A Promise (Movie - 1998)

Box Office Weapon Launches Sept. 4

Source | 2008/09/04 | Permalink |

Although its official release date is Sept. 4, Korea's latest blockbuster, "The Divine Weapon", took second place on last weekend's box office charts, after 2 days of paid-preview screenings organized by distributor CJ Entertainment. The Chosun-set epic targeted 405 screens, capturing US$ 1.4 million, coming in a close second behind Hollywood heavyweight, The Dark Knight.

Weapon is expected to reign over the upcoming Chuseok (Korean thanksgiving) holiday season (Sept. 13 – 15). The big budget $10 million production dramatizes the politics surrounding the world's first multi-launch rocket system, invented under Chosun-era king Sejong (reign 1418-1450) in an effort to face China with greater autonomy.

The film is directed by KIM Yoo-jin, who is best known for his 1998 melodrama "A Promise" starring JEON Do-yeon. It stars AHN Seong-gi as king Sejong, JEONG Jae-yeong as a sleazy merchant, and HAN Eun-jeong as the daughter of a weapon's scientist. The film intertwines high st...| More

'Divine Weapon' Targets Chuseok

Source | 2008/08/21 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

In time for the nation's biggest holiday comes "The Divine Weapon", a highly anticipated epic dramatization of the world's first multi-launch rocket system invented during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Historical fiction is risky business, particularly in a country bound by deep cultural and historical homogeneity, and this film shows both the triumphs and perils of venturing into this genre.

The faction film employs anachronism to set a Tom and Jerry-type power struggle (since the Sino-Korean conflict occurred a century earlier), where China is becoming increasingly hostile in controlling the internal affairs of its small tributary state, Joseon. King Sejong (Ahn Seong-gi) is determined to strengthen the country's autonomy and has been secretly funding the development of a sophisticated weapon. But as the Chinese authority closes in on the project, the weapons designer commits suicide. All is not lost, however, as the scientist's daughter Hong-r...| More

Actress Jeon Do-Yeon to Be on CNN's Talk Asia

Source | 2007/10/14 | Permalink |

South Korean actress Jeon Do-Yeon, winner of 2007 Cannes Film Festival's best actress prize, will appear on CNN on Oct. 13, 2007, according to CNN. The 35-year-old actress will be interviewed by CNN's Anjali Rao on CNN's Talk Asia program. The follwing are the airtimes and the full-text of the interview story.

Airtimes:

Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore & Taipei
Saturday, Oct 13 at 0730 & 2100

Bangkok & Jakarta
Saturday, Oct 13 at 0630 & 2000

CNN must be credited when using any quotes from this interview

Note: This is a rush transcript. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

R: Anjali Rao

J: Jeon Do-Yeon

R: Let's start with the best actress prize which you won this year at the Cannes Film Festival. What's it like being the first Korean ever to win such a prestigious award?

J: First of all, I wasn't really able to think about the significance of myself being the first Korean or the first Asian to win such a significant prize. How...| More

Korea's action man plans to scrub the grit off the screen

Source | 2006/07/06 | Permalink |

Jeong Woo-seong may be one of the most glamorous of Korean male stars, but in "Mutt Boy", he had to play a mentally disabled adult who strips down to his underwear for a bloody brawl. It was a hard sight for his fans, but it was positively wrenching for his action choreographer, Sin Jae-myeong.
Mr. Sin still winces at the mention of the scene. "Shooting that scene was the last straw. I thought I'd never do action scenes like that again, but oddly enough, it's become my trademark", he said. It's also become the trademark of Korean action films. Mr. Sin's style of action is often called "real action", implying hard-boiled street fighting and eschewing the fancy footwork seen in movies like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
With the comeback of Korean action films in the early 1990s, action sequences have kept getting grittier -- and bolder. The recent box office hit, "A Dirty Carnival", starring Jo In-seong, abandons smooth, elegant action scenes in favor of bare-knuckle fist fights an...| More