Korean movie news

2008/04/16 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

"I have a dream", declared one acquaintance at a recent lunch.
Expecting to hear something equal to Martin Luther King Jr'.s epoch-making speech, I took time to enjoy her facial expression, which reminded the listeners of the African-American minister.
"It is to fax my letter of resignation to work after walking down the aisle with Prince Charming", she said.
Wait. What kind of a dream is that to declare in public?
She's joking, right?
But she went on, words that trampled all over anything that Simone de Beauvoir and Gloria Steinem ever wrote or stood for.
To be honest, it was even more frustrating because she earns a much better salary than me.
I even lost my appetite for dessert and coffee, which rarely happens.
She started to complain how her company is taking her for granted, but I ceased listening for the sake of my mental health.
Unlike her, I don't have the money to find a shrink.
To calm my mind and body, I decided to think that she is just another outdated Cinderella...

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2008/04/16 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Role in Wachowski brothers' movie leads to other Hollywood jobs

Pop star "Rain" has leapt into the Hollywood limelight. He's been cast in "Speed Racer", a live action film by the Wachowski brothers, the creators of "The Matrix" (1999).
Speed Racer, which will be released worldwide on May 8, is based on "Mach Go Go Go", the 1960s Japanese animation series by cartoonist Tatsuo Yoshida.
The main character, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch), is a veteran motorist whose whole family is involved in the cross-country racing business.
"Rain", real name Jeong Ji-hun, plays rookie racer Taejo Togokhan.
"He [Togokhan] has a forceful personality", Jeong said, noting that Togokhan is cast as the villain because he has such an overpowering urge to win.
The rookie teams up with Speed Racer and Racer X (Matthew Fox) and gives his all to win races for his family's honor.
"No actor would have turned down this role, especially when the movie is directed by Hollywood directors [Andy and Larry Wachowski]...

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2008/04/16 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

"Kangjeok" or "Rivals", a brand new drama series on KBS 2TV starring Chae Rim and Lee Jong-hyuk, started off with a lower-than-expected viewer rating of 7.1 percent (TNS Media Korea) on April 14.

In the first episode, new bodyguards were shown going through grueling training sessions. "Rivals" competed with "Lee San" on MBC (27.9%) and "I Love You" on SBS (6.7%).

According to AGB Nielsen Media Research, the viewer rating for "Rivals" on April 4 was 6.1 percent while that of "Isan" and "I Love You" were 28.4 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

The viewer rating for "Rivals" is only slightly higher than the preceding drama series "Single Dad in Love" which recorded a viewer rating of 5.9 percent in the first episode and an average viewer rating of 4.6 percent.

Meanwhile, "Unshaken", a new morning drama series on MBC starring Hong Eun-hee and Kim Nam-jin, recorded a viewer rating of 12.6 for the first episode according to AGB Nielsen Media Research. "I Still Love You", the pr...

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2008/04/16 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Lee Min-woo (M) to Hold First Solo Concert in Shanghai

Lee Min-woo (M), a solo artist as well as a member of the group Shinhwa, will hold his first concert in China.

Lee will perform in front of some ten thousand Chinese fans at the International Gymnastics Center in Shanghai for two days from May 2. The concert will be held under the title "M, Live in Shanghai".

Open World Entertainment said this will be the first time Lee will perform solo at a large-scale concert in China without the rest of the Shinhwa members. The company said 90 percent of the tickets have already been sold since April 17.

After his China concert, he will hold another concert in Seoul for two days from May 30....

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2008/04/16 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Ten Korean features will have their World Premiere at the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) this spring. Now in it's 9th edition the festival will run May 1st – 9th in the attractive and historical city of Jeonju, in North Jeolla province.

Korean highlights include documentary director KIM Dong-won's latest, "63 Years On", about the 'comfort women' enslaved by the Japanese military in stations across Asia during WW2. The film provides an historical investigation along with interviews with victims still living in Korea, China, and the Philippines. KIM is best known for his 2003 film Repatriation which raised the documentary genre to commercial prominence in South Korea.

In the Korean Cinema on the Move section, presents 10 new independent features mostly by debut directors. Among the most interesting are "Synching Blue" by SEO Won-tae, a director whose shorts films have garnered praise for their visual arrangements. This HD feature is about a man who seeks comfort i...

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2008/04/15 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The original Korean children's program "Hutos" will be making its way into the Middle East via a childrens channel on Al Jazeera, the most extensive cable broadcasting network in the region.

KBS N, which is in charge of Hutos' distribution, agreed to an export deal regarding the program with the executive administrators of Al Jazeera cable network in France. The contract will be finalized between both parties in Seoul in May.

Hutos is a children's developmental program and its furry cast is one of the most popular kids shows aired on KBS 1TV, 2TV, KBS Prime, Champ, JEI TV, MegaTV, HanaTV, and myLGTV. It is set to air in the Middle East around June or July.

Hutos was produced by KBS in 2007 and it is filmed on a four billion won set located within the Hampyeong Ecological Park in Jeollanam-do.

KBS N is hopeful that the overseas distribution of Hutos will lead to the export of character-related products....

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2008/04/15 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The ABC hit series "Lost", featuring Korean actress Kim Yoon-jin, has been nominated for the 12th annual Prism Award.

According to U.S. Variety Magazine, "Lost" will compete with other popular drama series such as NBC's "ER" and "Gone Baby Gone", a film directed by Ben Affleck, at the Prism Awards Ceremony to be held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles on April 24.

The annual Prism Awards Ceremony deals with films and dramas that accurately portray issues related to alcoholism and psychologial disorders.

"Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC have each received nominations for 20 categories....

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2008/04/15 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The KBS 2TV Drama "Three Fathers, One Mother" (Writer Jo Myeong-joo, Producer Lee Jae-sang) saw positive effects from the General Elections.

"Three Fathers, One Mother" reached record ratings of 11.9% yesterday (TNS Media Korea Survey), ranked second in its time-slot and pushed past the 7.9% ratings of the MBC drama "Who Are You - Drama". The SBS Drama "On Air" has held a constant rating of 20%, but faltered slightly at 19.4% last night.

"On Air" and "Who Are You - Drama" broadcast at 10:10 p.m., ten minutes later than their scheduled time due to special programs concerning Korean astronaut Lee So-yeon. "Three Fathers, One Mother" began at 9:58 p.m.

The increase in ratings for "Three Fathers, One Mother" was determined to have started a day earlier on the 9th during the 18th General Elections of Korea. All the other TV dramas in the same time-slot were cancelled due to the special General Election broadcasts, which is when the KBS drama rose from low single-digit ratings to 14...

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2008/04/15 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter

When the SBS drama "My Girl" was shown on primetime Philippine TV in 2006, the dialogue was dubbed in the Filipino language and the characters played by actress Lee Da-hae and actor Lee Dong-wook were re-named Jasmine and Julian.

Filipino audiences fell in love with the romantic comedy series, making it one of the most popular Korean dramas in the Philippines. Since it was such a big hit, ABS-CBN, the broadcasting network that aired the drama, decided to remake "My Girl" with an all-Filipino cast.

ABS-CBN bought the rights to remake the drama from SBS, and the Philippine version of "My Girl" is scheduled to air next month.

"We're retaining the basic core of the story, but we're `Philippinizing' it in so many ways. So it's going to be different. Ours is a combination of drama and comedy. It's a younger version definitely. The number of episodes is slightly more as well. Our version should run for about 16 to 20 hours", ABS-CBN business...

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yeah, no way! still the original is the best! and i don't like the actors in the remake of My Girl in the Phil. they do not suit it, they're only 18-20, too young for 28-30 roles! jU yOO rIN 2008-05-15 05:35:54 Joe Knee 2008-05-01 01:25:47 no way! that so-called remake isn't a good idea. they'll just mess it up! can't wait for the korean version of hana yori or meteor garden...wonder who'll play the roles?..:P demi 2008-04-18 05:05:54 inoue00yuri 2008-04-18 02:42:56 of course GMA is going to remake the drama better!! i really enjoyed My Name Is Kim Sam Soon!! üü i loVe KorEAn m0ViEs ^^, sychnrea 2008-04-17 23:47:51

2008/04/15 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

Japanese fans have been loyal to Korean dramas ever since the successful "Winter Sonata" (2002), starring Bae Yong-joon, visiting the filming sites and attending fan meetings of their favorite Korean stars. The demand is still high as they seek for more and something different.

At the MIPTV/Milia 2008, an annual international exhibition of audiovisual and digital contents held in Cannes, France, Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) signed a contract with a Japanese broadcast company for the export of four of their period dramas, "Dragon's Tears" (1998), "King and Queen" (1999), "The Age of Warriors" (2003) and "Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-shin" (2004).

Until recently, the Korean dramas Japanese viewers enjoyed watching were mostly "soap operas", with heartthrob celebrities starring in heartbreaking love stories. But the new dramas being sent to Japan are quite different ― they have historical backgrounds and plots.

"Tears of the Dragon" (1998)...

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