November 13, 2004 ㅡ Last Tuesday, more than 300 people were gathered in front of the Toei Theater in the Ginza district of Tokyo, waiting for the premiere of a new film. After two hours of waiting in line, fans began screaming when one of the lead actors showed up.
The actor was Kim Jeong-hoon, a Korean, and the movie was a Korean film, "DMZ: Bimujangjidae" ― premiering in Japan weeks before it would open in its home country.
"I decided to hold the premiere in Japan first, hoping that the 'Korean Wave' fever, which started with Korean TV dramas, would continue with Korean films", said director Lee kyoo-hyeong, 47, who in the past has promoted Japanese culture in Korea.
The premiere drew an audience of 1,000 people, both Koreans and Japanese. Mr. Lee said he thought the film would interest the Japanese because it deals with the border between South and North Korea. "The reason Korean films such as 'Shiri' and 'Joint Security Area' were popular in Japan was because of cu...|
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