Bong Man-dae (봉만대)

Month-end box office tabulations for January, according to Film 2.0, have placed local comedy 200 Pounds Beauty past 6.23 million admissions, making it a major sleeper hit. The film has become the most successful Korean comedy of all time, edging past My Boss, My Teacher, which sold 6.1 million tickets earlier last year. 200 Pounds Beauty has also passed Shiri (1999)at 6.21 million, making it the eighth biggest box office draw in Korean history.

The comedy about plastic surgery has attracted appearance-conscious Koreans with its humorous tale of an extremely overweight singer, the 'ghost voice'behind a lip-syncing pop star. Fed-up of being ill-treated due to her weight, she hasdrastic full-body surgery, reappearing as a slim and sexy sensatio...More

For many ambitious film directors in Korea, the genre of modern horror flicks has become something of an Aladdin's lamp, which they think of as a magical turning point in their cinematic careers able to certify their aesthetic taste with a single granted wish.
In fact the directors of "K-horrors" usually have a few things in common. Often they have never directed horror films before; somewhere in the special features section of their DVDs their commentary implies that horror was never their favorite genre; and their films make grand and sweeping statements about human psychological concerns such as jealousy, resentment and homoeroticism.
In the case of Bong Man-dae's "Cinderella", it's clear he pushed too hard to try to rehabilitate his reputation from that of a bes...More

Who would refuse to look beautiful if it could easily be done? All it takes, after all, is a knife, a talented doctor and a wad of cash.
Apparently, not many would refuse, particularly in Korea, where it's a badge of honor to be counted as an eoljjang ("face king", a person with a great face) or a momjjang ("body king").
A recent survey conducted by the movie magazine Movie Week found that 71 percent of its respondents said they would have plastic surgery if they could afford it. The magazine said its survey showed that plastic surgery was no longer just for celebrities, a point that would surprise few people here.
Chungmuro, the street in Seoul that houses Korea's biggest filmmakers and one of the most sensitive places to social changes in the country, didn't need a survey to know that plastic surgery is a big issue. Two films released this month revolve around the issue of cosmetic surgery, and another film to be released soon features a girl who succeeds in life after having plastic surgery.
The two August films are "Cinderella", by the director Bong Man-dae, and "Time", by the veteran arthouse filmmaker Kim Ki-duk. Though the plots of both movies are about plastic surgery, the two directors deal with it in very different ways.
In "Cinderella"...More

There is something afoot in Korean horror movies. From "Arang", to be released on June 28, via "Apartment" ("A.P.T".) out in July, to "To Sir With Love", "Cinderella" and "Untold Story - The Red Forest" all to be released in August, indigenous horror movies have evolved to a higher level. In an effort to wash away the cheap shocker taint, the budgets are growing and the casts are becoming stellar. This summer, even moviegoers with sophisticated tastes are bound to find one good enough for them.

Quality Horror

Horror films have long been a gateway to success for new directors due to their relatively low budgets. If a W2-3 billion (US$1=958) investment including marketing costs lured more than 1 million viewers, the movie was considered to have hit the jackpot. But the new slew of horror films are betting on quality. "To Sir, With Love" cost W4.2 billion, "Apartment" W4 billion, "Arang" W4 billion' and "Cinderella" W3.6 billion -- all pretty close to the average for Korean movies, which stands at some W4.5 billion.

More...More

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

While film is an old Western tradition, Koreans have long relied on horror flicks to cool the summer heat. And as the summer season lurks just around the corner, serial killers, freaks and ghosts are out in full force to chill moviegoers.

Compared to ghosts and schizophrenic psychos that predominantly figure in Western horror films such as "The Omen", "Creep" and "Silent Hill", what can local moviegoers expect from the domestic horror films? The following are some of Korean horror films slated for this summer.

Arang (on June 28)

This is the first local horror film, which opens the summer season.

As it is based on a Korean folk tale in which a ghost visits a district governor to ask him help her pay off her grudge, the film aims to put Korean touches to maximize fear for local audiences.

Directed by Ahn Sang-hoon and starring Song Yoon-ah and Lee Dong-wook, the film revolves around two detectives who encounter mysterious accid...More