BTS's new album 'Map of the Soul: 7', 'Crash Landing on You' top K-pop, K-drama news for January week 2
BTS' new album, IU and Park Seo Joon in a new movie, 'Crash Landing on You' surprise guest star are all just a few of the things that made news in the past week when it comes to the world of Korean entertainment. Following is a look at the biggest headlines from the South Korean Entertainment industry.
BTS
BTS has stayed in the limelight since the beginning of the year. After their performance on New Year's eve at Dick Clark's New Year's Rocking Eve ball, this week BTS made a surprise announcement about their upcoming album.
Titled 'Map of the Soul: 7' it is a follow up to 2019's 'Map of the Soul: Persona' and the 7-member band has also released a video of Suga's 'Interlude: Shadow' which will be featured in the album! To keep fans invested in the release, the band has also released a "map" which marks all the important dates in the run-up to the release of the album.
It has also been reported that according to data from Nielsen, BTS' 'Map of the Soul: Persona' was the second highest-selling physical album in 2019 in the United States. RM, V, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, Jin, Jingkook; the members of the band are working hard on their upcoming release.
In other news, Dr. Phil invited Oli London, a fan who is obsessed about looking like BTS member Jimin on his show. London spent $150,000 for 15 surgeries spanning six years and it is in response to this that Dr. Phil said, "And you have to know that the somebody else you're wanting to be is not really who that person appears to be. That’s a manufactured, marketed image." Since then, fans of BTS have taken offense to his comments about Jimin being manufactured and have been calling Dr. Phil out about it.
'Crash Landing on You'
While fans were disappointed that there were no new episodes of the Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin starrer 'Crash Landing on You' this week, something that has excited them is an announcement about a guest star on the show. A source from Kim Soo Hyun's agency Gold Medalist confirmed to Soompi that the actor will be seen playing a guest role on the show.
There has also been wide speculation online that actors Hyun Bin and Ye-jin are dating and while some think they have broken up causing for the delay in shooting, some think that they will be married soon. However, on Friday, the actors' agency vehemently denied the same.
According to a report in Allkpop, they stated, "The rumors of their breaking up or getting married are rising due to tabloid news but it is absolutely not true and doesn't make sense. They are receiving good feedback from their drama, and many people may misunderstand their relationship due to their good performance and acting. They are currently suffering through cold weather to film, and we ask that you give our drama more attention."
Park Seo Joon
Park Seo Joon, the actor who was seen in 'Secretary Kim Mi-so' is now awaiting the release of his next drama 'Itaewon Class' which is set to premiere on JTBC on January 31. The posters of the show and the trailer have all been released and the show has created quite a stir since it is based on a very popular webtoon of the same title.
In the meanwhile, an announcement about his upcoming project has also been made. Seo-joon will star in a movie opposite IU, which is directed by Lee Byung-hun who worked on 'Extreme Job'. The film has created a huge buzz since this marks IU's first appearance in a commercial movie. The film's working title is 'Dream' and Seo-joon will play the role of a soccer coach.
'Dr. Romantic 2'
The sequel of the hit drama 'Dr. Romantic' that aired in 2016 stars Han Suk Kyu, Lee Sung Kyung, and Ahn Hyo Seop and is off to a great start. The show premiered on January 6 and the premiere episodes of the show have hit double-digit ratings already!
Soompi quoted Nielsen Korea and said that the drama recorded averages of 10.8 and 14.9 percent viewership nationwide. In doing so, it took over the top spot among Monday-Tuesday dramas. In its most-watched minute, the show went as high as 18.5 percent. If you haven't watched the previous season of 'Dr. Romantic', it is available to be streamed on Netflix now.
'Record of Youth'
Park Bo Gum, Park So Dam, and Byun Woo Seok are confirmed to play lead roles in an upcoming tvN drama, the literal title of which is 'Record of Youth'. The same was confirmed by the network on January 10 through a statement in which they said, "We will begin filming once casting is complete."
The show is about three people who are employed in the modeling industry.