Jeong Gil-yeong (정길영)

Korean films sought after by Europe and Asia

Source | 2008/02/13 | Permalink |

European and Asian buyers closed deals on several Korean films' rights at the Berlin Film festival's market. JEON Ji-hyeon's star power in Asia resulted in "A Man Who Was Superman" being sold to Hong Kong (Golden Scene), Thailand (J-Bics), and Singapore (Festive Films) by CJ Entertainment. The human interest drama was directed by JEONG Yoon-cheol and stars HWANG Jeong-min as a traumatised man.

German Splendid pre-bought the rights for "The Divine Weapon" and "Fate". CJ Entertainment also sold "Open City" and "Our Town" to Splendid.

"Fate" is an action noir starring Korean star KWON Sang-woo and SONG Seung-heon. KIM Hae-gon directs the story about friends who turn to crime.

The historical drama "The Divine Weapon" stars JEONG Jae-yeong and is about the invention of an advanced weapon to defend a former Korean dynasty. JEONG frequently collaborated with celebrated director JANG Jin and his latest film is the comedy "Going by the Book". "Wild Card"'s director KIM Yoo-jin helme...| More

[Year-end Review : Movies] 'Sunshine' offers hope to Korean cinema in 2007

Source | 2007/12/24 | Permalink |

The Korean movie industry got off to a shaky start this year, due to the weakened market position of local flicks versus Hollywood blockbusters, but it received a big shining ray of hope from director Lee Chang-dong's thought-provoking drama, "Secret Sunshine".

Jeon Do-yeon, the heroine of "Secret Sunshine", grabbed the prestigious Best Actress award at the 60th Cannes Film Festival in May, setting the upbeat tone for the domestic film industry.

The 34-year-old actress won international acclaim for her brave and inspiring depiction of a grieving Korean woman struggling to rebuild her life in a new city in "Secret Sunshine", the first picture in four years by Lee Chang-dong, a former Korean culture minister.

Despite the positive turn on the filmfest front, the local movie market faced increasing pressure this year. Although the market volume of the Korean film industry remains relatively solid, with 104 films released between January and November this year, the number of movieg...| More

'Our Town' Deconstructs Murder

Source | 2007/11/22 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Unlike what its title might suggest, director Jeong Gil-yeong's "Our Town" is not some fuzzy family drama. It's a crime thriller where five women are brutally killed. Not another serial killer story, you may say. But, again, the film kills your expectations as it takes you on a novel cinematic experience ― a flight into the mind of not one, but two, killers on the loose in what could be "our" neighborhood.

First off, the title needs some explanation. It is a literal translation of the original title "Uri dongne". A Los Angeles Times column (July 24, 2006) once highlighted how the Korean language thoroughly reflects the collective nature of Koreans, who prefer the unassuming "we" over the individual "I", and thus leads to the stapling of group pronouns "our" (uri) rather than "my" in front of objects. So saying "our house" or "our town" creates a communal sense of ownership and establishes a sense of mutual connection.

That's the irony. Thi...| More

[MOVIE REVIEW] 'Our Town' maps out a new track in thriller

Source | 2007/11/21 | Permalink |

When a serial killer is on the loose in a small town, a tempting option for another potential killer is committing a copycat murder. "Our Town" (Uri dongnae), the debut feature by director Jeong Gil-yeong, is a thriller that spins a grim and brooding tale out of a confrontation between a serial killer and a copycat killer.

The movie starts with a scene where a twentysomething girl is found dead at an elementary school playground. With her neck tied to a horizontal bar, she seems to have suffered severe stab wounds before or after a brutal murder.

It turns out that the murder is the latest in a string of similar cases involving the same town in Seoul. All the victims are women, ranging from a child to a housewife in her 30s, and all the townspeople become afraid to go out, while the police are faced with embarrassing bad publicity.

Jae-shin (Lee Seon-gyoon), a detective who leads an investigation into the serial killer case, struggles hard to find clues, with his boss getting a...| More