Han Ji-seung (한지승)

Romance missing from Korean films

Source | 2008/06/25 | Permalink |

Two genres - the melodrama and the romantic comedy - used to do very well at the box office.

"200 Pounds Beauty" is a case in point. It deals with plastic surgery, but it is deeply rooted in the romantic comedy tradition in which love ultimately conquers all.

But Korean theaters in recent months have had few, if any, offerings that stir people to talk about the triumph of romance. The summer lineup continues the paucity of romantic flicks.

What happened?

Last week, "Public Enemy Returns", directed by Kang Woo-seok, rose to the No. 1 slot, offering a much-anticipated reprieve to the protracted slump in the local film industry. But the film, starring Seol Kyeong-gu and Jeong Jin-yeong, does not have any elements that can be categorized as romantic.

"Crossing", a film about North Korean defectors which is also getting a lot of attention, is about to hit theaters this week, but there is no room in that story for romance.

"The Good, The Bad, The Weird", a big-budget Korean...| More

Director Kang Woo-seok, "Kim Tae-hee will be recognized as an actress some day"

Source | 2008/05/15 | Permalink |

Director Kang Woo-seok highly praised Kim Tae-hee's potential as an actress.

On the 29th, Director Kang said, "Kim Tae-hee will receive recognition as an actress some day". Director Kang is known for being stingy with compliments of actors and having a sharp eye, so this seldom happens.

Director Kang, who heads Cinema Service, came to see Kim Tae-hee on the movie "Venus and Mars". Director Kang explained that he kept his eye on Kim Tae-hee while producing director Han Ji-seung's "Venus and Mars".

He said, "I think it had poor progress because there was some audience animosity toward the actor. They don't want to see actors famous for commercials in the theater, and there was some blind exclusion".

"But Kim Tae-hee that I saw at filming was an actress that tried harder than anyone else. I saw her future as an actress, as she knows her weak points and tries hard".

"In case Kim Tae-hee was in a slump because of the movie's poor progress, I even contacted her management com...| More

Korean Stars to Build School in Himalayas

Source | 2008/05/09 | Permalink |

Singer Lee Moon-sae and 17 other Korean entertainers are planning a week-long trip to a remote Nepalese village to help build a school.

Lee organized the volunteer group for the trip, which has been dubbed the Seollebal Himalaya Expedition. "Seollebal" is a portmanteau of the Korean words "seolleda", meaning "feeling expectant", and "balgeoreum", meaning "footsteps".

From left, singer Lee Moon-sae, actress Lee Tae-ran, and actor Park Sang-won at the launch of a volunteer group dubbed Seollebal Himalaya Expedition to help children in Nepal

The group, which includes actor Park Sang-won, actress Lee Tae-ran, supermodel Park Se-ryen, and film director Han Ji-seung, held an organization ceremony at a café in Seoul on Thursday.

"We want to do something for the poor people of Nepal to return the warmth and genuineness we have experienced in the Himalayas", the group announced. "We will spend a week from May 15 at a village in Dhading working as volunteers".

The group will build...| More

Christmas blues besiege three Korean actresses

Source | 2007/12/26 | Permalink |

Kim Tae-hee, Han Ye-seul and Choi Kang-hee enjoy similarly enviable public recognition as attractive actresses. But they are going through a similarly gloomy Christmas holiday.

The three actresses are now competing at the box office, jockeying for a position in the usually crowded year-end holiday season. But their films are struggling to gain a foothold in terms of ticket sales.

Kim Tae-hee, who plays a tough housewife clashing with her husband in Han Ji-seung's latest comic drama "Venus and Mars" (Ssaum), is dealing with the second lackluster public reception in as many big-screen attempts. Last year, she joined the 10 billion won ($10.6 million) film project "The Restless", which tanked at the box office with a mere 1 million tickets sold.

Released on Dec. 12, "Venus and Mars" sold about 320,000 tickets in two weeks. The film had drawn keen interest as director Han, a leading filmmaker known for his sophisticated style, has taken the helm, and equally famous actor Seol Kyeo...| More

Divorcee Kim Tae-hee in Movie Ssam

Source | 2007/12/11 | Permalink |

I've met many actresses in my day, but I must say Kim Tae-hee tops them all. She resembles a porcelain doll come to life.

She rose as the advertising model queen with her looks, but her acting skills took a harsh beating from critics after her first big screen movie "The Restless" was released last year. Now, her second movie, "Ssaum" ("Venus and Mars"), will be released on December 13. It's about a post-divorce battle between cowardly neat-freak Sang-min (Seol Kyeong-gu) who never says sorry, and fierce-tempered Jina (Kim Tae-hee). Kicking and screaming, Kim goes around with runny mascara eyes wielding a steel pipe, but everybody agrees, she was still very much the pretty face in the film. This may or may not be a compliment.

At any rate, Kim has bared her ambitions to the Korean film-going audience, and the stakes for her are higher than ever before.

Did you originally intend to be a messy person in the film?-

"I know that people want me to look messy. If I did this movie...| More