Kim Yoo-seok (김유석)

LEE Joon-ik's Joyful Life

2007/02/12 | Source | Permalink |

Director LEE Joon-ik has announced his next project, reprising themes from his previous film "Radio Star" (2006). He is currently preparing to shoot "Joyful Life", a nostalgic tale about three unhappy middle-agers who, some 20 years ago, had a room-salon-touring rock band along with a fourth member. Reunited after the funeral of the fourth, they meet the son of their dead friend, and together form a new rock band to escape from their daily doldrums.

The main cast for the male-bonding movie will be JEONG Jin-yeong, star of LEE's mega-hit "The King and the Clown" (2005), KIM Yoo-seok of "Family Matters" (2006) and "The Isle" (2000) and KIM Sang-ho, known for various supporting roles, including in "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War of Flower") and "Between Love and Hate" ("The Unbearable Lightness of Dating") (2006).

Producer-turned-director LEE debuted with the successful "Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield" ("Hwangsanbul")(H (2003) and followed it up with the biggest box-offic...| More

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Scarred lovers, broken filmmaking

2006/09/19 | Source | Permalink |

The unhappiness of lost love is an irresistible target for storytellers, but these tales can be trying for filmmakers ― and for viewers. All the elements need to come together just right: actors with more than a spark of chemistry, good camera work and an intriguing and meaningful script.
Though "The Power of Gangwon Province" comes up short of this ideal in a few important ways, it is still a worthy attempt, with a stimulating plot, a beautiful natural setting and good casting.
The structure of the film is unusual and clever. Ji-sook (Oh Yoon-hong) travels to Gangneung, Gangwon province, on vacation with her friends Mi-sun (Im Sun-young) and Eun-kyoung (Park Hyeon-young), where they meet a policeman (Kim Yoo-seok), who shows them the village and drinks them all under the table. In tantalizing flashes, dialogue reveals that Ji-sook is depressed after the ending of an unhappy love affair with an older, married man. One awkward groping by the policeman later, the friends return t...| More

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'Long and Winding Road' portrays mother's love

2005/04/09 | Source | Permalink |

Every Korean has a strong emotional connection with the word, "eomma" (mother). In most cases, Korean mothers have gone through tough times, including war and poverty, that make it hard to navigate life itself.

But mothers never give up, especially when it comes to things related to their children. Their relentless love often translates into heroic - and unbelievable - acts, and those who have mothers know what the word "eomma" really means for their entire life.

"Long and Winding Road", which opened Thursday, features one of such strong-willed mothers in Korea. The mother (Ko Doo-sim), nearing 70, wants to participate in the wedding of her youngest daughter, but her chronic dizziness - a sort of incurable illness - makes it terribly difficult to move from her hometown in Haenam to Mokpo where the wedding is set to take place.

The dizziness is serious. She cannot ride a bus, nor can she use other transportation. Family members come up with all sorts of ideas to resolve the p...| More

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'Long and Winding Road' Loses Audience Along the Way

2005/04/07 | Source | Permalink |

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter


Ko Du-sim plays a woman in her 70s who sets out on a long journey to attend her daughter's wedding in "Long and Winding Road".

They take care of their family, are busy with all the housework and work on the farm all day long. Mothers have no choice but to sacrifice everything for their family's happiness.

The latest feature film "Long and Winding Road (Omma)" sheds light on this venerable notion of motherhood, which may be a synonym for "sacrifice" in the family.

But the film falls short of moving audiences. It feels more pedantic than sentimental, so it is not even a typical tearjerker.

Directed by Koo Seong-joo, the film revolves around a woman in her 70s, who sets out on a long journey to attend her youngest daughter's wedding. But because of her carsickness, she has to walk for four days with some of her family members.

In the film, seasoned actress Ko Doo-sim plays the mother, who has three sons and three daughters. After her h...| More

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Taking an 80km Journey Together with Mother, Road of Tears? Road to Heaven?

2005/04/06 | Source | Permalink |

by Seung-Jae Lee


The movie "Mother - Long and Winding Road " is about an aged mother, starring Ko Doo-sim, the leading mother figure of South Korea, walking 80km to attend her youngest daughter's wedding ceremony. By now, the audience about to enter the movie theater to watch the movie will be prepared to pour streams of tears. However, "Mother", opening Thursday, takes an unexpected turn.

From the beginning, it seems that director Koo Seong-joo (producer of the movie, "He asked whether I know about Gita" in 1997) did not have any intentions of making the audience burst into tears. The movie is not about the mother arriving at the wedding after going through all sorts of hardships and privations, but it is about the warmth that brought changes between the mother and the family as they took a journey down the road.

On the road, the older brother (Son Byeong-ho) and youngest brother (Kim Yoo-seok) reconcile as they accompany their mother, and the mother is able to settle he...| More

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