| [HERALD INTERVIEW] Lee Byeong-heon eyes Hollywood (Source) |
2006/11/20 |
Given that Lee Byeong-heon is one of the top-rated Korean Wave stars, it comes as no surprise that he is interested in grabbing a role for a Hollywood movie. The question is when and how he pulls it off.
"Some news media reported that I already entered Hollywood, but it's not true at all", Lee said in an interview. "Our agents are arranging meetings with Hollywood people, but I haven't found a role I could take".
Lee said he has indeed met with some of the top officials at famous studios such as Fox and Universal and got some proposals, but found the proposed roles not suitable for his image.
"I don't want to debut as another Asian actor who does some martial art. I want to play an independent role on an equal footing with other American actors in a Hollywood film", he said.
Lee received two casting proposals to play Asia's "James Bond", a main supporting role to top Hollywood actors, but he has not opted for such roles yet. The main reason was that he did not want to play ... |More
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| Domestic Movie With English Subtitle (Source) |
2006/03/09 |
"Wedding Campaign (Naui Kyolhon Wonjonggi)" (2005)
Seoul Selection Bookstore
At 11:00 a.m. on Saturday
Directed by Hwang Byeong-gook and starring Soo-ae, Jeong Jae-yeong and Yoo Joon-sang, the movie is a story about single men in their late 30s who struggle to find their soul mates in a foreign country. Man-taek and Hee-chul are lonely farmers who want to get married but can't find a woman willing to live with them in the countryside. As they are vexed by the idea that no woman in Korea will marry them, they opt for an international marriage and begin looking for women in other countries. When they finally go to Uzbekistan on blind dates organized by a matchmaking agency, the first and foremost thought on their minds in their 10-day and 8-night stay is that they must find a woman to marry. Things are not as easy as they think and trouble ensues. Located near Anguk Station on subway line 3. Tickets: 3,000 won. Details: (02) 734-9565 or their Website http://www.seoulselection.co... |More
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| South Korean films embrace defectors (Source) |
2006/01/28 |
The image of defectors has been humanized, and no longer reflects the anti-communist education most
January 28, 2006 ㅡ North Korean defectors are the latest trend in Chungmuro, South Korea's movie-making district. More than 1,000 defectors flee to the South each year. Last year's releases, "Wedding Campaign" and "Typhoon", feature defectors as main characters, as do the soon-to-be-released feature "South of the Border", and the short "A Boy with the Knapsac", one of five short films included in "If You were Me 2". This isn't the first time Chungmuro has dealt with the defector issue, but in the past there was definitely a sense of ideological prejudice in movies like "Double Agent", in which North Koreans were portrayed as spies, and "Lost in the South Mission: Going Home", which ridiculed them. But times have changed, and Chungmuro's perception of defectors has become humanized.
Defectors enter the world of movies
As a scene is filmed in the lobby of Moak Hall at Sori Ar... |More
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| Rural Men Seek Uzbek Brides (Source) |
2005/11/10 |
by Mi-Seok Koh
The storyline for the movie "Wedding Campaign" (directed and written by Hwang Byeong-gook) is so simple it can be summarized in a single line: Old bachelors from a farming village leave for Uzbekistan in search of brides.
An abundance of episodes and inspiring characters make this movie a rustic, but humane drama.
"Wedding Campaign" received the spotlight early on when it was selected as the closing piece for the 10th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF). PIFF selected this movie because it is a "melodrama that is warm, humorous and with a lingering note", and it is "a sincere ode to the outsiders who bear the burdens of life, but gladly live their lives to the fullest".
Man-taek (Jeong Jae-yeong) and Hee-cheol (Yoo Joon-sang) are 38-year-old bachelors living in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province. Though they are completely different in character, the two have been best friends since childhood. Man-taek is an innocent and simple farmer, while Hee-cheol is... |More
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| More Than a Pretty Face (Source) |
2005/11/09 |
Good Acting Proves More Important Than Being Traditionally 'Handsome'
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Local actor Jeong Jae-yeong made his cinematic debut with the 1996 comedy film "The Adventures of Mrs. Park". He had such a minor role that if you blinked, you would have missed him. With his much-too-plain appearance, many thought him unsuited to play the leading character in a movie.
Jung continued to act in many films, but was barely noticed by moviegoers. Almost 10 years later, the 35-year-old is now one of the most welcomed actors in Chungmuro, the Korean equivalent of Hollywood, after this year's biggest hit film "Welcome to Dongmakgol".
"When I made my debut, people said I had too plain a face (to be a successful actor)", Jeong said in a recent interview with local newspaper Chosun Ilbo. "But now they say that I can play various roles because of my normal appearance".
After the success of "Welcome to Dongmakgol", where he plays a tough yet warm-hearted North Korea... |More
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