Korea to finance upgrading of local sports venues for K-pop concerts SEOUL, June 23 (AJP) - South Korea will spend 12 billion won ($7.8 million) this year to upgrade six regional sports and multipurpose facilities for K-pop and other live music concerts, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday. The program is aimed at addressing the country's shortage of dedicated concert venues by upgrading existing public facilities rather than waiting for new arenas to be built. Many large music events in South Korea are held at stadiums June 23, 2026

BTS' 'ARIRANG' lands on 4 midyear best-album lists ahead of European tour SEOUL, June 23 (AJP) - BTS' fifth studio album, "ARIRANG," has been named one of the best albums of 2026 so far by four major music and culture publications in the United States and Britain, the group's agency BigHit Music said Tuesday. U.S. pop culture outlet Complex included the album on its midyear list on June 11, followed by British daily The Telegraph on June 13, Rolling Stone on June 15 and British music magazine NME on June 16. Released on March 20, &q June 23, 2026

FIFA sends hidden message to South Korea before final group match SEOUL, June 22 (AJP) - FIFA has sent a playful message of support to South Korea ahead of their final group match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The world football governing body posted a series of photos of South Korean players on its official Instagram account Monday in Korea, along with the message, “Fighting for the final group match,” written in Korean. The post featured Cho Gue-sung, Eom Ji-sung, Lee Han-beom, Lee Kang-in, Hwang Hee-chan and Hwang In-beom. Eac June 22, 2026

TWICE's Dahyun wins rising star award for first TV drama role SEOUL, June 22 (AJP) - Dahyun of K-pop girl group TWICE won the Rising Star Award at the Global OTT Awards 2026 for her performance in JTBC's "Love Me," her first television drama, JYP Entertainment said Monday. Dahyun received the award Saturday at the Busan Cinema Center's outdoor theater in Busan, South Korea. The Global OTT Awards recognize streaming platforms, creators and productions across 14 competitive categories and five invitational ca June 22, 2026

World Cup 26: Japan makes history, Egypt fetches first win SEOUL, June 22 (AJP) - The 2026 FIFA World Cup produced a weekend of milestones across the group stage, from Egypt’s long-awaited first victory to historic wins for the United States and Japan. Japan marked the 1,000th match in World Cup history by becoming the first Asian team to win a tournament match with four goals, while the United States won back-to-back World Cup games for the first time in 96 years. Egypt beat New Zealand for the country’s first World Cup win, June 22, 2026

Hearts2Hearts to release second EP 'Lemon Tang' SEOUL, June 22 (AJP) - K-pop girl group Hearts2Hearts will release its second EP, “Lemon Tang,” at 6 p.m. Monday, its agency SM Entertainment said. The release comes about eight months after the group’s first EP, “FOCUS,” which came out in October last year. The new EP contains six tracks, including the title track of the same name and “RUDE!,” a single released in February. “Lemon Tang” is a dance-pop track with a brig June 22, 2026

National Museum names RM as global ambassador SEOUL, June 20 (AJP) -The National Museum of Korea appointed BTS leader RM as its first global ambassador on Saturday to promote South Korean cultural heritage to an international audience. The appointment comes as South Korea aggressively leverages its global pop culture dominance to convert commercial entertainment fandom into institutional high-art diplomacy. The decision aligns with an unprecedented surge in international interest that has propelled the Seoul-based instituti June 20, 2026

World Cup 26: Korea's World Cup ritual finds a new home SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) - Gwanghwamun Square may remain South Korea's spiritual home of World Cup cheering, but on a sweltering Friday morning with temperatures already topping 32 degrees Celsius, many fans chose a different way to experience the national team's second World Cup outing. Some took the day off. Others watched discreetly from office desks. Families gathered at movie theaters, friends met over daylight beers, and football fans headed to Seongsu and Gangna June 19, 2026

World Cup 26: Home magic as Mexico makes knockouts, Canada first win SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) - The second round of group matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup began to sharpen the picture in Groups A and B on Thursday local time, or Friday in Korea. Mexico became the first of the tournament’s 48 teams to secure a place in the knockout stage, while Canada earned the first World Cup win in its history and Switzerland also surged in Group B. South Korea, meanwhile, lost 1-0 to Mexico and pushed their knockout-stage fate to the final group match again June 19, 2026

World Cup 26: Korea's fate hinges on match with South Africa SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) - South Korea's 1-0 defeat to Mexico was not fatal. But it exposed a weakness that Hong Myung-bo's side must fix quickly: when opponents shut down Lee Kang-in and Hwang In-beom, Korea struggles to build attacks and loses its identity. That makes next week's match against South Africa a de facto knockout game. South Korea fell 1-0 to Mexico in their second Group A match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday morning (Korea time) after Luis Romo capit June 19, 2026