2008/05/09 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Korea's heartthrob Kwon Sang-woo dropped his $1.9-million lawsuit against his former agency. Kwon and his ex-agency Best Flow (formerly Yuri International) have been locked in an eight-month legal battle over the allegation of Best Flow pocketing Kwon's share of profit worth 1.9 million dollars. Best Flow had also sued Kwon for defamation and embezzlement, but this suit has been withdrawn as well. The two sides also agreed not to launch any civil or criminal suits over these matters in the future.

Kwon's current representative Golden Thumb Entertainment said that there was no reason to continue the legal suit, since the management at Best Flow has been replaced with new people. The amount of profit due to Kwon has also been settled amicably. Now that Kwon is freed from the legal headache, he is getting ready to shoot a new TV series to be aired in August. ...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2008/05/09 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Welcome back.
It's time for our weekly culture corner and our resident reporter Lee Jeewon joins me in the studio.
Good morning Jeewon.
Hi Sunhee.

Our first item is the latest rendition of a Korean poem written in 17-45 which later branched out to become novels songs and performing arts pieces.
With more than 280 different editions the story of Chunhyang is titled either Chunhyang-ga or Chunhyang-jeon depending on the genre.
It's a love story between a daughter of a former Gisaeng or Korean geisha and an aristocratic member of the literati during the Joseon Dynasty.
The National Theater of Korea showcases its Korean classical opera version until tomorrow.
It premiered in 19-02 and has improved over the years.
This year's production team has replaced Chinese proverbs with modern language to make it easier to understand and casts multiple storytellers for the same reason.

Interesting and I think Korea's performing arts scene could use more traditional Korean cultural works....

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2008/05/09 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

A calendar of cinema on the peninsula and abroad

Jung-yul Ogborne (junni)

There are enough film festivals in Korea to satisfy even the most hardcore film fanatic, in fact too many some in the industry would say. Whilst the major festivals such as Busan and Jeonju attract the biggest crowds, for those interested in the latest trends in Korean Independent Cinema the smaller festivals are also worth checking out.

Quality will be varied, but you might just be lucky enough to find a real cinematic gem or gain insight into a social issue that foreigners rarely get to hear about in Korea.

Buoyed by the boom in Korean cinema in the late 1990s, Korea has one of the largest populations of cinephiles anywhere in the world and when you combine this with the national passion for meeting together in big groups and getting drunk, it's easy to understand why the major festivals attract such large audiences.

The queues of people camping out overnight to get weekend tickets every year d...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2008/05/09 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The largest convenience store in Japan, "7-Eleven", will sell special lunchbox sets of Korean food produced by Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon. On the 7th, a "7-Eleven" representative announced that they will be putting the lunchboxes on shelves for three days from June 13th to the 15th.

The lunchbox sets are called "Gosire Bento", and they will be sold through orders collected from May 12th to June 8th. The sets are 2500 yen (25000 won) each, the highest price that any lunch set has been sold at in Japan.

The convenience stores believe their largest group of consumers will be middle-aged female "Yon-sama" fans.

The lunch sets will include 16 different dishes from the Goguryeo dynasty, such as bulgogi and ssam-bab....

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2008/05/09 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Singer Lee Moon-sae and 17 other Korean entertainers are planning a week-long trip to a remote Nepalese village to help build a school.

Lee organized the volunteer group for the trip, which has been dubbed the Seollebal Himalaya Expedition. "Seollebal" is a portmanteau of the Korean words "seolleda", meaning "feeling expectant", and "balgeoreum", meaning "footsteps".

From left, singer Lee Moon-sae, actress Lee Tae-ran, and actor Park Sang-won at the launch of a volunteer group dubbed Seollebal Himalaya Expedition to help children in Nepal

The group, which includes actor Park Sang-won, actress Lee Tae-ran, supermodel Park Se-ryen, and film director Han Ji-seung, held an organization ceremony at a café in Seoul on Thursday.

"We want to do something for the poor people of Nepal to return the warmth and genuineness we have experienced in the Himalayas", the group announced. "We will spend a week from May 15 at a village in Dhading working as volunteers".

The group will build...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2008/05/09 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

This Sunday, director Shim Hyun-rae's sci-fi flick "D-War" will be opening in theaters across China. There is great interest about whether this movie will be able to break records of past Korean films at box offices in China.

D-war is set to open at 500 theaters in about 100 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

When D-War was released in Korea, over 7 million people went to see it in theaters; in the United States, the film opened in 2200 theaters, amassing 11 million dollars.

There is speculation that "D-War" may be a greater hit than last year's release of "The Host" in China, which earned about 1.4 billion won at the box office.

Young-Gu Entertainment's assistant director Kim Min-gu announced on the 7th that the release of "D-War" in China is their first step towards entering the Chinese film market. "The public response to the movie in China will also affect the production of the sequel", he added....

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2008/05/08 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

World star "Rain" (real name Jung Ji-hoon) has been listed in the Year in Review 2007 of the Encyclopedia Britannica Online. He is only the third Korean figure to be included in the biographies section of the Britannica. The other two are poet Ko Un and President Lee Myung-bak. However, "Rain" is the first Korean entertainer to be mentioned in the annual review.

Britannica Online described "Rain" as a pan-Asian superstar, who topped Time Magazine's online poll as the most influential person in the world in 2007, although the article did not fail to mention that "Rain"'s status was undoubtedly the result of his fans' dedication. The world-renowned encyclopedia also compared him to American idol star Justin Timberlake and introduced "Rain"'s past works in music, TV and film.

The annual review of the Britannica includes the year's major events and figures. It is not that often an entertainer is introduced in the encyclopedia. "Rain"'s fans welcomed the inclusion, saying that the inc...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2008/05/08 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The Barcelona Asian Film Festival's (BAFF) jury awarded "Secret Sunshine" (Miryang) the Cinematik prize. The winner of Cinematik is also secured of a release in Spain. "Secret Sunshine" is directed by LEE Chang-dong and stars JEON Do-yeon and SONG Kang-ho in a tale about a single mother's mental struggle after losing her young son.

Director JEON Soo-il is also successful at BAFF, his "With a Girl of Black Soil" won the Golden Durian, an award for emerging talents. The panel in charge of selecting the Golden Durian winner included Pusan International Film Festival director KIM Dong-ho.

Both "With a Girl of Black Soil" and "Secret Sunshine were selected" for the Official Competition section. The audience voted Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om (India) as the most popular film with KIM Ki-duk's "Breath" a close second, according to BAFF's website. BAFF celebrated this year its tenth anniversary and the festival highlighted that BAFF is Barcelona's fastest growing film festival. Barcelona h...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2008/05/08 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

CHOI Dong-hoon, the director of the major hit films "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War of Flower") and "The Big Swindle" is preparing his next project with the assistance of IM Soo-jeong and KANG Dong-won.

KANG is set to play an undisciplined womanising Taoist from the Joseon era (the name of Korea previous to the Japanese occupation) who ends up in present day Korea, causing mayhem with his knack for magic. IM will play a double role, portraying a Joseon woman and an aspiring actress in contemporary times.

KIM Yoon-seok will reunite with CHOI after their collaboration on "Tazza:The High Rollers" ("The War of Flower"), KIM will be fighting against KANG's character. KIM is currently highly successful with his leading role in NA Hong-jin's The Chaser.

CHOI is also responsible for the scenario and will start directing from August. The film will enter cinemas in 2009.

Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2008/05/08 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Major Hollywood star Charlize Theron said that her project to remake PARK Chan-wook's "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" (Chinjeorhan Geumjassi) has sparked a great interest in Korea and Korean culture.

She is discussing the possibility to visit Korea during her promotion tour for her upcoming film Hancock, an action comedy with Will Smith as a fallen action hero who receives counselling to win the public's affection back. If possible, her first visit to Korea would take place in June prior to a July 2 release of Hancock.

PARK's original "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" stars LEE Young-ae. Her character has been framed. After her release from prison, she is out to take revenge. The film is the final instalment of PARK's renowned 'revenge trilogy' which also includes Sympathy for Mr. vengeance and Cannes' Grand Prix winner Old Boy. Theron will produce and take the lead role in the Hollywood remake. Theron won an Academy Award for her role in Monster.

Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?