[K-Enter] Cha Eun-woo officially begins mandatory military service

Time for K-enter with Walter Lee. Starting off with some news on heartthrob Cha Eun-woo .

Member of K-pop group ASTRO and actor, Cha Eun-woo , begins his mandatory military service on Monday.

According to Cha's agency Fantagio , Cha has enlisted as an active-duty soldier and will serve in the army's military band.

On the eve of his enlistment, Cha greeted fans through a live broadcast on YouTube, where he revealed his freshly shaved head and shared his thoughts about joining the military.

During the stream he said, "It's still hard to believe this day has come for me. This is the shortest my hair has been since I was about two or three years old."

Lastly, he wished his fans the best and encouraged them to stay healthy. To which fans replied "heart emoji, heart emoji", "Love you Oppa", "So handsome"

Speaking of handsome, let's move on to news on Lee Byung-hun .

Actor Lee Byung-hun has been announced as the host of the opening ceremony for the 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

Lee will serve as the festival's first solo male host in its three-decade history.

Lee has maintained a strong connection with the festival since he first participated in 2003.

Now in his 35th year in the industry, Lee Byung-hun has solidified his status as one of Korea's most prominent actors on both the big and small screens.

He recently starred in hits like Netflix's "Squid Game" series, did voice work on Netflix's popular movie "K-pop Demon Hunters", and he also did the Korean dubbing of Charles Dickens in the animated film "The King of Kings".

The 30th Busan International Film Festival will run from September 17 to 26 at venues around the Busan Cinema Center.

BIFF is always a big event in Korean cinema and I am sure we will have a lot to report on once it rolls around.

Speaking of "The King of Kings" you have some news on that.

K-animation "The King of Kings" is showing strong domestic box office momentum, surpassing 700,000 cumulative admissions just 12 days after its release.

As of Sunday, the film has recorded over 730,000 viewers.

This marks a faster pace than 2024's animation hit "Heartsping: Teenieping of Love", which reached the same milestone five days later on its way to 1.24 million total admissions.

"The King of Kings" has also climbed to second place among "2025's top-grossing animated films", overtaking Disney Pixar's "Elio" and now trailing only anime "Attack on Titan : The Last Attack."

Thanks for the news Walter, now we go to our AI anchor Ari for more culture news. Ari.