Entertainment

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  S. Korea to build state-run K-pop concert hall for unaffordable online performances A blueprint released by the culture ministry shows the state-run K-pop concert hall. SEOUL -- A state-run K-pop concert hall optimized for online concerts will be built in South Korea to foster non-face-to-face performances as a new industry and support small and medium-sized labels, rookies and indie musicians who cannot produce online performances due to the high cost of production. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art 2021-03-03
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  BLACKPINK member Rosé to release solo album in March SEOUL -- K-pop girl band BLACKPINK member Rosé will release her first solo album on March 12, the 24-year-old's agency said. YG Entertainment unveiled a teaser poster for Rosé's solo album through its official blog on March 2. Details such as the number of songs included in the album were not disclosed. Rosé's long-waited solo debut was first mentioned by YG in 2019 after fans demanded that the musical spectrum of the fo 2021-03-02
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  BTS agency posts record earnings in 2020 on brisk online activities and album sales SEOUL -- The agency of K-pop wonder BTS achieved its best-ever corporate earnings in 2020, despite a COVID-19 pandemic that prompted artists to cancel offline concerts and focus on online activities with fans. Big Hit Entertainment attributed its stellar performance to a solid business structure based on a multi-label system and brisk album sales. Big Hit said in a regulatory filing on February 23 that its consolidated net profit in 2020 rose 19 pe 2021-02-23
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  [FOCUS] BTS agency leagues with Universal Music to launch new K-pop band in US music scene SEOUL -- Big Hit Entertainment, the creator of K-pop wonder BTS, forged a strategic alliance with Universal Music Group to launch a joint venture label that will create a new band targeting American fans. The romance underlines the growing power of K-pop artists in the global music scene. Through the joint venture set up by Big Hit and Geffen Records, a major music label of Universal Music Group (UMG), a survival music audition show will be held in 2021-02-18
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  CJ ENM aims to become major visual content producer thru partnership with Epic Games SEOUL -- CJ ENM, the creator of the Oscar-winning 2020 film "Parasite," has kicked into full gear to become a major visual content company targeting the global market by building South Korea's largest studio that can virtually produce films and dramas using the technology of Epic Games, an American 3D game engine company. The virtual production method utilizes various visual effects (VFX) technologies to create and film computer-generated scenes in 2021-02-16
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  ​Solo singer Sunmi to come back with new album 'Tail' SEOUL -- Solo singer-songwriter Sunmi will return to the music scene with a new album "Tail" in February. The ex-member of Souh Korea's e defunct girl band Wonder Girls is one of iconic K-pop female solo artists with unique music styles. Abyss Company, the 28-year-old's agency, said in a statement that Sunmi would come back on February 28. The singer unveiled the names of two songs "Tail" and "What The Flower" through 2021-02-15
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  Big Hit's live-streaming joint venture gains reinforcements from Universal Music, YG SEOUL -- A joint venture established by the agency of K-pop wonder BTS and Kiswe, an Americal cloud-based video company, gained powerful reinforcements to expand the global power of its digital live streaming platform, through investment by Universal Music Group, an American music corporation, and YG Entertainment, a major music label in South Korea. Without disclosing financial terms, Big Hit Entertainment said that YG and Universal Music Group 2021-02-10
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  Drones and virtual reality break boundaries of art at national art museum in Seoul SEOUL -- A national museum hosts a 10-month multiverse arts exhibition to attract visitors through the convergence of art and technology. Visitors will experience a borderless new world that was created with drones, virtual reality and robots. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Seoul said in a statement that "MMCA Performing Arts 2021: Multiverse" will open on February 12. The exhibition involves six teams of South Korean artis 2021-02-09
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  S. Korean space opera film "Space Sweepers" mesmerizes global Netflix users SEOUL -- South Korea's noble science fiction film "Space Sweepers," directed by Cho Sung-hee, has captured global Netflix users to become the most-watched film during the first week of February. It is the second K-film content to top Netflix's popularity charts after "#ALIVE," a zombie thriller released in September 2020. South Korea with a 1.9 trillion won ($1.6 billion) box-office in 2019 has a strong lineup of films in genres of ac 2021-02-08
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  BLACKPINK set milestone in K-pop history first paid online concert SEOUL --BLACKPINK set a new milestone in the history of K-pop by garnering some 280,000 viewers worldwide with the group's first paid online live concert which aired on January 31 in collaboration with YouTube, an American online video-sharing platform, demonstrating the global brand power of each member and their growing popularity in the United States. The figure did not include Chinese fans who are not connected to YouTube. The online concert sho 2021-02-04
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  S. Korea's first space film ready to meet foreign fans thru Netflix SEOUL -- "It seems to have shown well what it would be like to have a space movie in South Korea," said Kim Tae-ri, a 30-year-old actress who played the role of captain in "Space Sweepers," the first homemade space movie to be released worldwide through Netflix, the world's top over-the-top platform. The movie directed by Jo Sung-hee will hit the OTT platform globally on February 5. It depicts a story about space debris salvagers aboard t 2021-02-02
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  Spotify launches service at home turf of K-pop with tailored music experience SEOUL -- Spotify, the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service, launched its service in South Korea with a tailored music experience such as expertly curated and regularly updated music across a range of popular genres and personalized music recommendations and discovery features. Spotify's service is available from February 2. The Stockholm-based digital music service said in a statement that it would offer an innovative technology 2021-02-02
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  (G)I-DLE to release remix version of Hwaa thru collaboration with Belgian DJ duo SEOUL -- (G)I-DLE, a K-pop girl band, will release a remix version of "Hwaa," the lead song of its new mini-album, on February 5 through collaboration with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, a top-ranking Belgian DJ duo that has performed at numerous festivals worldwide, according to the group's label, Cube Entertainment. It would be the band's first collaboration with foreign artists. (G)I-DLE made comeback on January 1 2021-02-01
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  'Parasite' actor Song Kang-ho to co-star with singer-actress IU in new film SEOUL -- Song Kang-ho, a veteran South Korean actor who starred in the 2020 Academy-winning film "Parasite" directed by Bong Jun-ho will co-star with Lee Ji-eun, a popular singer-actress also known by her stage name IU, in a new film that will be directed by a famous Japanese director. Zip Cinema, a South Korean filmmaker, said in a statement on February 1 that IU would play a role in "Broker" directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, a Japa 2021-02-01
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  OTT service apologizes for children's animation containing adult video content SEOUL -- South Korea's integrated over-the-top video-on-demand service has apologized over sex video clips that were accidentally inserted into a film version of Pororo, a popular children's animation series. Parents were shocked, asking for a thorough explanation. "Is this real? Sex video clips were played when my child was watching Pororo," a mother said in a post uploaded onto an online communi 2021-02-01
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  Singer IU tops song charts with new song 'Celebrity' SEOUL -- Singer-actress IU has scored an all-kill in major South Korean song charts with her new song "Celebrity" that was pre-released before the official release of her new album. The 27-year-old's new song topped popular real-time song charts of Melon, Genie, Flo and Bugs on January 28. The song's music video was watched more than 6.2 million times on YouTube in less than 24 hours of release. Throug 2021-01-28
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  [FOCUS] BTS agency forges alliance with YG, Naver to promote K-pop thru integrated platform SEOUL -- The founder of K-pop sensation BTS carried out his pledge to create a new ecosystem in the entertainment industry by establishing far-reaching business tie-ups with his troubled domestic rival, which manages prominent K-pop artists such as BLACKPINK, as well as Naver, a top web portal service operator and IT company in South Korea. The three-way alliance through cross investments or stock purchase among Big Hit Entertainment, YG Entertainment and Naver 2021-01-28
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  Kakao units merged into entertainment company targeting global market SEOUL -- Two Kakao subsidiaries will be combined to become a total entertainment company targeting the global market. The merge would create synergy by joining intellectual properties to create new content aimed at attracting global Hallyu (Korean cultural wave) fans. Kakao Page, the digital content-making wing of Kakao, services webtoons, also known as webcomics, and web-based novels worldwide. Kakao webtoons are especially popular in Asia. Kakao M is an e 2021-01-25
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  BLACKPINK member Rosé to premiere solo song through online concert SEOUL -- Girl band BLACKPINK member Rosé will showcase her very first solo track through an online concert, the 23-year-old's agency said. YG Entertainment said in a statement on January 25 that Rosé will unveil her solo track during "THE SHOW," an online concert to be held on January 31. The solo track was to be released after the concert but the singer insisted that she should treat fans with the new track before the release 2021-01-25
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  Singer HyunA to end 14-month hiatus with mini-album 'I'm Not Cool' SEOUL -- K-pop's iconic sexy artist HyunA will end her 14-month hiatus with a mini-album scheduled for release in late January, the 28-year-old's agency said. P NATION said in a statement that HyunA would drop "I'm Not Cool" on January 28. It would be the singer's first album to be released in 14 months since "FLOWER SHOWER," a single track, was released in November 2019. "I will shake it as if I am determined to bre 2021-01-22