While Hollywood seems to be gaining ground at the Korean box office in 2008, a growing number of Korean stars are invading Hollywood's home turf this year, bringing Korean talent into view on the world stage. Local celebrities such as Jeon Ji-hyeon, Lee Byeon-heon, Jung Ji-hoon ("Rain"), Jang Dong-gun, and Korean-American Daniel Henney are currently filming or have already wrapped roles in major US studio productions.
Actress Jeon, going by her English name Gianna Jun, recently completed the shooting of her lead role in "Blood: The Last Vampire", a US – Hong Kong co-production set in the Tokyo of 1970. Jeon plays Saya, a vampire working for a covert US government agency that hunts and destroys demons. She is assigned to a military school where she must find out which of her fellow classmates is a demon in disguise.
The English-language horror-thriller will be model-turned-actress Jeon's Hollywood debut. Rising to celebrity status with her 2001 Korean feature...| More
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Lee Joon-ki, star of the movie "The King and the Clown", has caught the eye of acclaimed Chinese director Chen Kaige.
MG SHOW, the agency in charge of promoting the actor in China, announced on Tuesday that Lee had met with Chen at the Shanghai International Film Festival last Saturday, at which Chen was a juror.
Chen proposed that the two make a film together in China, which Lee thought was a great idea. "I'd love to make the movie if the script is good and the character is right", Lee said.
Chen's proposal is understood to be more than just lip-service. The Chinese director thinks highly of Korean actors, having worked with Jang Dong-gun in his movie "The Promise" in 2005. The project can also count on Lee's extraordinary popularity in China.
Lee, who became one of the leading stars of the Korean wave with his performances in "The King and the Clown" and the drama "My Girl", has become tremendously popular in China, with over 300,000 members signed up with his fan club.
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Actor Lee Joon-ki has received a movie proposal from famed Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige.
At the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival held Saturday, Lee met with Kaiger who was on the judging panel. Kaiger reportedly personally proposed to Lee that if he would be interested in doing a film with him in China. Lee immediately responded that he's more than willing if there's a good script and a fitting role.
Kaige had worked with Hallyu star Jang Dong-gun in the 2005 film "The Promise" and is apparently positive about working with a Korean actor again. The deal may be realized as Lee is more popular than any other star in China.
After wrapping filming of the Thailand portion of a Korean drama which will air next month, Lee attended the Shanghai festival where he was awarded the popularity prize along with Sharon Stone. He returned home Sunday....| More
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Jeon Do-yeon may be a household name in Korea, but the actress was virtually unknown to the world up to this point.
She started off playing small roles on television, then hit a career milestone ten years ago with a movie that was both a critical and commercial success.
Sok Jongwook looks at Jeon's career.
Jeon Do-yeon began her acting career in 1990 as a model in a cosmetics ad.
"I am so happy to be a cosmetics model. This is an auspicious event for our family.
She began appearing in TV dramas the same year, and made her film debut in 1997 in the hit movie "The Contact" as a lonely woman looking for love on the Internet.
Jeon won several Korean film awards that year, including best new actress, establishing her as an up and coming star.
Critics questioned the acclaim she received after she got the awards, but Jeon continued to gain popularity after starring in "The Promise" in 1998.
The tragic love story was a box office hit and firmly cemented her status as an A-list star...| More
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The Korean film industry is making rapid inroads into China. In the short term, it is a way to boost growth in the local film market. In the long term, it is part of a joint effort to branch out into the world market.
China's film market has been growing at 30 to 40 percent a year by revenue, and thus Korean filmmakers are anxious to find Chinese partners. In the last year there has been a big jump in the number of jointly produced films. Korean companies have also been opening multiplex theaters with Chinese partners.
The lives of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, warlords of ancient China, and heroic tales of many other gallant warriors are chronicled in the "Three Kingdoms: Resurrection Of The Dragon", a classic Chinese literary masterpiece which is much loved in Korea and Japan, as well as China.
It's not surprising that film producers in the three countries should be eager to turn the books into motion pictures, and collaborative projects involving companies from Korea, Japan ...| More
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All the pictures
