North Korea Showbiz Latest News and Updates

TWICE singer Nayeon has unveiled a huge line-up of collaborations for her upcoming mini-album.On May 17 at Midnight KST, the K-pop idol dropped a “Collab Artist Reveal” video on YouTube. The clip features Nayeon logging into a virtual meeting, with each producer and artist revealing themselves as they join the call.Per the album’s official tracklist released on X, KISS OF LIFE rapper and vocalist Julie will appear on the song ‘Magic’, while singer-songwriter Sam Kim and AKMU’s Lee Chan-hyuk will feature on ‘Heaven’ and ‘HalliGalli’ respectively.

K-pop boyband SEVENTEEN’s performance unit have released a music video for their new song ‘Spell’.Back in April, SEVENTEEN dropped their first compilation album ‘17 Is Right Here’ led by the single ‘Maestro’. In addition to the new single, the record includes brand-new tracks by the group’s performance, hip-hop and vocal units.

K-pop girl group 2NE1 have celebrated their 15th anniversary together.On May 17 at midnight KST, former 2NE1 members CL, Sandara Park, Park Bom and Minzy took to Instagram to share a series of photos from a recent shoot to commemorate their 15th anniversary. The quartet shared their love and gratitude for their fans (called Blackjack) while leader CL penned messages in Korean and English.“Today on May 17 as we celebrate our 15th birthday, we wanted to thank all of those who have loved, supported, laughed and cried with us all this time, so we’re standing in front of the camera together for the first time in a long while,” she wrote in Korean.CL then added in English: “2NE1 has always been my house that made me feel the freedom to love, to play, to express, to create, to shine, to mix, to connect and share with people.

Peggy Gou has released her playful new track ‘Lobster Telephone’ – listen to it down below.The South Korean DJ has shared the new single ahead of her upcoming debut record, ‘I Hear You’. The album will drop June 7 via XL Recordings – pre-order it here.‘Lobster Telephone’, whose name is taken from the famous Salvador Dalí artwork of the same name, sees Gou singing in Korean: “I know you don’t understand this / But it doesn’t matter / It’s all the same / We’re all the same.”Take a listen to the track below:Previously, Gou has said “‘I Hear You’ is more than just my debut album. It embodies countless hours of dedication in my journey to create something timeless, and is a testament to the power of listening, to ourselves and to each other.”In anticipation of the record, Gou has also shared tracks like the Lenny Kravitz-featuring ‘I Believe In Love Again’ and ‘1+1=11’ in the past.

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae has reportedly shared when we can expect season two of the hit Korean drama.The series, which aired on Netflix in 2021 was hugely popular, becoming the platform’s most-watched series within its first 28 days of being uploaded. It has gained more than 265million views since its release, and received 14 Emmy nominations, with Lee winning the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.The highly-anticipated second season began production in July last year, with a teaser trailer having been released by Netflix in February.Now, Lee has given an update on when we can expect the series, as he told Business Insider via an interpreter that it “will be released in December”.

Katcy Stephan Director James McTeigue has signed with Gersh for representation in all areas. McTeigue is the filmmaker behind several major features and series, including his 2005 directorial feature debut “V for Vendetta,” the cult favorite dystopian comic book adaptation starring Natalie Portman, John Hurt and Hugo Weaving.

, and you’ll see why they’re all over your TikTok FYP. Brands like Aestura and IOPE didn’t always take up so much real estate on my bathroom counter, but that changed when I got the ultimate introductory course to K-beauty in 2015.

Jazz For Two is one of the big Korean dramas of the year, and we want Just Jared readers to get to know the cast even better!

HYBE has become the first entertainment company added to South Korea’s conglomerate watchlist.According to reports by South Korean media, HYBE is one of seven business groups that have been added to the watchlist of the East Asian country’s antitrust regulator, the Fair Trade Commission, per The Korea Times. The list currently includes 88 conglomerates in total, with HYBE being the only entertainment company.“The increase in the number of companies on this year’s watchlist came as entertainment, leisure and tourism industries, among others, have grown markedly thanks to the rising popularity of Korean culture and recovering consumer sentiment after the COVID-19 pandemic,” the regulator said.According to The Chosun Daily, conglomerates with assets of 5trillion won or more are classified as “large corporations” and are required to publicly disclose details about interaffiliate transactions, their ownership structure and more.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Los Angeles- and Bangkok-based sales firm EST N8 has bulked up its Cannes Market film sales slate with a trio of completed Asian titles. “Mash Ville” stars Jeon Sin-hwan (“The Housemaid,” “Time Renegades”) and Park Jong-hwan (“Concrete Utopia,” “Hell Is Other People”) and weaves together the lives of pseudo-religious believers and eight strangers in a rural area. When their paths cross they must fight for survival.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Asian audiences are increasingly turning to homegrown content in their streaming choices. Asian titles powering 80% of premium VOD engagement and customer acquisition, according to new research from research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia. “The Rise of Asian Content” is based on passive tracking of 40,000 users by sister company AMPD in nine major Asian markets – Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand – over 15 months between Jan.

Dahyun is continuing to venture into acting!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” opened in second place at the South Korean weekend box office, a distance behind local holdover title “The Roundup: Punishment.” “Punishment,” the fourth part of Don Lee’s “Roundup” action franchise, dominated proceedings for the third weekend in succession. It earned $5.53 million and advanced its cumulative total to $67.7 million, according to Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Squid Game — The Challenge has won the Reality category at the BAFTA TV Awards.

Korean media conglomerate CJ ENM announced that it will co-produce films and television series with Japanese broadcaster Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) for the next three years.

EXCLUSIVE: Actor-director Chris Soriano has announced that production for The Master Chief: Subic Bay will commence in August, with top Filipino actress Heart Evangelista set to appear in the film.

‘No travel’ warnings have been issued by the UK Foreign Office for 24 countries, which effectively means they are off-limits to UK travellers. On the list are some expected destinations as well as countries which may come as a surprise.

EXCLUSIVE: Chinese streaming giant iQIYI is involved in a legal row after featuring Korean masterpiece Oldboy in its library for at least six years without a proper license.

SEVENTEEN‘s hip-hop unit have unveiled the music video for their new song ‘LALALI’.In April, the K-pop boyband dropped their first compilation album ‘17 Is Right Here’ and its title track ‘Maestro’. The group’s hip-hop unit – formed by members S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu and Vernon – have now released a music video for album cute ‘LALALI’.The visual opens with a cleaner entering a bedroom where the group slept, only to find that they have burst through the wall and left.

NCT member Mark has teased his new single ‘200’ and an upcoming solo albumToday (May 10), NCT’s Mark released an acoustic performance clip of his upcoming single ‘200’, which will be released inn full on May 16 at 6pm KST. The song will be will be accompanied by the B-side ‘200 (Minhyung’s version)’, with Minhyung being the rapper’s Korean name.Additionally, SM Entertainment has announced that the Korean-Canadian idol is preparing to release his first solo album sometime in February 2025.

For the last fortnight, I've been slathering 'snail slime' onto my face - a sentence I never thought I'd utter, let alone pen down. But, I can happily declare it's one of the best things I've ever done for my complexion. While snail mucin has been a part of the beauty industry for some time now, it still ranks among the top skincare trends online.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean sales firm Finecut has inked multiple deals for horror thriller “Noise” and for “A Traveler’s Needs,” the recent Berlin prize-winner directed by Hong Sangsoo.“Noise” is a “multi-sensory and realistic horror” film that intertwines societal motifs of “floor noise” with suspenseful elements. Directed by Kim Soo-jin, the film centers around a woman with a hearing aid haunted by inexplicable sounds linked to her sister’s disappearance in her own apartment and attracting a malevolent presence.

Yoo Yeon Seok and Chae Soo Bin are starring in a new Korean drama!

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem embarked this week on one of the more tumultuous book tours in recent memory, as she was peppered with questions about an anecdote about killing her dog Cricket, and another story about meeting North Korean leader Kim Jung Un. Major doubts were raised that the latter story was true.

Disney+ series Movingand historical action film 12:12: The Day took home the top prizes at the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards, one of Korea‘s most prestigious entertainment award ceremonies.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Jeonju International Film Festival, South Korea’s second most important generalist film festival, on Tuesday announced “The Major Tones” and “Time to Be Strong” as the Grand Prix winners of its two competition sections. The festival continues until Friday. Directed by Argentina’s Ingrid Pokropek, “The Major Tones” is a mystery film about a youngster with a metal plate in her arm which begins to receive peculiar messages in Morse Code. It premiered at the Mar del Plata festival and also played in Berlin’s Generation KPlus section.

Netflix has dropped a new trailer for its upcoming K-drama series Dare To Love Me, starring Kim Myung-soo and Lee Yoo-young. Read on for details about the plot, cast, premiere date and more.Based on the popular Korean webcomic series Hamburo Dahaejwo by Sunwoo, Dare To Love Me is a romantic comedy that centres around Kim Hong-do, a contract worker for an apparel company.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent New Dubai-based distribution and production studio The Plot Pictures is headed for the Cannes Marche du Film after snapping up Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) rights to a slew of indie titles across different genres. They include “Locust,” a first feature film from Taiwanese American multidisciplinary artist Keff that is playing in Critics Week, and Nick Hamm’s epic “William Tell.” The Plot Pictures CEO Pratixa Shah and head of sales Ozge Conduroglu – who was previously with Starz Play Arabia – are assembling a slate spanning “different genres, regions, and languages,” as Shah put it in statement.

Taeyeon of Girls’ Generation, boyband NCT 127, Red Velvet‘s Irene and more are expected to release new music in the third quarter of 2024, according to SM Entertainment.Today (May 8), SM Entertainment released its Earnings Release report for the first quarter of 2024, where the K-pop agency previewed its line-up of music releases for the third quarter of 2024. It details a slew of planned album, mini-album and single releases from several SM artists for the period.Two artists – Taeyeon of Girls’ Generation and boyband NCT 127 – are expected to release full-length albums during the upcoming quarter.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The video-on-demand streaming sector in Southeast Asia delivered record subscription numbers and subscription revenues in the first quarter of the year, according to a new study. Those trends represent recovery after a tough 2023. Data from consultancy firm Media Partners Asia and its AMPD research affiliate showed VOD usage at a barely changed 96.3 minutes in the five Southeast Asian countries studied (Singapore, Thailand, The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia). Total paying subscriptions reached 48.5 million, representing net additions of 652,000 quarter-on-quarter and 1.6 million year-on-year.