Kang Soo-yeon (강수연)

44 Korean Films at the 2009 Marrakech International Film Festival

Source | 2009/11/19 | 0 comments | Permalink |

In a celebration of Korean film, a record 44 will screen at this year's 2009 International Film Festival of Marrakech. In addition, representatives from Korean government organizations, the Korean film industry: producers, directors, actors and film festival delegates will be in attendance. The festival, which began in 2000 has in the past focused on the national cinemas of Italy, Egypt and Spain. This year, signaling the growing importance of Korean film and certainly spurred by recent successes such as BONG Joon-ho's "Mother - 2009" and PARK Chan-wook's "Thirst", the festival turns its eyes to South Korea.

A whole host of Korean directors will accompany their films to the festival: IM Kwon-taek, the godfather of Korean cinema with "Surrogate Mother" (1986), "Seopyeonjae" (1993) "Chihwaseon" ("Strikes of Fire" - 2002) and more; LEE Do-yong "The Oldest Son" (1984); LEE Chang-ho "The Man with Three" Coffins (1988); JANG Sun-woo "Lies" (1999) and other directors; PARK Chan-wook "T...| More

Haeundae Steals Spotlight at Pusan Film Festival

Source | 2009/10/08 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The Suyeong Bay area in Busan was packed on the evening of October 8, when the opening ceremony of the 14th Pusan International Film Festival was held. All 5,000 seats of the venue were filled. The less fortunate ones among the movie fans had to stay outside.

Red Carpet Gowns

Gowns with low-cut backs were the leading trend at this year's red carpet ceremony. Despite the chilly fall weather, many actresses appeared in surprisingly low-cut gowns.

Han Hye-jin's gray dress with a low-cut back evoked loud cheers from the fans.

Han Ye-seul's white gown made many fans shout out, "You look so beautiful".

Kim So-yeon showed up in red, while Han Eun-jeong chose white. Jeon Do-yeon, who made a public appearance for the first time since giving birth to her baby, was wearing an airy gown with a slightly see-through front.

Jeon Hye-bin, Choi Kang-hee, Chae Min-seo, Choi Jeong-won, Lee Ha-na and Jeong Ryeo-won also appeared in bold gowns. Kang Soo-yeon and Jang Mi-hee, who are alrea...| More

Kang Named to Jury of PIFF's Award

Source | 2009/10/08 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Actress Kang Soo-yeon was appointed as a member of the jury of the Flash Forward Award at the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) that kicked off Thursday and will last for nine days in the southern port city, the organizing committee said.

Introduced at the film festival in 2007, the award section was turned into a competition from this year. It was originally designed to introduce first or second films of Asian directors with an aim to unearth new promising moviemakers in the region.

"As this award became a meaningful competition, we wanted to invite one of the representative Korean movie figures, and actress Kang fits in nicely", a committee official said.

Other jury members are Marianne Slot, a producer from Denmark; Frederic Boyer, a French artistic director of the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes; and Alissa Simon, a programmer from the United States.

Kang gained international fame with Im Kwon-taek's movie, "The Surrogate Woman", for which she was honored with the...| More

'Sword' presents the softer side of actress Soo-ae

Source | 2009/10/01 | 0 comments | Permalink |

For years, top female actresses in Korea took turns playing the historical figures Jang Hi-bin and Hwang Jin-hi in the movies.

Now, you can add Empress Myeongseong to the list.

Stars including Kang Soo-yeon, Choi Myeong-gil, Chae Si-ra, Lee Mi-yeon and Moon Geun-yeong have recently played the role of the hwanghu, which means empress in Korean.

The latest: actress Soo-ae, known throughout the country for her classical beauty. Soo-ae plays Empress Myeongseong in the recently released film "The Sword with No Name", which is based on a book by Ya Seol-lok and was directed by Kim Yong-gyoon.

The movie depicts a desperate romance between the empress and warrior Mu-myeong (Jo Seung-woo). The empress, a forward-thinking advocate of modernity, wields her political influence to further her ideals. But she is often at odds with her orthodox father-in-law, regent Daewon-gun (Cheon Ho-jin), and meets a tragic death in her lover's arms. The movie is loosely based on history, but there ar...| More

Puchon Fantasy Film Fest Kicks Off Thursday

Source | 2009/07/16 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The 13th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival kicks off on Thursday in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province featuring 201 films from 41 countries.

Some 38 films including Korea's "Good Night Sleep for the Bad", Japan's "Sonic: Night of the Werehog", and "Life and Death of Porno Gang" from Serbia, are premiered at the PiFan Film Festival this year.

The opening ceremony, at the Bucheon Citizen's Hall at 7 p.m. on Thursday, showcases an array of film stars such as directors Im Kwon-taek and Yang Ik-joon and actors Ahn Seong-gi, Kang Soo-yeon, Choo Sang-mi, Jang Nara and Koo Hye-seon.

The opening film "MW" directed by Hitoshi Iwamoto tells a story of a massacre in a small Japanese island 16 years ago.

PiFan ends July 26, and tickets can be booked through the homepage of the festival (http://www.pifan.com).
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