Korean movie news

2008/05/06 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

On a remote island in South Jeolla Province, a dozen students share a single classroom. Deprived of modern technology, they hardly know the difference between a bicycle and a pair of glasses. As they see it, both have two circles, and that's that.

"Unforgettable" (Seoul-i boinya), directed by debut filmmaker Song Dong-yoon, brings back memories of pre-modern day Korea when islanders used to get by with a handful of basic tools, and rarely got out of their hometown.

Director Song, fortunately, has not fallen into the trap of stirring up romantic nostalgia. Instead, he employs a story-within-a-story structure, focusing on timeless educational issues such as what makes a good teacher and what is really needed for adventure-seeking students.

In the movie which will be released on Thursday, Gil-su (played by Lee Chang-hoon) is a dedicated teacher who wants to take his students on a field trip during the upcoming summer vacation. But his desire to offer students the rare chance to g...

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2008/05/06 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Korean B-boy dance troupe Gambler are to star in a $US 25 million feature produced by major Hollywood studio Paramount Pictures. Gambler are Korea's leading B-boy dance group, having won numerous international competitions. They will star in "Hype Nation" alongside American R&B group B2K as two rival bands going head to head in B-boy dance battles.

The film will also star rapper and legendary producer Teddy Riley, who has produced albums with the likes of Bobby Brown and Michael Jackson. In addition to playing a part in the film, Riley will co-produce the feature. Comedian-actress Whoopi Goldberg is also named as attached to the project. The film is to be the feature directing debut of Alex Calzatti, known best for his work as camera operator, including on the Russian classic I Am Cuba.

Korean-American Young Lee, president of Young Films, will produce the film for Paramount and is currently casting for a Korean female lead. The film moves into production July 15 in the US w...

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2008/05/06 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Upcoming South Korean feature "Crossing", a harrowing tale about a North Korean family's desperate struggle to survive, screened at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. last week. Those in attendance included House International Relations Committee specialists Dennis Halpin and Doug Anderson, Peter Beck, executive director of the US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, KIM Sung-min, a former N.K. refugee and close to 100 foreign journalists.

Halpin, a Republican, called the film a "masterpiece" in its portrayal of human suffering under dictatorship, putting it on par with the "Diary of Anne Frank". Beck called "Crossing" the best film ever made on the subject of North Korean defectors. Several in the audience reportedly broke into tears as they watched the family's sad plight.

Based on the real-life accounts of numerous North Korean refugees, the film centers on a family of three, the husband, Yong-soo, his wife, and their 11-year-old son. When Yong-soo's wife...

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2008/05/05 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Park Kyung-ni's novels are considered to be classics, and the fact that her works are revived time after time onscreen is one proof of this. Screen adaptations for both movies and TV soap operas show the enduring quality of her work.

Park's most celebrated novel "Toji" ("The Land") was adapted onscreen numerous times. It is often considered a timeless historical novel, and even a cartoon version was published last year. Told in five parts over 16 volumes, it portrays the social climate of the early 20th century. But tracing the lives, loves and sorrow of peasants and nobilities, "Land" features universal themes that still appeal to people today.

The story appeared as a movie in 1974, starring veteran actor Lee Soon-jae. It inspired three television soaps in 1979, 1986 and 2004 respectively. The latest version was particularly significant as it followed the publication of the fifth and final episode of the epic work in 1994.

The SBS drama was ...

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2008/05/05 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Following the introduction of three local dramas last year, everything about Korea from pop music to motor vehicles are taking off in the Southeast Asian nation of Laos.
Shin Haejoo has more on the latest nation to be struck by the "Korean Wave" of culture.
In the southeast Asian country Laos, just about anything made in Korea seems to catch on.
Interest in Korea started with the launching of three Korean hit drama series in Laos last November as part of the Korea Broadcasting Commission's project to increase Korean presence in the region.
The shows that aired are two historic TV dramas",Hwangjin-i", which tells the true story of a legendary Korean entertainer during the Joseon Dynasty, and "Dae Jang Geum", which is a fictional twist on the first female royal physician of the Joseon Dynasty.
The last one is a modern story "Stairway to Heaven" with a plot that resembles the old Cinderella tale.
Active ties between the two country's broadcasting systems began last year with the sig...

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2008/05/02 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

How crazy is it to wait 730 days for a lover?
A recently released Korean DVD, "Crazy Waiting" ("The Longest 24 Months" - Gidarida michyeo) portrays the painful separation period that young Korean couples endure due to the mandatory military service imposed on men here.
For patient people, 730 days might not seem that long, but it can be an eternity for young lovers.
As one of the last divided countries in the world, Korea sends its young, healthy men in their early 20s — typically the prime of their lives — into the military. The length of the service is generally two years but varies slightly depending on the armed branch.
In this film, four couples have to go through tearful goodbyes. It's sad for the guys, but even more heartbreaking for the girls, who must send their loved ones to some countryside training camp where they don't even have a decent heater.
After the initial, emotion-ridden phase, however, the girls' worries about their boyfriends soon dissipate into a tidal wave...

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2008/05/02 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

A screening of "Crossing", a South Korean film based on true accounts of North Korean defectors, was held at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. The audience included House International Relations Committee specialists Dennis Halpin and Doug Anderson, Peter Beck, executive director of the U.S Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, Kim Sung-min, a former North Korean refugee and head of Free North Korea Radio, and 100 foreign journalists.

The film is about a North Korean father who crosses the border to China in search of food, leaving his ailing wife and 11-year-old son behind. After reaching South Korea, he desperately tries to bring his family out of North Korea, but his wife dies from malnutrition and his young son perishes in the Mongolian desert.

Several audience members reportedly broke in tears at the sad plight of this desperate North Korean father and the horrendous state of human rights violation in the North. Dennis Halpin called it a "masterpiece" that show...

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2008/05/02 | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

"Rain"'s entertainment agency J. Tune Entertainment (CEO Cho Dong-won) is preparing to launch a cellular content service for Japanese fans.

On April 28th, a J. Tune representative announced that they have signed a contract with ACCEL Corporation, a Japanese company dealing in wireless services and that they are ready to provide "top quality content that will fulfill the needs of fans in Japan".

ACCEL will receive entertainment content from J. Tune and release it in early June to Japan's three major cellular service providers - NTT Docomo, KDDI, and Softbank.

"We plan on sharing footage of "Rain"'s performances and his daily life through the content service which can be viewed in Japan anytime, anywhere", a J. Tune representative said. "We hope that Japanese fans will show great interest in this new service"....

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2008/05/02 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Singer IVY took a break from the spotlight after being threatened at the end of last year. The singer will return to showbiz this June with her TV drama debut in the SBS production "Tokyo, Yeowubi" (screenplay by Kim Jin-hee, directed by Lee Joon-hyeong).

"'Tokyo, Yeowubi' was shot entirely in Japan last year and it will air at 10pm on June 2nd, 3rd, 9th and 10th", announced the production company of the drama, Work Wonders.

Starring Kim Sa-rang and Kim Tae-woo, "Tokyo, Yeowubi" is a melodrama about the love that blossoms between actress 'Soo-jin' and sushi chef 'Hyun-soo' after a fateful encounter in Japan.

Also starring in the TV drama are Japanese actors Otani Ryohei, Okuda Erika and Yamamoto Gaku.

"'Tokyo, Yeowubi' was produced as a cinematic drama to be viewed in theaters", explained Work Wonders. "And besides the director, writer and producer, the entire crew is Japanese".

The director of the drama, Lee Joon-hyeong, is famous for directing music videos of singers S...

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2008/05/01 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

So Ji-sub and Kang Ji-hwan were cast as lead roles for "Movie is Movie".

So Ji-sub stars as Kang Pae, a gangster, and Kang Ji-hwan is Soo-Ta, a successful actor. Their respective roles allow them to show their charm and acting skills.

It is the story of Kang Pae, who lives each day streaked with violence, and Soo-Ta, who starts to dislike the star's life, who star in the same movie. The unique plot of a gangster and a star who both star in a gangster action movie is already drawing attention.

Director Jang Hoon said, "We were thinking of the two actors while working on the scenario. I'm looking forward to filming, for they both have passion for acting". It will start filming in mid-May....

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