The Greatest Expectation (Movie - 2003)

Family, History Surface in `Underground'

Source | 2007/08/09 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

With the two Korean leaders slated to meet for talks in late August, the release of the heartfelt drama "Underground Rendez-vous" is most timely. Free of political commentaries, the film celebrates universal values of love with a delightfully comical edge as it portrays a family forced to live under unnatural separation.

Set during the early 1980s, "Underground Rendez-vous" tells the hilarious story of Yeong-tan (Im Chang-jeong), an aspiring schoolteacher who, caught along a series of mishaps, ends up teaching children in a small mountainous village. Meanwhile, the "real" teacher (Ryoo Seung-bum) who was supposed to move into town is trapped in the middle of nowhere, unable to move his right foot after stepping on a landmine.

All seems swell for Yeong-tan, and he even falls in love with an angelic beauty, Seon-mi (Park Jin-hee), the sister in law of the town chief (Im Hyeon-sik). One day, Yeong-tan catches Seon-mi and the chief in an awkward mome...| More

Saying Sayonara to Screen Quotas

Source | 2004/06/13 | Permalink |

Korean filmmakers are winning big at the box office, leaving Seoul to reconsider protectionism

Todd Thacker (internews)


It was an abrupt about-face for the staunch film industry ally.

On Friday the Minister of Culture and Tourism and former film director, Lee Chang Dong, announced to a film industry civic group that the state of Korea's film industry is strong enough to merit the examination of a "reduction, alteration and change" of Seoul's policy of screen quotas in the domestic market.

It has always been a thorny issue. At stake are the implications of going head-to-head with the "cultural imperialism" of Hollywood, a heavy-handed entertainment juggernaut that has every nation's film industry quaking in its boots.

Lee was quick to point out that if any changes to the system result in harm to the industry, his Ministry would promptly reinstate the quotas. Later, a Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson took pains to clarify that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism ...| More

Korean Movies Reeling in Audiences

Source | 2003/12/04 | Permalink |

by Park Don-kyu

The Korean Film Commission (KFC) said Thursday that of the 3.35 million moviegoers in October, approximately 2.35 million went to watch local films, recording a 70.2 percent market share. The percentage would be considered high in any country, although Korean films did report an especially high market share around the Chuseok festival season, from September to November.
Korean films' market share from January to October this year averaged 49.97 percent, an increase from the 45 percent recorded last year. Kim Mi-hyun, from the KFC, said if this trend keeps up, the market share of local films might surpass the record high of 50.1 percent, set in 2001.

The increased market share could be attributed to the opening of blockbusters such as "Oh! Brothers" in September and "Untold Scandal", "Hwangsanbul", and "The Greatest Expectation" in October. Another reason could be that there were few foreign films to compete with.

Local films had an average market share of...| More