K-pop
Over a year since its release, the all-in-one k-pop media source has 36 active idol planets and will be introducing actor planets soon!
January 28, 2021 a new galaxy is born. That is, a universe full of your favorite K-Pop idol groups, each with their own 'planet' full of content made exclusively for their fans on the Universe app.
Its expectations were high with its initial release, “the app has more than 21 million downloads, with nearly 90% of those downloads coming from outside of South Korea” as recorded by NCSoft.
Many users however have since reported bugs, slow load speeds, and were overall disappointed.
New Year, New EXID!
K-POP girl group EXID taking on 2018!
EXID is a girl group that got their start in February 2012 with the single “Whoz that Girl.” However, they did not gain popularity until a live recording of their single “Up&Down” went viral in 2014. They went on to release their first album, Street, in 2016. Following the album’s release, it was announced that one of the members, Solji, had to go on hiatus after being diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Yet, with the release of the mini album, Full Moon, on November 7th, 2017, Solji was able to start helping with the recording process again. EXID currently monthly releases remastered versions of b-side tracks from their old albums as a part of their “Re:Flower” project. Their latest installment was a remake of the track “Will You Take Me” from the album Street, which was released on February 12th, 2018.
Boy Group with Limitless Potential Debuts
BLACK6IX debuted with the song “Please” in April 2017 with their first teasers dropping in March, 2017. Seoul Journal interview the six members of the boy group, formed under Black Hole Entertainment: TaeYoung, The King, Yey, YongSeok, Jong-woon, and Ziki.
This month, we’re launching Seoul Journal’s top K-pop picks – A list of tracks every K-pop fan should have on their playlist! Every month, we’ll be rolling out a list of songs to die for, songs that can’t be forgotten. We’re mixing it up, giving you new chart-toppers, classic hits and some surprise additions. So if you haven’t heard these, click on the link below each name. If you have, hit replay!
Mad Clown's Mad Raps
Jo Dong-rim, better known as Mad Clown, is most recognizable for his sharp and high-tone rapping. He worked with South Korean singer Soyou on the song "Stupid in Love" and was featured on "Anxious" by Melody Day. His song "Fire" went to number one on the Gaon Music Chart, and he was a judge on the popular rap reality show "Show Me the Money's" fifth season and "High School Rapper." Seoul Journal discussed his career and future plans with Jo Dong-rim.
YooSeung-Woo
Singing His Heart Out: The Story of a Young Artist
YooSeung-Woo is a 19-year-old singer, song-writer and guitarist from Seoul. He has attended Seoul Music High School. He also appeared on Mnet’s Superstar K4 as a contestant and much more.Seung Woo has released one album, three mini-albums, and several singles since his start in 2012. His latest mini-album Pit a Pat came out earlier this year. The Seoul Journal managed to catch up with him to ask about his career, inspiration and more.
The Soul of K.Will
The Voice That Brings Tears
Kim Hyung-Soo, also known as K.Will, is a South Korean ballad singer and Radio DJ on 107.7 SBS Power FM. He made his debut with his single “Dream” in A Love to Kill OST in 2006. He has also starred in shows such as KBS TV’s Immortal Songs 2, leaving after winning three times. In 2010, K.Will won the Male Ballad Singer Award at the Republic of Korea Entertainment Arts Awards. Three years later, he won a Music Style Award for Best R&B/Ballad at the Melon Music Awards. In 2015, he won a Digital Music Bonsang at the Golden Disk Awards. K.Willshared with Seoul Journal’s Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie about his life, recent success, and upcoming projects.
NO MIN WOO
A Musical and Movie ICON
No Min-Woo, also known as ICON, has produced an expansive portfolio in both the film and music industries. He has produced his own music as well as music for the dramas and movies he acted in, such as Like Full House Take 2 and The Greatest Marriage. He even won the New Star Award in 2010 for his performance in My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox. Seoul Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie spoke with No Min Woo about his transition from Japan to Korea and how he got into music and acting.
Monsta X Enjoying Monsta Success
After many tough performances and auditions through Mnet's survival program “No.MERCY,” the winning contestants formed to create the new hip-hop group, Monsta X. They have had monster success since debuting in 2015 by winning the 1theK Performance Award at the MelOn Music Awards and the Red Carpet: Next Generation Asian Artist Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. They recently performed in Los Angeles at KCON L.A. The group of fresh new stars Shownu, Wonho, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Jooheon, and I.M were able to make some time for Seoul Journal's Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie to talk about their new life as idols and how the group has been doing since their debut.
Sang-Hyun Park Talks About Solo Career After MBLAQ
Sang-Hyun Park is better known by his stage name Thunder (Cheondung). Born in Busan, he is the younger brother of 2NE1’s vocalist Sandara Park. The siblings grew up in the Philippines and, in addition to Korean, Thunder is fluent in English and Tagalog as well as conversational in Mandarin and Japanese. After training under one of South Korea’s greatest singers and dancers, Rain (Ji-hoon Jung), Thunder became a member of the South Korean male quintet MBLAQ, as a vocalist, lead rapper and lead dancer. Besides becoming idols in South Korea, they made their Japanese debut in 2011 and have sold singles and albums exclusive to Japan. Thunder has also had a successful modeling career encompassing both photo-shoots and runways. In December 2014, he announced his departure from MBLAQ to focus on studying music. Thunder talked to Seoul Journal's Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie about his career and future plans.
MAMAMOO’s fantastic performance exceeded 170 million likes on Facebook
On July 10, MAMAMOO appeared on KBS 2TV ‘You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook"...
Asia’s Korean band fad is going global with top Western entertainment venues hosting performances by Korean dancers and musical artists.
K-Pop Goes the World
Surprising Attendance in California
The lights go on. The pounding dance beat starts. And 12,000 screaming fans rise to their feet in the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Acclaimed record producer Quincy Jones watches from his suite. Is this Beyonce? Rhianna? Lady Gaga? Nope. It’s an all-star concert featuring the likes of Girls Generation, Super Junior, BoA, TVXQ, f(x), EXO and SHINee. How can bands not played on American Top 40 radio fill a U.S. arena? Well, these are Korea’s top pop bands, and they played S.M. Entertainment’s third world tour on May 20, 2012. SME, a Seoul-based independent record producer, has held previous world tours with stops in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing and Taipei. Yeah, but was Anaheim’s Honda Center filled with 12,000 Koreans and Korean Americans? Nope. Around two thirds of the fans were non- Korean, a sign of the spreading popularity of Korean pop.
Click here to see a Photo Gallery of the SM Town World Live III Concert in Anaheim, California
YouTube Sensations
If K-Pop music isn’t being played on the radio, how are fans discovering these acts? YouTube. An unlikely emergent is called “Psy.” He is a flabby, middle-aged looking guy, who with his “horsey dance”, came out of nowhere and took the world by storm in 2012. At the time of print, he had the most watched and most liked YouTube video of all time with over 815 million views and the Guinness World Record for breaking 2.9 million “likes” on YouTube with “Gangnam Style.” Psy knocked viral legends such as Rebecca Black and Lady Gaga down the charts in his international hit count, and became the #1 downloaded song on iTunes. No wonder Schoolboy Records (the label of Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Brown) signed him. Korea’s JoongAng newspaper has reported that K-Pop videos on YouTube were viewed nearly 2.3 billion times from 235 countries in 2011, three times more than the previous year’s record of 800 million views. The majority of clicks were from Japan with 423 million, followed by 240 million views in the U.S., 220 million in Thailand, 180 million in Taiwan and 170 million in Vietnam. But is K-pop growing outside Asia and the U.S.? Interestingly enough, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait brought in 4.8 million and 1.7 million views, respectively.
TVXQ! Wow with First Headlining Concert in L.A.
TVXQ!, known as the “Kings of K-Pop!” and holders of the Guinness Record for Most Photographed Celebrities in the world, performed at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on July 5, 2013. Although the successful Asian band had performed with the 2012 SMTown concert in Anaheim, California with several of SMTown’s top Korean Pop (K-Pop) acts, this was the first time TVXQ! headlined in the U.S. The band is on its “Catch Me” world tour, which began in Seoul in November 2012, went to Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur and Japan. Following L.A., the tour continues to Santiago, Chile and Shanghai, China.
Two of South Korea’s biggest bands, TVXQ! and Super Junior, have taken their tours global as demand for K-pop grows around the world.
K-Pop Continues to Go Global
TVXQ!
TVXQ!, known as Dong Bang Shin Ki in South Korea, Tong Vfang Xien Qi in China and Tohoshinki in Japan, has twice held the Guinness World Record for the largest fan club in the world, with more than 800,000 in South Korea alone. They hold the current Guinness World Record for being the Most Photographed Celebrities in the World with more than 500 million photos taken. TVXQ! launched their “TVXQ! Live World Tour ‘Catch Me’” in November 2012 in Seoul before heading to China, Taiwan and elsewhere around the world. They made history by touring 11 cities in Japan between January and April 2012, doing a total of 26 shows as part of their “TVXQ! Live Tour 2012 ~TONE” with more than 550,000 in attendance.
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