10 years of SHINee: 'This is just the beginning' Members of SHINee pose during a press conference for their sixth full-length album “The Story of Light” at Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas in southern Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap'We want to do it SHINee way'By Kwak Yeon-soo“Our capability of giving every song a distinct SHINee style is what makes us strong on music charts,” Minho of SHINee said during a press conference held at Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas in southern Seoul, Monday. Commemorating their 10-year anniversary, leading K-pop band SHINee has returned with their sixth full-length album “The Story of Light,” which consists of three five-track albums that will be unveiled serially.The first installment of the new album, led by the lead track “Good Evening” hit the market on May 28, and the second, including its title track “I Want You” was unveiled Monday. Following the release the second album, the group notched the top spot on local online streaming services and peaked on iTunes World Albums chart in 25 countries, including Denmark, Spain, Greece, Finland anJun 12, 2018
Homeless band Spring Day sings hope Four-member homeless band Spring Day performs during its concert at Red Big Space in Seoul in this June 2017 file photo. / Courtesy of We WishBy Park Jin-haiNear Seoul Station passersby sometimes give money to the homeless that roam near the area, but they often just nonchalantly otherwise rush by. There was a rare event at the former Seoul Station building from May 30 to June 1, where the homeless people could enjoy music at a series of concerts for everyone. Band Spring Day, comprised of three former homeless people, sang their self-written songs during the three-day event designed to bridge the gap between the homeless and the rest of society.“Although it was a free concert open for everyone, the homeless of Seoul Station hesitated to step into the music hall at first. But, seeing them wearing the same blue t-shirts handed out to all participants, mixed in with non-homeless people and enjoying the music made me feel like walking on the clouds,” said Seo Myoung-jin, a 46-year-old former homeless person and now drummer, of Spring Day, during an interview with The Korea TJun 10, 2018
Yubin debuts as soloist after 11 years A teaser image for Yubin's first solo album “City Woman” / Courtesy of JYP EntertainmentBy Kwak Yeon-sooYubin, a former member of the now disbanded girl group Wonder Girls, has sought a makeover as a solo artist with her 80's retro city pop debut album “City Woman.” Her album comes a year after the Wonder Girls' split up, following a decade-long career that helped them break through the boundaries of K-pop and be the first K-pop act to enter the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The group had remarkable success in the late 2000's with hit songs including “Tell Me” and “Nobody.” Known as one of the most iconic girl groups in K-pop history, its breakup in 2017 came as a surprise to many. “I don't regret the decision to disband the Wonder Girls. My entire 20s were devoted to the group. All members agreed that it was time to move on and go our own way,” Yubin told The Korea Times, Monday.While Sunmi and Ha:tfelt (Yeeun) moved to other entertainment agencies in pursuit of solo careers, Yubin renewed her contract with JYP Entertainment. WheJun 10, 2018
Sisters to go head to head in 2018 Miss Korea Pageant final Sisters Kim Hee-ro, Kim Hee-ran. Courtesy of Kim Hee-ranBy Dong Sun-hwaTwo sisters will go head to head in the 2018 Miss Korea Pageant on July 4. Kim Hee-ro, 23, was chosen as first runner-up in the regional preliminaries for Seoul, while Kim Hee-ran, 21, was selected in the contest in China. The younger sister was eligible to take part in the regional preliminaries in China because both sisters have lived in Beijing. The sisters are students in the Modeling department at Dongduk Women's University. The 2018 Miss Korea Pageant's 17 regional preliminaries began on April 7 and ended on May 31 with about 50 contestants heading to the final. Three finalists from the 2018 Miss Korea regional preliminaries in North Gyeongsang Province in Gimcheon on April 7. From left are Ju Mi-so, 25, a tourism management major at Keimyung University; Lim Kyoung-min, 20, a mathematics education major at the Catholic University of Daegu; and Kim Na-young, 23, a modeling major at Daekyeung University. Courtesy of Miss Korea OrganizationThree finalists of the 2018 Miss Korea regional preliminaries on Jeju onJun 8, 2018
Mina's young husband reveals his hard life in US By Dong Sun-hwaPhilip Ryu and Mina From Philip Ryu's InstagramPhilip Ryu, a singer who holds U.S. and Korean citizenship, revealed the great hardship he and his family had to overcome while living in America. He made the revelation when he appeared with his sister and mom on KBS 2TV's reality show “Men Who Do Housework 2” Wednesday. He is well known as singer Mina's young husband. Mina is 17 years older.Ryu headed to America as a teenager with his sister, where his divorced father lived. He remembered he and his sister worked at his father's restaurant without being properly paid. “I ate leftovers from steaks the customers ate,” his sister said.His sister later ran away from home. She disclosed that she decided to escape because her father let her stepmother slap her. “I hoped she would never return,” Ryu said. “It was better to have only one person suffering instead of two.” In the end, the family comforted each other by agreeing to let bygones be bygones. Jun 7, 2018
Did Sulli delete Instagram photo over Lolita reference? By Dong Sun-hwaSulli on her InstagramSulli, a former member of K-pop girl band f(x), reportedly deleted a photo of herself on Instagram immediately after uploading it Wednesday. There was no explanation. In the post the actress wrote: “Long time, no see.” The reports speculated that she ditched her picture because it was taken by a photographer nicknamed Rotta, who has been mired in a Lolita controversy. The photographer also got into trouble for allegedly harassing a model. In 2016, Sulli revealed controversial photos on SNS that invoked Lolita during a collaboration with Rotta. Lolita is a reference to the underage girl portrayed in Vladimir Nabokov's novel of the same name and later made into a controversial movie. Jun 7, 2018
K-pop boy band members raise Taegukgi on Memorial Day Yesung, a vocalist with Super Junior. Courtesy of SM EntertainmentBy Dong Sun-hwaK-pop boy band members Yesung and Kang Seung-yoon commemorated Korea's Memorial Day on Wednesday via Instagram.Yesung, a vocalist with Super Junior, posted a photo of the national flag, the Taegukgi, on his Instagram.The national flag of Korea, the Taegukgi. Capture from Yesung's Instagram“Today is Memorial Day, on which we commemorate people who sacrificed themselves for the sake of national defense,” the singer wrote. The vocalist also made a post for last year's commemoration. Winner's leader Kang Seung-yoon. Courtesy of YG EntertainmentThe leader of Winner, Kang Seung-yoon, was also involved in the remembrance, uploading an image of the national flag on Instagram and adding the hash tag “#Memorial Day.”Meanwhile, the 63rd Memorial Day ceremony was held at the National Cemetery in Daejeon.Jun 7, 2018
Rapper Swings (jokingly) renames his label 'Just Marijuana' Rapper Swings, the CEO of Just Music. / YonhapBy Dong Sun-hwaKorean rapper Swings called his label “Just Marijuana” as he delivered his thoughts on C Jamm and BILL STAX, rappers under Swings' label “Just Music” who got into trouble for alleged Marijuana smoking. The comments were in an Instagram video posted Sunday when Swings was on stage at the hip-hop concert “I'M THE ONE” in Seoul last week.“Guess what, Just Music has come up with another nickname ― Just Marijuana,” Swings joked, making the audience laugh. The label CEO said: “If a man makes a mistake, he could go straight after being punished. A man should be responsible for what he did. It is simple.” Jun 7, 2018
Romance rumor mill works overtime on Korean actress, Taiwanese actor By Dong Sun-hwaKorean actress Kang Han-na and Taiwanese actor Wang Talu. / Capture from InstagramRumors of romance between Korean actress Kang Han-na and Taiwanese actor Wang Talu have resurfaced.Kang featured in the K-drama “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo” and Wang starred in “Our Times.”On Monday, the actress posted a video that showed her participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge, a fundraising campaign to build the first sanatorium for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, patients in Korea. She picked Wang Talu as one of the next challengers and the actor responded, meeting the challenge the following day. The two wore identical black T-shirts and used the same bowl. That seemed enough to get rumor mills working overtime. The pair met during the filming of the Chinese drama “Ghost Blows Out the Light.” Rumors about their dating surfaced when they were seen together at an amusement park in Osaka, Japan, in April 2017.In April this year, they were seen at a fish market in Taiwan and then in Italy in the same month. The tJun 7, 2018
K-pop diva Yubin cuts new song from album over plagiarism allegations The cover image of Yubin's first digital single album “City Woman.” / Courtesy of JYP EntertainmentBy Park Si-soo Yubin, former member of K-pop girl band Wonder Girls, has canceled the release of one of her new songs in the wake of plagiarism allegations.The disputed song, “City Love,” is on her first digital single album “City Woman” that went on sale from Tuesday. Her agency JYP Entertainment edited the song from the album. After the album was released, many listeners claimed some rhythmic lines of the song were similar to “Plastic Love” by Japanese singer Takeuchi Mariya. The agency didn't clarify if they were plagiarized. “We are sorry to Yubin's fans who have waited (for the album) for so long,” JYP said. “Please love and support the other songs in the album.” Yubin, 30, debuted in 2007 as a member of Wonder Girls. It disbanded early last year and she has since prepared the single album. Jun 7, 2018
