Underground Rendez-vous (2007) - 만남의 광장 (Man-nam-eui Kwang-jang)

2007/08/23 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

American soldier turned North Korean citizen James Joseph Dresnok tells his story through the documentary film "Crossing the Line", by British filmmaker Daniel Gordon.

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

North of the 38th parallel during the height of the Cold War, a blue-eyed American soldier becomes a movie star in the anti-American state. More than 40 years later, "Crossing the Line" reveals the extraordinary story of the G.I. turned North Korean citizen James Joseph Dresnok. "What I am about to tell you… I've never told anyone", begins the film.

Having suffered a terrible childhood and a failed marriage, Dresnok had little to look forward to. Army life at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in South Korea was dead-end, and when he is about to get kicked out after breaching a regulation, he decides to cross the line.

British filmmaker Daniel Gordon chronicles this event that the United States had kept at a low profile. Dresnok was just one of the four American soldiers who defected ...

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2007/08/21 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The first half of this year saw some furrowed brows in Korea's film industry, but the summer is looking better with some Korean productions doing well at the box office.
The crowd pleasers include a mix of sci-fi, drama, and comedy.
Kim Youngwon has this story.
There seems to be no shortage of hot Korean films this summer, with domestic flicks grabbing over three-quarters of nationwide ticket sales in August.
Leading the charge is the sci-fi blockbuster "D-War".
Drawing in 7 million viewers and counting, the movie has become the 7th biggest Korean film of all time.
And much of the credit goes to director-cum-comedian Shim Hyungrae whose six-year struggle to produce the work in Hollywood won the sympathy of fans at home.
Though reviews go both ways, it still keeps packing in the crowds who awe over a bonanza of visual effects and computer graphics.
Then there's "Hwaryeohan Hyuga" or "May 18" a drama whose theater run has spilled well over its original schedule and has reached 6 ...

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2007/08/17 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Time to check on the week's new movies.
We have two Korean films, one's a comedy, and the other's a drama.
And foreign releases this week include a fantasy adventure and a true story about a San Francisco serial killer.
Here's Son Heekyung.
First up this week is the Korean comedy "Underground Rendez-vous".
The film centers around a teacher who lands a job to teach students in the peaceful village of Cheongsolri, located on the border between South and North Korea.
However, things turn for the worse for the teacher and he unexpectedly becomes homeless.
Then, a man who was trained at a notorious military camp takes over the teaching job.
Residents of the village soon become suspicious about the tough new teacher.

The Korean drama "Changing Partners" is highly recommended for couples.
The story revolves around a married couple who is having a difficult time trying to maintain their passion for each other.
Three years into the marriage their relationship can be described as lu...

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2007/08/09 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

A remote village nestled near the heavily fortified border that divides South and North Korea is not a popular place. But "Mannamui Gwangjang (Meeting Square)" ("Underground Rendez-vous"), a film set in the 1980s and directed by Kim Jong-jin, attempts to make it at least a meaningful place where families gather together in a peculiar way.

In the film, Young-tan (Im Chang-jeong), who lives on an obscure island, has a big dream: becoming a teacher in a big city. Befitting his ambition, he cannot stand anybody near him committing an immoral act. He is, after all, a paragon of morality and virtue who sets high standards in society -- a core quality that he believes he needs to be a good teacher.

The trouble is that he fails to pass every exam he takes to become a teacher. Apparently, the state does not consider his virtuous life in screening good teachers. Undaunted, Young-tae moves to Seoul in the hopes of preparing for the exam more seriously, but the very moment he arrives at Seou...

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2007/08/09 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

With the two Korean leaders slated to meet for talks in late August, the release of the heartfelt drama "Underground Rendez-vous" is most timely. Free of political commentaries, the film celebrates universal values of love with a delightfully comical edge as it portrays a family forced to live under unnatural separation.

Set during the early 1980s, "Underground Rendez-vous" tells the hilarious story of Yeong-tan (Im Chang-jeong), an aspiring schoolteacher who, caught along a series of mishaps, ends up teaching children in a small mountainous village. Meanwhile, the "real" teacher (Ryoo Seung-bum) who was supposed to move into town is trapped in the middle of nowhere, unable to move his right foot after stepping on a landmine.

All seems swell for Yeong-tan, and he even falls in love with an angelic beauty, Seon-mi (Park Jin-hee), the sister in law of the town chief (Im Hyeon-sik). One day, Yeong-tan catches Seon-mi and the chief in an awkward mome...

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