Korean Cinema Today app for Dec. is out

The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) has launched the iPad applicationfor Korean Cinema Today's December issue. The governmental organization is also planning to launch an upgraded Korean Film Biz Zone (KoBiz) app for the iPhone and Android early next year.

Korean Cinema Today's December lead story examines the top issues of 2011 in the Korean film industry. These includesurprise box office phenomena with and , updates onleading directors such as Park Chan-wook and Kim Ki-duk,and industry changes including CJ E&M's emergence.

As usual, the magazine features expert box office analysis by Contributing Editor Darcy Paquet as well as a variety of industry-related news and information on new films.The magazine also features overviews of 16 international film festivals in Korea that KOFIC supports.

The December issue also has exclusive interviews with International Film Festival RotterdamProgrammer Gerwin TAMSMA and head of the Berlin International Film Festival's Panorama section Wieland SPECK. The interviews look into their festival programming and how they go about the world finding their films, as well as some personal insights on cinema.

The December issue also has a guest column by Robert Mitchell, an international distribution expert and analyst and former Screen International journalist based in London. Titled "Bittersweet Life: Korean cinema's secret popularity in the UK", the piece examines the gulf between artistic and business successes of Korean films in the UK.

The December Korean Cinema Today iPad version can be found under the KoBiz name, while the webzine version is available at http://koreanfilm.or.kr/webzine.

Not to be confused with the iPad version, the KoBiz iPhone and Android apps currently do not feature the Korean Cinema Today magazine, but instead provide information on the latest films, box office, people, companies and festivals. The upgraded version of this app is due for launch by late January 2012.