Latest news with #Sohee
Time of India
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
After Aespa's Karina and Somi, Ex-Wonder Girls member Ahn Sohee faces backlash for allegedly supporting a specific political party
As South Korea's election season is at its peak, idols and celebrities from all over the entertainment industry have to be careful about their actions. The smallest details, in this case clothes, can be taken out of context and as a 'sign'. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Ahn Sohee at the centre of another political controversy The idol came under fire from the public and netizens online after sharing a number of cryptic posts on her social media platforms that led people to believe that she was 'indirectly' showing her support for a specific political party. The idol took to her social media account and shared a few stories on June 2. The first story simply consisted of the idol posting a photo of the polling booth she went to in order to cast her vote in these elections. The main controversy began when the 'Every Day With You' singer shared another story with a lot of 'red' in it. Sohee shared a story where she was standing next to a large bush of red roses, along with a red rose and the red heart emoji with the caption 'So hehe.' The colour 'red' has been associated with the ruling part of the country. Many speculated that this continuous mention of the colour red in her story, especially right after posting a photo of the polling booth, is a 'hint' towards who she voted for. Not only that, but it was also taken as a sign of support for the party too. Sohee posts again to counter the previous photo against claims The idol, in order to counter the post and prove that they were innocent, allegedly posted another story where she shared a photo of a clear blue sky along with the clear blue sea as well. Public reacts to Ahn Sohee's stories After the stories were shared online on her social media platform, they went viral almost immediately. The idol and actress were majorly criticised online. While she faced a lot of backlash, she also had a lot of netizens supporting her as well. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now One commented, 'Seriously, stop the insane, baseless hate already. Go live your life,' while another shared, 'Ugh, let's not get too caught up in politics.' More on these political controversies Many idols and celebrities alike have come under fire for allegedly 'supporting' a specific party. Recently, Somi, a former member of I.O.I, was criticised in a similar way by netizens for posting a photo wearing red leggings. Many alleged that this was the idol's way of showing support to the conservative party, as she had posted photos containing the colour red during the last election as well. Another such case came to light when Aespa's Karina was in the middle of such controversy when she shared a photo of herself wearing a jacket with the colours red and black, along with the no. 2 written on it.
The Star
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Riize releases first studio album 'Odyssey', to perform in KL in July
Riize, under SM Entertainment, made a long-awaited return last week with its first full-length album, Odyssey , coming nearly 11 months since the band's debut. The album, according to the group, defines their identity and reflects their ongoing journey of growth. "If someone were to ask, 'What kind of group is Riize?' I think this album would be enough to answer that," Wonbin said at a media showcase in Seoul on Monday. It continues our Real-Time Odyssey concept and contains the footprints and stories of Riize's growth, Sohee added. You'll feel that clearly in every track. Odyssey builds on the group's signature concept of documenting their path in real time — what they call a Real-Time Odyssey — and captures their nonstop evolution as they approach their second debut anniversary this year. Odyssey builds on the group's signature concept of documenting their path in real time The album includes 10 tracks that embody Riize's signature sound, which they describe as emotional pop. Arranged to reflect both external ambition and internal reflection, the track list draws from the members' personal experiences and emotions. Fly Up is a dynamic dance track that channels the energy of 1950s rock 'n' roll. Backed by powerful rhythms and choir vocals, the song conveys the group's desire to unite listeners. "Fly Up means that anyone can become one through our music, regardless of age, nationality or gender," Sohee said. Wonbin added, "When I first heard the song, I immediately thought it was great. It also reminded me of Get a Guitar . I felt confident we could pull it off. The performance is also really good." Speaking about the choreography, Sungchan said, "Our performance has a musical-like structure. There's a lot to watch. Each member has their own killing point in the choreography, so your eyes will stay busy. And just like the title suggests, there are jump movements and gestures that resemble flying." The album includes 10 tracks that embody Riize's signature sound, which they describe as emotional pop. As their first studio album, Odyssey also presented new challenges for the group. "There were definitely more songs than in our previous releases, and a lot of new genres we hadn't tried before," said Eunseok. "It was difficult at times, but thankfully, the people around us helped us a lot, and I think it turned out well." Wonbin noted that while he personally enjoys R&B and ballads, tackling the album's hip-hop elements was a challenge. "Hip-hop is a difficult genre for me, so singing those parts wasn't easy," he said. Following the release, Riize will embark on its first world tour under the title 2025 Riize Concert Tour Riizing Loud. Kicking off in Seoul in July, the tour takes the group to 14 cities across Asia, including Hyogo prefecture in Japan, Hong Kong, Saitama and Hiroshima in Japan, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Fukuoka in Japan again, Taiwan capital Taipei, Tokyo, Bangkok, Indonesian capital Jakarta, Manila in the Philippines, Singapore and Macao, through February 2026. Looking ahead to the tour, Shotaro said, Now that we have more songs through this album, I hope we can enjoy them with Briize (Riize's fandom) around the world. I'd love for us to create a lively space together, just for us and our global Briize. — The Korea Herald/Asia News Network
Korea Herald
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
With first studio album ‘Odyssey,' Riize reveals group's identity
'Odyssey an album that explains what kind of team Riize is,' Wonbin says about group's first studio album Riize, under SM Entertainment, made a long-awaited return Monday with its first full-length album, "Odyssey," coming nearly 11 months since the band's debut. The album, according to the group, defines their identity and reflects their ongoing journey of growth. 'If someone were to ask, 'What kind of group is Riize?' I think this album would be enough to answer that,' Wonbin said at a media showcase in Seoul on Monday. 'It continues our 'Real-Time Odyssey' concept and contains the footprints and stories of Riize's growth,' Sohee added. "You'll feel that clearly in every track." "Odyssey" builds on the group's signature concept of documenting their path in real time — what they call a 'Real-Time Odyssey' — and captures their nonstop evolution as they approach their second debut anniversary this year. The album includes 10 tracks that embody Riize's signature sound, which they describe as 'emotional pop.' Arranged to reflect both external ambition and internal reflection, the track list draws from the members' personal experiences and emotions. "Fly Up" is a dynamic dance track that channels the energy of 1950s rock 'n' roll. Backed by powerful rhythms and choir vocals, the song conveys the group's desire to unite listeners. "'Fly Up' means that anyone can become one through our music, regardless of age, nationality or gender,' Sohee said. Wonbin added, 'When I first heard the song, I immediately thought it was great. It also reminded me of 'Get a Guitar.' I felt confident we could pull it off. The performance is also really good.' Speaking about the choreography, Sungchan said, 'Our performance has a musical-like structure. There's a lot to watch. Each member has their own killing point in the choreography, so your eyes will stay busy. And just like the title suggests, there are jump movements and gestures that resemble flying.' As their first studio album, "Odyssey" also presented new challenges for the group. 'There were definitely more songs than in our previous releases, and a lot of new genres we hadn't tried before,' said Eunseok. 'It was difficult at times, but thankfully, the people around us helped us a lot, and I think it turned out well.' Wonbin noted that while he personally enjoys R&B and ballads, tackling the album's hip-hop elements was a challenge. 'Hip-hop is a difficult genre for me, so singing those parts wasn't easy,' he said. Following the release, Riize will embark on its first world tour under the title "2025 Riize Concert Tour Riizing Loud." Kicking off in Seoul in July, the tour takes the group to 14 cities across Asia, including Hyogo prefecture in Japan, Hong Kong, Saitama and Hiroshima in Japan, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Fukuoka in Japan again, Taiwan capital Taipei, Tokyo, Bangkok, Indonesian capital Jakarta, Manila in the Philippines, Singapore and Macao, through February 2026. Looking ahead to the tour, Shotaro said, 'Now that we have more songs through this album, I hope we can enjoy them with Briize (Riize's fandom) around the world. I'd love for us to create a lively space together, just for us and our global Briize.'
Forbes
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Director July Jung Confronts A Societal Problem In ‘Next Sohee'
Bae Doona plays Yoo-jin, a detective in the film 'Next Sohee.' When July Jung made her film Next Sohee she suspected that her preferred methods of storytelling would not result in the film becoming a blockbuster. Yet, taking cinematic risks to convey an important message has paid off with multiple awards and nominations. One of the unconventional aspects of Next Sohee is that the film relays its story in two parts. The first half focuses on Sohee, a high school student with few prospects who takes a job at a call center. As part of her job she must persuade consumers to sign on for unwanted services, but no matter how zealously she masters the con, it's impossible to achieve the company's goals. Unable to meet such arbitrary goals she decides to take her own life. The second part of the film focuses on a police investigator named Yoo-jin, who wants to understand why Sohee committed suicide. She suspects that it has to be someone's fault, but no one is willing to take responsibility. The story was partly inspired by a real incident that Jung uses to explore larger issues. Who is to blame for this kind of soul-deadening exploitation? 'I actually had no idea of this incident when it first happened, to be honest,' said Jung. 'While I was making the movie, I came across this incident and I learned more about it. And the more I looked into the details of this incident, I realized that none of these details were coincidental. All of this was just a reflection of how all of society is at fault, including myself. This is merely not just a coincidental incident, but it's more of a structural problem.' Kim Si-eun plays Sohee in the film 'Next Sohee.' Although the story is set in a small office and focuses on one individual, Jung sees it as a reflection on society, how having unrealistic expectations in a highly competitive society can work against individuals getting the basic human respect they deserve. 'I think that was the reflection that I was trying to derive from this story,' she said. Sohee wants to succeed at her job, but can't because of the company's odd ranking system, which is also a con designed to benefit the corporation. She wonders what she's doing wrong and without any clear answers assumes she's to blame. Although Yoo-jin has some authority, being a detective, she also faces obstacles in discovering the truth, including colleagues who want to close the case and corporate spokespeople who refuse to take any responsibility. Splitting the narrative allowed viewers to first spend time with Sohee and understand her motivations. 'When telling the story, I really focused on a few things and the first thing I wanted to focus on was what happened to this girl, what her life was like that it led her to commit suicide,' said Jung. She also wanted to stress that Sohee is not the first person to be exploited in this way and it can still happen to others. 'I wanted to depict this in a way the audience can see the daily life of Sohee in the first half of the movie, what kind of environment she's living in, what kind of work she's doing, what kind of hardships she's suffering," said Jung. 'In the later half of the movie when Yoo-jin starts investigating and we start going backwards with Sohee's story, that comparison shows the reflection of the same societal problem. And although the problem is not resolved by Yoo-jin in the end, I think that's the message it's supposed to send, where it could happen to anyone. And at any time.' Bae Doona's character seeks to understand who is to blame for a girl's suicide. For the role of Yoo-jin, Jung enlisted actress Bae Doona. Jung worked with Bae in her 2014 film A Girl At My Door, which won Jung a Best Director Award at the 51st Baeksang Arts Awards. In both films Bae plays a police investigator. In A Girl At My Door Bae's character protects a bullied and abused girl, played by Kim Sae-ron. The collaboration between Bae (Cloud Atlas, Kingdom, Stranger) and Jung also won Bae several Best Actress awards and nominations. 'Working with her has been like a dream," said Jung. "I'm very, very lucky to have worked with her, especially a big star like her.' Jung acknowledges that its a challenge when a character is introduced halfway through a movie, as Bae's character was. 'It's difficult because it's hard to explain to the audience who this person is, the details about this person, and the audience can be confused a lot of times,' said Jung. 'I thought that Doona is the only one who could really deliver these emotions without any dialogue or anything, but just simply through her face and her facial expressions to this extreme level of detail. So that's why I was very, very happy to work with her again.' Casting Bae was a given, but Jung was sure that finding a young actress to play Sohee would require multiple auditions and readings. That did not turn out to be the case with Kim Si-eun (Squid Game 2, Run-On, Mental Coach Jegal). 'Actually she was the first person who came to audition and immediately from that meeting I knew that we would be working together," said Jung. "When I first met her it wasn't really like I knew right away that she would fit just from seeing her or seeing her acting, but rather this came through a simple conversation that I had with her. And the question that I asked her was a very simple question. How do you like the scenario? How do you like the script? And I was very surprised by her response when she said, 'I want this story to be told to the world.'' Between Girl At My Door and Next Sohee, Jung had time to think about her priorities. After finishing A Girl At My Door, many people expected her to work on large scale commercial projects. "I was actually more interested in smaller films that really focus on telling the story," said Jung. 'Smaller independent films.' In the time between A Girl At My Door and Next Sohee the film industry has changed significantly for Korea's female filmmakers. 'When A Girl At My Door first debuted, it was hard for a female director to even debut,' said Jung. "So I was very, very lucky to be able to have debuted it. However, after that things actually got a lot more progressive. For example, the biggest thing is that there has been a new grant and fund support for women directors to produce films and create more opportunities. This was also the influence of the Me Too movement, which was a global movement. And I think due to these kinds of changes in the way the funding and the society works, we've moved a lot forward. And of course, mainstream films, having large commercial films, we're still lacking female directors in that area. But definitely since then in the independent film scene, we've been able to see a lot more female directors.' Next Sohee was released in Korea in 2023, winning Jung several awards and nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay. The film hits U.S. and Canadian theaters on May 16 and will be available on streaming platforms at a later date. The film is distributed by Echelon Studios and Zurty Studios.
Express Tribune
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
RIIZE's Sohee to leave M Countdown MC role after one year
RIIZE member Sohee will be stepping down from his role as MC of Mnet's 'M Countdown', marking the end of his tenure after one year and one month. Sohee, who first took on the hosting position in January 2024, has been praised for his quick wit and engaging hosting skills, earning him recognition among global viewers. Throughout his time on the show, Sohee co-hosted alongside BOYNEXTDOOR's Myung Jaehyun and ZEROBASEONE's Sung Hanbin. The trio, known for their strong chemistry and lively energy, was affectionately called Shine Mongtocat by fans. Their seamless coordination and playful interactions made them a fan-favorite team, bringing a fresh and entertaining dynamic to the show. According to Allkpop, Sohee is stepping down from his MC role to focus entirely on RIIZE's group activities. His final broadcast is scheduled for February 27, where he is expected to share his thoughts and gratitude for his time as an MC. With his departure, Sohee will now turn his full attention to RIIZE's upcoming projects and performances. Sohee has gained widespread recognition as the main vocalist of RIIZE, a rising K-pop group with a strong domestic and international following. Beyond his music, he has also captivated fans with his reserved yet endearing personality on various entertainment programs, solidifying his popularity. Meanwhile, RIIZE recently made headlines for their 100 million won (approximately $70,000 USD) donation to support youth in arts and culture, showcasing their influence beyond music. As he shifts his focus back to music, fans eagerly anticipate Sohee's next stage with RIIZE, knowing this is only the beginning of his evolving career.
