Welcome back to the second installment of the re-vamped Seoulbeats Week in Review! Here are some of the happenings this week that you may have missed:

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Serious News

  • Sewol protesters, united under the name ‘4.16 Network,’ have petitioned the UN regarding excessive forces used during protests on April 16 and 18 and May 1.
  • Kim Hyun-joong’s ex-girlfriend — and the mother of his future child — filed suit against malicious netizens for the mental toil their harsh words have had on her. She also filed suit against Kim Hyun-joong himself, reportedly for 1.8 billion won. With the influx of Kim Hyun-joong updates also came the announcement that he plans to enter the military on May 12, to which I say, good riddance.
  • Debates continued over the potential effectiveness of raising the alcohol endorsement age to 24. This would put Chamisul in a bind, considering IU (age 22) is the current star of their campaign.

Comebacks and Debuts

  • Bestie returned with the upbeat “Excuse Me” and a new mini album.
  • Boa released the pre-release MV for “Who Are You” (featuring Gaeko), starring Exo‘s Sehun and a whole lot of product placement. The pre-release track was composed by Boa herself and quickly topped the charts after release. Her eighth studio album Kiss My Lips will be released May 12.

  • Secret    ‘s Hyosung returned with “Into You” and her newest solo album Fantasia.
  • Elsie (Eunjung of T-ara) released another MV of her solo debut track “I’m Good” that actually features the singer herself. She also made her official solo debut on May 7’s episode of M! Countown.
  • Rookie group Romeo debuted with “Lovesick.”
  • Beast‘s Hyunseung made his solo debut on May 7 episode of M! Countdown with “You’re My First.” The solo album MY and MV for the title track were also released the following day. However, Hyunseung and Cube Entertainment are already caught up in a bit of a bind as the track “Break Up With Him” was found unfit for broadcast by SBS.

Teasers and Announcements

  • Zion.T announced his impending return via Twitter. The tweet read simply, “Zion.T Second Album ‘Comedian.'” Though a release date has not been revealed, fans are anxious for his second album following 2013’s Red Light.

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  • Infinite member Sunggyu continued to tease his sophomore solo release: “27.” Sunggyu announced the participation of Tablo (Epik High) and Kim Jong-wan (Nell) — whom together will be known as Boarderline — on the track “Daydream.” Woollim also released the teaser for lead single “Kontrol” on May 5. The much anticipated album is set for release on May 11.
  • MYNAME released the MV teaser for “Just Tell Me” featuring scantily clad women and a dimly lit basement. The full MV will also drop on May 11.
  • Son Dam-bi has been cast as the lead in the upcoming OliveTV sitcom Yuri’s Room.
  • Upcoming group Monstax continues to drop teasers for their upcoming debut with “Trespass.” You may remember the members from MNet reality show No Mercy. In addition, member Joo-heon will be participating in Show Me the Money 4.
  • Uee will also be participating in the new SBS drama True Romance.
  • Speaking of Show Me the Money 4, several new contestants were revealed to participate this season, many of them in already debuted groups. In addition to Winner‘s Mino,  Lime (Hello Venus), Kiddo, Yano (Topp Dogg) and Jucy (Evol) will all be taking part in the upcoming competition.
  • Sports Donga reported that Girls’ Generation is slated for a June full-length album comeback and that a Taeyeon solo debut should also be anticipated this fall.
  • Girls’ Generation member Hyoyeon has also been given her own beauty/lifestyle show, “Hyoyeon, 1 Million Likes,” that is set to begin airing in June.

Other News

  • 20150507_seoulbeats_fxIn Exo China-line news: the Tao situation continued to look more and more bleak this week. Not only did he make a series of ambiguous changes to his Weibo profile, he also removed ‘Exo’ from his Instragram profile. Fellow member Lay also made his return to Korea this week after a lengthy stay filming in China. Fans and stockholders alike are waiting on bated breath for any official announcement from SM.
  • Super Junior member Yesung completed his military service on May 4 and almost immediately took to social media to announce his upcoming schedules. Welcome back!
  • Korean idols including Amber (f(x)), Park Joon-hyung (g.o.d.) and Taecyeon (2pm) voiced their disappointment regarding TMZ‘s racist coverage of EXID‘s L.A. airport arrival. Following the incident, Yedang originally threatened to take legal action against TMZ; however, later this week they changed their mind. Good news, EXID took home their fifth music show win this week for “Ah Yeah.”
  • Speaking of winners, BTS took home not one, but two trophies this week for “I Need U.” Congrats on their first wins!
  • Infinite’s Sungjong and actress Go Ara were the latest celebrities to join Instagram this week.
  • F(x) filmed a CF sans Sulli, and SM was quick to step in and clarify that Sulli was not included in the upcoming Baskin Robbins CF because she was on hiatus at the time the contract was signed (following her scandal with Choiza) and discouraged fans from reading any more into the situation.
  • Epik High posted a humorous cover of label mate Big Bang’s “Loser” on Tablo‘s Instagram.

(Sports World, Sports Today, Osen [1][2], Naver [1][2][3], The Huffington Post Korea, StarIn. Images via Dispatch, The Show.)