Jeong Jin-yeong (정진영)

2008/01/03 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Many local movie productions suffered setbacks last year, due to increased costs and the strengthened position of Hollywood blockbusters. In 2008, leading filmmakers are betting on large-scale projects to turn things around for the embattled local film industry.

At the forefront of Korean films' counterattack is Kim Ji-woon's oriental western "The Good, The Bad, The Weird", whose production cost is estimated at a whopping 15 billion won ($16 million). Hedging the huge financial risk is none other than a star-studded cast. Well-known Korean Wave stars Lee Byeong-heon, Song Kang-ho and Jeong Woo-seong play central characters for the film set in Manchuria of the 1930s.

Lee, who is enjoying soaring popularity in Japan, takes the role of a bandit, while Song turns into a train robber and Jeong becomes a bounty hunter. The trio stumbles onto a treasure map in the Manchuria region, a sort of Korean western -- a peculiar genre which is yet to be tested at the box office. The film is sche...

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2007/09/11 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

A lineup of heartwarming family movies await audiences with Korea's thanksgiving holiday Chuseok around the corner. Among them, "Bravo My Life - 2007", "The Happy Life" and "Wild Hogs", show that one can never be too late to rock 'n' roll or hit the road on bikes. The latent spirit of youth awakens in middle-aged men, providing much laughter and tears for audiences of all ages, especially fathers.

White-collar Band Sings `Bravo My Life - 2007'

Four veteran actors, Baek Yoon-sik ("Art of Fighting", 2000), Park Joon-gyoo ("My Wife is a Gangster 2", 2003) and Im Ha-ryong ("Welcome to Dongmakgol", 2005) make breakthrough lead performances in "Bravo My Life - 2007", now showing in theaters. Inspired by the true story of a group of white-collar rockers Gapgeunse (Grade A Earned Income Tax) Band, the movie traces the depressing retirement of Min-hyuk (Baek Yoon-sik).

Diligent but far from ambitious, 50-year-old Min-hyuk dedicated 30 years to his firm...

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2007/08/30 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

For the family. For the company. For the future. There is almost always some excuse for not doing something that we really want to do. We proudly call it "sacrifice" that is necessary for our happiness. After all, our true wishes will be realized some day if we gladly persevere present suffering.

The only embarrassing truth is that such a dream-come-true, suffering-well-endured day never comes for working-class people who are often forced to confront one painful challenge after another.

"The Happy Life", directed by Lee Joon-ik ("The King and the Clown" and "Radio Star") starts off to a slow start, toying with the idea of the sadness and loneliness that grip middle-aged Korean men beset by a variety of troubles at home and in the workplace.

Worse, Ki-young (Jeong Jin-yeong) does not have a workplace to complain about. He's laid off from a financial company and has to get by on just 10 bucks a day, a meager allowance from his wife Sun-mi (Kim Ho-jeong). Even his teenage daughte...

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2007/08/28 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The male cast for Director Lee Joon Ik's new film has been determined.

With Soo-ae as the female lead, Jeong Jin-yeong, Eom Tae-woong, and Jeong Kyeong-ho will join.

Jeong Jin-yeong who has appeared in three out of four films by the director will once again appear as Jung Man, the member of a traveling performer group. Jung Man is chased away to Vietnam after by loan sharks and creates a performing group and tries to recruit Soon Yi (Soo-ae) as his vocal playing a selfish and materialistic character.

Eom Tae-woong who has been praised for his roles in 'Resurrection' ("Revenge"), 'Devil' and the movie 'Family Ties' ("The Birth of a Family") will play the role of Sang Kil, Soon Yi's husband and will draw the life of a character who survives through a brutal war. Eom Tae-woong recently completed the filming of 'The Best Moment of Our Lives' and has also been cast for the omniversal film 'My Love' by Director Lee Han.

Jeong Kyeong-ho who acted in 'When Romance Meets Destiny" (K...

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2007/08/16 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

They say first loves never die, and "For Eternal Hearts" immortalizes onscreen the allure and power of youthful passions. Dreams and remembrances delightfully converge in this haunting love story that transcends the borders of life and death, and leaps over the passage of time.

Su-yeong (Jeong Jin-yeong) is a quiet, middle-aged professor of German literature at a local university. At the request of his students, he reminiscently recounts his first love that stole his heart during his college days. As a young man Su-yeong was shy, naive and studious (Jeong Kyeong-ho). But his life is forever changed when he meets the wild and eccentric "Pippi" (Kim Min-seon).

He is crushed, however, when Pippi commits suicide in the name of love. But Pippi magically reappears before him and life starts to take a bizarre turn. It is believed here that when a person dies, the soul wanders around for 49 days before making the final passage to the other world. If it f...

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