BTS tease upcoming 10th anniversary celebration in Seoul

Police in Korea on Tuesday raided three major multiplex chains and the offices of three film distributors on suspicion of box office manipulation, according to multiple local media reports. News agency Yonhap, citing officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Police, said the six entities are alleged to have obstructed the business of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) by falsely counting audience numbers for some local films.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Seoul Metropolitan Police on Tuesday raided the offices of Korea’s three leading multiplex cinema operators and three film distributors. “The six entities are accused of obstructing the business of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) by falsely counting the audience numbers for Korean films,” a spokesman for the police is reported to have told Korean media, according to the semi-official Yonhap news agency. The raids were conducted by the force’s anti-corruption and public crime investigation team. Local media named the companies visited by the police on Tuesday as cinema chains CJ CGV, Megabox and Lotte Cinema, and distributors Showbox, Lotte Entertainment and Kidari.

BTS member J-hope has released a special rock version of his 2022 ‘Jack in The Box’ single, ‘Arson’.At midnight KST today (June 12), the K-pop idol unveiled a rock version of his song ‘Arson’. The original version of the song was one of two singles off his solo debut album ‘Jack in The Box’ last year.The new version of the track trades the original’s minimal instrumental for powerful guitar riffs and crashing drum beats.

Netflix this week announced six new Korean romance titles slated for the rest of 2023. They are: “See You in my 19th Life,” “King the Land,” “Behind Your Touch,” “Destined With You,” “A Time Called You,” and “Doona!” The titles were unveiled at an in-person event called “K-romance obsession” in Seoul. Guests were mostly K-drama influencers from around the Asia Pacific region and the event was decked out with reds, pinks and vast numbers of heart decorations. Guests were offered snack food that had been featured in earlier hit K-drama shows including “Crash Landing on You,” “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” “Business Proposal” and “Alchemy of Souls.”

SHINee are set to release a new single, ahead of their upcoming 8th studio album ‘Hard’.At 12am KST today (June 8), SHINee announced that they would be releasing a brand-new single titled ‘Hard’ this weekend. The boyband will first release a teaser for the song’s upcoming music video on June 9.A day later on Saturday (June 10), the boyband will unveil the music video for ‘The Feeling’.

Celine Song’s Past Lives from A24 is very much here and now, grossing $232k on four screens for over $58k per location, a nice number for Song’s debut film as the second-biggest limited opening of the year so far. A24 also had the highest in April with Beau Is Afraid at $80k per theater at four locations, testament to helmer Ari Aster’s devoted fan base.

NCT Dream have surprised fans with a teaser for their upcoming track ‘Broken Melodies’, out later this month.On June 3, the NCT sub-unit wrapped up the last of their ‘The Dream Show 2: In Your Dream’ encore concerts in Seoul, which was also live-streamed to fans globally. At the end of the show, the group announced that they had a special gift for fans, before unveiling the teaser for their upcoming song titled ‘Broken Melodies’.The teaser clip, which was later shared by fans in attendance on social media, features a short snippet of the song over a photo of NCT Dream.

Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen have filed antitrust complaints against longtime label and K-pop agency SM Entertainment.The trio’s attorney Lee Jae-hak, from the Seoul-based law firm Lin, announced in a statement today (June 5) that the three EXO members have lodged a complaint with South Korea’s antitrust regulator over SM Entertainment’s “unfair” contract terms, per Yonhap News Agency.“On behalf of my clients, I submitted a complaint to the Fair Trade Commission against SM Entertainment yesterday,” Lee said in a press release. He added that they are seeking the authorities’ intervention in “the company’s act of abusing its dominant position in business”.According to Yonhap, Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen’s complaint addresses issues such as the duration of SM Entertainment contracts, as compared to those from other K-pop agencies, and how the company establishes the starting point for exclusive contracts.The complaint by the three EXO members comes just days after Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen notified SM Entertainment through their lawyer Lee that they would be terminating their contracts with the agency, citing “mistreatment and unfair contract terms”.SM Entertainment later refuted claims made by the trio on various issues.

BTS are set to release a brand-new single called ‘Take Two’.BTS’ longtime label Big Hit Music, a subsidiary of K-pop entertainment giant HYBE, announced today (May 31) that the boyband are set to release a brand-new single titled ‘Take Two’ next month.In its announcement, Big Hit Music noted that all seven members of BTS had participated in the recording of ‘Take Two’. Notably, two members of the boyband – namely Jin and J-hope – are currently serving their mandatory military service.“The song conveys their appreciation toward ARMY for all the love you shower them with and their desire to always be together with you,” said Big Hit Entertainment.

ENHYPEN have announced their 2023 ‘Fate’ world tour, featuring shows in the US, Japan, South Korea and more.ENHYPEN are set to embark on a tour of Asia and the US this year, featuring 13 shows over three countries so far. The boyband’s ‘Fate’ world tour will kick off this July with a two-night concert in Seoul’s KSPO Dome.In September, ENHYPEN will play four shows in Japan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The inaugural edition of the Pattaya Film Festival will be held June 15-19 in the Thai seaside town that is usually better known for other forms of entertainment. The event is hosted by Pattaya City and Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Thai Film Archive, the latter of which doubles up as festival programmer. The event will feature over 20 film titles from around the world, including contemporary and classic films as well as a program for children. All films will be screened free of charge at SF Cinema Marina, Mahatai Pattaya Convention Center, and at the outdoor screen on the beach of North Pattaya.

K-pop boyband SHINee have shared plans for their upcoming concerts and music releases this year.On May 28, SHINee held the second night of their 15th anniversary fan meeting in Seoul, which was also streamed worldwide via Beyond LIVE. During the event, SHINee revealed that they plan to make several comebacks in 2023.Among those comebacks are a previously announced release coming up in June, which will be accompanied by a three-night concert.

aespa have released a music video for ‘‘Til We Meet Again’, from their third mini-album ‘MY WORLD’.aespa’s new music video for ‘‘Til We Meet Again’ features archival footage of the girl group performing the song during one their ‘SYNK: Hyper Line’ concerts. The clip also includes footage of the quartet in Sydney and behind-the-scenes footage from various music video shoots.“‘Til we meet, ’til we meet again / When you and I drеam together / It’s a nevеr-ending story / Please cherish it until we meet again,” aespa sing on the sentimental pop ballad.aespa first premiered ‘‘Til We Meet Again’ during the Seoul show of their ‘SYNK: Hyper Line’ tour in February, alongside ‘Salty & Sweet’, ‘Thirsty’ and ‘I’m Unhappy’.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief In late night proceedings on Wednesday, a Seoul court dismissed police requests for the formal arrest of prominent Korean actor Yoo Ah-in on drug charges. The star of “Burning,” “The Throne” and Netflix series “Hellbound,” appeared at the Seoul Central District Court on charges that he used five different drugs. Local media photos showed that Yoo’s hands were tied with what appeared to be a blue cloth or cord before and during his 90-minute daytime court appearance. Footage also showed that he was hit by a bottle of coffee thrown by a disgruntled fan, before Yoo was led away, unhurt, by bodyguards.

Hong Sangam is soo’s In Our Day, the closing night film at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight sidebar, has sold to Cinema Guild for North America.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has unveiled “King of Clones,” a sensational documentary film featuring unprecedented access to South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk, and set a June streaming date. From human cloning research to a scandalous downfall, the documentary tells the story of Korea’s most notorious scientist Hwang Woo-suk. Armed with a degree in veterinary science and a masters and doctorate in theriogenology, the study of animal reproduction, Hwang’s rise to prominence started with his successful cloning of cows and pigs. In 2002, Hwang embarked upon human cloning research and partnered with Moon Shin-yong, an obstetrician with expertise in in-vitro fertilization. Their collaboration led to a major announcement in 2004, claiming the successful cloning of human embryos, with the potential to cure some diseases. The announcement fueled a heated debate on bioethics, despite Hwang and Moon emphasizing that their work focused solely on therapeutic purposes and strongly opposing reproductive cloning.

Jessica Kiang Fogs, dogs and toxic smogs are just the headliner adversities hurled at the motley band of misfits determined to survive Kim Tae Gon’s “Project Silence,” by no means a classic in the Korean action-thriller pantheon, but a good enough stopgap for a rainy Sunday until the next one comes along. Set on a cataclysm-prone Seoul highway bridge with suspension cables, like those of our disbelief, destined at some point to snap, Kim’s screenplay — co-written with Park Joo Suk and Kim Hong Hwa — cleaves so close to disaster-movie formula it’s hard to believe it needed three human screenwriters to gin it up. Given that its most lunatic flourish is the addition of dozens of slavering government-engineered superdogs, maybe it was partially generated by algrrrithm. 

Seoul-based sales agent Finecut has sold Hong Sangsoo’s In Our Day to France’s Capricci, Spain’s L’Atalante Cinema and Ama Films for Greece. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “In Our Day,” the film by South Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo which closes the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes film festival, has seen distributors in multiple territories move early to strike rights deals. French rights were picked up by Capricci), Spanish rights by L’Atalante Cinema and Greek rights by Ama Films. The film has its official premiere on May 25. Seoul-based Finecut has long been the sales agent for Hong’s plentiful output. In addition to the deals on “In Our Day,” Finecut signed agreements with L’Atalante, with France’s Ariona Films and Taiwan’s Cola Films for “In Water,” Hong’s first film of 2023 which premiered in the Encounters section in Berlin in February. The film was previously sold to Cinema Guild for North America.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever has acquired the international rights of Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir’s debut feature “City of Wind.” The film is in post-production and will be ready for a world premiere in fall 2023. Purev-Ochir is known for several high-profile short films, including “Mountain Cat,” which was in Cannes Competition in 2020, and won best short in Busan in 2020, and “Snow in September,” which was awarded the Golden Lion for best short in Venice, and best short in Toronto last year. Ze is a timid 17-year-old shaman. He studies hard at school to succeed in the cold, callous society of modern Mongolia, while communing with his ancestral spirit to help those in his community. But when Ze encounters Maralaa, his senses are awakened and another reality seems possible.