Market experts have painted an optimistic outlook for SM, and major brokerage firms here simultaneously raised their target prices on the company. The firms forecast that SM is likely to eliminate the undervalued stock issue, as well as improve its profit structure once its contract with Like Planning ends. Hana Securities raised its target price for the entertainment firm by 4.76 percent to 110...

Celebrating BTS' upcoming concert in Busan in support of the city’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo, Hybe, the K-pop powerhouse behind the boy band, will turn the port city into a BTS-themed park through its special project. “BTS ‘Yet to Come’ The City in Busan,” or simply “The City,” will turn Busan into an immersive festival site for fans visiting the city for BTS’ upcoming concert, the K-pop ...

The act has shown its strong presence in the global music scene since debuting in 2016 with "Whistle" and "Boombayah." The group has gone on to become the world's biggest girl group with hit songs that include "As If It's Your Last," "Kill This Love," "Ddu-du Ddu-du" and "Love Sick Girls." On Friday (UK time), "Born Pink" debuted atop Britain's Official Albums Chart Top 100, making Blackpink the...

All four members of boy band Day6 have renewed their contracts with JYP Entertainment. “We agreed to renew the contracts with all members of Day6. We and Day6 will continue making meaningful processes together in the future based on strong mutual trust. We’ll fully support Day6 for another big jump,” the K-pop agency said in a press release statement Monday. The news means that the bandmates --...

Leading K-pop agency SM Entertainment said on Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Everland, South Korea’s largest outdoor amusement park, to create a zone where parkgoers and fans of artists affiliated with SM can have fun. Under the joint partnership, the two companies will launch “Ever SM Town” to create various experience content combining “SM Culture Universe,” also kn...

Calling the “National Singing Contest” the 42-year-old tree with growth rings, the 38-year-old comedian asked for time to fully fill up the late veteran host’s vacancy. “I’ve had many worries, but I’ll be humble to learn new things. Like a long-lived turtle, I’ll travel across the country slowly for a long time, so please give a lot of warm support like you’re taking care of your youngest daughte...

“Sunflower” is a three-track EP that reflects the hip-hop and R&B genres she has loved and excelled in since she was a trainee. Choi participated in penning the lyrics for the main track “Sunflower (P.E.L)” and the EP’s second track “Tip Top Toes.” Choi said, “As the first solo work, I wanted to fill in the album with personally meaningful things. The album’s title became ‘sunflower’ because it ...

The concert was originally scheduled for a two-hour run, but took another 40 minutes to wrap up. With teary eyes, Bae said, “This was a miraculous moment for us. We didn’t know this day would come!” Koo added, “These moments will remain in our hearts forever.” Songolmae performed 27 songs in total and bid farewell with encore performances showcasing “Accidental Encounter” once more, along with “...

Besides Chang, Sungshin Women's University professor Shim Doo-bo was another speaker in the session to speak about the Korean Wave, Korean dramas and their future. A discussion session followed with Korea National Open University's assistant professor Lee Sung-min, the head of KT StudioGenie's Intellectual Property development department, and Warner Bros. International Television Production's Vic...

Surviving the cutthroat K-pop industry is a daunting challenge for any group. It has been about nine months since rookie girl group Ive began its musical career, and the six-piece act not only surviving, but thriving in the K-pop scene. According to Aug. 22-28 data from local album sales tracker Hanteo Chart published Monday, Ive sold 924,363 copies of its third single "After Like" in the first ...

Mamamoo+, K-pop quartet Mamamoo’s first subunit, will release its first single, “Better” at 6 p.m. on Tuesday via online streaming sites. The duo consists of Solar and Moonbyul. According to the duo’s label RBW, “Better” is a romantic song about the comfort of being with a loved one. It features the bandmates’ refreshing vocals. as well as rapper Big Naughty as a featured artist. The subunit’s ...

Lee Jin-hyuk of boy band Up10tion returned to the K-pop scene on Monday, hoping to show his fatal charms through his fifth solo EP, “5ight.” It has been about nine months since the singer and actor released his fourth EP, “Ctrl+V,” in October last year. Since the artist made his solo debut with “S.O.L” in 2019, he has released four solo albums, including “Splash!” and “Scene26.” He had shown fr...

Boy band Seventeen was announced as the winner of the “Push” performance of the year with “Rock With You,” the title track of its ninth EP “Attaca,” after the group was named as the first-ever K-pop artist to be part of the global “MTV Push” program. With this win, the act has become the first K-pop act to take home the award.

According to the CEO, preparations for the program began in July last year. However, a show like this, which involved the latest advancement in virtual reality and augmented reality tech, created several challenges for the production team. The innovative concept won over the cable channel, and they decided to push forward with the production after just four days of consideration. “This is a show...

Jung, however, questioned the effectiveness of the universe concept on the latest groups’ popularity. Since the concept itself is getting old, K-pop acts will less likely benefit from it as much as EXO. It may help build initial fandom, but in the long run, groups need listenable songs to take another leap forward, the critic said. “As far as I know, artists’ obsession with such distinct univers...