Shim Ji-ho (심지호)

"Open City": Freshness Turns Stale

Source | 2008/01/10 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Loaded with action and marked by sexual tension, "Open City" is yet another urban crime story set in the gritty streets of Seoul. But what sets it apart is that the cat and mouse game involves a network of professional ― and really scary ― pickpockets.

Lee Sang-gi makes a big directorial debut with a high-profile cast and a novel subject matter. He zooms into the world of "corporate" pick pocketing, but the story soon turns sour with some poorly crafted "Basic Instinct" elements and cliched family tragedies that are inherent to Korean dramas.

Son Ye-jin ("A Moment to Remember", 2004) trades in her innocent image for a dangerous persona, going all out with the hint of sex appeal she showed as a perky playgirl in "The Art of Seduction" (2005). She's ravishing, but like her character's cheesy name Baek Jang-mi (homonym for "white rose" in Korean), the new role seems to be an awkward fit.

Jang-mi is the boss of an organized gang of pi...| More

SON Ye-jin and KIM Myeong-min tangle in "Open City"

Source | 2008/01/09 | Permalink |

"Open City" is the feature film directorial debut of LEE Sang-gi who is also responsible for the scenario. The film stars SON Ye-jin as the leader of a pick pocketing gang and KIM Myeong-min plays a police detective working on her case. Unaware of each other's identity, the situation becomes more complicated when they meet by accident and feel attracted towards each other, and both are yet unaware of a shared incident from the past.

"Open City" is a stylish crime film set in a modern city with criminals who enjoy the fast life, and includes several clashes between rival gangs, and between criminals and the police. The film juggles fast paced action scenes with romance and drama, often filmed in atmospheric night scenes.

SON plays a headstrong and bold character body guarded and admired by SHIM Ji-ho's character. SON's character is equally matched in boldness and stubbornness by KIM's character. The two clash, but KIM's character can't resist SON's advances.

KIM also starred...| More

Park Ye-jin, joins Bae Yong-joon at BOF

Source | 2007/05/30 | Permalink |

Actress Park Ye-jin who is currently starring in the KBS drama series 'Dae Jo Yeong' has joined Bae Yong-joon and Lee Na-young and others at BOF.

Bae Yong-joon's agency BOF announced on the 29th, "We have signed an agency agreement with Park Ye-jin". BOF currently manages Bae Yong-joon, Lee Na-young, So Ji-sub, Heo I-jae, Hong Soo-Hyeon, Shim Ji-Ho, and others.

Park Ye-jin who debuted in 1998 through the movie 'Memento Mori' also starred in 'Something Happened in Bali' and other various series and is currently playing a strong female fighter in 'Dae Jo Young'. Park Ye-jin has also been cast as the main female lead in the upcoming tvN drama series 'The Great Catsby', and will be co-starred by MC Mong and Kang Kyeong-Joon....| More

Andre Kim's collection lights up Hawaiian night

Source | 2006/02/17 | Permalink |

HONOLULU, Hawaii - Korea's veteran designer Andre Kim lit up the Hawaiian night as more than one thousand fashion fans flocked here Wednesday to watch top Korean movie stars and models parade down the catwalk in Kim's lavish costumes.

The show held in the Hilton Hotel Coral Ballroom was jointly organized by KBFD - a Korean TV channel in Hawaii - and the University of Hawaii at Manoa's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) to celebrate the broadcaster's 20th anniversary and raise funds for the school.

"This event is seen not only as a charitable event, but one which will be a magnificent learning opportunity for the students and faculty in our program", said CTAHR Dean Andrew Hashimoto before the show. "We look forward to receiving Andre Kim and his celebrity models from Korea and sharing his culturally unique production to benefit out fashion design program".

The 70-year-old Korean designer has done a variety of charity shows and received numerous awards ...| More

Andre Kim's Fashion Graces Hawaii

Source | 2006/02/16 | Permalink |

By Bae Keun-min
Korea Times Correspondent

HONOLULU, Hawaii _ A 2.4-meter-width white runway, four boxes of white confetti, 200 kilograms of dry ice, white spot lighting and white screen on the back of the stage.

These are usual white elements celebrated South Korean haute coutre Andre Kim, who is famous for his signature look in a white suit, uses to create a dreamy stage to tell a pure, romantic love story filled with his garments.

Except for white confetti this time, the rest of the elements successfully helped bring out the atmosphere that Kim intended, during the 2007 Spring and Summer Andre Kim Fashion Art Collection held in Hawaii, Wednesday.

Over an hour, the runway at Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa was filled with 143 sets of Kim's garments in a variety of colors with diverse patterns and silhouettes. They were inspired by tropical Hawaii, ancient Korean royal costume and patterns and more, with a little bit of Western culture flavor thrown in.

Hav...| More