| [Talk of the town] Big names to open Jeonju fest (Source) |
2009/04/17 |
Actors Kim Tae-woo, 38, and Lee Tae-ran, 34, were selected to host the opening ceremony at this year's Jeonju International Film Festival. The JIFF, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, will run from April 30 to May 8 this year.
Kim is best known for his roles in movies such as "The Contact" (1997), "JSA - Joint Security Area" (2000) and "The Naked Kitchen" (2009).
Lee has featured in TV dramas such as "Famous Princesses". In 2007, she made her film debut as the star of "Love Exposure".
"Kim is one of those actors who can really own a movie, whether it's commercial or experimental", Min Byung-lock, JIFF's festival director, remarked in a press release.
Min said that he is looking forward to Lee's future work. "I can feel [Lee's] passion and strength when she is on the screen", he said.
The opening ceremony will take place at Sori Arts Center's Moak Hall in Jeonju, North Jeolla, at 6:30 p.m.
The event will also include a screening of the opening film "Short! Sho... |More
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| [HERALD INTERVIEW] Marco sprints to stardom with his boyish charm (Source) |
2008/12/18 |
At first sight, the quiet and somewhat aloof "Marco", 31, looks very different from his bubbly TV image.
Within minutes, however, he begins to let loose, and bursts into his signature boyish staccato laugh. "Marco" in real life turns out to be like "Marco" on television, or at least a slightly toned-down version.
Although already enjoying an modeling career and several stints in movies, "Marco" got his biggest break in the entertainment scene this year by acting as a pseudo-married couple with pop star Son Dam-bi on MBC's semi-reality show "Just Married".
A third-generation ethnic Korean from Argentina, "Marco" raised eyebrows and left people asking, "Who is that guy?" when he appeared on the hit show featuring four different celebrity couples.
His handsome looks and sculptured physique contrasted with an inarticulate Korean accent and uninhibited expression of his feelings, kept people, especially women, glued to the television.
"Yes. I think I am not that much differen... |More
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| Why the Japanese Wave Just Keeps on Coming (Source) |
2007/11/29 |
Armadas of middle-aged Japanese women no longer chase Bae Yong-joon, the biggest star the Korean wave of the early millennium produced; instead, more and more Korean fans are now dying for a glimpse of their favorite Japanese stars. In Korea, some of the so-called J-drama maniacs watch Japanese soaps all night long, and the growing popularity of Japanese novels here already outstrips any enthusiasm for Korean writing.
Obviously pleased with the reversal of fortunes, a Japanese movie magazine hailed the Japanese boom in Korea, saying, "While the Korean wave is on the wane, the Japanese wave is waxing". Many critics agree that while Korean Wave is receding, Japanese culture has been slowly assimilated into the mainstream of Korean culture and has firmly taken root there. So what are the strengths differentiating the Japanese Wave? The Chosun Ilbo asked experts for their views.
◆ Stars
Korea only opened its door to Japanese movies and drama on Jan. 2004, and ever since, the... |More
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| A Fresh Look at Korean-American Issues (Source) |
2007/11/09 |
You may start to watch "West 32nd", a new film by Korean-American director Michael Kang, without much expectation, sitting comfortably in your chair. But at a certain point you will find yourself on the edge, realizing that this is not the sort of independent art movie where the ethnic Korean director tries to identify his roots as an eternal outsider.
Whether you call them "diaspora films" or simply Korean-American movies, these films usually appeal only to a minority of fans. These ethnic Koreans belong to the mainstream neither in Korea nor America. To break down that barrier, Michael Kang has decided to make a thriller.
Three gunshots ring out from a Korean bar on New York's West 32nd Street. A 14-year-old Korean-American boy is arrested on the spot for killing the manager of the bar, played by Jeong Joon-ho. The boy's sister Lila (Grace Park) tries to prove her brother's innocence, and second-generation Korean American lawyer John Kim (John Cho) takes the case as a way to ge... |More
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| Actresses Gain Presence Onscreen
(Source) |
2007/10/02 |
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
While the female persona Korean entertainment remains largely reminiscent of Hollywood during the 1950~60s, a few in recently released or upcoming films are beginning to reflect, with some realism, Korean women today.
Women onscreen tend to be either innocent asexual Audrey Hepburns (think Lee Young-ae, Choi Ji-woo, Song Hye-kyo) or smoldering Marylin Monroes oozing with sex appeal (Kim Hye-soo, Uhm Jung-hwa). Then there exists a third, very minor group of eccentrics like Katherine Hepburn that fit into neither category, like actresses Kang Hye-jeong, Bae Doona and Kong Hyo-jin.
In other words, it is rather difficult to meet truly realistic female characters in movies. A most disappointing example is director Kwak Gyeong-taek's latest offering "A Love". In this terribly old-fashioned story about a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, the heroine is but a mere caricature embodying romantic fantasies: the unforgettable first love, frail damsel in distress ... |More
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