North Korea: Last News

The cast of Top Gun: Maverick gathers together on the red carpet for a group shot at the premiere event held at Lotte World on Sunday (June 19) in Seoul, Korea.

Kate Aurthur editorUpon its release on Sept. 17, 2021, “Squid Game” quickly became an international phenomenon.

aespa have shared a new teaser for the second episode of their ongoing SM Culture Universe series on YouTube.In the new trailer for the second SM Culture Universe episode, titled Next Level, the members of aespa have left the fictional universe of Kwangya in order to help nævis solve the ‘SYNK OUT’ phenomenon, in which the connection to the avatar æ had been severed.The full Next Level episode is scheduled for release on the official aespa YouTube channel next week on June 20, at 6pm KST.The series first launched with the release of its first episode, Black Mamba, last year, with the aim to establish and expand the background of SM Entertainment’s company-wide lore, centred in and around Kwangya.Meanwhile, aespa are also gearing up to return with their forthcoming sophomore mini-album ‘Girls’, for which they recently dropped the pre-release track ‘Illusion’. Due out on July 8, the new record is also set to feature the title track ‘Girls’, along with new songs ‘Lingo’ and ‘ICU’.Additionally, ’Girls’ will include the English-language track ‘Life’s Too Short’, which the group originally debuted during their appearance at this year’s Coachella, as well as a Korean version of that song.‘Girls’ will be aespa’s first release of 2022, and is the much-anticipated follow-up to the girl group’s popular debut mini-album ‘Savage’.

William Earl Organizers of KCON have unveiled the initial talent lineup for the 10th anniversary edition of the celebration of K-pop and other aspects of South Korean pop culture.The three-day event, presented by Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ ENM, in Los Angeles will feature performances and fan showcase events around K-pop acts Cravity, Enhyphen, Itzy, Nmixx, Stayc, the Boyz and WJSN.The gathering is set for Aug. 19-21 at Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center.

taking a break as a group to pursue solo projects.However, news surfaced on Thursday that the band is not breaking up and the hiatus phrase was a simple mistranslation, according to their management team HYBE.A rep for the boys told The Post, “To be clear, they are not on hiatus but will take time to explore some solo projects at this time and remain active in various different formats.”While the members will still be undertaking solo work, they won’t stop collaborating together.BTS released a video in Korean earlier this week to announce the next stage of their careers when they reportedly said they would be going on a “temporary hiatus,” but promised they would “return someday.”Band member RM said in the video that it was time to work on their own so they can grow as people.“I always thought that BTS was different from other groups, but the problem with K-pop and the whole idol system is that they don’t give you time to mature. You have to keep producing music and keep doing something,” RM said.“We can’t help but think of our fans no matter what, we want to be the kind of artists that are remembered by our fans.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is hoping to solve the legend of D.B. Cooper, the mystery man who hijacked a Northwest Airlines passenger jet in November 1971 and escaped with $200,000, never to be seen again.

Pachinko star Kim Min-ha has opened up about what the second season of the Apple TV+ K-drama has in store for viewers.In a new interview with Deadline, the South Korean actress teased what viewers can expect from the much-anticipated continuation of the hit K-drama series. Kim played the teenaged version of the shows main character Kim Sunja, whose adult version is portrayed by Oscar-winning actress Youn Yuh-jung.“[Sunja will] become stronger, even though there are so many burdens on her shoulders,” Kim hinted.

As part of Paramount’s multilateral global partnership with CJ ENM, Paramount+ is officially launching today on the Korean giant’s streaming platform TVing. This marks Paramount+’s entry into Asia.   Paramount+ originals made available include Halo, Yellowjackets, Super Pumped: The Battle For Uber, Mayor Of Kingstown and 1883. This is the first time these titles will all be released in Korea.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Paramount+ streaming service launches Thursday in South Korea as a free-of-charge addition to the CJ ENM-controlled TVing platform.Paramount+ originals such as “Halo,” in addition to “Yellowjackets,” “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber,” “Mayor of Kingstown” and “1883” will be released for the first time in Korea, exclusively through the new branded zone. It will also provide access to library movie titles including “Mission: Impossible,” “Top Gun,” and “Transformers,” CBS series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “NCIS,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” Comedy Central’s “South Park,” MTV’s young adult series and others from Showtime.

Sophie Turner are getting ready for baby number two, and the pop star couldn't be more excited. The Who's in Your Head singer and the Game of Thrones actress, 26 confirmed in  March that they were expecting. As Father's Day approaches, the the 32-year-old told People, 'I'm just excited.

The worldwide fascination with all things Korean has been proven by Best Picture Oscar-winner Parasite, Netflix smash Squid Game, and the record-setting popularity of music group BTS,to name just three exports that have made a powerful impact.

Thania Garcia HYBE, the Korean music company representing BTS, lost $1.7 billion of market value within the first hour of stock trading on Wednesday (June 15) following the band’s hiatus announcement.On Tuesday, June 14, the seven group members announced that they are going on a hiatus — via a translator — to pursue solo work, which almost instantaneously knocked HYBE shares in South Korean trade down by nearly 28%. HYBE shares had fallen by just about 25,000 won on Wednesday morning and continued to drop throughout the day, wiping out $1.7 billion of market capitalization.Within the first hour of trading, the shares surged slightly from their starting point of 140,000 won to 145,500 won.

The journey from page to screen for Pachinko began in 2017, on a plane ride from London to New York.

BTS are “going through a rough patch right now” and, as a result, are “going on a hiatus” in order to allow the group’s members to develop as solo artists and “find our identity”. But, they promise, they will definitely “return someday even more mature”.All very interesting statements, but none of which should be taken to mean that BTS are now on hiatus or aren’t working together.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) has outlined plans for the restart of in-person screenings in July. But it says it will keep an online component as this reflects the “irreversible changes” in the film industry.“The language of cinema, the form of the medium, and how the audience receives them have changed, and the changes are irreversible,” festival organizers said Tuesday at a press conference in Seoul and Bucheon, the far-flung suburb where the festival has grown up and developed into the country’s major genre film event.This year’s event will run for 11 days, kicking of with a red carpet ceremony on July 7, 2022 and run to a closing ceremony on July 18. Most prizes will be unveiled on July 14, leaving the final three days for the public to make playful mischief – the festival’s slogans are “Stay Scary” and “Halloween in July” – with the most popular titles.

Earlier today (June 14), BTS shared footage of their hour-long FESTA dinner, an annual event for members of the ARMY to connect with the Korean boy band on a more intimate level usual. About a third of the way through the meal, Billboard reports, the tone shifted from playful to serious.

Netflix is capitalising on the incredible popularity of its Korean hit series Squid Game with a new reality show.The new programme will be in the form of a competition inspired by the horrific challenges contestants have to not only endure, but survive on the drama, which was recently announced to be returning for a season two. Squid Game: The Challenge will see contestants competing for a whopping $4.56million (£3.7million), which will be the biggest cash prize in TV history. While challenges won't actually be life or death, contestants can expect the show to describe them as such.

Netflix is set to transform its biggest hit show into “the biggest reality competition series ever,” titled Squid Game: The Challenge.The streaming giants officially confirmed the record-breaking Korean survival drama has been renewed for season two on Sunday (June 12). The series, which premiered on the platform last year, became the most-viewed original title in Netflix history within 12 days of its release.Now, boasting both the largest cast and lump sum cash prize in reality TV history, 456 real players will enter the game, with the chance to win a staggering $4.56million (£3.65million).According to a press release, contestants will take part in a series of games inspired by the original show – as well as “surprising new additions” – in a variety of contests, with the opportunity to forge alliances and develop potential winning strategies to survive.Naturally, however, elimination will not be quite as brutal in The Challenge as it is in the violent drama.

Goodbye for now. BTS announced that while they aren’t going through a breakup, they are going to take a hiatus to focus on their solo careers.

K-pop group BTS announced Tuesday they would be taking a hiatus period to focus on their solo careers after nearly 10 years together.  The announcement was made during the group's annual Festa dinner.The 7 members -- Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, V, Jimin and Jung Kook -- celebrated the band's 9-year-anniversary at this year's Festa. "I think we should spend some time apart to learn how to be one again," said J-Hope during the video announcement.  The group stressed the difficulty in making the decision and emphasized the need for their members to grow and mature as individuals.  Suga, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Jimin and J-Hope of BTS attend the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Squid Game is becoming reality.