Running Nov. 26 through to Dec 18 under the catchphrase "Beautiful Co-existence", CJ-CGV holds the first Multicultural Film Festival, an event organized to acknowledge the more than 1 million foreigners living in Korea and to promote a better understanding of different cultures.
Opening Thursday, the festival will screen its 14-film program successively at CGV multiplexes in Daehangno in Seoul, Ansan in Gyeonggi Province, Guro in Seoul, and in Incheon. 14 films from countries including Vietnam, Turkey, Russia, India, Thailand, and Mongolia.
The opening night film will be Rain Dogs, a 2006 film from Malaysian director HO Yuhang. The goodwill ambassad...
MoreKOFIC Korean films showcase in Tokyo, will be held this year from November the 21st to the 30th as an official section of FILMEX. The annual event, designed to promote a diversity of Korean films to Japanese audiences will show everything from more commercial fare such as the current box office number one "
Good Morning President" to art house films including the international film festival hit "...
MoreHindi Film Black has taken the number 5 spot at the Korean Box Office. The film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, not exactly commercial Bollywood fare itself with only one performed song, has managed to penetrate a market usually dominated by either Korean films or Hollywood commercial heavyweights. However, Korean audiences are becoming more diversified in their tastes recently. This year alone, sleeper, independent documentary
"Old Partner", about a farmer and his cow trudged into the box office and quickly pulled in nearly 3 million viewers. Also this year, "...
MoreYet another trend has been identified in Korean cinema.
It's the rise of analog films that follow in the footsteps of
"Old Partner".
Honest, everyday characters depict the drama of everyday life, moving the hearts of viewers without the need for massive budgets.
Eighteen-year-old Min-seo is experiencing the last throes of her growing pains while her mother is preparing to get married again.
She goes through a number of odd jobs trying to earn money for a private tutor.
Min-seo happens to pick up a wallet on the bus.
Her finders-keepers moment is soon shattered when the owner turns up: ...
MoreBy Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
"Jjambbong" is one of the most widely consumed local dishes, but it is neither Korean nor Chinese. The seafood noodle soup literally means "mixture".
The Migrant Worker Film Festival (MWFF) celebrates the jjambbong spirit in the cultural context. "It's about cultural jjambong or multiculturalism, mixing together. We need to recognize foreigners as being part of the Korean social fabric",
Mahbub Alam Pollob, a laborer-turned-cineaste and MWFF festival director, told The Korea Times in Seoul, Thursday.
The foreign resident population surpasses 1 million while the number of migrant workers exceeds 520,000. However, many South Koreans seize upon the outdated notion of the country being homogenous, save for the native speaker English teachers at local academies and occasional news reports or documentaries spotlighting exploited migrant workers.
"The press often portray us with a pitiful eye, but that makes people feel uncomfortable and avoid us more", said Alam, who has been living in Korea for 10 years and is married to a Korean.
"I feel how people treat me differently every day, on the street, the subway. Of course some people are just here to work temporarily and don't care to integrate. I'm not the representative for migrant work...
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