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  K-Pop Demon Hunters" lands two Oscar nods as Park Chan-wook misses final cut SEOUL, January 23 (AJP) -Netflix’s animated film “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” directed by Korean American filmmaker Maggie Kang, earned two Academy Award nominations, while Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” fell short of the final lineup for best international feature. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced nominees for the 98th Academy Awards on Thursday local time. “K-Pop Demon Hunters” was nominated for best animate January 23, 2026
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  In wintry Korea, grandma's vest turn practical warmth into style  SEOUL, January 22 (AJP) — What was once dismissed as a purely functional item worn by Korean grandmothers has quietly become a global fashion statement. “Grandmacore” — a trend rooted in nostalgia, domestic hobbies like knitting and baking, and unapologetically cozy silhouettes — has caught on with fashion-forward MZ women worldwide. At the center of this movement is an unlikely hero: the flowery, quilted vest South Korean grandmas wear to stay warm January 22, 2026
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  Koreanness, the answer BTS found for its return SEOUL, January 21 (AJP) - As BTS prepares to return as a full group after nearly four years, the question surrounding the comeback has never really been whether it would make an impact, but how the group would choose to reappear. The answer, it seems, is rooted in something familiar — and distinctly Korean. BTS will release its fifth full-length album, “ARIRANG,” on March 20, marking its first full reunion in three years and nine months. Around the album, January 21, 2026
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  Seoul weighs weekly half-price movie tickets to lure audiences back to cinemas SEOUL, January 21 (AJP) - South Korea is considering offering half-priced movie tickets and free admission to royal palaces every Wednesday, instead of once a month, as part of a broader effort to revive cultural consumption — though doubts remain over whether the move can rescue a struggling cinema industry. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday it plans to expand “Culture Day,” currently held on the last Wednesday of each month, to every Wednes January 21, 2026
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  Modern interpretation of ancestral ritual dance wins award in New York SEOUL, January 21 (AJP) - "One Dance," a contemporary interpretation of South Korea's royal ancestral ritual presented by the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, won an award in New York on Tuesday. It won the New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, which annually honor outstanding achievements by independent dance artists. Choreographers Jung Hye-jin, Kim Seong-hun, and Kim Jae-deok, who collaborated on the modern adaptation of a January 21, 2026
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  New South Korean rom-com makes strong debut on Netflix's global chart SEOUL, January 21 (AJP) - Netflix's new South Korean series has cracked the top 10 on the global streaming giant's chart this week. According to Netflix's ranking website Tudum, "Can This Love Be Translated?" garnered 4 million in cumulative views, in less than a week after its release last Friday, securing the No. 2 spot among non-English shows, just behind crime thriller "Taskaree: The Smuggler's Web." The romantic comedy starring Kim Seon- January 21, 2026
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  Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice" emerges as Korea's biggest U.S. box-office hit SEOUL, January 20 (AJP) - Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice has become the highest-grossing Korean film ever released in the United States, surpassing the box-office record set by Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite and reinforcing the commercial viability of Korean noir among American audiences. After more than three decades of shaping South Korean cinema for global viewers, Park is registering his first major North American box-office breakthrough. No Other Choice, a dark comedy ce January 20, 2026
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  South Korean violinist in wheelchair wins top prize at US competition SEOUL, January 20 (AJP) - Violinist Lim Hyun-jae won the triennial Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition (EOIVC) in Boca Raton, Florida last weekend. At last Sunday's finals at Lynn University Conservatory of Music, Lim, 28, performed Jean Sibelius' "Violin Concerto in D minor" while seated in a wheelchair and won the top prize among four finalists. She also won two special prizes awarded to the best performers of the EOIVC's commissioned work. January 20, 2026
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  INTERVIEW: Park Seo-joon: confident "Waiting for Gyeongo" will linger despite low ratings SEOUL, January 19 (AJP) - For Park Seo-joon, returning to the romance genre after seven years with, "Waiting for Gyeong-do" was a project that demanded full embracement of character’s life. Following the timeline of protagonist "Lee Gyeong-do," who continues to live with the same feelings even after two relationships at the ages of twenty and twenty-eight, the narrative goes beyond a simple reunion melodrama. Instead, it asks how the emotion of love is January 19, 2026
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  Japanese teenage actor to visit Seoul next month as film becomes sleeper hit SEOUL, January 19 (AJP) - Japanese actor Soya Kurokawa will visit Seoul next month as his latest film "National Treasure," also known as "Kokuho became a sleeper hit in South Korea, the film’s distributer said on Monday. Directed by Japanese filmmaker and screenwriter of Zainichi Korean descent Lee Sang-il, the film has attracted over 200,000 moviegoers in about eight weeks since its release in mid-November last year, an impressive feat for an indie film her January 19, 2026