The 31st Busan International Film Festival opens in Busan, South Korea, featuring 247 films from 59 nations, including 95 world premieres, following its accreditation as an A-list festival by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations and Oscar eligibility for the Busan Award winner.
The 23rd Jarasum Jazz Festival opens Friday in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, featuring 64 acts over three days, a special focus on French music for bilateral relations, and an AI-powered stage developed with KAIST.
Director Christopher Nolan's film 'Odyssey' surpassed 12 million cumulative viewers, surpassing 'Pamyo' and 'Train to Busan', and ranked 19th in the domestic box office box office rankings, and among foreign films, it ranked 5th in box office sales of all time.
Twice will hold a fan party titled 'Once upon a Thri11' in Seoul on Oct. 17 to celebrate its 11th anniversary, with three sessions of 250 fans each selected via lucky draw from the official fan club. A special vinyl album from the group's 'This Is For' world tour will be released on Oct. 16.
Wonju City and the Wonju Cultural Foundation will hold the '2026 Innovation Festa' on Mirinae Street from the 15th to the 17th. It is a cultural event in which public institutions, merchants, and residents participate together, and operates a food and sales center, a promotional center, a play space, and a stage for artists and professional performance teams, with the goal of revitalizing the local community and revitalizing the commercial district.
Koyote member Kim Jong-min revealed that his wife was 17 weeks pregnant during the recording of 'The Return of Superman'. Her agency, JG Star, announced that they are preparing for the birth of a second child and that detailed information will be revealed on the broadcast on the 7th.
Actors Lee Bo-young and Kang Tae-oh will play the lead roles in ENA's new Monday-Tuesday drama 'Divorce Investigator Hong Mal-geum'. Lee Bo-young plays the role of single mother Hong Mal-geum, and Kang Tae-o plays the role of lawyer Charles Kim, who was Hong Mal-geum's ex-husband's divorce attorney in the past. It will be broadcast on ENA and Genie TV in the first half of next year.
Sanullim bassist Kim Chang-hoon has formed a new band, 'Kamang', and will hold a showcase performance at the Samik Musical Instruments Empat Hall in Seoul on the 24th. Representative songs and hidden masterpieces such as 'Grandpa Mountain' and 'Reminiscence' will be performed, and an acoustic guitar and ukulele giveaway event will be held for the audience.
Controversy over South Korean historical thriller 'The Assassin(s)' intensifies as Naver flags automated review manipulation and conservative groups protest outside lead actor Yoo Hae-jin's home.
As the movie 'Assassin(s)' was based on the assassination of Ms. Yook Young-soo, controversy arose over the distortion of history, and along with criticism from the political world, it spread to criticism of actors, online malicious comments, and the cancellation of movie-related events. The film industry called for an end to slandering and threatening creators, pointing out that this incident reflects the extreme conflict in Korean society.
Singer Lee Soo-young will temporarily step down as DJ on CBS Music FM's 'Lee Soo-young's Let's Meet at 12 O'clock' to undergo intensive treatment following her child's diagnosis of acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia.
Girl group Aespa successfully completed their world tour 'Sync: Complex City' at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, USA, presented a diverse set list including hit and new songs, and sold out all tickets. The members expressed their gratitude to their Los Angeles fans.
Stray Kids joined the boycott by announcing that they would not submit music to the Grammy Awards. This is a backlash against the Grammys' creation of an Asian pop category, and is the second K-pop group to declare a boycott after BTS. Stray Kids, a strong candidate in the Asian pop category, ranked first on the Billboard 200 nine times.
Singer Kim Jaejoong has been active in both Korea and Japan for over 20 years and emphasized that K-pop is a bridge that connects the two countries. He revealed that understanding the local language and culture was essential to succeed in the Japanese market, and explained that Korean and Japanese entertainment are complementary, filling each other's shortcomings.
The story of the Incheon Dodam Elementary School children's earthworm rescue team, which became a hot topic on social media, was published as a children's book. Poet Kim Jun-hyun's poetry collection 'Let's Underline the Whole Neighborhood' and teacher Yoo In-geun's fairy tale 'We Are the Earthworm Rescue' are each introduced, and are attracting attention as works that embody poetic imagination in everyday life and awareness of the value of life.
Megabox apologized for the controversy over the fact that the original ticket goods for the movie 'Assassins' made fun of the shooting incident of First Lady Yuk Young-soo and decided to discard all remaining quantities. Megabox announced that it will strengthen verification procedures when producing goods related to historical events in the future.
Director Heo Jin-ho's film 'Assassin(s)', which deals with the assassination of First Lady Yuk Young-soo, surpassed 2 million viewers in just 11 days of its release despite controversy over historical distortion.
Conservative groups New Liberty Solidarity and Bellado held a rally in front of lead actor Yoo Hae-jin's home amid controversy over historical distortion of the movie 'Assassin(s)' and demanded an apology from the production company and actor and a halt to the screening. The Patriotic United Shield also announced a separate rally in front of the production company.
In celebration of his birthday on the 3rd, Stray Kids' Bang Chan donated a total of 300 million won, 100 million won each to Here Cycle, World Vision, and Ocean, his agency JYP Entertainment announced. The funds will be used to support young people with hearing loss, scholarships for children and youth from low-income families, and coastal and river cleanup projects. Bang Chan has continued to share consistently, donating a total of 500 million won this year alone.
Yongin City will hold the 8th Starlight Madang Night Market at the Jungang Market for three days from the 16th to the 18th. Youth performances, collaborative performances by famous singers and local universities, specialty product markets, food trucks, flea markets, traditional liquor sales, key cap and pottery making experience booths, AI caricature and LED lamp making events, and the Kimryangjang Festival are held.
Plays by famous directors that have become hot topics in Europe and Japan will be premiered one after another in Korea in the second half of the year. At the Seoul International Performing Arts Festival, Portugal's Thiago Rodríguez's 'The Distance Between' will have its domestic premiere at the Arko Arts Theater from the 8th to the 10th, and from the 13th to the 15th of next month, Ukasz Tvarkovsky's 'Rosco' from Latvia's Diles Theater will be performed at the LG Arts Center Seoul, and from the 30th to the 1st of next month, 'American Dream' by Japanese playwright Koki Mitani will be performed.
The movie 'In-I in Motion' is a documentary about the six-month process of actress Juliette Binoche and dancer Akram Khan creating a dance play on the theme of love and pain without a script or choreography, and will be released on the 14th.
‘Lacrima,’ a hit play from the National Theater of Strasbourg, France, had its Korean premiere at the Seongnam Arts Center. It simultaneously sheds light on the unfair labor of the artisans behind the production of the British royal wedding dress, the logic of capital, and the value of art.
