SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — At a Lotte Cinema theater in Seoul, the lights cut out, sirens blare, and a chilling announcement fills the room: “This theater is now closed. This is not a drill.” Suddenly, audience members are thrust into a survival game, dodging zombies that stalk the aisles. This is Charlotte: The Play – Survival, [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — On Friday evening, October 31, movie theaters across Seoul’s CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall glowed with a sea of colorful light sticks—once a symbol of concert fandom, now a growing part of Korea’s cinema culture. At a special screening of Netflix’s animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters, fans—both adults and children—waved [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — In a quiet courtroom in Seoul on Thursday, the five young women of NewJeans lost the first round of one of K-pop’s most dramatic showdowns. A judge ruled that their management contract with the agency ADOR remains valid, rejecting the group’s bid for independence after months of turmoil that has [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — As the K-pop industry expands with a surge of new idol groups, clashes over fan culture symbols — from light stick designs to fandom names and official colors — are intensifying, exposing a deeper tension over ownership, originality, and identity in an increasingly globalized genre. While an unwritten rule [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s once-vibrant multiplex cinema industry is facing an unprecedented contraction as leading chains shut down theaters across the country, squeezed by sluggish audience recovery and the unrelenting rise of online streaming platforms. Two symbolic closures have drawn attention in recent weeks: CGV Myeongdong Station Cine Library — a haven [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Apple Music is rolling out new artificial intelligence–powered features designed to enhance how listeners engage with global music — including real-time Korean-to-English lyric translation and phonetic guides for foreign-language songs. At a media briefing in Seoul on Thursday, Apple showcased updates that arrived with its latest iOS 26 release, highlighting [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – CJ ENM, the country’s leading entertainment company, said Thursday it has signed a multiyear partnership deal with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to jointly produce and distribute Korean content to a global audience. The deal will see exclusive premieres of Korean dramas and original shows from CJ ENM and its [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Two of South Korea’s largest music copyright organizations are locked in a legal dispute over more than 100 billion won (about $72 million) in so-called “residual royalties” collected from YouTube — funds generated from music whose rights holders were unidentified or failed to claim payment in time. The Korea Music [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — When Korean American singer-songwriter Ejae first heard her voice soar through theaters in Netflix’s animated blockbuster KPop Demon Hunters, she didn’t imagine the soundtrack would take over the world. But two months later, her song “Golden” had done the impossible — topping both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Before its sweeping triumph at the Tony Awards earlier this year — where it collected six prizes including Best Musical — Maybe Happy Ending had already cemented itself as a treasured original work in South Korea. First developed through a local cultural foundation’s program in 2014, the production drew [...]