| Korean drama 'Iris' to generate W3 Bln in Japan (Source) |
2009/02/11 |
The Korean drama "Iris" starring top actor Lee Byeong-heon is expected to generate some 200 million yen (3 billion won) in economic benefits in Japan's Akita prefecture, where it will be shot.
Kyodo News says the prefecture officially announced the Korean drama will be shot there for 3 weeks from mid-March. Officials expect the economic effect will include a rise in tourist numbers.
Scenes shot there will mainly focus on Lee, who is playing an intelligence agent fleeing Korea and infiltrating Japan. The production agency Taewon says Akita was picked for its snow covered scenery. As for the exact location in Akita, either Oga or Senboku districts will be the likely choice.
Akita governor Sukeshiro Terata said, "I get a glimpse of Korean dramas when my wife watches them. But 'Iris' starring Lee, highly popular in Japan, will have considerable positive impact to our prefecture".
Akita officials plan to form a corporate support team to help the shooting as well as a reception f... |More
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| Pakistan & Myanmar Hold Korean Film Fests (Source) |
2008/11/06 |
The South Korean Embassy and Pakistan National Council of the Arts are holding a Korean Film Festival at the National Art Gallery in Islamabad, November 5 – 6. The event will screen four Korean features spanning eight years.
The festival will open with IM Kwon-taek's 100th feature, "Beyond the Years" (2007), a music-themed reprisal of his '93 classic "Sopyeonje". Rounding out the program are BONG Joon-ho's monster hit "The Host" (2006), and two films from the year 2000, PARK Dae-yeong's comedy "Just Do It!" and YANG Yoon-ho's firefighting blockbuster "Libera Me". KOFIC supported English-subtitled prints for those two films.
Meanwhile, over in Myanmar, the former capital city of Yangon hosts a 4-day Korean film festival, kicking off Nov. 7th. Screening at the Thamada Cinema are five Korean movies including JEON Yoon-soo's "Le Grand Chief" (2007), KIM Dong-hyun's "Hello, Stranger" (2007), LIM Tae-hyeong's "Little Brother" ("Hello Brother", 2005) and two other features to be showc... |More
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| Its Action Lacks Dignity of Life: "The Legend of Chio Bae-dal" is Fading (Source) |
2004/08/04 |
by Seung-Jae Lee
It probably reminds you of those words: darkness, heaviness, self-destruction, agony, hurt, fright, and endless emptiness, when you hear about a movie based on the superb cartoon "Fighter in the Wind" by Bang Hak-gi.
Unfortunately, however, "Fighter in the Wind", a new release opening on August 12, does not satisfy the heavy words mentioned above. The movie has just sunken between the stereotypical plot patterns of an action film and an extremely petty romance.
Under Japanese colonial rule, a boy, Choi Bae-dal, cherishes his dream of being a fighter learning Taekkyun (Taegwongdo, a traditional martial art in Korea) from his servant, Beom-soo. However, as Beom-soo, who is involved in the independent movement against Japan, disappears, Bae-dal smuggles himself to Japan to become a pilot. In Japan, he suffers a lot due to the discrimination against Josenjin (Korean-Japanese). He happens to meet Beom-soo like a miracle and continues his training. However, a... |More
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