The past week saw a lot of news from YG Entertainment as well as a Western actress trying her chops out on a Korean variety show.
Big Bang Opens Up About Future
In a variety of interviews this week, including a notable one with the Washington Post, K-pop act Big Bang spoke about the group's upcoming military enlistments. Frontman G-Dragon joked about the group avoiding discussion of members going to fulfill their mandatory military service in an interview with a Korean local news outlet, but the members also revealed that they're looking to release new music ahead of their 10th anniversary later this year. They also plan to have what Taeyang called a "final concert" before their break.
All able-bodied South Korean men must serve a period of around two years in the armed services due to the ongoing conflict with North Korea.
Chloe Grace Moretz Mocks Dramas On SNL Korea
Following Conan O'Brien's recent stint appearing on Korean television, actress Chloe Grace Moretz returned to South Korea following a previous stint in 2015 where she also appeared on the late night show. The American star appeared in a skit on SNL Korea Saturday night. Alongside the show's comedians, Moretz appeared in a segment that parodied Korean television dramas. She wore a traditional Korean hanbok during the skit and spoke Korean.
SHINee's Jonghyun Wrote Song for Lee Hi
YG Entertainment solo artist Lee Hi will release her EP "Seoulite" featuring a song by a rival artist. SHINee's Jonghyun, who is signed to YG rival SM Entertainment, composed the song "Breathe."
According to YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun Suk, "Seoulite" creative producer Tablo only told him who wrote the song after the song was produced and a music video for "Breathe" had been filmed. According to Yang, Tablo feared that the CEO would be "biased" against an artist from SM Entertainment but Yang said he was pleased that Tablo was able to see the potential of Jonghyun.
The song is one of the two title tracks off of the first half album of "Seoulite," which will be released on March 9.
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Tamar Herman is a multi-media journalist and the co-founder of KultScene. She is a freelance writer and copy editor, and has written for MTV Iggy, Noisey and Paste Magazine.
