Korea Joongang Daily
Korea JoongAng Daily

Dropping the K: Can K-pop ever be just pop?

As the made-in-Korea music genre continues to grow each year, its Korean-ness is becoming increasingly replaced with diverse cultures and languages. But does this mean it’s time for K-pop to drop its prefix and dive into the pop music world at large?

2024-02-17

Jung Woo-sung shines in directorial debut 'A Man of Reason'

New directors often refer to and learn from those who came before them, but first-time director Jung Woo-sung intentionally avoided that with new noir film “A Man of Reason.”

2023-08-11

SM Entertainment battle is about big issues and deep pockets

The ugly battle for control of SM Entertainment, involving at least three parties, hinges on complex questions of law and corporate governance and is being fought with the deep pockets of some of the biggest names in K-pop and tech. SM ...

2023-02-19

SM Entertainment co-CEO bashes founder for ruining the company

SM Entertainment's founder Lee Soo-man has been ruining the K-pop agency with his personal greed, forcing girl group aespa to sing about sustainability in their songs while he evades taxes through a private company he founded overseas, the ...

2023-02-16

SM Entertainment offers set off ownership drama

Will NCT be teaming up with BTS or Monsta X? K-pop pioneer SM Entertainment faces an uncertain future. The agency’s founder Lee Soo-man wants to sell to rival agency HYBE, but SM Entertainment's board is against it. The board wants to ...

2023-02-10

Gov't transition team visits HYBE without mention of BTS military exemption

Officials of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team on Saturday visited HYBE, the agency of K-pop sensation BTS, without discussing the issue of military service exemption. "There was no mention [of military exemption for the members],"...

2022-04-03

'Squid Game' stars to skip Golden Globes

"Squid Game" star Lee Jung-jae will not attend the 79th Golden Globe Awards ceremony set for Sunday, according to his agency Artist Company on Thursday. Costar Oh Young-soo and the Netflix series' director Hwang Dong-hyuk will also not attend ...

2022-01-06

Yoo Ha’s crime action film 'Pipeline' exported to 12 countries

Director Yoo Ha’s crime action film “Pipeline” (2021) has been exported to 12 countries, according to the distribution company Finecut on Wednesday. The heist film which was released on May 26 in Korea hit North American theaters on May 28, and ...

2021-06-02

Entertainer Kwon Hyuk-soo tests positive for Covid-19

Entertainer Kwon Hyuk-soo tested positive for Covid-19, his agency Humap Contents confirmed on Thursday. “He [Kwon] is going through additional tests, so all of his schedules have been canceled and he is in quarantine before he begins his...

2021-04-22

U.S. supports end-of-war declaration, if North is on board: Korean ambassador

Washington supports a formal declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War as long as North Korea is on board, South Korea’s ambassador to the United States said Monday.

2020-10-12