Author: Samar Khouri

‘Pachinko’ and ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ have received nominations for ‘Best Foreign Language Series’ at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Nominations Based on the New York Times best-selling novel of the same name by Korean-American author Min Jin Lee, Apple TV series ‘Pachinko’ tells a story of four generations of a Korean immigrant family fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan. It features Academy Award-winning actress Yuh-Jung Youn, Lee Minho, Jin Ha, and Minha Kim. ‘Pachinko’ was filmed in English, Japanese and Korean and was created and executive produced by Soo Hugh. Netflix legal drama ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ is centered around the…

HYBE’s first Japanese boy group &Team has made its debut on the music scene with EP ‘First Howling : ME.’ Much-awaited debut The boy band’s members EJ, K, Fuma, Maki, Nicholas, Yuma, Jo, Harua, and Taki come from Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese backgrounds. They were selected from TV survival shows ‘I-Land,’ ― which created K-Pop boy band ENHYPEN ― and ‘&Audition – The Howling.’ Nicholas, K, EJ, and Taki were chosen in the former while Maki, Fuma, Harua, Yuma, and Jo competed in the latter. HYBE’s chairman Bang Si-hyuk and the creative minds behind BTS and Tomorrow X Together (TXT)…

BTS was crowned as Spotify’s most-streamed artist in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in 2022, the streaming platform revealed to Forbes Middle East. The septet was also the fourth most-streamed artist and had the most-streamed album in the UAE with ‘Proof’ in the UAE this year. BTS was the most-streamed artist in Saudi Arabia and the UAE in 2021. Top artists Members V and Jung Kook were also among the most popular K-Pop artists in the MENA region. BLACKPINK, who will be performing in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh next year for their “BORN PINK” world tour, was the…

Top-ranked Brazil knocked South Korea out of the World Cup tournament to advance to the quarterfinals against Croatia in the Round of 16 match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. 4-1 defeat Brazil’s Vinicius Junior scored seven minutes into the first half of the match followed by goals from Neymar, Richarlison and Lucas Paqueta. Neymar returned to the field after he sustained ankle ligament damage in Brazil’s first game, a 2-0 win over Serbia. “We gave everything. Don’t blame us. With these Brazil players, if you give one of them spaces they score. I don’t want to blame any…

ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo and EXO’s Sehun attended Dior’s Men Fall 2023 show in Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday. The two K-Pop stars joined the likes of Mena Massoud, Robert Pattinson, and Mohamed Hamaki at the star-studded event. They are currently Dior ambassadors. Cha attended Paris Fashion Week on behalf of the fashion house in September in Paris, France. The collection, titled ‘Celestial,’ was helmed by artistic director Kim Jones. Against the backdrop of the Giza pyramid complex in Egypt, the runway show represented the “collection’s past-influenced futuristic thrust, with a demi-kilt and couture detailing meeting 3D printing,” Dior said in a…

South Korea has made it to the knockout stage of a FIFA World Cup in Qatar for the third time in history and for the first time in 12 years, after a dramatic 2-1 victory over already-qualified Portugal. The Asian country previously played in the knockouts in 2002 and 2010. Wild finish Wolves forward Hwang Hee-chan gave a sensational injury-time victory, sending the Taegeuk Warriors into the last 16 at Education City Stadium. “The moment the ball went in, I was happy, tired, proud and grateful. All sorts of feelings combined. I saw other players coming onto the pitch as…

BTS was Spotify’s most-streamed K-Pop artist globally in 2022, the streaming giant revealed in its latest annual Wrapped results. Top artists Coming in second place is none other than BLACKPINK, followed by TWICE. They are the only K-Pop girl groups ranked in the top five. TWICE’s labelmates Stray Kids are the fourth most-streamed K-Pop artist in 2022. Boy band SEVENTEEN came in fifth. BTS dominates globally BTS ranked in fifth place globally on Spotify, after Taylor Swift, Drake, and The Weeknd. Bad Bunny was the year’s most-streamed artist—a spot he’s held since 2020. The Grammy-nominated band was also the world’s…

HyunA and DAWN, one of the K-Pop industry’s most-loved couples, have broken up.HyunA announced the news with a short post on her Instagram, adding that “we’ve decided to stay good friends and colleagues. Thank you for always supporting us.”DAWN has not yet released a statement of his own about the split.HyunA met DAWN before his debut as a member of boy group Pentagon back in 2016. They went public with their relationship in 2018. It was HyunA’s first public relationship announcement. The pair, who were members of co-ed group, Triple H, when signed under Cube Entertainment, made their relationship official…

BTS’ Jung Kook landed on the region’s first music streaming chart titled, Official MENA Chart, with ‘Dreamers,’ announced International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The global recording industry trade didn’t disclose any further details on listenership numbers, but revealed that ‘Calm Down’ by Nigerian artist Rema was the top pick for the week of November 18 – 24. The remixed version, featuring Selena Gomez, further boosted the song’s popularity, it added. Egyptian artists Farid, Ahmed Saad and Wegz and Saudi artist Ayed also made appearances in the top 10. Other FIFA World Cup’s tournament soundtracks ‘Arhbo’ by Ozuna, GIMS…

Celebrity couple Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin have welcomed their first baby. Son’s management agency MSteam Entertainment said she delivered a baby boy on Sunday and both of them are in good health. After admitting they were dating in January 2021, the pair announced their engagement back in February and wed a month later. Son announced her pregnancy three months later. They two stars worked together in the 2018 film ‘The Negotiation’ and hit rom-com TV series ‘Crash Landing On You.’