SHINEee’s Taein is this year’s Korea Grand Music Awards legend after taking home 3 awards from the event.
Taemin, who recently released his 5th mini album, ‘ETERNAL’, took the Korea Grand Music Awards by storm after bagging 3 awards. The artist took home the Best Artist, Best Solo Artist, and Best Popularity Artist awards.
Taemin is also on the ‘Ephemeral Gaze’ tour, his first one that kicked off in August and runs through March 2025. Taemin’s wins confirmed his influence not only on a domestic scale bit on a global level.
—-Karen Mwenda
#Taemin #SHINeeTaemin #GrandMusicAwardsWinner #Taeminwins3awards #kcrush #Taeminawarded3awards #kpop #kidol #koreancelebrity #kpopsinger #TaeminsEphemeralGazeTour #TaeminBestArtist #BestSoloArtist #estPopularityArtist #Taeminthreeawards #kcrushmagazine #kcrushamerica #kfashion #knews #hallyunews
Talented Ahn Ye-eun is making a comeback with her 4th EP after almost a 2-year break.
Ahn Ye-eun is set to make a comeback on November 21 with the ‘Story Bag’ EP. This is Ye Eun’s 4th extended play since her debut under DSP Media in 2016.
The “Changgui” hitmaker also released a trailer teaser of the “잉어왕 (KINGCARP)” track which will be part of the upcoming ‘Story Bag’ album.
Ye Eun’s last release was the ‘Easy Written Story’ full-length album in February 2023. She is known for her musical storytelling and several dramas and webtoon OST performances, including “The Man Who Became King”.
—-Karen Mwenda
#AhnYeEun #Novembercomeback #SingersongwriterAhnYeEun #EasyWrittenStory #kdramaOST #kpop #kidol #kcrush #TheManWhoBecameKingOST #Changgui #KINGCARPtrack #StoryBagAlbum #DSPMedia #EP #extendedplay #newalbumAhnYeEun #kcrushmagazine #kcrushamerica #koreansinger #hallyu #kfashion
Here are the latest music videos in the K-pop industry.
1. VIVIZ
VIVIZ released the “Shhh!” MV which is the title track for their 5th mini-album, ‘VOYAGE’.
2. ILLIT
ILLIT is making fans’ hearts go wild with the “Tick-Tack” music video. The track is part of the group’s 2nd mini album, ‘I’LL LIKE YOU’.
3. BIBI
BIBI is dropping hit after hit creating a wave of excitement in the entertainment industry. BIBI dropped the “Derre” MV which is part of her double single comeback set.
4. Yves
Yves is also ending the year in style. The artist released the “Viola” music video which is part of her latest 2nd album titled ‘I Did’.
5. MAMAMOO’s Hwa Sa
MAMAMOO’s Hwa Sa has yet again dropped an enchanting single for her 8th digital single. The track, “Star”, was produced by LOGOS.
6. YOUNHA
YOUHNA released the “Point Nemo” music single for her 7th repackaged album, ‘Growth Theory: Final Edition’. The album commemorates YOUHNA’s 20th anniversary in the entertainment industry.
7. Taeyeon
Taeyeon is gearing up for her November 18 comeback with her 6th mini album, ‘Letter to Myself’ album. In preparation, the artist released the “Letter to Myself” MV which is the title track for the upcoming album.
8. HEYOON
HEYOON teamed up with American rapper Armani White for the “Pivot” single. “Pivot’ is one of HEYOON’s solo debut releases after moving from Now United global pop group and joining Universal Music Group.
—-Karen Mwenda
#8LatestMVReleases #kcrush #musicvideoreleasesinnovember #HEYOON #Pivot #ArmaniWhite #rapper #Taeyeon #LetterToMyself #YOUHNA #PointNemo #20thanniversary #HWASA #MAMAMOOHWASA #Star #LOGOs #YVES #IDID #Viola #BIBIDerre #Derre #BIBI #ILLIT #TickTack #IllLikeYouMiniAlbum #kcrushamerica #kcrushmagazine #kpop #koreanpop #kfashion #koreansinger #newmusic #VIVIZ #Shhh #VOYAGEVIVIZ #hallyumusic #kpopidol
Here are some K-dramas to binge on this November 2024.
1. Marry You
“Marry You” is a romantic comedy about an island bachelor, Bong Cheol Hui (Lee Yi Kyung), who has failed to be ineligible for marriage. To ensure the bachelor upgrades to marriage life, a “Marriage Encouragement” team is formed and a civil servant is dispatched to oversee the team. The dispatchee is Jung Ha Na (Jo Soo Min) who on the other hand doesn’t believe in marriage and is in it for the money.
2. Gangnam B-Side
“Gangnam B-Side” is a crime drama involving solving mysteries amidst life-threatening encounters. Jae Hee (Bibi) is a bartender in Gangnam who goes missing because of uncovering a secret involving a series of disappearances. A demoted detective Kang Dong Woo (Jo Woo Jin) crawls his way back into the investigation business to unravel the Gangnam disappearances linked to Jae Hee. and Prosecutor Min Seo Jin (Ha Yoon Kyung) and Yoon Gil Ho (Ji Chang Wook), a famous Gangnam outlaw, also force their way into the investigations all for personal gain.
3. Brewing Love
Just like its title, “Brewing Love” K-drama is about a love that brews in a liquor brewing setting. Chae Yong Joo (Kim Se Jeong) is a former Special Forces who rises to become a liquor company’s sales queen. To save her store from closing down, Young Joon must ensure the new liquor sells. Yoon Min Ju (Lee Jong Won), is a skilled brewmaster and the CEO of the liquor company that owns Chae Yong Joo’s branch store. Chae Yong Joo strives to show Yoon Min Ju her store’s worth amidst stiff competition from Bang A Reum (Shin Do Hyun), the company’s planning team manager.
4. Love Your Enemy
“Love Your Enemy’ tells the story of a reunion between young lovers turned rivals. Seok Ji Won (Ju Ji Hoon) and Yoon Ji Won (Jung Yu Mi) were born on the same day and given the same name, “Ji Won”. Despite the existing generational rivalry between the two families, Seok and Yoon fought for their love throughout high school which later ended in chaos. Life goes on but fate brings the two “Ji Won”s together as workers in their former high school.
5. The Trunk
“The Trunk” is a melodrama that highlights deep marriage controversies. Jung Won (Gong Yoo) is a music producer who ends up seeking a contract marriage to heal the loneliness of missing his ex-wife. In Ji (Seo Hyun Jin) is a wife-on-contract at NM company which provides clients with a spouse on a 1-year marriage contract. Jung Won chooses a contractual spouse at NM company where his ex-wife works. As Jung Won and his second wife, In Jin, get to know each other, a trunk washes up on shore putting their new relationship in jeopardy while revealing a string of ordeals connected to NM company.
—-Karen Mwenda
#5KDramasToWatchThisNovember2024 #TheTrunk #GongYoo #SeoHyunJin #kcrush #LoveYourEnemy #kdrama #JuJiHoon #JungYuMi #BrewingLove #GangnamBSide #MarryYou #koreankdrama #kcrushamerica #hallyudrama #kcrushmagazine #LeeYiKyung #JoSooMin #ShinDoHyun
K-drama actor Song Jae Rim has passed away.
Known for his performances in “We Got Married” and “Queen Woo,” Song Jae Rim has passed away, leaving the Korean entertainment industry in shock. According to reports, he was found deceased in his Seoul house. Reports also highlight that a two-page note was found at the scene.
Song Jae Rim’s family is held a service at Seoul Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital funeral hall before escorting Jae Rim to his resting place at Seoul City Crematorium on November 14. Song Jae Rim, an actor and model, debuted in the acting industry in 2009 and appeared in several notable dramas including “We Got Married” and “My Military Valentine”. Tributes by fellow starts have been pouring in on several platforms.
We wish Song Jae Rim’s family peace and strength during these trying times.
—-Karen Mwenda
#SongJaeRim #JaeRimpassesaway #kcrush #kdramaactor #koreanactor #WeGotMarried #MyMlitaryValentine #condolences #QueenWoo #passedaway #koreandrama #koreankdrama #restinpeace #youwillbemissed #kcrushInRemembrance #kcrushamerica #kcrushmagazine
Toronto Reel Asian 2024 KCrush Interview With ‘Exclusion: Beyond The Silence’ Filmmaker Keira Loughran
On July 1st, 1923, the Mackenzie King, the current Prime Minister of Canada signed into law the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, otherwise known as the Chinese Exclusion Act for the way the law separated Canadian born Chinese citizens from the rest of the predominately white population of the time. In her debut feature film and documentary Exclusion: Breaking the Silence, director and film subject Keira Loughran with no artifice, looks at this dark and not at all too distant part of Canadian history to reveal the traumatic and long-lasting impact of this exclusionary at on Chinese Canadians, their families back in China, and Canada’s present.
Seclusion: Breaking the Silence, premiered at the 2024 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, in the Features program. Keira who is an award winning actress, playwright, dramaturge, and stage director and producer, through wanting to know more about the history of her grandmother Jean Lumb, a celebrated Toronto activist and advocate for the rights of Chinese Canadian citizens and Immigrants and the first Chinese Canadian to be awarded the prestigious Order of Canada, had to delve into the history of the Chinese diaspora in Canada to their arrivals in 1788 to the country’s shores on the Pacific North-Western territories of the First Nations peoples.
As Canada began to rapidly develop in the late 1700, the need for manpower grew exponentially and as a result immigrants from across China were welcomed. Physically fit men and women from the rural areas of far-reaching towns such as Guangdong where Jean’s husband was from. Chinese men and women flocked to the country in the thousands to seek better opportunities for themselves, their children, and families they sent money back home to support and hopefully send for. But almost overnight after the famed Canadian Transnational Railway that these men who broke their bodies – and even lost their lives in many cases – building was completed, they became the target of a concerted effort to strip away their rights as citizens and human beings. Created out of the racist “White Canada forever” movement (sounds familiar?), the Chinese Immigration Act was born. It became the first and to date, only Canadian legislation that targeted a specific racial group to deprive them of their rights of citizenship, and relegate them to the status of immigrants, considered to be a lower social and legal status, then and unfortunately even now.
Under this act inspired by the one signed into United States federal law in in 1882 and ended in 1943, Chinese Canadians both naturalized citizens and immigrants, of all ages were legally required to provide documentation with photo ID to present upon request wherever they went. Husbands were unable to send for the wives and children waiting back in China, separating many for 20 years or more, and even for the remainder of their lives. Women born in Canada lost their citizenship because the law said the immigrant status of their husbands took precedence. This is exactly what happened to Jean. The Act not only created these unfair situations for those already in Canada, for 24 years, it completely barred any Chinese person from entering the country.
As Keira dug into the past of her own family and community, she began to see yuánfèn, ‘The Red Thread of Fate’ begin to emerge. In Chinese mythology, The Red Thread of Fate is considered to be an invisible thread that binds the fate and destiny of people together throughout time. While many may not believe in it, the revelations of Keira’s connections to the life of Foon Hay Lum and that of her granddaughter Helen Lee, would be enough to convince many to consider it.
On April 24, 2020, at 111 years-old and the old living Canadian, Foon Hay Lum died from medical complications caused by the COVID-19 virus. For much of her life, Foon hay worked as an activist to educate people about the ‘Chinese Head Tax’ that had been levied against Chinese male immigrating to Canada until the repeal of the Exclusion Act in 1947. This tax which increased from a few dollars to $500 – an exorbitant amount of money at that time – was demanded for entry. Because of this, most of those allowed into the country were teenagers and young men traveling alone, leading to the creating of an overwhelmingly large population of single men who were forced to live decades without direct familial relations. It is disturbingly ironic that Foon Hay spent her life speaking up for the rights of Chinese Canadians and whose activism directly lead to the repeal of the Act, was ultimately killed by a virus whom many white people in Canada (and in America) blamed on China and Chinese people.
Just as the white population and white led government turned against Chinese Canadians and Immigrants once they believed them to no longer be of use, so too did the descendants of those bigots in 2020.
In researching Foon Hay’s life and the impact she made on Canadian society, Keira began to see the similarities to her and her own grandmother Jean. The more Keira and Helen dug into their pasts the more of the Red Thread began to be revealed until it led them back to Helen’s ancestral homes, and the burial plots of both of their ancestors…just over a small hill from each other in the same grave yard.
Seclusion: Breaking the Silence is a terrific documentary that shows how unpredictable and beautiful life can be by showing how people can be connected to each other in the most extraordinary ways. Keira highlights the resilience of immigrants, and the strength required to uproot your entire life to travel to a completely new country with people who not only don’t look like you or speak the same language, but who hold prejudice against you for simply being different. People who themselves are immigrants and the descendants of immigrants who violently took the land from the Indigenous people, rather than work with them.
The documentary shows that for all its marketing as a land of tolerance and friendliness, the reality is that Canada is a country built by colonialism, and the hands of the same people it betrayed and disenfranchised in the past and intent on doing the same today. By the end of the film, the audience may be inclined to ask if perhaps this is Canada’s own Red Thread of Fate.
In my interview with Keira at York University where she is Sessional Assistant Professor of Theatre, we spoke about how Keira’s own path to making the documentary seemed destined to be, how the two years she spent making the film and discovering her own history changed the way she looked at Canada as a country and immigration, and how filmmaking is a way of breaking the silence foisted upon our ancestors.
Carolyn Hinds
Freelance Film Critic, Journalist, Podcaster & YouTuber
African American Film Critics Association Member, Tomatometer-Approved Critic
Host & Producer Carolyn Talks…, and So Here’s What Happened! Podcast
Bylines at Authory.com/CarolynHinds
Twitter & Instagram: @CarrieCnh12
#KCrush #KCrushAmericaMagazine #ReelAsian #Documentary #AsianCinema #CanadianFilm #FilmFestival #Toronto #ChineseHistory #TorontoReelFimFestival #ChineseCanadian #ChineseImigrationLaw1923Canada #RedThreadofFate #kcrush #kcrushmagazine #kcrushfilminterview #YorkUniversity #ChineseExclusionAct #KeiraLoughrandirector #KeiraLoughranActor #KeiraLoughranWriter #diversity
OMEGA X has canceled its ‘ISLAND: Beyond the Horizon’ US tour.
OMEGA X boy band was scheduled to hold the ‘ISLAND: Beyond the Horizon’ tour across the US from November 30 to December 18. The tour was set to take place across 8 cities including Cleveland, Detroit, and Houston.
However, OMEGA X announced that the tour had been canceled due to unavoidable circumstances. The statement included apologies for the inconvenience and clarified that refunds will be done automatically.
—-Karen Mwenda
#OMEGAX #OMEGAXISLANDBeyondtheHorizonUSTourCanceled #CanceledTour #kcrush #kidol #kpop #korean #kcrushamerica #OMEGAXCancelsUSTour2024 #2024KPopTour #kcrushmagazine #breakingnews #kfashion #hallyu #hallyuboygroup
BIG OCEAN, the world’s 1st ever deaf idol group, is heading to the U.S. this November for brand promotions and performances.
Parastar Entertainment announced that BIG OCEAN will be headed to the U.S. on November 11th, to celebrate the release of their ‘Follow’ album on November 12. BIG OCEAN will interact with fans in several locations, including Central Park, Empire State Building, and Times Square.
On the 14th and 17th of November, BIG OCEAN is scheduled to perform at ‘Cool Out 2024’. The group will be performing the hit song “FLOW” from the ‘Follow’ album for the first time at the event set to take place in the Cayman Islands.
—-Karen Mwenda
#BIGOCEAN #hearingimpared #Follow #NewYork #CoolOut2024 #BIGOCEANKPOPGroup #koreankpop #newgroup #deafidolgroup #USPromotioninNovember #kculture #kpop #newmusic #kcrush #kcrushamerica #kcrushmagazine #ParastarEntertainment #muchsuccesstothem #happinessandsmiles #knews #kexcitement #hallyuboygroup #hallyu
In her short film Sukoun (Amplified) which screened in the Boundaries program of the 2024 Minikino Film Week 10 of the Bali International Film Festival, Palestinian-Jordinian filmmaker Dina Naser brings draws attention to the betrayal and confusion young victims of sexual harassment experience when someone they trust violates it.
(Image credit courtesy of Minikino)
In Arabic, the word “sukoon” or “sukoun” means to be still or to completely at rest, and for the film Dina uses to represent the state of inner calmness those who are deaf exist in in their life of silence. To those who are hearing, this may be difficult to understand as our world is filled with noise even in quiet spaces, there’s no true and complete absence of sound.
But what if living in silence wasn’t a hindrance, but a blessing because it provides people the opportunity to withdraw from the world in order to focus on healing? For 10-year-old Hind played by Malak Nassar, the silence of her world caused by deafness provides respite and an opportunity to find her determination after she’s sexually harassed by her karate teacher (Nadeem Al Rimawi) one evening after class when he hugs her much tighter and for longer than is comfortable than appropriate.
As a preteen, Hind isn’t much different to the other students in her class at the dojo. She loves the physical exertion she feels after completing a new combination of moves and the accomplishment recognitions of her growth as an athlete brings. And just like every kid her age her relationship with her mother played by Suhad Kahtib is filled with tension as they clash over Hind’s desire for more independence and her mother’s protective instincts.
(Image credit courtesy of Minikino)
However, unlike the other students, Hind’s world is thrown completely off its axis due to this assault. Though she doesn’t yet have the language to name what has happened to her, Hind knows that she’s been violated. She knows that what’s happened was wrong and that she’s no longer safe in the presence of a man she saw as a father figure. She knows, just like ever victim of sexual harassment and assault, that the way she moves through life and sees people, especially men has been forever changed. It’s this realization, and emotional and psychological progression that Dina and the cast have demonstrated with the utmost care and respect, but with a clarity that’s needed to show how trauma shatters a victim’s world view from childhood, through growing as a survivor into adulthood.
By making a film about the sexual assault of a disabled girl, Dina addresses an unfortunate reality that many girls and women are all too familiar with. In essence she amplifies the prevalence of these violating acts in society not only in Jordan where the film was made, but globally. In an effort to process the trauma that has been forced on them, victims can turn inward, pulling away from those closest to them, even parents like Hind does. It’s not to punish her mother, but it’s a defense mechanism, because for Hind, silence means safety. Silence is where she feels most comfortable. The sound design and mixing by Ensieh Maleki is as much a character of this film as Hind is. There’s a very delicate balance in the transitions from sound to the muffling that occurs when Hind puts in her hearing aids, and the absence of sound when she removes it. This gives hearing audiences just a hint of what it means to live with deafness, and hopefully encourages them to think not only about how being deaf impacts someone like Hind, but also those with other visible and invisible disabilities.
Sukoun (Amplified) should serve as a lesson for people to acknowledge the disabilities but don’t let that be all they see of the disabled person. Hind is a fully realized character, and Malak who is profoundly deaf, is a fully realized person who for her very first acting role accepted the challenge of playing a character like Hind, with the bravery and dedication she portrays in the character.
(Image credit courtesy of Minikino)
In my interview with Dina, we spoke about the time and care she spent speaking to professionals in the mental health field who specialize in treating and studying cases of sexual violence, the months she and the cast spent preparing for them to play their characters, and using film as a method of drawing attention to social issues.
Sukoun (Amplified) won the award for Best Short Film Grand Prize at the 2024 HollyShorts Film Festival resulting in its qualification for a 2025 Academy Award.
Carolyn Hinds
Freelance Film Critic, Journalist, Podcaster & YouTuber
African American Film Critics Association Member, Tomatometer-Approved Critic
Host & Producer Carolyn Talks…, and So Here’s What Happened! Podcast
Bylines at Authory.com/CarolynHinds
Twitter & Instagram: @CarrieCnh12
#KCrush #MinikinoFilmWeek #AsianCinema #FemaleFilmmaker #ShortFilm #FilmFestival #filmfestival #film #kcrushamerica #Amplified #2024HollyShortsFilmFestival #DinaNaser #SukounAmplified #mental #mentalhealth #BaliInternationalFilm
‘The more society progresses, the more it seems to stay the same and even regress, and always at the expense of girls and women’, is just one of the many observations Indonesian student filmmaker I Made Suniartika makes in his short film Purusa: Wedding Sacred.
(Photo credit – I Made Suniartika)
Premiering in the Minikino Film Week 10 of the 2024 Bali International Film Festival, Purusa: Wedding Sacred, may be just 15 minutes long in its run time, but it takes years of observation of all the ways patriarchal societies and cultures dismisses the wants, needs and well beings of young women at the expense of familial honor and male ego.
Pregnant with her fiancé’s baby, Kadek Shanti’s (Kadek Divta Pradnya Dewi) excitement for their impending nuptials turns to dread when Phutu Dharma’s family calls off the wedding because they believe the marriage would bring shame to their family name on the grounds of Nyentano, a cultural belief that men should not be bonded to a family with no male heirs to carry on their own lineage. Phutu and his family, wanting to preserve their own honor and family name in the community, leaves Kadek to deal with the fallout of social stigma.
(Photo credit – I Made Suniartika)
Because of this, Kadek’s parents, with guidance from the village’s religious leader, decides to have her take part in an age-old Balinese tradition of having her marry a “purusa”, a relic Kris, a traditional blade sacred in Balinese culture, endowed with the ritual status of male identity. Meaning, that for all intents and purposes, Kadek (and women who have gone through the ceremony) will be marrying a male object to substitute for the human male she had intended to marry.
But she would still be seen as a single woman and mother by the people in her community.
It is this dichotomy of wanting to preserve a female’s honor, this abstract idea created by men something to be beholden to, much to the emotional and even social detriment of the girls and women the world over.
Made, displays a deft hand at showing how these traditional beliefs clash with the modernity of Balinese culture for its through text messages that Kadek is jilted by Phutu. It is her cell phone that provides her a connection to a world she feels is progressing without her. Leaving her trapped in a circumstance she should never have been placed in by people who claimed to love her. Because why should being bound to an inanimate object for the rest of her life be seen as honorable? Why should she be left to raise a child alone because the father of that child and his family value what strangers may think of them because he married a woman with no male siblings?
(Photo credit – I Made Suniartika)
It is these questions and observations and more that Made and I discussed in our interview for Purusa: Wedding Sacred. Made shared why he made it a priority to work with female producer Yohanna Lila Rosanti and how working with her and Kadek Divta helped him to understand and change his perspective of the world as a man in a patriarchal society, and his thoughts on the contradictions between cultural traditions and social progress.
During Minikino Film Week 10, Purusa: Wedding Sacred was awarded the MFW National Competition Award.
Carolyn Hinds
Freelance Film Critic, Journalist, Podcaster & YouTuber
African American Film Critics Association Member, Tomatometer-Approved Critic
Host & Producer Carolyn Talks…, and So Here’s What Happened! Podcast
Bylines at Authory.com/CarolynHinds
Twitter & Instagram: @CarrieCnh1
#KCrush #MinikinoFilmWeek #AsianCinema #FilmFestival #FilmCritic #Interview #PurusaWeddingSacred #filminterview #filmfestivalinterview #IMadeSunjartika #filmmaker #Asianfilm #YohannaLilaRosanti #film #kcrushamerica #KadekDivta #PuriusaWeddingSacredawardedMFWNationalCompetitionAard
BABYMOSTER’s “CLIK CLAK” single has been termed “ineligible for broadcast”.
BABYMOSTER band’s latest hit single “CLIK CLAK” from the ‘DRIP’ album has failed KBS’s music review ratings. On November 6, IZE reported that “CLIK CLAK” was classified as ineligible for broadcast due to some problematic issues with the song.
The “CLIK CLAK” single mentions brand names, which might have instigated a violation of KBS’s music review policy. Some of the song’s lyrics include “I be laughing to the bank in my Maybach”, “Zero hundred like Ferrari”, and “Cartier stacked up on my wrist”.
However, if a song receives an ineligibility status, it can be modified and resubmitted for airing on KBS’s programs. Other tracks from BABYMOSTER’s ‘DRIP’ album, including “DRIP”, passed the eligibility test. The ‘DRIP’ album was released on November 1, 2024.
—-Karen Mwenda
#BABYMONSTER #CLIKCLAKfailsbroadcastregulations #kcrush #DRIPalbum #KBSmusicreviewpolicy #kpop #kidol #kfasion #kmusic #canberesubmitted #CLIKCLAK #kcrushamerica #kcrushmagazine #koreanhallyu #koreankpop
GOT7’s Jinyoung has completed his mandatory military service.
On November 7, Jinyoung of GOT7 boy band was discharged from the military after completing the 18-month mandatory service. Jinyoung enlisted in the military in May 2023.
Jinyoung received a warm welcome from fans and fellow GOT7 members BamBam and Yugyeom. While giving a brief press interview, Jinyoung stated that he would be returning to his acting role soon. Jinyoung also stated that GOT7 is working on their upcoming album. Yugyeom and Youngjae are also expected to be discharged from mandatory military service soon.
Meanwhile, fellow members Mark Tuan, BamBam, and Jackson Wang were not required to do the mandatory military service because of their South Korean non-citizen status. Nonetheless, BamBam participated in Thailand’s mandatory military lottery in 2018, and was officially exempt from undertaking the 24-month service.
—-Karen Mwenda
#Jinyoung #GOT7Jinyoung #GOT7Jinyoungdischargedfrommandatorymilitaryservice #18monthmandatoryservice #kpop #kcrush #koreankpop #GOT7 #GOT7workingonnewalbum #Jinyoungactor #Jinyoungkpopsinger #kculture #koreanboygroup #kcrushamerica #kcrushmagazine
A few months after their debut, 82MAJOR has finally achieved a major milestone by debuting on the global Billboard.
82MAJOR debuted in October last year as Great M Entertainment agency’s 1st first boy band with the ‘X-2’ mini album. Months after its debut, the band has made global milestones by charting on the influential Billboard platform.
On November 5, 82MAJOR charted at No.45 on Billboard’s Album’s Sales Chart with their 2nd mini-album titled ‘X-82’. 82MAJOR made a comeback with ‘X-82’ mini-album on October 15.
82MAJOR also charted in other Billboard charts including 15th on the World Sales chart, 24th on the Emerging Artists chart, and 37th on the Current Album Sales chart. The band also charted on other platforms including Luminate’s Top New Artist Albums chart, Record Label Independent Current Albums chart, and Heatseekers Albums chart.
—-Karen Mwenda
#82MAJOR #82MAJORDebutsonBillboard #WorldSaleschart #EmergingArtistsChart #CurrentAlbumSalesChard #kpop #LuminatesTopNewArtistAlbumChard #RecordLabelIndependentCurrentAlbumsChart #HeatseekersAlbums #kpopidol #koreancelebrity #kpopboygroup #kcrushamerica #kcrush #GreatMEntertainment #pop #billboard #knews
NewJeans will be making history as the first girl band to perform at the ‘Countdown Japan 24/25’.
On November 6, ADOR confirmed that the girl band will be among those performing at the highly anticipated end-year festival in Japan. The festival will take place from 28th to 31st December at Makuhari Messe, Tokyo.
NewJeans is scheduled to hit the stage on 31st December closing the festival in style. NewJean’s performance is expected to be a success given their July Japanese release of their “Supernatural” debut single was a top-seller in Japan.
—-Karen Mwenda
#NewJeans #NewJeansMakeHistory #NewJeanstoperformatCountdownJapanFestival2425 #koreankpop #kcrush #kpop #kidol #koreangirlgroup #MakuhariMesseTokyo #ADORconfirmsNewJeansCountdownJapanFestival #firstgirlgrouptoeverperformthere #makingkpophistory #makingfestivalhistory #kcrushamerica #kcrushmagazine
Lim Hyun Joo and Kwak Si Yang have been confirmed to have gone their separate ways.
Actors Lim Hyun Joo and Kwak Si Yang confirmed their relationship in September 2023. The relationship revelation came days after Kwak Si Yang mentioned his girlfriend’s name in a YouTube show appearance in August.
However, on November 6, 2024, the actors confirmed that their relationship had come to an end. They revealed the news through their agencies who added that the two actors have gone their separate ways but will continue to support each other in the future as colleagues.
—-Karen Mwenda
#LimHyunJoo #KwakSiYang #breakupnews #actorsLimHuunJooandKwakSiYangannouncebreakup #kactor #korea #kcrush #koreanactors #actorcouplebreakup #agencyannouncebreakup #kcrushamerica #kcrushmagazine #kidol
IVE has collaborated with the legendary French DJ David Guetta in their new single set to be released this week.
IVE, who recently finished the ‘Show What I Have’ world tour, has made another milestone by collaborating with a globally renowned figure in the music industry. David Guetta is a French DJ and record producer known for the “Titanium” remix.
David Guetta produced an English version of IVE’s “Supernova Love” single by sampling Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” soundtrack. The retouched “Supernova Love” English track will be released on November 8th.
—-Karen Mwenda
#IVE #IVEfeaturesDavidGuetta #November8release #SupernovaLoveIVEsingle #RyuichiSakamotosMerryChristmas #kpop #koreankpop #kcrush #RetouchedSupernovaLoveEnglishtrack #kcrushamerica #kcrushmagazine #kcelebrity #kidol #repurposeofSupernovaLoveproducedbyDavidGuetta #koreanculture #newsingle #koreanhallyu #FrenchDJ
In his debut feature film Work to Do, writer and director Park Hong-jun gives audiences a unique perspective of the innerworkings of the Human Resources (HR) department of a South Korean shipbuilding company amid a crisis set to change the course of the lives of its employees, namely that of its protagonist Kang Jun-hee.
After working for four years as an assistant manager at Hanyang Heavy Industries, Kang Jun-hee (Jang Sung-bum) receives a much awaited for but unexpected promotion to the HR department. But his excitement quickly fades when he’s assigned the daunting task of going through the companies hundreds of employee profiles to select who to remove in the company’s restructuring exercise to cut down on expenditures as the industry enters a phase of economic uncertainty.
Portrayed impressively by Jang Sung-bum (Summer Strike, Following), Jun-hee’s emotional transformation from an outgoing young man excited at the prospects his promotion to the HR department presents to his life, to one wracked guilt and shame for the choices he’s been employed to make changes him.
To Jae-yi (Lee Noh-ah) his longtime lower turned fiancé, Jun-hee becomes withdrawn. He’s no longer the man who would talk excitedly about the baby they’re expecting and the newly bought home in the city – a home with a hefty mortgage acquired through a company loan program.
For his friends, the guilt causes him to lash out and question when their beliefs in fairness and justice were replaced with being content to keeping their heads down and going along with the status quo. With his workmates, Jun-hee is lost at having to decide the fate of the people he sits across from in the office and the lunch table. He’s also given a little insight into how the status quo involves keeping women out of higher positions by judging their educational background.
Inspired by his own time working as a junior member of an HR team of a shipbuilding company located in the South Korean coastal city of Busan, Hong-jun set Work to Do in 2016, a year when the South Korean heavy industries as its known was in great upheaval due to a financial crisis that lead to many companies downsizing and restructuring, or firing to be more accurate, thousands of people from their jobs. Though there are many films to count with a similar premise, Work to Do is unique in that the filmmaker himself has personal firsthand observational experience of what takes place and knows intimately the emotional toll being tasked to select who stays and who goes, whose life to change forever, takes on a person with a conscience.
In my interview with director Park Hong-jun for the film’s presentation at the 2024 Ulju Mountain Film Festival, he shared about his path from working in corporate spaces diverged to filmmaking, working with actors like Jang Sung-bum, and how being inspired by the Candlelight Protests and Korea’s history of protests inspire him.
Work to Do stars Seo Suk-kyu, Kim Do-young, and Lee Noh-ah. It premiered at the 2023 Busan International Film Festival
Note: This interview was conducted video and email with the assistance of a Korean-English interpreter and has been edited for clarity and length.
I’d like us to begin by asking you to share a bit about your previous career working in Human Resources which you did before becoming a filmmaker, because I thought it was interesting as it ties into the plot of Work to Do.
I started work with the HR team of a ship building company in 2015, and I worked there for around four and a half years, and actually I began filmmaking around that same time. So, the company itself was in Busan, and I didn’t have any family there. I just went for the job. During the weekends I wanted have some fun, so as I was checking to see what there was to do in the city, I was told there was a place called the Busan Cinema Centre, where during the time there aren’t any film festivals taking place the venue offers filmmaking classes for the general public.
I went, took a screen writing class for short films, and with this class I had the desire to make a film, so I began the process of making a short film using my weekends and holidays with the help of friends I made in the classes.
So, I began making films while still working for that company.
So, you kind of fell into filmmaking then. It was a hobby and a way to pass time, rather than a calling as some people would say or by being inspired by other filmmakers.
Exactly. Yes, that’s right. Filmmaking did start as a hobby for me. However, I became more attracted to it the more I learned and got really into it as time went on. But my love for art started even before that.
While I was at university, I was in some of the clubs like music band and theatre where I was in plays, and so on. But, even with my love of such arts, I thought that filmmaking was done by some people who are special. Then after learning I was able to do it, the thought of making one became more attractive to me.
I have a question about your first film, the short film Moving Day. I’m curious about it because I was trying to find information about it but couldn’t. Could you explain what it’s about?
Moving Day is the story of a young woman who moves to a semi-basement apartment, and the film takes place over one day of her moving. It’s the first day of this woman becoming independent and living for the first time by herself in this small room.
Usually, semi-basement apartments do not have good living conditions, so she encounters some difficulties such as the toilet not working and flushing well, and there’s a noise from upstairs, and most frustrating of all, because of the location of the semi-basement apartments, if a window is opened, everyone who passes by can see inside of your apartment. So those kinds of living conditions are during this story of moving day in detail.
Ok. I asked about it because I was curious to know what kind of stories interest you as a filmmaker, because Work to Do is very much focused on Jun-hee and is what would be called “a human story” where you’re trying to show how the situation is affecting him emotionally.
I can’t pinpoint exactly what kind of story attracts me. I don’t think I’ve found a specific preference as yet, but there are of course some stories that interest me, so I guess I like the kind of story where a person contemplates on their way of living, how to build a relationship, and how to live in society.
Those are the kinds of stories I think I like. In fact, I do find that the films by Ken Loach and Dardenne Brothers very interesting. But I’m still in the learning phase of my filmmaking so I’m open to any genre.
You’re still trying to figure out what your identity is as a filmmaker and storyteller.
Yes. Exactly.
It’s interesting hearing you say that you’re interested in stories about people who are in a way, figuring out life for themselves, because Work to Do is kind of like that. The film is set in 2016, and in doing some research I found that it’s set during a very pivotal time in South Korea’s economic development then, because at that time a lot of the heavy industry companies were restructuring, as they called it.
So, I’d like you to talk a bit about your personal experience working in HR management at that time because it’s fascinating you had an inside look at the economy with a perspective that few people had at the time.
Well, I was just a junior on the HR team and was a new member, so I didn’t exactly take part in the restructuring process, nor did I have to persuade people to resign. But the atmosphere itself gave me a lot of stress because in that environment people are on guard, and you have to be. Your colleagues become competitors, and you must be on guard all the time. Before this restructuring happened, I had my own world view…my perspective about life. But in encountering this restructuring, I had to ask myself whether I am living my life properly and whether I am walking on the right track.
In 2016 there were Candlelight Protests in Korea and people were letting their voices be heard to make Korean society a better place to live. However, at the same time in the company I was with, the opposite happened which was the restructuring.
So, because of these two different situations, I felt like I was separated from the rest of society. A lot of other films that address labour and working-class workers, they usually portray the companies as villains, but I knew that my colleagues who had to conduct the restructuring process weren’t villains per se. We could give some criticisms of them, but we can’t just point at them and say that they’re villains.
So that got me thinking and I asked myself “If my colleagues aren’t villains, where did the original problem begin?”
I remember the Candlelight Protests. I was paying attention to Korean politics at that time and was aware of it. So, as all of this was happening, when did the idea for Work to Do come to you and when did you begin working on the script? It seems that while you were contemplating you place within the company, you were also discovering your desire to pursue filmmaking. This was all happening at the same time.
I’ve been contemplating this a lot. I was really stressed and emotionally drained by what was happening, so I talked with my friends a lot about this, or some seniors at the company and they tried to comfort me by saying “It’s not something you can handle so don’t think about it too much because either someone else would have to do it, or you. It’s not something that you can decide, so just let it go.”
But these words never comforted me, so I had to think on this issue further. But then, I had this opportunity to start making short films after taking the filmmaking classes. I was employed full-time in the company, but it became challenging because my time was limited. I found myself trying to justify that thinking “Because I don’t have much time, maybe I can do this much.”
I was at the point where I had to decide either I give up filmmaking or give up the company, so I just eventually quit the company. That was the choice I made and as I started to seriously begin making films, I thought about what kind of story I could begin as a start to becoming a filmmaker and I couldn’t avoid talking about this (Work to Do) story.
My urge to make this was probably from my sense of guilt or shame.
I kind of got a sense of that while watching the film. I had seen it last October during the Busan International Film Festival and I wanted to speak with you about it even then because it left a deep impression on me.
For those of us who’ve worked outside of Human Resources, HR is seen in a negative light because we see HR as working for the benefit of the company rather than working to protect the employees. I think Work to Do is a necessary film because it shows that for some of the people working in that department, they don’t like the things they’re told to do and the way they’re told to do them, and in hearing you speak, I wonder if the film was a method of catharsis for you. A way to let people know how you and others doing that job feel about it.
You mention the sense of catharsis, and I as the filmmaker didn’t actually feel this sense of catharsis because I had some fear when I was making the film. I do know that HR is viewed as the enemy of the regular employee as you mentioned, but I didn’t want to be considered as someone who speaks for HR teams. I didn’t want that kind of perspective.
Of course, I wanted to show the human side of HR teams, but I didn’t think that what they did was right. So, there wasn’t that sense of catharsis for me. I felt a heavy sense of guilt and shame and I’m just living with these feelings.
At the beginning of the film Jun-hee is very open, fun loving and affectionate with his girlfriend and their friends, but as he becomes overwhelmed and weighed down by his feelings of guilt and shame he begins to withdraw from the people in his life.
Can you talk about casting Jang Sung-bum to play Jun-hee, and how you both worked through the emotional arc the character went through? I was very impressed with Sung-bum’s performance as it wasn’t heavy handed but felt balanced and subtly executed.
After writing the screenplay, I did some research in order to find my cast and I encountered the TV drama “Dance Sport Girl” ( 땐뽀걸, 2018) by KBS, the Korean Broadcasting Services, and this drama also had a shipbuilding company as part of the background story, and Jang Sung-bum played the role of a teacher in it. I saw him and thought that there was something in his face, a kind of energy or power that came through in his looks.
I could see how he portrayed subtle emotions and that’s why I cast him, and we had a look of discussions together about them. We talked about how Jun-hee would think, why he wouldn’t do certain things like not pick up his girlfriend’s phone calls, his relationship with his mother and so on.
However, when it came to filming, I didn’t give a lot of specific directions to Sung-bum because I trusted him. As long as they didn’t go over certain guidelines I gave, I allowed the actors to play the characters as they liked, and we had a great result.
Regarding the scene that takes place with Jun-hee and his mother (played by Jang Ri-woo) there’s many things I really enjoy about it. First being that it’s about her years of political and social activism and Jun-hee being prompted to seek her out by his feelings of confusion and guilt about his work. Jun-hee going to her shows that he trusts her and seeks her counsel, which isn’t something I see very often depicted with mother and son relationships in South Korean films or dramas.
For you what was the importance of having a scene like this in the film and having a mother rather than father? I think the gender of the parent matters as the context of this scene would be different.
First, I thought Jun-hee needed a deficiency. That made Jun-hee become a little more attached to the family he would achieve.
I don’t think this is limited to Korean society, but even now, women are a little more responsible for housework and raising children than men. However, when Jun-hee was young, the burden on women was more severe, and Jun-hee’s mother was a person who prioritised social activities over raising children in those such circumstances. That makes her feel sorry for Jun-hee all the time.
Perhaps if the social activist was the father, I don’t think Jun-hee’s parents would have divorced. This is because behind the activities of many men, it was a generation where women’s dedication was taken for granted. I don’t think Jun-hee would have grown up in an environment where he felt deprived of his mother’s attention.
Jun-hee spent his childhood separated from his mother, and he sometimes resented her for it, but I thought he must have been curious about why she was forced to do such activities, and I think as he understood her life more and more, he began to gain more respect for her.
The second thing that I really like about their conversation is that it’s a completely honest discussion between parent and child where they treat each other as equals, discussing her regrets at what was sacrificed in her inability to provide for him, as well as his respect and understanding for what she does speaking up for what she believes in.
Please speak about the importance of including a scene like this in a film that centers around a male protagonist essentially having a crisis of conscience related to his employment, something that capitalist societies never prepare anyone to experience once they enter the workforce.
In order to allow the audience to immerse themselves in the main character of this movie, he had to go through a severe internal conflict. If it was a protagonist who wasn’t worried, the audience would probably consider it as a non-serious thing. In the process, I thought about what kind of environment Jun-hee had grown up in and if it would be in conflict with what he was going through at work. As a result, I established this relationship between him and his mother.
In the meantime, Jun-hee is so frustrated with work that he goes to her looking for answers. Knowing her social activist background, he was wondering what kind of answers she could have. If this is someone else’s job, could she talk about the consequences of what they’re doing and the possible reasons to oppose it, etc.
However, she is someone who feels sorry for her son all the time because she feels she hasn’t done anything for him, and so she can’t give him a clear answer either. She tells him the answers are for him to find, not what others can tell him.
What also really stands out to me about this scene now, is I believe its connection to what you said before about the Candlelight Protests which lasted for months from late 2016 to spring 2017. You mentioned that period as being a defining time in your life, and I’m curious about two things, if the prevalence of parents taking their children to the protests also served as inspiration for this scene with Jun-hee and his mother and the presence of the book ‘Civilizing the State’ by John Restakis on her dining table.
I looked up the book and it speaks about true democracy existing when the decision-making power of a country is a comprehensive cooperation between the government and the people.
Can you speak to democracy as a concept and being a theme in the film not only on a macro scale in the country’s politics, but I think also on a micro scale with how companies operate, as well with Jun-hee’s personal relationships with Jae-yi and his friends.
Yes, there is a part that reflects parents taking their children to the protest. However, it is in the relationship between Jae-yi and Jun-hee, and it’s not deeply reflected in the relationship between Jun-hee and his mother. I haven’t read the book, but looking at what you said, I think it would be good to read it.
Jae-yi is an old lover who along with his best friend, has known Jun-hee since college. All three of them went to school together, including a senior they met at a bar in the middle of the film. They all met while doing social activities in the school. He had been curious about Jae-yi and his friend because they reminded him of his mother’s social justice activities.
In the 70s and 90s, college students often took the lead in social movements in Korea. They fought against dictatorships and made great contributions to solving many problems in Korean society. However, I think in the current era they have become unclear about what to fight for. In the increasingly complex social structure, capitalism is exploiting many people without revealing itself. So, in Jun-hee’s generation, it was different. The social movement in the school was weak, and Jun-hee got a job like an ordinary person.
As mentioned, Jun-hee expresses frustration with the company’s work. In that process, he meets his senior from school who works for a conservative media company that has been criticized by many people. It’s a newspaper that they cursed at when they themselves were in school. But, it’s a place that provides high wages and a stable working environment for employees, despite this Jun-hee criticizes the senior for changing his mind and struggles with the change because he was a person Jun-hee once trusted and relied on. So Jun-hee suggest they do something, take some kind of action together as a kind of a process of asking for answers.
But he can’t give Jun-hee an answer either. He just asks, “What’s the difference between you and I?”
I think it’s not a question of the concept of democracy, it’s a question of how deeply capitalism is involved in our lives.
In speaking about interpersonal relationships, we’ve spoken about the feelings of guilt and shame you yourself experienced during your time in HR, Jun-hee’s feelings and even his mother’s, and I’d like to speak a bit about Jae-yi, too. I think she’s as much the emotional core of the film as Jun-hee is because I see a parallel between Jae-yi returning home to her parents when feeling neglected and distanced Jun-hee, and the employees of the company feeling unappreciated and undervalued by the HR team and the company.
Talk about your thoughts on this character and her importance to the story.
The interpretation you mentioned is interesting. I’ll think about it again. The part where Jun-hee alienated Jae-yi from his conflict wasn’t done with bad intentions. He had no choice but to work hard to be recognized by the company, and as a result, he has a guilty conscience.
However, I think there are some problems that I can’t say anymore because I’m close to them. When I tell someone about my concerns, or my faults, the worry arises; “What if this person is disappointed in me and leaves me?”, for example. Hiding something from his parents like a child when in trouble.
Jun-hee is a person who feels deficient because of his parents’ divorce when he was young, and in that sense, he hesitates to tell Jae-yi about his shameful job. When the senior asks her, “Why do you like Jun-hee?”, she says, “When he’s in the wrong, he’s man enough to feel shame.” She has conscientious standards, and Jun-hee becomes more hesitant to disclose what he is doing as a result. But at the same time, I needed at least one person to comfort Jun-hee. I had no other choice than Jae-yi.
Regarding what you said about the culture of protests in South Korea from the 70s to the 90s, it made me think about how college students have had such a rich and powerful impact on South Korean history and culture through various long-lasting protests such as the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. But it also made me think of even more recent events globally such as the 2019 Sunflower protests in Hong Kong, and more recently the student uprising in Bangladesh this summer.
As much as Work to Do is a call for people to come together to talk about labor issues, I think the film also serves as a subtle homage to the seemingly bygone days of student protests in South Korea, and the progress they lead to. If you could say something to students currently in college and high school about the importance of protesting, what would you say?
Well, we have voting, which is a great tool for democracy. But what we should keep in mind here is that this right to vote was something our ancestors fought for. If something is unjust or unreasonable, and if it causes harm or discrimination, I believe we should know how to stand up and fight against it.
Netizens have commenced signing a petition that will see HYBE lose tax recently earned privilege status.
On October 31, HYBE a petition was uploaded on the South Korean National Assembly webpage. The petition gave the public to power to remove HYBE’s designation as a “major business group” through a digital signature.
This petition comes after a Democratic Party of Korea revealed HYBE’s internal report that inhumanely criticized K-pop artists during the National Assembly Audit. Moreover, NewJeans band’s Hanni also attended the audit as a witness on HYBE’s alleged workplace bullying. Representative Park Hong Bae criticized HYBE’s CEO for not attending the Audit and urged the Ministry of Employment and Labor to take action by canceling HYBE’s “Top Company” status on workplace harassment grounds.
HYBE became the 1st entertainment company to achieve the “Major business group” designation in May 2024. HYBE’s founder, Bang Si Hyuk was accredited the “head of the major business group” given his over 5 trillion Won worth of assets and 31.57% shares at HYBE. If the petition goes through, HYBE will be stripped of all given privileges, especially the tax deferral benefits.
—-Karen Mwenda
#HYBE #HYBENetizenPetition #potentialstrippingHYBEofTaxPrivilegeStatus #kcrush #koreankpopagency #kpop #kidol #koreanculture #taxbenefits #HYBEachievedtheMajorbusinessgroupdesignation #kcrushmagazine #kmedia #kcrushamerica #BangSiHuuk #NewJeans #workplacebullying #RepresentativeParkHongBae #koreancelebrity #khallyu #RepresentativeParkHongBaecriticizedHYBEsCEOfornotattendingtheAudit #BangSiHyukHYBEFounder
BOYNEXTDOOR has recently secured a partnership deal with Apple.
BOYNEXTDOOR band had faced backlash last month for flaunting Apple products right after finishing their Samsung partnership. This band’s members were seen flaunting the latest AirPod Max and iPhone phones at Incheon Airport.
To everybody’s surprise, Apple announced a partnership with BOYNEXTDOOR on November 2 for Apple Music’s Christmas playlist. The playlist, titled ‘Carols Covered 2024’ is a collection of renowned Christmas songs recorded by selected renowned artists across the globe.
BOYNEXTDOOR will be singing Michael Bublé’s “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas”. The boy band’s cover and other ‘Carols Covered 2024’ songs will be available on Apple Music.
—-Karen Mwenda
#BOYNEXTDOOR #BOYNEXTDOORANDAPPLEMUSIC #kcrush #koreankpop #koreanpopidol #kpopcelebrity #kpop #BOYNEXTDOORsingingItsBeginningToLookLikeChristmasbyMichaelBuble #ApplePartnership #Christmas
Red Velvet’s Irene will be making a solo debut this November.
Irene, from Red Velvet will be debuting as a solo artist this November. Irene announced that she will debut with her 1st mini-album titled ‘Like a Flower’.
‘Like a Flower’ is set to be released on November 26. Irene becomes the 4th Red Velvet member to make a solo debut. Joy debuted in May 2021 with the ‘Hello’ album, Wendy in April 2021 with the ‘Like Water’ album, and Seulgi in October 2022 with the ’28 Reasons’ album.
—-Karen Mwenda
#Irene #RedVelvetIrene #IrenemakingSolodebut #solodebut #kcrush #koreansolosinger #koreankpop #kpop #kidol #koreanfashion #kcrushmagazine #kcrushamerica #IrenesSingleLikeaFlower #LikeAFlowerbyIreneinNovember
TWS has released a preview of an MV for their upcoming November comeback.
PLEDIS Entertainment’s TWS will be making a comeback on November 25. TWS released a preview of the “Last Bell” MV emerged in blue hues.
TWS debuted in January 2024 and returned with a 2nd mini-album, ‘SUMMER BEAT!’, in June 2024. “Last Bell” marks TWS band’s third release and first single album.
—-Karen Mwenda
#TWS #TWSComeback #NovemberComebacks #2024KpopComebacks #SUMMERBEATTWSAlbum #kcrush #kpop #kidol #koreankpop #koreanhallyu #hallyu #kcrushamerica #kcrushmagazine #2ndminialbum #3rdrelease #1stsingle