HanCinema's Korean Blog - Korea's Diary, Pictures, Reviews

HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review

(2012.05.18 ~ 2012.05.20)

Marvel's "The Avengers" is narrowly dethroned as the top performer in Korea. The blockbuster gave way to Min Gyoo-dong's comedy drama "Everything about my Wife" that jumped five spots in the right direction. "Everything about my Wife" claimed 593,856 admissions and that was just enough to outdo the 565,166 earned by the "The Avengers". Besides Marvel's record smashing comic book hit, this week saw Korean films hold their own as the local flicks held more than 60% of the total ticket sales...More

Korea is a world away from you hometown in Vancouver. What was it about Korea that attracted you to it in the first place and what has been the biggest difference in your daily life since you've been here?

Vancouver has a pretty sizeable Korean population, so growing up I'd heard nothing but great things about Korean culture. I was curious. So once I found out about the opportunity to teach in Korea, I jumped on it, and knew that I could also pursue my musical endeavors here. With regards to my lifestyle, the biggest difference has been my personal outlook on life. I try to make sure that in everything I do, I do it with Love. Positive energy. Good vibes. That sort of thing...More

Film: "Wonderful Radio" (also known as "Love On-Air")

Director: Kwon Chil-in ("Loveholic – Movie" and "Singles")

Stars: Lee Min-jeong, Lee Jeong-jin, Kwang Soo and Kim Jwong-tae

Review Score: 5.5/10

Also try: "Dancing Queen" & "Sunny - 2010"

There is hardly a short supply of Korean romantic comedies out there. With each new wave of new Korean film being released there always seems to be one or two that are slipped into the mix. Earlier this year, Kwon Chil-in threw his "Wonderful Radio" into the batched and the result was a lukewarm reception from viewers that had many questioning the film's originality, casting and the performances of the actors involved. This is not to say the film failed to entertain or pull moderately decent numbers at the box office, but rather it struggled to position itself as a standout film within Korea's already saturated rom-com category...More

HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review

(2012.05.11 ~ 2012.05.13)

It was another moneymaking weekend for "The Avengers" as the crowds continued to stream in for Marvel's record-breaking blockbuster. The long awaited comic book film raked in another 995,156 admissions and now sits as the highest grossing film released in Korea for 2012 with 5,447,728 admissions. That's almost a million more than the Korean film "Nameless Gangster", which it dislodged at the top...More

UPDATE: Earlier this year the Korean Film Archive announced that it had plans to launch a YouTube channel where people could watch classical Korean films online for free. This fantastic initiative has finally come to true as their channel is now live and offers a wide range of films for free viewing.

I am also pleased to announce that director Yoon Jung Lee's managed to gather the required funding for the film "Remember O Goddess". The goal of $30,000 was reach (actually surpassed) through the support of some 272 backers from around the world...More

This week I highlight one of Korea's living national treasures, the Korean Jindo, as I tip my hat to this amazing breed. In 1962, the Jindo was officially recognised as a national treasure and as such these dogs are held in high esteem here in Korea. The finger goes to the heads of Jogye Buddhist order, six of whom were exposed in a video this past week and found to be unfit to act as spiritual leaders...More

HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review

(2012.05.04 ~ 2012.05.06)

Marvel's "The Avengers" was just released in the U.S and broke the U.S opening weekend admissions record in the process. Here in Korea the film continued to dominate proceedings with 1,430,613 admissions, placing it now as the third highest grossing film on the 2012 Korean box office with 4,001,878 total admissions. Marvel's superhero flick snatched 53.50% of the ticket sales and left the fighting for the scraps...More