Choi Seok-hwan (최석환)

From the development of the character Pucca to its advancement to foreign markets

2007/11/07 | Source | Permalink |

Kim, Yu-Kyeong, vice president of VOOZ, will deliver the keynote speech at the 7th Specialist Open Lecture on Cultural Contents in Gwangju, Jeolla-do, and will present therein the company's flagship character Pucca, the only daughter of the owner of a Chinese restaurant, whose character goods are leading in the local market.

Gwangju City announced last November 5 that for its 7th Special Open Lecture on Cultural Contents, it will invite Kim, who, based on the theme of "Development to Application of the Character Business", will share with the audience his extensive experience in creating and promoting Pucca and will discuss the character business as well, where a character is developed and sold as a competitive product in the market.

Kim founded VOOZ in 2000 and developed Pucca, a kung fu girl. With him at the helm, VOOZ has sold over 2,500 kinds of Pucca goods in 130 countries, with its yearly sales exceeding KRW30B.

One of the most successful Korean characters made for in...| More

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King and the Clown Wins Big in Cape Town

2006/11/29 | Source | Permalink |

The Cape Town World Cinema Festival in South Africa awarded its top prize of Best Feature Film to The King and the Clown by director LEE Joon-ik. The festival, which is the largest of its kind in Africa, closed November 20th, announcing the winners at its lavish award ceremony. The King and the Clownalso took home the Best Screenplay award for writers CHOI Seok-Hwan and KIM Tae-woong.

It was the first Korean film to compete at the festival, and marks a growing awareness of Korean cinema in the African continent. Earlier, in June of this year, Korean film, The Peter Pan Formula, received the Best New Director award for JO Chang-ho at the Durban International Film Festival, also in South Africa.

The King and the Clown is a period film set in the Chosun dynasty during the 16thcentury. It tells the story of two itinerant jesters who end up performing at the court of a slightly mad king. Due to its homo erotic overtones, some have described it as the Brokeback Mountain of Korea. It gr...| More

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43rd Crowns King and the Clown

2006/07/26 | Source | Permalink |

The 43rd annual Grand Bell Awards ceremony, held July 21st at the COEX Convention Hall in southern Seoul, presented its top prize for Best Film to The King and the Clown as indeed almost everyone expected. The film grew into a colossal local hit when it was released in December of last year, attracting more than 12.3 million movie-goers to become the highest-grossing Korean film of all time. It was nominated in a record 15 categories, and took home seven awards, including Best Director, Best Actor and Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Script.

Kam Woo-seong won the Best Actor award for his lead role as Jang-saeng, an itinerant jester who ends up performing, along with his counter-part Konggil, for a slightly demented King in this Joseon-period-drama. KARM, 36, debuted in television in 1990 with the drama A Paradise of Our Own and made his film debut as the lead in Marriage is a Crazy Thing opposite UHM Jung-hwa.

Lee Joon-ik took the Best Director prize despite compet...| More

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Lee Joon-ik's Radio Star wraps up shooting

2006/07/14 | Source | Permalink |

Director Lee Joon-ik, who made Korean cinematic history with his record-breaking hit film The King and the Clown, has recently wrapped up shooting for his next film.

Radio Star features the acting talents of Ahn Seong-gi and Park Joong-hoon, who previously teamed in the hit films Nowhere to Hide from 1999 and Two Cops in 1994. The comedy about a hard-to-handle rock star and his manager is drawing notice due to the track record of its director, who not only famously directed The King and the Clown but also notched a solid hit in 2003 with Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield (Hwangsanbul) and participated in such box office hits as Hi, Dharma (2001) as a producer at his production company Cineworld.

Screenwriter Choi Seok-hwan, who collaborated with LEE on the screenplay of King and Battlefield, is also returning to contribute to this project.

Radio Star has been set up as a co-production between Cineworld and AchimPictures, to be distributed locally by Cinema Service and sold int...| More

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