Author: Denise Coley
Following Blockberry Creative (BBC) expelling Chuu from LOONA, nine members (Kim Lip, Heejin, Jinsoul, Choerry, Yves, Haesul, Yeojin, Gowon, and Olivia Hye) filed to have their exclusive contracts suspended. Initially, BBC claimed these reports were not true and even started teasing LOONA’s comeback as an 11-member group this January before postponing the comeback. On January 13, 2023, Seoul Northern District Court Civil Division 1 determined members Kim Lip, Heejin, Jinsoul, and Choerry won their lawsuits against BBC. Due to the win, their contracts with BBC have been terminated. In response to the four members’ win, BBC said, “We are…
Jimin, a member of BTS, is about to make his solo debut. On the 16th, a source from Big Hit Music, the agency of BTS, announced, “The schedule of Jimin’s solo debut will be announced once it is finalized.” Previously, Donga reported on the morning of the same day that Jimin is preparing to release a solo album aiming for February. Jimin is the main dancer and lead vocalist of BTS and is greatly loved by global music fans for his excellent performance and unrivaled tone. Last summer, Jimin appeared on BTOB Radio and announcing that he was working on…
Global superstars TAEYANG (of BIGBANG fame) and Jimin of BTS came together January 13, 2023, for one of the most anticipated and unexpected K-Pop releases of the 2020s. Listen to “VIBE (feat. Jimin of BTS)” HERE via THEBLACKLABEL/Interscope Records. The magnitude of the collaboration cannot be understated. Not only is it a cross-generational release uniting superstars of different eras, it also connects two artists from the biggest boy bands of all time. If anyone can live up to that hype, it’s TAEYANG. The BIGBANG legend and lead singer has inspired generations of K-Pop artists. It’s impossible to talk about K-Pop’s global ascent without discussing BIGBANG, one of the most influential and…
The craze for K-pop is expected to continue this year as well. The music industry has been experiencing a comeback rush since the New Year. Rookie New Jeans heated up the K-pop market from the beginning of the New Year with their new song ‘OMG’, followed by Legendary group Big Bang’s Taeyang and BTS’ Jimin to release a new song. Taeyang’s new digital single ‘VIBE’, released on the 13th, attracted the world’s attention at once. The fact that K-pop legends Big Bang and BTS held hands became a hot topic. The music video surpassed 20 million views on YouTube…
We are excited to bring you the news that the powerful and heartwarming new movie BROKER starring Song Kang-ho and Ji-eun Lee (IU) will be in theatres across Canada starting this Friday Jan 13th. Check your local listings for showtimes (and check Cineplex https://www.cineplex.com/movie/broker-korean-west). Click here https://www.instagram.com/p/CnF-Vi8plIk to enter an amazing contest running with Sarah & Tom’s to win free tickets to the film and a gift basket of IU CD’s and posters!! Watch the full trailer here: https://youtu.be/p6xpZ2aEmJY KPOP CLUB NIGHT ——————— UPCOMING EVENTS WITH DJ YUKA K: (and sometimes Host MC triple-threat Poison Aivy). OTTAWA 01/12 Hyde & Seek TORONTO 01/20…
In Theatres Across Canada January 13th Directed by: Hirokazu Kore-eda Starring: Song Kang-ho, Dong won-Gang, Ji-eun Lee, Doona Bae, Joo-young Lee Five years after winning the Palme d’Or for Shoplifters, Academy award nominated filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda returns with Broker, starring Cannes Best actor winner Song Kang Ho (Parasite) and Korean pop music superstar Ji-Eun Lee (IU). The film follows two brokers who sell orphaned infants, circumventing the bureaucracy of legal adoption, to affluent couples who can’t have children of their own. After an infant’s mother surprises the duo by returning to ensure her child finds a good home, the three embark…
Style commerce platform Ably announced this year’s shopping trend, ‘A.T.T.E.N.T.I.O.N (Attention)’ on the 12th. This year, it is expected that the ‘Y2K (fashion that was popular from the late 1990s to the early 2000s)’ style will evolve amid the ‘Newtro (New + Retro)’ craze that reinterprets retro products. ‘Attention’ came from ▲Glamorous and cheerful Airy style ▲Consumption for yourself during recession (Treat yourself) ▲Tech accessories are part of fashion ▲Evolution of Y2K trend ▲Fashion without boundaries of gender and season (Neutral Fashion) ▲Increase in the linked purchases between fashion and beauty (TPO Makeup) ▲Inner beauty, self-beauty trend ▲Outdoor fashion…
‘2023 SM Global Audition’ will be held in Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon, starting with Seoul, Korea on the 28th. It will be held in 6 cities in Japan in March, and the host country will be released sequentially. ‘SM Global Audition’ is SM’s large-scale global audition that started in 2006 and covers all of Asia and the Americas. The artists who debuted through this audition include Red Velvet Wendy and Joy, Johnny, Yuta, Ten, Mark, Renjun, Lucas, Kun and Yangyang of NCT. Above all, this ‘2023 SM Global Audition’ is meaningful in that it is a large-scale on-site…
Japanese tennis star and four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka will miss the 2023 tennis season after announcing she and her boyfriend, Grammy-nominated rapper Cordae, will be welcoming a child this year. “Can’t wait to get back on the court but here’s a little life update for 2023,” Osaka wrote on Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 大坂なおみ🇭🇹🇯🇵 (@naomiosaka) In the post, Osaka shares, “The past few years have been interesting to say the least, but I find that it’s the most challenging times in life that may be the most fun. These…
On January 10, 2023, the release of the official Coachella lineup confirmed BLACKPINK will be one of the headliners at this year’s event. Prior to the announcement, rumors circulated on social media the YG Entertainment quartet would be part of the festival held in April this year. While K-Pop artists have performed at Coachella in the past, BLACKPINK’s appearance will mark the first time a K-Pop act will headline the yearly festival. Other headliners include Bad Bunny and Frank Ocean. BLACKPINK’s inclusion as a headliner marks only the sixth time a female artist or group has headlined the festival.…
Following the news that Omega X sued Spire Entertainment due to ongoing abuse allegations, the 11-member group announced they won their lawsuit against the Spire Entertainment. The group’s been granted an injunction suspending their contracts with the company. In the January 11, 2023 Instagram post, the group wrote: Hello, this is OMEGA X. Today, we won the lawsuit we filed against our agency to suspend the validity of our exclusive contract. We were able to achieve this thanks to all of you giving us courage and reaching out a hand. Thank you for worrying about us and supporting us…
Nexon leaps forward as a global comprehensive content company that crosses games and movies. To this end, it became the largest shareholder of ‘AGBO’, the Avengers production company in Hollywood, USA last year, and recently signed an agreement with Barunson E&A, the production company of ‘Parasite’, which led the global K-movie craze, to share content production experience. In addition, it introduced ‘Face Play’, a platform where anyone can create and share videos. On the 10th, game company Nexon entered into a strategic business alliance (MOU) with Barunson E&A, which holds copyrights for ‘Parasite’ and ‘Mother’, to share video and…
TEEN TOP CHUNJI held “too late TEENTOP CHUNJI LIVE & RELEASE EVENT” from the 6th to the 9th to commemorate the release of his first solo album [too late] in Osaka and Tokyo, Japan. CHUNJI, who met with domestic fans through various events at the end of last year, held a total of four days of live events in Osaka and Tokyo to meet Japanese fans who had not met during the military hiatus for the New Year. CHUNJI rewarded the fans who were with him on the scene by performing his own songs “Age” and “Hold Your Hand” as well as his new…
The world’s largest IT and consumer electronics exhibition ‘CES 2023’, which opened in Las Vegas on the 5th (local time), ended successfully on the 8th. About 3,200 companies from 174 countries participated in CES 2023, which was held in person for the first time in three years after COVID-19 pandemic. Considering that the number of companies participating in ‘CES 2020’ was close to 4,400, it is said to have recovered a lot to before-the-pandemic level. 323 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, including Google and Microsoft, which did not exhibit on-site last year, participated in the event. At least…
This year, CJ CheilJedang will advance into new countries beyond US, Europe, and Japan to expand its ‘K-Food’ territory in earnest. Choi Eun-seok, CEO of CJ CheilJedang, said on the 8th, “We will make full-fledged entry into countries that we have not entered this year and achieve innovative growth centered on seven global strategic products such as dumplings, ready-to-eat rice, chicken, K-sauce, kimchi, seaweed, and rolls.” CJ CheilJedang plans to use its four existing bases, namely Korea, the US, Europe/Asia-Pacific, and Japan, as outposts for advancing into neighboring countries by increasing the scale. Japan promotes a local organization to…
As the new year rolls in, it’s important you know which dramas you’ll need to keep an eye out for! Here are ten amazing dramas coming out this year. Doona! (Netflix) Starring: Suzy, Yang Se-jong Release: 2023 Synopsis: Doona! is a romance between a recently retired star and a college freshman. Joon (Se-jong) moves into his college flat, not realizing an ex-celebrity, Doona (Suzy), lives downstairs. Romance blooms between them as Doona finds comfort from her past life in Joon. Based on a popular webtoon, this is sure to be a hit! Vigilante (Disney +) Starring: Nam Joo-hyuk,…
XG’s second single ‘MASCARA’ reached No. 1 on the iTunes chart in 17 regions, as well as the Spotify Viral 50 in 21 regions. More recently, XG made a huge impact with their rap performance, ‘GALZ XYPHER’, blowing up on Tiktok. Hints about a new track have been dropping on XG’s official social media since December. On January 1st a ‘Wish Delivery APP’ video was posted, sparking rumors among fans of an upcoming release. It was announced today that XG’s third single ‘SHOOTING STAR’ will be released on January 25th. New images of the girls were posted alongside the…
Luli Lee started her music career as a bassist for the band “Bye Bye Badman” in 2011, debuting impressively in the scene. As an active solo singer-songwriter, her music, which is composed of rhythmic yet delicate bass lines and addictive melodies, is evaluated for naturally melting pop into rock bass sounds. I heard that you have a large fan base overseas as well. Which country do you think has the most fans? I cannot figure out their nationality when I communicate with them so it’s rather hard to say which country, but statistics show that I have a…
According to Hwaeomsa Temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism on the 4th, RM visited Hwaeomsa Temple on December 29 of last year with music producer Kang San. He is said to have visited Hwaeomsa for relaxation and inspiration for his music. RM also had a chat with the abbot, Monk Deokmun, whom he had a long relationship with. Venerable Deokmoon asked RM, “Are you disappointed that you didn’t get military exemption?”, and RM said, “I want to fulfill my duty as a citizen of the Republic of Korea. By doing one’s responsibilities, one can talk about the…
New Jeans, who received a lot of attention with their mini debut album in 2022, will release their first single album OMG at 6 pm today (2nd Jan). Through this single album, the company said that they would deliver a message about the first winter with a thought on the relationship. ‘OMG’, which conveys the sense of winter, feels quite different from the debut album ‘New Jeans’ released last summer. ‘OMG’ deals with the story of a strange sense of distance, caution, and unfamiliarity that coexist on the side of the desire to get closer to each other. Following…