Now and Forever (Movie - 2006)

Jo Han-seon Will Wed in January

Source | 2009/10/30 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Actor Jo Han-seon, 27, will tie the knot with a graduate school student on Jan. 9.

In an interview with a local daily, he said he met her about two years ago and plans to start mandatory military service after the marriage.

"I'm not a type who talks around about my girlfriend. I've dated her for about two years and recently decided to marry her", he said.

Jo said the bride is majoring in painting at an undisclosed graduate school. "She is an ordinary student. Thanks to her understanding and consideration, I came to decide to wed before joining the army".

Jo will hold a press conference next week to announce the marriage.

The model-turned-actor made his debut in 2002 on MBC TV drama "Nonstop 3"and since then has appeared in a number of movies including "Lost and Found", "Now and Forever", and "My New Partner"....| More

Chungmuro film festival: 214 flicks to catch

Source | 2009/08/17 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The 3rd Chungmuro International Film Festival in Seoul (http://www.chiffs.kr) will be held in Jung-gu district in Seoul from August 24 to September 1. Films will be screened at several major cinema districts in Seoul including Dongdaemun, Megabox, Myeongdong CGV and Chungmuro Daehan Cinema. Chungmuro district in downtown Seoul is known in Korea as the mecca of domestic films.

This year's festival, themed "Yesterday, Now and Forever", aims to reflect on the present and future of the film industry through a presentation of some of the world's latest and most sensational films based on old classics.

A total of 214 films from 40 nations will be shown, classified into main, special and special gala sections. The main and special sections are further subdivided into four categories each.

The opener will be "New York I Love You" a collection of 11 short romance films directed by four directors, including famous Hollywood actress Natalie Portman. The film deals with the diverse love l...| More

Osaka concert features Korean Wave stars

Source | 2007/01/25 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Korea Herald correspondent

OSAKA, Japan - It took about 50 minutes for the first performer to appear on stage at this charity concert titled "Hallyu Festival in Osaka", but Japanese fans of Korean pop culture never got bored while waiting.

More than 20,000 devoted fans of Korean pop and film stars packed the Osaka Dome, home to the Orix Buffaloes baseball team, on Tuesday night to see the fund-raising concert hosted by the International Vaccine Institute to help children suffering from infectious diseases. The institute is a Seoul-based organization dedicated to improving human health through research on preventive medicine.

The concert, which was preceded by a program to promote the institute and its activities, turned out to be a huge success thanks to the amazing popularity of the all-star lineup of Hallyu stars.

Jun Jin, a member of the popular six-man group Shinhwa, broke the ice with songs from his first solo album released in November, including "Love Never Comes Eas...| More

"Once in a Summer" to be Released in Japan

Source | 2007/01/12 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The Korean film "Once in a Summer" will be released in Japan on Jan. 27. The movie, which stars two top stars, Lee Byeong-heon and Soo-Ae --but fared badly at the Korean box office when it was released on Nov. 30--is expected to do well in Japan.

The two stars will also do their utmost for the movie's success in the island country, as they did in Korea, touring local cities to promote the movie despite its poor performance at box office. They will fly to Japan on Jan. 16 and give interviews with various media outlets to promote the film. Lee visited the neighboring country last year for promotional purposes.

The movie is expected to do well in Japan, unlike in Korea, due to Lee's tremendous popularity there. It was sold to Japan for US$4 million before its release in Korea.

Another reason for lofty expectations is the success of "Now and Forever, which performed poorly in Korea but was the only Korean movie to make the top five at the Japanese box office last year, as it starr...| More

Korean film industry has lost some sparkle

Source | 2006/12/29 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The Korean film industry seemed to be in full bloom in 2006 with hits such as "The Host" and "The Royal Jester (formerly "The King and the Clown")" attracting more than 10 million customers at the box office.

A total of 108 domestic films, including this week's "My Wife is a Gangster 3", have opened in theaters nationwide. The number has skyrocketed since 2005's 83 films and is the biggest number of films made since 1990. And in 2007 over 60 percent of the films shown here were Korean made.
Even with these record-breaking numbers, the reality in Chungmuro (the area where Korean film production companies have been concentrated, to such an extent that the word is now synonymous with the phrase "Korean film industry") is very different. Although there have been more movies, they have made less profit than in previous years. In short ― the industry is not making enough money.

Return on Investment is minus 30 percent
Based on theater profits alone, the return on investment thi...| More