news highlight

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  Rookie K‑pop girl group KATSEYE to appear in Super Bowl ad SEOUL, February 4 (AJP) - Girl group KATSEYE will appear in a massively expensive commercial during this weekend's Super Bowl match. Insurance company State Farm's commercial, slated to air during the coveted Super Bowl slot on Sunday, will feature the Los Angeles–based six-member group, alongside American actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld, American actor and comedian Keegan-Michael Key. A preview of KATSEYE performing to American rock band Bon Jovi's &quo February 4, 2026
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  BTS Comeback D-45: homecoming along the royal axis SEOUL, February 04 (AJP) - The comeback of BTS is set trace one of Seoul's most resonant historical lines: the so-called King's road, the ceremonial axis once reserved for Joseon-era monarchs. The route runs from Geunjeongmun through Heungnyemun to Gwanghwamun, culminating at the Weoldae, a stone platform where kings appeared before the public. Built in 1866, the Weoldae was dismantled during the colonial period and remained lost for more than a century before February 4, 2026
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  BTS Comeback D-45: From humble beginning to a career build on accumulation Editor’s Note — As BTS prepares to return as a full seven-member act with a new album set for March 20 and an open-stage performance at Gwanghwamun on March 21, following a near four-year hiatus for rotational military service, AJP revisits the group’s 13-year trajectory. This series reexamines BTS’s history, music, performance identity and enduring appeal. The first installment traces the group’s roots and early growth. SEOUL, February 04 (AJP) - It February 4, 2026
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  BTS Comeback D-45: BTS' 'Save Me' tops Murapop rival match with power of Army SEOUL, February 04 (AJP) - Global sensation BTS has secured its dominance at the top of Murapop, a global K-pop matchup platform, once again underscoring the group’s sustained fandom strength. Murapop is a participatory platform that stages rival matches between K-pop and other globally popular music videos. Winners are determined by combining scores calculated by summing up view counts on the official YouTube music videos and votes casted by global fans within the platf February 4, 2026
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  BTS Comeback D-46: world tour map affirming global reach SEOUL, February 03 (AJP) - Nearly four years after stepping away as a full group for mandatory military service, BTS is returning with a touring footprint that underlines just how much ground it covered — and how much leverage it still holds — in the global live music economy. A yearlong world tour spanning 80-plus stadium shows in roughly 30 cities across five continents is taking shape, positioning BTS’s comeback as one of the largest live music und February 3, 2026
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  BTS Comeback D-46: Gwanghwamun comeback show to be livestreamed on Netflix SEOUL, February 03 (AJP) - BTS' long-awaited full-member comeback stage at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square on March 21 will be livestreamed worldwide on Netflix, the platform's first live event broadcast globally from South Korea. Netflix and HYBE announced that “BTS Comeback Live: ARIRANG” will be streamed exclusively on Netflix at 8 p.m. on March 21. The concert will take place at Gwanghwamun Square, one of Seoul’s most iconic landmarks, in conjuncti February 3, 2026
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  From BTS to kimchi, Korea publishes first English Encyclopedia on Hallyu SEOUL, February 03 (AJP) -South Korea has released the world’s first English-language encyclopedia devoted entirely to Hallyu, offering global readers a systematic and in-depth guide to Korean popular culture and everyday life, the National Folk Museum of Korea said Monday. The Encyclopedia of Hallyu is the English edition of a Korean-language reference work first published in 2024. Compiled to help international audiences better understand the cultural context behind the g February 3, 2026
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  Grammys 2026: tantalizingly within reach — and quietly setting the stage for BTS' return SEOUL, February 02 (AJP) - The door finally opened wider for K-pop at the Grammy Awards, but not quite wide enough to let it walk through with a haul of trophies. At the 68th ceremony, K-pop-linked artists and works appeared across multiple nominations, signaling growing institutional comfort with the genre. Yet when the night ended, the Grammys remained — as they have long been — tantalizingly within reach. The most symbolic breakthrough came not from a perf February 2, 2026
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  Actor Kim Seon-ho denies alleged tax evasion SEOUL, February 2 (AJP) - Actor Kim Seon-ho has denied allegations of tax evasion after claims that he set up a corporation with family members as executives, paid fabricated wages, and used a corporate credit card for personal expenses. In a press statement through his management agency Fantagio on Sunday, the actor said he is fully complying with all required legal and tax procedures. The allegations come amid his regaining popularity recently with his Netflix hit series &quo February 2, 2026