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39 stories on k pop across film, TV, music, fashion, food, and diaspora culture.
Browse Goldscene coverage tagged k pop. For how we source and write stories, see our editorial standards.
All seven BTS members said they will not submit for the 2027 Grammys, hoping music can be loved without being divided by region or language, weeks after the Academy created Best Asian Pop Music Performance.
Image: Carolin von Petzholdt (CC BY 3.0)
TWICE leader Jihyo posted on Bubble that her heart feels heavy while JYP contract renewal talks continue, promising a careful decision and affirming she loves the group.
Image: David Lee (CC BY 4.0)
Arirang jumps 26 to 9 on the Billboard 200 dated Aug. 1 after a special vinyl push and BTS's World Cup final Dynamite set, putting the March album back in the Top 10 four months later.
Image: Big Hit Music
Big Hit Music and Trafalgar Releasing will broadcast Cortis's Aug. 13 YouTube Theater show to more than 870 cinemas in 29 countries, with tickets on sale July 31 and Lollapalooza plus a North American theater run first.
Image: Ten Asia (CC BY 4.0)
Netflix ordered an untitled scripted series from YouTube Shorts star Alan Chikin Chow and HYBE America, moving their co-ed band franchise off YouTube and onto the streamer that already proved K-pop-adjacent music can chart.
Image: Reinhardt Kenneth
After IVE’s Bang Bang took Melon daily No. 1 from BTS’s SWIM, some ARMYs alleged a multi-fandom reverse-streaming plot. Melon showed no UL spike. Netizens dug up 2023 reverse-stream calls aimed at NewJeans’ Ditto.
Image: Big Hit Music
Industry reports put Netflix's production spend for BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang in the 10 billion won range, while HYBE kept core music and performance IP and Netflix took the global livestream.
Image: Big Hit Music / Netflix
Jennie’s first solo single of 2026, Less than a Lover, lands while her Tame Impala remix still sits at Hot 100 No. 5 and Pop Airplay No. 1. Festival soft-launch, then a quiet song about wanting less intimacy.
Image: Odd Atelier / Columbia Records
On their fourth debut anniversary, NewJeans dropped 2026 Summer of NewJeans films and photos with Minji, Hanni, Haerin, and Hyein. ADOR calls it a gift for Bunnies; the schedule still waits on finished talks.
Image: ADOR / NewJeans
Head in the Clouds returns August 8 at Brookside at the Rose Bowl with KATSEYE headlining a one-day bill that also includes XG, Rich Brian, Dabin Remix, and UMI. The interesting part is the identity flip: HITC used to prove Asia could top an LA festival; the top of the bill is now a HYBE-Geffen global group already fluent in Coachella and Hot 100 math.
Image: Goldenvoice / 88rising
At BTS's sold-out Arirang nights at Stade de France, Jimin wore custom Dior stage looks tied to Jonathan Anderson's menswear, with house PR in the building and President Macron posting the red hoodie Dynamite clip. The ambassador job moved from front row to 92,000-person livestream.
Image: AJEONG JM (CC BY 4.0)
Graff named BTS's Jung Kook its first global ambassador in 66 years and put him in the unisex Laurence Graff Signature line. The choice says as much about the jewelry house's growth plan as it does his luxury portfolio.
Image: Graff / Sølve Sundsbø
RESCENE's 2024 single LOVE ATTACK reached No. 1 on Melon's Top 100 after a viral catchphrase led listeners back through two years of music and more than 1,500 pieces of fan content.
Image: THE MUZE Entertainment
Netflix will stream Wild Sing worldwide on July 31, taking Gang Dong-won, Um Tae-goo, Park Ji-hyun, and Oh Jung-se's early-2000s co-ed idol comedy from Korean theaters to a 32-language subtitle rollout.
Image: TV10 (CC BY 3.0)
MarcyPen Capital Partners and Hanwha Asset Management launched MarcyPen Asia in Seoul, a 60/40 joint venture aimed at growth-stage K-content and lifestyle brands with global expansion potential.
Image: Hanwha Asset Management
Paramount and HYBE America locked the title K-Pop: The Debut and a February 26, 2027 theatrical date for Benson Lee's live-action K-pop survival drama, starring Ji-young Yoo and Eric Nam.
Image: Variety
Taeyeon released a Korean remake of tuki's "Bansanka" on June 29. By early July it hit No. 1 on Bugs and topped Melon's 30-day Hot 100, the first entry in a J-pop cover project built for domestic streaming.
Image: Pabian (CC BY 4.0)
Cha Eun-woo built ASTRO fandom and K-drama romantic-lead stardom, then entered South Korean military service in July 2025 while Netflix launched The Wonderfools, his pre-service superhero comedy-drama.
Image: Ten Asia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
Jennie Kim built BLACKPINK's rap and fashion lane, then proved solo stardom could ride Chanel campaigns, Ruby-era releases, and a Tame Impala remix that re-entered the Hot 100 top 10 in June 2026.
Image: D4cgrapher / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Secret dropped Secret Flavor on June 18 with a three-member lineup and new vocalist Yebin after a 12-year gap. Goldscene weighs whether RBW is selling catalog comfort or betting on a second-generation reboot.
Image: RBW / Photo via Soompi
The 35th Seoul Music Awards crowned ATEEZ with the Daesang on June 20 at Inspire Arena, while BTS received the Korean Wave Special Award and LE SSERAFIM took Best Song.
Image: lexatiny / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Hot 100 weeks are not only about streams. For K-pop and global idol acts, chart life depends on release clocks, fan purchasing coordination, vinyl variants, and U.S. time zones stans treat like shift work.
Image: Dayron Villaverde / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Lisa Manoban, born in Thailand and raised as Blackpink's main dancer and rapper, built a solo lane through luxury fashion, global chart hits, and a 2026 Las Vegas residency that treats K-pop like a permanent Vegas headliner category.
Image: LG전자 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
ATEEZ unveiled a music video trailer for BAD on June 19, the title track from GOLDEN HOUR Part.5, their 14th mini album due June 26 at 1 p.m. KST before a British Summer Time Hyde Park headline debut.
Image: KQ Entertainment / Photo via STARNEWS
Secret released the special mini album Secret Flavor on June 18 at 6 p.m. KST, marking a 12-year group hiatus with a trio lineup of Jeon Hyosung, Jung Hana, and new vocalist Yebin under RBW, led by the title track Ice Cream.
Image: RBW / Photo via STARNEWS
Felix of Stray Kids was named the Ministry of Culture's 2026 Hanbok Wave artist on June 17, partnering with five domestic hanbok brands on designs, pictorials, and billboards in Seoul, New York, Paris, and Milan.
Image: Jason Hargrove / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
TVXQ's U-Know Yunho announced U-KNOW PROJECT 26 : SCENE#1, a seven-city Asia solo tour opening with three sold-out nights in Seoul before stops in Macau, Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei, Jakarta, and Hong Kong.
Image: The Korea Times
Katseye's Pinky Up rose five spots to No. 85 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart dated June 20, staying on the list for an eighth cumulative week after peaking at No. 28 in April.
Image: Dthomas246 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
BTS released Come Over on global streaming June 12 as the centerpiece of FESTA 2026, after the track had been vinyl-only on ARIRANG since April.
Image: Monbmon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
LE SSERAFIM, Illit, and Katseye released the joint single Iconic by Mistake on June 12, after debuting the track on M Countdown as a rare cross-group Hybe project.
Image: Wikimedia Commons contributor
Actor Jung Kyung-ho and Girls' Generation's Sooyoung ended their 14-year relationship in June 2026. Both agencies confirmed the split and framed what comes next as collegial, not chaotic.
Image: Composite (modified): 셀러게이트; 티비텐 (CC BY 3.0)
A free Seoul exhibition of about 90 Petra Collins photos of Tomorrow X Together's Yeonjun runs through June 21 at a Seongsu-dong pop-up tied to Vogue Salon.
Image: Vanbasten 23 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
TREASURE's fourth mini album NEW WAV debuted at No. 1 on Oricon and Billboard Japan while crossing one million first-week copies on Hanteo, ahead of three Seoul arena shows June 19–21.
Image: YG Entertainment
A Tame Impala remix featuring BLACKPINK's Jennie rose to No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the second BLACKPINK member with a solo top-10 hit after Rosé.
Image: The Korea Times
Warner Music Korea formed a global partnership with Feelghood Music to represent BIBI for worldwide release and promotion, timed to her single BUMPA and more than one billion streams in the past year.
Image: Hipposonic Studios / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
ATEEZ took the Daesang at the 35th Seoul Music Awards while BTS won the Korean Wave honor and LE SSERAFIM swept song categories. Goldscene weighs whether the trophy matches the summer 2026 sales and touring map.
Image: lexatiny / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
LE SSERAFIM, Illit, and Katseye shared Iconic by Mistake in June 2026 while SMA trophies and Hot 100 heat stacked the same week. Goldscene weighs whether HYBE's cross-group singles help fans or fatigue them.
Image: @_TV10 (CC BY 3.0)
Lisa's Viva La Lisa run at Caesars Colosseum priced like legacy pop residencies with presales in April 2026 and resale listings starting around $200. Goldscene maps what that sticker shock signals for K-pop fans planning November trips.
Image: Supercarwaar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
BTS's comeback tour skips mainland China because of a decade-long entertainment restriction a decade after Beijing quietly restricted most South Korean entertainment.
Image: Monbmon (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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