Welcome back to another edition of Week in Review! Here is what you may have missed this week:
Serious News
Last week the South Korean government was revealed to have purchased spyware from an Italian company known as ‘Hacking Team’ back in 2012. A heap of emails were also leaked through WikiLeaks. Though the government maintains the software was not used to spy on citizens, the National Intelligence Service did admit that they explored software that would be able to hack popular messaging app Kakao Talk. In the wake of the scandal, this past week a member of the National Intelligence Service Agency reportedly committed suicide. Netizens were quick to catch on to some discrepancies in the government’s official reports, however, articles concerning the government’s shady dealings continue to be taken down and or conveniently buried by other news (see below).- After articles surfaced criticizing Taeyeon‘s demeanor during Sunday’s “Party” Inkigayo stage, Taeyeon announced via Instagram that, not only does she plan to take legal action against malicious comments, but that she has been gathering “evidence” for quite some time following consultation with her agency.
- Rapper E.Sens was sentenced to six months in prison this week after his second round of marijuana possession and use charges.
Comebacks and Debuts
TS Entertainment rookie girl group Sonamoo made their first comeback this week with “Cushion” and their second mini-album.- Beast dropped a special pre-release MV for “Gotta Go To Work,” making fans even more excited for their July 27th comeback.
- TVXQ released special album, Rise as God, prior to Yunho‘s July 21st enlistment. As part of the special release, both Changmin and Yunho released MVs for their solo title tracks “Rise as One” and “Champagne” respectively.
- Rookie group Wanna.B made their official Korean debut this week with “Attention” following their pre-debut promotions in China.
- Stellar caused quite a stir this week with their summer release “Vibrato,” that features gratuitous close-ups and a whole lot of not-subtle vulva imagery. Despite the controversy, the ladies held down the #1 video spot for the week.
- Hello Venus returned this week with a new mini album and performance video for “I’m Ill.”
- G-Friend also returned late this week with “Me Gustas Tu” and their second mini album Flower Bud.
Teasers and Announcements
In somewhat expected news, JYP announced that both Sunye and Sohee have withdrawn from Wonder Girls. However, this announcement in no way deterred the group’s comeback plans. The remaining four members began to drop a series of “Instrument” teasers throughout the week. So far Sunmi, Hye-rim and Yubin‘s have all shown off their respective instrument skills, making the band concept more and more promising with each teaser.- While APink is enjoying their “Remember” comeback, it was announced that member Na-eun has been cast in upcoming drama 20 Years Old Again.
- DreamT Management announced that MC Mong will hold his first solo concert in six years and since his military service evasion scandal back in 2010.
- DSP Media began to reveal the members of upcoming girl group April this week through a series of individual video teasers. The exact date of the group’s debut still remains unknown.
- Mix and Match fans breathed a sigh of relief this week, as YG announced September 15th as the planned date for iKon‘s debut. Of course, we take this date with a grain of salt.
- Following their pre-release, Beast began to drop image teasers for “Yey,” the title track of their upcoming album “Ordinary.”
- CNBlue‘s Kang Min-hyuk will be joining the popular show I Live Alone.
- T-ara members continue to tease their impending comeback via SNS. Though the date has yet to be confirmed, the group will be returning with another Brave Brothers single, “Completely Crazy.”
- U-Kiss member Soo-hyun dropped the first video teaser for his Japanese debut MV “Spot.”
- Following a summer of MADE promotions, Big Bang sub-unit GD TOP will be returning this August after 5 years.
- Cheetah of Unpretty Rapstar fame was also revealed that she will soon be releasing her first track since the show aired.
Other News
Dispatch revealed that Kim Woo-bin and Shin Min-ah are an item; their agencies also confirmed the pair has been dating for two months.- This week, Shinhwa‘s Min-woo was also revealed to be in a relationship with Korea’s Next Top Model contestant Go So-hyun — who is 11 years his junior.
- Nine Muses fans can finally call themselves “Mine” as the group announced their official fan club five years after their debut.
- Starlet Jun Ji-hyun announced she is expecting her first child. Congratulations!
- Shinee‘s Minho was injured this week during a celebrity basketball match. Following the confirmation of his injuries, SM announced that he will be absent form the upcoming SM Town Concert in Japan and that the group’s repackaged album promotions will be delayed. We wish our favorite Rap God a speedy recovery!
- In this week’s edition of Exo: The One[s] That Got Away, Tao dropped his first album as Z.Tao and Luhan announced his own plans to also release a solo album in China.
(Naver: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Nate: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6], StarIn. Images via Facebook, Instagram, JYP, Cube Entertainment, HSports)
