This news is two weeks too late to make the Dispatch Jan 1 breaking scoop but there is now a first idol shocker of 2020. Chen of boy idol group EXO announced today via a handwritten note to his fans that he was getting married. The 29 year old singer and songwriter will be marrying his non-celeb girlfriend and the … Continue reading →
Korean tabloid Dispatch has dropped so many January 1 dating reveals complete with surveillance pictures this year feels like a given and the reaction from the fans of the two stars in question seem so muted and mature. This year’s couple as the first confirmed K-star dating news of 2019 is Blackpink‘s Jennie and EXO‘s Kai, an idol pairing and … Continue reading →
Well done, Kai! High end couture is naturally rife with super weird creations and confections more for the artistry than wearability. EXO’s main dancer Kai is definitely savvy to generating buzz because he picked at outfit for this week’s Gucci resort collection show in France that is guaranteed to elicit commentary. He’s wearing a Gucci oversized plaid suit with old … Continue reading →
Things may be thawing between South Korea and Mainland China, or at least both sides are attempting to warm things up. South Korean President Moon Jae In visited Beijing last week along with Hallyu top actress Song Hye Kyo and three members of the boy idol group EXO for the opening ceremony of the Korea-China Economic and Trade Partnership Forum. … Continue reading →
The 2017 Korean Popular Culture & Arts Awards took place quietly with a cancelled red carpet due to the passing of beloved veteran leading man Kim Joo Hyuk earlier in the week. The big winners among stars I follow are veterans Park Geun Hyung and Yoon Yeo Jung getting feted with highest Order of Cultural Merits. Three heavyweight male leads … Continue reading →
The list is out for Forbes Korea magazine’s annual ranking of the 40 Most Powerful Celebrities, a ranking that takes into account a whole host of factors including buzz, name recognition, successful projects, number of CFs, and so forth. I hope to forestall useless arguing since just because you/he/she think your oppa or unni is the most popular person on … Continue reading →
Brand awareness and strength is a critical assessment element in the marketing industry, and stars have long since joined in the pool of companies and products which consumers connect with. The Korean advertising association released a data set this week naming the most valuable individual entertainment brands across the spectrum of industries and the results are mostly as expected. The … Continue reading →
If there is a thing called backfiring then SM Entertainment might want to consider giving a class because the company is certainly doing a bang up job at it. This week was the solo mini album release in China by former EXO member Tao (Huang Zi Tao), a development I covered recently only as confirmation that he’s finally left the … Continue reading →
I would feel sorry for EXO fans, except the fans may be feeling so numb from the relentless departure pains that no one can feel a thing anymore. The long drawn out withdrawal of Chinese member Tao (Huang Zi Tao) from the boy band appears to have come to a definitive conclusion over the weekend as Tao’s recently established workshop … Continue reading →
Even exclusive K-drama fans must’ve heard by now about the recent turmoil and confusion surrounding additional member departures from popular SM Entertainment K-pop idol groups. Last year in 2014 was nearly apocalyptic with the confirmed departures of Kris (Wu Yi Fan) and Luhan from mega boy band EXO, with a side of Sulli from girl group f(x) going on hiatus. This year … Continue reading →
I haven’t been keeping up with general entertainment news as much these past weeks, focusing more on dramas and movies, so it comes as a major surprise to me to read in many mainstream Chinese newspapers that Tao (Huang Zi Tao) has left EXO. Really? That would mark the third consecutive Chinese member to leave EXO in the last year, … Continue reading →
HOLY SHIT. I’m seriously speechless right now. What the heck is really is going on at K-pop powerhouse agency SM Entertainment? I mean this less in a rubber necking way and more concerned about whether the company is having a mini-meltdown as I type. That would be awful for the remaining entertainers there trying to keep their head down and just … Continue reading →
Prior to this week I only knew two things about the currently hottest K-pop guy group EXO: (1) it released the most unintentionally hilarious (i.e. awful) music video I had the pleasure of watching in years in “Wolf”, and (2) it has allegedly the most crazy/scary/absurd fandom since the heyday of DBSK and Super Junior. I didn’t care to learn … Continue reading →
