Jin Goo (진구)

Seollal (Lunar New Year's Day) and Chuseok (Mid Autumn Festival) are the busiest season for movie theaters. As the Lunar New Year approaches, a host of Korean films are getting ready to hit the screens once the Avatar blast is over.

Many of them are so called "well-made movies" that are both entertaining and touching since the Lunar New Year's Day is a holiday for family reunion. Genres and stories range widely, offering a broad array of choices for movie goers.

A heart-warming drama about a choir of a female prison starring Kim Yoon-jin

#The Tear-Jerker "Harmony"

Harmony (directed by Kang Dae-gyoo and produced by JK Film) tells the story of a choir made up by female prisoners. The globally-recognized actress Kim Yoon-jin and Korea's representative veteran actress Na Moon-hee play the lead roles, raising expectations for movie aficionados.

Kim Yoon-jin plays Jeonghye, a young woman of great maternal love who gives birth to a baby in prison and organizes a ...More

Actors Jin Goo (left) and Kim Jeong-eun in "Le Grand Chef - Kimchi War" [IROOM Pictures]

"Le Grand Chef - Kimchi War" - An appetizer for people with no appetite

At an official banquet in Japan, the Japanese prime minister brings out kimchi and bulgoggi for the Korean president who has not had Korean food in a long time. As soon as the Korean president compliments that the food was unlike anything he had tasted in Korea, the Japanese prime minister catches him off guard, saying "This is Japanese kimuchi and yakiniku. I am glad you liked it". The on-screen president -- like his real-life counterpart -- is a man of tremendous drive and launches a kimchi competition to globalize the Korean dish. At this point, one can predict that "Le Grand Chef - Kimchi War" will lead the story through food competitions just as in the previous film "Le Grand Chef". The genius cook Jang-eun (played by Kim Jeong-eun), who made kimuchi and yakiniku at the Japanese Prime Minister's residence, takes part in the competition out of pride. And another genius cook Sung-chan (played by Jin Goo), who grew up with Jang-eun at the famous Korean restaurant Choonyang-gak, participates in the kimchi competition to prevent Choonyang-gak from closing down and being sold off....More

Movie poster of Korean film "Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle" [Iroom Pictures]

Korean film "Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle" ("Le Grand Chef - Kimchi War") has been chosen to open a Korean film fest in Los Angeles this coming March.

"The reason we have chosen this film to open at the festival is that kimchi represents the specialty of the country and the feelings and sensitivity of a Korean", an official with the Korean Film Festival in Los Angeles (KOFFLA) explained through a press release on Thursday.

A premiere event will also be held for "Kimchi Battle" and the film will be shown at the Egyptian Theater during the fest to be held from March 4 to 7....More

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Korea is home to sharp tongued power-bloggers that infiltrate the farthest "matjip" (reputed restaurants) with DSLR cameras in hand. It's no surprise that "Sikgaek", one of the best-selling comics here, is devoted to the culinary arts, and fans were psyched to see adaptations on both the big and small screens, including the 2007 box office hit "Le Grand Chef".

The sequel "Le Grand Chef - Le Grand Chef - Kimchi War" is finally in theaters, and as is apparent in the title it is devoted to the quintessential Korean dish.

For many non-Koreans, however, kimchi is an acquired taste, and the movie could well have remained limited to a regional appeal. But first-time director Baek Dong-hoon challenges the most pernickety of taste buds by offering a balanced diet of mouthwatering kimchi dishes and drama with universal themes.

If th...More

Movie poster for "Le Grand Chef - Kimchi War" [IROOM Pictures]

Korean film "Le Grand Chef - Kimchi War" -- which opens in Korea tomorrow -- will also be released in theaters throughout the United States next month, according to the movie's producer IROOM Pictures on Wednesday.

IROOM Pictures explained that the film will open February 12 at AMC theaters in 20 major U.S. cities including New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles. AMC, one of the largest movie theater chains in the country, is expected to show the Korean culinary flick on 25 to 30 of its movie screens....More