Entertainment

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  Annual Incheon rock festival attracts 78,000 online global fans SEOUL -- Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival, an annual event that was broadcast live online due to a COVID-19 pandemic, has attracted about 78,000 fans, according to the festival's host city. The annual rock festival in the western port city of Incheon that kicked off in 1999 is now one of a very few rock festivals in South Korea where hip-hop music is popular. This year's festival was broadcast through social media on October 16 a 2020-10-19
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  Anti-trust watchdog endorses BTS founder's acquisition of domestic entertainment agency SEOUL -- The founder of BTS has secured approval from South Korea's anti-trust watchdog to push ahead with the acquisition of Pledis Entertainment, which controls two boy bands, NU'EST and Seventeen. The greenlight came as Big Hit Entertainment founded by Bang Si-hyuk became an unrivaled domestic entertainment powerhouse in terms of market capitalization through a stock market debut. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC), known for its strict attitude toward b 2020-10-19
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  K-pop band EXO member Chen to enter boot camp in late October SEOUL -- K-pop boy band EXO member Chen will start his mandatory military service on October 26, the 28-year-old's agency said. "Chen will begin his military service on October 26," SM Entertainment said in a statement on October 26. The agency did not disclose location and other details. All able-bodied South Korean men who are aged more than 18 must serve their country. The average period of service for a conscripted soldier is 18 mont 2020-10-16
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  Brother-sister duo band AKMU's Lee Su-hyun to release solo song "ALIEN" SEOUL -- Lee Su-hyun, a member of brother-sister duo band AKMU, will showcase a new dance-pop song. According to YG Entertainment, the 21-year-old will release her new song at 6:00 p.m. (1100 GMT) on October 16. The song was written by her brother Chan-hyuk. Su-hyun will show off her choreography skill that has been kept hidden since her debut in 2012. AKMU stepped into the spotlight in 2012 when the band appeared in the second season of "KPOP STA 2020-10-16
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  8K romance film produced with smartphones hit special screens SEOUL -- "Please pay attention to the unique visual beauty and in-depth acting that 8K resolution shows," said Kim Go-eun, a 29-year-old actress who took the leading role in "Untact," an experimental short romance film produced with Samsung Electronics' new smartphones, that hit the screens of two Seoul cinemas equipped with quantum dot LED (QLED) panels. 8K resolution refers to an image or display resolution with a width of a 2020-10-16
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  Webtoon publishers join forces to take action against illegal online piracy SEOUL -- In an effort to protect copyrights and digital content, major South Korean webtoon publishers have formed a union to fight against illegal online piracy. Web cartoons, widely known as webtoons or webcomics, are digital comic books created to fit into web or mobile platforms. South Korea is the birthplace of webtoons, with its webtoon market valued at one trillion won ($874 million). South Korean digital comic books are popular in East Asia. Six 2020-10-15
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  BTS agency makes successful stock market debut in S. Korea SEOUL -- The founder of BTS promised to create a new ecosystem in the global entertainment industry where artists, consumers and industry workers can coexist as his company made a successful stock market debut. Share prices soared at the beginning of trading, catapulting Big Hit Entertainment to an unrivaled entertainment powerhouse in South Korea in terms of market capitalization. In a ceremony on South Korea's main bourse to mark the initial public offerin 2020-10-15
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  Park Chan-wook's new melodrama film to star Park hae-il and Tang Wei SEOUL -- Chinese actress Tang Wei and actor Park Hae-il will star in a new melodrama film directed by Park Chan-wook, the film's distributor CJ Entertainment said. Shooting will begin in October, but the release date was not disclosed. Park Chan-wook, 57, is a South Korean director recognized in the global cinema scene for his works such as "Old Boy," "Stoker" and "The Handmaiden" that attracted movie fans at h 2020-10-13
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  [FOCUS] Fresh argument flares in S. Korea over military service by BTS members SEOUL -- Whether they like it or not, the argument without their consent and participation goes on from home and pubs to parliament. Fans feel repulsed by excessive interest and contention. A fresh round of debate flared over whether BTS members should be exempted from military service for enhancing the prestige and image of their homeland after they captured the hearts of global music fans with "Dynamite," a disco-pop track that debute 2020-10-08
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  BLACKPINK agency promises to delete Jennie's controversial scene in music video This image was captured from BLACKPINK's music video. SEOUL -- Bowing to public criticism over Jennie, a global K-pop star dressed as an attractive nurse in the music video of "Lovesick Girls," the agency of BLACKPINK apologized for distorting the image of nurses and promised to delete the scene at issue. In the music video released on October 2, Jennie played a nurse, wearing a hair cap, a white skirt and red high heels to express the so 2020-10-07
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  K-pop band BTS to use up-to-date technologies for online concert in October SEOUL -- Up-to-date technologies such as augmented reality and extended reality will be used for an online concert to be held by K-pop sensation BTS in October. BTS will perform for about two hours on a scale equivalent to an offline concert, according to the group's management agency, Big Hit Entertainment. Big Hit said BTS would hold its online concert "BTS Map of the Soul ON:E" at 7 p.m. on October 10 and 4 p.m. the following day. The latest te 2020-09-29
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  K-pop band BTS to release new album 'BE' with message of healing SEOUL -- K-pop band BTS will release its most unique album titled "Be" in November to deliver a message of healing to fans worldwide, according to the group's management agency. "BE (Deluxe Edition) contains the most 'BTS-esque' music yet. The latest story from BTS begins by declaring that 'even in the face of this new normality, our life goes on' and imparts a message of healing to fans and to the world," 2020-09-28
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  All-star unit group SuperM hopes to give positive and hopeful energy thru new album SEOUL -- SuperM, an all-star unit band formed by SM Entertainment, an entertainment powerhouse in South Korea, hopes to give positive and hopeful energy to fans in a difficult time caused by a COVID-19 pandemic through the group's first full-length album titled "Super One" that contained 15 songs. "There are many different genres of songs. It seems that the color of SuperM has finally come out clearly," SuperM leader Baekhyun said in an on 2020-09-25
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  Kakao unit secures stake in U.S. web comics company Tapas SEOUL -- In a bid to secure a bridgehead in the American webcomics market, Kakao Page, a web media content wing of South Korean web service giant Kakao, secured a 21.68 percent stake in Tapas Media that offers a variety of short and long-form English-language media content including webtoons. Web cartoons, widely known as webtoons or webcomics, are digital comic books created to fit into web or mobile platforms. South Korea is the birthplace of webtoons, with 2020-09-25
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  Mnet to hold online Asian music award event due to COVID-19 pandemic SEOUL -- Asia's biggest annual music awards event will be held online this year to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) has been held held in Asian cities and broadcast live across the world. CJ ENM said it would present the best performance stages for this year's online MAMA, based on its know-how and technologies. "MAMA has been upgraded through innovative challenges. We think that this year's event, which will be h 2020-09-21
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  Former Girls' Generation member Jessica to release autobiographical novel this month SEOUL -- Jessica, a former member of South Korea's first-generation K-pop girl band Girls' Generation, will release an autobiographical novel titled "Shine," based on her experience in the entertainment scene. The novel to be published in 11 countries including Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam will be recreated into a film. The 31-year-old who also designs clothes for her apparel brand BLANC & ECLARE debuted in 2007 and quit in 2014. She s 2020-09-18
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  Samsung uses smartphones to create romance film for 8K QLED screen Actress Kim Go-eun SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics will use new smartphones to create a romance film to promote ultra-high-definition 8K quantum dot LED (QLED) technologies. The project is designed to encourage consumers to engage in the creation of high-quality video content using Samsung phones. The South Korean tech giant said in an online press conference on September 17 that the company would produce "Untact," a new fi 2020-09-17
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  Indie musicians plan small concerts to console pandemic-stricken fans SEOUL -- MY Music, an entertainment agency, will work with a state culture and content nurturing body to hold small indie music concerts for fans who cannot see musicians due to strict quarantine rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19. MY Music said in a statement on September 18 that the company will cooperate with the Korea Creative Content Agency to host "Minimal Life Festival," a 25-day indie music festival from September 18, in Seoul's western d 2020-09-17
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  Singer-songwriter Heize joins rapper Psy's agency SEOUL -- Singer-songwriter Heize has joined an entertainment agency established by PSY, a rapper know for Gangnam Style. Artists such as singer HyunA, Dawn, JESSI and Crush have nested under Psy's wings. "We have come to form a good relationship with Heize. "Please look forward to new music and performances," P NATION said in a statement on September 16. The 29-year-old debuted in 2014 but she was able to catch a 2020-09-16
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  Singer Chungha to collaborate with Danish singer Christopher to release new song SEOUL -- Singer Chungha has collaborated with Christopher Lund Nissen, a Danish singer better known by his stage name Christopher, to release new song "Bad Boy". MNH Entertainment, the 24-year-old's agency said in a statement on September 11 that Chungha and Christopher will release the new song on September 23. Bad Boy was originally planned to be sung by Christopher and his K-pop counterpart during the 28-year-old D 2020-09-11