Blue Dragon Awards: Power couple Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin make history with dual acting wins

SEOUL, November 20 (AJP) -South Korea’s star couple Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin made history at the 46th Blue Dragon Awards, becoming the first married pair to win Best Actor and Best Actress on the same night. Their milestone moment lit up the ceremony at KBS Hall in Seoul on Wednesday, where actors Han Ji-min and Lee Je-hoon served as hosts for the live broadcast. The night otherwise belonged to “No Other Choice,” which swept major categories including

November 20, 2025

AI cover controversy in New Zealand poses wake-up call for Korean publishers

SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - It took less than a minute for ChatGPT to deliver a fully rendered image of Seoul's landmark Gwanghwamun draped in autumn leaves in the warm, painterly style of Studio Ghibli, the iconic Japanese animation studio. Image-making has become easy and ubiquitous ever since OpenAI added its image-generation feature, allowing users to transform their portraits into Ghibli-style illustrations within seconds. The feature quickly went viral across social me

November 19, 2025

HYBE flies on rosy outlook with NewJeans and BTS pipeline, but NewJeans remain question

SEOUL, November 13 (AJP) - Korea's entertainment giant HYBE gained a boost — 6 percent on Thursday on high expectations for a full-member comeback of their budding and steady stars NewJeans and BTS, after the breakaway girl group hinted they would return home following an epic split last year. The rise was more muted than the near-9 percent after-hours jump late Wednesday as the market grew cautious about whether reconciliation is real, given the deep distrust NewJeans m

November 13, 2025

K-pop sensation NewJeans signal full-group comeback by returning to ADOR under HYBE

SEOUL, November 13 (AJP) - NewJeans, the breakout K-pop act that shot to global fame upon debut in 2022 but became embroiled in a bitter dispute with its agency last year, is poised for a full-group comeback after members began signaling their return to ADOR, a move that lifts a major litigation burden for the parent manager HYBE ahead of the long-anticipated comeback of K-pop superstar BTS. On Wednesday, members Haerin and Hyein announced that they would return to ADOR, sayin

November 13, 2025

Japanese R-rated anime dominates Korean box office amid drought in Korean cinema

SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - KPop Demon Hunters may have ruled the global animation scene on the small screen, but it is R-rated Japanese anime films that are pulling South Koreans back to the big screen this year. Han Suk-hee, a 27-year-old web novel writer, returned for a second viewing of "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc" after being "bewitched" by the immersive big-screen experience and its dark, kinetic storytelling. Adapted from Tatsuki Fujimoto&

November 11, 2025

'Avatar' sequel to get world premiere in South Korea in time for Christmas

SEOUL, November 10 (AJP) - The third installment of director James Cameron's epic "Avatar" series will have its world premiere in South Korea in mid-December, just in time for Christmas, the film’s distributor Walt Disney Company said on Monday. Expectations for the upcoming franchise Fire and Ash are already high ahead of its release slated for Dec. 17, as it is set to depart from the previous serene setting of its fictional planet Pandora to explore a fiery

November 10, 2025

K-pop nears "golden moment" by scoring big on Grammy nominations

SEOUL, November 08 (AJP) -K-pop is approaching a “golden moment” on the global stage as a wave of Korean female artists secured nominations in top categories for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. “APT.,” BLACKPINK member Rose’s collaboration with Bruno Mars, and “Golden,” an original soundtrack piece from Netflix’s blockbuster anime KPop Demon Hunters, were both shortlisted for major honors including Song of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Per

November 8, 2025

Behind the buzz over K-Pop Demon Hunters, K-contents score meagerly this year

SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Korean contents have enjoyed spectacular global exposure this year through major streaming platforms, but without the halo of K-Pop Demon Hunters — the rare breakout that dominated global charts — the industry can hardly claim meaningful wins amid a dearth of blockbuster titles, mounting production costs, and waning originality. The third-quarter results of CJ ENM, Korea’s largest entertainment and media group, offer a glimpse into this

November 7, 2025

Coming-of-age indie film continues impressive run at box office

SEOUL, November 3 (AJP) - Low-budget film "The World of Love" directed by Yoon Ga-eun has attracted over 60,000 viewers since its release late last month. The impressive feat for an independent film came after positive word of mouth boosted its popularity, with the 119-minute film still drawing hordes of moviegoers in its second week since its release on Oct. 22. In particular, it continues to draw viewers despite being shown on fewer screens, becoming the only film

November 3, 2025

Court rules NewJeans must remain under ADOR, rejects bid for independence

SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - The future of K-pop girl group NewJeans — who shot to global stardom upon their 2022 debut — has been thrown into uncertainty after a Seoul court ruled in favor of their agency HYBE on Thursday. The court determined that all five members remain exclusively bound to ADOR, a HYBE sublabel, until 2029, regardless of their claims of contract breaches and unfair treatment. The decision extinguishes hopes for an early stage comeback for NewJeans,

October 30, 2025