K-pop hitmaker Kim Hyung-seok bids to chair Korea Music Copyright Association

SEOUL, November 25 (AJP) - Veteran K-pop composer Kim Hyung-seok (59), the creative force behind some of Korea’s most iconic ballads, has officially announced his candidacy for the 25th chairman election of the Korea Music Copyright Association (KMC). Kim, whose three-decade career shaped the sound of Korean pop through hits for Lee Moon-sae, Jang Hye-jin, Shin Seung-hun, Kim Gun-mo, Jo Sung-mo, Park Jin-young, Kim Kwang-seok, and many more, said he decided to run after re

November 25, 2025

K-pop anime qualifies for animated Oscar race

SEOUL, November 23 (AJP) - Netflix’s animated film "KPop Demon Hunters," the first foreign-made animation centered on South Korean K-pop idols, has been listed among the titles eligible for consideration in the Academy Awards’ best animated feature category this year. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), 35 films qualified for the category at the upcoming 98th Oscars. The film earned its spot by completing a limited the

November 23, 2025

Korea-Japan joint titles emerge as new streaming sellers

SEOUL, November 21 (AJP) - In October, Netflix’s charts delivered an unusual pairing at the top: the Korean film “Good News” and the Korea–Japan co-produced drama “Anonymously Yours”. Despite their different genres, both titles underscore a fast-rising trend — Korean and Japanese creators increasingly joining forces in writing, directing, casting, and financing. “Anonymously Yours,” a romance series adapted from the 2010 French

November 21, 2025

K-pop groups once again caught in diplomatic crossfire amid China–Japan fallout

SEOUL, November 20 (AJP) - K-pop groups that have recently become regulars on Japanese television are once again caught in the crossfire between China and Japan, as renewed tensions under Tokyo's new hawkish leadership spill over into pop culture. The diplomatic standoff has revived decades-old antipathy between the two countries and is sending ripple effects across multiple fronts — from tourism to entertainment. Chinese music platform QQ Music announced Monday via

November 20, 2025

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 explo

November 10, 2025