[K-Enter] SEVENTEEN's 5th full-length album sets K-pop highest first-week sales record

Walter, starting off with some SEVENTEEN news!

The boy group have set the highest first-week sales record in K-pop this year with their 5th full album "HAPPY BURSTDAY". According to the album sales tracking site Hanteo Chart, SEVENTEEN's "HAPPY BURSTDAY" sold roughly 2.52 million copies in its first week of release from May 26 to June 1, topping the weekly album chart.

This marks the highest first-week sales among all K-pop albums released this year. On the day of their return, they became the first K-pop act this year to achieve a double million-seller, adding another significant milestone to their record.

Though SEVENTEEN are seeing global fame across many countries it seems they are especially making a big impact in Japan, right?

Correct. According to Japan's Oricon chart on Tuesday, "HAPPY BURSTDAY" sold around 457,000 copies, securing the No. 1 spot on the latest Weekly Album Ranking. This marks the highest weekly album sales this year among all international artists, both male and female, who have released albums in Japan. With this achievement, SEVENTEEN earned their 14th No. 1 on the chart, extending their record as the foreign artist with the most No. 1 albums in Oricon's history.

Congratulations SEVENTEEN! Moving on to to K-movies now, what can our viewers expect coming out soon?

A press screening and media conference for the musical romance film "Midnight Sun" was held in Seoul on Monday. "Midnight Sun" tells the story of Misol and Min-jun , who can only go on dates at night. As they fall in love through music, they challenge themselves to pursue their dreams together.

The film is a remake of the Japanese movie of the same name, originally released in 2006. Norihiro Koizumi, the director of the original Japanese version of the film, strongly recommended the remake saying, "I'm already looking forward to seeing how this story will be reinterpreted across borders and through the 20 years that have passed."

The film has already been released in Japan since May 19 and has received early praise. The demand for this film is already spreading globally too. According to distributor By4M Studio on Wednesday, "Midnight Sun" has been pre-sold in 83 countries, including in eight Asian countries, as well as the U.S., Canada, Germany and many more.

As for Korea's release, "Midnight Sun" is scheduled on June 11.

Thank you as always for the news Walter. Stick around while we move onto Ari our AI anchor for more interesting culture related news. Ari take it away.