Hyo’s Level Up (YouTube)
Baek Seunghye: In the first video on her channel “Hyo’s Level Up,” HYOYEON shares two goals she sets out to systematically achieve moving forward: treating younger artists to meals and becoming friends, and exploring new fields of interest. She accomplishes this first goal through her web series “BapSaHyo,” where her guests range from newly debuted artists to idols with a decade of experience, all of whom HYOYEON engages in comfortable conversations with regardless of the years under their belts. When Hearts2Hearts, a group that debuted just 100 days prior, comes on, member IAN briefly stuns her host with a reminder of how much time has gone by by confessing that her “mom was a big fan of Girls’ Generation.” HYOYEON nevertheless shares her own experiences in a group of the same size, including what it was like living together, finding common ground with her guests and easing their nerves. HYOYEON’s affection for up-and-coming singers couldn’t be clearer than when she watches Hearts2Hearts demonstrate all the Girls’ Generation choreography they’ve memorized. In an episode with BTOB, who debuted 13 years ago, they reminisce about “the idol waiting room greeting culture” of their early days, contemplating the line between being a problematic “old-school senior” idol and being a better influence on younger artists. True to her promise to treat newer performers to good food and a kind ear regardless of experience, label, or whether they’re already close or not, HYOYEON’s always there to listen with a smile.

Her channel isn’t limited to this one series showing off her mature but chummy stance toward the artists who’ve come after her, however. HYOYEON has just as much easy-going, candid charm in her series “Half Day Class,” performing the 108 bows in a serene Buddhist temple with such disarming sincerity that even the monks can’t help but smile. In an episode where she takes a physiognomy class, she playfully flips the script, catching her seasoned teacher, Park Sung-joon, off guard by announcing she’s going to read his face instead. And then, in the speaking class with announcer Kang Ji-yeong, HYOYEON lives up to her reputation for endearing speech blunders in a class of her own. At the same time, you can tell how seriously she takes her job based on her genuine effort to improve her speaking skills and how she’s long been aware of the weight her words carry given she’s so famous. Most compelling of all is when HYOYEON showcases her analytical approach to choreography that’s earned her a reputation for being SM’s resident dance virtuoso during the “SMTOWN LIVE 2025 Remake Stage Review” episode. Many of the newer celebrities who appear on “BapSaHyo” shyly acknowledge how Girls’ Generation inspired them to pursue their dreams, and yet HYOYEON, who’s now been an idol for over 18 years, rates her own level as “50 for what I’ve done so far.” She’s vowed to keep going until she maxes out at level 100, and there’s no question that she’s always leveling up—all while helping to guide those who now follow her down the same path.

“Materialists”
Bae Dongmi (“CINE21” reporter): New Yorker Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a highly capable manager at matchmaking agency Adore. By quantifying clients’ looks, finances, and education, she’s masterfully orchestrated nine weddings between partners with perfect compatibility to date. She even soothes tearful, melancholy brides on their wedding day, convincing them with overflowing eloquence to walk down the aisle with a smile. But Lucy herself is a self-proclaimed “eternal bachelorette.” With her cynical disposition, she’s quick to quip how “marriage is a business deal,” likening her responsibility to categorize clients by specific standards to that of a mortician or an insurance claims adjuster. Having grown up in modest circumstances, Lucy distances herself from wealthy private equity financier Harry (Pedro Pascal) and his advances because she deems their economic backgrounds to be incompatible. But at the same wedding reception where she meets Harry, Lucy also runs into her ex-boyfriend, John (Chris Evans), leading to a love triangle between our protagonist, an affluent money man she’s only recently met, and a struggling actor she once found love with but couldn’t envision a future with.

The love lives of city dwellers have long been a staple of romantic comedies. Director Celine Song takes this enduring theme and reimagines it in a way that keeps it rooted in the real world while also taking creative leaps in time and space that give her film some quirky twists that keep it feeling fresh. While most romantic comedies open with a sweeping aerial shot of the city and then introduce their charming protagonists, “Materialists” first turns the clock back to the distant past, speculating about courtship rituals of the prehistoric era. How did ancient humans convey their feelings in an age when capitalism had yet to take root? Song imagines that prehistoric men brought handcrafted tools for hunting and gathering as offerings to the women and put floral rings on their fingers. Perhaps, she muses, Homo sapiens have always exchanged material tokens like these before forming a union. In her previous film, “Past Lives,” Song examined the immeasurable concept of inyeon, or fate in human relationships, shaped by time and the coincidences stacked upon it. In her latest work, she turns her lens to the details of yet another enigma: marriage and the proposals that lead to them, capturing the emotions that arise in people as they dance around the threshold of marriage—the mix of hope and despair, excitement and uncertainty before a path yet taken.

Apple Music playlist: Weekend Warriors
Seo Seongdeok (music critic): If I had to choose the overarching theme of 2025 a bit early, I would confidently declare it the return of rock. According to Luminate’s midyear music report for 2025, when looking at streaming figures, rock is the second-most popular genre in the United States, and it’s growing faster than any other genre. Social media like TikTok has become a gateway for introducing the classic rock sound to a younger generation. Bands like Ghost, Sleep Token, and Turnstile, with their fresh takes on some of the traditions of hard rock, are growing in widespread popularity and finding success on the main “Billboard” charts.

The Weekend Warriors playlist on Apple Music captures this movement by looking both back and to the present. It kicks off by paying tribute to the recently departed Ozzy Osbourne and his band Black Sabbath, transitions to a new single from Deftones—a band that’s been going strong since the 1990s—and flows into Turnstile, who expanded from their hardcore punk roots to become one of the names most associated with the sound today. Even if you’re not very familiar with the genre, you’ll come to realize one thing: You can be loud and still be poetic.