Broadcast date: Oct. 26-27
Starring: NCT, Seventeen

(Naver's V Live)

Mark of NCT continued communicating with his fans, taking to V Live after an online chat session on Twitter.

He briefly talked about a non-surprise birthday party for Yuta, who’d gamely played along with his bandmates and let them “surprise” him as they whispered loudly to Taeil to get a cake and reminded each other of the party in the group chat.

“It was possible only because it was Yuta,” chuckled Mark.

Trying to keep his now-blond hair under his black beanie, he assured fans that he would not go bald.

“I know that there are many of you who are worried about my scalp ... but it’s fine,” he said. Mark had changed his hair color five times this year, he said, admitting that “I kind of underestimated my scalp myself.”

What he really wanted to know was which hair color his fans liked the best. It seemed that they were in favor of black, and he laughed when a fan begged him to go back to it.

Watch the full clip at https://www.vlive.tv/video/219808.

Seventeen's Hoshi unboxes new album

(Naver's V Live)

Hoshi of Seventeen made the most of his break, unboxing the band’s special album on Naver’s V Live.

“Many of you would be wanting this group version,” he said, taking out a group photo from the album.

He proudly showed fans the cover of the album, which bore the signature of each and every band member. He wanted to give it away in a lucky draw but could not, he said with a teasing grin, holding it out so viewers could get a closer look.

Inside the white album was a weaving kit that fans could use to weave a black-and-white semicolon, but the idol admitted that he would never be able to finish it.

“Please understand that it is no fun when I’m doing V Live on my own,” he said with an apologetic smile before moving on to the rest of the contents, including an oval photo of himself.

Watch the full video at https://www.vlive.tv/video/219883.

NCT's Yuta shares birthday wish

(Naver's V Live)

Yuta of NCT thanked fans for congratulating him on his birthday, catching up with them during a break with a live broadcast.

“I should have done this yesterday but I was a little too tired,” he explained, acknowledging that it had been too long since he’d been on V Live.

As Mark told fans shortly before in his own livestream, Yuta had thoroughly enjoyed feigning ignorance of his midnight birthday party, he said.

He was touched by the birthday messages he’d received from around the world and was beyond grateful.

“There are times when I ask myself why I’m doing what I’m doing,” he confided. But seeing those messages reminded him that he was doing something for his fans, refreshing his commitment, said Yuta.

His birthday wish?

“The only wish I have is for this (pandemic) situation to be over so that we can sing and dance in front of you offline,” he said.

Watch the full clip at https://www.vlive.tv/video/219852.

Seventeen’s new album is a homer: Kpop Herald

(Pledis Entertainment)

Kpop Herald reporters Hong Dam-young and Choi Ji-won discussed Seventeen’s special album “Semicolon,” which hit the sales racks a week ago.

The music, including main track “Home;Run,” assures listeners that it is OK to take a break from their hectic lives, sending an encouraging and comforting message to the younger generation in particular. It is especially fitting these days, since everyone is under stress from the pandemic, Choi said.

The overall funky retro-pop vibe did not stray far from the band’s previous music, they said, but the bandmates had really matured as musicians and become even more serious about their performance. Their yearning to be onstage had only deepened when their tour was put on hold due to the pandemic, said Hong, who attended the online media conference.

Full of the boy band’s signature upbeat energy, “Semicolon” has become its second million-seller, the first being “Heng:Garae,” even though it is a special album, Choi added.

Watch the full video at https://www.vlive.tv/video/219756.

Naver’s real-time broadcasting app V allows fans to interact with their favorite K-pop stars through live broadcasts. The app is available for Android and iOS. For more information, visit http://www.vlive.tv.

By The Korea Herald (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.naver.vapp
Apple App Store https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1019447011?mt=