Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
The K-pop group SuperM kicks off its North American tour on November 11 in Fort Worth, Texas. If you live in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, you’ll have the opportunity to see them perform live. But because they have many fans who don’t live in the cities they’ll be visiting, the group made the decision to shoot “SuperM the Beginning.” The hour-long episodes give fans a taste of their whirlwind debut.
Fans of SF9 already knew all about Kim Seok-woo and his extra-ordinary talent. But it wasn’t until recently that television viewers took notice. Thanks to the popularity of the MBC series “Extra-ordinary You,” the idol — who goes by Rowoon — has become a bonafide leading man.
“Parasite” currently is one of the most-talked about films at the box office. Directed by Bong Joon-ho (“Snowpiercer,” “The Host, “Okja”), the international hit has already won the coveted Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. There’s a strong Oscar buzz, too, with industry experts predicting that the movie may bypass a nomination for the Best Foreign Film for more prestigious nominations (Best Picture, Best Director etc.) at the 2020 Academy Awards.
Advocates for promoting the awareness of mental health – especially in young people – BTS obliquely addresses this issue with the music video for their reworked version of “Make It Right.” It includes concert footage along with an animated story line. The animation gives off a strong “Le Petit Prince” vibe. Like the imagery depicted in the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry novel, the video delves into the delicate nature of human behavior.
There’s never a guarantee that a successful child actor will grow up to be a famous leading man or leading woman. For every Natalie Portman who matures into an Academy Award-winning actress, you have a slew of performers like Macaulay Culkin, who were beloved as children, but didn’t fare as well in their 20s and 30s.
“Signal” makes you ponder the consequences of altering life. Is it fate for a person to die at a certain time, no matter how horrific that death might be? And knowing that saving someone’s life in the past could create catastrophic results in the future, would you still take that chance?
One of the minor complaints that international fans have is they don’t like waiting to see their favorite Korean shows. Seeing overseas content in real-time can be a rarity for any regular series, regardless of what country it originates. But KOCOWA has a new feature to unveil and it should make international K-pop fans very happy: K-pop LIVE. Viewers can watch three of South Korea’s most popular music shows (“Music Bank K-Chart,” “Show! Music Core” and “SBS Inkigayo”) at the exact same time as their Korean counterparts in Korea!
Web series have always been popular with K-Drama fans. The short formats are attractive to viewers who want something fun to watch without investing a lot of time. Have you checked out “Here Comes Robo KDI-109!” and “Yellow” yet?
You can always watch plenty of K-Dramas for free on KOCOWA, but one of the perks of a subscription is getting to watch your shows straight through without annoying ads. KOCOWA also offers premium content that’s uploaded quicker and more accurately than on other legal streaming services.
The finale of “Bring the Soul” coincides with the end of the European leg of BTS’ 2018 “Love Yourself” world tour. Each member is given his moment in the spotlight, but this episode was almost a coming-of-age tribute to Jungkook (who had just turned 21 on tour).
When Yoo Ji-Tae was doing press interviews to promote”Healer,” he said he was confident about signing onto the project when he heard that Park Min-Young was the female lead. Why? Because Park is one of those actresses who has the magic touch when it comes to picking projects that will become hits. He wasn’t wrong. That got us wondering: Who else has the golden touch when it comes to K-Dramas?
The saving grace of “Come and Hug Me” is that it drives home the point that bloodlines don’t define who you are or who you will become — and that just because you passed your DNA onto a child, that doesn’t make you a good parent.
Ever since Ji Chang-Wook’s discharge from South Korea’s mandatory military duty on April 27, 2019, fans have been biting their fingernails waiting for his comeback. They won’t have to wait much longer, because the popular actor’s latest series, “Melting Me Softly,” will premiere on South Korean television on September 28.
Just days after they ended their brief vacation, BTS is back at it. Early Wednesday morning, the Korean pop group’s management company — Big Hit Entertainment — simply tweeted: “#BTS TikTok Channel Open!” That was all it took for ARMY (BTS’ loyal fans) to follow suit.
“Someone said seeing BTS was like seeing a unicorn,” RM says in this fifth episode of “Bring the Soul.” “When you think about it, no matter what’s happening behind the stage, just showing our faces is a remarkable experience for some people.” In other words, the group is well aware that there are fans all over the world who will never get the chance to attend a BTS concert. They know that the ones who did manage to snare a ticket often had to go through a Hunger Games-like ordeal to purchase it. For that reason, the group strives to be perfect, to give each show 110% and to perform through their injuries when possible, even when they’re advised not to.
“My Ahjussi” is a satisfying K-Drama focusing on Dong-Hoon, a mid-level engineer who lives a mundane life. He works hard, hangs out with his brothers every evening and goes home to a house where his wife is rarely there. And if she is, she holes away in her home office and ignores him. It can’t be a coincidence that the set designer chose an apartment complex that looks more like a prison than a home for their residence.
Do you ever watch a K-Drama (or any series, for that matter) where the character is supposed to be a high school student and the actor playing the part looks at least a decade older? (I’m looking at you, “Beverly Hills, 90210”!) Due to labor laws in which underage actors can’t work hours as long as adults, it’s understandable why showrunners would want older artists working on their set. But it’s also an interesting twist when younger actors and actresses play characters who are more mature.
There have been countless think pieces on who will be the next BTS or how someone could create the next BTS. This is an irrational concept, because what they essentially are saying is, “How do we conjure up another group that gets this much press and makes this much money?” If money was all BTS was after, they could retire now and be set for life. But what drives them is the relationship they have with each other and their knowledge of the influence they have on others, which can be channeled into a greater good.
“Search: WWW” is the only K-Drama I can think of where women had the kind of lead roles that ordinarily would’ve gone to men. The female characters not only were the rainmakers where they worked, they were the decision makers who the men followed.
More so than any episode from last year’s “Burn the Stage” (or the first episode of this series), viewers can see how lonely life on the road can be. The seven-man group may smile on stage and charm their interviewers with witty quips and soundbites. But touring can wear them down, even when they know they are in a privileged position that many are envious of.