Category Archives: K-pop

Music executive behind K-pop group BTS faces arrest in South Korea

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Police seek warrant for Bang Si-Hyuk over allegations he illegally gained millions in investor fraud scheme

South Korean police are seeking to arrest Bang Si-Hyuk, the chair of the agency behind the K-pop band BTS, as they expand an investigation into allegations that he illegally gained more than $100m (£74m) in an investor fraud scheme.

The Seoul metropolitan police agency confirmed it had asked prosecutors to request a court warrant for the arrest of Bang, the founder and chair of HYBE.

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‘A place where music fills the air’: Bangkok to host Eurovision’s first Asia song contest

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Spin-off launched with 10 nations, as original event remains mired in protests and boycotts over Israel’s involvement

Eurovision is seeking to expand into the Asian market by hosting a version of its song contest in Bangkok this year, just as the original annual event is being buffeted by discord and boycotts on the eve of its 70th anniversary edition.

The grand final of the inaugural Eurovision song contest Asia will take place in Thailand’s capital on Saturday 14 November, the Switzerland-based organisation announced on Tuesday. Broadcasters from 10 countries have confirmed their participation.

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BTS release new album Arirang ahead of comeback concert

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Boyband drops album that speaks to its Korean roots ahead of Seoul comeback concert, with more than a quarter of a million fans expected to attend

K-pop stars BTS released a new album on Friday billed as reflecting the maturing boy band’s Korean roots and identity, as buzz built ahead of their open-air comeback concert in the heart of Seoul.

The Saturday night gig, which is expected to draw around 260,000 people, will be BTS’s first after a hiatus of almost four years while all seven members served compulsory military service. It comes ahead of an 82-date world tour.

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Seoul raises terror alert as it prepares to host BTS comeback concert

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Thousands of police prepare to deploy to South Korea’s capital ahead of K-pop’s most anticipated comeback

Seoul has stepped up security ahead of BTS’s huge comeback concert on Saturday, which more than a quarter of a million fans are expected to attend, with authorities raising the terror alert in the area and preparing to deploy thousands of police to the capital.

South Korean president Lee Jae Myung warned at a cabinet meeting this week that “the issue is safety” and urged heightened vigilance by the interior ministry and emergency services to prepare for every possibility. He described the concert as an important occasion to reaffirm the country’s global cultural standing.

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BTS comeback show sells out immediately as 260,000 fans set to descend on Seoul

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Booking system freezes and screens crash amid rush of fans trying to secure tickets to 21 March free concert

Tickets for BTS’s comeback concert in central Seoul were snapped up almost immediately on Monday night, with authorities expecting an estimated 260,000 fans to descend for the K-pop group’s first full performance in nearly four years.

At one point, more than 100,000 people flooded the booking website when sales opened at 8pm for the free concert at Gwanghwamun square on 21 March, causing screens to crash and booking systems to freeze.

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BTS stars RM and V discharged after completing military service in South Korea

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Hundreds of fans, some of whom had travelled from as far away as Mexico, gathered to welcome the band members back to civilian life

K-pop superstars RM and V from the band BTS have been discharged from South Korea’s military after fulfilling their mandatory military service.

They each saluted upon their release on Tuesday in Chuncheon City as about 200 fans, some of whom travelled from Mexico, Turkey and Brazil, cheered.

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K-pop singer Wheesung found dead at home aged 43

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Tributes have been paid to singer who had a string of hits in South Korea including a cover of Craig David’s Insomnia

The South Korean singer Wheesung has died aged 43, with police reportedly planning to conduct an autopsy to determine his cause of death.

The singer, whose name was Choi Whee-sung, was found unconscious in his apartment on Monday night by emergency responders after his mother called for help, local media reported.

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K-pop, K-movies, a Nobel prize … and now K-poetry: book of wise words adds to Korea’s cultural glory

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After Han Kang’s Nobel award and South Korean cinema hits, Penguin publishes new English edition of maxims by Lee Seong-bok in wake of US success

A collection of wise maxims written by a 72-year old poet, calmly setting out illuminating advice to other poets, is the latest and perhaps most unlikely book to benefit from a surge in demand for South Korean literature.

“Kick against words like you would kick back on a swing. You’ve got to feel as if the soles of your feet are touching the sky,” suggests Lee Seong-bok in his hit title Indeterminate Inflorescence.

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Jin from BTS wraps up military service to the strains of K-pop hit Dynamite

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Jin has finished his stint in South Korea’s military but group won’t be able to reform until RM, Jimin, Jungkook, J-hope and V are discharged in 2025

Jin, the oldest member of the K-pop supergroup BTS, has completed his military service in South Korea, although their legions of fans around the world will still have to wait at least a year until all seven artists are reunited.

The star, who in December 2022 became the first member of the group to begin 18 months of military service, emerged on Wednesday from the 5th Army Infantry Division’s base in northern Yeoncheon province, 60km north of Seoul, to be greeted by fellow bandmates J-hope, RM, V, Jungkook and Jimin.

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BTS and Taylor Swift fans give Javier Milei and his running mate an earful

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Argentinian Swifties say ‘Milei is Trump’ as devotees of BTS decry ‘hatred and xenophobia’ of Victoria Villarruel’s tweets about group

Weeks before Argentina’s run-off election, far-right populist Javier Milei and his running mate, Victoria Villaruel, have found themselves under pressure from an unexpected quarter: an alliance of Taylor Swift supporters and K-pop fans.

Milei, a radical libertarian who has proposed dollarizing Argentina’s economy and even legalizing the organ trade, topped the polls ahead of Sunday’s first round, but was beaten into second place by the centrist finance minister, Sergio Massa.

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Scout jamboree in South Korea closes with regrets and K-pop concert

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Ceremony at Seoul’s World Cup stadium wraps up event beset by heatwave, unsanitary conditions and threat of typhoon

The 25th World Scout Jamboree has concluded with a concert in Seoul after a tumultuous 11-day journey across South Korea that was marred by a heatwave, unsanitary conditions and an evacuation owing to a typhoon threat.

“The last few days have not been easy, to say the least,” said Ahmad Alhendawi, the secretary general of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement during the closing ceremony on Friday at Seoul’s World Cup stadium.

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K-pop megastars BTS release keenly awaited memoir

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Fans of boyband brave heavy rain to gather at Seoul bookshop for Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS

The K-pop megastars BTS have released their hotly anticipated memoir in South Korea, marking their 10th anniversary as a group.

Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS is the group’s first official book, and contains a chronological summary of their musical career as well as hints at their future endeavours.

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Moonbin, K-pop star and member of boy band Astro, dies aged 25

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The pop star was found unresponsive on Wednesday evening in his Gangnam apartment

K-pop star Moonbin, a member of the boy band Astro, has died at the age of 25, his music label Fantagio announced on Thursday.

Local media, citing the police, reported that Moonbin had been found unresponsive on Wednesday evening in his apartment in the upscale Gangnam neighbourhood of Seoul.

International helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14.

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BTS’s Jimin becomes first South Korean solo artist to top US songs chart

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Jimin’s single Like Crazy is the 66th track ever to debut at the peak of the Hot 100 chart, and the first by a South Korean solo artist

Jimin, a member of the K-pop supergroup BTS, has made history as the first South Korean solo artist to land the No 1 spot on the top US songs chart, Billboard announced on Monday.

The single, Like Crazy, debuted at No 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 this week, bumping Miley Cyrus’s track Flowers out of the top spot, where it had reigned for eight weeks.

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K-pop star Chaeyoung apologises for wearing swastika logo

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Member of girl group Twice says she ‘didn’t correctly recognise the meaning’ of symbol on Sid Vicious T-shirt she wore

Chaeyoung, a member of Twice – one of the most globally successful K-pop groups – has apologised after wearing a T-shirt featuring a swastika.

The 23-year-old’s T-shirt featured an image of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious wearing a swastika logo. She posted a photo of herself wearing it on her Instagram account to her 8.6 million followers, but soon deleted it, replacing it with an apology. “I didn’t correctly recognise the meaning of the tilted swastika in the T-shirt I wore,” she wrote. “I deeply apologise for not thoroughly reviewing it, causing concern. I will pay absolute attention in the future to prevent any situation similar from happening again.”

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K-pop band NCT 127’s Indonesia concert halted after 30 fans faint in crush

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Police say they stopped show at venue near Jakarta when fans surged forward to get closer to the stage

The K-pop band NCT 127 were forced to end their first concert in Indonesia early after 30 people fainted in a crush, police said.

Indonesia is still reeling after more than 130 people, including more than 40 children, died in a stadium crush last month – one of the deadliest disasters in football history.

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South Korea considers survey on boyband BTS members’ military service

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K-pop band’s oldest member, Jin, faces enlistment in December when he turns 30

South Korea may conduct a public survey to help determine whether to grant exemption to the mandatory military service to members of the K-pop boy band BTS.

The question of active military service for the band’s seven members has been a hot-button topic in South Korea as its oldest member, Jin, faces his enlistment in December, when he turns 30.

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Pop star Kris Wu tried in China for alleged rape

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Announcement of closed trial coincides with uproar over unrelated assault at restaurant in Tangshan

The Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu has gone on trial for alleged rape and other offences in Beijing, as China is in uproar over a video showing a group of men physically assaulting four women in the city of Tangshan.

Wu’s closed trial on Friday at the Chaoyang people’s court was reported late on Friday night by Chang’An Net, which belongs to China’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, in turn controlled by the ruling Communist party.

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From tuna fishing to teen love: the producer behind K-pop’s biggest stars

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Bumzu is one of the most influential people in K-pop, helping shape South Korea’s multibillion-dollar global music business

When Jin from the superstar boyband BTS released Super Tuna – an upbeat song about his favourite pastime, fishing – it instantly went viral.

The track, written to commemorate the star’s birthday, has logged more than 53m YouTube views since December, and on TikTok the #SuperTuna hashtag has inspired a viral dance challenge.

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Three members of K-pop band BTS test positive for Covid

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RM and Jin diagnosed on Saturday, managers say, while Suga was shown to be infected after returning from the US

Three members of the K-pop superstar group BTS have been infected with coronavirus after returning from abroad, their management agency said on Sunday.

RM and Jin were diagnosed with Covid-19 on Saturday evening, the Big Hit Music agency said in a statement. It earlier said another member, Suga, tested positive for the virus on Friday.

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