​by Ra Hwak Jin / Cha Min Kyung

 

◇ BTS wraps up in-person LA concert series, recording 200,000 fans for all four performances

▲ This photo, provided by a subscriber, on Nov. 29, 2021, shows the concert venue colored in purple and filled with thousands of BTS fans on BTS' second concert day. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

K-pop megastar BTS has finished performing its four-part live concert series, titled "Permission To Dance On Stage - LA," on Dec. 2 (U.S. time).

The septet performed its first non-virtual concerts on Nov. 27 and Nov. 28, and on Dec. 1 and Dec2, since performing offline in Seoul 2019.

BTS expressed their gratitude to fans by singing more than 20 hit songs, including "Butter," "Dynamite," and "Permission to Dance," at each concert, while fans holding their Army bomb light sticks embroidered the entire concert hall like a Milky Way.

In addition, popular American rapper Megan Thee Stallion and British rock band Coldplay further heated up BTS' concert by making a surprise appearance on stage. Meanwhile, Halsey, an American singer-songwriter who featured in BTS' hit track "Boy With Luv," also drew attention by attending BTS' third concert day as a fan.

BTS also set a record of being the first artists in history to sell out tickets for four concerts at LA's SoFi Stadium.

The BTS concerts have created a huge buzz among its global fandom Army, and a number of fans even explored Korean restaurants that were widely known to have been visited by BTS as well as Hallyu-related stores.

BTS will return back to Korea after performing at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, the largest year-end radio show in the U.S. on Dec. 3.

◇ BTS to be absent from MAMAs due to self-quarantine for all overseas arrivals
 

▲ Members of the K-pop phenom BTS pose for the camera during a press conference at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Nov. 29, 2021, in this photo provided by its agency Big Hit Music. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
K-pop supergroup BTS will be unable to attend the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMAs) scheduled for next week as the members have to go through COVID-19 isolation upon arrival from the United States due to tightened quarantine rules.

The government decided to place all overseas arrivals under a 10-day quarantine for two weeks starting Friday, regardless of their nationalities and vaccination status, to tackle the omicron variant.

The 10-day mandatory self-quarantine will make the group unable to attend the MAMA show, which will be held with an audience at CJ ENM Content World in Paju, 30 kilometers north of Seoul, on Dec. 11, in person.

Mnet, the music cable channel that hosts the annual event, also confirmed, "It was decided that BTS will not appear in the MAMAs."

The group, instead, is preparing for a brief video message for its fans who will watch the show, according to an Mnet official.

◇ South Korean actors Jung Woo-sung, Kim Su-ro, Park Jeong-ja and others test positive for COVID-19

▲ South Korean actor Jung Woo-sung poses for a photo at the opening ceremony of the 3rd Gangneung International Film Festival (GIFF) at Gangneung Art Center in Gangneung, 240 kilometers east of Seoul. GIFF will run through Oct. 31, showing 116 films from 42 countries. (Yonhap)

 

Star actor Jung Woo-sung has tested positive for coronavirus on Nov. 29, his management agency said Wednesday.

"It has been more than two weeks since Jung Woo-sung received his second shot of COVID-19 vaccines, however he was tested positive," Artist Company said. "The actor has gone into self-quarantine and is taking appropriate measures according to health authorities' guidelines."

However, actor Lee Jung-jae, who took the stage with Jung as presenters at the 42nd Blue Dragon Film Awards on Nov. 26, tested negative before leaving to New York to attend the 31st Gotham Awards.

On Nov. 30, Kim Su-ro tested positive for COVID-19 along with four other people from the filming site of an upcoming drama.

 

▲ This photo, provided by LG HelloVision, shows actor Kim Su-ro. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yohap)
"After Kim Su-ro didn't feel too good, he voluntarily took a COVID-19 test and was confirmed to have contracted the virus on Nov. 30," Kim's agency SM C&C said. Kim was also planning to receive a booster shot this week after having been fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, actress Park Jeong-ja and TV personality Lee Ji-ae have also cleared their schedules in order to undergo self-quarantine after having tested positive for COVID-19.

◇ Netflix's smash-hit "Squid Game" wins two prizes at Gotham Awards

 

 

▲ In this photo provided by the Associated Press, "Squid Game" creator Hwang Dong-hyuk (R) and actors Lee Jung-jae (L) and Jung Ho-yeon (C) pose as they arrive at the 2021 Gotham Awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Nov. 29, 2021. (Yonhap)

The South Korean outbreak hit "Squid Game" won the best long-form TV series title at the Gotham Awards, becoming the country's first winner at the U.S. awards ceremony for lower-budget indie movies and TV series.

At the awards ceremony held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Monday (U.S. time), the Netflix original was awarded Breakthrough Series -- Long Format (over 40 minutes), beating "Small Axe," "It's A Sin," "The Good Lord Bird, "The Underground Railroad" and "The White Lotus."

 

▲ This image, provided by the Facebook accounts of the 2021 Gotham Awards, shows "Squid Game" winning Breakthrough Series over 40 minutes. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

But its lead actor Lee Jung-jae did not win the category of Outstanding Performance in a New Series.

"It took 12 years to make this show and present it to people, but it took less than 12 days to become the no. 1 show on the planet. It's a miracle," director-writer Hwang Dong-hyuk said in an acceptance speech. "Thank you for watching it, and thank you for loving it. Thank you so much."

It is the first time South Korean-made content has been awarded at the Gotham Awards, organized by the Independent Filmmaker Project, known as the first movie awards show in the run-up to the Academy Awards slated for March.

 

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