South Korea Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Later this month, acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook (“Decision To Leave”) returns to the world of genre with the Max series “The Sympathizer,” which focuses on a Vietnamese double agent operating on U.S. soil.

Big Bang star G-Dragon will be releasing new music sometime in the second half of the year, his label has confirmed.His label Galaxy Corporation announced that G-Dragon would be making his long-awaited comeback “in the second half of this year”, in a statement to South Korean news outlet News1 earlier today (April 3).“After making his comeback, he will be carrying out global activities, and activities in Japan are also planned as part of them,” Galaxy Corporation added in its statement, via Soompi. G-dragon’s forthcoming comeback will be his first solo release in about seven years, since he released his self-titled EP ‘Kwon Ji-yong’ in 2017.

SHINee singer Onew has signed with Griffin Entertainment, just a month after leaving longtime agency SM Entertainment. Griffin Entertainment announced that SHINee’s Onew had signed with the company today (April 3) in a statement to South Korea news outlet Sports Kyunghang. “We are happy to be together with Onew on his new start,” the agency said, as translated by Soompi.“Griffin Entertainment will not spare any effort so that we can become the artist’s sanctuary,” the label added.

Uncle Samsik, starring Song Kang-ho. Read on to learn everything you need to know about the new series.The new K-drama, set in the 1960s, will follow the story of Kim San, a bright and ambitious man who has dreams of turning South Korea into a modern, industrial nation.Kim San’s ambitions soon attracts the attention of Uncle Samsik, a shady fixer who takes whatever steps necessary to help accomplish his goals.

Highlight have regained the trademark rights to their original name, BEAST.Highlight’s label, Around Us Entertainment, announced today (April 2) that the boyband have reclaimed the trademark rights to their original name, BEAST. The group originally debuted in 2019 under the name BEAST, before changing it to Highlight in 2016 after leaving CUBE Entertainment.In a statement to South Korean news outlet eDaily, Around Us Entertainment said that it has “smoothly completed the mutual agreement regarding the use of the trademark for BEAST”, per Soompi. However, the quartet will continue their activities under the name Highlight.“Regardless of the group name they promote under, it feels new to be able to showcase the group name BEAST,” it added.

NME also previously spotted social media accounts for a potential Waterbomb Festival Singapore back in March.

Disney+ tentpole Uncle Samsik will debut on May 15 on the platform globally, and on Hulu. The streamer also announced that Korean crime thriller Nine Puzzles will premiere exclusively on the platform in 2025.

aespa singer Karina and South Korean actor Lee Jae-wook have broken up, their agencies have confirmed.Today (April 2), South Korean news outlet TenAsia reported that aespa’s Karina and Lee Jae-wook have broken up, just a little over a month after the pair went public with their relationship in late-February 2024.In response to the report, a representative from Lee’s agency C-JeS Studios confirmed that the pair have “decided on the breakup in order to focus on the project he is currently filming”, per Newsen via Soompi.“The two decided to remain as colleagues who support each other,” the entertainment agency added. “They will each greet [fans] through good activities from their respective positions going forward.

GOT7 singer BamBam has teased new music from the boyband, revealing that “all the songs are done”.GOT7’s BamBam recently appeared on popular Thai YouTube channel WOODY, where he spoke about a potential reunion for the boyband and what fans could expect in the future.The K-pop idol touched on the pressure he and the rest of the band feel when fans ask for a full group comeback, saying that “it would be about whether we’d be able to fulfil our promise to our fans or not”.“We wanted to come back at [a specific] time, so we kept them waiting, which is just the pressure on ourselves about the timing,” he explained. “As for returning with seven people, I think it’s not too much pressure because every one of us would love to come back as seven people.”However, BamBam mentioned that seeing as two GOT7 members are currently enlisted for South Korea’s mandatory military service – JAY B and Jinyoung – the group will have to wait until they return before they can release new music together.That being said, BamBam did reassure fans that preparations are already underwar for a GOT7 comeback.

Reports of their break-up first surfaced on March 30, which was then confirmed by Ryu’s representation at C-JeS Studio that same day in a brief statement. Later, Han’s label 9ato Entertainment published a more detailed statement explaining the circumstances behind their decision to part ways.“[Han So-hee and Ryu Jun-yeol] both found their roles as actors to be more important.

T-ARA singer Areum has addressed her recent suicide attempt and subsequent hospitalisation on Instagram.On March 27, South Korean media reported that Areum had been taken to a hospital after attempting to take her own life. The news came a day after Areum accused her ex-husband, businessman Kim Young-gul, of being physically and emotionally abusive towards her and her children.On March 29, Areum took to her Instagram to post a picture of herself on a hospital bed, accompanied with a caption addressing her attempt and her recovery, saying that “the hospital said it was a miracle I survived”.“I remembered my loved ones, children, family and friends at the brink of death,” she wrote, per Korea JoongAng Daily. “After realising I might never see them again, I desperately wanted to live, so I held on and regained consciousness.”In the same post, Areum also addressed several accusations a South Korean YouTuber had levied against her and her current partner, which included soliciting money from her Instagram followers for a prior hospital treatment, unrelated to the suicide attempt.“What this YouTuber has said is not true,” Areum wrote.

MAMAMOO singer Hwasa has announced her upcoming 2024 ‘Twits’ solo fancon tour, with concerts in Taiwan, Singapore and more.Today (April 1), MAMAMOO’s Hwasa announced the first batch of dates for her ‘Twits’ solo fancon tour. Notably, the tour is named after the K-pop idol’s fandom name Twits, which in turn was inspired by her 2019 solo debut single ‘Twit’.Hwasa’s new tour will kick off on May 11 with a concert in Hong Kong, followed by shows in Taipei and Singapore in June 2024.

B.I has announced the Asia dates for the concerts on his upcoming 2024 ‘Hype Up’ tour.Over the weekend on March 30, B.I revealed the first batch of dates for his upcoming 2024 ‘Hype Up’ tour, which will kick off this May with concerts across six Asian cities.B.I will embark on his newly announced tour on May 24 with a show in Hong Kong. Thereafter, the singer will perform concerts in Bangkok, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta in June, followed by a Macau show in July.According to the poster for the 2024 ‘Hype Up’ tour, more cities and dates will be announced soon.

SHINee singer Taemin has officially signed with Big Planet Made, shortly after leaving longtime agency SM Entertainment.Big Planet Made announced today (April 1) in a statement to South Korean outlet Star News that the company has “signed an exclusive contract with singer Taemin, who is unparalleled in his activities both as SHINee’s main dancer and as a solo artist”, per Soompi. “We will actively support Taemin’s wide range of activities in his music career, and we will do our utmost so that he can soar in broader places and in a variety of directions.

K-Pop is going stronger than ever!

Jesse Lingard's manager at FC Seoul has slammed the former Manchester United star's effort since his move to South Korea last month.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran Chinese director Zhang Yimou will be presented with a lifetime achievement award at the upcoming edition of the Festival of Far East Film in Italy’s Udine (April 24 – May 2). The lineup will include three films by Zhang: his 2023 political thriller “Under the Light” in its competition section; as well as “To Live” and “Raise the Red Lantern” in its restored classics section. The festival’s total lineup includes 74 films in total – 47 in competition and 28 out of competition) from 11 countries.

Queen of Tears.Today (March 27), Hankook Ilbo via The Korea Times reported that Kim Soo-hyun was paid about KRW300million per episode of his new K-drama series, Queen of Tears. That comes to a total of about KRW5billion over the show’s 16-episode run.According to the news outlet, the actor’s salary for the new K-drama is lower than the KRW500million he was reportedly paid for the 2021 series One Ordinary Day.

Physical: 100 has become the most-watched reality show on the streaming service this week.According to data shared by Netflix, Physical:100 season two was the most viewed non-English show for the week of March 18 to 24, logging 6.1million views with 25.3million hours viewed. Notably, the new season of the Korean reality show topped the list just over a week after it premiered on March 19.Season two of Physical: 100 is also notably the most-watched reality show and the fourth most-watched series overall on the streamer this week.

T-ARA singer Areum has reportedly been hospitalised after a suicide attempt.South Korean news outlet Osen (via journalist Jeff Benjamin) reported that Areum had been taken to a hospital after attempting to take her own life in the early morning of March 27. The publication also reported that the singer has yet to regain consciousness and had left a suicide note.The news comes just a day after Areum accused her ex-husband, businessman Kim Young-gul, of being physically and emotionally abusive towards the singer and her children in a post on Instagram.

Netflix reality series Physical: 100.Created by producer Jang Ho-gi, the South Korean series brings together 100 individuals from various athletic backgrounds and pits them against one another in tests of strength, balance, agility, endurance and strategy.The first season was released on Netflix across January and February last year. A second season, set in a giant underground mine, kicked off in March 2024.The final two episodes will be released on Tuesday April 2 on Netflix.

Pyramid Game‘s growing popularity.Pyramid Game follows the lives of students at the fictional Baekyeon Girls’ High School, where every month they cast a vote in a popularity poll that will subsequently sort them into ranks. The system establishes the school’s hierarchy, leaving those at the bottom vulnerable to physical, verbal and psychological abuse from classmates.The K-drama, which premiered in late February, has caused concern among teaching staff in South Korea that children may begin emulating the show due to its growing popularity, which includes depictions of school violence and bullying.South Korean news outlet Chosun Ilbo reported on March 22 that several elementary and middle schools across the country, mainly in the city of Jeonju, issued letters to students and parents in order to “prevent the spread of Pyramid Game” among cohorts in school.In the letter, the institutions also advised parents to guide their children accordingly.

YG Entertainment has refuted reports that it spent US$30million on BLACKPINK‘s contract renewals.According to a business report released by the company on March 22, YG Entertainment had stated a KRW41.2billion (about US$30million) sum for intangible assets last year.Per Korea JoongAng Daily, this is an accounting practice commonly used by music labels in South Korea when funds are needed for contract renewals. Of note, last year YG Entertainment had secured the contract renewal of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK for group activities, following a months-long negotiation process.However, YG Entertainment has since denied that all the funds were used for that purpose, in a statement to Korea JoongAng Daily. “There were various other contract renewals as well as new contracts formed over various intellectual property,” a YG Entertainment spokesperson said.The label added that it “cannot disclose the contract details”, but noted that “the amount in question cannot be considered exclusive to BLACKPINK’s contract extension”.In the same report, Korea JoongAng Daily also noted that YG Entertainment said that it is “planning” for group activities from BLACKPINK.

EXO singer D.O. – real name Doh Kyung-soo – has announced his upcoming 2024 ‘Bloom’ fan concert tour of Asia.Today (March 25), EXO’s D.O.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Locally-produced horror-drama “Exhuma” held on to top spot at the South Korea cinema box office for a fifth consecutive weekend. Its complete dominance of the market kept “Exhuma” comfortably ahead of the holdover “Dune 2” and a couple of lower-powered new releases and allowed its running total to surpass 10 million ticket sales. That is the conventional measure of a blockbuster in Korea, a country with a population of roughly 50 million. Over the latest weekend “Exhuma” sold 618,000 tickets for a gross revenue of $4.56 million and a market share of 56%, according to data from Kobis, the database operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). The latest increment gives the film a total of $73.4 million earned from 10.2 million admissions.

(G)I-DLE vocalist Yuqi will make her official Korean solo debut in April, her agency CUBE Entertainment has announced.CUBE Entertainment announced Yuqi’s upcoming solo debut today (March 22) in a statement to South Korean news outlet XSports News. “Yuqi plans to release a solo single in April and promote it on music broadcasts,” the label shared, per Soompi.Information about the (G)I-DLE member’s upcoming solo debut, including the release’s format, tracklist and more, is expected in the coming weeks.

Resident Playbook, a spin-off of the popular Hospital Playlist, has been postponed into the second half of 2024.South Korean news outlet OSEN reported yesterday (March 21) that the premiere of Resident Playbook would be moved to the second-half of 2024. The show was previously scheduled to begin airing on May 11, following the finale of K-drama Queen of Tears, which will wrap up on April 28.OSEN also claimed that a separate series titled The Midnight Romance in Hagwon, starring Wi Ha-joon and Jung Ryeo-won, will have its broadcast moved up to fill Resident Playbook‘s original spot.The report has since been confirmed by tvN.

Netflix's hit show Squid Games is well-known across the world wit everyone now waiting for its second series. Thankfully to help fill the void until then, Squid Game: The Challenge was released which was also a hit success.

Gyeongseong Creature star Han So-hee has denied she was dropped by brands over her relationship with actor Ryu Jun-yeol.Han So-hee’s agency, 9ato Entertainment had addressed speculation that the actress was dropped by several brands over her controversial relationship with actor Ryu Jun-yeol.The pair were confirmed to be dating last week, but soon stirred controversy on the internet over rumours that Ryu had started dating Han while still in a relationship with actress Hyeri.Soon after news broke, 9ato Entertainment had confirmed that Han So-hee’s sponsorship deals with soju brand Chum Churum and Nonghyup Bank had expired.“The allegations that actor Han So-hee’s advertisement contracts ended due to the recent issues surrounding the actor’s personal life are completely false,” the agency said, per Korea JoongAng Daily.“The agreement to end Han’s contract for beverage advertisement was made early this year, and for bank advertisement, toward the end of last year,” the agency clarified in its statement.Han So-hee recently starred in the Netflix K-drama series Gyeongseong Creature opposite Park Seo-jun. In a glowing four-star review, NME‘s Rhian Daly called it “a gripping story that’s not for the faint-hearted”.The streaming service has since confirmed that season two of the K-drama series will premiere sometime this year, with both Han So-hee and Park Seo-joon set to return as leads.Meanwhile, Ryu Jun-yeol recently starred in the South Korean film Alienoid: Return to the Future, a sequel to 2022′ Alienoid.

Regarded by many as the UK's top rollercoaster, Nemesis at Alton Towers has recently had a complete facelift and has reopened under the new name, Nemesis Reborn.

Big Bang singer Taeyang joined bandmate Daesung on stage during the latter’s fan meeting event this past weekend.Both of Daesung’s Big Bang bandmates G-Dragon and Taeyang attended the singer’s second and final showing of his solo fanmeeting concert at the Blue Square Hall in Seoul, South Korea, held on the evening of March 17.G-Dragon was spotted watching the show among the audience, while Taeyang joined Daesung on stage for a performance of several Big Bang songs as well as the former’s hit solo song ‘Eyes, Nose, Lips’.Taeyang and G-Dragon’s public appearance at Daesung’s show marked the band’s first public reunion in years.

NCT is one of South Korea’s biggest boy bands – both in member size and in popularity!

BM of K-pop group KARD has announced his upcoming 2024 ‘After the After Party’ tour.Today (March 19), KARD’s BM and tour organiser Konnect’d Entertainment revealed that the K-pop idol is set to go on his first solo tour of the US, titled ‘After the After Party’.According to the announcement the rapper will embark on his tour this May. Information about the tour, including cities, dates, venues, ticketing and more is expected in the coming weeks.

EXCLUSIVE: XO Kitty’s Anthony Keyvan and Cruel Summer’s Harley Quinn Smith have signed with Prototype Talent Agency for representation.

Exhuma (Korean title: Pa-myo) has taken $67.8 million at the Korean box office, having notched more than 9.3 million admissions.

NCT leader Taeyong will be enlisting for two years of mandatory military service next month, SM Entertainment has confirmed.The singer’s label made the announcement today (March 18) in a statement to South Korean news outlet Newsen. “NCT’s Taeyong is enlisting in the navy as an active duty soldier on April 15,” SM Entertainment said, as translated by Soompi. “There will be no official events held on the day he enters the recruit training centre, and we ask for your understanding as his enlistment will be held privately to prevent safety incidents due to congestion on site,” the label added.