DAEJEON -- Singer G-Dragon, best known as a member of Big Bang and an icon of K-pop, explained how he looks to pioneering the new field of "Enter-Tech" -- combining entertainment and technology -- as he prepares for the future of K-pop with artificial intelligence, at a forum on the campus of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Speaking at Innovate Korea, jointly hosted by Herald Media Group, KAIST and the National Research Council of Science & Technology, Wedne

Culture June 7, 2024

NewJeans, a highly sought-after K-pop girl group in the current music scene, may be affected by the recent dispute between their label CEO Min Hee-jin of Ador and Hybe, the parent company of Ador. According to the Hanteo Chart, a local market tracker, NewJeans’ latest two-lead single album “How Sweet” released on May 24, sold 884,717 copies in the first week and 1.03 million in total as of June 5. The figures are nearly half that of the girl band’s second mini-album &ld

K-pop June 6, 2024

K-pop mogul Lee Soo-man, the SM Entertainment founder who left the company last year, may be returning to the K-pop scene. Lee’s environmental, social and corporate governance management consulting company, Blooming Grace, filed a trademark application for A20 Entertainment on May 3, according to Korean Intellectual Property Office records. The trademark for A20 Entertainment falls under the category including businesses for entertainment, video game devices, advertising and more. The trad

Culture June 6, 2024

K-pop singer G-Dragon of Big Bang was named a visiting professor of the department of mechanical engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), on Wednesday. The singer‘s appointment is aimed at expanding the global competitiveness of Korean culture by incorporating the latest science and technology developed at KAIST into K-content, according to KAIST. “I am honored to be a visiting professor at KAIST, a school that produces many scientific geniuses

Culture June 5, 2024

BTS member J-Hope, who is currently serving in the military, won the top prize in an Army presentation contest with his honest speech about his experience as a soldier. J-Hope, whose real name is Jung Ho-seok, participated in the competition held under the theme “2024 Strong Warrior, Army” at the War Memorial of Korea, Wednesday. About 170 soldiers and civilian workers attended the event that commemorates the month of patriots and veterans in Korea. J-Hope delivered a speech about

Culture June 5, 2024

K-pop powerhouses such as Hybe and SM Entertainment have recently shown increasing interest in the music market of the Middle East. Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk last week met with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss possible cooperation in K-pop ventures, upon his request. SM Entertainment, led by its founder and former chief producer Lee Soo-man, got its feet in the door early, signing a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture to

Culture June 4, 2024

The bandmates of BTS, the K-pop phenomenon under entertainment powerhouse Hybe, are emerging to save the day for the company embroiled in a bruising battle with a subsidiary. Jungkook, the youngest of the boy band, plans to release a new song for fans on June 7, while the group's eldest, Jin, is holding a fan meeting a day after his discharge from military service on June 12. Big Hit Entertainment, a subsidiary of Hybe and the label of BTS, said Monday that Jungkook will drop a new digita

K-pop June 3, 2024

Ador CEO Min Hee-jin said Friday that she was willing to settle the ongoing dispute and find common ground with Hybe, the parent company of Ador, for the interest of the label and its popular K-pop group NewJeans. “I hope we (Hybe and Min) meet halfway. We have (NewJeans’) Tokyo Dome concert coming up in June and a world tour next year. I don’t want all these opportunities to disappear on account of this issue,” Min said during a press conference in Seoul on Friday. &ldqu

Culture May 31, 2024

K-pop pioneer Lee Soo-man urged a speedy adoption of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology to strengthen the competitiveness of the cultural content business and maximize economic efficiency in the global music industry, Thursday. “I am a believer in AI chatbots. AI and chatbot technologies are changing how creators and consumers communicate at the speed of light. AI will help K-pop connect with its fans around the world. It’s a convergence of culture and technology tha

Culture May 30, 2024

The Seoul Central District Court, Thursday, upheld a preliminary injunction filed by Ador CEO Min Hee-jin against Hybe on May 7. Hybe, the parent company of Ador, is now not permitted to exercise its voting rights to dismiss Min during the company’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting scheduled for Friday. “The material evidence submitted to date does not sufficiently establish Hybe’s alleged grounds for (Min’s) dismissal,” the court ruled. “It is clear

K-pop May 30, 2024

Popular K-pop girl band NewJeans talked about their band life and fans in an exclusive interview with a British monthly magazine, The Face in the June edition published Wednesday. “It’s helped us learn a lot about each other and grow very close. To me, it feels like being on a school trip, but a very extended one, with a bunch of friends,” NewJeans member Hanni said of living together as a band. On the unwavering devotion of their fan base, another member Minji said, “We&

K-pop May 29, 2024

  Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk on Tuesday met with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in South Korea on a two-day state visit, to discuss possible cooperation in K-pop ventures. While the details of the discussion have not been disclosed, Bang has reportedly shared his ideas of expanding K-pop's presence in the UAE, particularly by holding the entertainment company’s “The City” project in the country. "The City" project is a citywide festiv

Culture May 29, 2024

Local universities are under fire for ticket scalping by students who sell tickets to K-pop concerts held as part of the school festivals to outsiders. Every May and June, universities around the country host a two-to-four-day campus festival for students and alumni, organizing events such as sports games, club performances and K-pop concerts. In recent years, schools have been competing to book bigger names to appear at their festivals to boost their reputation. It resulted in drawing not onl

K-pop May 29, 2024

K-pop singer G-Dragon of Big Bang will give a speech at the 2024 Innovate Korea forum, a science and technology festival jointly hosted by Herald Corporation, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the National Research Council of Science and Technology, at KAIST’s campus in Daejeon, June 3. G-Dragon will share his ideas and thoughts on the combination of K-pop and artificial intelligence during the panel discussion with KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung and Galaxy Co

Culture May 28, 2024

SM Entertainment girl group aespa broke its silence about Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s recent controversial remark targeting them, saying they were not taking it seriously. “We know about the issue and people around us have been telling us about it. But because we had our first full-length studio album coming up, we were so focused on preparing for the album only,” Karina, one of the aespa members, said during a press conference held in Seoul on Monday. Last month, Ador CEO M

K-pop May 27, 2024