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By Sunghee Hwang Her face is a deepfake. Her body belongs to a team of similar-sized actors. But she sings, reads the news, and sells luxury clothes on TV as AI humans go mainstream in South Korea. Meet Zaein, one of South Korea’s most active virtual humans, who was created by Pulse9, an artificial intelligence company that is working to bring corporate dreams of the perfect employee to life. Pulse9 has created digital humans for […]
Tens of thousands of scouts are set to gather for a massive K-pop festival in Seoul on Friday, as South Korea seeks to salvage a problem-plagued jamboree with “the power of Korean culture”. But even as the government throws millions of dollars in emergency funding into fixing an event that has been a public relations disaster, criticism — from K-pop fans to public sector employees — is mounting over Seoul’s approach. The quadrennial world jamboree […]
by Cat Barton Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — From Indian K-pop idols to Swedish songwriters, South Korea’s music industry is now a hotbed of global talent — a smart strategy as it aims for world domination, experts say. K-pop bands have long included non-Koreans: Blackpink’s Lisa is Thai, while Japan and China are both well represented, and Korean-American singers have topped the local charts. But after megastars like Psy and BTS brought K-pop […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — K-pop sensation BTS on Sunday became the first Asian group to win Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards. The septet also scooped awards for Favorite Pop Duo or Group and Favorite Pop Song for their hit “Butter” at the glitzy Los Angeles ceremony hosted by Cardi B. South Korea’s biggest band, who now have nine AMAs, joined British rockers Coldplay for the world television premiere […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — K-pop star Goo Hara was found dead at her home on Sunday, South Korean police confirmed. Goo, a former member of the girl group Kara, was discovered at her home in Seoul early Sunday evening, officers said. The exact cause of death was still under investigation, they added. South Korea has one of the world’s highest rates of suicide which, according to recent government figures, is among the top causes […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Twitter said Wednesday it is rolling out a feature that lets users follow topics the way they do people, starting with sports and K-pop, as part of its efforts to bring in and keep more users on the service. The new “Topics” option was expected to be available to Twitter users on mobile devices powered by Android or Apple software or through web browsers by November 13. “We are […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A burgeoning K-pop sex scandal claimed a second scalp as a singer who rose to fame after coming second in one of South Korea’s top talent shows admitted secretly filming himself having sex and sharing the footage. Jung Joon-young, 30, announced his immediate retirement from showbusiness amid allegations he shot and shared sexual imagery without his partners’ consent. “I admit to all my crimes,” he said. “I filmed women […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese television station has cancelled a performance by the wildly popular Korean boyband BTS, after controversy erupted over a shirt worn by a member appearing to show the mushroom cloud created by an atomic bomb. The international superstars were due to perform on TV Asahi on Friday, but the station abruptly cancelled the show after a photo of member Jimin wearing the shirt went viral. “BTS’s appearance scheduled for the […]
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — K-Pop sensation BTS brought their star power to the United Nations on Monday, telling the world’s youth to listen to their inner voice and resist pressure to conform. “No matter who you are, where you’re from, your skin color, your gender identity, just speak yourself,” group leader Kim Namjoon told a packed hall at the launch of a UNICEF youth campaign. Dubbed “Generation Unlimited”, the campaign to promote education, […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiled, clapped and said he was “deeply moved” by a rare performance by South Korean K-pop stars in Pyongyang, state media reported Monday. The high profile appearance of Kim and his wife, former singer Ri Sol Ju, at the concert was unusual as his authoritarian regime typically struggles to prevent any infiltration of the South’s pop culture among his isolated people. Kim, the first […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Top K-pop girl band Red Velvet will be the star turn at a historic concert in Pyongyang this weekend, in a country where entertainment is usually state-sponsored and served with a big dollop of propaganda. With performances on Sunday and Tuesday, the outfit sashay onto territory more normally occupied by North Korean’s own mega girl group, the Moranbong band. In the peninsula’s own Battle of the Bands, here’s how the […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Seoul is pushing for “Gangnam Style” star Psy to perform in next week’s historic concerts by South Korean artists in the North’s capital, multiple reports said. A team of at least nine South Korean pop acts is set to visit North Korea next week for two concerts in Pyongyang, the first of their kind for more than a decade. The shows — part of reconciliatory moves ahead of a planned […]
