Kim Sang-joong (김상중)

Korean movies leap into box-office fray

Source | 2008/05/29 | 0 comments | Permalink |

In late April, Iron Man arrived in the Korean cinema, smashing the box office into very profitable pieces. In mid-May, Prince Caspian took the baton and kept up the pressure on Korean competitors. Last weekend, whip-wielding Indy joined the Hollywood-only party, roped in plenty of movie tickets sales.

The bombardment of Hollywood films dragged down the share of Korean films to a record low. But the bleak development was widely predicted since only a couple of new Korean releases were made. June might be slightly different, as eight Korean movies are set for release.

"Girl Scout", directed by Kim Sang-man, will hit theaters on June 5, featuring well-known actors such as Kim Seon-ah, Nah Moon-hee, Lee Kyeong-sil. The film will test whether the audiences still have an appetite for a chase-the-money drama with fewer funny moments than publicized.

Waiting in line for the June 12 release are four Korean films: "Life is Cool", "Beyond All Magic", "Spare" and "Like Father, Like Son". ...| More

2007 Year-end Korean drama awards round-up

Source | 2008/01/07 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Winners of the 2007 KBS Drama Awards

▶The Best Actor : Choi Soo-jong ("Dae Jo Yeong")

▶Best Actor/Actress : Lee Deok-hwa ("Dae Jo Yeong"), Kim Hyeon-joo ("In-soon is Pretty"), Chae Rim ("Dalja's Spring")

▶Excellence in a Mini-Drama (Wed-Thurs drama) – Male/Female : Kang Ji-hwan ("Capital Scandal"), Lee Da-hae ("Hello, Miss"), Han Ji-min ("Capital Scandal")

▶Excellence in Weekend Series – Male/Female) : Jang Hyeon-seong ("Golden Era of Daughter in Law"), Yoon Jeong-hee ("A Happy Woman")

▶Excellence in a Serial Drama – Male/Female : Park Hae-jin ("By Land and Sky"), Han Ji-hye ("Likable or Not" ("I Hate You, But It's Fine"))

▶Netizens' Choice : Choi Soo-jong ("Dae Jo Yeong"), Han Ji-min ("Capital Scandal")

▶Best Couple Award = Kim Ji-hoon-I - Lee Soo-kyeong ("Golden Era of Daughter in Law"), Kang Ji-hwan - Han Ji-min ("Capital Scandal"), Park Hae-jin - Han Hyo-joo ("By Land and Sky")

▶Excellence in one act drama – ...| More

Mining new ground on an age-old topic

Source | 2007/07/04 | 0 comments | Permalink |

'To wives, husbands' affairs are like a car accident ... They are by no means intended. They just happen'.

The latest drama by Kim Su-hyun, 64, one of Korea's top scriptwriters, seemed so realistic that women all across Korea began to suspect their husbands were cheating.
Her recent 24-episode work, "My Man's Woman", starring Kim Hee-ae, Bae Jong-ok and Kim Sang-joong, is about an extramarital love affair.
But in Kim's signature style, the drama was not predictable. "I didn't want this story to have a conventional ending", she said.

According to AGB Nielsen Media Research, the last episode of the drama, on June 19, ranked first in overall viewership that day, attracting 37.6 percent of the people watching TV.
When asked about how she keeps viewers hooked until the last minute, Kim said, "Unlike other scripts with the same theme, I don't drag the stories on".
Normally, she said, a drama starts off with a couple meeting, then falling in love. One or both then have an affair whi...| More

'My Boss, My Teacher' sticks to same formula

Source | 2006/01/19 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The problem with a sequel like "My Boss, My Teacher" ("Two-sabu ilchae") is that it's about the same characters and the elements of freshness are gone. The same gangsters attempt to score some academic points and help the society eliminate evil factors.

In the first installment of the gangster comedy back in 2001, Gae Doo-sik (Jeong Joon-ho) was forced to attend a high school and get away with at least the credentials to lead one of the country's leading gangster groups (these days, you have to be smart to be a gangster, and that's the key point).

At the end of the first piece "My Boss, My Hero", Doo-sik was given another order from his higher boss: go to college because the standard for gangster leaders has been raised.

That has laid out the basic premise for the sequel and in "My Boss, My Teacher", Doo-sik is attending college, something that he should be quite proud of. But he's not a good college student because his underling Sang-du (Jeong Woong-in) is taking classes and ...| More

Comedy Sequel Touches on Serious Social Issues

Source | 2006/01/18 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

Corruption and immorality in the nation's secondary school system are serious issues that often appear on the front page of newspapers. But are they a good subject for a comedy movie?

The corruption of a private school foundation, disrespect for teachers and an immoral relationship between a teacher and student are heavy issues. Can you poke fun at them?

The coming comedy film "My Boss, My Teacher" deals with these issues while making the audience break out in laughter.

"I hope that this film can work as a comedy that criticizes current social problems, which (in the film) are tackled by men who are uneducated yet have a sense of justice", actor Jeong Joon-ho said Tuesday during a news conference after the preview screening of "My Boss, My Teacher" at Yongsan CGV theater in Seoul.

Jung said the sequel uses similar elements of humor as the original 2001 hit comedy, which was seen by 3.5 million people, but to improve it, the situations that...| More