South Korea considers conducting survey on BTS members' military duty exemptions

the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II—which was organized and approved by herself —two thousand people were invited to Westminster Abbey. Among the guests were 500 heads of state and foreign dignitaries, such as United States President Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Liz Truss, newly appointed British Prime Minister; Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and many more.As reported by our sister magazine ¡Hola! members of 22 royal houses attended the ceremony.

With time rapidly running out to make a decision on the question of whether or not the members of BTS should do their military service, a member of the main opposition party in South Korea has proposed a bill that would allow them to serve the country in alternative ways.If passed, the proposed bill, put forward by politician Kim Young-bae, would allow the pop stars to carry out activities in the national interest other than actually serving in the military. This would seemingly include the work they are already undertaking as ambassadors for South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo.Under South Korean law, all able-bodied men must begin serving around two years in the military at some point between the ages of eighteen and 28.

BTS’ Order of Cultural Merit awarded by former president Moon Jae-In in 2018 — should be allowed to serve an alternative form of military service.Kim’s proposal suggests that existing provisions in place for athletes, actors, directors and classical musicians who have made a significant international impact should be expanded to include decorated pop celebrities.“Korean pop celebrities active in the international field make unimaginable economic and social contributions,” said Kim, per The Korea Times.He added that BTS’ recent appointment as ambassadors of Busan City is one way the boyband are actively serving South Korea’s national interests.

Crush has revealed that his upcoming single will feature BTS rapper J-hope.Earlier today (September 19), the 30-year-old singer shared the first music video teaser for his new digital single ‘Rush Hour’ featuring J-hope. The clip is soundtracked by a groovy hip-hop instrumental while time flows in reverse around Crush.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief For the second weekend running, comedy action film “Confidential Assignment 2: International” held top spot at the South Korean box office. And it did so with a massive 75% share of the market. But as the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday retreated into the rear-view mirror numbers, both for the sequel film and the nationwide box office, came crashing down. “Confidential Assignment 2” earned $6.89 million over the latest Friday to Sunday period, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). That figure was down 57% compared with its opening salvo of $21.0 million a week earlier.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Following the world premiere of “My Neighbor Adolf” on the Piazza Grande in Locarno, Beta Cinema has sold the dark comedy to Vendetta Films, which will bring the Udo Kier and David Hayman starrer to cinemas across Australia and New Zealand in the first quarter of next year.  Prior to Locarno, Beta Cinema sold the film to Hungary (Cinetel) and Switzerland (Praesens Film), while deals for North America (Cohen Media Group), U.K. and Ireland (Signature Entertainment), Italy (I Wonder), South Korea (Lumix Media) and Japan (Tohokushinsha Film) had been revealed before. The film is set in Colombia in 1960, just a few days after the Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann was caught by Mossad agents in Argentina. Polsky, played by Hayman, is a lonely and grumpy old man, living in the remote Colombian countryside. He is a survivor of the Holocaust. He spends his days playing chess and tending his beloved rosebushes. One day, a mysterious old German man – played by Kier – moves in next door, and Polsky suspects that his new neighbor is… Adolf Hitler. Since nobody believes him, he embarks on a mission to uncover the evidence. In order to gather it, however, he will need to come closer to his neighbor than he would like – so close that the two could almost become friends.

Disney+ Day, the streaming service has announced that BTS’ Permission to Dance on Stage: LA is now available to stream exclusively on the platform.Permission to Dance on Stage: LA is a concert film recorded during the septet’s four-day residency at the SoFi Stadium on November 27 and 28, and December 1 and 2, 2021—a show that went on to become the biggest single venue concert engagement by any act in almost a decade, after selling 214,000 tickets and grossing US$33.3million (£25million).The film, shot in cinematic 4K, features performances from their first in-person concerts after two years, after live events were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.BTS are set to hold a free live performance in Busan next month, in support of the South Korean city’s bid to host the forthcoming 2030 World Expo. The concert, titled ‘Yet to Come in Busan’, will be held at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium on October 15, 6PM KST.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo has shared that it has received multiple offers for remakes from various countries, including the US and Japan.South Korean news outlet Yonhap News Agency reported on September 6 that Astory, the production company behind the hit Netflix series Extraordinary Attorney Woo, had received proposals for remakes of the series from multiple countries, such as the US, Japan, Turkey and Germany. The offers were made during the 2022 Broadcast Worldwide convention, a broadcasting content market held in Seoul last week.Per Yonhap News Agency, Astory is currently in the midst of sorting out the details of local adaptations of the 16-episode series, sharing that it established a requirement of maintaining these individual adaptations to retain the show’s core themes. These include main character Woo Young-woo’s “warm heart towards the underprivileged and the significance of the whale”.“I think the favourable and hopeful message in [Extraordinary Attorney Woo] will resonate with people all around the world,” Astory CEO Lee Sang-baek said.

A surprise for BTS fans on Disney+ Day. At 12 AM Thursday, Disney+ began streaming the concert film BTS Permission To Dance On Stage – LA worldwide as part of Disney+ Day.

Little Women is already a big hit.

BTS’ potential military exemption.South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence has followed-up on minister Lee Jong-sup’s previous comments regarding a potential public poll on BTS’ military exemption, announcing that it will not be going forward with the poll.During an August 31 parliamentary hearing, defence minister Lee Jong-sup told lawmakers of plans to implement a national survey to gauge public opinions on exempting the boyband from mandatory military service. The ministry later clarified that officials were only examining the need of such a survey at the time.As of September 1 however, it confirmed that it will not be conducting a poll on BTS’ enlistment.“The Ministry of National Defence will not arrange a public poll on the matter, nor making decisions on the issue of BTS’ military service solely based on the result of the poll,” it shared through an official statement, as reported by SBS News.All able-bodied male citizens of South Korea are to enlist in the military by the age of 28, serving at least 18 months of mandatory service under the current law.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief South Korea’s cinema box office slipped to its lowest level since mid-May as local film “6/45” took the top spot with just $3.06 million over the weekend in its second week of release. Comedy “6/45” was released a week earlier and scored $2.74 million in its opening weekend, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). The latest weekend, then, represents an 11% improvement for the title. It increased its share of the market to 45% during the latest weekend and advanced its cumulative total to $8.36 million. Depressed by a lack of significant new releases, the nationwide box office over the Friday to Sunday period, however, dropped to $6.75 million. This was the lowest scoring weekend since the first half of May.

As the debate in South Korea over whether or not BTS should serve military service continues to drag on, the latest idea is to put the matter to the South Korean public, as the country’s government has failed to reach a conclusion.Yeah, that’s right, a referendum on the future of a pop group. Why can’t we have votes like that, instead of bloody Brexit? Actually, this is more a survey to gauge public opinion than a full on referendum.

Jeff Benjamin With new headlines dropping daily about the global expansion of K-pop, overseas investors now have a chance to cash in. Today, Sept. 1, a K-pop and Korean-entertainment ETF — under the ticker name KPOP — launched on the NYSE Arca Exchange through South Korean IP investment company Contents Technologies. With top pop-culture players on board, KPOP marks the first time investors in the U.S. and Europe can access the companies most directly involved in the expanding K-pop music scene. Of the 30 corporations in the exchange-traded fund, the major holding companies of KPOP include several of the scene’s most internationally influential names, all publicly listed on the local Korea Composite Stock Price Index. 

BTS exemptions from mandatory military service.Debates over the necessity of BTS’ fulfilment of local military conscription requirements have long been a point of public contention, which have recently intensified as the boyband’s oldest member, Jin, is due to turn 30 this December. The law calls for all male Korean citizens – no older than age 30 – to enlist in the military for mandatory service.On August 31, The Korea Times reported that South Korea’s defence minister Lee Jong-sup told lawmakers that he has ordered officials to implement a survey to gauge the public’s opinions on BTS’ enlistment.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Intra-Korean espionage actioner “Hunt” claimed a third weekend as the top film at the South Korea box office, while “Bullet Train” managed only a fourth-place opening. “Hunt,” directed by and starring “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, earned a lowly $2.91 million in its third weekend of release. The figure was a 48% weekend-on-weekend decline and saw the film’s market share decline to 33%, down from 47% the previous weekend. “Hunt” now has a cumulative of $28.7 million, making it the fifth-highest grossing film of the year to date and the third biggest Korean title.

Narco-Saints. Created by The Spy Gone North filmmaker Yoon Jong-bin, Narco-Saints stars Ha Jung-woo (Ashfall, Entourage) as protagonist Kang In-su, an modest entrepreneur who lands in Suriname for business and ends up getting framed by a Korean drug lord operating in the country and sent to prison.As he’s beginning to serve his sentence, In-su is roped into a secret mission by Choi Chang-ho (Squid Game’s Park Hae-soo), an agent of the Korean National Intelligence Service. Their goal is to eventually snare Jeon Yo-han (Hush’s Hwang Jung-min), the head of a notorious drug cartel and the one responsible for In-su’s imprisonment who is moonlighting as a pastor as a cover for his operations.The trailer begins with the conversation between Chang-ho and In-su as they discuss the details of the secret mission and what the latter needs to do for the NIS.

BTS rapper RM will be a featured guest on Balming Tiger’s new single ‘Sexy Nukim’, due out next week.The new collaboration was announced via BTS’ official Twitter page on August 24, which noted the single’s release date of September 1. The announcement also included a preview of ‘Sexy Nukim”s accompanying track art – an illustration of Balming Tiger’s eight members as colourful, animated characters set against a funky, psychedelic orange-themed backdrop.Other information about the new track, including a preview of ‘Sexy Nukim’ and whether an accompanying music video will be released, has yet to be shared.SEXY NUKIM (feat.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean pop icons BTS confirmed that they will play a free concert in Busan in support of the city’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. The ‘Yet To Come’ concert will be held at 6pm on Oct. 15, at the Busan Ilgwang special stage in Gijang-gun. The date is also one day after the end of the Busan International Film Festival. Organizer, Big Hit Music said the in-person concert is expected to be attended by 100,000 people. An in-person live broadcast LIVE PLAY will host approximately 10,000 people at Busan Port International Passenger Terminal Outdoor Parking Lot. The concert will also be livestreamed on Weverse, Zepeto, and Naver Now.

BTS will hold a free live performance in Busan later this year to support the South Korean city’s bid to host the forthcoming 2030 World Expo.The septet will be performing at the Busan Ilgwang Special stage for their ‘Yet to Come in Busan’ special concert on October 15, 6PM KST. A “live play” event, where fans can view the show in real-time through the big screen, will be hosted at the Busan Port International Passenger Terminal Outdoor Parking Lot at the same time.2030 부산세계박람회 유치 기원 콘서트 BTS <Yet To Come> in BUSAN 공연 개최#YetToComeInBUSAN #BTS #방탄소년단 pic.twitter.com/X6tXgVBqVw— BIGHIT MUSIC (@BIGHIT_MUSIC) August 24, 2022Tickets for both of these in-person events will be free of charge.