K-Pop ETF Launches With BTS and BLACKPINK Labels, ‘Parasite’ Producer, Korean-Entertainment Giants

BTS’ Order of Cultural Merit awarded by former president Moon Jae-In in 2018 — should be allowed to serve an alternative form of military service.Korea JoongAng Daily reported on September 21 that Defence Minister Lee has since responded to the proposal, saying that it would be “difficult” to extend this alternative [military service] programme to BTS due to “aspects of fairness on fulfilling mandatory military service” during an interpellation at the National Assembly held on September 19.Kim Young-bae’s original proposal suggests that existing provisions in place for athletes, actors, directors and classical musicians who have made a significant international impact should be expanded to include decorated pop celebrities. “Korean pop celebrities active in the international field make unimaginable economic and social contributions,” said Kim, per The Korea Times.He also added that BTS’ recent appointment as ambassadors of Busan City is one way the boyband are actively serving South Korea’s national interests.

With time rapidly running out to make a decision on the question of whether or not the members of BTS should do their military service, a member of the main opposition party in South Korea has proposed a bill that would allow them to serve the country in alternative ways.If passed, the proposed bill, put forward by politician Kim Young-bae, would allow the pop stars to carry out activities in the national interest other than actually serving in the military. This would seemingly include the work they are already undertaking as ambassadors for South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo.Under South Korean law, all able-bodied men must begin serving around two years in the military at some point between the ages of eighteen and 28.

BTS’ Order of Cultural Merit awarded by former president Moon Jae-In in 2018 — should be allowed to serve an alternative form of military service.Kim’s proposal suggests that existing provisions in place for athletes, actors, directors and classical musicians who have made a significant international impact should be expanded to include decorated pop celebrities.“Korean pop celebrities active in the international field make unimaginable economic and social contributions,” said Kim, per The Korea Times.He added that BTS’ recent appointment as ambassadors of Busan City is one way the boyband are actively serving South Korea’s national interests.

BLACKPINK have added a number of extra dates to the North American leg of their 2022 ‘Born Pink World Tour’.The South Korean group are scheduled to kick off in North America at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on October 25, with an extra date now added at the same venue on October 26.The K-pop four-piece are also adding extra dates at the Toyota Center in Houston on October 30, Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on November 3, and the Banc Of California Stadium in Los Angeles on November 20.The ‘Born Pink’ tour dates will then resume at London’s The O2 on November 30 and December 1. It then moves to Barcelona, Spain; Cologne, Germany; Paris, France; Copenhagen, Denmark, and Berlin, Germany before closing at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, Netherlands on December 22.Tickets went on general sale last Friday (September 16), the same day as the release of their second studio album ‘Born Pink’.

Conan Gray recently journeyed through K-pop agency SM Entertainment’s building with a tour led by SHINee’s Key.In a new video released on SHINee’s official YouTube channel, Gray paid a visit to the K-pop agency’s headquarters while he was in South Korea for the Haus of Wonder Festival last month. The ‘Maniac’ singer met up with SHINee member and soloist Key, who led him on a tour of SM Entertainment’s building.“I’ve heard about [SM] obviously, so many of the greats have been created here,” said Gray, who shared that it was also his first time in South Korea.“Please do sign a contract with our company,” said Key, gifting the singer with a key pass to the building before commencing their tour.

BLACKPINK’s latest album.In a recent story by Variety, several songwriters whose work featured on BLACKPINK’s sophomore studio album ‘Born Pink’ discussed the stories behind their contributions to the record.Among them are singer-songwriter and longtime collaborator Bekuh Boom — known for co-writing the act’s debut singles ‘Boombayah’ and ‘Whistle’ — who penned the track ‘Typa Girl’ from the new record.“It’s a song to empower women,” said Boom of the B-side, adding: “When I hear it, I feel like the shit — and I want other women to hear it and feel that way too.” The songwriter went on to reveal that she had written the demo for ‘Typa Girl’ in 2021, and that she had originally “thought Lisa might use it for her next solo single.”“But I’m super happy that it’s […] on the album,” she said. “It’s a blessing to always get asked back.

HYBE’s ADOR label, which houses rookie act NewJeans, has opened up online global auditions to the public.On September 19 at Noon KST, the label shared a graphic poster announcing its ongoing search for talent to join its upcoming acts. Potential applicants can view their official audition site here, which is available in English, Japanese, Mandarin and Korean.Per ADOR’s guidelines, anyone born between the years 2003 and 2011 may apply for the auditions, which are otherwise open to “all genders and nationalities”.Applicants may apply in the categories of singing, rapping and dancing, or in a “free category” that includes acting, modelling and vlogging.

Mike Wass As the reigning queens of K-pop, there’s a lot riding on Blackpink’s sophomore album. The girl group would be forgiven for playing it safe, but they defy expectations on “Pink Venom” (out now) by touching on timely topics, adding a certain F-word to their vocabulary, and sprinkling in slow jams. Assisting Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa with the pivot is an eclectic batch of collaborators, who are now lifting the veil on the creative process. Bekuh Boom — aka singer-songwriter Rebecca Rose Johnson — has been with Blackpink since the beginning. Literally. “I met them when they were still trainees,” she remembers. “We had the same Korean teacher.”

K-pop is a fast-paced, ever-changing industry.

Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for its upcoming Korean music reality show Take 1, starring MAMAMOO, AKMU, Rain and more.The new visual was shared on September 15, and features a number of South Korean musicians – Yim Jae-beom, Yoo Hee-yeol, Park Jung-hyun, Rain, AKMU, MAMAMOO and Sumi Jo – as they gather to discuss what it means for them to stage “the most meaningful performance of their careers”, according to a press release from Netflix.Each participating act is given a countdown clock, indicating the amount of time they would have to prepare for their performances, for which they’re only given one song to perform. Take 1 lands on Netflix on October 14.Take 1 marks the first music reality show Netflix has produced, and will see the participating musicians devise the ultimate performance. They will be allowed to choose who they would like to invite for their performances, what they wish to sing as well as the location of the performance, but will only have one take to nail it.Helming the upcoming series is director Kim Hak-min, who previously worked on the Korean music reality programme Two Yoo Project Sugar Man 3 in 2019.

Jay Park’s newest music label, More Vision, has launched its first-ever auditions for an upcoming boyband.On September 7 at Midnight KST, More Vision shared several posts across its social media accounts in English, Korean, Japanese and Mandarin announcing that it has opened up auditions for its first-ever boy group.According to More Vision, the label is seeking males born 2005 or after to audition with either vocals, dance, rap or producing with no limitations on nationality. It also states that the ability to speak Korean may be preferred, but is not mandatory for potential applicants.

BTS, the global K-pop superstars, officially released their concert film,, on Thursday at midnight (Pacific Time) on Disney+ worldwide.In a surprise release to kick off Disney+ Day celebrations, the concert film showcases the seven-member group — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook — as they take the stage at SoFi Stadium. The septet performed four sold-out shows from Nov.

A surprise for BTS fans on Disney+ Day. At 12 AM Thursday, Disney+ began streaming the concert film BTS Permission To Dance On Stage – LA worldwide as part of Disney+ Day.

BLACKPINK have announced the title ‘Shut Down’ for their upcoming lead single lifted from forthcoming album ‘Born Pink’.The K-pop quartet made the announcement on September 7 at midnight KST via their social media channels, through a “title poster” showcasing the lead single’s title and ‘Born Pink”s release date and time of September 16 at 1pm KST / 12am EST.In a statement to South Korean outlet Yonhap News Agency published shortly after the announcement was made, YG Entertainment described ‘Shut Down’ as “a title that is intuitive and creates a strange tension”. “BLACKPINK will once again captivate music fans around the world with [their] unique charisma and girl-crush charm,” the statement read.#BLACKPINK ‘Shut Down’ Title Poster2nd Album ‘BORN PINK’✅2022.09.16 12AM (EST) & 1PM (KST) #블랙핑크 #2ndAlbum #BORNPINK #Title #ShutDown #20220916_12amEST #20220916_1pmKST #Release #YG pic.twitter.com/wZE8nAYtlN— BLACKPINKOFFICIAL (@BLACKPINK) September 6, 2022In anticipation of ‘Born Pink”s full release, BLACKPINK released a pre-release single titled ‘Pink Venom’ last month.

BLACKPINK’s latest single ‘Pink Venom’ has been deemed unfit for broadcast by South Korean broadcasters KBS.KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) has removed BLACKPINK’s recent single ‘Pink Venom’ from rankings on its weekly music programme Music Bank. According to a previously-released evaluation report by the broadcaster, per KoreaJoongAng Daily, KBS had deemed the track unsuitable for broadcast due to its lyrics.The broadcaster ruled that ‘Pink Venom’ had violated article 46 of Broadcasting Regulations set by the Korea Communications Standards Commission.

BTS’ potential military exemption.South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence has followed-up on minister Lee Jong-sup’s previous comments regarding a potential public poll on BTS’ military exemption, announcing that it will not be going forward with the poll.During an August 31 parliamentary hearing, defence minister Lee Jong-sup told lawmakers of plans to implement a national survey to gauge public opinions on exempting the boyband from mandatory military service. The ministry later clarified that officials were only examining the need of such a survey at the time.As of September 1 however, it confirmed that it will not be conducting a poll on BTS’ enlistment.“The Ministry of National Defence will not arrange a public poll on the matter, nor making decisions on the issue of BTS’ military service solely based on the result of the poll,” it shared through an official statement, as reported by SBS News.All able-bodied male citizens of South Korea are to enlist in the military by the age of 28, serving at least 18 months of mandatory service under the current law.

As the debate in South Korea over whether or not BTS should serve military service continues to drag on, the latest idea is to put the matter to the South Korean public, as the country’s government has failed to reach a conclusion.Yeah, that’s right, a referendum on the future of a pop group. Why can’t we have votes like that, instead of bloody Brexit? Actually, this is more a survey to gauge public opinion than a full on referendum.

There are so many excellent K-Pop releases in 2022!