Hankookilbo
Hankookilbo covers the music beat for The Korea Times, carrying reporting on Korean pop artists and their global fan base into the paper’s English-language news coverage. Their work includes the article “Brazilian woman gets suspended prison term for stalking BTS’ Jung Kook,” reflecting a focus on how K-pop’s worldwide reach intersects with crime, the courts and public safety.
K-pop, crime and the courts
On the music beat, Hankookilbo highlights stories where popular artists become the center of legal proceedings and public scrutiny. The article on a Brazilian woman receiving a suspended prison sentence for stalking BTS member Jung Kook frames the case around clear facts - the offender, the offense, the sentence and the artist involved - underscoring the real-world consequences of extreme fandom and boundary-crossing behavior. By foregrounding the legal outcome alongside the name recognition of a major K-pop figure, Hankookilbo situates music coverage at the point where celebrity culture, fan conduct and the justice system meet.
Bridge between Hankook Ilbo and The Korea Times
Hankookilbo’s byline sits in the context of a close relationship between The Korea Times and Hankook Ilbo, a major Korean-language daily whose online platform is Hankookilbo.com.
The Korea Times is the English-language sister paper of Hankook Ilbo, and it runs material originating from Hankook Ilbo’s newsroom in translation for its own readers. Within that structure, Hankookilbo connects Hankook Ilbo’s reporting to The Korea Times’ audience, allowing stories first produced for Korean-language readers - including music-related court cases and public incidents - to be presented in English with an emphasis on clarity and news value.
The presence of a dedicated Hankookilbo topic in The Korea Times’ archive further signals that this stream of coverage is organized as a distinct channel within the masthead’s content.
Music beat focus
Working on the music beat, Hankookilbo’s coverage centers on high-profile acts and the situations that test the boundaries between performers and fans. The BTS stalking case shows an approach that treats musicians not only as cultural figures but also as subjects of legal protection, with the story shaped around the court’s decision rather than promotional or lifestyle angles.
This places their music reporting closer to hard news than to entertainment features, making the legal, procedural and public-order dimensions of K-pop part of the core narrative.
4 more music journalists.
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Adam Lyon
Adam Lyon is a digital audience and content editor whose news beat sits at the intersection of Ayrshire’s cultural life, business environment and public affairs. He works for the Ayr Advertiser and as Digital Audience & Content Editor for Newsquest in the west of Scotland across multiple weekly titles. He covers Ayrshire news with a strong thread of music and local culture alongside business, courts and public affairs. He reports on music when it has a clear community or national hook, treating songs as news events rather than reviews. His business work explains how local firms and retail policy shape town centres. His court coverage uses round-ups of sheriff court cases to show patterns and outcomes. He also fronts video previews and is active in a football supporters trust community.
Adam Maidment
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Alex Rigotti
Alex Rigotti is a freelance music and culture editor and journalist who joins fast-turnaround music news with detailed reporting on artists, fandom and politics. They report breaking stories and live music updates for NME and Paste Magazine, covering pop, rock, club music, underground scenes and cultural debates around art and identity. Their live-music beat includes setlists, tours, festival appearances, cancellations, ticketing, venues and onstage collaborations. They previously served as a contributing editor for NME’s Radar section, supporting coverage of emerging artists and new scenes. Rigotti also writes features on rap lyrics and criminalisation, Eurovision and politics, queer feminist bodybuilding, astrotherapy and contemporary art. Their reporting is direct and specific, using clear quotes, concrete details and artists’ own words to explain what happened and how music fits into wider cultural and industry trends.