North Korea Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean tech giant Kakao has gained the upper hand in the battle for control of K-pop agency SM Entertainment, after HYBE Corp., the firm behind music idols BTS, said Sunday that it had called off its takeover bid. SM is the second largest talent Korean music talent firm and is behind music acts including Super M, Aespa, BoA and Red Velvet, Girls’ Generation, H.O.T., EXO, Super Junior, SHINee and NCT Dream. HYBE said on Sunday that it will “discontinue the acquisition process […] after observing that the market has been showing signs of overheating due to competition with both Kakao and Kakao Entertainment,” something that it said could “damage shareholder value.”

Paramount+ is well ahead of its target to greenlight 150 non-U.S. originals by 2025 but international boss Marco Nobili wishes the streamer could have rolled out quicker.

Asian canteen, foodhall, bakery and supermarket Hello Oriental is bringing in a raft of new dishes and cocktails for its spring menu, one of them featuring a Manchester institution. The Vimto Sour will feature on its new cocktail list, blending vodka, lychee syrup, lemon and the iconic cordial.

TWICE member Chaeyoung has issued an apology after she posted a photo of herself wearing a shirt with a Swastika symbol.In the now-deleted Instagram post, the K-pop idol was seen posing while wearing a shirt that featured a graphic of Sex Pistols‘ Sid Vicious sporting a T-shirt with a Swastika. Since the 1920s, the symbol has become heavily associated with the German Nazi Party and was used on the the party’s flag, badge and armband.#TWICE’s Chaeyoung posted a photo wearing a Nazi swastika on her shirt.

Netflix‘s popular K-drama series The Glory is the streaming platform’s most-watched programme for the second week running.According to data from Netflix’s latest weekly lists of Top 10 most-watch TV shows and movies, The Glory racked up over 123.59million hours viewed for the week of March 13 to 19. Notably, the figure is just a slight dip from the 124.46million hours viewed it garnered in the previous week.The Glory has also become the seventh most-popular Non-English TV release on Netflix ever, with a current total of 380million hours viewed within its first 28 days of release.

Thania Garcia Twice’s Chaeyoung issued an apology on Tuesday after she uploaded a photo of her wearing a t-shirt with a swastika symbol. This comes just days after the K-pop singer was seen performing in a QAnon shirt for the South Korean music television program “Show! Music Core.” In the photo, which has since been deleted, Chaeyoung posed wearing a shirt with the Sex Pistols‘ Sid Vicious sporting a swastika — associated Adolf Hitler and the German Nazi party — on his shirt. “Hello, this is Chaeyoung from Twice. I sincerely apologize regarding the Instagram post. I didn’t correctly recognize the meaning of the tilted swastika in the t-shirt I wore,” she said in a statement, written in both English and Korean, via Instagram. “I deeply apologize for not thoroughly reviewing it, causing concern. I will pay absolute attention in the future to prevent any situation similar from happening again. Sincerely apologize again.”

If you’re a fan of memoirs, you should definitely already know about Michelle Zauner’s “Crying in H-Mart,” which chronicles the life of the musician as she dives deep into her Korean roots after the death of her mother. It’s a best-selling book and one of the most acclaimed memoirs in recent memory.

BreAnna Bell Korean drama “The Glory” sits atop Netflix’s global top 10 list of titles for the second week with the release of part 2. During the March 13-19 viewing window, the show earned 123.59 million hours viewed. “The Glory” has also moved up the Most Popular List into the No. 7 spot with the release of Part 2, totaling 380.38 million hours viewed in the first 28 days of each episode’s premiere. The series follows a woman who sets out on an elaborate revenge plot to make her tormenters pay years after she survived horrific abuse in high school. “The Glory” first debuted with Season 1, Part 1 in December of last year. Part 2 was released on March 10.

You Season 4 is continuing its reign over the Netflix Top 10, despite the debut of Shadow and Bone Season 2 last week.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Streaming platform Paramount+ has set a release date for Korean series “Yonder” that is one of the first titles flowing from Paramount Global’s alliance with CJ ENM. The show will premiere on April 11 in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France.  Set in 2032, “Yonder” is a science fiction-drama series about a man who receives a message from his deceased wife inviting him to a mysterious space. The space is designed for the dead to be able to live on by uploading memories of their lifetime from their brain. The show raises questions about life and death and what it means to have eternal happiness as humanity faces a world altered by advancements in science and technology.

MAMAMOO+ have released a music video for their new song ‘Chico Malo’, from their upcoming first single album.The music video opens with a scene inspired by pansori, or a Korean genre of musical storytelling, with an appearance by former TVXQ! member Kim Junsu.The clip the launches into the song, with MAMAMOO+ members Moonbyul and Solar performing in modernised versions of traditional Korean outfits. Notably, the melody of ‘Chico Malo’ also features the traditional Korean instruments gayageum and daegeum.“Those flowers that bloom and fall / Don’t seem to understand how I feel / How much I’m hurting now / I’ll take light steps along the flowery road / Even the birds chirp full of sorrow,” Solar sings on the pre-chorus.‘Chico Malo’ will appear on MAMAMOO+’s upcoming first single album ‘Act 1, Scene 1’, due out on March 29.

Will Sharpe is stepping behind the camera once again!

Japanese Breakfast‘s Michelle Zauner has announced that the film adaptation of her memoir, Crying In H Mart, will be directed by Will Sharpe.The book, which arrived in 2021, explores how the death of Zauner’s mother forced a reckoning with the musician’s Korean-American identity.Zauner dealt with her grief by writing music, and explained in a press release that being creative while “embracing of Korean food and culture” made her feel closer to her late mother.The musician previously confirmed in 2021 that there would be a film adaptation of her book. Now, she has revealed that Will Sharpe, who plays Ethan Spiller in The White Lotus, will be on hand to direct.Speaking about Zauner’s memoir, Sharpe told PEOPLE: “There were lots of things that resonated with me as somebody who is half-Japanese, half-British, spent my childhood in Tokyo.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Will Sharpe, who endeared himself to audiences on “The White Lotus,” is directing a feature film adaptation of Michelle Zauner’s 2021 memoir “Crying in H Mart.” Zauner’s novel centers around her relationship with her Korean heritage and her mother, who died from cancer in 2014. Best known as the frontwoman for indie-pop band Japanese Breakfast, Zauner is adapting the screenplay and will also play a part in the film’s music.  According to the official synopsis from MGM, which is backing the movie, “Crying in H Mart” is a “coming-of age story about a half-Korean daughter who returns to small town Oregon to care for her Korean mother. Critical and smothering Chong-mi and creative and independent Michelle struggle to understand each other across a cultural fault line, only learning to see and accept one another through the formative power of music and the vibrant flavors of Korean cooking.”

On the heels of a breakout performance in The White Lotus Season 2, Will Sharpe has been tapped to direct Crying in H Mart for MGM’s Orion Pictures, Deadline can confirm.

K-pop collective Balming Tiger have shared their thoughts on the current K-pop industry.Last week, Balming Tiger performed at SXSW’s Tiger Den event, where they spoke to Rolling Stone about what K-pop is in their view and their hopes for the future of Korean music.“In our opinion, [K-pop] is not a genre because, in K-pop, there’s R&B, hip-hop and everything. So, you can’t really specify what genre it is.

Netflix has unveiled the first teaser for its upcoming political K-drama series Queenmaker.The clip opens with Hwang Do-hee (played by The World of the Married‘s Kim Hee-ae), the former head of major conglomerate Eunsung Group’s strategy planning office. trying to convince scruffy human rights lawyer Oh Seung-sook (Life‘s Moon So-ri) to run for mayor of Seoul.“You were born with it.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese animation “Suzume” retained the top spot at the South Korean box office for a second weekend, far outstripping holdover titles and newcomers including “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” On its second weekend of release, “Suzume” earned $5.65 million, just a small fraction below its opening weekend score of $5.71 million. Underlining its dominance, the film increased its market share from 60% previously to 62%. After 12 days of release, the film has accumulated $15.8 million, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

BLACKPINK’s Jisoo has announced details of her upcoming solo title track ‘Flower’, which will be released later this month.The singer will make her solo debut on March 31 with the single album ‘ME’. She is the last member of the K-pop girl group to release her own material.Jisoo shared the title of the new single through a new “title poster”, which was shared on the group’s social media channels earlier today (March 19).

EXCLUSIVE: Geoff Stults (Little Fires Everywhere) is set for a key recurring role in ABC’s The Company You Keep, starring and executive produced by Milo Ventimiglia.

Brendan Fraser is enjoying an early dinner with his family!

Thania Garcia Twice will be Pandora’s newest guest DJs for the streaming platform’s Artist Takeover series. Starting today, the nine-member girl group will be the new faces of the newly minted K-pop station for “The Takeover: Twice” — the first-ever feature on the streaming platform with content in both English and Korean, Variety can exclusively share. The Takeover will allow users access to exclusive content and guided listening experiences, where members Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, discuss each song on “Ready to Be.” In addition, the singers will customize fans’ listening experiences with commentary on their recent successes, upcoming world tour and more, while their songs and others play in between.

In “Kill Boksoon,” a female hitman finds out that killing is simpler than raising a kid. Fresh off its world premieres at the Berlinale last month, South Korean director Byun Sung-hyun‘s new film stars “Secret Sunshine” actress Jeon Do-yeon as an assassin that sees her family and professional lives collide to antic results.

Although Filmart felt quiet on its first morning, with many attendees glued to their phones watching the Oscars, it soon turned into a reasonably vibrant market, with sales companies locked in back-to-back meetings, new project announcements and a few star appearances to liven up proceedings. 

Princess Diana's brother Charles Spencer has blasted Donald Trump for claims he made about the late royal. The former US President has claimed his new book Letters to Trump will feature missives from Diana, the late Queen Elizabeth II, Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un - among others.

NCT 127‘s ‘Limitless’.NCT 127 and its labels SM Entertainment and Universal Music Group have teamed up with Z2 Comics – which has worked with other musicians including Weird Al Yankovic and Gorillaz – on the new original graphic novel ‘NCT 127: Limitless’.The graphic novel shares its title with the boyband’s 2017 single ‘Limitless’ and will be “presented in the manhwa format”, according to the Z2 Comics website. The novel is set to follow in the boyband in a “reality-crossing mystery” that will take place in both the real world and “new, surreal dreamscape” as they prepare for a sold-out concert in New York.‘NCT 127: Limitless’ will be available in 10 different hardcovers – one for each active member of the boyband, alongside a general cover with the full group – starting from US$21.99.

BTS, has released a preview of its upcoming collaboration with UK-based footwear brand Dr. Martens.Today (March 16), the South Korean Dr.

RM, also a member of the boyband BTS, has opened up about K-pop’s pursuit of perfection and how its viewed in the West.On a recent trip to Spain, RM took the time to speak with Spanish newspaper El País, where he was asked about whether the pursuit of youth, perfection and overachievement in K-pop is characteristic of Korean culture as a whole.“In the West, people just don’t get it,” RM replied. “Korea is a country that has been invaded, razed to the ground, torn in two.

Jeff Benjamin The past year has seen the K-pop industry expanding into everything from ETFs to Broadway, and today, March 15, marks its leap into the comic and graphic novel world: Top group NCT 127 has teamed up with Z2 Comics alongside Universal Music Group and its Korean label SM Entertainment for “NCT 127: Limitless,” an original graphic novel from the act to mark the first officially licensed K-pop print comic. With its title taken from the group’s 2017 single of the same, “Limitless” is both a hardcover and deluxe hardcover manhwa (a general term from South Korea for comic books and graphic novels with a distinct, detailed artistic style) to share a multiverse-hopping, reality-blurring tale of NCT 127 rehearsing for a sold-out stadium show in New York City.

In the age of social media-centered video content creation, who was the first to do it? Many millennial or Gen Z-ers may say it all started when Jawed Karim uploaded “Me at the zoo” on Youtube in 2005, but the father of video art is actually Korean artist Nam June Paik, who predicted a future in which “everybody will have his own TV channel.”  READ MORE: ‘Nam June Paik: Moon Is The Oldest TV’ Review [Sundance] Paik was born in Seoul, Korea, but found himself in Germany as an adult to pursue his interest in avant-garde music, composition, and performance.

HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk has opened up about its battle against Kakao to acquire shares of K-pop agency SM Entertainment.Today (March 15), Bang delivered a keynote speech at the Gwanhun Forum, hosted by the Gwanhun Club, an association of senior journalists in Korea. Held at the Korean Press Center in Seoul, South Korea, the forum provided attendees the opportunity to gain insight into Bang and HYBE’s vision of the K-pop industry.During a Q&A session at the event, Bang opened up about HYBE’s recent attempt to acquire SM Entertainment, and its battle against South Korean internet giant Kakao over the K-pop agency.

Audiences were eager to wrap up Season 4 of Netflix‘s You. The second half of the season debuted on the streamer on March 9, catapulting the latest installment back to the top of the English-language TV charts for the week.

Marcus Lim Chinese TV producer Linmon Media struck a decidedly international tone during the presentation of its 2023-24 slate at FilMart, with presenters speaking about their Chinese-language projects in only English and Korean, and handing out sleek project literature in multiple languages. Apart from a slate of romance, medical and crime dramas targeted at domestic audiences, the studio is actively remaking its hit female-led contemporary drama “Nothing but Thirty” in Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong, having previously licensed the remake rights to Korean pay TV network JTBC. The drama, which follows the lives of three women as they transition from their 20s into their 30s, is emblematic of the Linmon slate, which is heavy on female-centric contemporary romance dramas.

Starship Entertainment have confirmed that WJSN members Luda and Dawon are still part of the girl group.Yesterday, in a statement to South Korean news outlet TV Report, Starship Entertainment clarified the status of the two K-pop idols, noting that the duo “have not left WJSN”.The statement came shortly after WJSN member Soobin appeared on the YouTube channel Han Moon Chul TV, where she stated that the girl group “are still 10 members” and “have always been 10”, per Soompi.Luda and Dawon status as members of WJSN had been in question over the past week, after the pair left the K-pop agency. The duo were the only Korean members of the group to not renew their contract with Starship Entertainment.At the time, the K-pop agency said that they had “carried out sincere and in-depth discussions” with Luda and Dawon before their contracts ended.

Top executives from Asian media companies including CJ ENM, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, BEC World and Bona Film Group discussed Asia’s changing media landscape on the first day of Hong Kong’s Filmart. 

Huh Yunjin of rookie K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM is set to release her third solo song ‘피어나도록 (love you twice)’.On March 13 at Midnight KST, the 21-year-old idol surprised fans with a new animated teaser, announcing the upcoming release of ‘피어나도록 (love you twice)’, her third solo song. Its Korean title is a spin on LE SSERAFIM’s official fan club name ‘FEARNOT’ or ‘피어나’ in Korean (meaning ‘Bloom’), and translates to ‘Until It Blooms’.The teaser clip features art by South Korean animator and artist Ramdaram, and pictures a young girl admiring an idol through her phone screen.

Naman Ramachandran Asian content heavyweights revealed their thoughts on several subjects at a panel called “The Asian Wave in 2023 and Beyond” on March 13, the opening day of FilMart in Hong Kong. The lively session, moderated by Variety‘s Asia editor Patrick Frater, featured Sebastian Kim, director of international content sales and acquisition at Korea’s CJ ENM, Sanmesh Thakur, executive VP and territory head, Asia Pacific, at India’s Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Ziraviss Vindhanapisuth, VP, international business at Thailand’s BEC World Public Company. The evergreen topic of co-production was discussed in some depth. Kim said: “We’ve been looking for this formula for decades and for now, we find that the best formula of co-production is more like an adaptation of the original — A place to B place production — that’s how we’ve been doing it.”