Welcome to your one-stop destination for all K-Trends, Weekly Trends Newsletter by Kpopmap🌟 |
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Laure 🌼The summer heat is at its peak in Korea, but last week brought a lot of heavy rain! On July 15, Koreans celebrated "Chobok," one of the three hottest days of the year. As tradition goes, many enjoyed Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) to beat the heat. Indeed, on that day, it was sunny, and we were sweating. However, in Seoul, the rest of the week saw heavy rain, with up to 100mm per hour. This caused significant damage and chaos during commute hours, with major roads closed, trains stopped, and vehicles submerged. It felt like there was a hole in the sky, drenching you from head to toe in less than a second. Streets and sidewalks looked more like swimming pools than roads.
In the southern region and Jeju-do, there was less rain, making it the perfect time for fun water activities in valleys, lakes, and water parks. Families and friends are busy planning trips to make the most of the summer. While many are enjoying their summer breaks, the Korean entertainment scene is anything but quiet. Read our newsletter to discover the latest trends and updates from Korea. |
PHOTO OF THE WEEK |
Picture by Kpopmap at Myeongdong |
Kpopmap Briefing: *News worth paying attention to in the whole K-World selected by Kpopmap’s editors. Get to know all the trends from last week that you don’t want to miss. |
| 📢 About upgraded Kpopmap
We now bring you expert-curated Korean trends across every industry and sizzling hot topics. You can dive into K-Pop, K-Drama, K-Webtoon, K-Food, K-Beauty, K-Literature, K-Games, K-Society, K-Travel, Korean language, and much more! You can now stay updated, understand, and follow all the trends from Korea! With this unique concept, our goal is to be THE go-to website for accessing all trends and hot topics about Korea. Do you know we’re located in Seoul and Jeju?
📍 So yes, all the content comes directly from Korea! Hurry up subscribe for more! |
GAME OF THE WEEK |
Find Your Fandom Type & The Celebs You're Most Compatible With
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K-Pop |
🏟️ Yeorobun! BIGBANG’s TaeYang Is Gearing Up To Go On His First Tour In Seven Years
Dyllan 🐼The first half of 2024 involved festival performances, survival show mentoring, and so much more for the iconic BIGBANG’s TaeYang. However, it seems like the first half was like the appetizer and now the main course is ready to be served! For the first time in seven years, TaeYang will be holding a tour, with its first stop being at Olympic Hall in Seoul. With tickets now open, fans cannot wait to wave around TaeYang’s brand new lightstick and support him at the concert.
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👼🏻 KARA Makes Us Say “I Do I Do” With Their OT6 Comeback
Kay 🥑KARA is back with a special single “I Do I Do” and the pre-release track ‘Hello’. Whilst every KARA comeback is a treat, this one is especially endearing to fans as it is an OT6 comeback featuring late member Goo HaRa in the form of including her vocals. ‘Hello’ was originally meant to be released in 2013 but wasn’t. Since then, they have remastered it to include Goo HaRa’s pre-recorded vocals. Since the release of this news, the anticipation has been unmatched.
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💿 ENHYPEN Continues To Trend Upwards And Breaks Records Once Again
Dyllan 🐼ENHYPEN are now back with their newest album release, “ROMANCE : UNTOLD”. This time around, the boy group has already broken their own record of first-week sales, selling 1.88 million copies on release day alone. The numbers then increased to 2.11 million on Tuesday, making it the group’s first album to hit the “double million” mark in the first week of sales. ENHYPEN continue to collect accolades and show why they’re considered leaders of their generation.
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K-Drama & K-Movie & K-Variety |
🏃 The “Lovely Runner” Craze Goes To Netflix
Dyllan 🐼“Lovely Runner” mesmerized millions worldwide thanks to its amazing storyline, serotonin-boosting main characters, along with the efforts of the iconic leads, Byeon WooSeok and Kim HyeYoon. Although it’s been a little over a month since the series ended, it seems the “Lovely Runner” craze continues forward at full speed. Netflix subscribers can now rejoice - “Lovely Runner” will be made available through the streaming platform in August. Fans can’t wait to binge the drama all over again - this time, on Netflix.
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🏆 Girl’s Day’s HyeRi Return To The Silver Screen Earns Her The Rising Star Award
YuJun 🍎Girl’s Day’s HyeRi is a successful singer-actress who stuns on every stage she’s on. This time around, she makes her return to the silver screen after five years with the coming-of-age film, “Victory”. She was recognized for her captivating skills and received the Rising Star Award at the 2024 New York Asian Film Festival. This is definitely a good sign for both the success of the movie and HyeRi’s acting career. Earning this award, fans are even more excited to watch the film in theaters.
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🌏 Government Increases Efforts To Make K-Dramas, Shows, And Documentaries Go Global
Dyllan 🐼With the recent success of Korean entertainment, the government has started to increase their efforts to support production companies in their global expansion. In doing so, they hope to aid them in their attempts to enter international markets. This not only applies to K-Dramas, but to documentaries and TV series as well. Through this support, Korean production houses may have a chance to work with overseas collaborators and bring Korean content to an even wider audience.
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K-Beauty |
✨ KISS OF LIFE Bring Back Fun & Flirty Glitter Tattoos For The Summer
Kay 🥑Remember when you used to make glitter tattoos with your friends when you were younger? KISS OF LIFE is helping fans tap into that core memory or even discover this fun and cute summer trend, whilst giving it a flirty twist. During their promotions for ‘Sticky’, they have been rocking the tattoos in different butterfly shapes made of glitter and/or gemstones.
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🦴 Balm For Your Collarbone Makes You Shine
Laure 🌼In Korea, summer rhymes with festivals and holidays where you can show off your shoulders and collarbones with beautiful dresses or swimsuits. Here’s a new product to help you stand out from the crowd. The K-Beauty item that’s getting popular is this balm. The Dewlike Jello Pot, available in pink and mint. This balm will make you shine and can also be used as a highlighter on your face.
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🦋 Sparkly For The Win: Add Sparkles To Your Butterfly Zone To Channel Your Inner FairyFreckles
YuJun 🍎One of the prettiest fairy-like make-up trends that has been trending among K-Pop idols at the moment is none other than adding sparkles and glitter to the butterfly zone of your face. Idols such as (G)I-DLE’s YuQi, Red Velvet’s Joy, IVE’s Rei, and LE SSERAFIM’s Hong EunChae have been rocking these sparkly romanticized freckles.
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K-Fashion |
🥾 Korean Street Fashion Joins In On The Staple Timberland Hype
Kay 🥑Timberlands have been a staple in street fashion for years and years, dating back to the golden era of prominent pop culture stars in the West. Now, Timberlands have become a must-have accessory for Korean street fashion enthusiasts. Stars such as NewJeans and Lee HyoRi have been rocking these boots, showing off their trendsetter nature.
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K-Travel |
💰 Myeongdong N.1 & Foreign Tourists Spend More During Their Trip
Laure 🌼According to a recent survey conducted by the city government and the Seoul Tourism Organization, tourists are staying longer and spending more during their visits. Compared to 2019, tourists are spending an additional 958,000 KRW (approximately 691 USD) and staying about one day longer. This increase is attributed to extended stays and a rise in visitors from Europe and the Americas.
Myeongdong is the top destination, with 85.9% of Seoul visitors making a stop there. This is followed by Hongik University (52.8%) and Gangnam Station (45.9%).
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🍵 Ready To Be Treated To Some Royal-Tea? The Changdeokgung Yakbang Is The Place To Be
Kay 🥑Want to be treated like royalty? Well, royal tea is waiting for you at the yakbang (or pharmacy) of Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul. As one of the four main Joseon-era palaces in Seoul, they will have a special opening of the medical corner from July 17th to August 18th where you can have summertime traditional Korean drinks such as jehotang (made with honey and traditional ingredients such as herbs) and omija.
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🌦️ More Rain? More Perks From Everland
Dyllan 🐼Monsoon season is in full swing in Korea which means more rainy days, along with the heat of summer. But even when there are unexpected downpours, Everland, Korea’s largest theme park and zoo, says you don’t need to worry! For visitors who come to the park when there’s more than 20 mm of rain, they’ll be able to receive a free ticket for their next visit. This is offered exclusively through the park’s smartphone app and visitors must sign up for the free Somsatang membership to receive this offer. And if you want to forgo the tickets, they can be exchanged for membership points. What a great deal either way!
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K-Food |
🐓 Samgyetang Crowd On “First Dog Day”
Laure 🌼Did you know that "Chobok" means "first dog day"? It is one of the three hottest summer days, along with "Jungbok" and "Malbok," according to the lunar calendar. This year, Chobok was on Monday, July 15th.
On this day, Koreans traditionally eat Samgyetang, a ginseng chicken soup. This warm soup is believed to help cool down the body during the hot and humid days, making it the perfect re-energizer dish in summer. So, you can imagine the loooooong lines at these restaurants! Would you wait?
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🍞 Somebody Pass The Kleenex... Bread! The Viral Tissue Bread Sweeping The K-Foodie Community
Kay 🥑That’s right. No typo. You read correctly… Tissue bread is the new dessert sweeping the K-Foodie community and their Instagram feeds. Tissue bread is a loaf of bread that boasts tissue-thin layers upon layers that you can peel off and eat. The taste has been described as being croissant-like and some of them have toppings or cream fillings inside. Would you try this dessert?
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K-Society |
🥇 Blue & White Porcelain Design For A Beautiful Korean Olympics Uniform
Laure 🌼Have you seen the Korean national summer Olympic uniforms for athletes and coaches? If not, you're missing out on something special. With the Paris Summer Olympics approaching, there's growing excitement around the games. The Korean uniforms were designed by Musinsa Standard, a local brand. Designed for the hot summer, the belted suits in blue and white porcelain design are made of summer wool. They also incorporate traditional Korean elements, such as a reinterpreted belt inspired by government officials and the taegeuk pattern. Do you love the Korean uniforms as much as we do?
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🎰 Not 1 Or 2, But 63 People Shared The Jackpot Of The Lotto
YuJun 🍎When you think of a "lotto winner" hitting the jackpot, you probably imagine one or two lucky individuals. However, in the second week of July, there were 63 winners of the jackpot in Korea, setting a national record. To win the jackpot, you need to match all six numbers. Each of the 63 winners received 419.9 million KRW (approximately 300,000 USD) because they had to split the 26,455,310,280 KRW prize. For those curious, the winning numbers were 1, 5, 8, 16, 28, and 33.
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🛰 Want A Galaxy Phone? Order Your Drone Delivery!
Laure 🌼Korea has many islands, and receiving deliveries there can take longer compared to cities, where deliveries arrive in the blink of an eye. If you live on one of these islands and need a new phone ASAP, Samsung may have the solution. They've announced plans to deliver their new Galaxy Phones by drone to islands near Jeju, Yeoju, and Tongyeong. It is expected to reduce delivery times from seven days to just one day. Would you like your phone to be delivered by drone?
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Fan Spotlight of the Week |
Jung SoMin And Jung HaeIn "Love Next Door"
Kitty from Brazil 😇Here is one drama you should be looking forward to in August. Jung SoMin and Jung HaeIn are childhood friends, on old time friendship that will bloom into romance. The two actors are well know for their good acting and even more in a romance drama. Expectations are high. The drama will start on August 17.
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