| Malaysia Hosts Korean Film Fest (Source) |
2009/11/05 |
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the 2009 Korean Film Festival ran Oct 30 to Nov 4 at the GSC Mid Valley's International Screens venue. The six-day festival brings together four diverse titles: family drama "My Mother, the Mermaid" (2004), critically praised independent drama, "Sa-Kwa" (2008), suspense-driven thriller "Seven Days" (2007) and comedy "Our School E.T" (2008).
The festival, co-sponsored by the Republic of Korea Embassy, will make an allotment of free tickets available to the public. KANG Yi-kwan's "Sa-kwa" stars actress MOON So-ri as a career-woman in a troubled marriage. "Seven Days", by director WON Sin-yeon, tells the story of Ji-yeon, a successful lawyer and single mother to a seven-year-old girl who has been kidnapped.
Nigel D'Sa (KOFIC)... |More
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| Korean Chick Lit Books Turned Into Dramas (Source) |
2008/05/27 |
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia, Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporters
Chick lit books have always been popular among young Korean women, especially the "Shopaholic" series by Sophie Kinsella and "The Devil Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger.
Korean chick lit books are also gaining popularity, and two popular books are being turned into television dramas.
The glamorous world of the fashion industry will be the backdrop for the up-coming SBS drama "Style", based on a novel written by Baek Young-ok, a former fashion reporter.
A producer from SBS said Tuesday it has finalized the purchase of the rights to turn "Style" into a drama. The drama is expected to air by March next year.
There is no word yet on who will play the lead role in the TV soap. In "Style", the main character is a 31-year-old female reporter at a fashion magazine. It gives an inside look at the world of fashion and luxury. It also deals with office politics, fierce competition in the fashion world and the luxury goods indu... |More
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| KIM Hye-soo transforms "Modern Boy" PARK Hae-il (Source) |
2008/01/30 |
Writer/director JEONG Ji-woo wrapped up filming one of the highly anticipated films of this year: "Modern Boy", set during the occupation of Korea by Japan. The titular character is played by PARK Hae-il, a superficial young man who only cares about enjoying the fruits of modernization. Things change when he meets the mysterious and multi-talented character played by KIM Hye-soo.
KIM was chosen for the female lead since the character needs to be a very strong woman who has a profound impact on the young man's life, according to director JEONG's motivation. KIM has been lavishly praised for her commanding role in "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War of Fower").
With filming finished, "Modern Boy" is in the final stages after a development process of three years, including a shooting period of almost seven months in numerous locations spread over the Korean peninsula.
Expectations are high, since "Modern Boy" promises strong characters, impressive visuals, an interesting recrea... |More
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| Jeon Do-yeon Named One of the World's Leading Ladies (Source) |
2007/08/07 |
US based entertainment trade magazine, Variety, has named South Korean actress JEON Do-yeon as one of its' 50 most important women in today's entertainment industry. In its' 10th annual Women's Impact Report, Variety shines the spotlight on "the industry's femme movers and shakers". JEON was selected in the category "leading ladies" as one of four accomplished actresses along with Marion Cotillard, Angelina Jolie, and Helen Mirren. 46 other top women were selected in categories such as filmmakers, producers, multi-taskers, music-makers, and executive set.
Earlier this year, JEON won the prestigious Best Actress Award at the 2007 Cannes International Film Festival for her leading role in director LEE Chang-dong's fourth feature "Secret Sunshine". In that film she plays a widow devastated by the loss of her son and her subsequent search for meaning.
JEON became only the second Asian actress to win the award at Cannes after Hong Kong star Maggie Cheung. As Variety points out,... |More
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| A Tribute to Jeon Do-yeon (Source) |
2007/05/31 |
Hearty congratulations to Korea's most ambitious and talented actress
Kyu Hyun Kim (qhyunkim)
On May 27, Jeon Do-yeon won the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival, for her searing portrait of a spiritually devastated woman in Lee Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine". I strongly feel that, even more than "Old Boy" winning the Grand Prix in 2004, which I sort of predicted her win is the most deserved among all prizes ever garnered by a Korean film or Korean filmmaker in the high-profile film festivals.
(Okay, okay, I didn't really predict it. What I said exactly was that I would eat cheese and drink wine instead of soybean paste and soju for a year if "Old Boy" won the Grand Prix, by which I really meant the Palm d'Or, and I have at least kept the promise on the wine part, even though the latter prize was claimed by "Fahrenheit 911".)
Coming from a TV drama background, and in the early years of her career sometimes made fun of because of her slightly nasal, little-girl v... |More
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