Hey everyone, and welcome back to another edition of Week in Review! Here’s your news:
Serious News
- Nude images, said to be of a SM trainee, have been leaked online in China. The trainee is apparently also Chinese, expected to debut in NCT, and allegedly underage at the time the images were taken. There is also speculation on who the images were sent to (including possible predators), but SM has yet to comment on any part of this matter.
- Underground rapper and former Big Hit trainee I11even was revealed to have been invistigated for drug posession alongside rapper Iron. He is facing charges for smuggling in marijuana, bought online, through the mail.
- AOA‘s Jimin and Seolhyun have been embroiled in controversy in the lead up to the group’s comeback. When quizzed on the identities of Korean historical figures in their latest variety show, the pair were unable to identify independence fighter Ahn Joong-geun, despite hints from the producers. The duo also jokingly used Japanese names and pronunciation while guessing Ahn’s dentity. This was not received well by netizens, as Ahn had fought against Japanese occupation, and was also reported on the news. Jimin, Seolhyun and the show’s producers have since apologised for the incident.
- Also making an apology was Seventeen‘s Wonwoo, who addressed disparaging posts he made about SNSD as a young school student.
- Conflict regarding government involvemment and artistic freedom at the Busan International Film Festival appears to have been solved, after Busan Mayor Suh Byung-soo relinquished his position as chair of the organising committee.
Debuts & Comebacks
- The Koeran boy band to end all Korean boy bands, BgA, has debuted! We loved the insightful “Dong Saya Dae,” check out our review here!
- SNSD‘s Tiffany has made her solo debut with the ’80-inspired synth pop tune, “I Just Wanna Dance.”
- Infinite‘s Woohyun has also made his solo debut, with ballad “Nod Nod.”
- Female duo Moxie have debuted with “Ketch UP.”
- Live High is back with “Happy Song.”
- New girl group Sol-T have debuted with “Curveball.”
- Girl group Icia, formerly known as Sida, is back with “Time Bomb.”
- Another girl group, I.C.E, dropped the MV for “We are not Compatible.”
- Hello Venus has returned with the down-tempo “Glow.”
- VAV is back with “Brotherhood.”
- G.Soul has come out with two MVs: “Far, Far Away” and “Where Do We Go from Here.”
- The newest Station single is a Baekhyun and K.Will collab — “The Day.”
- Shinee made their first Canadian appearance at the Hallyu North 2016 convention. While fans were happy to see the group, the event’s organisation left something to be desired. Unlike some other companies, though, it appears that Hallyu North is being responsive to fans’ feedback.
- By contrast, Shinee’s first US fanmeet in Chicago went swimmingly.
Teasers & Announcements
Sechs Kies will join the other first generation K-pop groups to make a comeback, signing on with YGE.- Lee Jong-suk has also joined the YG ranks.
- Jessica will be releasing two MVs for her debut on the 17th. Check out the teaser for “Love Me the Same” here.
- Korean music veteran Kim Wan-sun will be making a comeback with “Use Me,” featuring Vixx‘s Ravi.
- Xia Junsu is preparing to release his 4th solo album, Xignature.
- B.I.G has dropped the teaser for “Aphrodite” ahead of the release of their first mini album, of the same name.
- KNK is preparing for their first comeback; watch out for pre-release track “How Are You These Days” on the 16th!
- Taeyeon‘s delayed solo concerts will now be happening sometime this summer.
- tvN recently released stills from the set of their remake of The Good Wife. Jeon Do-yeon (Lovers in Prague), Yoo Ji-tae (Healer), Yoon Kye-sang (Last) and After Scool‘s Nana will assay the roles of Alicia, Peter, Will and Kalinda respectively.
- Stills were also released from Exo Suho’s new drama How are you Bread, in which he plays a genius patissier.
- AOA has been releasing a tonne of teasers for Good Luck.
- Monsta X dropped the teaser for “All In.”
- Baek Ah-yeon is preparing to come back later this month.
- Fellow JYP act Wonder Girls may also be making a comeback soon, with more self-produced music.
- Tahiti holidays under the male gaze in their latest teaser.
- Dean will be giving a one-off concert in NYC on June 4th.
- There is rumbling about a new girl group from Star Empire, consisting of Produce 101 contestants and more.
- And the age gap trend in K-drama continues, with Kim So-hyun cast opposite Taecyeon for webtoon remake Let’s Fight Ghost.
Other News
- Sad news: actor Choi Sung-won (Reply 1988) has been diagnosed with acute leukemia, and will put his career on hold to seek treatment. We wish him the best of luck in his recovery.
- Teen Top‘s Niel was caught up in a dating rumour, after he was spotted holidaying with a woman. Top Media denied the claims, but that hasn’t stopped some fansites from closing down in protest.
- Kahi is pregnant! According to her agency, she only discovered the pregnancy during a check-up, and is now three months along. Regardless of the hows and whens, this happy news still calls for some congratulations to her and husband, businessman Yang Moon-joo!
- And while Produce 101 may have finished, the drama is far from gone: there is talk that Chaeyeon will be promoting with her group DIA, and not included in the two I.O.I sub-units that will be promoting in the future.
(Daum, Facebook[1][2], The Hollywood Reporter, Instagram[1][2], Instiz, International Business Times, The Korea Economic Daily, MyDaily, Naver, Osen[1][2][3], Pann, Segye, Sports Seoul, Star News[1][2][3], Time, TV Report[1][2], Twitter[1][2][3] YouTube[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Images via: FNC Ent., )
