Plagiarism or idea-recycling? With his identity hidden behind a mask, a celebrity sings during a recording of MBC's "King of Mask Singer." / Courtesy of MBCLack of diversity on TV hurts viewer selectionBy Ko Dong-hwanHave you watched Korean TV recently?As you flick through the channels, it is likely you will find a weekly program that has a person singing his or her heart out in front of a studio audience. The performance is followed by the audience and celebrity guests rating it using a “like” button on a remote controller. The votes rank the show’s competitors and determine “winner(s)” for the week. Welcome to Korea’s most prevalent TV variety show genre, the “music competition variety show.”But the genre is testing viewers’ patience. There are just too many shows that are the same. Consequently, they lack a uniqueness to excite fans. As if having to eat the same food over and over, watching professionals or amateurs singing, getting scored and engrossed audiences shouting or crying almost daily is, if not tiresome, what else?Take three shows now on air ―&nbJun 24, 2016
K-pop singer Baek Ye-rin's new song tops music charts Singer Baek Ye-rin of 15& has made a chart-topping comeback with her solo track “Bye Bye My Blue.” /Courtesy of JYP Entertainment By Lee Jin-aBaek Ye-rin of K-pop girl band 15& has swept domestic music charts with her new song “Bye Bye My Blue,” released Monday.The song ranked No.1 on Korea’s real-time music charts including Genie Music, Naver Music, Mnet.com, Bugs, Olleh Music and Soribada as of Wednesday.“I did not expect my song would take first place on these charts,” Baek said. “I feel really grateful and will do my best to continue performing good music for the audience.”The singer, 18, debuted in 2012 in a duo with Park Ji-min, who won SBS’s music audition show “K-pop Star Season 1.” She topped domestic music charts with her solo song “Across the Universe” in 2015. Jun 23, 2016
Woman's perfect height 168 cm: study The perfect height for women is 168 cm, a study finds. /Courtesy of Kelly Brook's FacebookBy Lee Jin-aResearchers say the perfect female body is 168 centimeters tall, according to U.K. media.The Sun reported Wednesday that researchers at the University of Texas found the world’s most perfect woman is 168 centimeters tall and has bust, waist and hip measurements of 99-63-91.The researchers said English model Kelly Brook is the best example. “This woman is completely natural and scientifically perfect,” they said.But Brook said she was often an object of ridicule because her body was considered “too plump” in the model industry.The study found that a body women consider “somewhat plump” is actually the one that is closest to perfection, and what scientists call a “harmonious body.” Jun 23, 2016
K-pop entertainment firms diversify business models A popup store of YG Entertainment’s cosmetic brand Moonshot at Lotte Young Plaza, inMyeong-dong, central Seoul. / Courtesy of YG EntertainmentBy Kim Jae-heunKorea’s top talent companies, such as YG Entertainment and S.M. Entertainment, have recently been diversifying their businesses to expand their influence into the fashion, sports and food industries.YG has aggressively stretched its business into various industries over the past four years, now holding 13 subsidiaries although many of them are still unfledged and not yet generating profits.Music is still the main source of income for the entertainment company, which also operates subsidiary labels like HIGHGRND owned by Epik High member Tablo and The Black Label owned by Teddy and Kush.An outer view of “PLAY KPOP” located in Seogwipo, Jeju Island. / Courtey of YG Entertainment YG first entered the fashion market by launching luxury streetwear brand NONA9ON in early 2012 with former Samsung textile subsidiary Cheil Industries, which has merged into Samsung C&T and formed a fashion grJun 22, 2016
Wonder Girls return amid Sistar's success JYP Entertainment’s Wonder Girls pose during a press conference promoting their third album “Reboot”at Hyundai Card Understage in Hannam-dong in this August 3, 2015, file photo. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunPopular K-pop girl band Wonder Girls will return with a new album on July 5, JYP Entertainment announced Wednesday, two days after the successful release of a new album by fellow veteran girl group Sistar.The band’s agency said it will release the band’s schedule along with new photographs and music video teasers starting this Friday. On the final day, the agency will post a video of Wonder Girls practicing their newly choreographed dance.This is the first album to include singles written by the group members themselves, whereas previous albums offered songs produced by company founder Park Jin-young. The band members participated in writing feature songs in their third album “Reboot” released last August, but they have never written a single in the nine years since their debut.Starship Entertainment’s girl group Sistar performs Jun 22, 2016
K-pop band Wonder Girls back with new album Wonder Girls will return on July 5 with a new EP titled “Why So Lonely.” /Courtesy of JYP Entertainment. By Lee Jin-aK-pop band Wonder Girls will return early next month with a mini-album, its agency said Wednesday.The album, “Why So Lonely,” will be released on July 5, nearly a year after their previous album, “Reboot,” JYP Entertainment said. Band members composed the lead track, a first for the group, the agency said.Wonder Girls debuted in 2006 and gained popularity with songs “Tell Me (2007),” “So Hot (2008)” and “Nobody (2008).” Jun 22, 2016
Wife of 'affair' director trades barbs with mother of his lover Director Hong Sang-soo, left, and actress Kim Min-hee / Courtesy of TwitterBy Kim Da-heeWith married film director Hong Sang-soo, 56, and unmarried actress Kim Min-hee, 34, remaining silent over their alleged love affair, a local magazine on Wednesday revealed text messages exchanged between Hong’s wife and Kim’s mother.The conversation was through mobile messenger Kakao Talk, monthly magazine Woman Sense reported in its July edition./ Graphic by Cho Sang-wonAccording to the magazine, the wife, who married Hong in 1985, pleaded with the mother to persuade her daughter to end the affair. But the mother defended herself and her daughter.As the wife told the mother that she was in so much agony, the mother replied: “You think whose heart bleeds more? The wife of a cheating husband or the mother of a daughter who falls in love with a married man?”When the wife called Kim the woman destroying her happy family, Kim’s mother defended her daughter, saying: “Kim is a well brought-up daughter.”The revealed text ended with the mother attributing the blaJun 22, 2016
'Doctors' premieres with 13% ratings A scene from “Doctors” / Courtesy of SBSBy Park Jin-haiSBS medical romance “Doctors,” starring Kim Rae-won and Park Shin-hye, kicked off Monday with a win in the ratings. The first episode topped the ratings among Monday-Tuesday dramas, attracting 12.9 percent of viewers, according to TV viewership research company Nielsen Korea. It was three times more than the rival KBS medical thriller “Beautiful Mind,” which also began on Monday in the same time slot with 4.1 percent. The 20-episode medical drama tells a coming-of-age story of Yoo Hye-jung, played by Park Shin-hye, a female high school bully who slowly changes with the support of her teacher Hong Ji-hong, played by Kim Rae-won. They meet again years later at a hospital as doctors and fall in love.Jun 21, 2016
K-pop star Jung Yong-hwa gets 'extravagant' Weibo birthday gift Jung Yong-hwa / Courtesy of Jung Yong-hwa's InstagramBy Kim Da-heeJung Yong-hwa, the vocalist of K-pop rock band CNBLUE, has received an “extravagant” birthday gift from Chinese fans: a month-long celebration with various events organized by Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.During the celebration, fans can get birthday-themed digital stickers, which they can use to decorate their images on Weibo. The Chinese social networking website launched on June 6 an event called “My Chinese student Jung Yong-hwa,” in which Weibo users have an opportunity to teach him Chinese and Chinese culture.“Weibo has organized the event because Jung has delivered positive energy to many people,” a Weibo official said. “We highly appreciate Jung’s outstanding talents in various fields, including music and acting.”Meanwhile, Jung is filming the Chinese movie “Emperors Cook Up A Storm,” in which he plays a chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant.Jun 21, 2016
Korean Wave success rides on long-term outlook K-pop boy band Super Junior performs on Aug. 1 in Los Angeles as part of the KCON 2015 festival. / YonhapBy Kim Da-heeThe success of hallyu, the Korean cultural wave, is due to shareholders’ investment with a long-term perspective, journalist and author Euny Hong has written in a Wall Street Journal article.Citing the recent hit TV series “Descendants of the Sun” and KCON fan conventions overseas, Hong called hallyu an unexpected pop-culture success spread far from Korea.“It wasn’t the obvious move,” she said on Friday. “The Korean language is basically spoken and understood only on the Korean Peninsula, so how much audience could there be for South Korean pop music and dramas?”Hong said the long view of the Korean market has boosted the wave. She said this was in contrast to the American market in which shareholders would not be prepared to wait so long before making a significant profit.Hong used the example of KCON, the world’s largest K-pop festival, quoting the chief operating officer of CJ E&M, which organizes the eJun 21, 2016
