“HUENINGKAI’s Countless Friends” (TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s YouTube channel)
Catherine Choi: A jab from SOOBIN three years ago, where he remarked that HUENINGKAI “can’t count” how many friends he has (with TAEHYUN piling on to call them “countless …”), spawned “HUENINGKAI’s Countless Friends,” a series following the TOMORROW X TOGETHER member as he sets out to make new buds. Most recently, he gets together with DOHOON, who HUENINGKAI hasn’t been shy about calling his bias. The wholesome back-and-forth between the two (“Have a seat …” “You should sit first …” “No, please, you sit first …” “You can sit down first …”) takes a chaotic turn when “evil spirit” duo YEONJUN and BEOMGYU tells HUENINGKAI to “crack that egg on DOHOON’s head.” HUENINGKAI twerks with abandon, self-appointed “GUMMbassador” BEOMGYU drops the EDM rendition of “GGUM” (HUENINGKAI: “This is fun!”), and YEONJUN does a bit of his original. The TOMORROW X TOGETHER members go to heroic lengths for their youngest-ever guest, but DOHOON holds his own. When they ask him who in TOMORROW X TOGETHER is the best looking, DOHOON answers without missing a beat: “As a whole, it would be YEONJUN,” he says, adding, “If we’re strictly talking about faces, BEOMGYU.” You know it’s “pure evil” when it catches even the two evil spirits off guard.

And just like that, HUENINGKAI adds another friend to his collection. He even gives this one a special name: “My Little Baby Wolf DOHOON.” The episode gives you a chance to see TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s angelic youngest member taking on an older-brother role, and DOHOON taking a break from his role as one of TWS’s kind older members to give off some little-brother vibes. And above all, it’s endlessly enjoyable to see their two bright smiles beaming for 34 minutes straight.

“Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie”
Nam Sunwoo (“CINE21” reporter): Watching a foreign film with Korean subtitles—especially one from an unfamiliar director—means putting your trust in the courage of whoever imported it. The staff at distribution companies have long volunteered to be the first Korean audience for countless foreign films, hoping their discoveries will find the appreciation here they deserve. It’s a profession that’s as enthralling as it is nerve-racking, and now BDNS, the comedy crew led by actor and writer Moon Sang Hoon and that has 2.4 million YouTube subscribers, has jumped into the fray. Moon, who’s been making his own content for years, says the thrill is like “finding a restaurant to share with people that cooks what I love better than I ever could.” And who could object to someone who just wants to make sure people are well fed?

The fruit of that effort is “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie” arriving in Korea, but under an even more ridiculous title that could be translated as “Nirvanna the Band: Duo Matt & Jay, No Relation to Legendary Band Nirvana, Cook Up an Absurd Scheme One Day to Put on a Show by Building a Time Machine & Going Back 17 Years to When They First Met &.” That intentionally truncated subtitle already gives you an idea of the plot. From there, it’s a B-movie vibe with endless banter that reeks of parody and homage. Fans of “Back to the Future” will find plenty to get excited about. Anyone who enjoyed “The Hangover” back in the day might have a moment of pause. So, do Matt and Jay manage to travel back in time? Do they get to put on the show of their dreams? The film seems almost to shrug at the question, sidestepping expectations from start to finish, so here’s a line of dialog as your only hint: “If you got a best friend, you won’t even notice getting older.” One more thing of note—TABLO from Epik High had a hand in making the Korean subtitles.

“Bhuju” (Alikiba & Mbosso)
Kang Ilkwon (music critic): Ever since the rise of YouTube and streaming, the geographic boundaries of pop music have been losing meaning. Music that once only found its way around within certain regions now reaches listeners around the world in real time thanks to algorithms, searches, and sharing links. Which is how the genre Bongo Flava found its way to us.

Rooted in American hip hop and R&B and woven together with traditional East African musical styles, Bongo Flava holds onto its local identity while organically cross-pollinating with global pop. It’s also the most popular genre among Tanzania’s younger generation today.

If you’re curious what Bongo Flava sounds like, the first artist you should check out is Alikiba, widely considered the king of the genre. “Bhuju” is his new single, a romantic song written and performed with Tanzanian singer-songwriter Mbosso.

The contrast between their vocals is part of what makes the song. Alikiba brings his trademark delicacy and restraint, while Mbosso’s more fluid, emotionally unguarded delivery subtly shifts the texture of the track. What’s really striking is how they each explore the same emotional ground in different ways, neither one pushing too far into the foreground.

“Bhuju” is doing serious numbers right now. The Bongo Flava sound, with its soft melodies, poetic mood, and emotionally resonant vocals, has been winning over a lot of new listeners, but Bongo Flava is still largely unknown in Korea, making “Bhuju” the ideal entry point for anyone curious about where to start.