Mudeungsan Mountain located in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, fully opened its door to the public for the first time in 57 years on Saturday. Civilian access to the top of the mountain had been restricted since 1966 as air force units were stationed in the respective location. Many visitors gathered on the day of the opening to enjoy a round-trip hike of approximately 390 meters that goes from Seoseokdae columnar joints to Inwangbong Observatory.

Travel Sept. 23, 2023

Suga of BTS began his mandatory military service on Friday. He will be fulfilling his compulsory military service by doing alternative service after receiving basic training for the first few weeks during boot camp. “I was able to come this far thanks to you ARMY (the name of BTS' fan community). Now it’s time for me (to begin my mandatory military service). I will do my utmost to fulfill my national duty. Stay warm as the weather is getting cold. Stay healthy and let’s me

K-pop Sept. 22, 2023

Fantasy Boys embarked on its journey as K-pop artists with its debut album “New Tomorrow” on Thursday. The group consists of 11 members who are among the top 12 finalists from MBC’s idol survival program “Fantasy Boys.” “Because our fans have supported us through the program up until now, we were able to introduce our debut album. With this album, we want to show that each of our members is talented in their own way,” said member Hong Sungmin during a pr

K-pop Sept. 21, 2023

The MAMA Awards, hosted by CJ ENM, will be held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on Nov. 28-29. This is the first time a Korean award ceremony will be held at the Tokyo Dome, CJ ENM said Thursday. The MAMA Awards has been working toward the globalization of K-pop by hosting the event in various Asian countries in the past, including Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Japan. This will the second time that the event is being held in Japan, which is the second biggest importer of K-pop. The annual

K-pop Sept. 21, 2023

All members of the K-pop sensation BTS have decided to renew their exclusive contract with Big Hit Music, according to a press release on Wednesday. This means that all members will continue making new music as a full unit after they each complete their mandatory military duties. “Our board of directors reached a conclusion over the renewal of the exclusive contract with the seven members of BTS,” Hybe said in the press release. This is the group’s second contract renewal with

K-pop Sept. 21, 2023

BTS’ V continues to thrive with his first solo album “Layover.” “Slow Dancing,” the title track of V’s album “Layover,” landed at No. 51 on Billboard’s Hot 100 dated Sept. 23. This is V’s third debut on the respective chart after his single “Christmas Tree,” an original soundtrack of the Korean drama series “Our Beloved Summer,” landed at No. 79, and “Love Me Again,” one of the tracks from a previous

K-pop Sept. 20, 2023

Jellyfish Entertainment’s new boy group made its grand debut on Tuesday with its first mini album “Target: ME.” Evnne consists of seven members who took part in Mnet’s idol survival program “Boys Planet” but failed to make it into the final debut team. Their experience in the competitive show has nurtured them into skilled K-pop artists capable of singing and rapping live while dancing, as shown with their performance of the fast-tempo debut title track &ldquo

K-pop Sept. 20, 2023

K-pop diva Sunmi is returning with a new album next month. She recently finished shooting the music video for her upcoming album, according to Abyss Company on Tuesday. This comeback comes a year and four months after the singer released her digital single “Heart Burn” in June of last year. All of Sunmi’s previous releases -- such as “Gashina,” “Heroine,” “Noir,” “LALALAY,” “Pporappippam,” and “Tail” -- hav

K-pop Sept. 19, 2023

DSP Media is launching a new girl group called Young Posse on Oct. 18. The agency dropped a teaser clip for the group’s debut on its social media accounts on Tuesday. In it, a frog is drinking a soda in front of a diner and five girls appear on skateboards. The new girl group consists of five members and the name of the group derives from the Latin verb “posse,” which means "to be able." Young Posse is expected to introduce music and performances that break K-pop norm

K-pop Sept. 19, 2023

Blackpink marked the end of its yearlong world tour “Born Pink” back in Seoul with a two-day concert at Gocheok Sky Dome that attracted 35,000 people. Fans from various nationalities dressed in black and pink had gathered to see the finale of what could be the band's last concert for a while. As the lights dimmed to signal the beginning of the finale, fans chanted “Blackpink” until the stars appeared on center stage amid shooting pink laser beams to perform the first

K-pop Sept. 18, 2023

K-pop groups composed entirely of non-Koreans created by Korean labels are expanding the K-pop spectrum. XG, a K-pop girl group consisting only of Japanese nationals formed by a Korean label XGALX, and Horizon, a K-pop boy group made up of Philippine members by MLD Entertainment, are successful examples of foreign artists garnering popularity in Korea and abroad through K-pop music. XG is a seven-member group that debuted in Korea in March last year with the single “Tippy Toes.” The

K-pop Sept. 14, 2023

Stray Kids took home the award for best K-pop at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards for its latest single “S-Class," on Tuesday. “We’ve been making music ever since the start of our career, but to receive this award just really means a lot to us,” said Bang Chan of Stray Kids on the stage to receive the award at the event in Newark, New Jersey. “We want to thank our fans for being so supportive. We have so much to show you guys so please look forward to us in the

K-pop Sept. 13, 2023

V of BTS on Wednesday released the music video for "Blue," a track from his first solo album “Layover.” This marks the fourth music video of a song on the new album. The music video was filmed in black-and-white to portray a profound melancholic mood throughout the clip, according to Big Hit Music. At the beginning of the music video, V appears talking on the phone with a worried face while driving. He then wanders around desperately looking for someone. “Blue”

K-pop Sept. 13, 2023

K-pop boy group Tomorrow X Together will perform its new single, “Back for More,” with the Brazilian pop artist Anitta at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards this Wednesday. “Back for More” is one of the singles in the group’s upcoming third LP, “The Name Chapter: Freefall,” which is scheduled to drop on Oct. 13. The single will be performed for the first time on stage at the award ceremony. “We think performing at an award ceremony in which many music

K-pop Sept. 12, 2023

K-pop girl group Twice has set off on a tour in Europe for the first time since its debut. Their first stop in Europe was London for a two-day concert last week, which was part of its fifth world tour, “Ready to Be.” The next concert was held in Paris on Monday. The set list for this year’s world tour includes mega-hit singles such as “Set Me Free,” which landed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, “Alcohol-Free,” “Talk that Talk,” and English song

K-pop Sept. 12, 2023