All members of BTS renew contracts with Big Hit Music

MONSTA X, GOT7 and Wanna One performed dance covers of songs by NewJeans, LE SSERAFIM and their own groups at a military event this weekend.ArmyFest (also known as Ground Forces Festival) is an annual “military cultural festival” hosted by the South Korean Army and features performances and parades alongside military-related displays.This year’s event featured MONSTA X’s Minhyuk, GOT7’s Jinyoung and former Wanna One members Ha Sungwoon and Ong Seongwu performing dance covers for the audience.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Romantic comedy “Love Reset” grabbed the box office crown in South Korea on the weekend following the Chuseok holiday period. But numbers reverted to the pre-festival downtrend. Directed by Nam Dae-joong, “Love Reset” is the story of a young couple in the midst of divorce who are involved in a car accident and lose their memories.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix has given the green light to a new “Squid Game” slot machine — the streamer’s first licensing deal in the casino and gambling industry. The slot game is based on one of Netflix’s most popular shows of all time, the South Korean survival drama “Squid Game.” Built by gaming company Light & Wonder, it will integrate several iconic (and deadly) games from the show such as Red Light, Green Light; Tug of War; and the Glass Tile. Light & Wonder also will introduce a digital “Squid Game”-themed game featuring three bonus rounds based on the series.

Valerie Wu editor Elsie Choi, a film and TV development veteran who has worked for such producers as Dan Lin and Bruce Willis, has joined Los Angeles-based CJ ENM America as executive VP and head of scripted TV. CJ ENM is a South Korean entertainment company that has produced content such as Oscar-winning film “Parasite” and popular Korean fantasy drama series “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God.” Among the company’s recent productions are the romantic drama “Past Lives” with A24. It’s also the company behind the annual KCON Korean pop culture conference and concerts held in downtown Los Angeles in August.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Issues of cultural diversity, different Asian diaspora populations and the quest for the Asian cinematic identity came up for discussion on Thursday as the New Currents competition jury at the Busan International Film Festival prepared to get down to work. Filmmaker and academic Jung Sung-il, who is set as the jury president, appeared to invite a degree of dispute that might get the blood racing. “I have high hopes, hope for controversies and good conversations among the jurors,” he said in opening remarks.

MAMAMOO‘s Hwasa over her alleged “indecent” performance.Today (October 4), the Seongdong Police Station in Seoul said it would not be referring Hwasa’s case to the prosecution, per Yonhap News Agency. It comes after the MAMAMOO singer was questioned in early-September over the alleged “indecent” performance.In July, the Student Parent’s Rights Protection Union had filed a complaint against MAMAMOO’s Hwasa over an alleged “indecent performance” the singer had staged in May at the Sungkyunkwan University Festival.At the time, the union claimed that the K-pop idol made a gesture that “suggested a perverted sexual act”, saying that that incident was “enough to bring embarrassment and shame to the public who witnessed it”.Last month, Hwasa spoke about the controversy during a guest appearance on South Korean television personality Sung Si-kyung’s YouTube channel.

Suga, a member of K-pop supergroup BTS, began fulfilling his mandatory military duty Friday as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service in the country.

Netflix has teased a trailer for a Squid Game spin-off that sees real life contestants take on the gruelling challenges from the hit TV series - without the fatal consequences. But fans have made a demand as the launch of the new reality show draws nearer.

All seven members of Korean singing sensations BTS have signed new contracts with Big Hit Music, a label operated by HYBE Corporation.

Thania Garcia BTS will be renewing their contracts under Big Hit Music, the seven-member South Korean boyband’s longtime label announced on Wednesday. With some of its members having enlisted in government-mandated military service, the label ensured fans that the band will continue to work with the Big Hit “on their future releases from 2025 onwards,” according to a statement shared by Big Hit’s parent company HYBE. “BigHit Music will take into consideration the military service status of some of the members and plans to sign with each BTS member sequentially,” their notice continued.

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Big Hit Music trainees have opened up about the members of BTS and whether the septet have changed since their debut.In a new interview with Korea Now, the English-language YouTube channel of South Korean news outlet Yonhap News Agency, former Big Hit Music trainees Kim Ji-hoon and Hwang Ji-hwan opened up about their experiences at the K-pop agency and training alongside the now-BTS members.Kim spoke about how he sometimes watches clips of BTS on YouTube, nothing that the septet are “the same as they used to be” when they were all trainees together. He added that, even then, he thought BTS leader RM “had leadership qualities”.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Paramount+ streaming service will launch in Japan in December as a free-of-charge addition to cable and internet provider J:COM’s platform and to pay-TV service Wowow. Paramount+ originals including “Tulsa King,” “Mayor of Kingstown” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” will be available at the launch of the service and for the first time in Japan. Japan will be the second country in East Asia where the service becomes available, following a launch in South Korea in June last year.

Paramount+ announced on Tuesday that its new Louis Tomlinson doc All of Those Voices will premiere exclusively on the service in the U.S. and Canada on October 4th, coming to the UK, Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and South Korea on October 5th.

Thania Garcia Louis Tomlinson’s feature-length documentary, “All Of Those Voices” will be available to stream on Paramount+ starting Oct. 4 in the United States and Canada. The documentary, which was released in select theaters earlier this March, gives an intimate look at the former One Direction member’s life and musical career.

DK of K-pop boyband SEVENTEEN has been named Bally’s newest global brand ambassador.Bally and DK announced the new ambassadorship on Instagram through a collaboration post, featuring images of the K-pop idol modelling pieces from the Swiss luxury fashion house.In a statement to South Korean news site FashionN, Bally CEO Nicolas Girotto said: “We are excited to welcome DK, the versatile artist from the iconic group SEVENTEEN as our new global ambassador. His trendy style and warm personality match Bally’s values perfectly.”A post shared by Bally (@bally)At the same time, Equire Korea also released a new video featuring DK from the same photoshoot.

Disney and Pixar announced on Monday that their animated feature Elemental, starring Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie, has scored the biggest movie premiere of the year to date on Disney+, earning 26.4 million views in its first five days on the service.

Suga is about to start his military service.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix closed a $20 million deal on Hit Man, making the biggest deal at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and of the year for that matter. After the Richard Linklater-directed noir comic thriller debuted to raves at Venice, the film was expected to fetch the biggest deal of the fall festivals so far. Hit Man did not disappoint. Hit Man stars Top Gun Maverick’s Glen Powell and Adria Arjona (Andor) playing the most unlikely romantic partners, in performances that will boost each of their careers. Especially Powell, who co-wrote with Linklater what will be a major star turn for him. Netflix got US, UK, Australia/New Zealand, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and Iceland. There is also a theatrical component to the deal, I’ve heard.

Kim Se-jeong has revealed that she initially turned down an offer to appear on Produce 101.Kim Se-jeong, a former member of K-pop girl groups I.O.I and Gugudan, opened up about her time on the popular Mnet TV competition Produce 101 during a recent appearance on the South Korean radio programme, Cultwo Show.The singer revealed that she had originally “turn it down” because, at the time, she was already set to make her debut under the Jellyfish Entertainment girl group, Gugudan. “So, I thought to myself, ‘Is joining the show really that necessary?’,” she said, per SBS Star.Though her appearance on Produce 101, Kim Se-jeong eventually joined the girl group I.O.I, made up of the final 11 contestants from the show.Speaking of her experience on the programme, the singer said that “there were so many cameras around everywhere, it was hard not to be conscious of them”.“I couldn’t practice even when I wanted to, because I was scared that people might judge me through those lenses, saying things like, ‘Oh, she’s just practicing hard only because she knows she is being filmed’,” she added.In other K-pop news, former NMIXX member Jini has teased her upcoming solo EP, titled ‘An Iron Hand in a Velvet Glove’.