Here are top five Korean newsmakers in the entertainment industry of the week.
We're in the second week of the new year, and more and more celebrities are making headlines. From your much-loved 'True Beauty' actor Cha Eun-woo announcing his much-awaited solo debut to former AOA member Yuna confirming all the rumours surrounding her marriage to be true, this Saturday, we have you covered.
Here are top five newsmakers in the entertainment industry of the week, all the way from South Korea.
ASTRO’s vocalist Cha Eun-woo is preparing for his solo debut. The album is slated for a release in the first half of this year, however, nothing else has been revealed as of now. His solo debut has been highly-awaited since he would be embarking on this new journey eight years after debuting as a member of ASTRO. His agency, Fantagio shared, “Cha Eun-woo is preparing his first solo album with the goal of releasing it in the first half of 2024. In particular, he is preparing with the objective of unveiling the songs from his solo album for the first time on stage at his first fan-con, which is scheduled to be held at Jamsil Indoor Stadium on February 17, so please show lots of anticipation.” On the acting front, the 'A Good Day to be a Dog' actor would be next seen in 'Wonderful World' alongside Kim Nam-joo set to release in March.
K-Pop band MONSTA X's rapper I.M is making his solo comeback. He took to his social media to drop a teaser for the same. Though the name of the song was not revealed, the teaser images mentioned that the song will be out on January 23 6 PM KST (2:30 PM IST). I.M, who made his solo debut with 'Duality' in February 2021, unveiled two teaser images, in which he is seen in a knitted-white sweater looking outside the window. This upcoming single would mark his return after seven months, so mark your calendars for the masterpiece this music composer would be releasing!
NCT's singer-dancer Haechan has been fined for smoking indoors. Recently, NCT 127 shared a behind-the-scenes dance practice video for their song 'Be There For Me' on their official YouTube channel. In the footage, Haechan was supposedly seen using a vape within the indoor practice room. While there is no visible smoke, it is a common practice for people to inhale and then swallow the smoke so as to not cause discomfort to others. In response to this viral incident, SM Entertainment issued a statement saying, "We have confirmed that Haechan used an e-cigarette indoors in the NCT 127’s dance practice video released on January 10. Today (January 11), he intends to pay the fine imposed by the relevant health department for this matter. We sincerely apologize for causing concern to many through this irresponsible behaviour. We will pay special attention to ensure that such incidents do not occur again in the future."
The new addition to the long list of double-million sellers is NewJeans. They have entered the club at record speed. In less than one and a half year since their debut, they have become the fastest female K-pop artist ever to achieve double-million seller status, breaking fellow girl group aespa's record, who took two and a half years to reach this milestone. Their agency ADOR announced that their latest EP 'Get Up,' which released in July 2023, had sold over 2,028,991 copies by the end of December 2023. With 1.65 million copies sold in its first week of release, 'Get Up', which features their hit songs like 'Super Shy' and 'ETA,' now stands as the second-highest first-week sales for any female artist in Hanteo history, closely behind aespa's 'My World.'
After many speculations of the former AOA member Yuna tying the knot with music composer Kang Jung-hoon (popularly known by his stage name, Friday of the musical duo GALACTIKA) took the internet by storm, the singer has herself confirmed it all to be true. Their wedding will take place in Seoul on February 18 in the presence of close friends and family. In addition to posting two visually beautiful photos from their pre-wedding shoot, Yuna shared the following message. "Hello, this is Yuna. First, to everyone who already saw the news [elsewhere], I wanted to convey the news with sincerity, so I wound up being a bit late. I have found someone with whom I’d like to spend the rest of my life... Please look warmly upon us and give us lots of blessings for our future."