BoyNextDoor to return with new EP 'No Genre' in May
The new EP comes about eight months after its third EP '19.99,' and four months after the digital single 'One and Only I Love You,' unveiled in January.
With "19.99," BoyNextDoor entered the Billboard 200 at No. 40 and earned its first million-seller certification in Korea. The group's momentum continued with 'One and Only I Love You,' which became a career high. The song landed at No. 4 on Melon's Top 100 chart on Jan. 7 and climbed to No. 7 on the platform's monthly chart in February. Most recently, it ranked No. 9 on the weekly chart for April 7-13. It also topped Apple Music Korea's Daily Top 100 for 37 consecutive days through mid-February. Internationally, the track charted on Billboard's Global 200 and Global (Excl. US) charts.
BoyNextDoor recently wrapped up its first solo concert series 'BoyNextDoor Tour 'Knock on Vol.1,'' performing 17 shows across 12 cities, including Incheon, Tokyo, Aichi, Osaka, Miyagi, Fukuoka, Kanagawa, Singapore, Manila, Taipei, Hong Kong and Jakarta.
Following the tour's success, the group will hold encore concerts in Japan and Korea. 'Knock on Vo.1 Encore in Japan' will take place June 28 to 30 at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza in Tokyo and the final shows will be held July 25 to 27 at KSPO Dome in Seoul.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
![[Editorial] Take down hurdles](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fall-logos-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fkoreaherald.com.png&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
[Editorial] Take down hurdles
Korean platforms shut out global fans with outdated rules while Korean culture surges The global success of 'KPop Demon Hunters,' an animated film released on Netflix in June, has provided an unexpected boost to Korea's soft power. The film, in which a fictional K-pop girl group battles demons with music-infused powers, has topped streaming charts in over 30 countries and propelled its soundtrack to second place on the Billboard 200. But perhaps more telling than the film's entertainment value is what it revealed about Korea's export potential and its limitations. While fans from Singapore to the Netherlands eagerly bought Korean goods tied to the movie's characters — from folk-art-inspired souvenirs to traditional accessories — the process of buying those products was anything but smooth. Korean cultural products may now command a powerful emotional pull globally, but the infrastructure for overseas consumers to access Korean products, especially through e-commerce, remains strikingly inadequate. According to the Bank of Korea, South Korea's cross-border e-commerce exports to individual consumers overseas — often referred to in Korea as 'reverse direct purchases' or 'yeok-jikgu' in Korean — totaled 1.6 trillion won ($1.1 billion) last year. It was just one-fifth the volume of inbound direct purchases by Korean consumers from overseas retailers. The data shows that Korea's e-commerce platforms have failed to capitalize on foreign demand despite the surging popularity of Korean entertainment, beauty and food. Much of the problem lies in unnecessary procedural bottlenecks. Most domestic platforms still require identity verification through a Korea-registered mobile number, even though no legal obligation mandates this. International consumers, even if motivated to purchase, are routinely blocked during the sign-up process. Those who clear that hurdle often encounter another at checkout, where many Korean sites do not accept international payment methods like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal or Alipay. The result is a highly restrictive system that effectively turns away willing customers. By contrast, major platforms like Amazon, AliExpress and Temu allow foreign users to register and pay with minimal friction. These companies conduct their own verification using standard card information or global e-wallets, lowering entry barriers while managing fraud risks internally. Chinese e-commerce platforms operating in South Korea have even integrated domestic systems such as Naver Pay to localize their offerings. Yet Korean platforms have been reluctant to reciprocate even as global demand for Korean goods rises. This hesitation reflects both rigid regulatory constraints and an outdated culture of risk aversion, especially around identity theft, fraud and payment disputes. But technological solutions already exist. Viable steps Korean retailers can take include integrating payment systems that are popular in target markets, adopting user-friendly authentication procedures and expanding their overseas fulfillment capabilities. The Korean government and regulators have a critical role to play. The Bank of Korea's recent recommendation — to simplify account verification, provide legal clarity around non-Korean sign-ups and actively embrace global payment tools — is a necessary starting point. More broadly, failure to liberalize South Korea's e-commerce model may deepen the structural imbalance in digital trade. As global commerce increasingly revolves around platforms rather than physical intermediaries, the country cannot afford to remain digitally insular. Ironically, the very appeal of "KPop Demon Hunters" — its seamless fusion of traditional Korean motifs with contemporary music and lively animation — highlights what the country does best: Marrying heritage and innovation in ways that resonate globally. But turning cultural capital into economic return will require an equally imaginative overhaul of Korea's digital marketplace. Nearly a decade after the so-called 'Cheon Song-yi coat' moment, when a Korean drama ignited global fashion interest and prompted calls for easier reverse purchases, progress has been woefully limited. The nation's major platforms still operate largely as if their only customers are local. That must change. With global attention now fixed on Korean products, the least the country can do is avoid shutting the door on K-culture's global rise.
Korea Herald
4 days ago
- Korea Herald
Seventeen to tour US in October
Pledis Entertainment announced on Tuesday plans for Seventeen's US tour. Nine of the group's 13 members will travel to five cities in the country — Tacoma, Los Angeles, Austin, Sunrise and Washington D.C. — for 10 live shows from Oct. 11 to 30. The five-city trip will be part of its 'New_' international tour that will kick off in Incheon on Sept. 13. Following the American stages, the group will begin the Japan leg of the tour, with 10 performances across 4 major domes. In May, Seventeen celebrated its decade-long career with its fifth full album 'Happy Burstday,' which entered Billboard 200 at No. 2, its seventh back-to-back entry among the top ten on the main albums chart. The LP sold over 2.5 million copies and swept all major music charts at home as well as Oricon's Daily, Weekly and Weekly Combined Album Rankings.
Korea Herald
5 days ago
- Korea Herald
BTS' live album hits Billboard 200 at No. 10
BTS' first-ever live album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 10, according to the chart preview published on Sunday in the US. 'Permission to Dance on Stage — Live' is the group's eighth album to make the top ten on the main albums chart. Of the seven previous top ten entries, six were chart-toppers. The new album features 22 tracks from performances in Seoul, Los Angeles and Las Vegas during the 2021-2022 tour. It will be a recap ahead of the band's full-group activities, which will resume next year with an album and a tour. On Wednesday, BTS' documentary film 'Army: Forever We Are Young' will open in cinemas, offering insight into the band's official fandom community, 'Army.'
