North Korea Showbiz Latest News and Updates

EXCLUSIVE: The Hallyu march continues this week, as a major Korean content streaming service continues its global rollout.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Spooky Korean drama film “Exhuma” held on at the top of the local box off ice chart for the sixth consecutive weekend. It saw off challenges from significant newcomers “Troll Factory” and “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.” The Choi Min-sik-starring “Exhuma” dropped 32% week-on-week to record $3.08 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

EXCLUSIVE: Grey’s Anatomy star Alex Landi has joined the cast of the upcoming romantic dramedy Mr. Plankton for Netflix. This will mark his debut in a Korean series. 

Solo Leveling has become one of the breakout anime shows of the year.Based on the Korean web novel by Chugong, the series takes place in a realm of gifted hunters who battle deadly monsters to protect mankind. Sung Jinwoo, a notoriously weak hunter, is given extraordinary strength through a mysterious program, which kickstarts a journey across various dungeons to discover the true source of his power.The anime adaptation debuted in January this year, with the final episode of season one cour one (also known as part one) set to land on March 30.A release date is yet to be announced for the show’s return, although there’s evidence to suggest more episodes will arrive later this year.Crunchyroll has not confirmed if the show’s first season is split into two parts, but reliable leaker SugoiBingus claimed earlier this year it would contain 25 episodes in total, split into two cours.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran Chinese director Zhang Yimou will be presented with a lifetime achievement award at the upcoming edition of the Festival of Far East Film in Italy’s Udine (April 24 – May 2). The lineup will include three films by Zhang: his 2023 political thriller “Under the Light” in its competition section; as well as “To Live” and “Raise the Red Lantern” in its restored classics section. The festival’s total lineup includes 74 films in total – 47 in competition and 28 out of competition) from 11 countries.

Alan Titchmarsh’s Garden Secrets has hit the headlines after an item of the gardener’s clothing was blurred.Central TV, a state-owned television service, aired a 2010 episode the BBC show on Monday (March 25). In the episode, Titchmarsh, now 74, can be seen pottering about the gardens of Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, providing information, horticultural advice and relaxed viewing.The episode features North Korean narration over the top of Titchmarsh’s calm commentary, but there’s another edit to the clip which surprised some viewers.Titchmarsh’s jeans, which can be seen in clips of him kneeling down and attending to some plants, have been blurred.

Physical: 100 has become the most-watched reality show on the streaming service this week.According to data shared by Netflix, Physical:100 season two was the most viewed non-English show for the week of March 18 to 24, logging 6.1million views with 25.3million hours viewed. Notably, the new season of the Korean reality show topped the list just over a week after it premiered on March 19.Season two of Physical: 100 is also notably the most-watched reality show and the fourth most-watched series overall on the streamer this week.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hybe, the Korean firm behind K-pop’s BTS, has struck an expanded 10-year deal with Universal Music Group (UMG), providing Hybe’s roster of artists and labels access to UMG’s leading global network. UMG will further collaborate with Hybe’s global superfan platform Weverse, bringing more of a direct connection between UMG artists and their fandom. Hybe and UMG will additionally collaborate on artist promotions and marketing activities in North America under the oversight of Scooter Braun – who, in his time as CEO of Hybe America, acquired QC Media Holdings and incorporated SB Projects as well as Big Machine Label Group into the existing roster. Hybe and UMG first teamed up in 2017 on BTS, through a distribution agreement in Japan. In 2021, the companies expanded their relationship with a global strategic agreement which saw collaborations across multiple projects and use of Weverse for fan communication.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Locally-produced horror-drama “Exhuma” held on to top spot at the South Korea cinema box office for a fifth consecutive weekend. Its complete dominance of the market kept “Exhuma” comfortably ahead of the holdover “Dune 2” and a couple of lower-powered new releases and allowed its running total to surpass 10 million ticket sales. That is the conventional measure of a blockbuster in Korea, a country with a population of roughly 50 million. Over the latest weekend “Exhuma” sold 618,000 tickets for a gross revenue of $4.56 million and a market share of 56%, according to data from Kobis, the database operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). The latest increment gives the film a total of $73.4 million earned from 10.2 million admissions.

Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis, tech entrepreneur Christopher Bouzy cast doubt on the British royal family and likened the heartbreaking video announcement to “North Korean propaganda.” “The palace lied, and the British press happily helped them lie,” Bouzy, 48, said in a post on X on Friday. “The countless ‘conspiracy theory’ headlines, while knowing a lot of what was being said was true.”“This is really some North Korea / Trumpian type of propaganda,” the post concluded.

Solo Leveling has become one of the breakout anime shows of the year, but when will the run of episodes come to an end?Based on the Korean web novel by Chugong, the series takes place in a realm of gifted hunters and monsters. In this world, weak hunter Sung Jinwoo is given extraordinary strength through a mysterious programme, which kickstarts a journey across the various dungeons to discover the true source of his power.The anime adaptation debuted in January this year, after having first been announced at Anime Expo 2022.

ILLIT have dropped a teaser for the music video of their upcoming debut single, ‘Magnetic’.ILLIT’s label Belift Lab, a subsidiary of HYBE, shared the clip yesterday (March 21). The teaser is formatted vertically for mobile phone screens, and feature silhouettes of the ILLIT members performing the choreography to ‘Magnetic’.“This time I want you, you, you, you, like it’s magnetic / You, you, you, you, you, you, you, super attraction,” the new K-pop girl group sing on the song’s upbeat chorus.ILLIT – comprising Wonhee, Minju, Iroha, Moka and Yunah – were formed through the JTBC reality TV series R U Next?. The girl group will be the second K-pop act to debut under Belift Lab, following boyband ENHYPEN.The quintet will release their debut mini-album ‘Super Real Me’ on March 25.

(G)I-DLE vocalist Yuqi will make her official Korean solo debut in April, her agency CUBE Entertainment has announced.CUBE Entertainment announced Yuqi’s upcoming solo debut today (March 22) in a statement to South Korean news outlet XSports News. “Yuqi plans to release a solo single in April and promote it on music broadcasts,” the label shared, per Soompi.Information about the (G)I-DLE member’s upcoming solo debut, including the release’s format, tracklist and more, is expected in the coming weeks.

Resident Playbook, a spin-off of the popular Hospital Playlist, has been postponed into the second half of 2024.South Korean news outlet OSEN reported yesterday (March 21) that the premiere of Resident Playbook would be moved to the second-half of 2024. The show was previously scheduled to begin airing on May 11, following the finale of K-drama Queen of Tears, which will wrap up on April 28.OSEN also claimed that a separate series titled The Midnight Romance in Hagwon, starring Wi Ha-joon and Jung Ryeo-won, will have its broadcast moved up to fill Resident Playbook‘s original spot.The report has since been confirmed by tvN.

Carol Burnett, Kristen Wiig, and Ricky Martin star in Apple TV+‘s latest gem, the gripping series Palm Royale. Set in 1969, the show delves into the societal divide between the privileged and the marginalized, exploring themes of sacrifice, belonging, and the pursuit of wealth and status.At the forefront of this compelling narrative are two luminaries of the entertainment industry: Carol Burnett and Ricky Martin.

Netflix unveiled the trailer for upcoming Korean sci-fi series Parasyte: The Grey today.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re talking to Vietnamese entrepreneur Minh Bui whose Beta Cinemas chain has introduced a new concept of affordable but trendy theatres to Vietnam’s fast-growing cinema market. Deadline sat down with Minh in Ho Chi Minh City to talk through how he launched the company, his business model and ambitions for the future. This was followed by an unannounced visit by Deadline to a Beta Cinemas site in Go Vap, Ho Chi Minh City, to watch a Vietnamese comedy accompanied by a very large tub of caramel popcorn, during which there were no discernible differences with the high-end multiplexes in the country (and the popcorn was delicious).

Scripted formats were placed front and center of BBC Studios’ panel at Series Mania, as the Doctor Who seller confirmed it is making up to three more versions of Ghosts and has bought Spain’s Brutal Media.

Felix is getting some attention on social media.

baseless reports of his death surfaced online.The monarch, 75, appeared chipper as he arrived in a limousine at Clarence House Tuesday morning after spending time at Windsor Castle in recent days.His Majesty was then taken to Buckingham Palace, where he hosted a handful of veterans of the Korean War to mark the 70th Anniversary of the conflict.Charles, who is currently in the midst of his outpatient cancer treatment following his diagnosis in February, met with veterans Alan Guy, Mike Mogridge, Brian Parritt, and Ron Yardley during the private audience.Later on, the King’s family will step in to host a reception for around 200 Korean War veterans in the Palace’s Bow Room.His sister Anne, the Princess Royal, will host the event alongside Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.Princess Anne will deliver a speech about the war on behalf of the King.The King’s appearance will help to quell the ongoing rumors about his health that have been sending royalists into overdrive in recent weeks.Elsewhere on Tuesday, Prince William was seen visiting housing initiatives in Sheffield, north England, to promote his homelessness project.The Prince of Wales, 41, has long been an advocate for helping the homeless, and has done a lot of work for various charities through the Royal Foundation’s Homewards program.William’s appearance Tuesday comes just days after he was spotted visiting a farm shop with his wife, Kate Middleton.Palace sources have exclusively told The Post that footage of the Waleses out and about should be enough to put an end to wild conspiracy theories about her health.Charles, for his part, has been taking a slight step back from royal engagements in recent weeks since being diagnosed with cancer.Despite that, the King is keen

Kensington Palace is facing fresh questions over image editing after Getty Images added an editor’s note to a picture of Queen Elizabeth II taken by Kate Middleton.

The Straits Times via The Korea Herald. The former singer is said to have had worm a mask and a hat, and did not address reporters stationed outside the prison.The musician was first linked to the now-infamous Burning Sun scandal in March 2019, when it was discovered that Jung had secretly filmed and shared nonconsensual sex videos (known as molka in Korean) in a chat room with several other K-pop stars, including ex-Big Bang member Seungri.Jung, and a number of his acquaintances, was later accused and indicted for raping drunk unconscious women in 2016, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.

Exhuma (Korean title: Pa-myo) has taken $67.8 million at the Korean box office, having notched more than 9.3 million admissions.

Soo Hugh is staying in business with Apple and Media Res after striking an overall deal with the two companies.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief V from Korean pop icons BTS will Tuesday unveil a live performance video in collaboration with French luxury brand Cartier in support of his – already hit – new digital single “FRI(END)S.” Released at 1 p.m. Korean time on Friday, “FRI(END)S” is a pop soul song that is the artist’s first solo project since “Layover,” his debut solo album released in September. The English-language song is a love song depicting one person’s confession of love to a friend.

NCT leader Taeyong will be enlisting for two years of mandatory military service next month, SM Entertainment has confirmed.The singer’s label made the announcement today (March 18) in a statement to South Korean news outlet Newsen. “NCT’s Taeyong is enlisting in the navy as an active duty soldier on April 15,” SM Entertainment said, as translated by Soompi. “There will be no official events held on the day he enters the recruit training centre, and we ask for your understanding as his enlistment will be held privately to prevent safety incidents due to congestion on site,” the label added.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The South Korean box office had a familiar look. Dark drama, “Exhuma” dominated the chart with a more than 50% market share for the fourth weekend in a row. And, for the third successive weekend, “Dune 2” placed second. “Exhuma,” about two shaman, a feng shui master and a mortician who attempt to reverse the mysterious events happening to a U.S.-based Korean family, earned $5.80 million between Friday and Sunday.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy-nominated Beef actor and artist Joseph Lee has signed with Gersh for representation in all areas.

listening to popular artists like Drake, Ariana Grande, Eminem, Billie Eilish, Beyoncé and Harry Styles can make you a better driver. A study by Autotrader tested car operators, who were subjected to 20 popular artists while their “hazard perception” was being tested on the road.“Higher scores indicate greater levels of concentration, meaning the participants identified and reacted to hazards quicker when listening to that artist,” researchers noted in their hypothesis.Lovers of list-topping Canadian rapper Drake started far from the bottom by scoring 59.5 out of 75 on their hazard perception scores.

Squid Game star O Yeong-Su has been convicted of sexual misconduct over allegations he hugged and kissed a woman on the cheek against her wishes.