Girl group Weekly was selected as the Girl Idol Rising Star of the Year.

On August 19, PlayM Entertainment, the management company, announced, "Weekly won the 'Girl Idol of the Year (Rising Star)' award at the '2021 Brand of the Year Awards'."

Hosted by the Korea Consumer Brand Committee and organized by the Korea Consumer Forum, the '2020 Brand of the Year Awards' is an awards ceremony that selects the best brands that shined in the year through a public brand vote every year. The awards ceremony, which marks its 19th anniversary this year, was held from June 21st to July 4th through consumer voting, and winners in each field were selected.

Starting with the 'Rookie Idol of the Year' award at the '2020 Brand of the Year Grand Prize' at the same time as their debut last year, Weekly has emerged as a 'super rookie' by winning 6 rookie awards through various awards ceremonies. Following last year, Weekly enjoyed the joy of winning the 'Girl Idol of the Year (Rising Star)' category this year, proving the hot response and topicality of K-pop fans at home and abroad.

Weekly, which released their 4th mini album 'Play Game: Holiday' on the 4th, started a major comeback with the title song 'Holiday Party'. 'Holiday Party' is a song with a catchy melody and groovy beat that gives it a strong addiction.

Weekly's 4th mini-album 'Play Game: Holiday', which the American media Forbes mentioned as 'the most anticipated girl group in August' even before their comeback, ranked first in the iTunes Top Albums chart in 3 countries including Brazil and Indonesia, Hong Kong , Turkey, Singapore, etc., recorded the top 10 in 10 countries, and sold 31,000 copies, breaking the 'self-best' Initial Chodong sales once again. The number of YouTube views of the new song 'Holiday Party' is on the rise faster than the previous work, surpassing 20 million views in a week, and the YouTube views of the previous active song 'After School' are also ahead of 100 million views. He is showing off his potential as a 'global rookie'.

On the other hand, Weekly is expected to continue the activities of the new song 'Holiday Party' through various online and offline contents.

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Hyun Bin is finally addressing the long-standing "ddongcha" (poop car) theory surrounding his character from My Name is Kim Sam-soon—and he's not holding back!

In an interview on the 19th with Star News, the beloved actor confessed, "I was wrong," responding to the reevaluation of his iconic role as Hyun Jin-heon from the 2005 hit drama. The "ddongcha" theory has been a subject of online debate for years, with many viewers critiquing Hyun Jin-heon’s character as overly arrogant and entitled.

Hyun Bin, who first rose to fame in My Name is Kim Sam-soon, took the time to reflect on the character that made him a household name. He shared, “I was just following the script; there were no personal opinions added to the character of Hyun Jin-heon. At that time, I knew Hyun Jin-heon was portrayed as a ‘bad boy,’ and the way it was expressed was different from today’s standards.”

With My Name is Kim Sam-soon now being re-released as part of Wavve's "New Classic" project, fans are revisiting the 2005 drama, and the character of Hyun Jin-heon is under fresh scrutiny. Director Kim Yun-cheol even admitted that the "prince on a white horse" and "bad boy" tropes that once worked in 2005 don’t quite match today's sensibilities, leading to edits in the 2024 version.

Hyun Bin humbly acknowledged his gratitude for his successful career and hit works, saying, "It’s wonderful and I am grateful to have so many hit works. I’ve been fortunate to work with amazing writers, directors, and actors. Thanks to them, I’ve received a lot of attention and love." He also shared a sense of humility, noting, “But I never know when that luck will come again."

Despite the dramatic shift in perspective on his character, Hyun Bin’s charm and dedication remain strong. Fans are eager to see him in his upcoming film Harbin (directed by Woo Min-ho), set to be released on the 24th.

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