Byeon Hee-bong (변희봉)

[Talk of town] Monsters rampage in Cheonggye Stream after homes cave in

2008/02/27 | Source | Permalink |

Just wait and see what happens to Cheonggye Stream in central Seoul where "The Host 2" will be shot this summer.
The movie is a prequel to Bong Joon-ho's "The Host" (2006), which starred Song Kang-ho, Byeon Hee-bong and Park Hae-il.
"The Host" featured just one beast living near Wonhyo Bridge; the prequel is packed with malevolent monsters living downtown.
Havoc ensues when hapless developers dig up Cheonggye Stream in 2003 and unearth several disgruntled residents of the hairy and ugly kind who are mightily unhappy that their homes just got bulldozed.

Arirang TV plans radio news slots for 'English-living environment'
Local English-language channel Arirang TV hopes to capture a slice of the surge to learn English using current affairs as a springboard.
Arirang will air English radio news 50 minutes a day and 10 five-minute news programs on the Korean radio station YTN on 94.5 FM starting April 1.
"There have been many plans to strengthen public English education in Korea", sai...| More

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"Once upon a Time" ideal to start the Lunar New Year

2008/02/13 | Source | Permalink |

Director JEONG Yong-ki's "Once upon a Time" topped the Lunar New Year holiday box office, closely followed by "Forever the Moment" and "Lovers of 6 Years". "The Devil's Game", "Last Present - 2007", and "A Man Who Was Superman" claimed places four to six, respectively. "Radio Dayz" was the seventh Korean film in the top ten at nine.

"Once upon a Time" is a comedy starring PARK Yong-woo and LEE Bo-yeong. "Forever the Moment" - a sports drama with MOON So-ri and KIM Jeong-eun, and directed by LIM Soon -rye - continued its strong box office run. The romantic drama "Lovers of 6 Years" features KIM Ha-neul and YOON Kye-sang, and PARK Hyeon-jin directed.

In "The Devil's Game", YOON In-ho directs SIN Ha-gyoon and BYEON Hee-bong whose characters switch bodies. KIM Yeong-joon's drama "Last Present - 2007" stars SIN Hyeon-joon and HA Ji-won. HWANG Jeong-min plays the titular character in the drama "A Man Who Was Superman". JEON Ji-hyeon also stars and JEONG Yoon-cheol directed. RYOO Seung...| More

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Korean films likely to dominate New Year holiday

2008/02/06 | Source | Permalink |

Data from several Korean ticket reservation sites strongly indicate hegemony for Korean films over the lunar new year holiday, one of the two major Korean holidays and traditionally a peak time for cinemas.

Leading up to the lunar New Year, box office hit Forever the Moment and the new releases "A Man who was Superman" – with the stars JEON Ji-hyeon and HWANG Jeong-min – and "The Devil's Game" - starring the respected actors SIN Ha-gyoon and BYEON Hee-bong – were vying for the highest number of reservations for tickets during the holiday.

Just below the leading trio, the two colonial era comedies "Once upon a Time" and "Radio Dayz" complemented the top five reservations. The heist film "Once upon a Time" features PARK Yong-woo and LEE Bo-yeong. RYOO Seung-beom and KIM Sa-rang lead the assembly cast of "Radio Dayz".

Only Cloverfield and Happily N'Ever After entered the top five reservations once at different reservation sites, prior to the lunar New Year holiday.

Yi Ch'an...| More

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Week-long break boosts box office

2008/02/06 | Source | Permalink |

The long Lunar New Year's holiday starts today, which spells good news for cinemas.
Holidays such as Lunar New Year and Chuseok, Korea's Thanksgiving, see a surge in ticket sales.
Megabox, one of Korea's largest movie theater chains, said the box office usually rises 10 percent during holidays.
Four Korean, one martial arts and one Hollywood film that opened last week will screen during the holidays this week.
Jeong Yoon-cheol's "A Man who was Superman" is one of the Korean choices. Jeong directed "Marathon" (2005) and "Shim's Family" (2007).
In Jeong's drama, Song Soo-jung (Jeon Ji-hyeon) is a documentary filmmaker, but life is not turning out well.
While she languishes in despair, a superman (Hwang Jeong-min) appears and helps her to take care of undone business.
If you fancy a thriller, check out Yoon In-ho's "The Devil's Game", starring Sin Ha-gyoon and Byeon Hee-bong.
One day Min Hee-do (Sin), a poor street artist, gets a strange phone call inviting him to a mysterious...| More

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'The Devil's Game' plays in wrong arena

2008/01/21 | Source | Permalink |

"The Devil's Game", directed by Yoon In-ho, is a thriller with plot twists playing an important role to intrigue the audience and ignite their imagination. But the movie might have had much greater impact if it had been a comedy.

Based on a Japanese comic series, "The Devil's Game" revolves around the wildly imaginative situation where two people change their bodies. But the film has some big holes in its logic, undercutting its claim to be a hard-core thriller.

A street painter named Hee-do (Sin Ha-gyoon) does not have much money, but he is nice and kind, especially to his innocent-looking girlfriend Hye-rin (Eun-seong). Their relationship, however, is not without problems.

Hye-rin's family is debt-laden and gangsters often arrive and demand repayment of a loan.

The basic situation is chiefly designed to remind the audience that Hee-do is very sensitive about money. To be more specific, he is eager to make money for his girlfriend. Love, after all, transcends everything, a...| More

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