Kim Hee-sun is a force to be reckoned with in new ‘Remarriage & Desires’ trailer

Jennie, main rapper in K-pop group Blackpink, will be seen in the Weeknd’s (aka Abel Tesfaye) upcoming HBO drama series The Idol, alongside lead Lily-Rose Depp.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefJennie, part of the K-Pop girl group Blackpink will appear in the upcoming HBO TV series “The Idol.” She joins a cast that is headed by The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp.Co-created by The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye), Sam Levinson (“Euphoria”) and Reza Fahim, “The Idol” is set against the backdrop of the music industry. The plot follows a self-help guru and cult leader who develops a complicated relationship with an up-and-coming pop idol.Jennie, expected to be credited under her full name Jennie Kim, appeared briefly in a recently released trailer for the show. The show’s release date has not been announced.HBO subsequently confirmed Jennie’s participation via Twitter.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefTerapin Studios, a U.S.-Korean media investor backed by NPX Capital, has paid $160 million to acquire Toomics Global, one of South Korea’s fastest rising platforms for webtoons.Webtoons, vertically-scrolling comic strips designed to be viewed on smartphones, emerged in South Korea about 15 years ago and have become a major cultural phenomenon across Japan, Korea and much of Southeast Asia.Webtoons have also been the form of IP underlying many Korean film and TV hits, including Netflix’s “All of Us Are Dead” and “Itaewon Class,” Disney+’s “Moving” and “Dr Brain” for Apple TV+.Netflix is also on course to produce a series, “Black Knight,” based on Toomics’ original webtoon IP “Delivery Knight.” The sci-fi miniseries, starring A-list actor Kim Woo Bin (“Alienoid”), is expected to premiere this year. The Terapin-Toomics deal follows a February 2022 acquisition that saw Terapin buy Copin Communications, a Korean webtoon producer.The two deals together are expected to give Terapin the capacity to take its stable of cartoon creators further into international markets and the ability to negotiate deals for its IP in multiple related or ancillary markets, from animated film and TV, to books, games, merchandize and NFTs.“A [third party] Korean production company is working with Netflix on ‘Black Knight’,” Samuel Hwang, founder and CEO of NPX Capital, told Variety.

Miky Lee, Vice Chairwoman of South Korea’s CJ Group, will receive the International 2022 Directorate Emmy Award.

Manori Ravindran International EditorCJ Group vice chairwoman Miky Lee is this year’s recipient of the International Emmy Directorate Award.The International Academy’s Special Emmy will be presented to Lee at the 50th International Emmy Awards gala on Nov. 21 in New York.“Miky Lee is in a class of her own, a visionary leader who has harnessed her exceptional business acumen and love of her country’s culture by tirelessly spearheading the global phenomenon of the Korean wave for over 25 years,” said Bruce L.

HyunA has unveiled a cheeky new music video teaser for her upcoming single ‘Nabillera’.In the vibrant Y2K-inspired visual, the singer-rapper is surrounded by butterflies as she shows off colourful outfits and confident poses. “Me so fly, like a butterfly,” she declares boldly, shedding her jacket.

Secret chef! Jamie Chung opened up to Us Weekly about what fans might not know about her — and the Reunion star has some serious cooking skills.

TWICE have unveiled their latest Japanese single ‘Celebrate’, alongside its music video.The energetic new track was released on July 14 along with its accompanying video treatment on the K-pop girl group’s official Japanese YouTube channel. The visual sees the nine members of TWICE prepare for a summer’s night out and ends in the group performing ‘Celebrate”s choreography in the middle of a pool party complete with neon lights and fireworks.“I’m next to you, still / You’re next to me, whatever your whereabouts, present / Let’s ce-ce-ce-celebrate,” they harmonise on the chorus.‘Celebrate’ is both a pre-release and title track for TWICE’s forthcoming Japanese studio record of the same name, due to arrive on July 27.

Carter. The clip introduces us to the titular Agent Carter (played by Joo Won), who engages in non-stop intense physical combat, chases through the rural countryside and helicopter stunts, as he follows the instructions through the phone from an unknown female voice in order to avoid getting killed by the CIA.Carter, directed by The Villainess and Confession Of Murder‘s Jung Byung-gil, is slated to premiere on Netflix on August 5.The “one-scene, one-cut film” will follow Carter, who awakens two months into a deadly pandemic originating from the DMZ that has devastated both the US and North Korea, with no recollections of his past. He finds a mysterious device in his head, and a lethal bomb in his mouth.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefMixing “Jason Bourne” and “Mission: Impossible” adrenalin rushes with Korean cool, Netflix is teasing high octane footage of “Carter,” its first Korean original movie of the second half of the year.The action plays out two months into a deadly pandemic originating from the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas. The outbreak has already devastated the U.S. and North Korea.

EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan Majors has signed with WME, reuniting with his first agent Elan Ruspoli at the agency.

Stranger Things Season 4 Vol. 1 closed the 28-day window Netflix uses to measure premiere viewership for its TV series and movies with 930.3 million hours viewed. That is the most for any English-language Netflix series ever and the second largest audience overall behind the streamer’s Korean smash Squid Game, which clocked in 1.6 billion hours viewed over that period.

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures is set to remake critically acclaimed South Korean crime thriller The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil with original star Don Lee (aka Ma Dong-seok) reprising his lead role as a gang boss looking for redemption in the studio’s U.S. version.

Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin are going to be parents!

Margaret Cho described feeling invisible as a bisexual woman because of the lack of representation and absence of leading figures in the media to whom she could relate as an Asian American and a  queer woman. Cho guest narrates the first episode of The Book of Queer, a five-part series that reflects on queer figures of the past, and their impact today and is a rousing celebration of queer joy. When asked what Pride Month meant to her, Cho asserted that it wasn’t about a singular parade or a short time taken out of the year to celebrate queerness. “I think that more than ever we have to celebrate ourselves and look to protecting our rights- whether that’s protecting trans kids, trans legislation or increasing our own visibility throughout the media,” she said. She declared it was vital for queer people to continue to be made visible and that through avenues like media and representation, LGBTQI -identifying individuals would be able to “maintain and advance our own rights and abilities to continue to exist and to thrive.” “My parents owned a gay bookstore in San Francisco, and I grew up in gay culture but the Korean society that we’re from doesn’t acknowledge queer culture. In fact, they still have gay pride parades in Korea but people are often not allowed to take photographs because they don’t want to have a witness to being there.

Junny has unveiled his new single ‘Color Me’, featuring Chung Ha.In the accompanying sensual video treatment, Junny is spotted performing the groovy new single in front of a seemingly abandoned strip mall at sunset, as well as in an empty warehouse alongside a female dancer. Notably, the video does not feature an appearance from Chung Ha.“I’m sorry, but without you I’m not at home / You’re too powerful for me to resist / When I’m in doubt, turn on your green light / And under the orange sunset, please sing me a song from your heart,” Chung Ha croons in her verse, with Junny harmonising with her in the background.‘Color Me’ was co-written by Junny and minGtion, who also produced the song.

Joel Kim Booster jokes with ET about the fact that several major projects of his have debuted in June.In fact, the month first kicked off with the celebrated release of the Hulu film, which he wrote and starred in, followed by two Netflix standup specials, and, before closing out with the debut of the hilarious Apple TV+ series , in which he plays a devoted assistant to Maya Rudolph’s character, Molly. Considering June is the month when so much LGBTQ-related content is released, Booster has been a part of some of the biggest, most notable and historic ones, more or less making him the unofficial face of Pride in 2022. “No one wanted it, but everyone’s getting it,” he jokes.

EXCLUSIVE: Industry tech provider Deluxe has appointed former Netflix Korea exec Samantha Kim to the role of Managing Director, Business Development, APAC.