20160117_seoulbeats_twice_tzuyu_harrypotter_geminitzuyuHello everyone; despite the unfortunate events of this week, there were still some welcome developments in the world of K-pop, with much more to come. Here’s a collection of the good and bad from the last two weeks:

Serious News

  • Twice maknae Tzuyu had a hell of a week after her allegiance in the Taiwan-China issue was called into question. A brief history of the conflict and and initial events can be read here, while a follow-up on the apologies issued by JYP Entertainment and Tzuyu as well as the Chinese government’s eventual intervention can be read here. Other than JYPE’s site getting hacked by Taiwan’s arm of Anonymous, and the company being sued over allegedly forcing Tzuyu to apologise, the issue appears to be finally dying down. Chinese netizens have instead turne their attention to new Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-Wen, the first woman to be elected to the office.

20160126_seoulbeats_gfriendComebacks & Debuts

  • The Golden Disc Awards took place on the 20th and 21st, with Exo and Big Bang being awarded the physical and digital daesangs, respectively.
  • The Seoul Music Awards returned for its 25th edition on the 14th. Exo took out the daesang; you can read about the rest of the winners, and other notable events, in our recap of the ceremony.
  • JYJ‘s Yoochun has made his solo debut with How Much Love Do You Have In Your Wallet. Check out the MV here.
  • Teen Top is at it again with “Warning Sign” and Red Point.
  • Stellar has made its much anticipated (and crowdfunded) comeback. Our review of “Sting” can be read here.
  • G-Friend is back with the wintry “Rough.”
  • The Legend is back and it has a “Crush on You,” or rather, on Kyungri.
  • Cross Gene dropped the MV for “누나 너 말야.”
  • First, Zico featured on an f(x) track. Now, f(x)’s Luna features on Zico’s “It Was Love.”
  • That wasn’t all from the Block B leader: check out “I am You, You are Me” as well!
  • Another prerelease from Ravi: “Ox” featuring Basick.
  • Topp Dogg‘s Jenissi dropped a mixtape on Soundcloud.
  • Crush has collaborated with Taeyeon for “Don’t Forget.”
  • Vixx turned out a new Japanese single, “Depend on Me.”
  • 2PM also released some Japanese music, in the form of a MV for “The Time We Have Spent Together.”
  • Meanwhile in the world of Korean Hip hop, Crown J released “Made It.”

20160116_seoulbeats_superjunior_ryeowookTeasers & Announcements

  • After nine years, three line-ups and multiple hits, Kara has officially disbanded. The announcement came after Gyuri, Seungyeon and Hara decided to not renew their contracts with DSP Media. Hara is now signed to Key East Entertainment.
  • Juniel has also decided not to renew her contract with FNC Entertainment.
  • Now for some happier news with a Ryeowook update! We now have a MV teaser to go along with those pretty teaser images and gorgeous illustrations. SM has announced that Super Junior‘s eternal maknae will be the next artist in the company’s The Agit concert series. Ryeowook’s Ever Lasting Star will take place between the 19th and 21st of February.
  • Ladies’ Code is expected to make a comeback this spring.
  • DSP girl group Rainbow will be making a comeback in February.
  • That Yezi solo is coming! Maxi single album Foresight Dream will be dropping on the 28th.
  • An AOA trio subunit is also coming. Which members would be your dream combination?
  • On the heels of Yoochun, Jaejoong will also be releasing his second full album in February.
  • The Wonder Girls are reportedly self-producing an album for this spring.
  • Vixx’s Leo has been cast in upcoming musical Mata Hari at the Moulin Rouge. Other notable cast members, for Hallyu fans, include Liar Game‘s Shin Sung-rok and idol-cum-musical actress Ock Joo-hyun as the titular character. See the list of leads here.
  • 20160126_seoulbeats_4minute_gayoonWe will have to wait a bit longer for that Skrillex-produced 4Minute single, with the group delaying its comeback to February. The image teasers are out, though, and… I don’t know if I should be excited or anxious.
  • Winner will apparently have three music videos for their upcoming release, Exit. YG has also been teasing us with short covers as performed by other artists. So far we have Lee Hi, Taeyang, Zion.T, Dean and AkMu — which is your favourite?
  • YG is also amping up the marketing for its cosmetics line, Moonshot; Big Bang leader G-Dragon and 2NE1‘s public relations manager Dara have been selected as brand ambassadors.
  • Meanwhile, Kang Dong-won has signed on with YG.
  • And Dean is gearing up for a release of his own; check out the two teasers for “What 2 Do,” featuring Crush and Jeff Bernat.
  • All twelve members of Starship and Yuehua‘s new girl group, WSJN or Cosmic Girls, hae been revealed. Check out their Play-file teasers here.
  • Star Empire is debuting a new male group: check out Imfact‘s teaser for “Lollipop” here.
  • Reply 1988 star Ryu Jun-yeol has been cast in Jo In-sung‘s new film The King. This will be Jo’s first film since 2008’s A Frozen Flower.
  • There are whispers of a drama remake of My Sassy Girl despite the fact that no one asked for this.

Other News

  • Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon will apparently be investigating Junsu‘s absence from the the Seoul Music Awards. Despite winning an award, Junsu was unable to attend the event due to being blacklisted by broadcaster KBS.

(DongA Ilbo, Herald Pop, Instagram, News1, Newsen, Soundcloud, Sports Donga[1][2][3], Star News[1][2][3][4], TV Report, Twitter[1][2], Wall Street Journal, Yonhap News, YG Life, YouTube. Images via: NII, Gemini Tzuyu, Source Music, SM Entertainment, Cube Entertainment)