Ex-T-ARA singer Areum reportedly under investigation for child abuse and neglect

2NE1 will meet up with Yang Hyun-suk, the head of their former agency YG Entertainment, amid reunion rumours.Earlier today (June 25), South Korean news outlet OSEN reported that all four members of 2NE1 have set up plans to meet with YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-suk. It comes shortly after previous reports that member CL had dinner with Yang prior to the group’s 15th anniversary in May.In response to today’s report, YG Entertainment has confirmed that 2NE1 “are scheduled to meet” with the K-pop agency’s founder.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Flow,” a director-driven animated feature which world premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and just swept three awards at Annecy Film Festival, has been embraced by a raft of major distributors in key territories, including the U.K., Japan, South Korea, Germany, Spain and Italy. The movie is represented internationally by Charades.

H1-KEY have officially released their third mini-album ‘Love or Hate’, along with a music video for title track ‘Let It Burn’.Both the record and accompanying visual were released on June 19 at 6pm KST. The latter features the four members of H1-KEY as rebellious students of a high school, as they revel in the nostalgic joys of being teenagers while embracing their defiant spirit.The song itself is “characterised by rebellious and straightforward lyrics different from past H1-KEY songs”, they said in a press conference for the release.

Tomorrow X Together (TXT) have announced their first-ever virtual reality concert, dubbed ‘Hyperfocus’, which will be screened from next month onwards.The band’s forthcoming VR concert is set to take place across five different cities in the US over the following months. The ‘Hyperfocus’ concert promises to “deliver an unforgettable performance that allows fans to get up close and personal” with the boyband, per Billboard.“We have been thinking about how to get closer to our fans, and this VR concert is an opportunity for us to do so,” TXT said of the forthcoming VR concert in a press statement.

announced on Instagram Monday that after 23 years he’s retiring from music management but is keeping his position as CEO of HYBE America, the South Korean entertainment corporation behind K-pop megastars BTS.This comes after Braun parted ways with some of his biggest clients including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato last year.“After 23 years this chapter as a music manager has come to an end,” Braun wrote. “It’s a strange feeling because I think I have wanted this for a while, but I was truly afraid to answer the question ‘Who would I be without them?’ I was really just 19 years old when I started.

IVE have spoken to NME about their upcoming debut UK concert, covering Little Mix on tour and the confident messages behind their latest EP, ‘IVE Switch’. Check out our conversation with the girl group below.The K-pop six-piece will headline London’s The O2 on Sunday (June 16), with the performance marking the only UK stop on the European leg of their Show What I Have world tour.

the Grammy Awards in Korea, according to a new report by local media.According to an anonymous source close to the matter, speaking exclusively to The Korea Times, Recording Academy President Panos Panay and CEO Harvey Mason Jr recently visited Korea to discuss holding an Asian version of the Grammy Awards with local labels and industry insiders.The two Recording Academy executives reportedly spoke with leaders from top K-pop agencies HYBE and YG Entertainment, entertainment companies Kakao and CJ ENM, and tech giants Naver and KT.The duo are also said to have met up with local government officials from the South Korea cities of Seoul, Incheon and Hanam, which are the locations being considered as potential venues for the purported event.The Korea Times reports that several officials from the companies and local governments have confirmed that such meetings did indeed take place, but declined to provide further details. The news outlet also did not reveal which companies confirmed or denied the meetings.Last year, Mason spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about how the Recording Academy has been trying to “use music and our platform for good and for global change”.

With filming set to begin in October this year, Zo In-sung, Park Jeong-min, Park Hae-joon and Nana have been confirmed as cast for Ryoo Seung-wan‘s upcoming film, HUMINT.

The following story contains mentions and details of sexual assault.Former HIGHLIGHT rapper Yong Jun-hyung has broken his silence about his involvement in the 2019 Burning Sun scandal in a new post on his Instagram.Former Big Bang member Seungri was the owner of a nightclub sharing the scandal’s namesake, where majority of the crimes took place. He was convicted of nine charges, which included abetting prostitution and embezzlement.

Marta Balaga Ricard Claus and Karsten Kiilerich’s kids and family animated feature “Panda Bear in Africa” is continuing its long journey and heading to France (Le Pacte), Switzerland (Praesens) and the Benelux territories (WW Entertainment) after a raft of sales by the film’s sales agent Cinema Management Group. In early fall, it will also release in the Middle East (Front Row Entertainment), Poland (Kino Świat), Portugal (Films4You) and Turkey (Filmarti).

Stray Kids headline gig at BST Hyde Park.The South Korean pop group will be headlining the 2024 edition of BST Hyde Park later this summer, in what will be their only show in the UK this year. Find remaining tickets here.Their slot will take place on Sunday, July 14, and sees them close out this year’s series.

Bae Suzy has recently opened up about her time in K-pop girl group Miss A compared to her life as an actress.Upon the release of her new movie Wonderland, the actress and former Miss A member sat down with South Korean media, per SBS Star, to discuss her new project and beginnings as a K-pop idol, sharing that she is much more content in life now.Bae first entered the public eye when she debuted in JYP Entertainment girl group Miss A in 2010, and remained part of the group until their disbandment in 2017. She has since made several solo releases as a singer, but has primarily been working her acting career.The singer-actress shared that she often feels “[caught] off guard” when watching old footage of days as a K-pop idol, though admitting that she finds those memories “endearing”.

aespa have added new dates their upcoming 2024 ‘SYNK: Parallel Line’ world tour, featuring concerts in Asia, Australia and more.aespa’s new 2024 ‘SYNK: Parallel Line’ world tour currently features 27 concerts across 14 different cities in Asia and Australia from June to September 2024. The tour will kick off at the end of June with a two-night concert in Seoul, South Korea.In July, the girl group will head on the Japanese leg of the tour, with multiple concerts each in the cities of Fukuoka, Nagoya, Saitama and Osaka.

SM Entertainment has issued a statement denying allegations that NCT members Johnny and Haechan are involved in a sex scandal.The allegations of a sex scandal involving NCT’s Johnny and Haechan began swriling on social media earlier this week on June 3 after several Japanese users of the platform X (formerly Twitter) uploaded a string of posts claiming that the two idols were involved in a sexual affair with three girls during a recent visit to Tokyo, Japan.The accusations then went viral among netizens and fans alike, with the incident even making it onto national South Korean news after the stock price of SM Entertainment began to crash amid the rumours.The posts first arose from the account @kira_ceo_main, which – according to Koreaboo – is said to belong to “a well-known figure in the Japanese nightlife industry who helps connect girls who want to work in nightlife to host bars, clients and plastic surgery sponsors”.One post from the account also claimed that the girls involved all worked in nightlife industry as cabaret hostesses. It also included a set of photos as alleged evidence of the activity, including pictures of the hotel’s name, key card, room interiors as well as people involved, although none were explicitly identified.The alleged girls involved in the scandal with the two Korean idols have also seemingly leaked text conversations with Johnny in particular.

Cornerstone has closed worldwide distribution deals for Andrea Arnold’s latest feature film Bird, which debuted at last month’s Cannes Film Festival. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rolling off the Cannes Film Festival where it won several awards, Mohammad Rasoulof‘s “The Seed of The Sacred Fig” has been acquired by a flurry of high profile distributors in major international territories. Films Boutique, which represents the critically acclaimed political drama globally, has sold it to Lionsgate for the U.K.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Two South Korean superstars Gianna Jun and Gang Dong-won head the cast of “Tempest,” an espionage action drama series being readied by streaming service Disney+ for release next year. The contemporary Korea-set story sees Jun portray a highly-accomplished diplomat and former ambassador to the U.S.

The fourth season of BBC travel and adventure series Race Across the World comes to an end on Wednesday 29 May, but it has been announced that there will be a special extra episode immediately after the finale airs that gives fans a behind the scenes look at the making of the series.The show, which began on April 10, has followed five two-person teams as they race across Eastern Asia, in the hope of winning a £20,000 grand prize. Each pair has to complete the 15,000km journey from Japan to Indonesia without using air travel, and with a budget of just £1390 per person – the equivalent air fare for travelling the race route.They can work for money or for bed and board during their trip, but have no access to the internet or telephones.

The Match Factory has finalized a raft of international deals for Coralie Fargeat’s Cannes Palme d’Or contender The Substance, following its buzzy premiere over the weekend in the presence of co-stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid.

Last month, fans were left heartbroken when K-Pop sensation Park Bo Ram tragically passed away at just 30 years old.The cause of her untimely death has now been confirmed as acute alcohol poisoning.The police department's statement revealed that an autopsy showed the singer had pre-existing liver conditions which may have played a part in her death.The post-mortem examination indicated that Park Bo Ram's death was caused by acute alcohol poisoning, and she also suffered from fatty liver disease and liver lesions. Reports suggest that no other factors contributing to her death were found during the investigation.