Love Exposure (2007) - 어깨너머의 연인 (Eo-ggae-neo-meo-eui Yeon-in)

Why the Japanese Wave Just Keeps on Coming

Source | 2007/11/29 | Permalink |

Armadas of middle-aged Japanese women no longer chase Bae Yong-joon, the biggest star the Korean wave of the early millennium produced; instead, more and more Korean fans are now dying for a glimpse of their favorite Japanese stars. In Korea, some of the so-called J-drama maniacs watch Japanese soaps all night long, and the growing popularity of Japanese novels here already outstrips any enthusiasm for Korean writing.

Obviously pleased with the reversal of fortunes, a Japanese movie magazine hailed the Japanese boom in Korea, saying, "While the Korean wave is on the wane, the Japanese wave is waxing". Many critics agree that while Korean Wave is receding, Japanese culture has been slowly assimilated into the mainstream of Korean culture and has firmly taken root there. So what are the strengths differentiating the Japanese Wave? The Chosun Ilbo asked experts for their views.

◆ Stars

Korea only opened its door to Japanese movies and drama on Jan. 2004, and ever since, the...| More

A Fresh Look at Korean-American Issues

Source | 2007/11/09 | Permalink |

You may start to watch "West 32nd", a new film by Korean-American director Michael Kang, without much expectation, sitting comfortably in your chair. But at a certain point you will find yourself on the edge, realizing that this is not the sort of independent art movie where the ethnic Korean director tries to identify his roots as an eternal outsider.

Whether you call them "diaspora films" or simply Korean-American movies, these films usually appeal only to a minority of fans. These ethnic Koreans belong to the mainstream neither in Korea nor America. To break down that barrier, Michael Kang has decided to make a thriller.

Three gunshots ring out from a Korean bar on New York's West 32nd Street. A 14-year-old Korean-American boy is arrested on the spot for killing the manager of the bar, played by Jeong Joon-ho. The boy's sister Lila (Grace Park) tries to prove her brother's innocence, and second-generation Korean American lawyer John Kim (John Cho) takes the case as a way to ge...| More

Actresses Gain Presence Onscreen

Source | 2007/10/02 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

While the female persona Korean entertainment remains largely reminiscent of Hollywood during the 1950~60s, a few in recently released or upcoming films are beginning to reflect, with some realism, Korean women today.

Women onscreen tend to be either innocent asexual Audrey Hepburns (think Lee Young-ae, Choi Ji-woo, Song Hye-kyo) or smoldering Marylin Monroes oozing with sex appeal (Kim Hye-soo, Uhm Jung-hwa). Then there exists a third, very minor group of eccentrics like Katherine Hepburn that fit into neither category, like actresses Kang Hye-jeong, Bae Doona and Kong Hyo-jin.

In other words, it is rather difficult to meet truly realistic female characters in movies. A most disappointing example is director Kwak Gyeong-taek's latest offering "A Love". In this terribly old-fashioned story about a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, the heroine is but a mere caricature embodying romantic fantasies: the unforgettable first love, frail damsel in distress ...| More