Entertainment

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  BLACKPINK member Jisoo's dance song 'Flower' gains worldwide popularity SEOUL -- K-pop girl band BLACKPINK member Jisoo's song "Flower" ranked second on two Billboard charts -- Global 200 and Global Excl. In the dance song featuring dreamy vibes, the 28-year-old portrayed the end of a relationship between two people that has left nothing but the scent of a flower. Billboard said in a statement on April 11 that the title track of Jisoo's solo album "Me" has recorded 108.7 million streaming and 210 million downloads worldwide. 2023-04-12
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  ​Spotify selects S. Korean rapper Huh as promising rapper for artist support program SEOUL -- Heo Sung-hyun, a South Korean rapper known by his stage name Huh, was selected for an artist support program by Spotify, the world's most popular music streaming service. The 24-year-old who finished second in "Show Me The Money," a cable TV hip-hop audition show series, has garnered attention through a rap song titled "Midnight law." Spotify said in a statement that the rapper was selected for this year's RADAR KOREA, a program designed to nurt 2023-04-11
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  Pinkfong partners with Apple to provide Baby Shark's podcast content in 170 countries SEOUL -- The Pinkfong Company, famous for its children's YouTube mega-hit song "Baby Shark, will launch a channel on Apple Podcasts, a streaming service accounting for more than 25 percent of audio content distributed through the global internet network. Users in 170 countries can enjoy Baby Shark content in English and Korean. Baby Shark, which depicts the story of a great white shark family with colorful visuals and a catchy melody, has gained global popularity since 2023-04-11
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  Contemporary dance group 'Ambiguous Dance Company' to perform at arts festival in southwest of Seoul SEOUL -- Ambiguous Dance Company, a South Korean contemporary dance performance team that collaborated with the British rock band Coldplay for dance song "Higher Power," will perform at a mask-free street festival in Ansan southwest of Seoul. Ansan earlier announced that the city would come up with diverse programs by inviting foreign performance groups to the annual event visited by more than 700,000 people every year. Higher Power, released in May 2021, was nominated fo 2023-04-10
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  BTS's lead rapper Suga appointed as global ambassador for NBA SEOUL -- BTS member Suga was selected as the global ambassador of the National Basketball Association, a North America-based baseball league, to promote various events. The 30-year-old is a big fan of an Oregon-based team "The Portland Trail Blazers." "It is personally a great honor as I have loved basketball since I was young," the artist said in a video uploaded on NBA's official Twitter account. The South Korean singer earlier said his favorite basketball 2023-04-06
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  BTS member Jimin gains explosive popularity through solo album 'FACE' SEOUL -- BTS member Jimin is garnering explosive popularity through his first solo album "FACE," which has ranked second on Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart. The 27-year-old has also topped Billboard's top 100 popular song chart through the album's title track "Like Crazy." The album released on March 24 was ranked second on the list of Billboard 200 chart with 164,000 equivalent album units sold in the United States in the week ending on Mar 2023-04-05
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  Squid Game actor Lee Byung-hun to discuss future of Korean Cultural Wave at Standford University SEOUL -- Lee Byung-hun, a South Korean actor who starred in Netflix drama series Squid Game, will interact with global fans at a conference held by Standford University's research institute specializing in contemporary Asian studies. The conference is designed to discuss directions for South Korean films, K-drama, and Korean studies. Squid Game, released on September 17, 2021, was watched by some 111 million households around the world only 28 days after its release, beating Br 2023-04-05
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  Baby Shark's creator gains explosive popularity in U.S. with latest series SEOUL -- "Bebefinn," a three-dimension video animation show featuring the five-member family of a 20-month-old baby, is garnering explosive popularity in the United States. The animation show created by South Korea's educational entertainment company Pinkfong has recorded 250 million views in the U.S. with 20 million hours of accumulated viewing time. Finn is an animated child who loves to play with Baby Shark. He has four family members -- mother, father, brother, an 2023-04-03
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  BTS Jimin ranks second on Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart with 'FACE' SEOUL -- "FACE," a solo album by BTS member Jimin, has become the second-best album on Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart. It is the highest record among Korean language-based solo albums. The album released on March 24 was ranked second on the list of Billboard 200 chart with 164,000 equivalent album units sold in the United States in the week ending on March 30. "One Thing at a Time," an album by American singer Morgan Wallen, topped the chart with 1 2023-04-03
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  Boy band ENHYPEN collaborates with Baby Shark creator for child animation film SEOUL -- K-pop boy band ENHYPEN has collaborated with a South Korean educational entertainment company that created famous characters such as Baby Shark, to make a foray into the United States' animation movie market. The seven-member band was recreated into animated characters in the English-dubbed content where group members participated as voice actors. The Pinkfong Company, the creator of Baby Shark, said in a statement that the movie titled "Baby Shark's Big Mo 2023-03-31
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  BTS member Jungkook appointed as global ambassador for American fashion brand Calvin Klein SEOUL -- BTS member Jungkook was selected as the global ambassador of Calvin Klein, an American fashion brand known for its underwear and denim products, to promote various fashion items and campaigns. Many global stars including British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson and American actor Michael B. Jordan have been active as the global brand's ambassadors. "Jungkook is one of the world's most popular artists; he possesses a rare ability to connect with international audienc 2023-03-29
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  BTS Jimin's dance song 'Like Crazy' garners explosive popularity on Spotify SEOUL -- "Like Crazy," the title song of BTS Jimin's first solo album "FACE" has become the most-streamed song on the daily chart of Spotify, the world's most popular music streaming service. The singer has earlier performed the dance song on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," a popular American talk show. As of March 26, the title track was played about 6.01 million times on Spotify, topping the streaming service's Global Top 50. 2023-03-28
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  Netflix drama 'The Match' postponed amid police investigation into actor Yoo Ah-in's alleged drug use SEOUL -- "The Match," a Netflix drama about two professionals in "Go," a board game that had been popular for centuries in Korea, China, and Japan, was postponed while actor Yoo Ah-in is under investigation for alleged drug use. The prominent South Korean actor who played a Go legend on the show is currently being investigated on suspicion of taking drugs including propofol, a powerful anesthetic. "I deeply regret that I am standing here because of an unsav 2023-03-28
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  BTS Jimin releases solo album 'FACE' SEOUL -- Jimin, a member of BTS, has rolled out his first solo album titled "FACE." The 27-year-old, who expressed his feelings during the COVID-19 pandemic through the album, will interact with global fans through "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," a popular American talk show for two days starting on March 24. "As the album contains the meaning of facing my true self, I tried to showcase my honest feelings and features that I have never shown anywh 2023-03-24
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  BTS' brother band TXT to headline annual music festival 'Lollapalooza' in US SEOUL -- TXT (Tomorrow X Together), a K-pop boy band organized by the agency of BTS, will interact with global fans in Chicago through Lollapalooza, a popular global music event, as its headliner. The five-member band will take part in the global music festival along with American rapper Kendrick Lamar and Billy Eilish, an American singer-songwriter. Lollapalooza is an annual global festival that was held in various countries including the United States, Chile, and Brazil. BTS mem 2023-03-22
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  BTS member J-Hope receives enlistment schedule from state military manpower administration SEOUL -- BTS' main dancer J-Hope has received an enlistment schedule from the state Military Manpower Administration. The 29-year-old artist would be the second BTS member to fulfill compulsory military service, followed by Jin, the eldest member who completed his basic training in January 2023 at a frontline army boot camp. "I am unable to provide specific information, but the enlistment date has been confirmed and it's about time for me to get ready," J-Hope tol 2023-03-17
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  Pinkfong to work with Saudi Arabian government for expansion of content business SEOUL -- The Pinkfong Company, famous for its children's YouTube mega-hit song "Baby Shark, has partnered with a Saudi Arabian ministry in charge of issuing licenses to foreign investors, to expand its business in the Middle Eastern country. Saudi Arabia accounts for the largest portion in terms of cumulative viewing time on Pinkfng's YouTube channel in the Middle East and North Africa region. Pinkfong has gained global popularity for its Baby Shark content. Baby Sha 2023-03-17
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  South Korea's theme park & amusement fair to be held in KINTEX in July SEOUL -- "2023 Korea Theme Park & Amusement Fair" (KAAFAIR), one of South Korea's largest annual theme park exhibitions, will be held in KINTEX in Ilsan northeast of Seoul for three days in July. Various companies from South Korea and the global theme park and amusement park industries will participate in the event. After its first successful event held in the southern port city of Busan in 2020, KAAFAIR will be held for the first time in three years for three day 2023-03-16
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  Lotte's home shopping channel selects human influencers to manage virtual model Lucy SEOUL -- The home shopping channel of Lotte Group has selected human influencers who will be in charge of managing Lucy, a 29-year-old virtual model with some 104,000 followers on Instagram. Based on actual experience, the human managers will plan various types of content for the virtual influencer who made a debut as an online shopping show host in 2022. Lucy, created by synthesizing a face with an image of a real person, has interacted with viewers through live commerce shows. Sh 2023-03-14
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  Thriller series 'The Glory' maintains explosive popularity despite director's bullying allegations SEOUL -- Although the director of "The Glory" has admitted his bullying allegations during his teenage years, it has not affected the content's global popularity. The South Korean thriller series has become the second-most watched content on Netflix through its second part which includes episodes from nine to 16, only three days after its release. According to Flixpatrol, a Europe-based Netflix content ranking service, the second part of The Glory, released on March 1 2023-03-13