[[K-Pop]] Late-bloomer Day6 to drop new album ahead of 10th anniversary SEOUL, September 4 (AJP) - K-pop rock band Day6 will release its fourth full-length album on Friday, just ahead of its 10th anniversary, its agency said Thursday. The new album, "The Decade," is set to drop on Friday, nearly six years after their last full-length release, and will feature the band's first-ever double title tracks, "Dream Bus" and "Inside Out." Consisting of 10 tracks, the album celebrates their past decade and explores stories of life and love. Starting in mid-August, the band unveiled a trailer and track previews on their social media channels, and recently released a sampler video offering snippets of all tracks. To mark their anniversary, the band is staging various fan events, including a world tour, pop-up events, and visual posters showcasing their discography. They also plan to release a documentary reflecting on their decade-long journey, along with in-house content featuring four members. Formed under major music agency JYP Entertainment, the band debuted on Sept. 7, 2015, with the mini-album "The Day" and its title track "Congratulations." Originally a six-member band, Day6 now performs as a quartet consisting of Sung-jin, Young K, Won-pil, and Do-woon. Often described as a late bloomer, the band did not immediately gain the spotlight after their debut. But while members were away for mandatory military service, their older songs, particularly "You Were Beautiful" (2017) and "Time of Our Life" (2019), belatedly climbed back onto the charts in 2023, gaining them new listeners. This milestone made them the first K-pop band to perform at Gocheok Sky Dome, one of the country's largest indoor concert venues, and just last month, they successfully held a tour concert at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi Province before an even larger audience. They have carved out a unique role in the K-pop industry by playing their own instruments on stage and actively participating in songwriting and composing. Known for emotional lyrics and strong melodies, Day6 continues to blur the line between idol group and rock band, earning a reputation as one of the most distinctive acts in the K-pop scene. 2025-09-04 16:38:25

[[K-Culture]] S. Korean Tony-winning musical 'Maybe Happy Ending' to hit theaters next month SEOUL, September 4 (AJP) - South Korean musical "Maybe Happy Ending," which swept six awards at this year's Tony Awards in the U.S., is set to be released as a film in theaters next month, its distributor said Wednesday. Kino Films, the film's distributor, said the it will premiere exclusively at the multi-screen chain Megabox nationwide from October 2. Written by South Korean lyricist Hue Park and composed by American composer Will Aronson, the musical debuted in a 300-seat theater in Seoul in 2016 before moving to Broadway last year, where it claimed six Tony Awards, including the top honor of Best Musical. Maybe Happy Ending depicts a story about two robots who fall in love after being thrown away by humans. In a recent media interview, Park recalled how the musical was conceived. After briefly working as a lyricist in South Korea, he went to New York University to study visual arts, where he was introduced to Anderson by a mutual friend. Park said the story was inspired by personal hardships, including a breakup and the death of a close friend. Around that time, he heard Damon Albarn’s song “Everyday Robots” at a Brooklyn café, which compares lonely modern people to robots. The song sparked the idea of writing a love story about robots rediscovering forgotten human values. The film reunites South Korean actors Shin Joo-hyeop and Kang Hye-in, who starred in the 2018 stage production in Seoul, as the lead characters Oliver and Claire. Veteran actor Yoo Jun-sang joins as James, Oliver’s former owner, under the direction of Lee Won-hoe. Meanwhile, the musical is set to embark on a North American tour next June, starting at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore before traveling to more than 30 cities. 2025-09-04 11:32:50

[[K-Pop]] K-pop dominates Netflix and Billboard with 'Demon Hunters' SEOUL, September 3 (AJP) - Netflix's animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" has become the global streaming giant's most-watched both film and show, while its main soundtrack topped Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart for a third consecutive week. According to Netflix's ranking website Tudum on Wednesday, the film logged 266 million cumulative views as of this week, overtaking the first season of "Squid Game" (265.2 million) and "Wednesday" (252.1 million). Released on June 20, the film depicts a fictional K-pop girl group protecting the world from evil spirits with music, blending South Korea's music industry with its shamanistic elements. Since Netflix tallies views within the first 91 days of release, the film still has two weeks remaining in its counting period, giving it room to extend its lead. At the same time, the film's soundtrack "Golden" retained its No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 for a third week, beating American singer Alex Warren's "Ordinary." It follows K-pop boy band Stray Kids' full-length album "Karma" topping the Billboard 200 this week, marking the first time in five years that K-pop acts have simultaneously led the singles and albums charts, last achieved in December 2020 by K-pop juggernaut BTS with their mini-album "BE" and its title track "Life Goes On." Released on the same day as the film, "Golden" debuted at No. 81 on the Hot 100 and then climbed steadily, remaining on the chart for 10 consecutive weeks. It also became the third K-pop song to hold the No. 1 spot for three weeks or more, following BTS's "Butter" (10 weeks) and "Dynamite" (3 weeks). Along with "Golden," three other songs from the film's soundtrack, "Your Idol," "Soda Pop," and "How It's Done," also placed in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week. Ian Eisendrath, the song's producer, said the success shows "people are connecting with the song in two ways, some fell in love with the film and that drove the song's popularity, while others discovered the song first, which in turn boosted the movie." 2025-09-03 17:16:44

South Korea begins Security Council presidency, to host debate on AI SEOUL, September 3 (AJP) - South Korea on Tuesday (local time) began its one-month term as president of the United Nations Security Council, confirming the agenda for September and taking up the role of chairing the council's meetings. As its main event, South Korea will hold a high-level open debate on artificial intelligence and its implications for international peace and security. President Lee Jae Myung is scheduled to preside over the session on September 24 at UN headquarters in New York. It will be the first time a South Korean president has chaired a Security Council meeting. Speaking to reporters after closed consultations, Ambassador Kim said South Korea’s history embodies the UN’s three core pillars of peace, development, and human rights. "These values are deeply embedded in our national DNA," he said. "As president of the council, South Korea will provide leadership based on efficiency, transparency, and inclusiveness." President Lee will already be in New York for the UN General Assembly’s high-level week, which begins on September 23. He is expected to deliver a keynote speech that day. Ambassador Kim said the council’s focus on AI is timely. "The Security Council has already held two meetings on AI since 2023, considering how fast it is developing and spreading worldwide. We think a high-level debate is necessary to maximize benefits and minimize risks," he said. Unlike June 2024, when South Korea last held the presidency and convened a meeting on North Korea’s human rights situation, no North Korea-related meetings are scheduled for September. Kim noted that the council is ready to respond if necessary. "There is no plan for a North Korea meeting this month, but if it conducts an intercontinental ballistic missile launch or other provocation, we are prepared to convene," he said. During its term, South Korea is also expected to oversee discussions on major international issues such as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, including matters related to Palestine and Iran. The Security Council is the UN’s most powerful body with primary responsibility for international peace and security. It is made up of 15 members, including five permanent members with veto power, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China, and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. The presidency rotates monthly in alphabetical order among the members. The council president chairs both official and informal meetings, represents the council to other UN bodies, and has a central role in setting the agenda. This gives the presiding country influence over the direction of discussions and the shaping of international opinion. South Korea is serving as a non-permanent member for the 2024 to 2025 term. This is its first time holding the presidency since June 2024. 2025-09-03 13:21:42

Elderly poverty in South Korea projected to spike by 2050 without pension reform SEOUL, September 2 (AJP) - South Korea's elderly poverty rate could soar to more than 40 percent within the next 25 years if the current pension system remains unchanged, according to a government-affiliated research report disclosed on Tuesday. The report, released last December by researchers at the National Pension Research Institute, projected that under the existing system, which sets the income replacement rate at 40 percent and the contribution rate at 9 percent, the elderly poverty rate will rise from 37.4 percent this year to 42.3 percent by 2050. It also predicted that the "poverty gap," which measures the depth of poverty, will widen significantly, indicating that living conditions for poor seniors will worsen further due to demographic changes. Researchers said that while the number of "young-old" seniors aged 65 to 74 is expected to decline, the proportion of "old-old" seniors aged 75 and older, who typically have lower income levels, is projected to rise sharply. This shift is seen as a key driver of widening income inequality among the elderly. The report said that those now aged 75 and older did not have sufficient time to participate in the national pension system, which was introduced in 1988. According to birth and death results released by Statistics Korea in February, the country's total fertility rate rebounded for the first time in nine years to 0.75 in 2024, but it still remains less than half the OECD average of 1.51 as of 2022. Rival political parties reached a bipartisan agreement on pension reform in mid-March, the first in 18 years, though it has been seen as a limited parametric reform, adjusting contribution and replacement rates rather than fundamentally changing the system. The reform aims to gradually raise the contribution rate from 9 percent to 13 percent by 2033, while the income replacement rate will be raised to 43 percent. The government said the reform, combined with an increase in the investment return target for the pension fund from 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent, is expected to delay the projected depletion of the fund by 15 years, from 2056 to 2071. 2025-09-02 17:23:07

Kim Jong-un inspects institute for new solid-fuel ICBM engine SEOUL, September 2 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a missile research institute on Monday, right before his departure for Beijing to attend a military parade in China. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim inspected "the relevant institute of the General Academy of Chemical Materials under the Missile Administration of the DPRK" on September 1 and met composite carbon fiber material researchers. KCNA said the institute produced a "high-thrust solid-fuel engine with the composite carbon fiber material and verified the credibility of the operation of the engine and its accuracy through eight static firing tests in the past two years." Pyongyang said that the "new-type solid-fuel engine" will be used in "the next-generation ICBM Hwasongpho-20" as well as in the "ICBM Hwasongpho-19." North Korea's latest test was conducted on October 31 last year with the Hwasong-19. The missile is believed to be capable of striking the entire U.S. mainland with a range exceeding 15,000 kilometers, and Russia may have provided Pyongyang with technical assistance in developing such engines. Kim's visit to the institute reportedly took place shortly before his multilateral diplomatic debut at the parade, seen as an effort to underscore North Korea's status as a self-proclaimed "nuclear weapons state" with missiles capable of targeting the U.S. 2025-09-02 13:53:43

Labor minister vows to reduce industrial accident rate to OECD average by 2030 SEOUL, September 1 (AJP) - South Korea's Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon pledged on Monday to reduce the number of fatal accidents at workplaces, including factories, to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average by 2030. Speaking at a press conference at the government complex in the central city of Sejong, Kim said the ministry will try to reduce the industrial fatality rate from 0.39 deaths per 10,000 workers last year to the OECD's average of 0.29 within five years. The remark came less than two months after President Lee Jae Myung said during a Cabinet meeting in July that the government must root out industrial accidents following the fifth death this year at a construction site operated by POSCO E&C Co., a subsidiary of steelmaker POSCO. Kim said the accidents disproportionately affect older employees, foreign workers, and delivery riders. He stressed that the government is preparing targeted measures for these groups, along with specialized programs for small businesses. The minister also said the government will impose penalties immediately upon finding violations, without prior correction orders, starting next month. The ministry also plans to expand inspections by operating a public reporting center and offering financial rewards beginning next year. According to data released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor last month, 138 workers died in construction-related accidents in the first half of this year, up eight from a year earlier. Fatalities at small workplaces increased to 176, up by 21 from a year earlier (13.5 percent), while those at large sites with more than 50 workers fell to 111, down by 30 (21.3 percent). Foreign workers accounted for 38 deaths, or 13.2 percent of the total, continuing to make up more than 10 percent of annual fatalities. Despite the Serious Accident Punishment Act being enforced since 2022, workplace fatalities have remained largely unchanged. Annual deaths have hovered above 2,000, with 2,062 in 2020, 2,080 in 2021, 2,223 in 2022, 2,016 in 2023, and 2,098 last year. A National Assembly research report released at the end of last month said that of 1,252 cases investigated under the law, 917 cases, or 73.2 percent, remain under investigation by prosecutors. More than half of the probes have taken longer than six months, compared to 10 to 15 percent for other crimes. The acquittal rate has reached 10.7 percent, over three times higher than that of other criminal cases, reflecting the difficulty of proving that employers deliberately or negligently failed to comply with safety measures and that the accidents could have been reasonably foreseen. 2025-09-01 16:59:46

[[K-Pop]] Stray Kids break record, topping Billboard 200 for seventh time SEOUL, September 1 (AJP) - K-pop boy band Stray Kids have claimed their seventh No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with their latest full-length album. According to Billboard's preview on Sunday, the group's latest album "Karma" debuted atop the chart, surpassing the soundtrack album of Netflix's animated film "KPop Demon Hunters." "All seven of the group's Billboard 200 chart entries have debuted at No. 1, beginning with 'Oddinary' in 2022," it said. Since first topping the chart with "Oddinary" in 2022, the group has achieved consecutive No. 1 debuts with "Maxident," "ATE," "Hop," and three more albums, becoming the K-pop group with the most No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200. The record surpasses K-pop juggernaut BTS, which notched six No. 1s on the chart. Their latest album, released on Aug. 22, contains 11 tracks, including the title song "Ceremony," which reflects the group’s growth through overcoming various conflicts. Debuting in March 2018 through a reality show of the same name, the group produces much of its own music through a unit 3RACHA, composed of members Bang-chan, Chang-bin, and Han. With their hip-hop–based sound, the eight members have built a distinctive style through powerful performances. Critics praised the group's artistry. Music critic Lim Hee-yoon said their success came from "sticking to their own color rather than relying on foreign producers or features," while Jeong Min-jae said that "their participation in songwriting has shaped their individuality, though the group still lacks a hit in South Korea." 2025-09-01 13:12:47

South Korean-American singer Yoo Seung-jun wins again over visa denial SEOUL, August 29 (AJP) - A Seoul court has once again ruled in favor of South Korean-American singer Yoo Seung-jun, ordering the cancellation of the government's decision to deny him a visa to enter the country. The Seoul Administrative Court on Thursday sided with the 48-year-old singer, also known by his U.S. name Steve Seung-jun Yoo, in his third lawsuit against the South Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles, which had repeatedly rejected his visa applications. Yoo, once a popular singer in South Korea, was banned from entering the country in 2002 after he obtained U.S. citizenship to avoid mandatory military service, just three months after pledging to enlist. He applied for an F-4 overseas Korean visa at the LA consulate in 2015, citing a law allowing those over 38 years old who had renounced South Korean nationality to be eligible. However, the consulate repeatedly denied his requests despite multiple Supreme Court rulings in his favor in 2020 and 2023, citing concerns that his entry could harm national interests. In this third ruling, the consulate argued that granting Yoo a visa could undermine public order, but the court rejected the claim, saying the grounds were insufficient. The court added that the ruling does not mean Yoo's past actions were appropriate, dismissing a separate case he filed against the Ministry of Justice seeking to nullify the ministry's 2002 entry ban. Still, his return to South Korea remains uncertain as the ban remains valid. The consulate may continue to deny his visa unless the ministry lifts the ban. 2025-08-29 16:54:01

US Senator emphasizes balance between nuclear deterrence and USFK flexibility SEOUL, August 29 (AJP) -A United States senator said Thursday that Washington can uphold its nuclear deterrence commitment to South Korea while keeping U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) flexible enough to respond to wider challenges in the Indo-Pacific. Senator Andy Kim, a Democrat representing New Jersey, made the comments at a Capitol press conference as the U.S. considers expanding the operational scope of the 28,500 USFK troops under the concept of "strategic flexibility." The idea not only covers deterring North Korea but also countering China and handling other regional contingencies. "We can guarantee extended deterrence while having strategic flexibility," Kim said. "That means we can support the defense of the Korean Peninsula and still have the ability to respond to contingencies across the Indo-Pacific." His remarks came a day after President Lee Jae Myung told reporters that Seoul was reluctant to accept Washington's push for more flexibility in USFK operations ahead of his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Kim suggested, however, that flexibility is unavoidable given the shifting regional balance, describing the Indo-Pacific as a "very dynamic and potentially dangerous" environment. The senator also underlined that the current force level should remain intact. "I do not believe we should change the force level unless there is a mutual agreement between the two allies. The U.S. must not unilaterally cut troops as happened in past administrations," he said. Kim added that any unilateral moves by Washington would damage the alliance. "If the U.S. were to take unilateral actions without consultation with Seoul, it would send the wrong message to other countries about the status of the U.S.-South Korea alliance," he said. 2025-08-29 14:13:07