Scouts leave Perthshire on an eye-opening trip to South Korea

A new online petition is calling for a change to parental leave rules for working fathers and second parents during the first year after the birth of a baby. Petition creator Jeremy Davies also wants to see a new Paternity Allowance introduced offering similar benefits provided to those on Maternity Leave.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief South Korean police said on Wednesday that they had found evidence that the box office performance of 323 films over the past five years had been inflated. Seoul Metropolitan Police said that, as a result, they had referred 69 people from major exhibition chains and 24 film distribution companies to prosecutors.

Police in South Korea today said that 69 officials from theater chains including CGV, Lotte and Megabox, and from 24 film distributors, have been referred without detention to the prosecutor on charges of obstruction of business, local media reports. This follows an investigation that began in June into suspicious box office numbers. Police claim the accused were involved in fabricating figures to boost film rankings over the past five years.

Gavin Bridge Senior Media Analyst South Korean media company Next Entertainment World (NEW) subsidiary NEW ID’s launch of ‘BINGE Korea’ signifies a pivotal shift in the consumption of Korean content for American audiences. As the leading provider of curated non-English and non-Spanish language FAST channels in the U.S., NEW ID is leveraging its experience within FAST to create the first FAST service dedicated to Korean content. ‘BINGE Korea’ is accessible via a wide range of platforms, including Samsung, LG Smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV, and plans to expand to Roku, iOS, and Android TV.

EastEnders' character Alfie Moon is set to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in upcoming scenes which are set to leave viewers in tears.

With the wet weather set to continue across Scotland, a vet has issued a warning to pet owners about the potential dangers brought on by the rainy conditions.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lee Byung-hun-starring disaster movie “Concrete Utopia” topped the South Korean box office over the latest weekend, replacing female led crime caper “Smugglers.” Directed by Um Tae-hwa, “Concrete Utopia” is set in a Seoul that has been largely destroyed by a massive earthquake. One building stands tall among the wreckage and becomes a refuge for those already inside, but the inhabitants must fend of the unwanted attentions of outsiders. It opened on Wednesday, earning $8.40 million between Friday and Sunday and fully $11.3 million over its full opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Good afternoon Insiders, it’s been another sleepy yet somehow simultaneously eventful August week here at Deadline International Towers. Read on for investigations, headlines, scoops and anaylsis, as Max Goldbart steers you through the past few days.

EXCLUSIVE: In the opening scene of Netflix survival show Zombieverse, a dating couple in a bar in Seoul’s trendy Hongdae district lean in for a kiss. 

told the Los Angeles Times that attempts to arrange a meeting with Netflix — to demand that members be compensated with the same residual model as American members of SAG-AFTRA — have gone unanswered for months.“One of [Netflix’s] first priorities when entering the local market should be to establish some channel of communication with groups like us,” the country’s answer to Fran Drescher said.“But there’s no answer at all.”Residuals have recently been in the news as American actors and writers striking for fair compensation post their often insultingly meager checks, ranging from a single penny to a few dollars. As opposed to the royalties paid in broadcasting, residuals must be paid in perpetuity to actors in the United States, based on how many times their films and shows are streamed.

Following his debut solo tour earlier this year, Suga, the K-pop superstar rapper/singer/songwriter, has become the third member of BTS to begin South Korea’s compulsory military service.

Naman Ramachandran “Avoidance,” featuring BAFTA-winning British comedian Romesh Ranganathan, will premiere on BritBox International in North America and South Africa in September. Created and written by Ranganathan and Benjamin Green (“Romantic Getaway”) and starring Ranganathan (BBC’s “The Ranganation,” Netflix special “The Cynic”), the series follows anti-hero Jonathan who is struggling to get back on his feet after breaking up with partner Claire (Jessica Knappett, “Ghosts”). After Claire has accused him of being impossible to live with and keen to avoid conflict at all costs, Jonathan moves in with his sister (Mandeep Dhillon, “CSI: Vegas”) and her wife (Lisa McGrillis, “Mum”).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Ryu Seung-wan’s female-led crime caper “Smugglers” topped the South Korean box office for a second weekend, ahead of new release title “Ransomed.” “Smugglers” enjoyed a strong hold in its second weekend of release and commanded 42% market share. It delivered $7.09 million, a drop of only 20% on its opening weekend, giving a 12-day cumulative of $26.2 million, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

A Scots farmer has told of the disgusting moment tourists purposely left a trail of human waste after being told they can't camp on his land. Finlay Bichan, 30, who runs a family farm on Orkney, was left shocked after politely telling occupants of a campervan, which had parked on a one-track farm road, that they couldn't stay the night.

Jisoo and Ahn Bo-hyun are dating!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Upcoming female-led mystery-thriller series “Mask Girl” sees an unassuming office worker secretly rise the heights as a popular, masked online model and, in a downward spiral, become Prisoner #1047. Seemingly repentant, she secretly plots her escape. The Korean-produced show employs three different actors Ko Hyun-jang, Nana and a yet-to-be-revealed newcomer to represent the Kim Mo-mi character in her different evolutions.Netflix will Thursday drop a trailer and three separate posters intended to create intrigue as to Kim’s real nature, ahead of the series’ Aug.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief There is female empowerment in Korean cinemas, but it is coming more from local characters, than global hit “Barbie.” Female-led crime action film “Smugglers” dominated the weekend at the South Korean box office and pushed aside “Mission: impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” which had headed the chart for the previous two sessions. “Smugglers” earned $9.31 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), giving it a nearly 54% market share. Over its full five opening days, the film has built up a cumulative total of $13.1 million.

ODD EYE CIRCLE are coming full (odd eye) circle.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Margot Robbie, America Ferrara and director Greta Gerwig visited South Korea early on the promotional tour for ‘Barbie’ (without Ryan Gosling). But their charm failed to translate into strong box office performance in the country and the film opened anonymously in fourth place over the weekend. “Barbie” earned just $1.19 million between Friday and Sunday and $1.91 million over its opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Worth just 8% of the nationwide weekend total, “Barbie’s” scores were barely better than fellow new release title “Insidious: the Red Door.” That earned $1.17 million between Friday and Sunday and $1.90 million over five days.

Yang Hyun-jun has signed for Celtic on a five-year deal from Gangwon FC.