Moon So-ri (문소리)

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

The tiger may well be Korea's most beloved animal throughout its history. The country was once dubbed the "nation of tigers" as it has mountainous areas that provided them with a good habitat.

The animal has been a symbol of bravery, strength and dignity, and hence 2010, the Year of the Tiger, according to Chinese astrology, will be fervently hailed as a year of good fortune and vigor.

Tiger as Time, Space and Zodiac Sign

The tiger is the third sign in the Chinese zodiac of 12 animals. It is also represented by the month "inwol", the first month of the year; and the hour "insi", the 3rd in the 24 hour clock ― 03:00-5:00 a.m. in the lunar calendar. It also points to the bearing east-northeast. The white tiger is one of the four guardian gods ― three others are the blue dragon, the red bird and the black tortoise. They protect the four major directions with the tiger taking care of the west.

From Myth to Everyday Life

People's perception of tigers has changed over time ― in the past, they feared becoming prey to them, but nowadays they probably only see tigers in a zoo.

But the process of that change is interlaced with mysticism. The tiger, a vicious and ferocious beast, is also considered a mystical creature that keeps away evil spirits.

"In ancient times, the tiger was deemed a scary animal, but our ancestors weren't consumed by that fear. What is rather mystifying is that people also saw it as a guardian that drove away evil spirits, keeping peace and well-being in the village", Gu Mun-hoe, curator of the National Folk Museum of Korea, said.

Gu said that in their daily lives, warding off evil spirits was one of the major duties of the tiger. "It means the animal keeps a...More

In a celebration of Korean film, a record 44 will screen at this year's 2009 International Film Festival of Marrakech. In addition, representatives from Korean government organizations, the Korean film industry: producers, directors, actors and film festival delegates will be in attendance. The festival, which began in 2000 has in the past focused on the national cinemas of Italy, Egypt and Spain. This year, signaling the growing importance of Korean film and certainly spurred by recent successes such as Bong Joon-ho's "Mother - 2009" and Park Chan-wook's "Thirst", the festival turns its ...More

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the 2009 Korean Film Festival ran Oct 30 to Nov 4 at the GSC Mid Valley's International Screens venue. The six-day festival brings together four diverse titles: family drama "My Mother, the Mermaid" (2004), critically praised independent drama, "Sa-Kwa" (2008), suspense-driven thriller "Seven Days" (2007) and comedy "Our School E.T" (2008).

The festival, co-sponsored by the Republic of Korea Emb...More

The Korea Research Center of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University of Japan will hold the 4th Korean Film Festival on October 23-25. This year, the festival is dedicated to Korean actress Kim Hye-soo, who is considered a symbol of independent women.

The festival is aimed at shedding light on Korean cinematography, history and culture through movies that star a certain actor or actress. Launched in 2006, the festival has so far screened movies starring Moon So-ri, Choi Min-sik and Ahn Swong-gi.

This year, six films starring Kim Hye-soo will be screened. They are "Kick the moon", "YMCA Baseball Team", "...More

Last year, actor Park Kwang-jeong has passed away leaving his last film, "A Little Pond". This film will be premiered at the 17th Pusan International Film Festival for the first time after 7 years of its finish.

This film is about the Korean War era when American Soldiers have killed innocent people at the No Gun Ri massacre.

In 2001, this even has been publicized and in 2003, this film has been produced.

This film also stars Moon Seong-geun, Lee Dae-yeon, Kim Roi-ha, Song Kang-ho, and Moon So-ri. This film worked on for so long ...More