Lee Byeong-Heon (이병헌)

Experts are concerned that recent releases could encourage copycat crimes

Blades and guns are a thing of the past. Nail guns and guillotines are now the weapons of choice in the latest trend among local filmmakers, who are inventing characters that are increasingly cruel and producing films that are ever more bloody in nature. But this tendency has some experts worried that the excessive depictions of violence will encourage copycat crimes.

As of Wednesday, the film "Ajeossi" ("The Man From Nowhere") has topped box office attendance records for four weeks, and "I Saw the Devil" has been at No. 3 for the first three weeks since its release Aug. 12, according to Korean Film Council, the nation's film governing body.

Both films depict violent scenes that are extremely graphic and very realistic. In "The Man From Nowhere", traffickers extract human organs from people who are still alive and the protagonist uses a huge nail gun to "...More

After weeks of wrangling with the Korea Media Rating Board (KMDB), Kim Ji-woon thriller, "I Saw the Devil" was able to secure a theatrical release on August 12, after making seven cuts totaling 80 seconds of footage. The "Restricted" rating which would have effectively banned the film from theatrical release and prohibited any promotion or advertising, was reduced to an 18+ rating, allowing audiences over 18 to see the film.

The KMDB objected to scenes showing a human body being mutilated and human body parts being eaten by humans and a dog. Following a press screening August 11...More

John Woo film "Reign of Assassins"

Upcoming John Woo movie "Reign of Assassins" will be opening in local theaters on October 14, according to the film's importer Sane Company Inc. on Thursday.

"Assassins", starring top Korean actor Jeong Woo-seong and Chinese actress Michelle Yeoh, is about an ordinary postman (Jeong) with extraordinary martial arts skills. Yeoh will be playing a skilled female assassin and the two come together to fight off a gang and return the ashes of a mystical Buddhist monk...More

[TALK OF THE TOWN]

When Korean boy band 2PM released the song "Fly To Seoul" on Monday, one member was noticeably absent. The cover featured just five of the band's six members.

According to the group's management company, JYP Entertainment, Nichkhun, the missing band member, could not participate in the making of the song because of his responsibilities as a spokesperson for Thailand's Ministry of Tourism.

The song - an upbeat tune that highli...More

Movie poster of thriller "I Saw the Devil" [Showbox]

Korean thriller "I Saw the Devil" has been invited to compete under the Official Selection category at the 58th Edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival next month, according to official website of the fest on Tuesday.

"I Saw the Devil", helmed by famed Korean director Kim Ji-woon, will be competing against 16 other movies by internationally recognized directors for the Golden Shell and Silver Shell awards at the fest to be held at San Sebastian, Spain from September 17 to 25...More