Korea Observer

Big Bang member T.O.P will participate as guest curator at Sotheby’s Hong Kong’s sale of contemporary art in Oct. 3.

By JONATHAN HICAP Seoul, South Korea – The first broadcasting theme park in South Korea is now open and it will let you interact with your favorite K-pop stars, actors and actresses in a virtual setting.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Ku Hye Sun, the popular female lead of “Boys Over Flowers,” and Big Bang’s Seungri will be working together on a new drama series dubbed “Angel Eyes,” which will start airing in April on Korean TV channel SBS. This will be the 29-year-old Sun’s new drama in two years. She last starred in “Take Care of Us, Captain,” in 2012. ‘Angel Eyes’ star (clockwise from left) Ku Hye Sun, Lee Sang-yoon and Big Bang’s Seungri (www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Forbes Korea magazine has released its annual “Korea Celebrity 40″ list, which ranked the country’s most influential and popular celebrities according to product sales, media exposure, broadcasting activities and professionalism. (Clockwise from top left) Girls’ Generation, Big Bang, EXO and miss A’s Suzy (Facebook, www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin American rapper Snoop Dogg is set to appear in the new music video of rapper Psy. This was relayed by YG Entertainment via its official blog site, YG Life, noting Snoop’s recent visit to South Korea. Psy with Snoop Dogg and G-Dragon (courtesy of YG Life, Psy’s Twitter and Internet community site)

Dancer-choreographer Aimee Lee Lucas praises EXO and talks about G-Dragon, Taeyang, Park Bom and Uhm Jung Hwa in an interview with Manila Bulletin 

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Big Bang leader G-Dragon has set records with four of his songs winning the charts on TV music programs. Photos: www.newsen.com

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Big Bang leader G-Dragon’s latest album “Coup d’etat” has entered several charts on Billboard including the Billboard 200.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin K-pop star G-Dragon's dream came true when he performed with Grammy-winning rapper Missy Elliott on stage. The two heated up KCON, the K-pop convention in Los Angeles, over the weekend when they sang together G-Dragon's new song for his new upcoming album "Coup d'etat."

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Big Bang's youngest member Seungri said producing his second mini album "Let's Talk About Love" brought changes in him and he was satisfied with the results. Seungri released the album last Aug. 19, which was also the date when Big Bang debuted in South Korea in 2006. He is currently promoting the album on music TV shows. Seungri (Photo from Seungri's official Facebook page)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin The onslaught of heavy rains in the last few days has resulted in the postponement of the Manila visit of Big Bang member T.O.P and the launch of a mobile messenger application in the country scheduled today, Aug. 22. Big Bang's T.O.P and Sarah Geronimo (Photos by www.newsen.com and SarahGLiveOfficial on Facebook)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin In the last few years, the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, has spread in many countries. From Asia, Hallyu has found its way to other regions like in Latin America, North America and Middle East. Hallyu stars (clockwise from top left) Super Junior, Choi Ji-woo and Bae Yong-joon in 'Winter Sonata,' Big Bang and Lee Young Ae in 'Jewel in the Palace' (Photos by www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Big Bang member T.O.P will be visiting the Philippines next week for a meet-and-greet event for a mobile messenger application. The "#KakaoTalkPH Lucky Fans Night" will be held on Aug. 22, according to an announcement by Kakao Talk Philippines on Twitter. T.O.P (Photos by www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Big Bang's leader G-Dragon has courted controversy over his Instagram photo that showed him wearing black face paint and a hoodie that resembled the image of teen Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed in Florida last year. Spin.com said, "But this time G-Dragon might have gone too far. As with Frank Ocean, Diddy, the-Dream, and others after news of Martin's shooting death broke last year, the K-pop idol wears what looks like a hoodie (though may be a T-shirt pulled up over his head), in apparent tribute to Martin. But he's also wearing black face paint." G-Dragon's controversial photo (left) (Photos courtesy of G-Dragon's Instagram and www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Kim Hyun Joong and girl group KARA claimed the top spots on the latest Billboard charts while other K-pop artists are also enjoying chart success in Japan.   According to the latest Billboard charts, Kim Hyun Joong's third mini-album "Round 3" debuted at No. 1 on the World Albums chart. Photos: www.newsen.com

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin K-pop boy bands Big Bang and 2PM won at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2013, which was held at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on June 22. 2PM bagged the Album of the Year award for "Legend of 2PM," the band's second Japanese album which was released last February. 2PM and Big Bang (Photos courtesy of www.newsen.com and Big Bang's Facebook page)

Big Bang is hitting the road in November for a concert tour in Japan, the members revealed during the Nagoya leg of G-Dragon’s world tour last Saturday. Big Bang is slated to hold a total of 15 concerts in six cities starting with two sets at the Seibu Dome on Nov. 16 and 17. Photo courtesy of Taeyang's Instagram

By JONATHAN M. HICAP MANILA, Philippines - Korean boy bands 2PM, Big Bang and TVXQ have received nominations in the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards Japan (VMAJ). MTV Japan announced the nominees, the hosts and the first three performers of the awards ceremony, which will be held on June 22 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Boy band Super Junior and their company SM Entertainment dominated physical album sales in 2012. Rankings of album sales by company and artist were posted on Korean music chart site Instiz, which showed percentage sales top K-pop artists got last year. Photos by www.newsen.com

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - The 2nd Gaon Chart K-pop Awards ceremony was held on Feb. 13 at the Olympic Hall at Seoul Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea. Photo by www.newsen.com