Park Ji-ah (박지아)

2008/03/13 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Director PARK Chan-wook's "I'm a Cyborg, but that's Ok" (Ssaibogeujiman Gwaenchana) received the Special Mention of the Jury at Fantasporto 2008. KIM Ki-duk won the Special Jury Award for "Breath" (Soom).

"I'm a Cyborg, but that's Ok" stars Im Soo-jeong and JUNG Ji-hoon (also known as the singer "Rain" (Bi)). The film is a romantic comedy, Park Chan-wook style. Taiwanese actor Chen Chang and the Korean actors HA Jeong-woo and PARK Ji-ah were casted by KIM Ki-duk for "Breath", a romantic drama set in a prison.

PARK got international attention with his 2000 hit "JSA - Joint Security Area" (Gongdong Gyeongbi Gooyeok/JSA) when it was invited by the Berlin International Film Festival in 2001. "JSA - Joint Security Area" won both the Blue Dragon Best Film Award and the Grand Bell Best Film Award, the two major Korean cinema awards, among a slew of other domestic and international awards.

Fantasporto is situated in the Portuguese harbour city Porto. The 28th edition ran from Febru...

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2007/12/24 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

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...

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2007/05/27 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Film magazines have lauded the Korean film "Secret Sunshine", which is competing for the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Director Lee Chang-dong's movie is considered a contender for the top prize. His female lead Jeon Do-yeon is also a candidate for the top actress award, winning praise from Reuters and a French daily.

Also in the running for the top actress award is Zia (Park Ji-ah), who stars in "Breath" by another Korean director Kim Ki-duk.

The festival ends Sunday.

Reported by KBS WORLD Radio ...

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2007/05/21 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The Korean director Kim Ki-duk screened his movie "Breath" on Saturday in competition at the 60th Cannes Film Festival. The official screening and press conference were held at the Lumiere Theatre in the French resort town.

Kim, wearing dark sunglasses at a press conference, joked, "The sunglasses I'm wearing now are the ones I wore when I appeared as a prison official in the film. You may be still watching the movie right at this moment". "Breath", which opened in Korea on April 26, depicts a woman who starts a relationship with a condemned criminal after discovering her husband's infidelity. Korean actress Zia (Park Ji-ah) and Taiwanese actor Chang Chen play the leads. "I wanted to highlight the difficulty of social and human relations -- so much so that you find it hard to breathe", Kim said. "At the same time, I wanted to show the difficulty of getting the message of my films across in the Korean society". Many of Kim's previous films have been criticized and shunned by general ...

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2007/04/20 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Two internationally renowned Korean directors will present their latest efforts in the Competition section on the 60th anniversary of the Cannes International Film Festival. LEE Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine" and KIM Ki-duk's "Breath" will have their International Premiers along with 19 other contenders for the coveted Grand Prize and Palme d'Or, the event's top two awards. The festival will run May 16th to 27th in the city synonymous with cinema, on the southeast coast of France.

Korean presence at Cannes remains strong this year while overall Asian presence has dimmed. Of the 21 competition films, only four come from Asia, while US and European films dominate. The international co-production éBlueberry Nightsé by Hong Kong's leading auteur WONG Kar Wai, will open the festival. The other Asian pick is Japanese director Naomi Kawase's The Forest of Mogari.

KOFIC will again set up a venue during the festival to provide a range of services and publications on Korean film. Alo...

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