BTS' Jimin to drop solo digital single 'Closer Than This'

SEOUL -- BTS member Jimin's solo digital single will be released while he fulfills his mandatory military service in South Korea. The 28-year-old will deliver his sincere feelings toward his fan club, "ARMY," through the song titled "Closer Than This." Big Hit, the agency of BTS, said the digital single will be rolled out at 2:00 p.m. (0500 GMT) on December 21. "As we approach the final days of 2023, we hope that 'Closer Than This,' with its lyri

December 21, 2023

Girl band NewJeans to drop remix album to commemorate release of hit song "Ditto"

SEOUL -- K-pop girl band NewJeans will drop its very first remix album containing 12 songs. The album is to be released at 6:00 p.m. (0900 GMT) on December 19, the first anniversary of the release of Ditto. Ditto is the five-member's 2022 global hit song that garnered more than 400 million streams on Spotify, the world's top music streaming service. NewJeans, which debuted in July 2022, is the brainchild of Min Hee-jin, the prodigy producer who successfully incubated iconi

December 19, 2023

Boy band Seventeen completes three-month tour in Japan

SEOUL -- Multinational K-pop boy band Seventeen has completed its Japan tour that started in September. The group attracted about 515,000 fans through 12 concerts at in five cities, including Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka. The 13-member band debuted in May 2015 and won the "World Performer Award" at the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), an annual music festival in Hong Kong. Seventeen consists of three subgroups -- hip-hop, vocal, and performance. The group made its debut i

December 18, 2023

BTS member V to join special counter-terrorism unit

SEOUL -- BTS member V is set to join South Korea's military police unit specializing in counter-terrorism operations and protecting high-profile individuals. The 27-year-old would be deployed to the "Special Duty Team" after completing a five-week basic military training at an army boot camp and an additional three-week training related to the military police missions. Males aged 18 or older must fulfill their mandatory military service of about 18 months unless th

December 18, 2023

East Asian esports competition takes place in S. Korea's southern port city

SEOUL -- "Esports Championships East Asia," a cybersport competition between South Korea, Japan, and China, has started in Yeosu, South Korea's southern port city known for its scenic surroundings. A total of 69 professional gamers from the three countries will compete in four different games -- League of Legends, Battlegrounds Mobile, Apex Legends, and eFootball. The annual tournament started in 2021 is hosted by the governments of the three East Asian nations. China

December 16, 2023

NewJeans to perform on US broadcaster ABC's special New Year's Eve show

SEOUL -- Girl band NewJeans will become the first K-pop girl band to interact with American fans through a popular New Year's Eve show hosted by the United States broadcaster ABC. The program titled "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" broadcasts the countdown event at Times Square in New York and showcases promising artists of the year. The group's agency said on December 14 NewJeans will appear on New Year's Rockin' Eve. Th

December 14, 2023

Samsung adds free movie VOD service to digital TVs

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics has added movie video-on-demand service to Samsung TV Plus, the company's free video content service for Samsung TV users. The tech giant partnered with the ecommerce wing of South Korea's largest telecom service provider KT to gradually increase the number of serviced films to up to 1,000 by the end of 2024. Video-on-demand (VOD) services are internet-based video content services in which viewers can search and select films they wish to watch on

December 13, 2023

Revenge series 'The Glory' ranks third on Netflix's most-watched series chart in first half of 2023

SEOUL -- South Korean revenge thriller TV series "The Glory" became the third globally most-watched content on Netflix in the first six months of 2023. The series, rolled out on December 30, 2022, portrays a story of a woman who experienced vicious bullying at high school taking revenge on bullies after becoming an adult. According to the global streaming service giant's report released on December 13, the South Korean series recorded 622.8 million hours of viewing in

December 13, 2023

BTS' Jin could train band mates Jungkook and Jimin as drill instructor at military boot camp

SEOUL -- Jungkook, the youngest member of BTS, and the group's lead vocalist Jimin started their mandatory military service. The two artists will go through five weeks of basic training at a front-line infantry division that guards the inter-Korean border. Currently, the band's eldest member Jin is training new soldiers as an assistant army drill instructor at the infantry division. In South Korea, males aged 18 and above must complete their military service unless they have

December 12, 2023

BTS' RM and V begin mandatory military service  

SEOUL -- BTS' leader, RM, and V, a member of the group, have commenced their compulsory military service. After completing five weeks of basic training at South Korea's largest army boot camp, the two artists will be assigned to their unit, where they will spend the rest of their time with fellow soldiers for about 16 months and three weeks. In South Korea, males aged 18 and above are obligated to complete their military service unless exempted for valid reasons. Those enl

December 11, 2023