K-pop girl groups NewJeans and Ive were awarded a national culture merit on Saturday for their role in the promotion of Korean culture and arts. The rookie groups were recognized with the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation at the 14th Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards. The ceremony was held on Saturday at Haeoreum Grand Theater of the National Theater of Korea in central Seoul. "We are honored to receive such big award. We feel grateful to our fans, Bunnies, and everyo

K-pop Oct. 22, 2023

K-pop acts' race to the Grammys continues this year, with a growing number of artists bidding to make inroads into the world's most prestigious music event. And this time, it's not just BTS. Reports from the US music industry showed that the nominee selection process for the 66th Grammy Awards has commenced recently, with a sizable batch of K-pop singers and groups spotted among the hopefuls. K-pop's biggest group and three-time Grammy nominee BTS is taking another shot -- th

K-pop Oct. 19, 2023

Melon Music Awards, one of the nation's biggest music award shows, will take place on Dec. 2, its organizer announced Thursday. Melon, Kakao Entertainment's music streaming company, said Thursday that the 15th Melon Music Awards, or MMA2023, will take place at the Inspire Arena, a new concert venue on Yeongjongdo, Incheon. Under the slogan "K-pop Changes the World," the MMA 2023 will officially kick off its promotions starting with a teaser video on Oct. 27. Next month, the v

K-pop Oct. 19, 2023

Singer Chuu has made her long-awaited solo debut with EP "Howl." The new album, launched Wednesday, marks Chuu's first solo foray, coming six years after she debuted as part of the group Loona, and after she was removed from the group in November due to a contract dispute. The young musician, appearing tearful at her debut showcase, has had to chart a rough course, having fought with her past agency and needing to rebuild her career. "I felt bad to be involved in an issue tha

K-pop Oct. 18, 2023

BTS' Jungkook will be attending the 2023 MTV Europe Music Awards in Paris next month as a nominee and performer. The full list of performers for this year's MTV EMA ceremony was revealed on the event's official website Wednesday. Jungkook was among the list of 10 artists, including Anne-Marie, Coi Leray and David Guetta. This celebrates the BTS member's first in-person attendance at the annual European award. Jungkook has already marked a landmark feat at the MTV EMA this yea

K-pop Oct. 18, 2023

Solo singer Sunmi's music is definitely one-of-a-kind, so much so that it has earned itself the name "Sunmi-pop" from the public. A decade into walking her own path, Sunmi says she now has nothing new to show with her music. Instead of bringing "new" to the stage, she hopes to deliver music that reflects her true self. The latest of such efforts is visible in her new single, "Stranger." Sunmi returned to the music scene for the first time in a year and four m

K-pop Oct. 17, 2023

Boy band Enhypen is returning with a new album in November. Belift Lab on Monday announced the group would drop its fifth EP "Orange Blood" on Nov. 17, its first release since "Dark Blood" in May. Ahead of the official announcement, the company uploaded a trailer for the upcoming album on the band's social media. "You and I are connected through 'Blood,'" reads a message on the video, hinting the next album will continue the blood-themed story that be

K-pop Oct. 16, 2023

Jungkook of K-pop sensation BTS has brought together some global names for his upcoming solo album, "Golden." Big Hit Music on Monday released the full track and producers list for Jungkook's first solo album, which is set for release Nov. 3. The album's main song, "Standing Next to You," is listed as the collection's fourth track. American singer-songwriter Andrew Watt and Canadian record producer Cirkut teamed up once again as producers for the song, followin

K-pop Oct. 16, 2023

Tomorrow X Together is setting new records worldwide with its latest release, "The Name Chapter: Freefall." The band's agency, Big Hit Music, on Sunday announced the album, which came out on Friday, sold 225,184 copies in Japan on its first day and debuted atop Oricon's daily album ranking. It surpassed the band's previous first-day sales record there of 184,971 copies of its fifth EP, "The Name Chapter: Temptation," in January. The LP also made a splash on Spo

K-pop Oct. 15, 2023

BTS' V on Saturday made unforgettable memories with fans at his solo fan meeting, "Vicnic." Some 1,400 fans went to the event, which was held at an outdoors theater in the Kyung Hee University Global Campus in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the singer's agency Big Hit Music said Sunday. A special picnic planned by V for his fans, the 120-minute meet-and-greet comes around a month since he made his official solo debut with the EP "Layover." V began with a promise to make

K-pop Oct. 15, 2023

Jennie of Blackpink debuted on UK's biggest singles chart with "You & Me." According to the latest chart data released on Friday, Jennie's solo song "You & Me" logged at No. 39 on the Official Singles Chart Top 40. This marked Jennie's first solo appearance on the UK song chart. The singer's agency YG Entertainment said on Saturday that, with Jennie's feat, Blackpink has become the first K-pop female group whose members have all placed their s

K-pop Oct. 14, 2023

Park Seo-bo, a Korean contemporary art master, died on Saturday at the age of 92. The artist died of cancer, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency on Saturday morning. In February, Park had revealed he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Born in 1931 in Yecheon County of North Gyeongsang Province, Park was the leader of the dansaekhwa movement, or “monochrome painting" movement, in Korea. The movement, considered internationally as unique to Korea and leading the local contempo

Arts & Design Oct. 14, 2023

After a yearlong journey touring international stages, including Lollapalooza and MTV's Video Music Awards, boy band Tomorrow X Together is back with a new album, this time setting its sights on the Billboard charts. The band, often referred to as TXT, released its third full-length album, "The Name Chapter: Freefall," Friday afternoon. The press conference held on Thursday, a day ahead of the album's release, felt like a celebration of the group's glorious return af

K-pop Oct. 13, 2023

K-pop girl group Le Sserafim is set to release its first English-language single next month, the band's agency Source Music said Thursday. According to Source Music, Le Sserafim will drop its first English digital single, "Perfect Night," on Oct. 27. The new song will convey a message that, perfect or not, a happy day with a friend is valuable, the agency said in a statement about the song on Thursday. Ahead of making the official announcement, Source Music posted on its social me

K-pop Oct. 12, 2023

Lee Hyori returns to the music world on Thursday with the digital single "Hoodie e Banbaji." The single is the veteran singer's first record in six years, since the release of her sixth album "Black" in 2017. "Hoodie e Banbaji" means "hoodie on shorts" in Korean, referring to the singer's casual daily style. According to her agency Antenna, the new song is an easy-listening tune that rolls out Lee's own story about walking her own path her o

K-pop Oct. 12, 2023