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  April squeeze forces K-pop acts to fight to spotlight  SEOUL, April 01 (AJP) - April may prove a cruel month for some K-pop acts, as a crowded comeback calendar squeezes much of the first half’s release schedule into a single month. At least 27 acts are set to return in April, ranging from major-label groups and established stars to rookies and soloists. What was supposed to be a strategy to avoid head-on clashes with mega events — including BTS’s return and major political and sporting fixtures — has instead p April 1, 2026
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  Ottogi joins hands with Gen.G Esports to chase global gaming audience SEOUL, March 31 (AJP) - South Korean food company Ottogi has signed a strategic partnership with global esports organization Gen.G Esports, targeting millennial and Gen Z gamers across key international markets, the company said Tuesday. The two companies plan to weave gaming culture into everyday consumer experiences by building an integrated marketing model spanning content, physical spaces, and commerce. Brand exposure will be carried through player uniforms and digital content c March 31, 2026
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  BTS' 'Swim' hits No. 1 on Billboard's top 100 song chart SEOUL, March 31 (AJP) - BTS has topped the Billboard Hot 100, the weekly top 100 song chart compiled by the prominent American music and entertainment magazine, on Monday (local time) with the band's new song "Swim," released on March 20. While BTS reached its seventh No. 1 on Billboard's most popular song chart, the seven-member band also dominated other global rankings across major Billboard charts. According to Billboard, "Swim" debuted at No. 1 on t March 31, 2026
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  BABYMONSTER to drop third mini album 'CHOOM' on May 4 SEOUL, March 30 (AJP) - K-pop girl band BABYMONSTER will release its third mini album "CHOOM" next month, marking its latest comeback as the group continues to expand its global presence, said the seven-member group's agency on Monday. BABYMONSTER, a hip-hop-based pop-dance group under South Korea's entertainment powerhouse YG Entertainment, is a multinational band launched in 2024, seven years after BLACKPINK. BABYMONSTER consists of seven members — Ruka, March 30, 2026
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  Red Velvet's Irene to roll out first solo studio album 'Biggest Fan' SEOUL, March 30 (AJP) -Irene, the leader of K-pop girl group Red Velvet, will release her first full-length solo album "Biggest Fan" on Monday, her agency SM Entertainment said. The album will be released at 6 p.m. (0900 GMT) through major music platforms, along with the music video for the title track of the same name. Red Velvet is a five-member South Korean girl group that debuted in 2014 under SM Entertainment. The dance-pop band is widely regarded as one of the l March 30, 2026
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  Cliché or not, BTS "Arirang" rework delivers globally  SEOUL, March 30 (AJP) - RM winces. When the first draft of “Body to Body” lands with a bold Arirang sample layered toward the end, the BTS leader isn’t convinced. It feels, he says, almost too obvious — like “mixing bread, pork cutlets and kimchi” into one plate, a blend leaning too heavily on sentiment. Jimin laughs it off. Strange as it sounds, he says, the mix “may taste very good.” J-Hope leans further in: if they’re goi March 30, 2026
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  BTS returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200 With 'ARIRANG' SEOUL, March 30 (AJP) - BTS has claimed the top spot on the Billboard 200 with ARIRANG, the group's fifth studio album, earning 641,000 equivalent album units in its first week, the largest opening for a group album since the chart adopted unit-based tracking in December 2014, Billboard reported Sunday. The Billboard 200 ranks albums based on physical and digital sales, streaming activity converted into album units, and track-equivalent albums. Of that total, 532,000 came f March 30, 2026
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  BTS sets Latin America tour across five cities in October SEOUL, March 28 (AJP) - BTS will embark on a Latin America leg of its world tour in October, performing across five cities, the group’s agency said Saturday. Big Hit Music released detailed schedules for the “Arirang” world tour in Latin America, with concerts set to begin in Bogotá on Oct. 2–3. The tour will then continue to Lima on Oct. 9–10, Santiago on Oct. 16–17, Buenos Aires on Oct. 23–24, and São Paulo on Oct. 28 and 30& March 28, 2026
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  Foreign attendees account for 25% at BTS comeback show in Seoul SEOUL, March 27 (AJP) - About one in four attendees at BTS’ comeback performance in central Seoul on March 21 were foreign nationals, according to city data on Friday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government estimated that 75,927 people were present in the Gwanghwamun, Deoksugung and City Hall station areas between 8 p.m. (1100 GMT) and 9 p.m. during the concert, including 19,170 foreign nationals, or roughly 25 percent. By nationality, Thai nationals made up the largest March 27, 2026
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  Nobel laureate Han Kang wins prestigious American literary award SEOUL, March 27 (AJP) - Han Kang, South Korea's first Nobel laureate in literature, has won another prestigious award for her novel "We Do Not Part." Han took home an award at the annual awards ceremony of the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) in New York on Thursday, which "presents awards for the finest books published in English in six categories" - fiction, nonfiction, biography, autobiography, poetry, and criticism. The fiction honor adds to her gro March 27, 2026