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Today is October 28th, 2026, and we've got some incredible stories to share with you.

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Itsi's Cheryung is officially warming up for her first solo debut, and the teasers are already turning heads. JYP Entertainment dropped concept photos on social media for her debut album Love Sick on the 26th, then followed up with more images on the 28th, showing her in silver wing props with a bewitching vibe. Her fellow Itzy members are helping out too, starring in a short-form video series called Love Signal, which borrows the format of a dating reality show and uses playful skits to put Cherjong in the spotlight. She also showed off her solo stage presence at a recent ItSy fan meeting with cover performances of songs like Gain's Bloom and Sunmi's Full Moon. Mark your calendars, because the mini album and its title track, Love Sick, arrive on November 9th at 6 in the evening Korean time, with a countdown live broadcast starting an hour earlier at 5.

SBS medical drama Dr. X, The Age of the White Mafia, is on a serious roll, with its sixth episode hitting a nationwide rating of 19.5%, according to Nielsen Korea. The Seoul metropolitan area came in at 19.2%, and the peak moment climbed all the way to 21.3%, setting a new personal best for the series. That was enough to take the number one spot in its time slot, and it also topped the Saturday and weekly miniseries charts. The show now ranks fifth among all SBS Friday Saturday dramas ever, trailing only the Penthouse Season 2, Mr. Kim, The Fiery Priest, and Taxi Driver Season 2. Industry reports say the story follows a genius surgeon named Kezujong played by Kim Ji won, who fights corruption in the medical world. And viewers are loving her performance and the satisfying cathartic plot. So, mark your calendars for episode 7 this Friday at 9.50pm.

Actress Han Ji Min is lending her star power to a good cause, as Seoul National University Hospital announced on the 28th that she has been named an ambassador for its patron association. The group supports medical advancement at the hospital and helps patients who are struggling with financial hardship. She joins fellow actor Choushik, who was appointed ambassador on the 19th, so the two stars will now team up for sharing and donation activities. Han said the children she met at the hospital stayed with her, and she wanted to be a source of strength for them, adding that she will gladly take part in whatever she can do to help. This is not her first act of kindness either, since industry reports note she donated 100 million one to Seoul National University Children's Hospital back in January to support patients from low-income families.

The new thriller, The Final Interview, held its press screening and media conference in Seoul on October 28th, and the cast opened up about how personal the film felt. Directed by Kim Jong-un, the movie follows six job applicants who discover mysterious envelopes full of each other's secrets in the interview room, and it quickly turns into a tense game of suspicion. Kim Zhe won, making his big screen debut as the thoughtful and diligent Han Jin Wu, said he drew on the nerves of his college entrance exam and countless auditions, while Kang Yu-Syok recalled facing around 200 interviews and auditions in his own career. The director said he treated the actors' faces as the film's mise en with half the story set in one sealed room, the cast rehearsed their 30-minute confrontation scene almost like a stage play. Joining them are Zhou Yi Hyun, Pe Kang Hee, Xin Song-ho, and Kwak Dong Yun, and the film opens in theaters on November 4th, with a running time of 107 minutes.

Lim Yong-ung is showing off his powerhouse popularity once again, with industry reports saying he placed 13 songs at the same time on the latest Billboard Career Global Kaysong chart dated October 31st. His track Love Always Runs Away came in highest at number 25, followed closely by Toto at number 26, Please Be Happy at 72, and Boyshe at 79. Toto is the title track from his new album I'm Hero 10, released on October 8th, and it had already climbed to the top of that same chart. He also became the number one artist on Mellon for total streams, passing 14.5 billion plays as of September 15th. This all comes in his 10th debut anniversary year, which he celebrated with a three-day solo stadium concert in Kuyang in early September. And he and his agency also donated a total of 200 million won in his fan club's name to help families hit by heavy flooding in the southern region.

Trot singer Son Binar is turning heads after his first mini album, Nagaderu, passed 100,000 copies in first week sales in just three days. Released on October 23rd, it is the first album ever produced by TV Chorton, and it features seven tracks, with every song landing on the Melon Hot 100 chart on release day. This is a rare feat in today's trot market, since fewer than 20 Trot singers have ever sold more than 100,000 albums, and if his final first week total tops 120,000, he would rank in the top 10 among all Trot singers. The runner-up from Mr. Trot 3, who earned the nickname the All-Perfect Man for being the first in the series to win perfect scores from every master, will see his first week tally close on October 29th. Fans can catch him next on October 31st, when he kicks off the Mr. Trot 3 national tour concert again.

Big news for Zico fans! The artist and producer is heading to Japan's biggest year-end music festival, Countdown Japan 26-27, which runs at Makuhari Mese from December 26th to 27th, and again from the 29th through the 31st. He is reportedly the first Korean male solo artist ever to land a spot on the lineup, and he'll take the stage on the second day, December 27th, joining 179 acts this year. The festival began in 2003 and has grown into Japan's largest end-of-year event. Zico has been conquering the Japanese scene lately, having sold out his solo concert at KO Arena Tokyo in February and wowed crowds at A Nation 2025 last year. Back home, he headlined the first night of Netflix Korea's 10th anniversary party on October 24th, after lighting up Water Bomb Soul in July.

Kung Wan wrote and composed every song on this single, so it's a really personal release. Now, back to more news.

Group X LOV just unveiled a double title track showcase that swings between two totally opposite vibes, one spooky and one adorable. At a media showcase held on October 28th at the Cube Convention Center in Seoul's Mapo district, the group celebrated the release of their third mini album called I Equals I with live stages for the tracks Hush and Toothkam Chihuahua. Members Umuti, Lewis, and Haru took the stage and also joined a QA session, while member Hyun sat this one out because of a leg injury. Industry reports say the contrast between the two songs is the big highlight of this comeback. The full album drops today at 6 in the evening Korea time on major music platforms, so fans can dive in right away.

Since the release, he has rolled out a string of collaboration videos with an all-star lineup, including Ayu herself in several promotional clips, AKMU's Li Su Yun and Ives Rei in a live clip, and Hasa and Anchine in singing challenges. Lesafim's Minami joined him on the It's Live YouTube series, while Ka, The Garden, Wendy, and Sai took part in a lyric-inspired challenge, and Epic High added a playful twist using the lyric Now I See. All that creative content is paying off, as the song hit number one on YouTube's daily popular music video chart on October 22nd, then climbed to number two on YouTube's trending music chart on the 27th. Industry reports say Crush plans to keep blending music and content to connect with fans.

Ahead of the release, she shared a performance video and black and white concept photos, showing off a bold transformation with rough textured hair, a black dress, and dark smoky makeup. The video opens with a chaotic brawl in the crowd while she sings on stage, then shifts under warm orange lighting to images of a fetus, a curled-up figure, and someone wrapped in cloth before the fighting audience turns into children embracing one another. Known for songs about love and solidarity, Hanoro explores the tangled emotions inside relationships this time, from regret over hating someone to the struggle of letting go even while hurting each other. She will follow the release with her fifth solo concert, also called Question Mark, on January 2nd and 3rd at Inspire Arena, marking her first arena show since debut and a milestone after growing from small Humde live clubs.

Singer Kuan Bee is teaming up with Im Su Long for a sweet new duet called Vibes, and it arrives today, October 28th. According to her agency RBW, the song captures the fluttering excitement of the moment love begins. It blends a funky bass line and bright, bouncy guitar rhythms with a honeyed melody. The lyrics skip the push and pull of complicated romance and focus instead on the pure thrill of falling for someone naturally. With Kuan Bi's refreshing, powerful vocals meeting Im Surung's soft and smooth tone, fans can expect a warm yet energetic harmony when the track drops on major music platforms at 6 this evening.

Global Girl Group Cats Eye is headed to India as a headliner for Lollapalooza India 2027, taking the stage on January 24th, the festival's second day, at Mahalakshmi Race Course in Mumbai. They will share the headliner lineup with Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Olivia Dean, American rock band Limp Biscuit, and Irish band Fontaines DC, which shows just how far their global reach has grown. The performance should feel especially meaningful for Lara, an Indian American member, since she gets to perform in a country connected to her roots. The group is also riding a hot streak on the Billboard charts, with their third EP, Wild, reaching number one on the Billboard 200 and staying on the chart for 10 straight weeks. Their lead single, Animal, is currently at number 30 on the Hot 100 for a 13th week in a row, and it hit a career high of number 8 on pop airplay, according to industry reports.

Director Li Chang Dong's new film, Possible Love, has kicked off its awards season run with three nominations at the 36th Gotham Film Awards, often seen as an early warm-up for the Oscars. The film is up for Best International Feature, Best Screenplay for Li Chang Dong and Or Jung Mi, and Best Lead Performance for the great John Doyon. It missed out on Best Feature because that category is reserved for American productions, so it will compete against Ryusuke Hamaguchi's film and Sandra Walner's Every Time in the International Race. John's category is especially fierce this year, with acting heavyweights like Julianne Moore and Gillian Anderson also nominated. Possible Love, which follows a laid-off worker couple and a documentary filmmaker couple whose lives tangle together, made history by becoming the first Korean film to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival, and the Gotham ceremony takes place in New York on the 30th of next month.

Netflix's new series Honey Job, known in Korean as Kuraba, held its press conference in Seoul on the 28th, and it sounds like a wild ride. The show follows a young man named Hyok-jun, played by Ideuk, who answers an ad from a staffing agency promising 50 times the minimum hourly wage, only to be thrown into nightmarish workplaces that blend everyday labour struggles with mystery and horror. Director Kim Damin, making her first full-length series, joked that the shoot ran far longer than her previous projects, while executive producer Han Jun-hee said the story began with a simple question. Is there anything scarier than making a living? Kim Min-ha, who plays Hyokjun's younger sister, said she got to break from her usual quiet, restrained roles, and I jun, who plays the agency boss, called it an eye-catching dopamine drama. Ideok was absent due to military service and Komin Shi due to filming, but the series already earned warm reviews at the Pusan International Film Festival, and it arrives on Netflix on the 30th.

That wraps up today's episode of K-Buzz.

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