South Korean theme park announces collaboration with SM Entertainment on artist-themed attractions

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic In what plays like Singapore’s answer to “About Schmidt,” never-too-late-to-live dramedy “Ajoomma” follows a widowed housewife as she steps out of her comfort zone by making a solo trip to South Korea. This upbeat debut from director He Shuming — whose title is the Korean equivalent of all-purpose Asian term of respect “Auntie” — offers longtime TV actor Hong Huifang (“Housewives’ Holiday”) a chance to shine in the title role, which has already netted her a Golden Horse Award nom. Selected to rep Singapore at the Oscars, affable “Ajoomma” is more of a dark horse in that race, albeit one with art-house sleeper potential. Mrs. Lim’s life is light on excitement. What it lacks in drama, she fills by binging on Korean soap operas — a not at all uncommon obsession among Asian women (and a growing number of Americans, thanks to services like Kocowa and Viki). “Auntie,” as most of the other characters call Hong’s character, fusses a bit too much over her only son, who long ago agreed to accompany her on a special tour of Seoul. Now, mere days before they’re to depart, he backs out for a job interview in New York — one that would put some much-needed distance between the closeted young man and his overly suffocating mom.

EXCLUSIVE: Gang Dong-Won, the South Korean actor whose credits include the Train to Busan sequel Peninsula and most recently the Hirokazu Kore-eda-directed Broker, which premiered in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has signed with Range Media Partners.

The door for members of BTS to put their music careers on pause to serve in South Korea’s mandatory military draft is still very much open. In comments flagged by the Associated Press, Lee Ki Sik, commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, said on Friday that it would be “desirable” for BTS members to take part in the draft in order to preserve the appearance of fairness. The government of South Korea appears close to deciding on whether or not the members of one of the biggest pop groups in the world will be forced to serve in the military.

HYBE Labels, home to acts like BTS and SEVENTEEN, has reportedly acquired Supertone, a Korea-based AI voice company.South Korean news outlet Pulse reported on September 27 that the entertainment giant had acquired the startup for approximately ₩45billion (roughly £28.3million), following an investment it made last year when it acquired an 18 per cent stake in Supertone.Valued at about ₩22billion (roughly £13.8 million), Supertone is known for its “adversarially trained end-to-end Korean singing voice synthesis” technology founded in 2020. Dubbed commercially as the ‘singing voice synthesis’ (SVS), Supertone’s AI technology first gained traction when it was featured on a local television programme last year, for mimicking the voice of the late Korean musician Kim Kwang-seok on the Kim Bum-soo classic ‘I Miss You’.According to Pulse, several unidentified sources claimed that HYBE made the decision to acquire Supertone in order to synergise its own artist intellectual property with Supertone’s technology for future endeavours in content production.

BTS‘ exemption from military service by December.The announcement was made during tourism minister Park Bo-kyun’s attendance of the South Korean National Assembly’s parliamentary inspection of the administration yesterday (October 5), per Ten Asia. Park shared a timeline for the decision after People Power Party member Lee Yong-ho requested for him to “actively review the issue of BTS’s military service”, as translated by Soompi.“Member Jin’s enlistment is set to be sorted out by December, but the MCST will finalise our stance as soon as possible before then,” Park said in response.

North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Thursday morning local time, just two days after Pyongyang sent an intermediate-range ballistic missile flying over Japan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.  About 40 missiles have been launched by North Korea this year, including six in the past two weeks, but Tuesday's test marked the first time in five years that the country has sent a missile over Japan.  The U.S. and South Korea staged joint drills on Wednesday in response, with the USS Ronald Reagan moving into waters east of South Korea.

Netflix has shared the first look at its upcoming K-drama, The Fabulous, starring SHINee’s Minho.The much-anticipated first glimpse at the new series was shared by Netflix on October 5, and features snippets pulled from The Fabulous encompassing the fast-paced, glamorous world of South Korea’s illustrious fashion scene. Freelance photo editor Ji Woo-min (played by SHINee’s Minho) is at the heart of its schemes, crossing paths and eventually developing a romance with PR manager Pyo Ji-eun (Rookie Cops’ Chae Soo-bin).It also features cameo appearances from several top South Korean models, most notably including Choi So-ra, best known as the winner of the third cycle of Korea’s Next Top Model. Slated to make its global premiere on the streaming platform on November 4, The Fabulous, set against the backdrop of Seoul’s fashion industry and will depict the stories of young men and women as they navigate their work, personal lives, friendships and romances, along with their struggles to stay afloat in a fast-changing and competitive fashion landscape.Other cast members previously announced to be joining Minho and Chae on The Fabulous include Kim Min-kyu, a past Produce X 101 contestant, as well as Byun Jun-seo (Woori The Virgin), Lee Mi-do (Kiss Sixth Sense, House Of Lies), Kwon Hae-sung (Cafe Minamdang, The Devil Judge) and rookie actress Ye Seon-ho, among others.The first official details of the upcoming romance series first surfaced as early as September 2021.

BTS from compulsory military service.On October 4 at the National Defence Committee’s interpellation session, Lee was asked for his opinion on a bill proposed by Kim Young-bae of the Democratic Party of Korea last month, which aims to allow pop celebrities like BTS, who have received merits from the government, to serve an alternative form of military service.According to KoreaJoongAngDaily, the defence minister stated that it is “desirable that members of BTS carry out their mandatory military service”. However, Lee also added that he would “respect the revised law if it does pass in Congress”.This follows the statement he made shortly after Kim’s bill was proposed, in which Lee said it would be “difficult” to extend this alternative [military service] programme to BTS due to “aspects of fairness on fulfilling mandatory military service”.In his original proposal, Kim suggested for existing provisions for athletes, actors, directors and classical musicians who have made a significant international impact be made available to decorated pop musicians such as BTS.

After two years of holding in-person but stripped down editions of the festival, South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, October 5-14) is back in full force this year with a packed line-up of screenings, red carpets, parties, awards and industry events.

Silent Hill game has been rated by South Korea’s Game Rating and Administration Committee, titled Silent Hill: The Short Message.The game was rated by the committee on Monday (September 26), listed under publisher UNIANA. As Gematsu reports, the company regularly publishes Konami games in South Korea.A number of Silent Hill projects are reportedly in development at various studios, including Bloober Team (The Medium, Layers Of Fear) who partnered with Konami last year to jointly develop “selected contents”.

Lookism.On September 25, the streaming platform premiered the trailer on its YouTube channel, at the same time revealing that Lookism will begin streaming on November 4.The trailer follows an overweight high school student named Park Hyeong-seok, who is frequently bullied and harassed by his peers who consider him unattractive. One day, Hyeong-seok wakes up and discovers that he has received a new, conventionally attractive body, which he can use while his original body is asleep.With his days spent split between the two different bodies, Hyeong-seok begins to realise just how differently the world treats him based on his physical appearance.The trailer is soundtracked by a snippet of an original song performed by K-pop boyband ATEEZ.

The Korea Times. “We are preparing a lot as it will be her first meeting with overseas fans.”Prior to this, Park held her first fan meeting in South Korea earlier this month.

Wonho has announced his sophomore single album ‘Bittersweet’, due out next month.The K-pop idol took to social media on September 21 to announce his impending return with new music through a teaser image containing the album’s title and release window of October. In the caption, it was announced the ‘Bittersweet’ will be Wonho’s second single album so far, as a follow-up to February’s ‘Obsession’ single album.

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.Korea JoongAng Daily reported on September 21 that Defence Minister Lee has since responded to the proposal, saying that it would be “difficult” to extend this alternative [military service] programme to BTS due to “aspects of fairness on fulfilling mandatory military service” during an interpellation at the National Assembly held on September 19.Kim Young-bae’s original 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 also added that BTS’ recent appointment as ambassadors of Busan City is one way the boyband are actively serving South Korea’s national interests.

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.

Conan Gray recently journeyed through K-pop agency SM Entertainment’s building with a tour led by SHINee’s Key.In a new video released on SHINee’s official YouTube channel, Gray paid a visit to the K-pop agency’s headquarters while he was in South Korea for the Haus of Wonder Festival last month. The ‘Maniac’ singer met up with SHINee member and soloist Key, who led him on a tour of SM Entertainment’s building.“I’ve heard about [SM] obviously, so many of the greats have been created here,” said Gray, who shared that it was also his first time in South Korea.“Please do sign a contract with our company,” said Key, gifting the singer with a key pass to the building before commencing their tour.

BLACKPINK’s latest album.In a recent story by Variety, several songwriters whose work featured on BLACKPINK’s sophomore studio album ‘Born Pink’ discussed the stories behind their contributions to the record.Among them are singer-songwriter and longtime collaborator Bekuh Boom — known for co-writing the act’s debut singles ‘Boombayah’ and ‘Whistle’ — who penned the track ‘Typa Girl’ from the new record.“It’s a song to empower women,” said Boom of the B-side, adding: “When I hear it, I feel like the shit — and I want other women to hear it and feel that way too.” The songwriter went on to reveal that she had written the demo for ‘Typa Girl’ in 2021, and that she had originally “thought Lisa might use it for her next solo single.”“But I’m super happy that it’s […] on the album,” she said. “It’s a blessing to always get asked back.

EXCLUSIVE: The prevalence of Korean projects heading to the U.S. continues.

Netflix’s series, Narco-Saints, which is set in Suriname.In a statement issued on Tuesday (September 13), the Korean embassy in Venezuela – which also oversees relations with Suriname – advised Koreans residing in the South American country to pay attention to their safety.“We are assuming that many Korean residents in Suriname are very troubled due to the aftermath of Suriname [the title Narco-Saints is marketed as in Korean promotional materials],” the embassy’s statement reads, per Korea JoongAng Daily.“Please pay attention to your safety, and if there are any concerns or need for help, please notify us through the local president of the Korean community immediately,” the statement adds. “The embassy has the safety of Koreans as our first concern and will do our best for your security.”This statement comes a day after reports that the Suriname government is considering plans to pursue legal action against the producers of Narco-Saints and to lodge a diplomatic protest with the South Korean government over Suriname’s portrayal in the Netflix series.Narco-Saints follows an ordinary entrepreneur who joins a group of undercover secret agents working to capture a Korean drug lord operating in Suriname.

Korean director Park Chan-wook is back with a new thriller “Decision To Leave”, and ET Canada has your exclusive first look at the trailer.