mimiirose leave YES IM Entertainment, to continue under new management

WOODZ will be enlisting into the military in January 2024.On December 10, the K-pop singer wrote to fans informing them of his impending military enlistment. Under South Korean law, all able-bodied men are required to serve for at least 18 months.

BLACKPINK are still discussing their individual contracts with YG Entertainment, the label has confirmed.YG Entertainment announced yesterday (December 6) that BLACKPINK had re-signed with the K-pop agency following a months-long negotiation process, saying that the quartet would be releasing “new albums” and embarking on “world tours” in the future.However, in its statement, YG Entertainment also said that BLACKPINK had “signed an exclusive contract for group activities”, which left questions about the quartet’s individual contracts with the agency.In a later statement to South Korean news outlet eToday, YG Entertainment confirmed that “the exclusive contracts for individual members are still being negotiated”.In addition, the label also said that it is currently “difficult to provide details” about the duration of BLACKPINK’s new group contract, as well as any possible upcoming plans for new music. “For now, please kindly refer to the official statement only,” per TV Report, as translated by Soompi.Yesterday, the share price of YG Entertainment shot up by as much as 29 per cent after it announced that BLACKPINK have renewed their contracts with the agency.

One of Sam Lantz, Mai Whelan and Phill Cain will be crowned champion of Squid Game: The Challenge later today and walk away with $4.56M, the largest prize in reality TV history.

Post-pandemic audiences are much more open to different cultures, thanks to streaming and exposure to new types of content, but some of the world’s biggest film industries are still figuring out how to adapt in a rapidly changing landscape, said speakers on the ‘Cinematic Crossovers’ panel in Red Sea Souk. 

NewJeans member Hanni has unveiled her cover of Sarah Kang’s song ‘once in a moon’.The Vietnamese-Australian K-pop singer is the fifth and final member of NewJeans to contribute to the girl group’s ‘By Jeans’ cover series on YouTube. While her bandmates had recorded vocals for the series, Hanni also played guitar in her clip to accompany her performance of New York-based singer Sarah Kang’s 2022 song ‘once in a moon’.“I thought long and hard about [what song to sing] because winter is already here, and I like to listen to songs according to the seasons.

EDAM Entertainment has confirmed that BTS member V will star in a new music video by singer-songwriter IU.Today (December 5), South Korean news outlet Star News reported that BTS member V would star as the male lead in an upcoming music video by singer-songwriter IU.IU’s agency, EDAM Entertainment, later responded to the report in a statement to The Kyunghyang Shinmun. The agency confirmed that “IU [has] completed filming her music video with BTS’ V”, as translated by Soompi.EDAM Entertainment also announced that the singer is currently working on her new album “with the aim to be released in the first half [of 2024]”.

Death’s Game, starring Seo In-guk and Park So-dam. Here’s everything you need to know about the new Korean series.Based on a Naver webtoon of the same name, Death’s Game will follow a young man named Choi Yi-jae (Seo In-guk), who tries to take his life after losing his savings in a bitcoin scam.However, Yi-jae’s indifference towards dying offends Death (Parasite’s Park So-dam), and she decides to punish him with a game: Yi-jae has to experience 12 lives and deaths before he is sent to hell.However, Yi-jae learns that he will be able to live on if he manages to evade death in any of the 12 lives.

XG have announced a new song called ‘Winter Without You’ and teased an upcoming world tour.Yesterday (November 26), XG released a teaser for the upcoming music video of their new song, titled ‘Winter Without You’. The girl group have yet to confirm a release date for their new single.The teaser clip for ‘Winter Without You’ features the members of XG in a spaceship traveling out into the galaxies, as they await a message from their loved ones back home.XG tear up as they hear the voices of their loved ones, before previewing the song in question.

A reality version of Netflix’s Korean thriller hit Squid Game has been hailed as “the most gripping reality TV since The Traitors” - yet scored a shockingly low score with critics on review site Rotten Tomatoes.

Gyeongseong Creature, starring Han So-hee and Park Seo-jun.Set in the spring of 1945, Gyeongseong Creature will follow several individuals in the city of Gyeongseong – which was the colonial name for Seoul city during the Japanese rule over Korea – as they go up against monstrous creatures born out of human greed.Park Seo-jun will play Jang Tae-sang, the wealthiest and most attractive man in the Bukchon district, who has a penchant for insider information. Meanwhile, Han So-hee will portray Yoon Chae-ok, a skilled todugun (bounty hunter and sleuth who tracks down the missing).The new trailer for Gyeongseong Creature opens with the tense first meeting between Jang Tae-sang and Yoon Chae-ok, as we are introduced to the two character’s contrasting worlds.

My Man is Cupid, starring Mask Girl‘s Nana and Daily Dose of Sunshine‘s Jang Dong-yoon.The series revolves around Chun Sang-hyuk (played by Jang Dong-yoon), a cupid who has been stuck on Earth for 500 years after losing his wings. He starts off as a stoic being unable to get over his first love, but things quickly change when he accidentally shoots himself with one of his arrows.He somehow crosses paths with Oh Baek-ryun (Nana), a veterinarian who is incredibly sought after for her beauty.

aespa member Karina has been announced as part of the cast for Netflix’s upcoming original Korean reality show Agents of Mystery. The streaming service announced the cast of Agents of Mystery earlier today (November 22) through its official Netflix K-Content account on X (formerly known as Twitter).

—but with a twist.On November 21, the Princess of Wales re-wore a bright red Catherine Walker coat dress, with its unmistakable statement bow enclosure at the front, which we've seen on her in 2021, per . If not for the distinctive bow, I might not even have clocked this as the same dress, because for this occasion, the princess topped the dress with a dramatic Catherine Walker cape in exactly the same shade of red.Princess Kate completed her monochromatic look with a wide-brimmed hat, pointed-toe suede pumps, and a small clutch.

BLACKPINK‘s status continues to be unknown.

French studio Federation’s new theatrical sales arm Ginger & Fed and Paris-based genre specialist WTFilms have unveiled a slew of AFM deals for apocalyptic thriller Survive.

ADOR, the label behind K-pop girl group NewJeans, has announced its new global auditions.On November 20, the HYBE Labels subsidiary shared a new poster announcing its auditions, which are open to applicants of all genders and nationalities between the ages of 2004 to 2011.The official audition site can be viewed here in English, Korean and Japanese. Per instructions on the website, applicants are required to submit a waist-up and full body shot, as well as a one-minute or longer video.Unlike its previous auditions, which allowed applicants to submit in categories of singing, rapping and dancing, or in a “free category” that includes acting, modelling and vlogging.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Blackpink, the multinational female music act that is the biggest girl group in the Korean pop (K-pop) firmament, may finally be close to renewing its collective contract with YG Entertainment. The news was widely reported in Korea on Monday and comes after months of speculation that the four-piece act – Jisoo (real name Kim Ji-soo), Lisa (Lalisa Manobal), Jennie (Kim Jennie) and Rose (Roseanne Park) – would take their acts to another shop. Blackpink’s previous contracts with YG expired in August. The Munhwa Ilbo (or Culture Daily) publication Monday claimed an exclusive with the information that Blackpink will re-up with YG, but the four individuals will not renew their exclusive contracts with the agency.

Michaela Zee Geffen Records and Hybe, the K-pop entertainment company behind BTS and NewJeans, have announced the final six members of the new girl group Katseye. The Katseye finalists, who were unveiled at a live event in L.A. on Friday night, include Daniela Avanzini, Lara Rajagopalan and Megan Skiendiel from the U.S.; Yoonchae Jeong from South Korea; Sophia Laforteza from the Philippines; and Manon Bannerman from Switzerland.

BIBI and Latin pop artist Becky G have teamed up for a new single titled ‘Amigos’.The ‘Amigos’ visual features the duo taking a drive to a house party together, where they lounge by the pool, singing to the sensual new track. As the sun goes down, they take the party to a bonfire, dancing and driving figure-eights.The new song features Becky G singing in Spanish before BIBI joins in her native Korean.

SM Entertainment has announced plans to begin a talent search for the formation of an upcoming UK-based boyband, in partnership with production company Moon&Back.SM Entertainment – home to top K-pop acts such as aespa, Red Velvet, Girls’ Generation and more – announced its partnership with UK-based television production company Moon&Back yesterday (November 15). In the newly announced partnership, both companies revealed an upcoming television project in the works to create and debut a brand-new British boyband to global television audiences.Slated to be filmed over the course of six months, the upcoming television series will follow a fresh-faced boy group as they depart London some time in early 2024 “on the adventure of a lifetime”, according to a press release.