SM Entertainment refutes reports that EXO’s Sehun and Chanyeol are signing with a different agency

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “The Boy and the Heron” supposedly the final feature film by Japanese animation maestro Miyazaki Hayao, placed on top of the south Korean box office for a second weekend. It held off challenges from a clutch of new releases, including “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” and “Talk to Me.” “The Boy and the Heron” collected $2.49 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Badland Hunters.Netflix has announced that it has greenlit production on its the upcoming film. Badland Hunters. The movie will be led by Eternals star Ma Dong-seok along with Lee Hee-jun, Lee Jun-young and Roh Jeong-eui.The film, which has been in talks since at least 2022, is reportedly set in the universe of disaster-thriller Concrete Utopia starring Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-joon and Park Bo-young, which was released earlier this year.According to Netflix, Ma stars in the post-apocalyptic film as Nam-san, a wasteland hunter in a decimated Seoul after a devastating earthquake.

BLACKPINK‘s Jisoo was reportedly paid up to US$80,000 per episode for her 2021 K-drama series, Snowdrop.From December 2021 to January 2022, BLACKPINK’s Jisoo starred in the JTBC K-drama series, Snowdrop, alongside Jung Hae-in. The series was the singer-actress’ first starring role in a TV show, following a number of guest appearances over the years.It’s been reported that the BLACKPINK member and co-star Jung were reportedly paid up to ₩110million (roughly US$81,000) per episode of the K-drama series, according to data obtained by SBS.The figure was part of an October 24 report that was presented by Lee Sang-heon, a member of South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party, who is also the chairman of the Cultural, Sports, and Tourism Committee.The report, submitted by the Korean Broadcasting Actors Union and the Performing Arts Rights Association of South Korea, was part of efforts to highlight the pay gap between lead and supporting actors in the entertainment industry.According to the report, Lee Sun-kyun was paid ₩200million (US$148,000) for an episode of the 2023 SBS series, Payback.

South Korean studio CJ ENM has entered into a MOU with Saudi Arabian content company Manga Productions to jointly co-produce and distribute content.

CUBE Entertainment has responded to reports of BtoB’s contract expirations in an official statement.Earlier today (November 1), South Korean media outletIlgan Sports reported that the contracts of five BtoB members had expired, alledging that the K-pop idols and CUBE Entertainment have yet to come to an agreement on a possible renewal.According to the report, BtoB are interested staying as group even if they leave CUBE Entertainment. Ilgan Sports also claims that several other labels have offered up to ₩6billion (approximately £3.64million) as a down payment to house the group if they decide to depart from their long-time agency.Shortly after reports of BtoB’s contract expiration surfaced, CUBE issued a brief statement to Xport News, saying that “the contract between CUBE Entertainment and some of the BtoB members has not yet concluded”, as translated by Koreaboo.“We plan on doing our best until the end of the contract,” CUBE Entertainment added.“We understand that the BtoB members are working through this situation with an open mindset, looking at various options.”In response to claims of third-party labels approaching BtoB, CUBE Entertainment said: “The amount mentioned in the article has nothing to do with our company’s position related to the matter.”BtoB debuted as a seven-member group in 2012, and have last renewed their contracts with CUBE Entertainment in 2018.

The London East Asia Film festival came to a close on Sunday night with the UK premiere of Concrete Utopia, Korea’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars. After the event’s Best Film award went to Iron Mask, by Kim Sung Hwan, artistic director Hyejung Jeon presented its Rising Star award to Concrete Utopia’s Pak Bo-young. Actress Park returned after the film for a Q&A with director, Um Tae-hwa, to discuss the film’s themes of survival, which suddenly seemed shockingly relevant after recent events in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza.

Ange Postecoglou admits his vibrant Tottenham Hotspur side took inspiration from Manchester United favourite Cristiano Ronaldo when opting to unleash Son Heung-min as a central striker.

V of K-pop boyband BTS has assured fans that he is “all good” after a recent stalking incident.Earlier today (October 27), South Korean news outlet KBS reported that a woman in her twenties had been arrested for allegedly violating the East Asian country’s anti-stalking act.According to the publication, the woman had reportedly waited for BTS’ V outside of the apartment building where he lives on October 26, before subsequently following the K-pop idol into the residence’s parking lot as he drove in.KBS also alleges that the woman later entered the same elevator V was taking, before attempting to speak with the singer and handing him a marriage certificate with her name on it.The woman was arrested on the morning of October 27, after police tracked her down using the information on the marriage certificate. The alleged perpetrator is also said to have a history of stalking V in the past.Big Hit Music, which represents BTS and V, has released a statement about the incident to TV Report.

Luminate, a provider of music and entertainment data, the Top 100 K-pop artists globally have racked up a total of 90.4billion streams across audio and video services so far this year.The figure is a 42.2 per cent increase as compared to the same period in 2022, with Japan having the high number of on-demand streams at 9.7billion, up from 8.6billion from the year prior.The US came in second with 9.2billion, a marked increase from 6.6billion in 2022. Rounding out the Top Five in terms of most on-demand streams are Indonesia (7.4billion), South Korea (7.3billion) and India (6.2billion).In its report, Luminate also broke down the regional composition of streams for a number of top K-pop groups.

BTS, (G)I-DLE and LE SSERAFIM, have denied any rumours of links to a recent spate of drug-related investigations in the Korean entertainment industry.In the past week, popular South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun and Big Bang member G-Dragon were booked on suspicion of drug use. The two cases are said to be unrelated to one another.Soon after the news broke, rumours that other high-profile K-pop stars were also being investigated for drug use started circulating online, according to SBS Star.Among them were LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Chaewon, (G)I-DLE’s Jeon Soyeon and K-pop boyband BTS.

G-Dragon has reportedly been booked for a drug-related violation.

FIFTY FIFTY‘s label Attrakt has terminated the contracts of group members Aran, Sio and Saena.K-pop agency Attrakt announced today (October 23) that it has decided to terminate its exclusive contracts with three of the K-pop act’s members: Aran, Sio and Saena. It comes amid a legal battle between the label and the K-pop idols over their contracts.In its statement, Attrakt said that it had informed the three K-pop idols on October 19 that their contracts with the label would be ending as the trio had “show[n] o sign of remorse for violating their contract”, per The Kpop Herald.According to South Korean news outlet Dispatch, Attrakt also accused the trio of having “slandered and defamed the agency, and to this day continue to distort facts and make false claims, repeating arguments that have been rejected by the court, without any remedy for the breach of contract”.FIFTY FIFTY shot to worldwide fame earlier this year due to the viral success of their single ‘Cupid’.

“Squid Game: The Challenge,” based on the hit South Korean drama, has gotten the green light — and the first trailer is officially here.At first glance, one thing is abundantly clear: “This is a savage game,” says one of the 456 players competing for the massive $4.56 cash prize, which is easily the largest prize in reality-TV history. And the tagline says it all: “Make friends.

MONSTA X singer Hyungwon has officially announced his upcoming enlistment into the South Korean military through a handwritten letter.Earlier today (October 20), the K-pop idol took to MONSTA X’s official fan cafe website with handwritten letter, where he announced his impending military enlistment, per Korean outlet Sports DongA. Under South Korean law, it is mandatory for all able-bodied male citizens to serve a term in the military of 18-21 months.“Hello Monbebe (MONSTA X’s official fanbase)! This feels like the strangest letter I’ve ever written,” Hyungwon wrote.

D.O., a member of K-pop boyband EXO, has left his long-time label SM Entertainment after 11 years.SM Entertainment confirmed that EXO member D.O. would be leaving the K-pop agency after the expiration of his currently contract in early-November.

Chinese director Ning Hao has flown directly from Busan film festival in South Korea to China’s Pingyao International Film Festival (PYIFF) with his latest film, The Movie Emperor, starring Andy Lau. 

Yeonjun of boyband Tomorrow X Together (TXT) has opened up about the realities of the current K-pop landscape.TXT member Yeonjun recently made an appearance on the online talk show Bam House, hosted by GOT7‘s BamBam. During his appearance on the programme, the K-pop idol opened up about the difficulties he and his group face as a boyband as compared to girl groups.During their conversation, BamBam spoke about how “it took quite a while for the K-pop generation to switch from the second generation to the third”, while pointing out that this wasn’t the case for newer generations of K-pop groups.“It definitely wasn’t like that from the third generation to the fourth.

(G)I-DLE singer Soojin is reportedly preparing to make her solo debut after signing with a new agency.On October 16, South Korean news outlet SpoTV News reported that ex-(G)I-DLE member Soojin is currently “quietly preparing to make a solo comeback”, as translated by Korea JoongAng Daily.This was followed by a separate report by News1, which claimed that Soojin had signed an exclusive contract with a newly founded K-pop agency called BRD Communications.The news outlet also alleged that the singer is preparing to release music later this month under her new label. At the time of publishing, neither the singer nor the agency have commented on the reports.Soojin first made her debut in 2018 as a member of (G)I-DLE under CUBE Entertainment.

Jesse Jo Stark has shared her heartfelt new single ‘Fallout’ ahead of her final debut headlining North American tour date.The melancholic track features confessional lyrics that are both deeply personal and universally relatable. “Don’t buy me a ring / the scariest thing about being all alone / clouds grow / I don’t know how not to have you around / the beautiful thing about the things that come out your mouth fallout / I don’t know how not to have you around,” Stark sings in the song.Directed by Christina Bryson, the accompanying video for ‘Fallout’ features footage of Stark on tour performing the track to her loving fans.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Neom, the Saudi Arabian region on the Red Sea that is aiming to become a major film and TV production hub, has forged a strategic partnership with the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) to set up training programs for young Saudi content creators. The full-service Saudi production hub, which is becoming a major driver of the kingdom’s effort to build a film and TV industry almost from scratch, will be hosting courses held by The Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA), South Korea‘s top national film school.