Category: K-Wave

Seventeen's Seungkwan and Dino walked through the gates of boot camp on the same day, Oct. 26, kicking off the group's military hiatus in earnest. Both will serve as Army military band members, starting with basic training before moving on to their main duties.

On enlistment day, boot camps fill with families as well as new soldiers. With that in mind, Pledis Entertainment, the group's agency, put out a notice asking fans to refrain from showing up in person.

The latest enlistments mean every Seventeen member eligible for active-duty or alternative service has now entered the process or completed it. Jeonghan went first, enlisting in September 2024 and getting discharged this June. Woozi, Hoshi and DK are serving as active-duty soldiers, and Wonwoo and Vernon are working as public service personnel.

The agency said that once service begins, the members won't be able to join the group's official schedule. It added that fans can still expect to hear from them through a number of pre-produced content pieces.

Good news landed the same day. Seventeen was reported to have topped the Asia touring artist ranking from Pollstar, the US concert industry trade outlet, which covers August 2025 through July 2026. Tour revenue for that period came to about $97.4 million, or roughly 130 billion won, and about 660,000 tickets were reportedly sold.

The production team dropped new stills of Jang Nara as Cha Eun-kyung on the 26th. In the story, Cha launched the Libom law firm and, in only three years, became the head of a divorce practice with 50 people on staff. In the stills, she wears the easy smile of someone named a "Power Woman of the Year," which sums up her new standing as a successful boss.

The title may be bigger, but the workaholic streak hasn't changed. The released scenes show her sizing up cases with a sharp eye and calmly arguing in court. The team says it wants to show a lawyer whose skills have only deepened.

The heart of the story is the partnership between two attorneys. Cha is the lead lawyer who treats divorce cases like a calling, and Kang Hye-seong (played by Kim Hye-yoon) is an experienced hire just as driven in the same field. Working as a team, they take on clients' cases and look for the best choices in the lives that continue after a divorce.

Jang said she was grateful to join a project that earned a sequel. Playing the same character again felt new, she said, and because the role has so many adventurous elements, there were moments when she became more careful. The biggest change, she said, is empathy: running a firm has widened how well Cha listens to what clients are going through. She added that she let go of the pressure and ambition from the earlier season and approached this one with a relaxed mind.

Jang won the grand prize (daesang) at the 2024 SBS Drama Awards for her work in the first season. The new season is slotted right after the currently airing Doctor X: The Age of the White Mafia, starring Kim Ji-won, keeping SBS's Friday-Saturday drama block going.

The episode, subtitled 'Dive Into the Flavors of Northern Gyeonggi,' wandered around the city of Goyang. Hosts Jun Hyun-moo and Kwak Tube started with whole dried pollack soup served with seawater tofu, then brought in IVE members Gaeul and Liz.

In the car, the talk turned to IVE's young fans. Liz said kids' voices carry unusually loud at concerts, and Gaeul explained that there's a separate waiting area for little ones. Liz joked about the two fandoms, saying that at a Lim Young-woong show the kids wait for their parents, while at an IVE show the parents wait for their kids. The group then hit a noodle spot with a long line, where they dug into handmade dumplings and naengmyeon (cold noodles) piled high with cucumber. After the meal, Gaeul and Liz gave the first variety-show performance of their new song.

The next stop came from a hint about Jun's high school graduation meal. Stumped, Liz called her mother, and during the call it came out that her mom was born the same year as Jun. She said her family used to eat jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles) at a Chinese restaurant on graduation day. Asked to brag about her daughter, she said Liz won a filial daughter award and a good child award every year in elementary school. She also recalled that Liz stood out for her looks from a young age, so people were always touching her, which made her a shy kid.

The cast then headed to a Western-style diner in Ilsan Market, but the shoot didn't happen. According to Maeil Business, the owner is 74 and said he worried about how a TV appearance would affect his dinner business. Jun apologized for dropping by without notice, and Kwak Tube said he respected the decision. The group quickly found another place, a nopo (long-running local restaurant) whose owner was thrilled to see the IVE members, and had dinner there.

The scene drew extra attention because of recent controversy over how the show picks restaurants. Maeil Business reported that the production team has denied claims of advance booking, saying it never contacts restaurants or announces visits before filming. The show's concept is that the hosts pick restaurants on the spot with no advance planning.

BTS' agency, Big Hit Music, announced on Oct. 24 that 'Swim' has crossed 1 billion total streams on Spotify. According to the company, it's the first song released worldwide this year to reach that number, and it got there faster than any other BTS track. A billion streams is one of the signature hit benchmarks of the streaming era.

'Swim' is the lead song from BTS' fifth studio album, 'Arirang.' News1 reported that the milestone came about seven months after its March 20 release. The lyrics are about keeping a steady pace through life even when it comes crashing in, rather than fighting it head-on, and RM reportedly handled most of the writing.

That makes seven BTS songs with a billion streams or more. 'Dynamite,' 'Butter' and 'Boy With Luv' got there first. The group debuted in 2013, took a break for military service, and returned this March with a new album. This record came from that comeback project.

Award news came along with it. Reports say 'Swim' won Song of the Summer at the American Music Awards and Song of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards. That detail appears in only one outlet's coverage, though, so it still needs confirmation.

BTS now has its first 200-million-view video from the album Arirang. According to Big Hit Music, the "2.0" music video crossed that line around 9:30 p.m. on the 22nd. It premiered April 2 on HYBE Labels' official channel, so that's a little over six months.

The song comes from the group's fifth studio album, released March 20. The album's title track, "SWIM," and the album cut "Hooligan" have each passed 100 million views too, and they're still pulling steady traffic. The twist: the first to reach 200 million wasn't the title track. It was "2.0."

Musically, it's a hip-hop and trap number built on offbeat, shifting rhythms. The lyrics are about the group's current chapter, a new phase after plenty of change and growth. It also made its mark on the charts, debuting at No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated April 4.

The visuals are a big part of the buzz. At the center is a one-take shot in a narrow hallway that recalls the hammer fight scene from director Park Chan-wook's film Oldboy. The members bring in some noir mood, then add humor with unexpected props: a back scratcher, a taegeukbu-chae (a Korean folding fan decorated with the taegeuk, or yin-yang, symbol), and a danso (a small Korean bamboo flute). The setting moves from a run-down elevator to a glitzy penthouse, which reads as a symbol of climbing up from nothing and starting fresh.

Camerimage is an international film festival launched in 1993 that spotlights the craft and visual artistry of cinematography. Its prestige in the field is high enough that people in the industry sometimes call it the Oscars of cinematography. Music videos get their own competition, with winners chosen on the quality of the camerawork and direction.

In this year's lineup, BTS will compete against Harry Styles' 'American Girls,' Ariana Grande's 'Hate That I Made You Love Me' and Madonna's 'Confessions II,' among others. The nominated videos will get special screenings at the festival's main hall, CKK Jordanki, in Toruń.

'SWIM' dropped in March with the song and video released together, and it crossed 100 million YouTube views on April 15. The video was shot against the wide-open ocean in Lisbon, Portugal, starring Hollywood actress Lili Reinhart and directed by Tanu Muino. The seven members appear as presences standing alongside a character trying to push through hardship.

Critics said the video turned the song's message, to love life and keep moving forward, into something that plays like a short film. At Camerimage, it is entered as a work by cinematographer Nikita Kuzmenko and director Muino.

Billboard released its latest charts on Tuesday, Oct. 20, US time, and ENHYPEN's eighth mini album, "THE SIN : BLISS," landed at No. 122 on the Billboard 200, the magazine's main album chart. The album debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated Sept. 5 and hasn't dropped off once since, which adds up to about two months on the list.

It kept racking up numbers on the genre charts, too. The album ranked No. 2 on World Albums, which tracks non-English-language music, and No. 9 on Top Album Sales, which counts physical copies and other sales. On the Artist 100, which blends album and track sales, streaming, radio play and social media activity, the group climbed three spots from the previous week to No. 66.

The group is currently on its "BLOOD SAGA" world tour, with 37 shows planned across 22 cities worldwide. From December through February, the tour hits four cities in Japan, including Tokyo and Osaka. After stops in Jakarta and Singapore, it moves on to five European cities, including Milan, Paris and London, through March 2027.

Episode 4, which aired on the 18th, peaked at 10.6% among households in the Seoul area, with an average of 9.8%. Nationwide, it averaged 9.0% and peaked at 9.8%. Both figures beat the show's previous records.

The episode ranked first in its time slot across all channels, including terrestrial networks, and topped the 2049 demographic, tvN's core target audience. Two weeks after premiering, the show is on a clear upward trend.

Part of the buzz comes from its status as a tvN 20th anniversary special. The original flagship of the celebration was supposed to be "Signal 2," the sequel to the cult hit "Signal." But its schedule was pushed back indefinitely after lead actor Jo Jin-woong's past misconduct came to light and he announced his retirement. Some in the industry see "100 Days of Lies" as effectively filling that gap. Director Yoo In-sik pushed back at the press conference, saying the changes to the other project have nothing to do with this one and that the drama was prepared on its original timeline.

The story takes place in 1930s Seoul, then known as Gyeongseong under Japanese colonial rule. Lee Ga-gyeong (Kim Yoo-jung), a famous pickpocket, becomes an informant for an independence group called Gukgudan and goes undercover as an interpreter at the Japanese colonial government. Park Jin-young plays Sato Hideo, a man with a double identity who creates tension for her, while Kim Hyun-joo, Lee Moo-saeng and Jin Seon-kyu play figures on both the group's side and the government's. In episode 4, the group's second assassination attempt goes sideways, and Ga-gyeong's cover is closer than ever to being blown.

IVE is leading its comeback with the title track. 'Looks Can Kill' hit streaming sites at 6 p.m. KST on October 19, and the fifth mini album, which shares the name, follows a week later on October 26. Putting the flagship song out first is a classic way to build hype before the full release.

The core idea of this album is the 'girl hero.' Starship Entertainment, IVE's label, says it started from the image of a hero who subdues opponents with presence alone and wove that through the whole project. The self-confidence theme the group has carried since debut now expands into a message that anyone can be the lead in their own story. In the music video, the six members each transform into their own version of a hero.

On the credits side, Seo Ji-eum, Lil Cherry and member Rei co-wrote the lyrics. The genre is electronic dance pop, with a thick, gritty bass line, dynamic drums and heavy synths building a swaggering mood.

There's a shift in the arc, too. On 'REVIVE+' in February, IVE showed a more mature, charismatic side with 'Black Hole' and 'Bang Bang.' Before that, the group won fans by trying on different characters, from the magical girl of the 'Accendio' era to the teen queen of 'Love Dive.' The 'girl hero' concept is being read as a move away from the dreamy, lovable image toward something stronger and bolder.

RIIZE's pick for its fall comeback is a single called 'Insomnia.' It arrives at 12 a.m. KST on October 26 and will be available on Korean streaming services as well as global platforms like Apple Music and Spotify, plus China's QQ Music. The music video goes live at the same moment on SMTOWN, the YouTube channel run by the group's label, SM Entertainment.

The direction here is clear. The genre is acoustic pop, and the sound is hushed with a lonely edge. Unlike the group's earlier dance-forward title tracks, this one strips out stage performance and leaves the song's center of gravity to the six members' restrained, yearning vocals. According to the agency, it's a musical color RIIZE hasn't tried before.

Lyrics come from Kim Ina, one of K-pop's best-known lyricists. Built around the feeling of a sleepless night, the words trace how thoughts of one person sharpen as the hours drag on, and how a web of different emotions branches out from there, all in a calm, measured tone.

The backdrop is a strong summer. RIIZE put out its second mini album in June, promoted with the title track 'Do Your Dance,' and the record made it the group's fourth million-seller. After a summer of high-energy performances, the group is back about four months later with a mood-driven song suited to the season, and it's being framed as a preview of where the group's sound may be heading.