The 26th Busan International Film Festival will return nearly to how it previously operated before the pandemic. The festival is set to be held from Oct. 6 to 15 in Korea’s second city, Busan. Last year, the BIFF organizer had to scale down and hold the fest without large crowd-gathering events such as the opening and closing ceremonies, outdoor greetings and open talk sessions. Each film was also screened only once at the Busan Cinema Center. “This year we are screening all 100 p

MBC’s long-awaited survival audition program, “The Wild Idol,” will meet viewers for the first time on Friday at 8:10 p.m. “The Wild Idol” presents a series of harsh battles in which a total of 45 male idol applicants face extreme challenges to make it to their debut stage. Through various missions, the contestants are tested and evaluated on their physical strength, skills, and other hidden potentials while out in the wild. Unlike typical idol audition shows th

Returning a year and half after their smash-hit second full-length album, K-pop boy band NCT 127 said the main concern in preparing new album “Sticker” was going beyond themselves. They achieved the goal -- and much more -- with preorders for their third studio album “Sticker” surpassing 2 million copies Thursday, triple the number of their second studio album “NCT #127 Neo Zone” even before the release of the album the following day. During a media showc

NCT127 held a showcase on Friday to roll out its third full album “Sticker.” 　 “It has been almost 1 1/2 years and I am nervous and excited at the same time,” said Doyoung, asking fans to enjoy the moment as well. 　 Since its previous song “Kick It” was a huge hit, it put pressure on the band, members said. 　 “Preparing for this album, we were worried and anxious if we could do better, if we would be able to put on a cooler performance,” Taeyong

Miracle: Letters to the President (Korea) Opened Sept. 15 Drama Directed by Lee Jang-hoon In a small remote village in North Gyeongsang Province, there were no stations or pedestrian roads. People in the village had to walk on the railroad to get to the nearest town, which constantly exposed them to the danger of being hit by trains. Joon-kyeong (played by Park Jung-min), a high school student, starts writing to the president, asking him to build a train station at the foot of his village for

NCT127 has already sold 2.12 million copies of its forthcoming third full-length album, “Sticker,” according to label SM Entertainment on Thursday.   　 The LP, due out Friday, topped 1.3 million in preorders on the first day.   　 The album consists of 11 tracks, including the title track, a hip-hop dance number that is said to feature catchy pipe sounds. The band will perform it for the first time on stage on CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden” o

T1’s bot-laner Park “Teddy” Jin-sung is ready to give his all at the prestigious League of Legends’ world championship. After his latest appearance at the LoL Champions Korea summer season finals on Aug. 28, Teddy, 23, says he feels both mentally and physically prepared for the big stage. “After securing the spot in the group stage of Worlds 2021 as third seed, a short vacation was given to the players. With the extended COVID-19 pandemic, I was able to relax and

“Hometown,” directed by Park Hyun-seok, will premiere on Sept. 22 starring Han Ye-ri as Jo Jung-hyun, a woman searching for her kidnapped niece. Set in the imaginary town of Saju, South Gyeongsang Province, the upcoming tvN drama shows a detective (played by You Chae-myung) investigating a series of murders in 1999 and Jo’s search for her niece, which lead the characters to encounter the terrorist and serial killer Jo Kyoung-ho (played by Um Tae-goo). Widely recognized for d

For director Hwang Dong-hyuk, producing the upcoming mystery sci-fi series “Squid Game” brought about mixed emotions. “After debuting with ‘My Father,’ I read a lot of comics and was mesmerized by survival games. With an attempt to create a Korean version, I started planning out the work in 2008 and finished the scenario in 2009,” the director said in an online press conference Wednesday. “However, casting actors and getting investment were extremely d

  As the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic continues to persist, opportunities to meet and greet fans across the globe in person have been shuttered. But Hybe, the company behind megastars like boy bands BTS and Seventeen, has come up with a pop-up event in the South Korean capital for fans who reside in the nation.  The pop-up retail shop is based on Hybe’s “In the SOOP” content, a reality program that allows the company‘s groups to unplug from their busy

Entertainment companies branch out to offline pop-up stores to garner fans and customers, department stores catch on with agencies to collaborate

BTS is holding a digital concert on Oct. 24, the band announced Wednesday. 　 Titled “BTS Permission to Dance on Stage,” the show will broadcast live. 　 It has been about a year since the group’s previous concert, “BTS Map of the Soul ON:E,” which was livestreamed across the world and attracted 993,000 fans from 191 countries. 　 Meanwhile, the septet is leaving for New York on Saturday to attend the 76th United Nations General Assembly alongside South Korea Presi