Big Hit Entertainment and Universal Music Group announced Thursday plans for a Los Angeles-based joint venture between UMG’s Geffen Records and Bit Hit Ent for the launch of a new global K-pop band in the US. The members of the new boy group will be chosen through a global audition that will air in the US in 2022. Big Hit Entertainment created K-pop group BTS while UMG is one of the biggest music companies in the world, with top artists such as Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Maroon 5. In th

Entertainment Feb. 18, 2021

Local over-the-top media services gathered at Yeouido, Seoul, Tuesday to express their anger at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s approval in December of an increase in the music copyright fee levied on local streaming services. Watcha, Tving and Wavve formed the OTT Music Copyright Committee in July after the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) attempted to increase the music copyright fee. KOMCA proposed to the Culture Ministry in July an increase in the copyright f

Performance Feb. 17, 2021

Winner Lee Seung-yoon, runner-up Jeong Hong-il and third-place contestant Lee Mu-jin of JTBC’s audition program “Sing Again” shared their thoughts on going from nameless singers to famous singers during an online press conference Tuesday. “Sing Again,” which aired its final episode Feb. 7, captured the audience by giving a second chance to 71 singers who had released albums in the past but never attained popularity. The producer’s strategy hit the mark: The s

Television Feb. 16, 2021

Actor Song Joong-ki is returning to the small screen as a lawyer and an Italian mafia consigliere in the tvN drama “Vincenzo” this Saturday. “Vincenzo” centers on the story of an antihero named Vincenzo Cassano, who fights against the villains of society with veteran lawyer Hong Cha-young, played by actress Jeon Yeo-been. Vincenzo takes on villains who have escaped the clutches of the law by being more evil than the criminals. “I don’t think I’m alone

Television Feb. 15, 2021

“Bohemian Rhapsody” reached the highest viewership share of all movies shown on TV during the Seollal holidays, but terrestrial broadcaster SBS faced criticism for deleting the film’s homosexual scenes. With gatherings restricted due to COVID-19, the broadcasters paid special attention to their movie selections to capture viewers stuck at home. SBS aired “Bohemian Rhapsody” at 8:40 p.m. on Saturday and it worked -- the movie drew 3.4 percent of viewers aged 20-49

Television Feb. 15, 2021

As the decade-old League of Legends Champions Korea matures, rookie players are replacing several veteran players this year with the introduction of the franchise system. The LCK teams have shown a preference for new, younger faces -- players with excellent mechanical skills to lead them for multiple years -- rather than experienced veterans who have only a few years left to play as their mechanical skills go downhill with age. Longtime veterans who represented the LCK such as Kuro, Smeb, Gori

More Sports Feb. 11, 2021

Local video streaming platform Wavve announced that it is providing 140 movies for free as compensation for network failures this year. Wavve, which has the highest number of users of all Korean OTTs, faced network problems on Jan. 27 that lasted over a week and prevented users from viewing much of its content. Another network failure on Jan. 29 led to adult content being shown for several seconds during the children‘s film “Pororo Movie,” further infuriating users. “W

Television Feb. 10, 2021

YG Entertainment and Universal Music Group have joined hands with Big Hit Entertainment and Kiswe to grow VenewLive into a global-scale digital livestreaming platform. YG Entertainment and Universal Music Group announced Wednesday that they had invested an undisclosed amount in KBYK Live, a joint venture founded last year by Big Hit Entertainment and Kiswe. KBYK Live created digital livestreaming concert service platform VenewLive last year, to much success, emphasizing the use of cutting-edge

K-pop Feb. 10, 2021

Lee Seung-yoon -- singer No. 30 on the JTBC audition program “Sing Again” -- was declared the winner on Monday, bringing the three-month-long competition to a close. “Sing Again,” which aired its first episode in November, captured the audience by giving a second chance to 71 singers who had released albums in the past but never attained popularity. The singers were called by their numbers instead of their names, piquing viewers’ curiosity. The six finalists -- Y

Television Feb. 9, 2021

While a stock investing artificial intelligence system was able to make steady profit compared to South Korea’s main bourse Kospi and Kosdaq, it still wasn’t enough to surpass legendary stock investor Mach Seven. With only two competitions remaining in SBS’ reality show “Battle of the Century: AI vs Human,” the most recent episode on Saturday showed the stock investing AI battling it out with the CEO of Tastock Han Bong-ho, better known by his nickname Mach Seven.

Television Feb. 8, 2021

The first Korean sci-fi blockbuster set in space, “Space Sweepers” reached the top of the Netflix movie chart on Saturday after its worldwide release Friday, showing the potential of Korean-made sci-fi flicks despite some shortcomings. Set in 2092, “Space Sweepers” by director Jo Sung-hee is about a space cleanup crew trying to sell a weapon of mass destruction: humanoid Dorothy. The movie, with a star-studded line up of Song Joong-ki and Kim Tae-ri, reached the top

Film Feb. 7, 2021

The Korea Creative Content Agency is making headway in helping small and medium-sized Korean game companies expand to the global market with its Game Global Service Platform Plus project. While previous years saw KOCCA assigning selected gaming companies with service companies to help them reach the global market, the agency reorganized the project last year to allow gaming companies to directly choose the service that they need from open market platform GSP Plus. Successful applicants are g

Culture Feb. 7, 2021

From social media account troubles to player misconduct, teams in League of Legends Champions Korea are under fire for their glaring lack of professionalism. The latest trouble involves the Twitter account of 2020 world champions DWG KIA. Fans noticed that DWG’s official Twitter account had liked a post with pornographic content, making the post appear on its news feed around 1 a.m. on Jan. 26. About an hour later, DWG issued an official statement saying its account had been hacked. Lat

More Sports Feb. 6, 2021

Park Hyatt Busan presents ‘Just 4 Fun’ The Park Hyatt Busan provides a comfortable and safe staycation for four guests with its new package Just 4 Fun, until the end of the year. The package includes a one-night stay in one of its family suites with extra beds. A complimentary breakfast at the hotel restaurant, welcome amenities including one bottle of red wine and fruit, and late checkout are among the benefits offered. The package starts at 490,000 won and is available until Dec

Food Feb. 5, 2021

Terrestrial broadcaster KBS has denied claims that it intentionally aired the aria “Song to the Moon” during one of its shows on President Moon Jae-in’s birthday to gain approval from the nation’s leader. On Tuesday, KBS’ music program “Open Concert” released an official statement in response to a controversy over soprano Kang Hye-jung’s performance of the “Song to the Moon” during the program which aired on Jan. 24. That date also h

Television Feb. 3, 2021