
AKMU's Lee Chanhyuk to return as solo act
Lee Chanhyuk of AKMU is set to roll out a solo LP on July 14, label YG Entertainment announced Monday.
His second solo set is titled 'Eros,' a nod to the previous LP 'Error,' which was rolled out in 2022. The first album consisted of 11 genre-spanning tracks, and the main track 'Panorama' was chosen as one of the best K-pop songs of the year by the British publication NME. The singer and songwriter's last solo endeavor was the digital single '1 Trillion' in 2024.
From Aug. 8, he plans to host a special weekslong concert series in Seoul with his sister Suhyun. The sibling duo will go live nine times for the gig 'Akdongdeul' — meaning 'mischievous kids' — over a year after it celebrated its 10th debut anniversary with the '10VE' concert.

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Korea Herald
7 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Summer's zombie fare banks on family feels
Director Pil Gam-seong and cast discuss family-friendly take on the undead at press event for "My Daughter is a Zombie" Summer movie season calls for crowd-pleasers, and 'My Daughter is a Zombie' pitches something unexpectedly offbeat — a zombie comedy that swaps gore for giggles, turning the undead apocalypse into a heartwarming family romp. On Monday, director Pil Gam-seong and cast introduced the film at a press conference at Seoul's CGV Yongsan, offering a first look at their family-friendly spin on the zombie genre. Based on a web comic that ran from 2018 to 2020, the film follows Jung-hwan (Cho Jung-seok), a zoo animal trainer whose teenage daughter Su-ah (Choi Yu-ri) becomes infected during a zombie outbreak. To avoid losing her to the authorities, Jung-hwan flees to his rural hometown, where his K-pop-loving mother Bam-soon (Lee Jung-eun) reigns as the village matriarch. With his longtime friend Dong-bae (Yoon Kyung-ho) in tow, Jung-hwan attempts the impossible: training his zombie daughter like one of his big cats. Things take a turn when his childhood crush Yeon-hwa (Cho Yeo-jeong) returns as the new schoolteacher, determined to take on the undead. The cast brings decades of shared history. Cho Jung-seok and Cho Yeo-jeong first met in 2005 performing in the musical "Grease," while Cho Jung-seok and Lee previously teamed up for the 2015 TV drama "Oh My Ghost." Lee and Cho Yeo-jeong, of course, appeared together in Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning "Parasite." For Cho Jung-seok, the film marks another bid to dominate the summer box office. His disaster comedy "Exit" drew 9.4 million admissions in 2019, while last year's "Pilot" — in which he played an out-of-work pilot who masquerades as a woman to get hired — pulled in 4.7 million viewers despite a sluggish post-COVID-19 pandemic theater market. "Opening in the summer again — honestly, I think I might have some kind of luck with this timing," Jo said. "I'm incredibly grateful. I hope this one goes well too." The trailer shown at the event revealed a film caught between horror and heart. Su-ah's zombie makeup is genuinely unsettling — sickly veins pulse beneath her skin, her pupils clouded and vacant. She moves like a feral animal, unable to understand human speech. Yet the characters treat this situation with surprising levity, drawing feel-good comedy from the otherwise grotesque premise. That mix of tones — equal parts macabre and endearing, comedy and genuine emotion — is central to the film's approach. 'We had to move seamlessly between comedy, pathos, and action, sometimes all in the same scene,' said director Pil. 'It was tricky, but I think we pulled it off.' Cho Jung-seok agreed: 'When I read the script, it was so funny and moving at the same time that I couldn't stop thinking about it. I knew I had to take it on.' Despite its lighthearted surface, the production took its craft seriously. The team enlisted zombie choreographers from "Kingdom" and "Peninsula" to create a movement style that conveyed a range of tones. 'We asked them to come up with something that felt scary but also lovable, almost like a pet,' said Pil. 'We even borrowed movements from real animals.' Sixteen-year-old Choi endured hours of special effects makeup each day on set, a transformation that even her co-stars found remarkable. 'I would fall asleep during the process, but when I looked in the mirror afterward, I barely recognized myself,' Choi said. 'It was honestly a shock.' That same attention to detail extended to the set design. The crew built a full-scale house on the coastal town of Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province, transforming an empty bracken field into the family's storybook hideout. 'When we arrived, the house looked like something out of a fairy tale,' Yoon recalled. 'Just being there, you couldn't help but slip into character. The emotions came naturally.'


Korea Herald
8 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Hybe to open Indian office this year, testing K-pop playbook from America to Asia
With offices in the US, Latin America, China and Japan, Hybe's 'Multi-home, Multi-genre' strategy faces both momentum and skepticism as it expands into India Hybe, the K-pop powerhouse behind BTS, Seventeen and Enhypen, is preparing to launch a new overseas branch in India between September and October, according to the company on Monday. The announcement comes just a month after Hybe announced its new office in Beijing, its fourth global subsidiary following Japan, the US and Latin America. The expansion is part of Chairman Bang Si-hyuk's vision to export the K-pop production system -- a tightly integrated structure of talent scouting, training, music-making and fandom management -- into new markets. India, home to 1.4 billion people and one of the fastest-growing entertainment sectors in the world, is his next big bet. Why Hybe is going all-in on localization The new Indian office reflects Bang's longstanding belief that K-pop needs to evolve to survive globally. In a 2023 interview, Bang warned that while K-pop fandom is intensely loyal and engaged, that very focus may limit its global reach. 'To truly grow, we must remove the 'K' from K-pop and meet wider audiences in wider markets,' he said, pointing to the genre's relatively small global market share -- about 3 percent -- and the rising popularity of Latin pop and Afrobeats. Though he has since stopped publicly using the phrase 'K-pop crisis' due to industry backlash, insiders say Bang hasn't backed away from the idea. 'He realized the weight his words carry in the industry, so he's been more discreet -- but his belief hasn't changed,' said an industry source. Hybe has moved quickly. It opened its Latin America and China branches in November 2023 and April 2024, respectively, and will follow with its India office in just a few months. 'This shows just how timely Bang wants to be in redefining the global K-pop model,' the source added. Where the strategy stands now Among Hybe's global ventures, its US efforts show the most tangible results. Girl group Katseye -- launched through Hybe America -- made its debut in June 2024 and has already cracked the Billboard Hot 100, widely seen as the 'dream chart.' The multinational group applies Hybe's full-stack production approach, combining talent development, music production, management and marketing under a single chain. Bang personally oversees the group's music, choreography and visuals. Its debut EP, 'SIS (Soft Is Strong),' featured the double main track 'Touch,' which entered Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at No. 22. The follow-up digital single, 'Gnarly,' released in April, landed on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Official Singles Top 100. Still, Katseye's impact remains mostly confined to the K-pop community. 'They haven't yet become part of mainstream or subcultural America. They're still being consumed within the K-pop bubble,' said music critic Lim Hee-yoon. In Latin America, Hybe's business is just beginning to take shape. After opening its regional office in late 2023, the company launched two major artist discovery projects. One includes a TV audition show in collaboration with Mexican broadcaster Telemundo, and another aims to form a Latin boy band. All trainees go through a K-pop-style mentorship and training system -- a first for the region. Hybe Japan, meanwhile, has found clear success. Its Japanese boy band &Team surpassed 800,000 shipments with its third single, 'Go in Blind,' and received triple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan in April. The group also topped Oricon's weekly single and composite single rankings in May. Hybe's second Japanese boy band, Aoen, also hit No. 1 on the Oricon charts with its debut this June. The group was formed through a televised audition show, a strategy that aligns with Bang's belief in localization through familiar media formats. In China, Hybe is treading carefully. Although it launched a branch in April, the company has no current plans to debut a local group. Instead, Hybe China will support promotional activities for existing Hybe artists and assess the market over time. Will K-pop lose its charm if it loses the 'K'? Not everyone in the industry agrees with Hybe's vision. Grace Kao, a sociology professor at Yale University and longtime K-pop fan, says part of K-pop's global appeal is that it's distinctly Korean. 'K-pop stands out because we rarely see Korean or Asian faces in Western pop. Its unique songs, choreographies and aesthetics are a big part of the attraction,' Kao said. Paul Thompson, an American K-pop songwriter who worked with SM Entertainment artists like Exo, NCT and Taemin of SHINee, sees fundamental challenges in the localization effort. 'It might work in some ways, but it won't in others -- especially in cultures like the US that are very individualistic,' he said. 'In America, most pop or hip-hop artists write their own music and tell personal stories -- their heartbreaks, scandals, life struggles. That authenticity is key and K-pop's system doesn't allow for that,' Thompson added. Former YG producer Sinxity, however, sees Hybe's efforts more positively. 'Hybe is creating new demand by evolving its business model,' he said. 'K-pop may face limits within Korea, but globally it still has room to grow -- especially in niche markets.'


Korea Herald
10 hours ago
- Korea Herald
‘K-pop Demon Hunters' soundtrack debuts at No. 8 on Billboard 200
The original soundtrack for Netflix animated film 'K-pop Demon Hunters' debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 main US albums chart dated July 5, Billboard announced Monday. The Billboard 200 ranks albums based on a combination of traditional album sales, streaming equivalent albums and track equivalent albums, which are metrics that convert streaming and digital downloads into album units. During the tracking week, the album logged 27,000 streaming equivalent album units, 3,000 physical album sales and 1,000 track equivalent album units. According to Billboard, it is "the first soundtrack released in 2025 to reach the top 10, and the highest-debuting soundtrack of the year." The soundtrack features songs performed by the fictional K-pop girl group Huntrix from the animated film, including 'Take Down' and 'Golden,' as well as 'Soda Pop' by the rival Saja Boys. The songs have also been performing well on Spotify charts. On Spotify's Global Daily Top Songs chart dated June 28, 'Golden' ranked No. 7, with 'Your Idol' at No. 11. The soundtrack also did well on Spotify's US Daily Top Songs chart, with 'Your Idol' at No. 6 and 'Golden' at No. 8.