and Lee Jun Young appear alongside Song Kang in new stills for tvN’s Four Hands, Two Sonatas showing their characters 10 years later; the piano-set drama follows three youths into adulthood and premieres August 29 at 9:10 p.m. KST
TUNEXX will make their first-ever comeback in September, IST Entertainment announced on August 5; the rookie boy group debuted in March with the mini album SET BY US ONLY and will begin comeback promotions next month
ONF member E-Tion was diagnosed with a partial rotator cuff tear on August 4 and will minimize strenuous movement while focusing on recovery; upcoming fan event performances will be replaced by live vocal-only sets for the time being
CORTIS, KATSEYE, and GIRLSET earned spots on Billboard's 2026 21 Under 21 list — CORTIS' GREENGREEN EP debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, KATSEYE scored multiple Hot 100 entries and Grammy nominations, and GIRLSET rebranded as a quartet with high-profile collaborations
Jennie's Tame Impala remix of "Dracula" climbed into Billboard's Songs of the Summer top 10, while her solo single "Less than a Lover" debuted on Billboard's Global Excl. U.S. (No. 11) and the Global 200 (No. 26)
YG Entertainment released a teaser on Aug. 5 revealing the design for BIGBANG’s 20th‑anniversary official light stick, released ahead of the group's 'XX : COSMOS' world tour
DAY6 member Young K released his second full-length solo album YOUNGEST on July 27; it sold over 50,000 copies on day one and reached 164,443 copies in its first week on Hanteo, more than quadrupling his previous first-week record of 40,189
KATSEYE's "Animal" became the group's first Top 10 entry on Billboard's Global 200, debuting at No. 10; it also entered the Hot 100 at No. 24 (their highest Hot 100 debut), hit No. 12 on Global Excl. U.S./Streaming Songs/Digital Song Sales, and raised them to No. 17 on Artist 100
