Entertainment News

[Anchor Lead]

The annual Daejong Film Awards again made news this year for the wrong reasons. The event has been stirring controversy for several years now. One issue was the repeated problem of the actual winners not being present at the award and other people collecting the trophies on their behalf.

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The 55th Daejong Film Awards held Monday night was nothing more than a half-baked show. More than half of the honorees were absent including Hwang Jeong-min who won best actor and Na Moon-hee who won best actress. Substitute honorees filled the stage while in some incidents, people who had no relations with the winner received the trophy. What was especially controversial was when a Korean trot singer appeared on stage on behalf of a Japanese music director who wrote scores for the Korean film "The Fortress" and who won the best music award. An official of the film's production agency was present at the ceremony but the organizers were unaware and asked for someone else to pick up the award. The singer surnamed Han told a media interview that she was asked to receive the award instead by a ranking official of an association that represents those in the film industry. Organizers of the Daejong awards said they had no other choice because they couldn't contact the film's production agency beforehand. However netizens have blasted the poorly managed award ceremony which has a history of half a century. Kpop sensation BTS has again enthralled fans around the world with a solo album by its leader RM. RM's newest playlist “mono" was revealed Tuesday through BTS's official social media site. The album has already topped the iTunes Top Albums charts in 86 countries and regions including the US, UK and France. This record draws even more attention as the album is a mixtape made for noncommercial reasons. A mixtape is a song or album distributed for free online that more than often includes experimental music not necessarily geared toward public appeal or commercial aim. Critics say RM also candidly sings about his emotions and thoughts as a youth in his 20s. The rave reaction to the album is viewed as a meaningful achievement in respect to RM's own musical talent separate from BTS's popularity.