Entertainment

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  BTS agency posts 7.6 percent drop in Q3 operating profit despite brisk sales SEOUL -- Hybe posted a 7.6 percent drop in operating profit in the third quarter of 2022 amid predictions that next year's earnings rate will be worse due to the enlistment of BTS members who accounted for up to 65 percent of sales. The multi-label agency anticipates better earnings in 2024 thanks to the good performance of rookies and other artists. Hybe's consolidated third-quarter sales were estimated at 445.5 billion won ($313.9 million), up 30.6 percent from a year ago, 2022-11-03
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  Speculation over game developer Com2uS' acquisition of 4.2% stake in SM Entertainment SEOUL -- Com2uS, a game development and publishing company in South Korea, has secured a 4.2 percent stake in SM, an entertainment powerhouse that has been under pressure from minority shareholders to enhance transparency in governance and accounting. The move comes amid growing attention among market watchers to SM's next shareholders' meeting. Com2uS said that its investment was based on the judgment that SM has been relatively undervalued and has a high value for futur 2022-11-01
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  BTS Jin releases first single album ahead of enlistment in collaboration with Coldplay SEOUL -- Jin, the eldest member of BTS, rolled out "The Astronaut," a first solo single co-written by British rock band Coldplay, ahead of his conscription for South Korea's mandatory military service. The pop-rock song will be performed at Coldplay's concert in Buenos Aires. "The song captures the ears of listeners and the hearts of BTS' fan ARMY as Jin participated in writing the lyrics expressing his fondness for fans," Jin's agency, Big Hit M 2022-10-28
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  EBS science TV talk show brings up topic of how to handle problems in future world SEOUL -- Using new technologies such as extended reality, an experimental science TV talk show created by a public educational broadcaster in South Korea brings up the conversation topic of how to handle various social problems faced by humans living in a future world where technology is extremely developed. The program titled "The Dreamers" produced by the Korea Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) looks into future science technologies and shocking crimes from the stage 2022-10-28
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  Spotify releases personalized playlist service capable of blending users' musical preferences with BLACKPINK's SEOUL -- Spotify, the world's most popular music streaming service, launched a service that enables users to create playlists that combine their musical tastes with that of K-pop girl band BLACKPINK. Users can find out how much their listening preferences are similar to the four-member band. Blend, Spotify's service launched in September 2021, reflects the musical tastes of up to 10 listeners to create a playlist. Users can share their taste match scores that show how s 2022-10-24
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  Coldplay collaborates with BTS member Jin for single album ahead of enlistment SEOUL -- British rock band Coldplay has collaborated with Jin, the eldest BTS member, for a solo single titled "The Astronaut" ahead of his conscription for South Korea's mandatory military service. The five-member British band has previously released a collaboration single called "My Universe" with BTS in both Korean and English. Jin's agency, Big Hit Music, posted a poster on Facebook that the new single would be released on October 28. The music video 2022-10-20
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  BTS members allowed to participate in limited group activities while in military service SEOUL -- All BTS members will be able to gather for limited group activities such as concerts outside barracks while in obligatory military service if top commanders make an exceptional judgment that their reunion will promote national interest. The share price of their agency is on the rise with investors believing that uncertainties have been resolved. Under pressure to clarify its official position about the allowable range of performance after enlistment, the defense ministry sa 2022-10-18
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  BTS shocks fans with sudden decision to fulfill mandatory military service one by one SEOUL -- K-pop superstar BTS shocked global fans with a sudden decision to fulfill South Korea's mandatory military service one by one, starting with Jin, the eldest member who had been allowed to postpone enlistment until the age of 30 by the end of 2022. The decision ended a wave of social discussions on whether BTS members should be exempted from military service. "Jin will apply for the cancellation of the postponement of his enlistment at the end of this month and will 2022-10-17
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  SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man takes hands off producing SEOUL -- Lee Soo-man, the founder of South Korea's entertainment powerhouse SM, who was credited with venturing into the global entertainment market to promote K-pop, will step back into the back room, taking his hands off producing and bowing to demands from minority shareholders for transparent governance. SM Entertainment said in a regulatory filing on October 14 that its board approved the proposed termination of a production contract with Lee's private company Like Pla 2022-10-14
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  Digital celebrity Sua makes international debut through modeling contract with Thai company SEOUL -- Sua, a digital human modeled after a K-pop star, made its international debut as an advertising model who will appear on large billboards and electronic boards installed in landmarks in Thailand. Sua is South Korea's first virtual human to enter Thailand. Sua's founder, On Mind, said that it has signed a three-year exclusive contract with Dynamic Digital Display (DDD), a digital signage display supplier based in Thailand, to actively support Sua's activities in 2022-10-14
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  Girl band Le Sserafim collaborates with American artist Salem Ilese for new album SEOUL -- Le Sserafim, a five-member girl group formed by Hybe's music label, will expand its overseas fanbase by collaborating with Salem Ilese, an American singer and songwriter. The sister band of BTS has already worked with Moroccan-American pop artist ABIR for its debut album released on May 2. According to Source Music, the rookie group's second mini album titled "ANTIFRAGILE" will be released on October 17 in collaboration with Ilese. On October 8, a video 2022-10-11
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  ​Pinkfong expands overseas business through round tour of offline pop-up theme park SEOUL -- In an effort to expand its overseas business, the creator of a catchy cartoon song called "Baby Shark" stepped up efforts to bring global fans to an offline pop-up theme park that provides various experiences such as 3D realistic content, character sculptures, amusement and photographing. The first pop-up theme park opened in Singapore on October 7. Starting with Singapore, the pop-up park called "Pinkfong World Adventure" will go to Malaysia from Janua 2022-10-07
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  Genie Music releases audio drama created by human and AI voice actors SEOUL -- An audio drama created through collaboration between human and artificial intelligence voice actors was released on applications of Genie Music, the online music service wing of South Korea's top telecom company KT, and Millie's Library, an online e-book subscription platform. The voice drama series based on Millie's popular e-book titled "Welcome to Hugh-Nam-dong Bookstore" was released at 12 p.m. (0300 GMT) on October 6. Out of 19 key members that 2022-10-06
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  Girl band NewJeans to release dance videos in collaboration with Baby Shark SEOUL -- NewJeans, a rookie girl group formed by a subsidiary label of the agency of K-pop superstar BTS, will collaborate with a South Korean educational entertainment company that created famous characters such as Baby Shark, to release dance content. The five-member group gained attention through its debut song, "Attention," released on August 1. As part of a project to mesmerize young fans through spectacular dance performances by K-pop idols and dance crews, NewJeans 2022-10-06
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  Saudi princess visits SM Entertainment to learn about music industry SEOUL -- Saudi princess Haifa bint Mohammed Al-Saud visited the office of South Korea's entertainment powerhouse SM Entertainment to discuss various methods to cooperate in the field of culture such as hosting concerts. She serves as the vice president of Saudi Arabia's tourism ministry. The meeting followed Saudi Arabia's tourism ministry's request in March 2022 when SM founder Lee Soo-man visited Riyadh, the capital and financial hub of Saudi Arabia, to help nurtu 2022-09-23
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  Drama series 'Narco-Saints' tops Netflix's weekly non-English series chart SEOUL -- South Korean Thriller TV series "Narco-Saints" topped Netflix's weekly TV drama series chart. The thriller series depicts the story of an ordinary man cooperating with a government agency to arrest a South Korean drug lord operating in Suriname, a country located in the northern region of South America. The over-the-top (OTT) media service said that "Narco-Saints" garnered some 62.6 million hours of viewing during the week of September 12 to 18. It 2022-09-22
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  Everland amusement park to showcase special rides and experience spaces integrated with features of SM artists SEOUL -- Everland, a popular theme park run by Samsung C&T, a construction and engineering company, will showcase special rides and various spaces by combining features of SM Entertainment's artists such as NCT 127. By incorporating various digital technologies including augmented reality with amusement park facilities, Everland will allow users to explore SM's worldview. Using intellectual properties of SM celebrities such as NCT 127 and aespa, many brand-new rides and 2022-09-21
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  BTS' stage outfits upcycled into bags using undyed industrial material SEOUL -- Stage outfits worn by BTS members were dismantled into pieces and upcycled to produce three different bags using undyed industrial materials. All products were made special by marking the number 1 which means only one piece of clothing. The production of BTS bags is the result of joint work by Kolon FnC, a fashion and lifestyle wing of South Korea's Kolon Group, and Hybe Insight, a culture space run by the agency of BTS, where people can share the power of music throug 2022-09-21
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  SK Telecom creates virtual concert hall for indie music at metaverse platform Ifland SEOUL -- SK Telecom, a top mobile carrier, has created a concert hall for indie music at its metaverse platform, Ifland, to showcase the performances of various indie bands and musicians, using volumetric capture technology that uses many cameras to capture an entire scene in 360 degrees in volumetric 3D for the production of high-end holographic virtual reality and augmented reality content. In Ifland, SK Telecom (SKT) recreated Rollinghall, a live hall that has represented indi 2022-09-19
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  Baby Shark to release collab music video in Korean and Japanese with famous child singer Nanoka Murakata SEOUL -- South Korean educational entertainment company Pinkfong will accelerate its market invasion in Japan through collaboration with Nonoka Murakata, a four-year-old Japanese singer who gained enormous attention for her outstanding performance at a nursery contest. The music video showing Baby Shark and Murakata singing and dancing will be released in both Korean and Japanese. Murakata finished second at the nursery contest in November 2020 at the age of 2. In May 2021, she deb 2022-09-16