Kang Ji-eun (강지은)

Stars Make It Difficult Not to Like 'Phobia'

2006/04/27 | Source | Permalink |

By Joon Soh
Contributing Writer

Most celebrity couples do everything they can to avoid having their relationship in the media spotlight. The exception to this rule is Jo Seung-woo and Kang Hye-jeong, who not only seem to accept public interest in their relationship, but encourage it by starring as romantic opposites in a new film.

The drawing power of the couple is likely to be enough to make "Love Phobia" a commercial success. However, their celebrity status might make it easy to forget that Jo and Kang are in fact two of the more promising young actors working in Korea today. The film fortunately doesn't overlook this fact, and gives them plenty of opportunities to show off their skills.

Jo and Kang star respectively as Cho-gang and A-ri, a pair of young lovers whose courtship consists of three meetings in 20 years. They first meet in childhood _ a boy living in a small village (played by Park Geon-tae) and a young orphan girl who believes she is cursed (Byeon Joo-yon). For...| More

Love Phobia, Love in Two Kinds of World

2006/04/10 | Source | Permalink |

'Love phobia'only exists in fictional films for the real life couple Jo Seung-woo and Kang Hye-jeong, the two stars of the upcoming romantic drama Love Phobia ("Tomabaem"). The story is about two people in love with each other, but Kang's character stays away from him because of the secrets she carries.

The film is directed by first time director Kang Ji-eun, who was an assistant director on Silmido (2003) and Public Enemy (2002).

Jo and Kang not only share good fortunes in love, but also in both their acting careers. Jo enjoyed successwith Marathon (2005) and collaborated with director IM Kwon-taek in "Low Life" (2004) and Chunhyang (2000). Kang has been praised for her acting in Old boy (2003) and Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005).

The couple say that they enjoyed working together and they were able to learn from each other's skills and acting experience. Director Kang reportedly had some concerns about casting a real life couple, worrying that the public's focus on the real life...| More

Star Couple Tackles Love on Big Screen

2006/04/03 | Source | Permalink |

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

If real-life lovers star in a melodrama, can they do a more convincing job of telling a love story, whether its sad or romantic?

Movie stars Jo Seung-woo and Kang Hye-jeong, who have been a couple for years, say that their upcoming movie "Love Phobia (Tomabaem)" will have the answer.

"Since we are a couple in the real world, we were able to help each other while we were making the film, more than just as co-stars", Jo said during a news conference held last Friday at Seoul Plaza Hotel in downtown Seoul. "But while we were working, we didn't really think we were each others' boyfriend or girlfriend".

Kang and Jo showed up at the conference with their hands clasped tight. The event was held to promote the movie, which opens April 27.

Directed by Kang Ji-eun, the story is about a boy named Cho-gang who falls in love with his classmate A-ri.

A-ri, with her peculiar personality and many secrets intentionally avoids meeting the boy although s...| More