Entertainment

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  ​Chinese village community space wins grand prize at Seoul's 'Human City Design Award' SEOUL -- House of Dreams," a Chinese village community space recreated using local caves and wastes, has grabbed the grand prize at Seoul's "Human City Design Award," an annual international award event held to honor global design projects that benefit people, society and environment. The third annual Human City Design Award ceremony was held at the Dongdaemun Digital Plaza (DDP), a design and arts center located in the heart of Seoul, on March 21 as an online 2022-03-22
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  K-pop singer AleXa to compete with Michael Bolton and Macy Gray on NBC's music program SEOUL -- Alexaundra Christine, an American singer and dancer better known by her stage name AleXa in South Korea, will make her appearance on an American TV channel NBC's music competition show. The 25-year-old singer will compete with 55 American artists including Michael Bolton and Macy Gray to win the viewers' vote for the best song. "I cannot begin to say how honored & excited I am to be representing my home state of Oklahoma for @NBC’s @americansongconte 2022-03-04
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  SM partners with metaverse game platform Sandbox to create theme space SEOUL -- SM, an entertainment powerhouse in South Korea, joined hands with The Sandbox, a metaverse game platform, to create an exclusive space called "SM Town Land" where various events such as concerts and fan meetings can be held. Users can enjoy games or create non-fungible tokens using SM's various intellectual properties. The partnership with The Sandbox, a sandbox game for mobile phones and Microsoft Windows, and SM Brand Marketing (SMBM) is part of SM's e 2022-02-24
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  BTS agency opens new chapter in S. Korea's music history with record earnings in 2021 SEOUL -- The agency of BTS opened a new chapter in South Korea's music history by posting more than $1.04 billion in annual sales in 2021, despite a COVID-19 pandemic that prompted artists to cancel or put off offline concerts. Hybe became the first K-pop agency to achieve such a record. In a regulatory filing on February 22, Hybe said its consolidated net profit in 2021 rose 62 percent on-year to 141 billion won ($118 million). Sales jumped 58 percent to a record high of ov 2022-02-22
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  ​Girl band Red Velvet to hold offline Seoul concert in 27 months despite COVID-19 SEOUL -- Girl band Red Velvet will host its first offline Seoul concert in 27 months despite an endless pandemic that left about 100,000 people infected with COVID-19 every day in February. The five-member band will perform for two days from March 9 and interact with fans through online live streaming. "2022 The ReVe Festival : Prologue" will be held offline and online on March 9 and 10, the band's agency said in a statement. The event will take place at the SK Olympi 2022-02-21
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  Fashion item creator Lenge works with convenience store franchise to release avatar items SEOUL -- Lenge, an influencer who produces costumes for avatars in South Korea's metaverse platform Zepeto, joined hands with the operator of a domestic convenience store franchise to release exclusive fashion items. Using virtual fashion items, users can show off unique styles in the avatar platform. Metaverse is a virtual world where users can engage in social and cultural activities using their personalized characters called "avatars." The virtual world can be acce 2022-02-17
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  BTS to hold first offline Seoul concert in 28 months despite COVID-19 SEOUL -- BTS will host its first offline Seoul concert in 28 months despite a never-ending pandemic that has left tens of thousands of people infected with COVID-19 every day in mid-February. The seven-member band will sing and interact with fans for three days from March 10. "BTS Permission To Dance On Stage - Seoul" will be held through offline performance and online live streaming on March 10, 12 and 13, the band's agency said through Weverse, an official fan commu 2022-02-16
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  K-pop singer Jamie to perform in metaverse-based music and talk show SEOUL -- Jamie, South Korea's singer who gained popularity by winning the first season of survival audition program "K-pop Star," will showcase her new English single "Pity Party" on a metaverse-based live music and talk show. The 24-year-old singer will sing and interact with global fans using her avatar in an online virtual fan meeting event. Metaverse is a virtual world that can be accessed using smartphones, PCs, or virtual reality headsets. Users can en 2022-02-04
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  Virtual influencer Reah Keem signs contract to debut as singer SEOUL -- Reah Keem, a virtual influencer created by LG Electronics, will make her debut as a musician. The 23-year-old virtual human has signed an agreement with Mystic Story, an entertainment company run by South Korea's veteran singer-songwriter Yoon Jong-shin who has released self-composed songs in collaboration with various artists. LG said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mystic Story for the virtual influencer's debut as a singer. Reah was quoted as sa 2022-01-11
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  Baby Shark creator expands business scope to become global family entertainment group SEOUL -- Buoyed by the phenomenal success of "Baby Shark," a catchy cartoon song for toddlers, South Korean educational entertainment company, SmartStudy, unveiled a blueprint to expand its business scope beyond child education to family entertainment with webtoon, web novel, and sports brands targeting global markets. "We are starting a new chapter as the global entertainment company under a new name, 'The Pinkfong Company,'" SmartStudy wrote in a mess 2022-01-06
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  (INTERVIEW) Open approach towards different cultures recommended for K-pop's long-term growth SEOUL -- Korean popular culture has been voluntarily accepted and spread by the public around the world to become a leader in global popular culture thanks to its dynamic and bidirectional nature. And it has now entered the stage of pioneering its own path. For long-term growth, a K-pop expert urged South Korea to treat Korean pop culture as a cultural heritage and take a more open approach towards different cultures. South Korea has experienced the ups and downs of modern history 2021-12-31
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  [INTERVIEW] 'Universality' and 'funness' pull global popularity of K-dramas SEOUL -- The success of Hallyu (Korean cultural wave) content demonstrated by the world-popular Netflix Original "Squid Game," and the Oscar-winning 2020 film "Parasite" directed by Bong Jun-ho did not happen overnight. The renaissance of South Korean-made content is the concoction of various factors including unique storylines that are cleverly designed to share ideas and create an emotional bond with fans. The ability of Hallyu content to present innovative st 2021-12-30
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  Virtual influencer Rozy selected as model for ginseng product maker SEOUL -- South Korea's top ginseng product maker selected Rozy, a 22-year-old digital model, to promote its new red ginseng-based health supplement and skincare product brand. Rozy is the first virtual social media influencer in South Korea with some 100,900 followers. Rozy was created in August 2020 by Sidus Studio X, a subsidiary of Seoul-based video technology company LOCUS. The digital model garnered attention when Rozy started the official activities by posting her trip to 2021-12-22
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  Virtual social media influencer signs modeling contract with major convenience store franchise SEOUL -- South Korea's first virtual social media influencer Rozy has been selected as a model for domestic convenience store franchise GS25, reflecting growing popularity among millennials and Gen Z. The virtual influencer will deliver various messages to promote campaigns in stores across the country and on GS25's social media. Rozy has been created by Sidus Studio X, a subsidiary of Seoul-based video technology company LOCUS. The digital model with some 100,800 followe 2021-12-08
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  (INTERVIEW) 'Hellbound' director points to Netflix' positive role in film-making SEOUL -- Netflix has been the subject of constant attention and sometimes unwanted criticism for abundant capital, powerful influence and a different move in handling and financing drama and movie producers in South Korea, especially after its original television series, "Squid Game," swept the streaming service's top popular charts. Netflix has been under fire in South Korea with internet service providers accusing the world's top over-the-top video-on-demand se 2021-11-30
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  (INTERVIEW) Doing best as private diplomats to promote K-pop in Myanmar SEOUL -- When the 2021 Global Entertainment Expo (2021 GEE) was held on November 13~14 at KINTEX, a convention and exhibition center in Goyang, a northwestern satellite city of Seoul, the booth of JBJ Entertainment attracted quiet attention. It is the first Korean entertainment agency that has been set up in Myanmar to foster K-pop-style idols in the Southeast Asian country with members of local nationality and language. Since JBJ started its K-pop entertainment business in Myanmar 2021-11-29
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  (INTERVIEW) A dream that was realized at the end of numerous auditions. 'I will overcome the walls of language and culture.' SEOUL -- "Hello, I'm Ahn, a Vietnamese member of Beauty Box," Tran Nguyen Tram Anh with round and cute eyes said, greeting brightly with an inarticulate Korean pronunciation. The 22-year-old known as her stage name Ahn is the only Vietnamese member of Beauty Box under BY-U Entertainment that consists of six girls, including two Koreans, two Japanese, one Thai, and one Vietnamese. They released a teaser video on June 21 and made their debut three months later with the sing 2021-11-26
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  (INTERVIEW) There are numerous aspirants to become K-pop idols in Vietnam SEOUL -- ​Two major K-pop-related communities in Vietnam have about 39,800 members. An 18-year-old member who used the anonymous name "Kyu" from Binh Dinh located on the southern coast of Vietnam has enjoyed listening to K-pop from childhood, but her parents showed a cold attitude and said, "You don't understand anything, but do you still want to listen to them?" The language barrier was not a big deal. The rhythm and charm of K-pop continued to grab Kyu' 2021-11-26
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  Grammy nominates BTS for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for two consecutive years SEOUL -- K-pop phenomenon BTS has been selected by Grammy Awards as a nominee for "Best Pop Duo/Group Performance" section for the seven-member band's global hit song "Butter," a full English song released in May 2021. Grammy, organized by the U.S. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), is one of the world's most prestigious music awards events. It features various performances by prominent artists. On November 24, NARAS unveiled f 2021-11-24
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  CJ ENM unveils $775 mln deal to acquire Endeavor's content studio SEOUL -- South Korea's leading entertainment group CJ ENM which created the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," secured a global content distribution network through a $775 million deal to acquire the content studio of Endeavor Group Holdings, which have talent and literary agencies representing prominent artists and sports stars. Along with 80 percent of the scripted business of Endeavor Content Parent, CJ ENM would have management rights through its American subsidiar 2021-11-19