Kang Woo-seok (강우석)

Korean actor Song Kang-ho [photographed by Beck Una/10Asia]

Beck: That's actually what I wanted to ask you. Do you think it's possible to become an artist, or an actor, by pure effort and no natural talent?
Song: The concept behind the word 'effort' is a bit vague. There is no such thing as putting in an effort to act well. Effort could be another word for your determination to work hard but not the secret to good acting. If you are shooting an action scene, you can make effort at improving on your physique and working better with your co-stars. And I put in an effort to play the recorder in "Thirst". But I don't think one can act based solely on effort. 90 percent of it comes from natural talent and 10 percent from experience. The experience that you gain from countless acting roles.

Beck:You've already been an actor for very long -- ten years since the public recognized you as 'actor Song Kang-ho' and even much longer counting your career in theater. Don't you go through a slump or have less fun having to repeat the same job over and over again?...More

Korean actress Yoo Seon [Yedang Entertainment]

Korean actress Yoo Seon has been tapped as the new face of Japanese skin care brand Grace Aiko, according to her agency Yedang Entertainment.

"We picked Yoo Seon because fits our brand image with her clear skin despite being in her 30s...... We expect her to be effective in both promoting our brand and increasing sales", a representative from Grace Aiko said....More

Film insiders excited over new works by three star directors

Hits came from all quarters in Korean cinema last year, with big blockbusters "Take Off" and "Haeundae", auteur films "Thirst" and "Mother - 2009" and indie sleepers "Old Partner" and "Breathless" all filling seats.

Disaster flick "Haeundae" was the first locally made film to top 10 million tickets sold in three years. Industry-wide box office returns hit a record high of 1.08 trillion won ($964 million), about half from Korean-made films.

The state-funded Korean Film Council forecast in a recent report that the local movie market will continue its incremental growth over the next five years, and 2010 is expected to be another bonanza for the local film studios. But the most hotly anticipated movies inside the industry aren't quite as diverse as 2009's top sellers - on the contrary, they're all in a single genre: thriller.

Korea's thriller renaissance, kicked off by "The Chaser" in 2008 and continued by "Secret - 2009" at the end of last year, continues with "No Mercy", the first big, locally made release of 2010.

According to a recent survey by the JoongAng Ilbo of 20 film experts including producers, investors and critics, the three most highly anticipated films scheduled to be released this year were all thrillers. "The Housemaid - 2010", a remake of a local classic, came in first, followed by "The Murderer" (working title), which will reunite "The Chaser" director Na Hong-jin with his two leads from that film. In third was "Moss" (working title) by veteran director Kang Woo-seok.

"The Housemaid - 2010", a remak...More

Actor Seol Kyeong-gu [Beck Una/10Asia]

Beck Una (Beck): And that is when you decided to take the civil service examination.
Seol Kyeong-gu (Seol): Haha. Let me explain that to you. I was dying to leave the Hanyang Repertory. I'd already graduated but that place was an extension of school while I wanted to meet a larger variety of people. I didn't think they'd let me go for no reason so I lied that I'm going to take the civil service exam. (laugh) But what's so spontaneous about me is that although I had left because I didn't like it, I didn't have anything to do right away. And I needed money but I didn't want to ask my parents for it so I ended up asking a senior of mine to give me a part-time job putting up posters. The interesting thing is that I ended up staying in the industry. Of course, if I had really taken off, I might have ended up becoming human trash. (laugh) Anyway, I had been at the job for about a month and a half? I was suddenly asked if I would want to take part in the musical "Line 1". Mr. Kim Min-ki had seen me about, putting up the posters and asked me if I would want to take part thinking that I'm hardworking. That had been my audition for it. Me and actors from all walks of life with all sorts of experience rehearsed for three months and wow, it was so much fun. That was the start of "Line 1". It also did very well. Before I took on film "Girls' Night Out", I was making two million won per month and drove a Sephia. (laugh) But after "Line 1", I had no work at all. That's when scenarist Lee Seon-mi, who used to do plays, recommended me to writer Jeong Seong-joo. And that is how I got to become part of the cast for morning TV series "Sisters". I think I'm a very person when it comes to human relationships.

Beck: Did you not think of taking on dramas after "Sisters"?
Seol: Why wouldn't I have? I was also asked to quite a lot. Not official auditions but one-on-one. But you know how you get glanced at from head to toe? I really hated the look they gave me when they do that. So after "Girls' Night Out" and then "Rainbow Trout", a man called Lee Chang-dong called me.

Beck: After he watched "Girls' Night Out"?...More

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

The past year represented hope and revitalization for Korean cinema. While problems such as piracy linger on, the forecast for 2010 cinema appears promising with diverse projects in the making.

Cineastes are finding inspiration from the past and are bringing remakes of Korean classics as well as unique period movies. Big action flicks are gearing up for the 60th anniversary of the Korean War (1950-53) while much-anticipated sequels will cater to fans. Furthermore, a couple of Hollywood projects will head here for shoots.

2009 in Review

Both commercial blockbusters and unique indie films pulled the industry out of a three-year slump and cineastes made their mark near and far.

Kim Choung-ryoul's documentary "Old Partner" rewrote box-office history for the genre, while Yang Ik-joon's "Breathless" made waves by sweeping almost two dozen prizes at international festivals. Park Chan-ok's low-budget drama "Paju" was well-received among critics and moviegoers and the micro-budget road movie "Daytime Drinking" gained popularity near and far.

The positivity peaked in the summer. The success of the sports movie "Take Off" fed directly into the big-time box office scores set by the tsunami blockbuster "Haeundae", which drew over 10 million audience members in Korea for the first time in three years since "The Host" in 2006.

Stars shined strongly through the big screen. Korean actors debuted in foreign works, most notably Lee Byeong-Heon in "G.I. Joe" and Rain in "Ninja Assassin", while Kim Myeong-min made headlines for shedding 20 kilograms for his role in "Closer to Heaven".

Celebrity directors also made long-awaited returns. Park Chan-wook revisited the Cannes Festival with his vampire flick "Thirst" while Bong Joon-ho made a splash with the thriller "Mother - 2009".

On the flip side, illegal online distributions of "Haeundae", before its release in Chinese theaters, and of "Thirst", before DVD sales opened in the United States, led to big financial blows and signaled the red light on piracy. The country's top stars, including Jang Dong-gun and Kim Tae-hee, stepped up as representatives for the anti-piracy campaign: "Good Downloader".

Meanwhile, imported 3D movies tapped into the local theater market. While the number of theaters catering to the genre remains relatively small, there seems to be growing reception for 3D films. Animations such as "Monster vs. Aliens" and "Up" drew family audiences while "Avatar", new in theaters, has drawn over 1 million audiences in the shortest timeframe among 2009 films.

2010 Forecast

Back to Classics

During Korean cinema's Golden Age of the 1960s, well over 100 films rolled out per year (more than 200 from 1968 to 1969), and cineastes are finding inspiration in films from that time. Classics never go out of style, and next year...More