news highlight

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  World Cup 26: Unauthorized drone sparks security scare at Korea training SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) -South Korea's closed-door training session in Mexico ahead of its second World Cup group match against Mexico was briefly disrupted by an unidentified drone intrusion, the Korea Football Association said Wednesday. The incident took place during South Korea's private tactical session at the Chivas Verde Valle training facility in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, as the team prepared for its Group A match against Mexico at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Unlike June 17, 2026
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  Grammys add Asian pop category for 2027 ceremony SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - The Grammy Awards will add five new categories for its 2027 ceremony, including one dedicated to Asian pop music. The new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category will recognize Asian pop performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop, with meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. The addition comes as K-pop and other Asian pop genres have gained a larger presence in the global music market June 17, 2026
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  Netflix's 'Teach You a Lesson' tops non-English TV chart for second week SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - Netflix's Korean series "Teach You a Lesson" remained No. 1 on the streamer's global Top 10 list for non-English TV shows in its second week, Netflix said Wednesday. "Teach You a Lesson" ranked No. 1 in 46 countries, including South Korea, Japan and Singapore, and entered the Top 10 in 91 countries, including the United States, Britain, India, France, Germany, Australia, Mexico and Brazil. The series logged 21.1 million views, June 17, 2026
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  World Cup 26: Korea zooms up to 13th in The Athletic's reranking SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - South Korea was upgraded to 13th in The Athletic's latest ranking of all 48 teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after opening the tournament with a comeback win over Czechia. The Athletic, the sports outlet owned by The New York Times, placed South Korea ahead of Uruguay, Senegal, Egypt, Belgium, the United States and Japan, despite the team sitting outside the top 20 in FIFA's official world rankings. South Korea defeated Czechia 2-1 in its Group A June 17, 2026
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  K-pop sells out the world. Seoul can't always host the show SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) - BTS returned to Busan on June 12 for the homecoming stretch of its "Arirang" tour, but the concert began about 75 minutes later than scheduled. HYBE later apologized, citing confusion in on-site guidance, bottlenecks in fan gift distribution lines and delays in merchandise pickup. Two months earlier, the same tour had opened on April 9 at Goyang Stadium, an open-air athletic stadium in Goyang, north of Seoul, where fans watched the show in the rain June 16, 2026
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  K-pop boy band RIIZE release new album SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) - A new album by K-pop boy band RIIZE is now available on major music streaming platforms following its release earlier this week, according to their agency SM Entertainment. "II" is their second EP, following "RIIZING" released in June 2024, and features six songs, including the title track "Do Your Dance," a dance song with the theme of moving with confidence and following one's instincts. The song's music video, direct June 16, 2026
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  World Cup 26: Asia holds firm, New Zealand shine, and South America winless SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) - Asian teams extended their unbeaten start to this year's FIFA World Cup on Monday, while New Zealand marked its return to the tournament with a spirited draw. South America's wait for a first win continued as Uruguay fell short of victory. Four matches played across the U.S. produced no wins for the traditional favorites. Spain was held to a 0-0 draw by Cape Verde in Atlanta, Georgia, as the World Cup debutants frustrated one of Europe's stro June 16, 2026
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  K-pop girl group I-dle's prerelease single 'Crow' enters charts SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) - K-pop girl group i-dle's prerelease single "Crow" has entered music charts in Korea, China and other markets ahead of the release of i-dle's ninth EP, "We made," Cube Entertainment said Tuesday. The five-member group, consisting of Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua, released "Crow" on major streaming platforms on June 15. The song entered the real-time chart of South Korean music platform Bugs at No. 8 shortly a June 16, 2026
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  Sejong Center to stage site-specific Schubert concert SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) - Sejong Center for the Performing Arts said Tuesday it will present a site-specific classical concert based on Franz Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" next month, allowing audiences to move through the venue while listening to live chamber music. The concert, titled "Death and the Maiden Concert," will take place at 7:30 p.m. (1000 GMT) on July 27 at Sejong Center's Grand Theater in central Seoul. The performance will run for about June 16, 2026