200 Pounds Beauty (Movie - 2006)

Summer Action Flicks Are Coming

Source | 2009/06/30 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Every summer, big budget Hollywood movies flow in, and many worry about the potential threat to homegrown films. Recent trends, however, suggest that competition is healthy.

"The fact that such a comparison (between national and international franchises) is even possible is unique; there aren't so many countries around the world where domestic films can compete with American ones", Han Seung-hee, researcher at the Korean Film Council, told The Korea Times.

After the turn of the new millennium, the Korean film industry enjoyed rapid growth, with blockbusters rewriting box office history each year. But the market plummeted for the first time last year, and investment and production hit an all time low. Moviegoers even criticized films that fared well at the box office as being formulaic.

So far, 2009 looks better. The success of "A Frozen Flower" and "Scandal Makers" ("Speedy Scandal") opened up a promising new year. Although February and March...| More

Korean Cinematography Booms on High-quality, Lucrative Productions

Source | 2009/05/21 | Permalink |

Korean cinematography has been thriving recently as more movies continue to draw scores of viewers to theaters, bringing in impressive revenues and receiving positive feedback both from domestic and foreign critics. As more viewers these days are attaching more importance to the uniqueness of movies rather than their scale, Korean movies are expected to continue to enjoy popularity for the time being. But some have voiced concerns that their success could be short-lived because many Hollywood blockbusters are set to open later this year.

The Korean film market remained stagnant in the first three months of the year despite the success of "Speedy Scandal" and "Old Partner", which opened this past December and January, respectively. The number of viewers during that period plummeted 19 percent from the same period a year ago, according to the Korean Film Council. Viewers began paying attention to domestic movies again around mid-April, when several hits including "Thirst" opened.

D...| More

Kim and Hwang Team up as 'Accidental Couple'

Source | 2009/04/28 | Permalink |

By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

The new drama "The Accidental Couple" may seem cliched or predictable, but with its stars each having blockbusters under their belts, things may turn out differently.

The drama, which screens for the first time today, features movie icon Kim Ah-joong ("200 Pounds Beauty", 2006) as top actress Han Ji-sun and musical star Hwang Jeong-min ("You are My Sunshine", 2005) as post office employee Gu Dong-baek.

When Han gets into a car accident, she's not worried about Gu, who was almost hit, but only herself and her secret boyfriend who was driving the car. Desperate to cover up their relationship, she drags Gu in front of the wheel, letting her boyfriend escape, and lets the paparazzi take their photos. This incident instantly brings Gu to public attention, but things take a turn as Han asks Gu to continue acting as her boyfriend.

"Our drama also has F4", Jeong Jin-yeong-I, the writer, said, referring to the four pretty boy characters in the hit dra...| More

The Musical Awards Honors Top Musicals

Source | 2009/04/20 | Permalink |

The 3rd Musical Awards was held late Monday night to honor last year's top musicals in Korea. The best creative musical award went to "200 pounds Beauty", a musical remake of the film and comic book of the same name. American hit musical "Dream Girls", the Korean version of which is being staged at Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul, was awarded the best foreign musical award.

The biggest hit of last year, "The 200lb Beauty", is the debut piece for Choi Sung-hee, also known as Bada of S.E.S. Choi won the best actress award for her role of an overweight stand-in singer, who undergoes extensive plastic surgery to be reborn as a slim beauty.

Korea's "Dream Girls" features an innovative LED lighting system and extravagant costumes, as well as stirring numbers, measuring up to its reputation as an inspirational and enjoyable entertainment. The musical also boats of Korea's best-known musical stars, such as Kim Seung-woo, Oh Man-seok and Hong Ji-min. Choi Min-cheol and Jeong Seon-ah o...| More

Korean Culture Festival to Open in Central Asia

Source | 2009/04/16 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Hallyu or the Korean wave is leading the way to a modern-day Silk Road. The Korean Culture & Information Service of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Silk Road Foundation will open a Korean Culture Festival in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan from today to May 1.

Central Asia not only possesses rich resources and bright prospects for development, but is historically relevant to South Korea as the home to some 3.2 million ethnic Koreans ever since may were forced to move there from Siberia in 1937, said the Culture Ministry in a statement.

Korean cars, cell phones and electronic appliances can easily be found in central Asian homes, as well as fans of hallyu TV dramas like "Jewel in the Palace" and "Winter Sonata". The Korean Culture Festival is aimed to boost cultural exchange and friendly bilateral relations with the aforementioned countries. In particular, Almaty, Kazakhstan has named the last week of April "Kor...| More