
Babymonster's 'Hot Sauce' music video logs 100m views
The video is the group's 11th to achieve the feat and did so in about 23 days. 'Hot Sauce,' an old school hip-hop dance number, was dropped earlier in July as a prerelease from the group's second EP. The mini album will be released Oct. 1.
The seven members are slated to resume their first international tour on Aug. 30 in Toronto, Canada, before visiting five cities in the US.
Babymonster launched the 'Hello Monsters' tour in January and performed in Newark, New Jersey, and Los Angeles before touring 12 stops across Asia.

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Korea Herald
17 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Itzy to host fan meetups in Korea, Japan
Itzy is planning to greet fans in Korea and Japan in September and October, label JYP Entertainment announced Tuesday. The quintet will host its fourth official fan meeting 'On Air' in Seoul on Sept. 20 and in Tokyo on Oct. 11-12. The Seoul event will be livestreamed worldwide. The upcoming meetup will be held about 10 months after the group's "Midzy's Cells" fan meet in Seoul, and will mark the first such event in Japan since Itzy's debut. The group rolled out its tenth EP 'Girls Will Be Girls' in June, which topped the iTunes Albums Chart Worldwide, while the music video for the title track claimed the top spot on YouTube's trending music video chart.
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Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
[Paul Joseph Junhwan Kang] K-dash leads Korea's cultural future
Korea stands at a crossroads. Twenty years ago, few could have predicted that a small peninsula would become the epicenter of global cultural fascination. Today, the "K" prefix has become synonymous with excellence across industries — from entertainment to beauty, from technology to cuisine. But success breeds vulnerability, and Korea's cultural dominance now faces its greatest test: how to evolve before others replicate what made it special. The answer lies not in protecting the K-brand, but in transforming it. It's time for K-dash. Korea's cultural exports have become so successful that they've spawned a global industry of imitation. Japan has reactivated its soft power playbook, studying Korean strategies with characteristic precision. China leverages its massive domestic market to scale K-style content at unprecedented speed. Even more telling, countries from Thailand to Mexico are producing their own K-inspired content, proving that the formula has become replicable. This isn't criticism — it's inevitability. Every successful cultural movement eventually faces a moment when novelty becomes template, when innovation becomes industry standard. The question isn't whether others will copy Korea's playbook, but whether Korea will evolve beyond it. K-dash represents Korea's next evolutionary leap — from cultural origin to cultural catalyst. The dash symbolizes movement, connection and transformation. It acknowledges that Korea's future influence won't come from producing more K-content, but from becoming the strategic center of global cultural convergence. This means embracing flexibility over formula. Instead of asking "How do we make this more Korean?" the question becomes "How do we make this more connected?" K-dash envisions Korean creativity as a bridge between traditions, a translator between cultures, a catalyst for unprecedented collaborations. Imagine K-pop producers collaborating with Afrobeat artists to create entirely new genres. Picture Korean urban planners integrating Nordic sustainability principles with Asian density solutions. Consider Korean beauty brands co-creating wellness experiences with Middle Eastern traditions. This isn't cultural appropriation — it's strategic cultural orchestration. We're witnessing the emergence of what might be called "digital continents" — fluid zones of culture and commerce that form across platforms rather than borders. Korea is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation, having mastered the art of creating culturally specific content that resonates globally through digital platforms. Netflix didn't just distribute Korean content; it became the infrastructure for Korean cultural influence. YouTube didn't merely host K-pop; it became the stage for Korean creativity to reshape global music culture. Korea understands that in the digital age, platforms are the new territories, and cultural relevance is the new sovereignty. K-dash leverages this understanding to create hybrid ecosystems where Korean cultural DNA becomes the connective tissue linking diverse global traditions. Rather than competing with other cultures, Korea becomes the platform where different cultures converge and co-create. This evolution transcends traditional concepts of soft power. While soft power seeks to attract and persuade, strategic power seeks to connect and catalyze. Korea's K-dash future lies not in being admired from afar, but in being essential to global cultural innovation. When Korean companies don't just export products but co-design solutions with local partners, that's strategic power. When Korean creators don't just produce content but facilitate cross-cultural storytelling, that's strategic power. When Korea becomes indispensable to how the world creates, collaborates and connects, that's the ultimate form of influence. Korea faces a critical window. The K-brand remains globally powerful, but competition is intensifying and formulas are being reverse-engineered. This moment — Korea's golden hour — demands bold evolution rather than defensive positioning. K-dash isn't about abandoning what made Korea successful. It's about leveraging that success to become something even more valuable: the world's premier cultural connector. Instead of being the source of the next big trend, Korea can become the architect of how trends emerge, evolve and spread. This transformation requires courage. It means embracing uncertainty over formula, collaboration over control and evolution over preservation. But for a nation that turned economic devastation into cultural dominance in just two decades, such courage should feel familiar. Korea began this century as an economic miracle. It mastered the last decade as a cultural phenomenon. Now, with K-dash, it can define the next era as a strategic catalyst for global creative convergence. The world is watching. The moment is now. It's time to evolve from K to K-dash — and lead the future of cultural influence into uncharted territory.


Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Korea Herald
Lee Jung says dance is her 'source of life'
Star dancer and choreographer reflects on Bumsup's defeat on 'World of Street Woman Fighter' K-pop continues to dominate the global stage — not just through its chart-topping idol groups, but also thanks to the choreographers and creative minds behind the scenes who are now gaining long-overdue recognition. Among them is one of the hottest names in the game: Lee Jung, the 26-year-old star choreographer who recently appeared in Mnet's dance survival competition "World of Street Woman Fighter," the third installment of the hit competition franchise "Street Woman Fighter" (2023). The series aired its finale Tuesday, concluding with a showdown between dance crews representing countries around the world. Japan's Osaka Ojo Gang ultimately took the crown, beating out five other teams: South Korea's Bumsup, the United States' Motiv, Japan's RHTokyo, New Zealand's Royal Family and Australia's AG Squad. Though the nine-episode series pulled in modest TV ratings — averaging around 1 percent viewership — it became a sensation online. Across platforms such as YouTube and social media, the show dominated digital conversation, topping the non-drama rankings from Good Data Corporation's Fundex for the first three weeks of June. The rankings are based on an analysis of program-related information and netizen responses generated from sources including news articles and social media. The homeground team, Bumsup, was made up of some memorable dancers from the show's breakout first season, including Lee Jung, Aiki, No:ze and Honey J. On July 15, fans were stunned when it failed to make it past the semifinals and missed out on the finals. It was an emotional moment for Lee, who rose to stardom following her breakout appearance on 'Street Woman Fighter' two years ago and has choreographed some of K-pop's most iconic routines, including Twice's 'Fancy' and 'Feel Special,' as well as Blackpink's 'Pink Venom' and 'Shut Down.' After Bumsup's elimination, Lee sobbed on camera, a moment of sincerity that resonated with fans. Speaking at an interview in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Thursday, she reflected on the defeat. 'Since there are so few chances to perform live on stage, I thought this would be a rare opportunity to express my gratitude for all the support I've received, but I was really upset because I felt like I missed that chance,' she said. Lee, who began dancing professionally in 2014, credited "Street Woman Fighter" for helping bring dance into the cultural mainstream. 'In the past, dance was something shared and loved only by those who pursued it professionally. But now, even people who don't do it as a job genuinely love dance. That's what has really changed. These days, people are curious about who choreographed a routine, and they're interested in what someone like me, Lee Jung, will do next. That shift is incredible.' Lee's path to the stage began humbly: What started as a talent show gig for school eventually became her life's calling. For Lee, over time, dance evolved into something far more personal. 'Dance makes me incredibly happy. And what meaning is there in a life without happiness?' she asked. '(Dance) is not just an art form, genre or profession — it's a source of life itself and a form of salvation.' With "World of Street Woman Fighter" now wrapped, Lee is turning her attention to larger-scale, more varied creative ventures. One standout project was her role in choreographing the Netflix animated global hit "KPop Demon Hunters," marking another major step in her international career. Reflecting on the film, which had been in development for three years before its release in June, Lee shared her excitement about how the medium of animation shattered traditional limitations for dancers. "I was so excited when they told me, from a technical standpoint, 'Huntrix has no physical limitations.' They said, 'Lee, you can do everything you want.' ... That's why I was able to enjoy it even more." She also recounted a memorable moment from working on the track "How It's Done." "While working on the song 'How It's Done,' I heard that Huntrix members would be dropping from a plane and landing in the dome. I got super excited, because I'm also someone who thinks the way a performance begins — the entrance — is incredibly important. So hearing that kind of entrance idea even before we shared our visions made me think, 'This is going to be so much fun.'' Looking ahead, Lee said she's eager to explore choreography across a wider spectrum, embracing new formats and global platforms. 'I want to dance in a much broader realm. I want to go wherever dance is needed. Whether it's collaborating with a singer and making headlines, performing in commercials through dance or running a YouTube channel as a dancer, I believe there are things only I can do. I want to turn those rare, less-traveled paths into my own unique space. I want to dance on a bigger stage while staying true to the 'real me' — the version of myself in that underground practice room,' she said.