The 57th Baeksang Arts Awards ceremony was held on May 13. TV personality Yoo Jae Suk won the Grand Prize again after eight years. In the film category, The Book of Fish director Lee Joon Ik also received the Grand Prize again after five years.

TV series Beyond Evil became the biggest winner of the night by claiming three major awards, including Best Drama, Best Screenplay and Shin Ha Kyun's first Baeksang Best Actor award. Kim So Yeon was recognized as Best Actress for her performance in The Penthouse: War in Life. It's Okay to Not Be Okay's Oh Jung Se collected the Best Supporting Actor trophy for the second consecutive year, while The Uncanny Counter's Yeom Hye Ran was named Best Supporting Actress. Flower of Evil's Kim Cheol Kyu got the Best Director award.

18 Again's Lee Do Hyun and Extracurricular's Park Ju Hyun picked up Best New Actor and Actress, respectively. It's Okay to Not Be Okay (Cho Sang Kyun) also received the Technical Award for costume design. Best Male and Female Variety Performer went to Lee Seung Gi and Jang Do Yeon, and Hangout with Yoo was crowned Best Entertainment Program.

In the film category, Samjin Company English Class was named Best Film. After winning Best Actor at the Blue Dragon Awards, Voice of Silence's Yoo Ah In triumphed again, along with director Hong Eui Jeong who won Best Director. Moving On walked away with two prizes, including Best New Director (Yoon Dan Bi) and Best New Actress (Choi Jung Won). Best Screenplay went to Park Ji Wan for The Day I Died: Unclosed Case.

The Call's Jeon Jong Seo attained her first Best Actress award at the ceremony. Park Jung Min gained another Best Supporting Actor trophy after the Blue Dragon Awards for his performance in Deliver Us From Evil, while Three Sisters' Kim Sun Young collected the Best Supporting Actress award. Best New Actor went to Innocence's Hong Kyung, and Space Sweeper (Jeong Seong Jin, Jong Chol Min) got the Technical Award for VFX.

Text / Violet

Kimura Takuya and Nagasawa Masami will return as a mystery-solving duo in Masquerade Night, the sequel to the 2019 film Masquerade Hotel. Again directed by Suzuki Masayuki, Masquerade Night is based on the same-titled best-selling Higashino Keigo novel. The film's first teaser was recently unveiled.

Kimura Takuya reprises as Detective Nitta Kosuke who has to go undercover as an employee at Hotel Cortesia again and work with Nagasawa Masami's no-nonsense hotel concierge Yamagishi Naomi. This time, Nitta is there to investigate because the Tokyo police received an anonymous letter stating that the culprit of an unsolved murder case will appear at the hotel's New Year's Eve "Masquerade Night" costume party. He will have to find the criminal from the hundreds of masked party guests.

The film's cast also includes Kohinata Fumiyo, Kajihara Zen, Izumisawa Yuki, Sasai Eisuke, Watabe Atsuro, Tonesaku Toshihide, Ishikawa Ren, Tsurumi Shingo and Ishibashi Ryo.

Masquerade Night will open in Japan on September 17.

Text / Sanwei

Nominations of 2021 Billboard Music Awards were revealed on April 29. BTS is nominated in four categories, while BLACKPINK and Seventeen each receive one nomination.

BTS, BLACKPINK and Seventeen are all nominated for Top Social Artist award, competing against Ariana Grande and Filipino boy group SB19. After winning Top Duo/Group in 2019, BTS seeks to reclaim the title again this year while competing against AC/DC, AJR, Dan + Shay and Maroon 5. The sensational group is also shortlisted in the Top Song Sales Artist and Top Selling Song (Dynamite) categories.

The 2021 Billboard Music Awards ceremony will be held on May 23.

Text / Violet

KBS's upcoming drama Youth of May starring Lee Do Hyun (18 Again) and Go Min Si (Love Alarm) airs its first episode on May 3. The two actors, who previously played brother and sister in Netflix's Sweet Home, reunite in the melodrama. They are joined by Lee Sang Yi (Once Again) and Keum Sae Rok (The Fiery Priest).

Set in May 1980, Youth of May captures young people chasing after dreams and love during the Gwangju Uprising. Romance blooms between top medical student Hwang Hee Tae (Lee Do Hyun) and nurse Kim Myung Hee (Go Min Si), but reality makes it difficult for them to be together.

Youth of May will air every Monday and Tuesday, taking over the time slot previously owned by River Where the Moon Rises.

Text / Violet

Two years after Abyss, Park Bo Young returns in another fantasy romance drama Doom At Your Service with Seo In Guk (The Smile Has Left Your Eyes), who makes his first small-screen comeback in almost three years. The tvN series will premiere on May 10.

Directed by Kwon Young Il (My Unfamiliar Family) and written by Im Meari (The Beauty Inside), Doom At Your Service records the fantasy journey of web-novel editor Dong Kyung (Park Bo Young) who is diagnosed with brain cancer. She signs a contract with messenger Myul Mang (Seo In Guk) in order to live the best life in her last 100 days.

Besides the two leads, the cast of Doom At Your Service includes Lee Soo Hyuk (Lucky Romance), Kang Tae Oh (Run On), Shin Do Hyun (Hospital Playlist) and SF9's Da Won (Click Your Heart).

Text / Violet

Yamazaki Kento stars in the Japanese live-action film adapation of American sci-fi author Robert A. Heinlein's 1957 novel The Door Into Summer, which is scheduled to open in Japan on June 25. Titled Natsu e no Tobira: Kimi no Iru Mirai e, the sci-fi time-travel film is directed by Miki Takahiro, who is known for romances like Your Eyes Tell, Blue Spring Ride and My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday which also dealt with time.

In the film, Yamazaki plays protagonist Takakura Soichiro, a lonely scientist who is devoted to research work at his late adoptive father Matsushita's company. He cherishes his cat Pete and Matsushita's daughter Riko like family. As his work is about to finish, Takakura experiences some troubles, and he gets put into frozen sleep. Thirty years later, he awakens in 2025 Tokyo, and learns that everything is gone - his research, Pete and Riko. With the help of a humanoid robot, Takakura tries to change the past and future, and save Riko.

Rising teen actress Kiyohara Kaya (The Brightest Roof in the Universe) plays Riko while Fujiki Naohito (Hotaru The Movie: It's Only a Little Light In My Life ) plays the robot. The Door Into Summer's cast also includes Natsuna, Mashima Hidekazu, Hamano Kenta, Taguchi Tomorowo, Takanashi Rin and Harada Taizo. Also of note is the film's theme song Surprise written and performed by LiSA, who is known for her hit Demon Slayer and Sword Art Online theme songs.

Text / Sanwei

BLACKPINK's Rosé has set a new first-week sales record for female solo artists with her first single album -R-. The K-pop vocalist recently made her solo debut with the English tracks On The Ground and Gone.

According to Hanteo Chart, Rosé's -R- album sold 448,089 copies from March 16 to March 22, surpassing the female soloist sales record previously held by IU's Love poem (147,856). Rosé has the fourth highest first-week sales among soloists, ranking only after Baek Hyun Delight), Kim Ho Joong (We Are Family) and Kang Daniel (Color On Me). She also has the second highest first-week album sales among all female artists, while the first place is still held by her group BLACKPINK's The Album.

Besides setting sales records, Rosé has also garnered five music show wins, and On The Ground debuted at #1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart.

Text / Violet

The 44th Japan Academy Prize was held on March 19. Wakamatsu Setsuro's Fukushima 50 about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster had led with 12 nominations, and it ended up walking away with six awards including Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Watanabe Ken, and the technical prizes for Cinematography, Lighting Direction, Art Direction and Sound Recording.

Uchida Eiji's Midnight Swan won Best Film and Best Actor for Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, who plays a transgender woman in the film. Nagasawa Masami, who was nominated twice in the Best Actress category, won for her role in Mother. Kuroki Haru, meanwhile, snagged her third Japan Academy Best Supporting Actress prize for her performance in The Asadas. Best Screenplay went to Nogi Akiko for The Voice of Sin.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train, Japan's biggest film of all time, won Animation of the Year as well as Best Music.

As previously announced, Newcomer prizes were given to Hattori Misaki (Midnight Swan), Makita Aju (True Mothers), Mori Nana (Last Letter), Okudaira Daiken (Mother), Nagase Ren (Yowamushi Pedal), and Okada Kenshi (Hope, The Legacy of Dr. Death: Black File, I Have Loved you for 30 Years, Yayoi).

Text / tabo
Translation / Sanwei

Song Hyo Kyo (Descendants of the Sun), Jang Ki Yong (Search: WWW), Choi Hee Seo (Stranger 2) and Kim Joo Hun (Start-Up) are confirmed to lead the upcoming SBS melodrama Now, We Are Breaking Up.

Directed by Lee Gil Bok (Dr. Romantic 2) and written by Jane (Misty), Now, We Are Breaking Up reveals the most truthful side of love and breakup in all its bittersweet, sour, salty and edgy moods. Song Hye Kyo plays protagonist Ha Young Eun, the design team leader of a fashion company, who is calm, realistic and sensitive to trends. Jang Ki Yong takes the role of popular freelance fashion photographer Yoon Jae Kook, who plays it cool in relationships. Choi Hee Seo co-stars as Young Eun's high school friend Hwang Chi Sook who is now the director of the design team, while Kim Joo Hun plays Seok Do Hoon, the CEO of a successful PR company.

Now, We Are Breaking Up is slated to air in the second half of 2021.

Text / Violet

Korean American director Lee Isaac Chung's semi-autobiographical film Minari is nominated in six categories at the 93rd Academy Awards.

Minari, which has garnered more than 20 wins from different critic awards and festivals, tells the story of a Korean immigrant family living the American dream in the 1980s. The film's cast includes Steven Yeun (Burning), Han Ye Ri (Illang: The Wolf Brigade), Yoon Yeo Jeong (Keys to the Heart), Alan Kim, Noel Cho and Will Patton (Halloween). Minari is nominated for Best Director (Lee Isaac Chung), Best Actor (Steven Yeun), Best Supporting Actress (Yoon Yeo Jeong), Best Original Screenplay (Lee Isaac Chung), and Best Original Score (Emile Mosseri, Rain Song by Han Ye Ri).

The 93rd Academy Awards will be held on April 25, 2021.

Text / Violet

Nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards were announced on March 15, and Derek Tsang's Better Days, representing Hong Kong, has been nominated for Best International Feature Film.

Starring Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yee, the coming-of-age crime suspense drama depicts the bond between a bullied schoolgirl and the delinquent youth who vows to protect her. Better Days has already picked up a slew of prizes, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Performer at the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards, as well as Best Actress and Best Newcomer at the 14th Asian Film Awards.

Better Days is the eighth Chinese-language film ever to be nominated in the Best International Feature Film (formerly, Best Foreign Language Film) category at the Oscars. The previous nominated films were Zhang Yimou's Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern and Hero, Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine, and Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet, Eat Drink Man Woman and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The only Chinese-language film to have ever won the prize was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which represented Taiwan in 2000.

The other nominees for Best International Feature Film are Thomas Vinterberg's Another Round from Denmark, Alexander Nanau's Collective from Romania, Kaouther Ben Hania's The Man Who Sold His Skin from Tunisia, and Jasmila Zbanic's Quo Vadis, Aida from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The 93rd Academy Awards will be held on April 25, 2021.

Text / Sanwei

On February 25, Netflix officially announced the nine original Korean series that are scheduled to be released on their platform in 2021. The nine dramas are The Silent Sea, Round Six, Hellbound, Kingdom: Ashin of the North, So Not Worth It, All of Us Are Dead, Undercover, D.P. and Move to Heaven.

Bae Doo Na, Gong Yoo and Lee Joon risk their lives to fulfill a mission on the moon in the sci-fi mystery thriller The Silent Sea (the drama adaptation of the movie The Sea of Tranquility), which is executive produced by Jung Woo Sung. Lee Jung Jae and Park Hae Soo star as players of a survival game with a prize of 45.6 billion won in Round Six, helmed by film director Hwang Dong Hyuk (The Fortress).

Yoo Ah In, Park Jung Min, Kim Hyun Joo, Won Jin Ah and Yang Ik June explore cult and supernatural happenings in Train to Busan director Yeon Sang Ho's Hellbound, based on the same-titled webtoon. Netflix's signature zombie series Kingdom will release a special episode, Kingdom: Ashin of the North, with Jun Ji Hyun and Park Byung Eun as leads.

Kwon Ik Joon, who directed the classic sitcom Nonstop, collaborates with Netflix for the new sitcom So Not Worth It, starring the young cast of Park Se Wan, Shin Hyun Seung, GOT7's Young Jae, (G)I-DLE's Minnie and Han Hyun Min. Teen actors Yoon Chan Young, Park Ji Hoo and Cho Yi Hyun strive to survive a zombie breakout at school in the webtoon adaptation All of Us Are Dead.

Han So Hee goes undercover in a crime organization to avenge her father in action noir drama Undercover co-starring Park Hee Soon, Ahn Bo Hyun, Kim Sang Ho and Lee Hak Joo. D.P. with Jung Hae In, Koo Kyu Hwan, Kim Sung Kyun and Son Seok Goo depicts soldiers who are on the "Deserter Pursuit" mission. Lee Je Hoon and Tang Joon Sang deliver the untold stories of the dead while working as trauma cleaners in Move to Heaven, which also features special appearances by Ji Jin Hee and Lee Jae Wook.

Text / Violet

Based on figures from online ticketing agent Maoyan Entertainment, as of February 24, China's box office revenue in the month of February has exceeded 11.164 billion yuan, setting a new domestic monthly box office record as well as a global record for monthly box office in a single territory.

Leading the record-breaking charge are two films that have crossed the four billion yuan benchmark, Hi, Mom and Detective Chinatown 3, both of which opened on February 12 (the first day of the Lunar New Year). The directorial debut of popular comedian and actress Jia Ling, Hi, Mom has soared to the front of the Lunar New Year box office race, reaching receipts of 4.5 billion yuan on February 26. It has passed Avengers: Endgame's 4.25 billion yuan take to become the fourth biggest film of all time at the Chinese box office.

Right behind with over 4.2 billion yuan gross is Chen Sicheng's detective comedy Detective Chinatown 3, which had earlier set the biggest opening weekend record in a single territory. The film has well exceeded the box office of the franchise's previous installment, 2018's Detective Chinatown 2 which grossed 3.39 billion yuan.

Hi, Mom and Detective Chinatown 3 are now behind only three other Chinese films in China's all-time box office: Wolf Warrior 2 (5.69 billion yuan), Ne Zha (5.03 billion yuan) and Wandering Earth (4.68 billion yuan).

Text / Sanwei

Winners of the 41st Blue Dragon Film Awards were revealed on February 9. The Man Standing Next was crowned Best Film, while writer-director Lim Dae Hyung attained both Best Director and Best Screenplay for Moonlit Winter. Yoo Ah In (Voice of Silence) claimed the Best Actor trophy again five years after The Throne. Ra Mi Ran (Honest Candidate) won her first Best Leading Actress prize at the Blue Dragon's.

Park Jung Min (Deliver Us from Evil) and Esom (Samjin Company English Class) were recognized as Best Supporting Actor and Actress, while Best New Actor and Actress went to Yoo Teo (Vertigo) and Kang Mal Geum (Lucky Chan-sil) respectively. Voice of Silence's Hong Eui Jeong received the Best New Director award, and The Thread was named Best Short Film. Besides Best Actor, Yoo Ah In was also presented the Popular Star Award along with Jung Yoo Mi (Kim Ji-Young, Born 1982). Ashfall was selected as the winner of Audience Choice Award for Most Popular Film.

Winners of technical awards were as follow: Hong Kyung Pyo (Deliver Us From Evil, Best Cinematography and Lighting), Han Mi Yeon (Beasts Clawing at Straws, Best Editing), Bae Jung Yoon (Samjin Company English Class, Best Art Direction), Dalpalan (Samjin Company English Class, Best Music) and Jin Jong Hyun (Ashfall, Technical Award – Visual Effect).

Text / Violet

Lunar New Year is usually the most lucrative box office period for Chinese films. This year, seven films are set to open in China on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Two are films that were originally supposed to be released last Lunar New Year, Detective Chinatown 3 and Boonie Bears: The Wild Life. Expected to be the box office frontrunner based on pre-sales, Detective Chinatown 3 is the third film of Chen Sicheng's blockbuster detective comedy franchise starring Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran. This installment co-stars Tsumabuki Satoshi and Tony Jaa, and it sees the bumbling detectives heading to Tokyo. Boonie Bears: The Wild Life is the latest film in the popular cartoon series, which has become a Lunar New Year fixture.

Hi, Mom marks the directorial debut of actress, comedian and variety show star Jia Ling. She writes, directs and stars in the film about her traveling back in time to 1981 and becoming friends with her late mother. The film co-stars her Trump Card co-host Shen Teng, the leading man of blockbusters like Hello Mr. Billionaire and Crazy Alien.

Over eight years since Painted Skin: The Resurrection, Aloys Chen and Zhou Xun pair up again in the costume fantasy The Yin Yang Master based on the Onmyoji games. Not to be confused with Guo Jingming's recent The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity, this film is directed by Li Weiran (Love Will Tear Us Apart) and stars Aloys Chen as the magic-wielding protagonist Qingming who travels between the worlds of humans and demons. The film also co-stars William Chan, Wang Likun and Shen Yue.

Brotherhood of Blades director Lu Yang's fantasy film Assassin in Red is produced by Ning Hao and stars Mini Yang, Lei Jiayin, Dong Zijian, Yu Hewei and Guo Jingfei. Based on a short story by Suang Xue Tao, the film is about a father who takes on the task of assassinating novelists in order to find his missing daughter. However, the fantasy worlds created by the novelists begin to affect the fates of those in the real world.

Andy Lau produces and stars in the black comedy Endgame co-starring funnyman Xiao Yang. Written and directed by Rao Xiaozhi (A Cool Fish), the film unfolds what happens when a top assassin and an unlucky bit actor swap identities.

Last but not least is the 3D animation New Gods: Nezha Reborn which, like the 2019 animated blockbuster Ne Zha, is based on the classic novel Investiture of the Gods and the deity figure Ne Zha. This telling comes from the makers of the 2018 animated film White Snake.

Text / Sanwei

Nominations for the 44th Japan Academy Prize have been announced. Fukushima 50 and The Voice of Sin lead with 12 nominations each. Tora-san, Wish You Were Here follows with ten nominations, and The Asadas! and Midnight Swan both have eight nominations. These five features are shortlisted for Best Film.

Best Actor nods go to Sato Koichi for Fukushima 50, Oguri Shun for The Voice of Sin, Kusanagi Tsuyoshi for Midnight Swan, Suda Masaki for Ito, and Ninomiya Kazunari for The Asadas! Nagasawa Masami garners two Best Actress nominations for Mother and The Confidence Man JP: Episode of the Princess. She'll be up against Ito's Komatsu Nana, Tora-san, Wish You Were Here's Baisho Chieko, True Mothers' Nagasaku Hiromi, and Not Quite Dead Yet's Hirose Suzu. Uchida Eiji (Midnight Swan), Kawase Naomi (True Mothers), Doi Nobuhiro (The Voice of Sin), Nakano Ryota (The Asadas!) and Wakamatsu Setsuro (Fukushima 50) are nominated for Best Director.

For Best Supporting Actor, the contenders are Watanabe Ken (Fukushima 50), Tsumabuki Satoshi (The Asadas!), Narita Ryo (The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese), and The Voice of Sin's Hoshino Gen and Uno Shohei. Meanwhile, Eguchi Noriko (Stigmatized Properties), Kuroki Haru (The Asadas!), Goto Kumiko (Tora-san, Wish You Were Here), Momoi Kaori (I Never Shot Anyone), and Yasuda Narumi (Fukushima 50) received Best Supporting Actress nominations.

Japan's biggest film of all time, Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train is up for Animation of the Year, along with Stand By Me Doraemon 2, Poupelle of Chimney Town, Violet Evergarden: The Movie and Josee, the Tiger and the Fish. This year's Newcomer prizes will be given to Hattori Misaki (Midnight Swan), Makita Aju (True Mothers), Mori Nana (Last Letter), Okudaira Daiken (Mother), Nagase Ren (Yowamushi Pedal), and Okada Kenshi (Hope, The Legacy of Dr. Death: Black File, I Have Loved you for 30 Years, Yayoi).

The 44th Japan Academy Prize will be held on March 19. The presentation will be hosted by announcer Hatori Shinichi and last year's Best Actress winner, Shim Eun Kyung.

Text / tabo
Translation / Sanwei

MBC's omnibus drama Love Scene Number starring Kim Bo Ra (Sky Castle), Shim Eun Woo (The World of the Married), Ryu Hwa Young (Mad Dog) and Park Jin Hee (Doctor Detective) is scheduled to air its first episode on February 1. The eight-episode series focuses on the turning points in the love lives of four women of different ages.

Kim Bo Ra plays 23-year-old university student Doo Ah who is in a relationship with three men at the same time. Shim Eun Woo takes the role of 29-year-old elementary school teacher who gets caught up in complicated feelings before her wedding. The other main characters are 35-year-old Ban Ya (Ryu Hwa Young) who begins a fake romance out of ambition but ends up falling for her partner, and 42-year-old Chung Kyung (Park Jin Hee) who discovers her husband's affair and her sudden health problem out of the blue.

Directed by Kim Hyung Min and written by Hong Kyung Sil (The Art of Loving), Love Scene Number will be aired on both MBC and the streaming platform Wavve.

Text / Violet

Four years after Confidential Assignment, Hyun Bin, Yu Hae Jin and Lim Yoona return for its sequel, Confidential Assignment 2: International. Daniel Henney (The Spy: Undercover Operation) and Jin Seon Kyu (Extreme Job) are confirmed to join the star-studded cast.

Hyun Bin reprises his role as North Korean agent Rim Chul Ryung, who is chasing after a brutal crime organization led by Jang Myung Joon (Jin Seon Kyu). He works again with South Korean detective Kang Jin Tae (Yu Hae Jin), who aims to return to the Crime Investigation Department, and FBI agent Jack (Daniel Henney) to trace their target. Lim Yoona reprises as Kang Jin Tae's sister-in-law Park Min Young, a beauty YouTuber who is attracted to Chul Ryung.

Confidential Assignment 2: International will be helmed by director Lee Seok Hoon, whose previous works include The Pirates and The Himalayas.

Text / Violet