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GMA Network
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- GMA Network
K-Pop group AHOF, with Filipino member JL Gaspar, to visit Manila in August
K-Pop group AHOF, with Filipino member JL Gaspar, to visit Manila for a fan con in August AHOF is visiting Manila this August! The K-pop group is heading to the Araneta Coliseum on August 30 for their Rendezvous in Manila fan con, SBTown announced. It is their first fan con in the Philippines,. Ticket prices and other details are yet to be announced. 'It is a special moment and so happy for us since this is our first time coming to the Philippines as a group. This feels like a dream come true,' Filipino member JL Gaspar said in an invitation video. The group also teased special performances. AHOF, which stands for All-time Hall of Famer, is composed of nine members: Filipino JL, Australian-Korean Steven, Chinese Zhang Shuaibo, South Koreans Park Ju Won, Seo Jeong Woo, Cha Woongki, and Park Han, Taiwanese Chih En, and Japanese Daisuke. They won the K-pop talent search "Universe League," which aired on SBS. The group debuted on July 1 with the single 'Rendezvous' along with their first mini album, "Who We Are." JL is one of the members of the P-Pop group PLUUS, who debuted in 2023 under SBTown. The boy band is best known for their songs, "Amigo," "Shining Star," "My Time," and "Missing You." —Nika Roque/JCB, GMA Integrated News
The Age
21-06-2025
- General
- The Age
Secrets and lies as South Korea's adoptees search for belonging
What in the World, a free weekly newsletter from our foreign correspondents, is sent every Thursday. Below is an excerpt. Sign up to get the whole newsletter delivered to your inbox. Singapore: There is a word in Korean, sosokgam or 소속감, which means 'a sense of belonging'. For Carissa Smith, who was adopted from South Korea in 1985 and grew up on the NSW North Coast, it's something that has always been elusive. Instead, she has lived with a life-long feeling of dislocation and anguish. 'I always struggled with 'fitting in', like I have a hole inside of me,' she says. 'On my birthday, I would look at the moon and wonder whether my birth mother was looking at the same moon from Korea. I wondered if she missed me, I wondered if she loved me.' Last year, she travelled to Seoul, hoping to find clues about her birth family that would paint a fuller picture of her identity, and answer questions that her three young Australian-Korean children might have one day. It's a journey numerous Australian adoptees have made, which has taken them to the doors of the Eastern Social Welfare Society, the agency in Seoul that has facilitated the adoptions of some 3600 Korean children to Australia since 1978. It holds the files containing critical information about their past. Smith says she was ushered into a room where a staff member sat across from her holding a manila folder of her records, using a ruler and her hands to obscure large sections of it. 'I begged her to show me those bits, because I just wanted to try and find my birth mother,' she says.
Sydney Morning Herald
21-06-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Secrets and lies as South Korea's adoptees search for belonging
What in the World, a free weekly newsletter from our foreign correspondents, is sent every Thursday. Below is an excerpt. Sign up to get the whole newsletter delivered to your inbox. Singapore: There is a word in Korean, sosokgam or 소속감, which means 'a sense of belonging'. For Carissa Smith, who was adopted from South Korea in 1985 and grew up on the NSW North Coast, it's something that has always been elusive. Instead, she has lived with a life-long feeling of dislocation and anguish. 'I always struggled with 'fitting in', like I have a hole inside of me,' she says. 'On my birthday, I would look at the moon and wonder whether my birth mother was looking at the same moon from Korea. I wondered if she missed me, I wondered if she loved me.' Last year, she travelled to Seoul, hoping to find clues about her birth family that would paint a fuller picture of her identity, and answer questions that her three young Australian-Korean children might have one day. It's a journey numerous Australian adoptees have made, which has taken them to the doors of the Eastern Social Welfare Society, the agency in Seoul that has facilitated the adoptions of some 3600 Korean children to Australia since 1978. It holds the files containing critical information about their past. Smith says she was ushered into a room where a staff member sat across from her holding a manila folder of her records, using a ruler and her hands to obscure large sections of it. 'I begged her to show me those bits, because I just wanted to try and find my birth mother,' she says.
GMA Network
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- GMA Network
K-pop group AHOF, with Filipino member JL Gaspar, to debut on July 1
K-pop boy group AHOF, with Filipino member JL Gaspar, is set to debut on July 1 with their first mini album, 'Who We Are.' On Instagram, AHOF shared the first batch of concept photos ahead of their debut, also announcing the release date of their mini album. It will be followed by the second batch of concept photos on June 20, followed by more on June 22 and 23. The mini album's tracklist will be released on June 26, while the music video teaser is set to be unveiled on June 30. AHOF, which stands for All-time Hall of Famer, is composed of nine members: JL from the Philippines, Australian-Korean Steven, Chinese Zhang Shuaibo, South Koreans Park Ju Won, Seo Jeong Woo, Cha Woongki, and Park Han, Taiwanese Chih En, and Japanese Daisuke. They won the K-pop talent search, 'Universe League,' which aired on SBS. AHOF is managed by F&F Entertainment, the same agency of girl group UNIS. UNIS also has Filipina members: Elisia Parmisano, Gehlee Dangca, and Filipina-Korean Jin Hyeon-ju. JL is one of the members of the P-Pop group PLUUS, who debuted in 2023 under SBTown. The boyband is best known for their songs, "Amigo," "Shining Star," "My Time," and "Missing You." —Carby Rose Basina/CDC, GMA Integrated News
