Entertainment

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  BTS label terminates contract with Le Sserafim's Kim Ga-ram over school bullying scandal SEOUL -- Le Sserafim, a six-member girl group formed by Hybe's music label, saw the permanent departure of a 16-year-old member embroiled in her alleged school bullying, just two and a half months after its debut as a sister band of BTS. Source Music said it terminated an exclusive contract with Kim Ga-ram who has been plagued with allegations that she was involved in school bullying against her middle school friend in 2018. Le Sserafim has worked as a five-member group since 2022-07-20
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  GS Retail joins Modhaus project to create open architecture entertainment ecosystem SEOUL -- Modhaus, which is regarded as a maverick record label and entertainment startup, got an important patron who will support the creation of an open architecture entertainment ecosystem that allows fans to participate in all the processes related to artists from album concept to training and planning. GS Retail, the operator of GS25, a leading convenience store chain in South Korea, sealed a business agreement with Modhaus on July 12 to push for a fan-participating idol pro 2022-07-12
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  SM Entertainment partners with VR content startup to produce immersive content for artists SEOUL -- AmazeVR, a virtual reality content startup headquartered in Los Angeles, tied up with a special purpose studio of SM, an entertainment powerhouse in South Korea, to set up a joint venture that would produce immersive VR concerts for K-pop and global artists. The joint venture tentatively named Studio A will be set up between SM's metaverse content production company, Studio Kwangya, and AmzeVR. Content will be distributed exclusively through their VR music metaverse s 2022-07-12
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  BLACKPINK to host virtual in-game concert through PUBG Mobile ahead of comeback SEOUL -- Ahead of its comeback in August, BLACKPINK will host a virtual "in-game concert" through the mobile version of "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" (PUBG), a popular third-person shooter game. Users can watch the performance of 3D avatars representing BLACKPINK members. BLACKPINK will be the first K-pop act to showcase an in-game concert. YG Entertainment said the concert in PUBG Mobile is designed to provide an opportunity for artists and fans to commu 2022-07-12
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  SM-LG home fitness service targets global market with K-pop and dance content SEOUL -- SM, an entertainment powerhouse in South Korea, partnered with LG Electronics to launch a home fitness service that would contain various content such as K-pop and dance-based exercises. LG's platform technology and SM's K-pop content capabilities will be combined for differentiated services. In a ceremony on June 30, SM Entertainment LG Electronics launched a joint venture named "Fitness Candy" and disclosed their goal to compete with Apple's subscri 2022-06-30
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  Actor Yoo Ah-in recreated into virtual human for online apparel retail company SEOUL -- Yoo Ah-in, an actor who gained popularity for playing various adolescent characters, was recreated into a virtual human to promote fashion brands and events through collaboration with Musinsa, a major online apparel retail giant in South Korea. The 35-year-old is known for his stylish fashion sense that has captivated fans. He has showcased his unique, casual style through collaboration with casual fashion brands. In October 2020, Yoo was selected as Musinsa's brand am 2022-06-10
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  Virtual rapper Hip-Kongz to debut through rap song 'BAM' SEOUL -- Hip-Kongz, a virtual artist created by a label that manages K-pop girl band Brave Girls, will make its debut with a rap song titled "BAM." The virtual rapper will express concerns and feelings about his reality and uncertain future. Brave Entertainment said that Hip-Kongz's debut song will be released through music websites at 6 p.m. (0900 GMT) on May 30. The new single portrays a virtual artist who was left alone in the night. Hip-Kongz will share his love s 2022-05-30
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  Highest court confirms 18-month jail sentence for former BIGBANG member Seungri SEOUL -- South Korea's highest court confirmed an 18-month jail sentence for Seungri, a disgraced former BIGBANG member who has been at the center of sex and other scandals that rocked South Korea's music community. He will be transferred from a military detention center to a civilian prison to serve the remainder of his term until February 2023. Seungri, a 31-year-old whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, has been on trial at the military court since he joined a frontline mi 2022-05-26
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  Shinsegae's online fashion platform showcases virtual reality exhibition room for new designer brand SEOUL -- Using virtual reality technology, W Concept, the online fashion platform wing of South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae, has showcased a digital showroom of a new designer fashion brand called NILBY P. Users can try on summer fashion items and purchase them on a website connected to the showroom based on an actual offline store located in central Seoul. NILBY P is a women's apparel brand known for its simple and sentimental designs. In May 2021, the brand showcased i 2022-05-24
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  CJ ENM's virtual production stage features Samsung's micro-LED screen and connected cameras SEOUL -- CJ ENM, the South Korean entertainment group that produced the Oscar-winning 2020 film "Parasite," opened a virtual production stage featuring connected cameras and a massive micro light-emitting diodes screen provided by Samsung Electronics to create virtual settings in real-time. CJ ENM's new studio in Paju north of Seoul features Samsung's micro-LED technology, "The Wall." Compared to conventional display technologies, micro-LED technology o 2022-05-24
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  Girl band Le Sserafim's Kim Ga-ram suspended over school bullying SEOUL -- Le Sserafim, a six-member girl group formed by Hybe's music label, hit a snag, just 18 days after its proudly debut as a sister band of BTS, with a 16-year-old member succumbing to a scandal over her alleged school bullying. The band will perform as a five-member group for a while until Kim Ga-ram recovers from trauma. "Through discussion, Kim Ga-ram decided to stop her activity for a while and focus on healing her injured mind," Source Music said on Twitter o 2022-05-20
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  Scanline pledges $100 million investment in S. Korea's special effects film production facility SEOUL -- Scanline VFX, a prominent visual effects and animation company acquired by Neflix, will invest some $100 million in South Korea's special effects film production facility using virtual reality production technology. The investment will be made over six years until 2027. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said that Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun and Scanline President Stephan Trojansky were to attend an investment signing ceremony in Seoul on May 20. Scanline has wo 2022-05-20
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  Kakao Enetertainment merges two American subsidiaries to compete with domestic rival SEOUL -- The content and entertainment wing of South Korea's web service giant Kakao expanded an unyielding turf war with its domestic archrival from Asia to North America by merging two American webtoon and web novel platform subsidiaries into a new entity to create synergy and become a leading player in the storytelling industry. Tapas Media, an American snack culture content provider known as "YouTube of Comics," and Radish Media, a U.S.-based web novel platform, wi 2022-05-19
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  BTS grabs three trophies at Billboard Music Awards SEOUL -- BTS won three awards at the Billboard Music Awards. The seven-member band has grabbed trophies for six consecutive years at the prestigious American annual music awards event since 2017 when the band won the "Top Social Artist Award." The group won in "Top Duo/Group," "Top Song Sales Artist" and "Top Selling Song," Billboard said ahead of its award ceremony through its website on May 15. "Butter," the band's full Englis 2022-05-16
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  Mask-free outdoor arts festival attracts thousands of visitors on Children's Day SEOUL -- A rare scene involving thousands of people roaming freely inside a city square to enjoy summer festivities just like the pre-pandemic times was unfolded in Ansan southwest of Seoul on May 5's Children's Day. Couples, friends, and families applauded and burst into happy laughter while watching a variety of performances and participating in events and games. W 2022-05-13
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  CJ ENM partners with France's Criteo to introduce TV Audience Extension technology SEOUL -- CJ ENM, a top media company in South Korea, partnered with Criteo, a Paris-based commerce media platform, to introduce "TV Audience Extension," a full-funnel marketing feature that combines TV broadcast advertisements and audience-first display advertisements. TV Audience Extension matches target users and discovers potential consumers with Criteo's Shopper Graph which is the world's largest commerce data, combined with Criteo's superior machine lear 2022-05-13
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  CJ ENM to open new drama production studio in Japan with Naver's webtoon service wing SEOUL -- CJ ENM, a media company that created the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," will open a new drama production studio in Japan through cooperation with the webtoon service wing of South Korea's web service giant Naver, as part of efforts to establish a multi-studio system and strengthen global content competitiveness. The new studio tentatively named "Studio Dragon Japan" will be set up by the end of June 2022 with a capital injection of 30 billion won ( 2022-05-12
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  K-pop singer AleXa wins NBC's music program 'American Song Contest' SEOUL -- Alexaundra Christine, an American singer and dancer better known by her stage name AleXa in South Korea, became the winner of an American TV channel NBC's music competition show called "American Song Contest." The 25-year-old K-pop singer who competed with 55 American artists including veteran singers Michael Bolton and Macy Gray will showcase her performance at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. "I am beyond words…Thank you so, so, much for 2022-05-11
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  CJ Group makes strategic investment in global fandom business startup SEOUL -- Two CJ Group units made a strategic investment in bemyfriends, a global fandom business startup in South Korea, to strengthen global direct-to-consumer marketing through non-fungible tokens and artificial intelligence technology. They will work together to maximize synergy and strengthen their leadership of the creator economy. bemyfriends said that it has attracted 22.4 billion won ($17.6 million) from CJ, the holding company of CJ Group, and CJ OliveNetworks, an IT serv 2022-05-10
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  CJ ENM acquires stake in U.S. metaverse studio Hyperreal SEOUL -- Through a strategic investment aimed at strengthening content production capabilities, CJ ENM has acquired a stake in Hyperreal, a U.S. metaverse studio and entertainment producer that creates digital humans in visual effects studios. The South Korean media company that created the Oscar-winning film "Parasite" anticipates synergy when Hyperreal's technology is applied to its content library. The size of CJ ENM's investment was not disclosed. CJ ENM gaine 2022-05-02