K-pop girl band ITZY's Yuna to roll out solo debut album 'Ice Cream' SEOUL, March 09 (AJP) - Yuna, the youngest member of the five-member K-pop girl band ITZY, will make her solo debut with album "Ice Cream," her agency JYP Entertainment said Monday. Ice Cream will consist of four tracks, including the title track of the same name. The album will be released at 6 p.m. (0900 GMT) on March 23 across major music streaming platforms. According to the tracklist released through the official social media accounts, the album will contain four so March 9, 2026

BTS Comeback D-12: Seoul goes hard on lodging and scalping SEOUL, March 09 (AJP) - South Korea and its capital city authorities have intensified inspections of accommodations and launched a massive crackdown on ticket scalping as the K-pop legend is preparing for its comeback with a free public concert in central Seoul on March 21. The multi-agency enforcement effort follows the discovery of widespread lodging violations and reports of tickets for the free event being resold for hundreds of thousands of won. The Seoul City said Sunday tha March 9, 2026

Webtoon Entertainment's simultaneous global releases boost revenue by up to 200% in piracy fight SEOUL, March 09 (AJP) - Webtoon Entertainment, a Naver-controlled company, announced that a pilot program releasing Korean-language webcomics simultaneously across global markets drove payment revenue up by as much as 200 percent, underscoring the platform's intensifying campaign to claw back earnings lost to piracy. The Nasdaq-listed company said Monday that it had tested the initiative on four original Korean titles — including "Childhood Friend Complex" &mdash March 9, 2026

Korea's WBC hopes hang on Australia after Taipei loss SEOUL, March 08 (AJP) -South Korea’s hopes of advancing at the 2026 World Baseball Classic were left hanging by a thread Sunday after a 5–4 extra-innings loss to Chinese Taipei at Tokyo Dome, requiring the team a convincing final-game victory to stay alive. The defeat dropped South Korea to 1–2 in Pool C, while Chinese Taipei finished its schedule at 2–2. South Korea will close the opening round against Australia at 7 p.m. Monday, but its path to the qua March 8, 2026

World AI Film Festival Seoul highlights how AI can expand filmmaking SEOUL, March 07 (AJP) - From scripts written with algorithms to films rendered entirely with digital tools, the World AI Film Festival in Seoul offered a glimpse of cinema’s next frontier — one where artificial intelligence works alongside human storytellers rather than replacing them. The festival, founded in Nice, France last year, brought its third edition to Seoul, a city widely seen as a global hub of high technology and th March 7, 2026

The King's Warden breaks Korean film drought with 10-mln crossing SEOUL, March 07 (AJP) - In the arithmetic of the Korean film industry, there are hits — and then there are “ten-million films.” Crossing the 10-million-admissions threshold in a country of roughly 52 million people bears significance beyond a commercial milestone. It means a film has escaped the gravity of niche audiences and become something closer to a shared national experience. With more than 10 million moviegoers now through theater doors, The King’ March 7, 2026

BTS Comeback D-16: South Korea to launch anti-scalping system ahead of BTS comeback concert SEOUL, March 05 (AJP) - South Korean authorities are rolling out a dedicated counter-scalping system to protect fans ahead of the upcoming BTS comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square on March 21. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism confirmed the plan following a surge in illegal ticket trading for the high-profile event. Choi Hwi-young, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, called ticket scalping a "chronic disease" during a press briefing on February 12. T March 5, 2026

BTS Comeback D-16: BTS teaser sparks global buzz ahead of 'ARIRANG' comeback SEOUL, March 05 (AJP) - BTS ignited massive online buzz Thursday after releasing a teaser for its upcoming comeback performance "BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE : ARIRANG," sending anticipation among global fans soaring ahead of the group’s long-awaited return. The K-pop sensation unveiled the trailer across its major social media platforms, quickly drawing millions of views and reactions from fans worldwide. The video opens with the roar of ARMY, BTS’ global fanb March 5, 2026

WAIFF D-1: Live human-machine symphony to open Seoul artificial intelligence film festival SEOUL, March 05 (AJP) - The World AI Film Festival Seoul 2026 will open Friday with a live performance blending human artists and machine generation, signaling a shift in how the entertainment industry approaches artificial intelligence. Kicking off on March 6 at Lotte Concert Hall in southern Seoul, the two-day event begins with a special performance titled "The Symphony of AI & Human." Organizers programmed the opening ceremony to move away from traditional film fe March 5, 2026

World-OKTA to host K-pop charity concert marking 45th anniversary SEOUL, March 05 (AJP) - The World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Associations (World-OKTA) will hold a K-pop charity concert on April 1 at KBS Arena Hall in Seoul to mark its 45th anniversary, the organization said. The event, titled "OK Live Concert," represents the trade group's first official cultural project since its founding in 1981. World-OKTA operates about 140 chapters across 70 countries and has focused primarily on supporting Korean businesses abroad March 5, 2026