Entertainment

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  American producer Lynda Obst joins CJ ENM's project to make K-pop movie for global market SEOUL -- Lynda Obst, an American feature film producer and author known for "Interstellar," a 2014 science-fiction drama, will join a project launched by CJ ENM, the South Korean entertainment group that produced the Oscar-winning 2020 film "Parasite," to make a new movie based on K-pop targeting the global market. CJ ENM said the fresh film would reflect the world's high interest in K-pop and Hallyu (Korean cultural wave) content and the trend of multicultu 2021-08-10
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  Jeon So-mi's 'DUMB DUMB' surpasses 15 mln views in less than two days SEOUL -- Former I.O.I member Jeon So-mi's third single music video has garnered over 15 million views on YouTube in less than 48 hours of its release. DUMB DUMB racked up over 10 million views in less than 24 hours of its release. As of 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, the music video has garnered more than 15 million views. The single has also gained popularity abroad, making it into the top 10 in ten countries including Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Unlike the beginning of the trac 2021-08-04
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  Hip-hop label AOMG works with LGU+ to hold special non-face-to-face XR concert SEOUL -- A South Korean hip-hop label will hold a special non-face-to-face extended reality (XR) concert that would allow fans to enjoy artists' realistic performances as if they were in virtual worlds like scenes in movies with technology support from LG Uplus, a mobile carrier that leads an international 5G XR alliance. XR encompasses a wide spectrum of hardware and software that enable content creation for virtual reality, mixed reality and cinematic reality. Users can genera 2021-08-04
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  JYP sets up subsidiary for global content distribution and new business development SEOUL -- JYP Entertainment, a major K-pop powerhouse in South Korea, will set up a subsidiary that serves as a strategic hub for advancing the global distribution of content, developing new businesses and enhancing the intellectual property of artists. JYP said the subsidiary named "JYP Three Sixty (JYP 360˚) is aimed at providing a wide range of innovative next-generation fan experiences, strengthening the global competitiveness of K-pop and expanding its market through coop 2021-08-03
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  Girl band Aespa signs with American agency CAA targeting global market SEOUL -- South Korea's K-pop rookie Aespa has signed with an American agency to gear up for international activities. The band, which debuted in November 2020, is the brainchild of SM Entertainment, an entertainment powerhouse well known for bands such as Super Junior, SHINee, and Red Velvet. SM Entertainment said in a statement on July 23 that the four-member girl band signed an agreement with Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a major entertainment agency based in Los Angeles. CAA 2021-07-23
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  K-drama 'Hotel Del Luna' to be recreated in Naver's metaverse platform SEOUL -- Users of Zepeto, a metaverse platform operated by South Korea's web service company Naver, will be able to adorn their online avatars with apparel and accessories from "Hotel Del Luna," a popular 2019 K-drama starring singer-actress IU and actor Yeo Jin-goo. They can recreate famous scenes at virtual spaces. Metaverse is an online space where users can interact with each other using virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) technologies. Metaverse servi 2021-07-23
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  BTS named S. Korea's special presidential envoy for public diplomacy: Yonhap SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in appointed South Korean boy band BTS as his special envoy for public diplomacy. In their capacity of "special presidential envoy for future generations and culture," the members of the group plan to attend major international meetings, including the 76th session of the U.N. General Assembly slated for September, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said. They will send a message of consolation and hope for the youth around the world 2021-07-21
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  BLACKPINK to nest in social media fan community operated by BTS' agency SEOUL -- Girl band BLACKPINK will nest in Weverse, a social media fan community operated by BTS' agency Hybe, to communicate with global fans. "We hope the range of communication between BLACKPINK members and their fandom Blink expand through Weverse," YG Entertainment said in a statement on July 14. The four-member girl band will open its social media channel in Weverse on August 2. YG and Hybe forged a partnership in January to collaborate in marketing and other prom 2021-07-14
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  BTS fan community Weverse opens slot for K-pop idol duo Mad Monster SEOUL -- Weverse, a hotsy mobile fan community platform run by the agency of South Korean superstar BTS, opened a slot for Mad Monster, a virtual idol duo that has been created by two comedians by utilizing face filters and auto-tuned vocals, in recognition of their fast-growing popularity among K-pop fans. "We will open a community of Mad Monster, a world-class idol group which is shaking the global music market," said the operator of Weverse that allows fans to interact 2021-07-05
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  JYP works with blockchain company to launch K-pop-based NFT platform business SEOUL -- JYP Entertainment, a major K-pop powerhouse in South Korea, joined hands with a domestic blockchain company to launch a non-fungible token platform business that utilizes the intellectual property of JYP artists. JYP said it has signed a strategic business alliance with Dunamu, the operator of South Korea's major cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, to produce and distribute NFT-linked digital goods while working for a platform business that develops and operates additional s 2021-07-01
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  SM founder presents 'Content Universe' as new company vision SEOUL -- As a new vision, SM Entertainment presented a "content universe" where original content will be infinitely expanded and recreated by individual prosumers who both consume and produce. Prosumer, coined by American futurist Alvin Toffler, is a portmanteau of producer and consumer. SM's killer content, which has been accumulated for 27 years, will be increasingly valuable, SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man said as he envisaged his new vision on Youtube on Ju 2021-06-29
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  Wattpad merges studio division with American subsidiary of Naver's web cartoon wing SEOUL -- Wattpad, a Canada-based website and app for writers to publish new user-generated stories, will merge its studio division with WEBTOON, the American subsidiary of Naver's web cartoon wing, to strengthens the parent company's global leadership in intellectual property, digital comics and web novels. Naver, a top web portal service operator and IT company in South Korea, took over Wattpad to strengthen and diversify its content service targetting the global market 2021-06-24
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  SM founder discloses strong desire to expand platforms to metaverse SEOUL -- SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man disclosed his strong desire to expand platforms to the metaverse, which is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, saying culture would be combined with technology to present new content experiences. "Future producers need to be culture scientists, and we need a lot of culture scientists to produce the future entertainment world we 2021-06-24
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  CJ ENM forges strategic partnership with Japan's TBS to co-produce content SEOUL -- CJ ENM, the South Korean entertainment group that produced the Oscar-winning 2020 film "Parasite," forged a strategic partnership with Japan's broadcasting group TBS to co-produce and distribute various content covering dramas, movies, entertainment and animation for Japanese and global fans. CJ ENM and TBS will also push for the co-production of web cartoons, organize offline concerts, and develop content formats. Web cartoons, widely known as webtoons, ar 2021-06-15
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  S. Korea lifts ban on outdoor concert halls to have up to 4,000 audience SEOUL -- South Korea lifted a ban on outdoor pop concerts about 14 months after a coronavirus pandemic sparked a strict social distancing campaign and sent many K-pop artists staying away from fans. Only a small number of artists like BTS have been engaged in intermittent musical activities through online concerts. From June 14, South Korean artists can invite up to 4,000 quiet fans to offline concerts because shouting or slogan chanting is banned. Health authorities pledged to ea 2021-06-11
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  Spotify to unleash enhanced album for TWICE's 'Taste of Love' SEOUL -- Spotify, the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service, will unleash an enhanced album for TWICE's "Taste of Love" that would be released worldwide on June 11. Spotify's enhanced album serves as a window for artists to tell their artistic inspiration and behind-the-scenes stories to listeners. TWICE is the third K-pop band to release Spotify’s enhanced album after BTS and BLACKPINK. The enhanced album features track-by-track e 2021-06-10
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  Kakao to shut down personal streaming service's profit-making system SEOUL -- South Korea's web service company Kakao will shut down the profit-making system of its personal streaming service to focus on media businesses including the production of original video content. The strategy to narrow its focus in the media content sector benchmarks that of Netflix, the American over-the-top service operator which has become the world's most popular media with endless waves of high-quality original content. A personal streaming service is provided v 2021-05-31
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  KT to develop blockchain-based performing arts content platform SEOUL -- South Korea's leading telecom company KT has formed a consortium with a provincial government to develop a blockchain-based media platform using non-fungible token technology that would help performing artists make a profit and claim rights to their content. A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unit of data stored on a blockchain network of interlinked virtual ledgers. It is similar to warranty certificates that come with luxury goods. Each NFT is certified by a blockchain 2021-05-31
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  LG Electronics kicks off promotion campaign with Charlie Puth and Jackson Tisi SEOUL -- American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth and Jackson Tisi, a filmmaker based in New York, joined an international campaign launched by South Korea's LG Electronics to help young people create songs and video content about meaningful memories in life and post them on social media. LG's "Life's Good" campaign is aimed at giving young people around the world the opportunity to let their creativity and talent shine. For this year's project, the company 2021-05-28
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  ​BTS' full-English song 'Butter' garners more than 25mln views on YouTube in two hours of release SEOUL -- BTS has rocked the global music scene with its new song "Butter". The seven-member band's second full-English song garnered more than 25 million views on YouTube in less than two hours of its release. Online music communities heated up wildly as soon as BTS released its new dance-pop song through various online music services including YouTube at 0400 GMT on May 21. Hundreds of thousands of fans flocked to leave comments of appreciation and wonder. As of 2021-05-21