By Joonha Yoo
◇ BTS' J-Hope says schedule for military enlistment fixed
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| ▲A concept photo for BTS member J-Hope's digital solo single "on the street," provided by BigHit Music (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
J-Hope, a member of K-pop juggernaut BTS, has said the date for his enlistment in the military has been set.
He, however, did not reveal the exact date, apparently hoping to make his future entry to a military boot camp a low-profile event.
Last month, the group's agency, BigHit Music, stated the dancer-rapper would begin the process of enlistment by applying for the termination of his enlistment postponement, without providing a specific time frame for the entry.
He will become the second member of BTS to enroll in the military, following the oldest member, Jin, who began his military service in December.
In South Korea, all able-bodied men are required to serve in the military for about two years.
J-Hope, born in 1994, previously had his enlistment delayed until the end of 2024 under a revised law that allows pop stars to postpone their service until age 30.
The 29-year-old released "on the street," featuring American rapper and producer J. Cole, on March 3. The solo track topped the iTunes Top Songs charts of 80 territories around the world and debuted at No. 60 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
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| ▲BTS member Jimin is seen in this photo provided by BigHit Music. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Moreover Jimin of K-pop superstar BTS will release a song to be included on his first solo album and its music video Friday, the group's agency said.
The song is part of the vocalist's first individual album, "Face," set to roll out a week later.
The album depicts the singer facing himself and preparing for his new start as a soloist after the pandemic, according to the agency.
Debuting in 2013 as a member of the septet, Jimin has shown his unique colors through his solo songs "Lie," "Serendipity" and "With You," with the last one on the original soundtrack of the popular tvN drama "Our Blues."
Most recently, he collaborated with BIGBANG vocalist Taeyang on "Vibe."
◇Netflix series 'The Glory' Part 2 tops global Netflix chart
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| ▲This image captured from Netflix shows Korean revenge thriller "The Glory," which topped the non-English TV show chart in the week of March 6-12. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Netflix revenge thriller series "The Glory" Part 2 ranked No. 1 on a global popularity chart for TV shows available on the streaming giant, data showed.
The highly anticipated second part debuted at No. 3 on streaming analytics website FlixPatrol's global chart for top TV shows on Netflix one day after its release on Friday and topped the chart on Monday (U.S. time).
It took first place in 38 nations, including South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, and ranked second in 21 other nations and third in 13 countries.
The show starring Song Hye-kyo shocked viewers with brutal school violence and systemic negligence in the first eight episodes released on Dec. 30 and returned with a tightly knitted revenge plot to unfold villains' tragic endings.
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| ▲A scene from Netflix series "The Glory" is seen in this photo provided by Netflix. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Moreover, "The Glory," starring Song Hye-kyo, has recorded more than 120 million viewing hours in the first week of Part 2's release.
According to Netflix's official website "Netflix Top 10" on Wednesday, "The Glory" viewing hours was 124.46 million hours the second week of March (6th-12th), ranking first in the non-English TV category.
This figure far exceeds 75.81 million viewing hours for season 4 of “You," which is the No. 1 English-speaking TV category.
The Netflix series "The Glory" was released on the 10th, with Moon Dong-eun, played by Song Hye-kyo, whose soul was broken by school violence, vengeance on the perpetrators after becoming an adult.
In addition to "The Glory" in the second week of March, tvN's "Crash Course in Romance" (4th, 22.35 million hours), Netflix documentary "In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal" (5th, 16.43 million hours), and "Mr. Queen" (7th, 13.67 million hours), which ended in 2021, were ranked at the top of the viewing time record.
◇ Hybe says it will halt SM Entertainment takeover bid, seek platform cooperation
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| ▲This photo shows Bang Si-hyuk,founder and chairman of K-pop Powerhouse HYBE. (Yonhap) |
Hybe, the K-entertainment powerhouse behind global superstar BTS, said Sunday it has decided to halt its bid to take over industry giant SM Entertainment in an agreement with Kakao Corp.
The tech giant Kakao and its entertainment unit, Kakao Entertainment Corp., will have management control over SM Entertainment, while Hybe will cooperate with Kakao in the platform business, Hybe said in a press release.
The company said it reached the decision as its competition with Kakao has overheated the market and could have a negative impact on the value of its stocks.
With the decision, the candidates recommended by Hybe for SM's new executive board will step down ahead of SM's regular meeting of shareholders slated for late this month.
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| ▲his photo shows photo of HYBE. (Yonhap) |
Kakao said separately that it will continue to buy the shares of SM through March 26 as planned.
The dramatic deal came after weeks of an intensified battle between Hybe and Kakao, with the Kakao side recently having launched a tender offer.
The side offered 150,000 won (US$113.8) per share to acquire an additional 8.33 million shares in SM, with a goal to secure a combined 35 percent share.
The price is higher than the 120,000 won per share offered by Hybe earlier. The company planned to acquire a 25 percent stake through a tender offer that ended early this month, in addition to about 20 percent it has already obtained from SM founder Lee Soo-man and other shareholders. It, however, ended up purchasing only a 1 percent share in the tender offer.
As the price of SM stocks surged past the price offered by Kakao in just two days after the company made the tender offer, it and Hybe had been in negotiations to end the overheated takeover bid since Friday.
Hybe, however, did not unveil the details of its agreement with Kakao in the platform business.
It also said nothing was decided yet about the 14.8 percent stake in SM it has acquired from the SM founder Lee.
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| ▲This photo shows Kakao. (Yonhap) |
Kakao issued a press statement pledging to ensure autonomous and independent management of SM artists and help the K-pop company's growth in the global market based on its SM 3.0 future strategies.
The SM 3.0 vision unveiled by SM earlier this year is centered on establishing multiple production centers and labels, as well as seeking more business opportunities from the intellectual property rights of its artists.
SM also welcomed Friday's agreement in a statement.
◇ Makoto Shinkai’s anime blockbuster ‘Suzume’ continues hot streak at S. Korean box office
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| ▲This photo, provided by ShowBox, shows a scene from 'Suzume.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Japanese animated adventure film “Suzume,” directed by the star filmmaker Makoto Shinkai, is expected to dominate the local theaters this weekend as well.
Shinkai’s latest fantasy animated flick has been topping the South Korean box office for nine days in a row since its release date on Mar. 8, according to data released by the Korea Film Council on Friday. The masterful animation has accumulated more than 1,238,000 admissions as of Thursday.
The brand-new anime blockbuster has been gathering admissions at a faster pace than the smash-hit animated sports film “The First Slam Dunk” did, which officially became the most-viewed animated Japanese film in South Korea. The basketball animation amassed more than 589,000 admissions during the first nine days after its release.
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| ▲The poster of Japanese animated film "Suzume" is seen in this photo provided by its local distributor Media Castle. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
“Suzume” also recorded 44.5 percent in terms of ticket booking rate as of earlier in the day, widening its gap with “The First Slam Dunk” sitting in second place with 15.5 percent.
The Korean-made melodrama film “Soulmate,” starring Kim Da-mi and Jeon So-nee, hit the big screen on Wednesday and has been securing its second place at the local box office for two consecutive days. Nevertheless, it seems to be far behind in terms of ticket booking rate as it only scored 8.1 percent, falling far behind “The First Slam Dunk.”
In the meantime, DC Studios’ 2023 American superhero film “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and Gerard Butler-starrer “Plane” will be greeting its opening weekend crowds. The two each sat on fifth and tenth slots in terms of ticket booking rate, respectively.
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