Korea Observer

(Clockwise from top left) Cast of "Rooftop Prince," SHINee, EXO and Girls' Generation By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin The Korean drama "Rooftop Prince" became the most searched TV show in the Philippines for the first half of 2013, according to Google Philippines, which released its Google Zeitgeist list for January to June 2013. It is a list that showed what Filipinos searched online on Google.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin The stars and crew of the Korean film "No Breathing" will be shooting the last scenes of the movie in Davao, according to an official of the Department of Tourism (DOT). "Yes, we can hold our breaths as the hottest stars in South Korea today are coming to shoot the last 7 days of their film in our region. The producers are vetting final locations for the shoot that will involve 15 actors and a crew four times bigger," posted DOT Regional Director Art Boncato on his Facebook account.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Girls' Generation dominated albums sales in Korea while rappers Psy and Baechigi led in digital rankings for the first half of 2013. Gaon Chart, Korea's version of Billboard, has released the rankings for January to June 2013 of album sales, digital singles and online downloads. (Clockwise from the top) Girls' Generation, Psy and Baechigi (Photos by www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Hollywood star Brad Pitt said coming to Korea was a real pleasure and that he loved Korean barbecue the first time he was in the country two years ago. Pitt and his nine-year-old son Pax arrived at Gimpo International Airport in Korea from Australia on June 11 to promote his new movie "World War Z," which he produced and starred in.  He is touring countries to promote the film.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Japan maintained its position as the second largest music market in the world while South Korea kept its 11th place despite a decline in music sales in 2012. In the top 20 markets for Global Recorded Music Sales in 2012, the United States is still No. 1 with sales of $4.48 billion, a decline of 0.5 percent from 2011, according to the RIAJ Yearbook 2013 issued by the Recording Industry Association in Japan (RIAJ). Girls' Generation (top) and AKB48 (Photos by www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Top Korean group Girls' Generation will hold their first world tour starting in June. The 2013 Girls' Generation World Tour "Girls & Peace" will start in Seoul on June 8 and 9 at the Olympics Gymnastics Arena.

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. Clockwise from top left) Super Junior, Wooyoung and Big Bang (Photos by www.newsen.com)

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

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Nine-member Girls' Generation dominated Korea's Gaon charts for January, copping No. 1 in album sales, singles, streaming and downloads. Girls' Generation (www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Korean boy band CN Blue debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's World Albums chart with their new album "Re:BLUE." "Re:BLUE" is the band's fourth mini-album and contains six tracks including the title song "I'm Sorry," "Coffee Shop" and "Where You Are." This is the first time that CN Blue has topped the chart. Infinite H, a subunit of boy band Infinite, also debuted on the chart, placing at No. 8 with their first album "Fly High" while Girls' Generation's "I Got A Boy" is at No. 10.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Jane was early at the Mall of Asia concert grounds last Jan. 19. She was excited that she would finally see her favorite K-pop group, Girls' Generation. (Clockwise from left) Infinite's Hoya, Girls' Generation, EXO and U-Kiss (Photos courtesy of StarN http://star.fnnews.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Music TV network Fuse has come up with its list of the most anticipated albums of 2013 and, of the 44 in the roster, two Korean acts earned the nod. "Our new years' resolution: Listen to more awesome music. Thankfully, that's already looking like one we can stick to (hitting the gym to work off that holiday weight, not so much) because there are so many huge albums coming out this year," wrote Fuse about its selection of the must-have albums of 2013. Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga and Girls' Generation (Photos courtesy of Justin Timberlake's Facebook page, Lady Gaga's Twitter and www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Nine-member group Girls' Generation topped two Billboard charts and won their first music chart award for "I Got A Boy." Girls' Generation on 'M! Countdown' (Photo courtesy of M! Countdown)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) has announced the winners of The Japan Gold Disc Award 2013 and seven K-pop artists made it to the list. Established in 1987, The Japan Gold Disc Award recognizes the bestselling artists in Japan based on music sales and downloads. (Clockwise from left) Winners Jang Geun-suk, KARA, Big Bang and Girls' Generation. (Photos by www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin  MANILA, Philippines - K-pop group Girls' Generation welcomed the new year with a bang by releasing their fourth album "I Got A Boy." Girls' Generation performing on 'M! Countdown' (Photos courtesy of www.newsen.com)

MANILA, Philippines - 2012 became an exciting year for hallyu or the Korean Wave, especially for K-pop. A horse-riding dance became an Internet sensation and swept the world. A number of Korean stars visited the Philippines and a three-year old legal dispute ended through a settlement. Here's Bulletin Entertainment's Top 10 Korean entertainment stories in 2012: 1. Psy - In just six months, Korean rapper Psy crossed over to the US music market with his viral song "Gangnam Style" that became a hit, achieved a billion views on YouTube and set three Guinness World Records. Psy became a staple on entertainment TV shows in the US, flew to different countries to perform and won a New Media award at the American Music Awards (AMA). Our wish in 2013: We hope that his next song will become a hit as well. (Clockwise from top left) Big Bang, Psy, Girls Generation, Wonder Girls' Sunye, JYJ and Jasmine Lee (Photos courtesy of YG Entertainment, www.newsen.com and Jas...

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Nine-member Girls' Generation is touted to follow in the footsteps of rapper Psy in becoming the next world music sensation, according to a British newspaper. The Guardian said the girl group is set to release its first English album early next year through Interscope Records.

Everyone's excited for the forthcoming Dream K-pop Fantasy Concert that will be held on Jan. 19, 2013 at the Mall of Asia Open Grounds in the Philippines.  The concert will feature Girls Generation, INFINITE, UKISS, EXO, Tasty and Tahiti. Here are their messages for Filipino fans about the concert: 

Several K-pop singers have been nominated in the Billboard Japan Music Awards 2012. Nominated for the Top Pop Artist 2012 category are Girls' Generation, KARA, Super Junior, CNBlue,  TVXQ and Jang Geun Suk along with EXILE, AKB48, SKE48, SMAP, Hey! Say! JUMP, Carly Rae Jepsen, NYC, NMB48, Rihanna,  Kis-My-Ft2  and Mr. Children among others. Photos courtesy of www.newsen.com