The King and the Clown (Movie - 2005)

Female Film Producer Jung Dies

Source | 2009/05/17 | Permalink |

By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

Jung Seung-hye, the head of movie production company Achim and a famed copywriter, died Sunday from colon cancer. She was 44.

Jung has been suffering from the illness since 2006 and was hospitalized last month after her condition worsened.

"She struggled against the disease, but as the cancer spread to her lungs, her condition got worse", said Lee Joon-ik, director of the hit movie "The King and the Clown" (2005) and Jung's friend of 20 years.

Jung started working in the movie marketing business in 1989 at film company Shin Cine with the film "Happiness Does Not Come From Grades".

She moved to Lee's Cine World and produced numerous films including "The Spy" (1999), "Anarchists" (2000) and "HwangSanBul" (2003).

When the film "The King and the Clown" hit the mark with more than 10 million viewers, she flew solo with her own company Achim in 2005 and continued to produce popular films including "Radio Star" (2006) "Shadows in the Palace (...| More

Downturn Spawns 'Flower Men' Wind

Source | 2009/04/03 | Permalink |

By James Turnbull
Contributing Writer

The "Dynamic Korea" slogan has demonstrably failed to attract many tourists in recent years but it remains a fitting one for such a rapidly changing society.

One vivid example is the elaborate hairstyles, pastel colors in the clothes of many young males and children, their attention to skincare, their "couple-clothes", and so on. This can be in sharp contrast to the staid appearance of their fathers.

Many Korean parents may well be quite perplexed and embarrassed at what they see as their sons' effeminate looks.

Yet most would be probably be surprised and offended to hear themselves being described as such, and, to be fair, such concepts do vary greatly between times and cultures.

What their fathers regard as effeminate now were actually the norm in many earlier periods of Korean history. For example, a good illustration would be the 2005 movie "The King and the Clown", and however bizarre this may sound to Western readers, couple c...| More

Lee Joon-ki Plans a U.S. Tour

Source | 2009/03/06 | Permalink |

Actor Lee Joon-ki plans to go on a U.S. tour in the latter half of this year, following the ones in China, Thailand, Japan, and Hong Kong. Lee's agency says that a detailed schedule is being worked out now and it's coordinating the event so that his overseas activities wouldn't be in conflict with his domestic ones.

Known for his amazing acting performance in the film "The King and the Clown" and dramas "My Girl" and "Iljimae", Lee has his own fan clubs in China, Thailand, Indonesia, and other countries. When he was in Indonesia for some volunteer work recently, the international airport there was paralyzed with Lee's screaming fans. His immense popularity overseas has motivated his agency to host a world tour.

Lee has a fan concert planned for April 18 at the Olympic Park in Seoul. The concert titled "Episode 2" will be the foundation for his world tour. Meanwhile, he has left for Thailand on Thursday to model for Korean designer Andre Kim in a fashion show celebrating the 50th ...| More

Why Korean blockbusters went bust

Source | 2009/02/16 | Permalink |

'The history of the Korean movie industry is divided by what happened before and after Shiri'.

It was the gunfight that left critics and film fans so impressed.

Shot in downtown Seoul, it was comparable with the drama and authenticity of a Hollywood action sequence, and helped make Korea's first ever blockbuster, "Shiri", such a monumental success a decade ago.

But now the local movie industry is in desperate straits, and directors and producers are hunting for another model that will re-energize movie making here.

"Shiri", which relates how a North Korean spy gets involved with a South Korean security agent, was a ground-breaking picture because it smashed local box office records and introduced the world to the Korean blockbuster.

It sold an estimated 6.2 million tickets nationwide, breaking existing records for local and international films set by "Seopyeonje" in 1993 and James Cameron's "Titanic" in 1997, respectively.

Choi Wan, at the time a senior official in t...| More

Are Koreans opening up about sexuality?

Source | 2009/02/02 | Permalink |

'It's like having a new toy and wanting to play with it. People are testing the limits'.

Adultery. Gay sex. And showing the "Full Monty".

These days, all of the above goes in Korean entertainment. But in the courts at least, Confucian values still hold sway over Korean society.

Just three months ago, the Constitutional Court tossed out a petition filed by an actress for the dismissal of an earlier ruling charging her with adultery. This law, which only exists in a few countries today, has been in place here for more than half a century.

Yet if the entertainment industry is anything to go by, Koreans appear to have moved on, not necessarily embracing sexual topics in public but certainly comfortable enough to be more open compared to the past.

Remember that in 1970s Korea, police officers patrolled the streets taking tape measures to miniskirts to stop females from showing too much flesh.

A telling sign of changing social values is the movie "A Frozen Flower", which o...| More