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 [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — On a recent evening at a sprawling PC bang near Hongdae Station, the crowd was strikingly international. Foreign visitors, headphones on, were absorbed in marathon sessions of Valorant and League of Legends. Some huddled in groups, strategizing in real time, while others queued for a turn at high-powered gaming [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — “Golden,” a track from the animated U.S. film “KPop Demon Hunters,” has topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the sixth week. Billboard said Monday (U.S. time) in a preview of its upcoming main singles chart that “Golden” retained its No. 1 position this week, marking its sixth week [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — When Netflix’s animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters premiered earlier this year, few predicted that a fictional boy band would ignite a cultural wave stretching from Seoul to New York. Yet the Saja Boys — a group of grim-reaper–inspired idols who appear in the film — have quickly leapt from [...]