Entertainment

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  BTS members allowed to participate in limited group activities while in military service SEOUL -- All BTS members will be able to gather for limited group activities such as concerts outside barracks while in obligatory military service if top commanders make an exceptional judgment that their reunion will promote national interest. The share price of their agency is on the rise with investors believing that uncertainties have been resolved. Under pressure to clarify its official position about the allowable range of performance after enlistment, the defense ministry sa 2022-10-18
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  BTS shocks fans with sudden decision to fulfill mandatory military service one by one SEOUL -- K-pop superstar BTS shocked global fans with a sudden decision to fulfill South Korea's mandatory military service one by one, starting with Jin, the eldest member who had been allowed to postpone enlistment until the age of 30 by the end of 2022. The decision ended a wave of social discussions on whether BTS members should be exempted from military service. "Jin will apply for the cancellation of the postponement of his enlistment at the end of this month and will 2022-10-17
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  SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man takes hands off producing SEOUL -- Lee Soo-man, the founder of South Korea's entertainment powerhouse SM, who was credited with venturing into the global entertainment market to promote K-pop, will step back into the back room, taking his hands off producing and bowing to demands from minority shareholders for transparent governance. SM Entertainment said in a regulatory filing on October 14 that its board approved the proposed termination of a production contract with Lee's private company Like Pla 2022-10-14
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  Digital celebrity Sua makes international debut through modeling contract with Thai company SEOUL -- Sua, a digital human modeled after a K-pop star, made its international debut as an advertising model who will appear on large billboards and electronic boards installed in landmarks in Thailand. Sua is South Korea's first virtual human to enter Thailand. Sua's founder, On Mind, said that it has signed a three-year exclusive contract with Dynamic Digital Display (DDD), a digital signage display supplier based in Thailand, to actively support Sua's activities in 2022-10-14
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  Girl band Le Sserafim collaborates with American artist Salem Ilese for new album SEOUL -- Le Sserafim, a five-member girl group formed by Hybe's music label, will expand its overseas fanbase by collaborating with Salem Ilese, an American singer and songwriter. The sister band of BTS has already worked with Moroccan-American pop artist ABIR for its debut album released on May 2. According to Source Music, the rookie group's second mini album titled "ANTIFRAGILE" will be released on October 17 in collaboration with Ilese. On October 8, a video 2022-10-11
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  ​Pinkfong expands overseas business through round tour of offline pop-up theme park SEOUL -- In an effort to expand its overseas business, the creator of a catchy cartoon song called "Baby Shark" stepped up efforts to bring global fans to an offline pop-up theme park that provides various experiences such as 3D realistic content, character sculptures, amusement and photographing. The first pop-up theme park opened in Singapore on October 7. Starting with Singapore, the pop-up park called "Pinkfong World Adventure" will go to Malaysia from Janua 2022-10-07
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  Genie Music releases audio drama created by human and AI voice actors SEOUL -- An audio drama created through collaboration between human and artificial intelligence voice actors was released on applications of Genie Music, the online music service wing of South Korea's top telecom company KT, and Millie's Library, an online e-book subscription platform. The voice drama series based on Millie's popular e-book titled "Welcome to Hugh-Nam-dong Bookstore" was released at 12 p.m. (0300 GMT) on October 6. Out of 19 key members that 2022-10-06
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  Girl band NewJeans to release dance videos in collaboration with Baby Shark SEOUL -- NewJeans, a rookie girl group formed by a subsidiary label of the agency of K-pop superstar BTS, will collaborate with a South Korean educational entertainment company that created famous characters such as Baby Shark, to release dance content. The five-member group gained attention through its debut song, "Attention," released on August 1. As part of a project to mesmerize young fans through spectacular dance performances by K-pop idols and dance crews, NewJeans 2022-10-06
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  Saudi princess visits SM Entertainment to learn about music industry SEOUL -- Saudi princess Haifa bint Mohammed Al-Saud visited the office of South Korea's entertainment powerhouse SM Entertainment to discuss various methods to cooperate in the field of culture such as hosting concerts. She serves as the vice president of Saudi Arabia's tourism ministry. The meeting followed Saudi Arabia's tourism ministry's request in March 2022 when SM founder Lee Soo-man visited Riyadh, the capital and financial hub of Saudi Arabia, to help nurtu 2022-09-23
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  Drama series 'Narco-Saints' tops Netflix's weekly non-English series chart SEOUL -- South Korean Thriller TV series "Narco-Saints" topped Netflix's weekly TV drama series chart. The thriller series depicts the story of an ordinary man cooperating with a government agency to arrest a South Korean drug lord operating in Suriname, a country located in the northern region of South America. The over-the-top (OTT) media service said that "Narco-Saints" garnered some 62.6 million hours of viewing during the week of September 12 to 18. It 2022-09-22
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  Everland amusement park to showcase special rides and experience spaces integrated with features of SM artists SEOUL -- Everland, a popular theme park run by Samsung C&T, a construction and engineering company, will showcase special rides and various spaces by combining features of SM Entertainment's artists such as NCT 127. By incorporating various digital technologies including augmented reality with amusement park facilities, Everland will allow users to explore SM's worldview. Using intellectual properties of SM celebrities such as NCT 127 and aespa, many brand-new rides and 2022-09-21
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  BTS' stage outfits upcycled into bags using undyed industrial material SEOUL -- Stage outfits worn by BTS members were dismantled into pieces and upcycled to produce three different bags using undyed industrial materials. All products were made special by marking the number 1 which means only one piece of clothing. The production of BTS bags is the result of joint work by Kolon FnC, a fashion and lifestyle wing of South Korea's Kolon Group, and Hybe Insight, a culture space run by the agency of BTS, where people can share the power of music throug 2022-09-21
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  SK Telecom creates virtual concert hall for indie music at metaverse platform Ifland SEOUL -- SK Telecom, a top mobile carrier, has created a concert hall for indie music at its metaverse platform, Ifland, to showcase the performances of various indie bands and musicians, using volumetric capture technology that uses many cameras to capture an entire scene in 360 degrees in volumetric 3D for the production of high-end holographic virtual reality and augmented reality content. In Ifland, SK Telecom (SKT) recreated Rollinghall, a live hall that has represented indi 2022-09-19
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  Baby Shark to release collab music video in Korean and Japanese with famous child singer Nanoka Murakata SEOUL -- South Korean educational entertainment company Pinkfong will accelerate its market invasion in Japan through collaboration with Nonoka Murakata, a four-year-old Japanese singer who gained enormous attention for her outstanding performance at a nursery contest. The music video showing Baby Shark and Murakata singing and dancing will be released in both Korean and Japanese. Murakata finished second at the nursery contest in November 2020 at the age of 2. In May 2021, she deb 2022-09-16
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  Virtual university entrance ceremony garners attention from aespa fans SEOUL -- A video showing a virtual entrance ceremony at a South Korean university that was held in collaboration with K-pop girl band aespa is gaining popularity on YouTube, exceeding 10 million views. Many overseas fans complimented the group's special performance in the video where various facilities including the school's gate and street were actualized in a metaverse world. Soonchunhyang University, based in Asan some 85 kilometers (52 miles) south of Seoul, broke the b 2022-09-15
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  Krafton's virtual human ANA releases first digital single 'Shine Bright' SEOUL -- ANA, a virtual human created by South Korea's game developer Krafton, debuted as a singer through her digital single SHINE BRIGHT. The full-English song released in collaboration with American music producer Cha Cha Malone showcases the virtual artist's natural joint movements and human-like voice. "ANA's unique voice contains the message she wants to convey to the world. We ask for your support for her further activities as a singer," an unnamed Kraf 2022-09-15
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  Social media platform Cyworld to hold public survey on exempting BTS from obligatory military service SEOUL -- Discussions on whether BTS members should be exempted from compulsory military service will be held at a metaverse platform. Although many people regard BTS members as valuable national assets, military officials are reluctant to give them special treatment for fear of a backlash from young men in the run-up to military duty, which has been an extremely sensitive social issue in South Korea still technically at war with North Korea. South Korea's social media platform 2022-09-14
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  Baby Shark creator partners with digital IP platform operator IPX to showcase new content SEOUL -- The Pinkfong Company, a South Korean educational entertainment company that created a catchy cartoon song called "Baby Shark," partnered with IPX, a digital IP platform known for a character brand, to target global markets, especially Southeast Asia and China, through collaborative content. Pinkfong's famous character Baby Shark will meet IPX's Line Friends in the new content. "We will present a different type of excitement through the collaboration 2022-09-08
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  ​BLACKPINK's new song 'Pink Venom' excluded from domestic music chart for citing name of French luxury brand SEOUL -- Pink Venom, K-pop girl band BLACKPINK's global hit song that entered Billboard Hot 100 chart, was excluded from the chart of Music Bank, a famous TV music show in South Korea for mentioning Celine, a French ready-to-wear and leather luxury goods brand, in lyrics. Lisa, a Thai member of BLACKPINK, has been Celine's global ambassador. Pink Venom, which incorporated various genres including hip-hop and electronic dance music (EDM), has gained worldwide popularity since 2022-09-05
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  S. Korean hip-hop garners explosive popularity on Spotify SEOUL -- South Korean hip-hop songs have garnered explosive popularity on Spotify, the world's most popular music streaming service, during a 12-month period between August 2021 and July 2022. A playlist comprised of South Korean hip-hop songs was streamed more than 20 million times. The number of song streams increased by 56 percent from five years ago. "K-Hip-Hop +82," which has just changed its name to "KrOWN," was mostly favored by Americans, followed b 2022-09-01