South Korea’s Webtoons Seek K-Wave Success

BLACKPINK have announced the title ‘Shut Down’ for their upcoming lead single lifted from forthcoming album ‘Born Pink’.The K-pop quartet made the announcement on September 7 at midnight KST via their social media channels, through a “title poster” showcasing the lead single’s title and ‘Born Pink”s release date and time of September 16 at 1pm KST / 12am EST.In a statement to South Korean outlet Yonhap News Agency published shortly after the announcement was made, YG Entertainment described ‘Shut Down’ as “a title that is intuitive and creates a strange tension”. “BLACKPINK will once again captivate music fans around the world with [their] unique charisma and girl-crush charm,” the statement read.#BLACKPINK ‘Shut Down’ Title Poster2nd Album ‘BORN PINK’✅2022.09.16 12AM (EST) & 1PM (KST) #블랙핑크 #2ndAlbum #BORNPINK #Title #ShutDown #20220916_12amEST #20220916_1pmKST #Release #YG pic.twitter.com/wZE8nAYtlN— BLACKPINKOFFICIAL (@BLACKPINK) September 6, 2022In anticipation of ‘Born Pink”s full release, BLACKPINK released a pre-release single titled ‘Pink Venom’ last month.

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.

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.

Officials in South Korea announced they are considering conducting a public survey to discern whether members of the K-pop band BTS should be exempt from the mandatory military service required of all men in the country. The oldest band member, Jin, will soon be forced to enlist, after he turns 30 in December, leading South Korean officials wondering how to move forward.

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.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Hunt,” the period political thriller directed by “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, held top spot at the South Korea box office for the second weekend. “Nope” was the highest opener, landing in third spot.“Hunt,” made $5.68 million over the weekend, down 35% compared with its opening score a week earlier.

Brad Pitt, who is in South Korea promoting  amid a 2016 FBI report in which Angelina Jolie accused him of assault. The 58-year-old actor on Thursday visited Seoul for the premiere of the action comedy film at Yongsan CGV. Pitt looked carefree as he sported a smile from ear to ear.

Brad Pitt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are back on the Bullet Train press tour!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe third decade of the millennium looks quite different for the Korean entertainment scene compared with just a few years earlier.In March 2020, “Parasite,” a Korean-made film noir made history by winning three Oscars, including best picture. The following year, Korean veteran Youn Yuh-jung took the Oscar for best supporting actress in “Minari,” while in 2022 “Squid Game” leading man Lee Jung-jae looks poised for Emmy accolades.K-pop has broken out to become a phenomenon that tops charts, fills global stadiums and airwaves, and the social media warriors of group BTS, who call themselves “ARMY” would even claim to have had a small influence at the last U.S.

Psy concert left the venue “severely damaged”.On August 15, KBS News reported that the floor of Jinnam Stadium in Yeosu City, Jeollanam-do had been left “severely damaged” after Psy’s August 6 show at the venue, which drew 28,000 concertgoers.According to the report, half of the stadium’s 600 square metres of elastic flooring had been “badly dented and torn off” following the concert. Jinnam Stadium is part of Yeosu City’s multi-purpose sports complex, which serves the city’s population and its visitors.Yeosu City has since demanded Psy’s concert organisers assist in restoring the venue, after its investigators determined the damage was caused by the use of a forklift to transport stage equipment.“In the event of damage to the facility, it is supposed to be restored to its original stage as a condition of [granting] the permit,” said Ahn Bo-hyeon, the city’s deputy director of its sports support division, told KBS News.

Decision To Leave has been selected to represent South Korea in the Best International Feature Film category for the upcoming Oscars.Deadline reported that the Korean Film Council announced its pick yesterday (August 11), sharing it took into consideration “workmanship and directing ability, the possibility of box office success in the North American market, and the promotion ability of overseas distributors”. As a result, the council agreed that Decision To Leave was “the most appropriate choice, and we expect the work to be well-received”.Starring South Korean actor Park Hae-il (The King’s Letters) and Chinese star Tang Wei (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), Decision To Leave is a slow-burn mystery romance about a police detective who gets dispatched to a scene of a man’s death.

Park Chan-wook’s crime drama Decision To Leave has been selected by South Korea to represent the country in the Best International Feature category at the 95th Academy Awards.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we’ll shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. who are shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re speaking with Korean super-agent Soyoung Lee, who represents some of the nation’s biggest stars and talked to us about her experiences of the Korean content boom.