Park Kwang-hyeon (박광현)

[THE HIGH TIDE OF THE KOREAN WAVE(25)] Hallyu: the Koreanization of world culture

Source | 2008/03/21 | Permalink |

In the last few years, Korean films, TV dramas and pop music have become immensely popular abroad, a phenomenon known as the Korean Wave. This is the 25th in a series of essays by a select group of scholars and journalists looking at the spread of Korean pop culture in Southeast Asian countries and beyond. - Ed.

"Hallyu", or the Korean Wave, marks the long overdue re-emergence of Korean culture into the global arena. Korean culture's newfound international vogue situates South Korean cinema, TV melodramas, K-pop, and computer games as active participants in the transformation of world culture.

These "domestic" electronic audio-visual cultural creations are no longer limited to just the Korean peninsula and the global Korean diaspora despite that they are produced in the Korean language - a language that is not one of the globalized imperial languages such as English, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese.

Despite this linguistic barrier, hallyu is now a recognized agent of gl...| More

"Welcome to Dongmakgol" Ranks 10th in Japan

Source | 2006/11/02 | Permalink |

The movie "Welcome to Dongmakgol" by director Park Kwang-hyeon has entered the top-10 of the box-office chart in Japan in the first week since its opening there.

The Japanese movie website Eiga.com wrote that the movie, which was a big hit in Korea, barely took the 10th spot on the Japanese box-office chart on October 28-29.

The top spot was taken by the Japanese movie "Kisarazu Catseye World Series", the sequel to the 2003 hit movie "Kisarazu Catseye Japan Series"....| More

Korean films 06 in London

Source | 2006/10/02 | Permalink |

London will host the free Korean film 06 from September 27 till October 1. The programmed films range from animations for children to comedies to dramas. The venue is the Odeon Covent Garden at Shaftsbury Avenue in the heart of London.

Among the selected films are popular films like the feel-good comedy Welcome to Dongmakgol, a favorite of the Korean audience in 2005. PARK Kwang-hyeon helmed "Welcome to Dongmakgol" and the film depicts soldiers from different sides ending up at the remote village Dongmakgol and its somehow deviant residents during the Korean War.

Other selected fare includes the critically acclaimed "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" and "Crying Fist". "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" director PARK Chan-wook gained international recognition with his 'vengeance trilogy' and "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" is the last installment of the trilogy. RYOO Seung-wan's "Crying Fist" is a renowned boxing drama with one of Korea's leading actors CHOI Min-sik.

The award winning "Os...| More

Korean Line-up New York Asian Film Festival

Source | 2006/05/30 | Permalink |

This year's New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) will screen six Korean films. Song Il-gon has two of his films at the festival, "The Magicians" and Feathers in the Wind. The other titles are: A Bittersweet Life (Kim Ji-woon), "Blood Rain" (Kim Dae-seung), "Duelist" (Lee Myeong-se) and "Welcome to Dongmakgol" (Park Kwang-hyeon).

The fifth edition of the festival will be held from June 16 until July 1. The festival is organized by Subway Cinema. The New York based Subway Cinema strives for a greater exposure and appreciation of Asian cinema in the United States. The festival is covered by major international media and gained critical recognition.

Past winners of the Audience Award at the New York Asian Film Festival are the Korean films: "My Sassy Girl" (Kwak Jae-yong) and "Please Teach Me English" (Kim Seong-soo).

Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC) ...| More

Welcome To Dongmakgol wins Audience Award at Udine

Source | 2006/05/12 | Permalink |

Park Kwang-hyeon's debut feature Welcome to Dongmakgol, which sold more than 8 million tickets in its Korean release last August, was voted the most popular film at the 8th Udine Far East Film Festival (FEFF) held in northeastern Italy.

The movie, which screened as the festival's closing film with Park in attendance, placed first in audience balloting among more than 50 recent features from Asia. The Udine festival, which is devoted to popular Asian cinema of the past and present, ranks as Europe's largest and best-known showcase of Asian cinema.

The FEFF screened a total of 14 Korean films, including 13 features that have been released in the past year and Han Hyeong-mo's Double Curve of Youth (1956), which screened as part of a retrospective on Asian musical films.

Other Korean films to place in the top ten in audience balloting include Park Jin-pyo's You Are My Sunshine at #6 and recent comedy See You After School at #10. Other high-ranking films were Japanese features Alwa...| More