Journalist

Choi Song-hee
  • Bridgerton Season 4’s Ha Yerin Addresses Racism Controversy, Urges Restraint
    Bridgerton Season 4’s Ha Yerin Addresses Racism Controversy, Urges Restraint Actor Ha Yerin has spoken publicly about a recent racism controversy tied to Netflix’s series “Bridgerton 4.” At a news conference held Tuesday afternoon at Community House Masil in Seoul’s Jung-gu district, Ha addressed the issue while appearing as the show’s lead actor. The series previously drew criticism during global promotion after actions that included excluding Ha, prompting allegations of racial discrimination. Fans in South Korea and abroad also lodged complaints with the show’s production company, Shondaland. “While I was on set, I never felt it was racism,” Ha said. “I do think there were times when certain details were overlooked. But I don’t think it was intentional or done consciously.” Ha added that while she did not personally feel slighted, she understands why some people reacted the way they did. She said the moment could be a chance to show tolerance for what was missed and for media outlets to learn that such details should not be overlooked. She also said she hopes the controversy does not lead to excessive criticism or hatred. “Bridgerton 4” follows Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), a free spirit indifferent to marriage, as he navigates love, identity and class between a “lady in a silver dress” he meets at a masked ball and Sophie Baek (Ha), a maid in real life. Part 1 was released on Netflix on Jan. 29, and Part 2 on Feb. 26.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-04 15:24:31
  • Bridgerton Season 4 Star Ha Yerin Says Grandmother Son Sook Watched — and Blushed at Intimate Scenes
    Bridgerton Season 4 Star Ha Yerin Says Grandmother Son Sook Watched — and Blushed at Intimate Scenes Actress Ha Yerin on Tuesday shared her grandmother Son Sook’s reaction after watching Netflix’s series “Bridgerton 4.” Ha attended a press event for “Bridgerton 4” on Tuesday afternoon at Community House Masil in Seoul’s Jung District. Ha, a Korean Australian actor, is known in Korea as the granddaughter of Son, often described as a leading figure in theater. Ha said Son had watched all of “Bridgerton 4,” adding that her grandmother, whose eyesight has recently worsened, watched from close to the TV. “She sent me a message saying, ‘I’m proud of you, I love you,’ and it made me feel warm — and a little emotional,” Ha said. Ha added with a laugh that Son told her that morning, “The revealing scenes are a bit embarrassing.” Ha said she thought her grandmother would skip the sex scenes, “but she watched them all.” Ha said she began dreaming of becoming an actor after watching Son perform on stage when she was young. “I tried to come from Australia to Korea about once a year, and every time, my grandmother was always doing a play,” she said. Ha said she does not remember the title, but recalled seeing a one-person show and a scene in which Son cried while holding a pillow like a baby. “Seeing the audience crying, I thought, ‘This is the power of art,’” she said. “People are all the same, and the emotions we feel are similar. I thought it was an amazing job — to comfort people and help them empathize through theater — and that’s when I started to dream of acting. I’ve been inspired by my grandmother a lot.” Ha said Son is currently performing in a play titled “Noinui Kkum.” Ha said she is leaving on Friday and plans to see the production on Wednesday because her grandmother wants her to attend. Ha added that Son recently told her, “I used to be called Ha Yerin, Son Sook’s granddaughter, but these days I’m called Son Sook, Ha Yerin’s grandmother,” a remark Ha said made her feel both emotional and proud. “Bridgerton 4” follows Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), a free spirit uninterested in marriage, as he navigates love, identity and class between a masked-ball “lady in a silver dress” and Sophie Baek (Ha), a maid in real life. Part 1 was released on Netflix on Jan. 29 and Part 2 on Feb. 26. 2026-03-04 15:06:58
  • Ha Yerin Says Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton 4’ No. 1 Ranking Still Hasn’t Sunk In
    Ha Yerin Says Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton 4’ No. 1 Ranking Still Hasn’t Sunk In Actor Ha Yerin shared her thoughts on the global popularity of Netflix series “Bridgerton 4.” A press event for “Bridgerton 4” was held on the afternoon of March 4 at Community House Masil in Seoul’s Jung District. Ha, who stars in the series, attended. “When ‘Bridgerton 4’ hit No. 1 on the global chart, it honestly didn’t feel real,” Ha said. “It felt like something happening outside of me, so it didn’t really sink in.” The series also ranked No. 1 in South Korea shortly after its release. Ha said she had heard it can be difficult for a foreign production to top the local chart, adding that she was “truly grateful” to hear “Bridgerton 4” had reached No. 1 in Korea as well. “Bridgerton 4” is a romance series about Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), a free spirit indifferent to marriage, who meets a “lady in a silver dress” at a masked ball and becomes caught between her and Sophie Baek (Ha), a maid in real life, as love, identity and class boundaries collide. Part 1 premiered on Netflix on Jan. 29, and Part 2 was released Feb. 26.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-04 14:48:25
  • Shin Wonho to Return With First Mini Album ONE
    Shin Wonho to Return With First Mini Album 'ONE' Singer and actor Shin Wonho, a member of the group Cross Gene, is returning to music. He will release his first mini album, ‘ONE,’ at noon on March 4 through major online music platforms. The title track, ‘Warzone,’ is a pop song with an unconventional structure that portrays lovers who hurt each other, reconcile and continue healing through a repeating cycle. While framed as a love story, it also raises a question about what true peace means, aiming to deliver a layered message. The six-track album also includes ‘Hug me,’ about a moment of wanting to lean deeply into someone’s embrace; ‘Placebo,’ a pledge to push past limits; and ‘Chaewoo,’ which depicts an empty soul being filled. Instrumental versions of ‘Warzone’ and ‘Chaewoo’ are also included. Shin has rolled out teaser content ahead of the release, including 10-second track preview videos featuring melodies in different moods and his distinctive vocal tone, drawing strong reactions from global fans. He also took on self-producing across the project, highlighting his musical capabilities. The mini album ‘ONE’ will be available at noon on March 4 on major online music platforms.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-04 09:15:19
  • Six South Korean Music Rights Groups Form Joint Front on AI Copyright
    Six South Korean Music Rights Groups Form Joint Front on AI Copyright Lee Si-ha, president of the Korea Music Copyright Association, has launched what the group called a “declaration of war” for the AI era in his first official move since taking office. Citing rapid growth in generative AI and what he described as unprecedented upheaval in the global music business, Lee called an emergency meeting of music rights organizations. On Feb. 26, the heads of six groups formally launched the K-Music Rights Organizations Coexistence Committee, known as the Coexistence Committee. The committee brings together the Korea Music Copyright Association (President Lee Si-ha), the Korea Record Industry Association (President Choi Kyung-sik), the Korea Entertainment Producers Association (President Lim Baek-woon), the Together Music Copyright Association (Chairman Han Dong-heon), the Korea Music Performers Association (President Lee Jeong-hyeon) and the Korea Music Content Association (Chairman Woo Seung-hyeon). Lee was elected chair. The committee said the industry faces a “fourfold crisis”: the spread of generative AI, blockchain-driven decentralization, overseas outflows of Hallyu-related revenue, and a reshaping of the platform market. It said it aims to go beyond policy proposals and position South Korea as a rule-setter by taking the lead in “copyright management technology.” At the center of its plan is a blockchain-based integrated infrastructure to unify fragmented rights data. The committee said it will seek core technology to link four major codes into a single data structure: ISWC (International Standard Musical Work Code) for musical works such as composition and lyrics; ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) for sound recordings; YouTube’s CID (Content ID) system used to identify rights holders by recognizing audio and content in uploaded videos; and UCI (Universal Content Identifier), a national content identification system. The goal, it said, is to complete a “K-copyright standard model” that can track, collect and distribute royalties in real time without missing a single use, and to strengthen leadership in the copyright market. To carry out the plan, the six groups agreed to form a joint AI response task force, create a single negotiation channel and establish a joint fund, aiming to speak with one voice rather than respond separately. At the launch ceremony, the leaders also signed a joint declaration titled, “In the AI era, we declare the noble sovereignty of human creation,” pledging to protect creators’ rights against big capital and algorithms. The declaration calls for banning AI training without creators’ consent, requiring transparency in AI generation processes, and institutionalizing clear distinctions between human-created works and AI-generated output. “The next two years are a golden time that will determine the survival of Korea’s music industry,” Lee said. “Individual responses cannot stop this massive wave, so six organizations have joined hands. We will establish the copyright management system we build as a global standard and make Korea lead the world’s copyright order.” The committee said it will begin regular meetings and move quickly to design an integrated platform and pursue related institutional improvements.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-04 09:00:47
  • Park Ji-hoon’s ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’ Nears 10 Million Admissions, Expands Overseas
    Park Ji-hoon’s ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’ Nears 10 Million Admissions, Expands Overseas Actor Park Ji-hoon is set to meet global audiences as the film “The Man Who Lives With the King” continues its box-office run in South Korea. Directed by Jang Hang-jun, the movie is set in 1457 at Cheongnyeongpo and follows village chief Eom Heung-do, who volunteers to live in exile to revive his town, and the young deposed king Lee Hong-wi as they end up living together. The film surpassed 9 million admissions on March 2, putting it within reach of 10 million. Amid strong word of mouth, the film is also scheduled for release overseas, including in 26 U.S. cities such as New Jersey, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Seattle and Las Vegas, as well as in Canada, Australia, Taiwan and New Zealand. The film opened in Australia on Feb. 19 and drew strong interest, the distributor said. With its cumulative admissions now above 9 million, attention is focused on whether it can become the first domestic film to reach 10 million admissions in two years, since “Exhuma” in 2024. Park stars as Danjong, and the cast’s performances have been cited as a key driver of the film’s popularity. Adding to the momentum, “The Man Who Lives With the King” has been officially invited to the main competition section of the 28th Udine Far East Film Festival, which opens April 24. The festival is Europe’s largest event dedicated to Asian cinema. Park has also been gaining visibility beyond the film’s success. The Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute ranked him No. 1 in its February 2026 rising star brand reputation list. Park is also set to broaden his activities through the first-half release of the TVING original series “Becoming a Legend as a Cook Soldier,” and an entertainment program featuring the full reunion of Wanna One for the first time in about seven years.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-04 08:06:17
  • BTS Reveals Track List for 5th Album ARIRANG; Title Track Is SWIM
    BTS Reveals Track List for 5th Album 'ARIRANG'; Title Track Is 'SWIM' BTS is returning with “SWIM,” a song that centers on love for life. BTS on March 4 released the track list for its fifth full-length album, “ARIRANG,” on the group’s official social media accounts. The image pairs the album logo with a red tape-like graphic. The 14-track album includes the title song “SWIM,” along with “Body to Body,” “Hooligan,” “Aliens,” “FYA,” “2.0,” “No. 29,” “Merry Go Round,” “NORMAL,” “Like Animals,” “they don’t know ’bout us,” “One More Night,” “Please” and “Into the Sun.” BigHit Music said “ARIRANG” brings together BTS’ identity and the emotions built over the group’s journey. “SWIM” is an upbeat alternative-pop track about pressing forward through life’s waves, moving at one’s own pace rather than fighting the current. RM participated broadly in writing the lyrics, the agency said. “Body to Body,” the opening track, is framed as a call to enjoy the moment with concertgoers. “Hooligan” reflects time spent traveling the world and carving out a path, while “Aliens” and “FYA” convey ambition and the energy of the group’s return. “2.0” is described as showing the present of the seven members as they enter a new phase. “No. 29” and “Merry Go Round,” placed after the title track, depict enduring life’s repeating cycles. “NORMAL” addresses feelings on and off stage, and “Like Animals” expresses a resolve to live intensely. “they don’t know ’bout us” projects confidence with the message, “We’re just us,” while “One More Night” sings of wanting to stay longer in an ecstatic moment. “Please” conveys a candid desire to be together in any situation, and “Into the Sun” closes the album with a confession of running toward “you.” BTS worked on the album after holding songwriting sessions in Los Angeles last summer. Producers Diplo, Ryan Tedder and El Guincho, each with Grammy Awards histories, participated, the agency said. BTS will release “ARIRANG” at 1 p.m. March 20. The next day, the group will hold “BTS Comeback Live: ARIRANG” around Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, with the performance livestreamed on Netflix. 2026-03-04 07:57:23
  • Director Ryoo Seung-wan on the on-set approach of Park Jeong-min and Zo In-sung in Humint
    Director Ryoo Seung-wan on the on-set approach of Park Jeong-min and Zo In-sung in 'Humint' A single scene can hold countless perspectives. Even in the same place and time, a director and actors may experience the moment differently. <Choi Song-hee’s B-Cut> looks past the polished “A-cut” on screen to the behind-the-scenes record that still carries the set’s temperature. By cross-editing interviews with the people who made the work, it reconstructs the “B-cut” moments that were often more intense than the finished frame. <Editor’s note> Vladivostok, where secrets and truths sink into an icy sea, is the setting for the film “Humint.” Against that harsh backdrop, director Ryoo Seung-wan captures characters colliding at close range. Alongside Ryoo’s trademark action and tension, the film’s pull is also the actors’ screen presence. Off camera, however, the mood was lighter, with confessions like “I worried it would feel cringey” and sheepish explanations such as “I just walked.” Park Jeong-min plays Park Geon, a section chief in North Korea’s Ministry of State Security, portrayed as a man of cold judgment and quick movement. Park said he trained by going back and forth between the gym and running routes to narrow the distance between himself and the character. “When the director gave me the script, he said Park Geon is a masculine character with a lot of action, so I needed to prepare,” Park said. “I trained at the gym. I thought he should be someone with a clear purpose, a wild kind of person. Usually, once filming gets going, you start to get self-absorbed — you think no one else can play the role, so you fuse the character with yourself. But with ‘Humint,’ I was scared. Until I saw the finished film, I worried the distance between Park Geon and Park Jeong-min was so big it would make me cringe. Thankfully, after watching it, it didn’t feel that way. I was relieved it wasn’t awkward.” Park said the references Ryoo provided while shaping Park Geon’s sharp image sometimes added welcome pressure. “There were so many films,” Park said. “Director Ryoo would put movies on a USB drive or lend me DVDs. There was ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ and Hong Kong films, too. Watching them actually made me more confused. I’m not Chow Yun-fat. Ha.” As Park worked to project a tougher look, crew members also focused on presenting what he called “the coolest Park Geon.” Park said the lighting director studied his face from every angle, down to the height of a single strand of hair, to find the most effective visual design. “Before we started shooting, the lighting director told me to come to the production company office,” Park said. “They filmed my face 360 degrees and tried countless designs — hair up, hair down — to find a masculine look that fit me. The lighting director was under pressure, too. Ha. I had to look good.” Park said he also kept up daily routines to maintain his appearance on camera. “I mostly ran,” he said. “These days people call it ‘trimming the margins.’ Ha. Even after losing weight, I ran every morning to reduce puffiness before filming. It made a big difference.” Ryoo said Park’s preparation stood out to the entire set. “Jeong-min came in after losing a huge amount of weight,” Ryoo said. “I was surprised, and the staff were, too. He looked like a different person. As always, Park Jeong-min is known for thorough preparation and for immersing himself in his role. There are many actors with sculpted faces, but I think the actors we’re drawn to are the ones whose attitude shows on screen. Sometimes you can feel a person’s mind even in a shot of their back. In the end, what’s captured is the actor’s condition. A director can’t manufacture an actor’s charm. You can find an optimal angle and set the lights, but you can’t sustain it for two hours with that alone.” If Park reshaped himself with careful discipline, Zo In-sung, who plays a National Intelligence Service agent known as Manager Jo, began from a different place. Ryoo said he wrote the role with Zo in mind from the start, and described a strong overlap between the character and the actor. “The character’s name is ‘Manager Jo’ because I was thinking of Zo In-sung when I wrote the script,” Ryoo said. “Viewers will be curious about him, but you can think of Manager Jo as Zo In-sung. Ha. He lives alone, he only works, and when his own work (acting) doesn’t go well, he suffers. The sync rate is very high.” A walking scene that some viewers have described as a “runway” moment also drew differing, playful takes from actor and director. “I just walked,” Zo said. “They told me to walk in, so I walked in. Ha. There wasn’t any special direction. I thought it was important to carry over the emotion from the previous scene. I didn’t intend to walk in a cool way.” Ryoo said the scene was not designed to look like a runway, but that it stayed with audiences. “We didn’t deliberately make it like runway walking,” he said. “Zo In-sung is harder to shoot in short takes. There are long walking scenes early on for Park Geon, too — he walks a long way, even to a North Korean restaurant. But no matter how long Park Geon’s scene is, what stays with viewers is Manager Jo’s walk. Ha. I wanted to tell the story of someone who ultimately has to walk alone, someone who ends up alone at some point. In-sung actually stripped away model-like walking and kept it plain. He’s someone from a different world.” Ryoo’s view that an actor’s appeal is not created by a director but captured in the performer’s on-set “condition” runs through “Humint.” The film, he said, was filled by the actors’ hard-won self-proof — Park and Zo aiming for a strong image without losing humility, and bringing energy that contrasted with Vladivostok’s cold landscape.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-03 16:33:30
  • BTS’ Jung Kook’s ‘Please Don’t Change’ Tops Worldwide iTunes Song Chart
    BTS’ Jung Kook’s ‘Please Don’t Change’ Tops Worldwide iTunes Song Chart BTS member Jung Kook’s solo track “Please Don’t Change” is gaining traction on global music charts. The song, from his solo album “GOLDEN,” ranked No. 1 on the Worldwide iTunes Song Chart dated Feb. 28. Released in November 2023, it has climbed back up the charts about two years later, holding the top spot for three straight days through the 27th and 28th. On the European iTunes Song Chart, it was No. 1 on the 26th and 27th and No. 2 on the 28th. On Spotify, the track has surpassed 219 million streams. Jung Kook’s cumulative streams stand at 6.79 billion, nearing 6.8 billion. 2026-03-03 08:33:16
  • Director Ryoo Seung-wan Says ‘Humint’ Marks a Turning Point in His Filmmaking
    Director Ryoo Seung-wan Says ‘Humint’ Marks a Turning Point in His Filmmaking 'Veteran' and 'Smugglers' helped director Ryoo Seung-wan prove he could deliver both mass appeal and genre thrills. With his new film, 'Humint,' he returns with a quieter approach, trading punchy energy for a closer look at emotions and fractured relationships set against Vladivostok. Working within action-movie conventions, he pares back technique to move closer to his characters’ inner lives. The film opened Feb. 11 and has drawn a cumulative 1.82 million viewers, according to the Korean Film Council’s integrated box office system as of March 1. Ryoo first expressed gratitude for the renewed energy in theaters over the Lunar New Year holiday period and for fellow directors’ strong showings. "What I’m feeling is that theaters have come alive again after a long time. Compared with last year’s Lunar New Year holiday, it feels completely different. I’m grateful for that," he said. "I’m really happy director Jang Hang-jun is doing well. The cinematographer for 'The Man Who Lives With the King' is someone I’ve worked with my whole life, and I’m close with Yoo Hae-jin, too. Anyway, it feels good that two films with different sensibilities are out and audiences are coming to theaters. We’re also continuing stage greetings and meeting audiences." Ryoo said the project began with anger he felt after encountering a real-life tragedy while reporting in the past. "The basic incidents I gathered while preparing 'The Berlin File' — things that happened on the Chinese border and what I learned while covering a North Korean mission — became the foundation," he said. "The human trafficking case set in Vladivostok in the film is something that actually happened. What I heard was a crime so severe it’s hard to describe. When you ask why I chose this material, if I look back purely, I was furious after hearing it. You hear a lot about smuggling cigarettes, but buying and selling people … that’s something that must not exist. That anger was the starting point." Because the subject is tragic, he said he repeatedly weighed how to keep the camera from exploiting its victims. "The moment I chose this material, there was no longer any question of comfort or discomfort. It’s something that makes you angry, so it’s inevitably uncomfortable," he said. "The filmmaker’s task is that our gaze must not exploit the subject. Setting the distance between the camera and the subject required real care. The priority was not to emphasize it or treat it as something to gawk at. Even in postproduction, if the women stood out in the later images of the factory basement, I blocked all of that. I didn’t want the audience’s gaze to drift there and create an exploitative look inside the screen. We struggled with how to handle the material. On set, it was difficult and delicate." To capture the mood of the setting, he said he stripped away noise and focused on the landscape his characters move through. "Rather than emphasizing action spectacle, I wanted to preserve the characters’ emotional lines," he said. "So we removed the loud background extras walking around in the streets. I wanted the focus only on the characters. For every scene of someone walking, we searched the city thoroughly — the buildings, the streets — and checked everything in detail. We built a set for the North Korean restaurant, but everything else was shot in Vladivostok. There was only one method: the staff’s legwork." Ryoo pointed to what he called the film’s central image: a person who is ultimately alone even within relationships. "The title is 'Humint,'" he said. "The people placed inside this world. In the opening and ending, you see someone waking up and falling asleep somewhere that isn’t their home — that’s the image. They form tight relationships, and yet they’re ultimately alone within them. The keyword is 'parting,' a 'person who leaves.' That was important to me. This is an action film, but when it reaches action, the emotion isn’t the pleasure of beating a bad guy like I’ve handled before. It’s action that explodes after being compressed within a calm emotional line. So the approach was less about action itself and more about refining the characters." He said he aimed for traditional suspense that makes a theater go quiet, balancing familiarity and novelty. "When more than 100 people watch a film in a theater, I wanted suspense that makes them hold their breath," he said. "You can feel that silence when people are focused. I’ve used humor a lot, but I thought: Let’s go for real, traditional suspense in a theater. I wanted the appeal of seeing actors on a big screen again. Action matters, but I wanted something that lingers. Because this isn’t made from scientific data, if it feels too familiar people get bored, and if it’s too new they reject it. How do you create harmony between the familiar and the new? I thought it might feel new to build emotional density step by step, then pull the climax forward and drive hard in the final stretch." Ryoo also cited the film’s mirrored opening and ending, saying it was possible because of actor Zo In-sung. He said it was his most explicit use of that structure and that he wanted the afterimage left with viewers to be the character himself. "This is the first time I’ve placed such an obvious mirrored structure in a film, and it was possible because of Jo, because of Zo In-sung," he said. "In a way, I think this story may be in the form of Jo’s recollection. After watching, people may remember many things, but I hoped the afterimage would be purely a 'person.'" In shaping what he called realistic, self-directed female characters, he said feedback from his family and his own approach as a director played a major role. "When I handle female characters, I have very strong censors: my wife and daughter," he said, laughing. "In real life, we don’t find someone appealing if they only lean on others. We’re attracted to independence. Chae Seon-hwa is already the person who causes the incident in 'Humint' and drives it to its outcome. If you treat her as a character consumed by an action film, you lose the engine itself. There were different ways to portray rescuing female colleagues, but I thought it had to be Seon-hwa who does it. Even the character who gets shot and collapses should be saved and protected by their own group. I’m attracted to that kind of person. I think that’s cool." Ryoo said he accepted audience criticism with humility and treated it as a chance to learn. "One of the most shocking things I heard was that in reality, people were placed together in glass cases like merchandise," he said. "Their condition, too. We couldn’t portray it close to reality, so after a lot of 고민, we created our own setting to condemn the act. When you shoot action, you also think about what makes an interesting setup. But with the audience’s points of dislike, I realized, 'I didn’t think that far.' I considered it something worth taking to heart. I’m grateful to receive it and I think I need to keep checking those things as I make films. Even for me, the starting point wasn’t, 'Let’s squeeze it all out.' I should have looked more carefully and in more detail, but I fell short. I’m learning a lot from the feedback." Looking back on two decades in film, Ryoo said 'Humint' left him feeling unburdened — and could mark a turning point toward something different next. "After finishing the film, releasing it, and reaching this moment, I feel lighter and I have no regrets. It feels like, 'I’ve done everything I wanted to do,'" he said, laughing. "I even think, 'If I died tomorrow, it would be a good death.' Of course, I still have homework. With reactions I didn’t anticipate, I think, 'Ah, I need to think more about this.' What I’m grateful for with this film is that it may become a turning point for me. Over 20 years, I tried everything I liked and wanted to do, and I’m thinking the next film could be very different."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-03 00:03:22