Korean movie news

Park Yong-ha's 'On Air' to Air in Japan

2008/06/16 | Source | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

The Japanese media spotlight shined brightly upon hallyu star Park Yong-ha and his "On Air" co-star Song Yoon-ah in Tokyo, Thursday. The actors visited the country to promote their popular Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) TV series, which will start airing in Japan next month.

Some 150 members of the press and about 800 "VIP" guests attended the event held at Toho Cinema in Ropponggi Hills, Yonhap News reported Sunday. Video footage showed hordes of fans that couldn't enter the venue waiting outside, eager to catch a glimpse of the actors.

"I'm very nervous because this is my first time appearing before you as an actor", said Park. "I will try my very best to continue my growth as an actor. I also plan to remain active as a singer in Japan", he said.

The 30-year-old is better known in Japan as a singer. In 2005 he gave sold-out concerts across eight cities and this year won Japan's Golden Disc Award for the fourth consecutive year.

Song is ...| More

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Korean Characters Gain Overseas Attention

2008/06/13 | Source | Permalink |

Pucca, Dooly, Robot Taekwon V, may sound rather unfamiliar to many of our viewers.
These are all famous characters in Korean animation.
And now it seems these national characters may be catching on in the rest of the world, as well.
The Korea Culture and Content Agency says foreign companies showed great interest in licensing the rights to these characters during the TWENTY EIGHTH Licensing International Expo in New York this week.
While organizers did not disclose what deals were made, they said several licensing agreements were likely to come out of the expo and that American and European companies had talks about licensing the character Pucca.

Video by following the link below...| More

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First Two Episodes of "Mighty Chil-woo" and "Le Grand Chief "to Air Tuesday

2008/06/13 | Source | Permalink |

The first two episodes of the new KBS 2TV Mon/Tues drama, "Mighty Chil-woo", will air on Tuesday.

"Considering that it is a mini-series with an odd number of episodes and the first episode will air on Tuesday, we have decided to air the first two episodes in a row", said a KBS official in the programming department.

In addition, the new SBS Mon/Tues drama, "Le Grand Chief", will also air its first two episodes on Tuesday. It is unprecedented for the first two episodes of new dramas to be aired on the same day.

KBS 2TV will air the third episode of its special drama "Blunders We Make Even Though We Know that We Will Regret for the Rest of Life" on Monday at 10 p.m....| More

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Viewer rating of Iljimae Surpasses 20 Percent

2008/06/13 | Source | Permalink |

The viewer rating of the SBS TV drama "Iljimae", starring Lee Joon-ki, has surpassed 20 percent for its 7th episode, cementing the show's position as the most popular Mon/Tues TV drama.

According to AGB Nelson Media Research on Thursday, the average viewer rating of Iljimae's Wednesday episode was higher than 20 percent. MBC's "Spotlight" and KBS 2TV's "Sisters in Love", which also aired in the same slot, recorded viewer ratings of 10.1 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively.

Iljimae's Wednesday episode showed hero Yong-ee's attempts to transform into Iljimae. Yong-ee, who falls into despair as he witnesses his long-lost sister being executed, vows to avenge his father's death.

There has been another change in the dynamics of the Wed/Thur TV dramas along with Iljimae's soaring popularity. "Women in the Sun" has begun to move ahead of Spotlight, albeit by small margins.

"Women in the Sun", starring Kim Ji-soo and Lee Ha-na, is the newest drama among the three TV dramas. Alth...| More

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Varied Korean line-up at NYC fest

2008/06/13 | Source | Permalink |

This year's New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) will feature: LEE Myeong-se's "M",KANG Woo-suk's "Public Enemy Returns" (Gangcheoljoong: Gonggongui jeok 1-1), HEO Jin-ho's "Happiness" (Haengbok), KIM Mi-jeong's "Shadows in the Palace" (Goongnyeo), JEONG Byeong-gil's "Action Boys" (Woori Aeksyeonbaewooda), and KIM Ji-won's "The Butcher" (Dosalja).

New York City will host the Asian festival from June 20 until July 6. Other main films include the Japanese films Then Summer Came, and Always: Sunset on Third Street and the Chinese Assembly. NYAFF also selected films from Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Thailand.

The seventh NYAFF is organized by Subway Cinema (http://www.subwaycinema.com/), a New York based organization for the increased exposure of Asian cinema through annual events. It was also involved in the establishment of the New York Korean Film Festival in 2001. NYAFF is covered by leading media in the U.S., Europe, and Korea's leading film magazine Cine21.

Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)...| More

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Top directors assemble for short film fest's jury

2008/06/13 | Source | Permalink |

The Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival (MSFF) assigned a high profile jury consisting of Korea's leading mainstream and independent directors. PARK Jin-pyo heads a jury further comprised of: KIM Tae-yong, KIM Yong-hwa, JO Chang-ho, KIM Hyeon-seok, KIM Tae-sik, KIM Han-min, JEON Gye-soo, CHOI Dong-hoon, and NA Hong-jin.

The Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival will open its doors on June 26 at Yongsan CGV in Seoul. The festival will finish on July 2. Among the upcoming directors, the festival also screens actor YOO Ji-tae's directorial short film effort "Out of My Intention" (Nado Moreuge) in the competition section.

PARK Jin-pyo directed "You Are My Sunshine" (Neoneun Nae Woonmyeong) and "Voice of Murderer" (Geu Nom Moksori). KIM Tae-yong received acclaim for his "Family Ties" ("The Birth of a Family", Gajokui Tansaeng). KIM Yong-hwa was the man behind the box office hit "200 Pounds Beauty" (Minyeoneun Gwereoweo). CJO Chang-ho competed at several international film festivals with "Th...| More

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KIM Yong-hwa directs HA Jeong-woo in sports drama

2008/06/13 | Source | Permalink |

Director KIM Yong-hwa –two years after his hit comedy "200 Pounds Beauty" – will direct Gookkadaepyo (English translation: "national representative") about a group of ski jumpers vying for the Korean national team. Next Hallyu star HA Jeong-woo has been cast in the leading role.

"Forever the Moment" showed the potential of Korean sport films earlier this yearand Koreans have a passion for their national representative athletes. Like LIM Soon-rye's "Forever the Moment", Gookkadaepyo also seems to concentrate on the emotional side of top sport and character development.

HA will play a Korean-American adoptee who returns to Korea in search of his roots. In the confusion of his visit to his unfamiliar birth country, he finds himself trying to make it into the Korean national ski jump team while in search of his identity.

The other main characters are competing athletes and are played by television actors KIM Dong-wuk – from the popular television series "Coffee Prince", and KIM Ji...| More

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Complete KIM Ki-young Retrospective to Screen in Seoul

2008/06/13 | Source | Permalink |

A complete retrospective of the late director KIM Ki-young, nicknamed "Mr. Monster" for his eccentric genius, will be held at the Korean Film Archive from June 20-29.

Although retrospectives of KIM'swork have been held before in Pusan, Paris and New York, this will be the first time that all of his 23 surviving films, including those with missing reels, will be presented.

The event will open with a screening of the newly restored print of KIM's masterpiece The Housemaid (Hanyo), which was featured in the "Cannes Classics"section of the most recent Cannes Film Festival last month. The restoration, funded by Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Foundation, has vastly improved the image quality of the print, and restorers will continue to work on erasing the handwritten subtitles that appear on two reels by the end of this year.

Other highlights will be the rarely-presented Hyeon-hae-tan Knows (1961), a highly praised war film made right after The Housemaid which exists in incomplete ...| More

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Kang Ta and Yang Dong-geun to Star in Military Musical

2008/06/12 | Source | Permalink |

Former H.O.T. member Kang Ta and rapper/actor Yang Dong-geun will star in a musical celebrating the 60th anniversary of Korean military. The two singers have started their military duty in April and May, respectively.

The 60th anniversary musical is overseen by the Ministry of National Defense and produced by noted musical producers and staff members. The production team selected Kang Ta in a military-wide audition. The Defense Ministry insiders said that over 300 soldiers showed up for the audition and the final 35 were selected for various parts. However, it has not been decided which roles these star wannabes and Kang Ta will play.

On the other hand, Yang was not able to attend the audition because of his training, but he was included in the cast after he informed the producer that he wanted to take part in the musical as well. Yang has not been assigned a role, either. A production team member said the female lead will probably be played by a musical actress or a singer.

T...| More

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[Interview] Han Ji-min, who finished filming "Yi San", interview "I wouldn't love a real king"

2008/06/12 | Source | Permalink |

MBC historical drama "Yi San", which has been a top drama for nine months, has two episodes left from its total 77 episodes. Han Ji-min, who played Seong Song-yeon, the woman that the king loved, matured as an actress through this drama.

Song-yeon, who became a royal concubine, left the world on the 2nd by a disease, and made Yi San and all the viewers sad. The viewers' board overflowed with messages like "Please revive Song-yeon" and "If Song-yeon dies, what pleasure is there in watching?" It's because they were empathizing with the character of Song-yeon.

During the press conference, Director Lee Byeong-hoon said that Han Ji-min was "a bright actress with a clean appearance". Her small body frame incites men to protect her, her soft and pretty face, and the tears that flow from her sad eyes are still in viewers' memories. We had a phone interview with Han Ji-min as she was moving to her last filming on the 7th.

-You're filming even though Song-yeon is dead?
-Although she is...| More

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