| 'Fantasy of Korea Key to Drawing Global Audience' (Source) |
2010/01/11 |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Korea doesn't seem to spark the imagination of North Americans, and this partly explains why Korean films are not popular there, observed an award-winning filmmaker.
Choi Dong-hoon, 39, director of the latest box-office hit "JEON WOO CHI : The Taoist Wizard", said that the lack of information about Korea makes it difficult for Korean filmmakers to be successful at the Western box office.
"North Americans know that Korea is part of Asia. Compared with Japan and China, however, Korea has little to appeal to the people there", Choi said in an interview with The Korea Times last Thursday at his office in southern Seoul.
By Monday, more than four million moviegoers had flocked to see his latest movie that deals with superhero Jeon Woo Chi. The critically acclaimed film, based on a Korean folktale, marked the third consecutive box-office hit produced by Choi.
Choi made his filmmaking debut in 2004 with "The Big Swindle", a thriller that drew ... |More
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| Korean film draws director from afar (Source) |
2009/05/07 |
'I was astonished by the way Korean directors approach real problems'.
It was Jocelyn Saab's interest in Korean cinema that brought her all the way down to Jeonju, in southwestern Korea.
The Lebanese director is a member of the jury of the Jeonju International Film Festival's Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema Award.
She said that the films she has seen at the festival lead her to believe she is witnessing the emergence of a new generation of Korean directors.
"I was astonished by the way that Korean directors approach real problems. They say things so clearly, and just put everything on the table", Saab said Saturday in an interview with the JoongAng Daily.
The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema, Netpac, is an international organization of 29 member countries established in 1990. It focuses on the development of Asian cinema, including critics, filmmakers, festival organizers and curators, and is currently considered the leading authority on Asian film. Th... |More
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| Korean Comedy Breaks into U.S Market (Source) |
2009/02/11 |
"Scandal Makers" ("Speedy Scandal"), last year's fourth most successful film at the box office has been released in Los Angeles. The film's distributor, Lotte Cinema is showing the film for three weeks with English subtitles. Its next release in the US will be in Atlanta.
The film, drawing nearly 8 million admissions to date making it one of Korea's most successful comedies has provided a welcome boost to the local box office at the end of a relatively sluggish year. Directed by KANG Hyung-chul, the comedy exposes the cult of personality surrounding a former celebrity, Hyun-soo who is now a radio host in his late 30's. A young single mum, who garners the radio show with tales of her wanting to make contact with the father who she never met, causes ratings to explode. Later, on though, after Hyun-Soo meets the young mum it is him she accuses of being her father. Hyun-soo now has to manage the scandal.
Korea's relative success in the U.S market have traditionally been with d... |More
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| World renowned film music artist Ji Bark (Source) |
2009/02/10 |
Composer Ji Bark (33) received the Jerry Goldsmith Awards at 23 to become the first Asian recipient. Many Koreans may not know him but he is known as a globally promising genius musician. He was the music director for President Lee Myung-bak's inauguration ceremony and also directed the event marking 150 years of French-Japanese diplomatic ties, for which he modified an abandoned school for a showcase of his distinguished ability.
Genius artist comes to Korea
Even before he uttered his first words, he was bestowed with musical talent. His parents were opera singers. His mother Kim Mi-hwa, once a professor at Sookmyung Women's University, now teaches at the Christian Univ. of America in New York. His father, who was also a classical singer, turned to business after moving to the U.S. Ji Bark's music career may have been predestined. At 6, he was already fascinated by film music. He may forget the scenes and storyline of films such as "A Man and a Woman", "Love Story" and "Emmanuel... |More
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| Korean wave in Argentina: weak today, stronger tomorrow? (Source) |
2008/10/10 |
The world is still surprised by the popularity of Korean films, pop music and TV dramas. A country with a small territory is showing its huge dimension in cultural terms. After leading one of the most impressive processes of economic development in world history, Korea is now consolidating its power in the field of arts and culture.
Argentina is not excluded from that influence. Being a most distant country from Korea - the tale says that if you are drinking ginseng tea, in Insa-dong, downtown Seoul, and you decide to dig a hole straight to the heart of the Earth, after crossing it, you will find yourself drinking our traditional beverage "mate" in Argentina`s Pampas. Argentina has also received the influence of Hallyu, or the Korean Wave.
It is also true that as soon as distance grows, the strength of the Wave fades. Within the three most visible expressions of this trend, pop music, TV dramas and cinema, it was the last one that has been most successful.
Special performances... |More
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