Korean Drama

[bag.lover]

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(source: JoongAng Daily)
‘Host’ director to judge in Belgium

March 12, 2008


Director Bong Joon-ho

Director Bong Joon-ho had better give his glasses a good shine. As one of the newly named international jurists at the 26th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, Bong will need them to screen films. He will judge 11 entries, including Korea’s “Gidam” (2007), Japan’s “Ekusute” (2007) and China’s “Gong Tau” (2007). The festival runs in Belgium from March 27 to April 8.

Bong is best known for “The Host” (2006), the most successful Korean film to date.

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[bag.lover]

Originally Posted by bag.lover

(source: KBS World 2008-03-06) Belated Release of Cha In-pyo’s “Crossing” Film “Crossing,” directed by Kim Tae-gyun and starring Cha In-pyo, will finally be released four years since it was filmed. This is the first South Korean film to portray the lives of ordinary citizens in North Korea. The film was shot at secret locations in South Korea, China, and Mongolia. “Crossing” is based on a true story of North Korean refugees who attempted to break into the Spanish embassy in Beijing in 2002. Cha will play the role of the father who had to leave North Korea in search of medicine and food for his family. His eleven-year-old son will be played by child actor Shin Myeong-cheol, who beat out 600 competitors to win the part. The film follows their dangerous search for each other. The makers of “Crossing” will hold a press conference on March 18th to unveil the film for the first time.

(source: JoongAng Daily )
North Korean defector crisis of 2002 hits movie screens in ‘Crossing’

March 12, 2008

Director Kim Tae-gyun will unveil his film “Crossing” ― about North Korean defectors ― at a production briefing next Tuesday. The plot revolves around a 2002 incident in which North Korean defectors tried to enter the Spainish Embassy in Beijing. In the film, a defector (Cha In-pyo) leaves North Korea in search of food and medicine for his family. The defector’s 11-year-old son (Shin Myung-chul) sets out to search for his father.

The film’s release date has not yet been set. By Lee Eun-joo

[bag.lover]

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(source: JoongAng Daily)
‘Ultimate Challenge’ takes to skies

March 12, 2008

Fans of MBC TV’s variety show “Ultimate Challenge” may be able to watch the show in the air soon. MBC announced last Friday that the company has offered the first four episodes of the show to foreign airlines, including Air France and Qatar Airways, which fly in and out of Korea.

Meanwhile, MBC’s hopes of exporting the show to Sweden have been dashed. The purchasing agency from Sweden said recently that too much of the show’s content is difficult to format.

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[bag.lover]

DAILY TV RATING [TUESDAY 2008.03.11]


*** TNS Media Research ***

RANK / TITLE / NETWORK / NATIONWIDE / SEOUL

1. I Hate You But It's Fine <미우나고우나> / Likable Or Not (E) (KBS1) - 40.8%, 40.2%
<Monday-Friday 8:25pm>
2. Yi San <이산> / Lee San, Wind Of The Palace (E) (MBC) - 28.2%, 30.9%
<Monday/Tuesday 9:55pm>
4. Even So Love <그래도좋아> / Heart Of Destiny (E) (MBC) - 22.1%, 22.4% (#5)
<Monday-Friday 7:50am>
5. Ah Hyeon Dong's Madam <아현동마님> / Opposites Attract (E) (MBC) - 22.0%, 23.0% (#4)
<Monday-Friday 7:45pm>
6. King And I <왕과나> / King And I (E) (SBS) - 15.7%, 15.6%
<Monday/Tuesday 9:55pm>
7. That Woman Is Scary / Scary Girl <그여자가무서워> (SBS) - 14.4%, 14.2%
<Monday-Friday 7:20pm>
10. Good Woman Baek Il Hong <착한여자백일홍> / The Innocent Woman (E) (KBS2) - 11.9%, 17.7%
<Monday-Saturday 9:00am>
14. Aquarius <물병자리> (SBS) - 10.6%, 10.4%
<Monday-Saturday morning serial drama>
20. Beautiful Days <아름다운시절> (KBS1) - 9.0%, % (Below_Top_20)
<Monday-Friday 7:50am>
Single Papa In Love <싱글파파는열애중> (KBS2) - 4.6% (Below_Top_20), % (Below_Top_20)
<Monday/Tuesday 9:55pm>


*** AGB Nielsen Media Research ***

RANK / TITLE / NETWORK / NATIONWIDE / SEOUL

1. I Hate You But It's Fine <미우나고우나> / Likable Or Not (E) (KBS1) - 39.9%, 38.8%
<Monday-Friday 8:25pm>
2. Yi San <이산> / Lee San, Wind Of The Palace (E) (MBC) - 29.4%, 32.5%
<Monday/Tuesday 9:55pm>
4. Even So Love <그래도좋아> / Heart Of Destiny (E) (MBC) - 22.6%, 24.0% (#3)
<Monday-Friday 7:50am>
5. Ah Hyeon Dong's Madam <아현동마님> / Opposites Attract (E) (MBC) - 20.4%, 21.2%
<Monday-Friday 7:45pm>
6. King And I <왕과나> / King And I (E) (SBS) - 14.7%, 14.2% (#8)
<Monday/Tuesday 9:55pm>
8. That Woman Is Scary / Scary Girl <그여자가무서워> (SBS) - 14.1%, 15.2% (#7)
<Monday-Friday 7:20pm>
10. Good Woman Baek Il Hong <착한여자백일홍> / The Innocent Woman (E) (KBS2) - 12.6%, 13.4% (#9)
<Monday-Saturday 9:00am>
11. Beautiful Days <아름다운시절> (KBS1) - 12.0%, 11.4% (#15)
<Monday-Friday 7:50am>
14. Aquarius <물병자리> (SBS) - 11.5%, 12.0% (#12)
<Monday-Saturday morning serial drama>
Single Papa In Love <싱글파파는열애중> (KBS2) - 4.7% (Below_Top_20), % (Below_Top_20)
<Monday/Tuesday 9:55pm>

[bag.lover]

Grand Opening of Louis Vuitton Flagship Store & Party Celebration in Hong Kong on Friday March 14, 2008
- This flagship store (Tsim Sha Tsui, Canton Road) is LV's 2nd biggest in the world.
- Yves Carcelle (Chairman & CEO of Louis Vuitton) will host the opening ceremony.

* Partial Listing of Guests *
Korea: Choi Ji-woo, Lee Joon-ki
Japan: Nakata Hidetoshi (soccer player)
China: Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun
Hong Kong: Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Aaron Kwok, Shu Qi
Taiwan: Vic Chow (F4), Stefanie Sun
US & others: Kanye West, Eva Herzigova (LV's model this season)


^ Korean actress Choi Ji-woo at Louis Vuitton S/S 2008 RTW in Paris on October 7, 2007. [photo=chosun]

[bag.lover]

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(Source: Korea Herald 2008.03.13)
'Sikgaek' offers visual taste of Korean cuisine


^ Nam Sang-mi and Kim Rae-won of SBS drama "Sikgaek / Gourmet" [image=joynews24/yahoo]

Food has rarely played a leading role in a miniseries. But in "Sikgaek," the SBS drama slated to air on May 26, food takes center stage. And not just any kind of food. Korean cuisine gets the spotlight this time around.

Based on Hur Young-man's bestselling comic book series of the same name, this 24-episode drama follows Korean chef Seong-chan, played by Kim Rae-won, on his travels throughout Korea. Driving a beat-up truck, Seong-chan searches for the essence of Korean food, looking for it in the remotest parts of this country.

With cuisine playing such a big role, the production team needed a food expert. And they knew exactly who to turn to.

Kim Soo-jin, president of her own food consulting group, Food and Culture Korea, handled food direction for the film version of Hur Young-man's "Sikgaek," which hit screens nationwide as "Le Grand Chef," and topped national charts last year.

The mouthwatering dishes cooked up on the big screen served as testimony to her ability to turn Korean cuisine into a showstopper. Kim became a natural shoo-in for the position of food director for the drama.

She seized the opportunity. Little did she know what she was getting herself into.

"A drama is much more difficult than a movie," said Kim, 52, in an interview with The Korea Herald. "This drama shows more than the movie did. There is more research, more sketches, and more designs, and we also have to decide how to plate the food."

The film version provided her with a storyboard, making it easier for her to plan out each food scene. But, with this drama, she has to do everything from scratch.

"We look at the script in advance, and we need to figure out how the food will appear." But that's just the beginning of the process.

Kim plays composer and conductor to her team of 25. She reads the script in advance, finding the scenes which involve food. After noting all food scenes, she carefully plans out each scene before prepping the ingredients with her team the night before filming.

"For example, what we are filming that day involves making food for 32 people," said Kim. "The day before, we have to prepare all of the ingredients. We need to make notes on what each actor will be cooking, from what step to what step ... And then, the day we film, we post up these notes here and there."

The day of filming starts at dawn for Kim and her team. In the wee hours of the morning, they hit the markets, picking the ingredients that need to be extra-fresh when they arrive on set.

After getting all the needed ingredients together, she oversees the cooking and plating while directing the actors, and monitoring the screen with the director on set.

"You have to teach on set," said Kim. "We take the food and say, 'Kim Rae-won, you will be cooking this today, so follow through with these actions in this order and like this.' That way, the actors won't make any mistakes, and we can all work together quickly.

"And, in order to get the food to look fresh and tasty, we must make the same dish over and over again," she added.

When the scene involves eating the food, they need to make about eight sets of the same dish for each actor.

"It's war," she mused.

That much work requires three teams. Kim calls them teams A, B and C. Team A stays on set. Team B handles all the cooking. And Team C handles all the supplies.

Just how do all these people communicate with each other? They do it the old-fashioned way. "We use walkie-talkies," Kim said.

Hard to imagine this well-groomed, petite woman barking out orders on such a contraption, but apparently it's all in a day's work.

But, long before all the walkie-talkies, prepping and filming came into play, Kim was hard at work training the actors in their roles as chefs. It was no easy matter getting two highly inexperienced actors to wield a knife with expertise.

"Kim Rae-won was already quite good at basic cooking," but she couldn't say the same for Kwon Oh-jung and Won Ki-joon, who play rival chefs in "Sikgaek."

"But, in the case of Kwon Oh-jung and Won Ki-joon, they didn't know how to use a knife at all," explained Kim. "So, we started with learning how to julienne five daikon radishes a day. It takes about three hours to mince five large daikon radishes at first. But Kwon and Won worked really hard. They would come for three to four hours at a time, and just julienne radishes."

After learning how to mince them, all three actors learned how to cut the radishes into half moons, thin slices and perfect cubes.

"Later on, when you see them on screen chopping at radishes you will be surprised," said Kim with pride. "The radish just flies."

And radishes aren't the only thing they know how to cook. Each actor has his own special dish.

According to the food director, Kim Rae-won makes a great cheonggukjang -- a fermented miso bean stew. Won Ki-joon whips up a beautiful pomegranate-shaped dumpling soup, while Kwon Oh-jung cooks a solid shinsollo -- a complicated Joseon-era dish.

In fact, they have gotten so good at cooking over those six weeks of intensive training that, according to Kim, "the director says that we should hold a cooking competition for them later on."

To get a visual taste of their dishes and those of food director Kim and her team, just wait til May 26 when the first episode airs on SBS.

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldm.com)

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[bag.lover]

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(Source: Korea Herald 2008.03.13)
Yoo Ji-tae juggles up two jobs as actor and filmmaker


[image=edaily]

Outside of Korea, Yoo Ji-tae is primarily known as a key actor in Park Chan-wook's award-winning flick "Oldboy." In the movie, Yoo's character shows off an extremely calm posturing; however, deep inside his heart is burning with an incontrollable emotion of revenge.

Back to the reality, Yoo does not want to limit his scope to the domain of acting. Although he's a much sought-after actor, he is not secretive about his burgeoning ambition as a filmmaker. Previously, he made two short films, which have not made it to the theaters.

This time, finally, Yoo's third short film, titled "Out of My Intention (Nado moreugae)," has achieved something bigger and more commercial. The 24-minute-long film will be screened from March 20 at Sponghouse in Gwanghwamun, Seoul. The screening period is limited to just a week given the film's brief running time and arthouse nature; nonetheless, the release clearly marks Yoo's formal debut as a director.

"Out of My Intention" starts off with a middle-aged man (played by Lee Dae-yon) seen driving a car in downtown Seoul. The overall tone appears gloomy, with the sky downcast and the outside view, intermittently glimpsed through the window, fuzzy and blurry.

The camera switches between the man's sullen face and a pretty girl (Jo An), about 20 years younger than he is. Their dialogue is barely recognizable in terms of content, but the mood suggests that they are in a sort of verbal fight. She wants to clear up the wrangling but he does not give in to her repeated request for clarification.

The movie does not make it super-secret about the mixture of present and past since the couple talks to each other constantly but the camera never shows them in the same screen. They are separated, obviously by the means of time, and the continued blocking between the two evokes curiosity among the audience.

Director Yoo is not so generous about detailed explanations about what really happened. Perhaps he does not need to do so. After all, a short film lasting less than 30 minutes is hamstrung in the first place, and redundant details are by no means welcome.

An emotional tug of war between the two is also juxtaposed with the fantasy shots where the female character is dressed up as a cutie doll in a land where dreams go uninhibited.

For Yoo, short films' greater tolerance for ambiguity and brevity is appealing. "If I had made the film into a full feature, I would have had to give all of the sundry reasons and episodes about their initial relationships," he said.

Yoo told the local media that for artistic diversity the Korean cinema should pay more attention to short films in a way that offers alternative choices for moviegoers at a time when only the mainstream commercial flicks manage to survive.

Yoo's new film is set to join the competition section of the Kyoto Short Film Festival in June this year, a development that is not so negative for a part-time filmmaker, for he remains a professional actor: starting from next Monday, he will join the shooting for "Sunjeong Manhwa," a romantic film directed by Ryu Jang-ha.

By Yang Sung-jin (insight@heraldm.com)


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[bag.lover]

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(Source: Korea Herald 2008.03.13)
[THE HIGH TIDE OF THE KOREAN WAVE(21) - HERALD INTERVIEW] 'Musicals will become a part of Hallyu'

With exciting beats and comic fun, "Nanta," a dialogue-free slapstick comedy, has wowed audiences at home and abroad over the past decade.

"Nanta" has so far performed 9,831 times in 24 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, attracting almost 3.5 million people around the world.

The comedy about four chefs has also been popular with foreign tourists here, making a huge contribution to Korea's cultural profile. In 2006, the number of foreigners who saw the show here exceeded one million and the number is steadily going up.

Nobody imagined that this small Korean theater production could make such a success, but Song Seung-hwan, creator of "Nanta," believed in the success of the performance from the very beginning. His dream has eventually came true. Song recently told The Korea Herald about his 10-year journey with "Nanta" and his unfinished dream.

"I remember the first time I heard the drum sound of 'Nanta' 10 years ago -- the 'Sold Out' sign that heralded its success at the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the passion of the performers when the show debuted in Broadway in 2003," said Song, co-chairman of PMC Production. He co-chairs the production company with his high school friend, Lee Gwang-ho. Song is also known as a famous and talented actor who started his acting career at the age of eight.


▲Song Seung-hwan gestures during an interview with The Korea Herald. [Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald]

"What makes me happy mostly is that I have foreign audiences pointing out 'Nanta' as the best performance they have ever seen. And the foreign audiences easily identify Korea with the dynamic and powerful image that 'Nanta' creates," he said.

"Nanta," meaning "recklessly strike," dramatizes Korea's traditional percussion performance, "samulnori," which uses drums and gongs to produce distinctive beats and rhythms. Instead of these traditional instruments, which originated in agricultural communities, "Nanta" performers use anything that is normally lying around the kitchen, such as brooms, knives, trashcans and mops, to create their own brand of samulnori.

Called "Cookin'" in English, the first Korean non-verbal performance premiered in Seoul in 1997 and made its international debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 1999, where the experimental work was acclaimed.

The performance won the top prize at the Edinburgh festival in 2001. After gaining international recognition through this festival, the five-member show debuted on New York's Off-Broadway in 2003, drawing more than 100,000 viewers during one and a half year run.

"Nanta" was the first Korean theater production that made international debut successfully, however, it wasn't easy at all, Song recalls.

"The image of Korea was not so good and the brand value of Korea was not so high 10 years ago. I even heard people asking, 'Do Koreans produce theater drama production too?'"

Today, the production company has two exclusive venues in Seoul and will open another on the Jeju Island next month.

Song is also planning to open "Nanta" theaters in China and Japan.

"I am thinking about opening permanent 'Nanta' theaters in Shanghai, Beijing and maybe some cities in Japan in the future," he said.

The 50-year-old producer said, however, that he would seek to form partnerships with production companies there for local marketing. Through the partnership, he predicts that "Nanta" can be produced by local staff and performed by local casts, just like a Broadway musical gets turned into a local version in Korea.

Song also expects to see more Korean theater works making inroads into overseas markets this year. How can he make this possible? He points out the power and influence of Korean Wave.

"The reason why Korean dramas are so popular in Asia than dramas produced in North America is that people find similarity between Korea and their countries while watching Korean dramas," he said. "And they are also fascinated by the unique Korean culture, which they haven't experienced before. In this way, Korean musicals can also grab the eyes and ears of Asian audiences."

The actor-turned-producer attempts to make another jump by putting the original Korean musical "Great Janggeum" on international stages. In April, the musical begins a 10-week tour of Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

The musical adaptation of the TV period-drama has drawn attention from the media since last year, raising speculation as to whether the musical would be as successful as the drama. The TV drama "Daejanggeum" was phenomenally successful in 2003, with its viewers' rating soaring above 50 percent. The 54-episode drama also made a huge contribution to spreading Hallyu, also called the Korean Wave, as it was exported to over 50 countries.

The musical production follows the same storyline as the drama, portraying a woman who serves as a palace cook for the royal family during the Joseon Dynasty.

Song pointed out that there is no other country in Asia but Korea that creates more than 100 homegrown musicals every year.

"Korea is the only country in Asia that has so many new homegrown musicals constantly coming up every year. This dedicated effort will be another source of Hallyu," Song said.

Last year, his production sold the licenses of two homegrown musicals to production companies in Japan. His company concluded a $147,000 contract with Japan's Shochiku, which allows the Japanese production company to use the contents and music of the musical "Great Janggeum." It also signed a one-year contract with Amuse, one of the major entertainment companies in Japan, for the use of the characters and contents of the Korean musical "Dalgona," a nostalgia-provoking work set in the 1980s. This was the first case of Korean musicals being exported overseas and adapted for local versions.

But he acknowledges difficulties in exporting original Korean musicals.

"It won't be so easy to attract people in Asia with a theater production when compared to Korean dramas or movies that they have appreciated for free on TV or in the internet," Song said.

Countries with an average per capita income of more than $20,000 will be possible targets, he said.

Asked why he produces Korean musicals while other productions are busy bringing Broadway musicals, he said, "It simply doesn't interest me. It is like copying someone's work. Although it is painful to produce something new and creative, you are much more satisfied with your own creation in the end."

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldm.com)

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[bag.lover]

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Charlize Theron to Remake Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron will produce and star in a remake of director Park Chan-wook's "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance".

Quote:

She'll also produce and star in a remake of "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance," the final installment of a mondo-violent trilogy by Korean director Park Chan-wook.

Source: Boston Globe March 9, 2008

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[bag.lover]

DAILY TV RATING [WEDNESDAY 2008.03.12]

*** TNS Media Research ***

RANK / TITLE / NETWORK / NATIONWIDE / SEOUL

1. I Hate You But It's Fine <미우나고우나> / Likable Or Not (E) (KBS1) - 37.6%, 36.5%
<Monday-Friday 8:25pm>
3. Even So Love <그래도좋아> / Heart Of Destiny (E) (MBC) - 21.5%, 21.7%
<Monday-Friday 7:50am>
4. Ah Hyeon Dong's Madam <아현동마님> / Opposites Attract (E) (MBC) - 20.5%, 22.2% (#2)
<Monday-Friday 7:45pm>
5. On Air <온에어> (SBS) - 14.7%, 15.9%
<Wednesday/Thursday 9:55pm>
6. Hong Gil Dong <쾌도홍길동> (KBS2) - 14.5%, 14.6%
<Wednesday/Thursday 9:55pm>
8. That Woman Is Scary / Scary Girl <그여자가무서워> (SBS) - 12.9%, 12.9% (#9)
<Monday-Friday 7:20pm>
11. Good Woman Baek Il Hong <착한여자백일홍> / The Innocent Woman (E) (KBS2) - 11.4%, 10.9% (#10)
<Monday-Saturday 9:00am>
13. Aquarius <물병자리> (SBS) - 10.5%, 10.1%
<Monday-Saturday morning serial drama>
16. Who Are You? <누구세요> (MBC) - 9.5%, 9.2% (#15)
<Wednesday/Thursday 9:55pm>
17. Beautiful Days <아름다운시절> (KBS1) - 9.3%, 8.8% (#19)
<Monday-Friday 7:50am>

[bag.lover]

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(source: Ohmynews - Published 2008-03-12 11:22 (KST))
'White Tower' Fans Will Remain 'Wide Awake'
Kim Myung-min enlivens a solid medical thriller

By reporter Kyu Hyun Kim (qhyunkim)

"Wide Awake" takes a real-life medical mystery, "intra-operative awareness" -- patients who remain fully conscious (and responsive to pain) but paralyzed during operations -- and weaves a revenge-themed mystery plot around it.

(Intra-operative awareness takes place shockingly more often than people realize. A North American survey claims that approximately 20,000 to 40,000 surgery patients suffer through it every year, with 30 percent of them feeling acute pain.)

The film opens with a young boy completely traumatized by his heart operation, the experience of feeling a scalpel cutting into his chest, a bone saw whine-grinding into his sternum and a doctor fingering through the insides of his body. Despite the boy's tearful protestations, no one believes him: it's 1980s Korea, after all.

Twenty-five years later, the doctors and nurses who had operated on him begin to die mysteriously.


ⓒ2008 Beautiful Pictures/CJ Entertainment

Ryu Jae-woo (Kim Myung-min), a conscientious surgeon happily married to the beautiful Hee-jin (Kim Yu-mi), realizes that the operation-traumatized boy, who seems to have been his childhood friend, is behind these deaths. On the suspect list are Lee Myeong-suk (Kim Roe-ha), stalking Dr. Ryu for failing to save his wife, and the seemingly unhinged Uk-hwan (Yu Jun-sang). The hypnosis specialist Oh Chi-hoon (Kim Tae-hoo) also seems to be on to some information about the culprit.

Even though a Hollywood film with an almost identical premise ("Awake") was released a few months after this film's Seoul opening (an apparent coincidence), the long shadow cast on "Wide Awake" is in fact that of the ultra-popular, Japanese-novel-based medical drama "White Tower," to the point that the "medical drama" aspect of the movie is many times more fascinating than the murder mystery.

The filmmakers, including newcomer director Lee Gyu-man and co-screenwriter Lee Hyun-jin, spin their yarn as a straightforward whodunit: a crime has been committed, we are given clues to the possible motive, a load of technically complicated but authentic-sounding information regarding the exotic methods of murder are provided, and all this is nicely resolved at the end with the minimum of "what the heck?" confusion.

Unfortunately, pacing is rather slack and the mystery is not as well thought-out as it should have been. The climactic big revelation is especially not handled well, relying on the considerable talents of the film's stars to get by. (I must say, too, that hypnotism is seriously being over-used by Korean thrillers as a plot device.)

It should be said in the film's defense that the film does feature one act of revenge, which, like the more famous one in "Old Boy," makes instinctive logical sense and is truly devastating in its cruelty.

But all this would have been for naught had director Lee chosen the wrong actors. None of the leads is asked to do anything extraordinary but they inhabit their frankly two-dimensional roles with admirable professionalism and requisite conviction.

In particular, few people will doubt Kim Myung-min's ability to carry a whole picture after "Wide Awake": he does a superb job of conveying the self-doubt of a doctor whose faith in his medical skills is being eroded, and makes us believe in the soul-shattering agony of a decent doctor who learned that his surgical prowess was deviously manipulated as a tool for evil.


ⓒ2008 Beautiful Pictures/CJ Entertainment

"Wide Awake" is not as powerful as it could have been, (I kept thinking while watching it how a straightforward medical drama in the mold of "White Tower" could have been so much superior to all this whodunit stuff) but it is certainly a step in the right direction in that it doesn't pretend to be smarter or more important than it is.

The film is highly recommended to fans of "White Tower" who can't get enough of Kim Myung-min. Kim is just as compelling here playing a goody-two-shoes hero as he was playing the ambitious villain in the TV drama.

2008/03/11 오후 2:37
© 2008 Ohmynews

http://english.ohmynews.com/articlev...82045&rel_no=1

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[bag.lover]

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(source: Korea Times 03-13-2008 19:11)
‘Intention’ Depicts Love’s Pathos

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter


A scene from "Out of My Intention," the third short film directed by movie star Yoo Ji-tae. / Courtesy of Sponge

Actor Yoo Ji-tae presents his third directorial piece, "Out of My Intention." Through the 24-minute film, the star of cult favorite "Old Boy" and romance flick "One Fine Spring Day" demonstrates an ability to orchestrate subtle emotions.

The film unfolds on the road one lazy summer afternoon. A weary middle-aged man (Lee Dae-yeon) drives listlessly, while a lovely young woman (Jo An) rides in the passenger seat, wearing a grim expression.

Though the baby-faced woman and necktie-clad man make an odd pair, a typical lover's quarrel is in progress. The woman desperately wants to talk things out, while the man remains silent, and their shaky relationship begins to falter.

Tracing the haunting remnants of long-lost amours, "Intention" takes viewers on a ride between the mundane and surreal. The middle-aged man is actually driving down memory lane. Their love died perhaps 20 years ago, but the moment he remembers her, he conjures her back to life. He has grown old and weary, but his beloved Ok-gyeong, forever young in his heart, chirps away next to him, shouting angrily or humming languidly, smiling sweetly and leaning on his shoulder.

First loves never die, Yoo suggests. "Intention" is more poetic than narrative. Its main aim is to capture and evoke a particular sentiment regarding youthful love's urgent desires and the woes they leave behind. It features just about everything one might expect in a short film, including the bizarre and surreal, "artsy" scenes, where our heroine prances around with her face painted like a mime artist.

Yoo takes full advantage of the film medium, creating an ambiance from what is included and excluded in the mise-en-scene. The emotional tension between the couple, for example, is heightened by how the camera almost never captures them together in one frame.

He also juxtaposes reality and imagination, past and present. An ordinary drive down the highway is interrupted by a flooding mosaic of memories ― dates in the countryside, a small bug that lands on a windowsill and Ok-gyeong's mysterious smile.

The recent press preview for "Intention," which took place in a small Seoul theater for independent films, was unusually crowded. Appearing a bit startled by the media buzz, Yoo expressed a modest appreciation for "such a fancy reception."

Veteran actor Lee Dae-yeon said he was a bit baffled by the script, but decided to give it a shot. "Yoo said he wrote the script with me in mind," he said. "How can you say no to that?" A familiar face in TV soaps, Lee gives the film a nice gravitational pull, weighing down the fluffy parts, while fresh actress Jo An ("Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait") embodies youthful vigor and beauty.

Yoo's two previous works, also speaking of love, were well received at the Busan Asian Short Film Festival: "The Bike Boy" was chosen for the 2003 audience award and "How Does the Blind Dream" won the 2005 Fuji Film award for excellent work.

"Intention" reads like an audiovisual poem ?though more like a rough draft that makes you expect more from Yoo as a director.

Opens March 20 at Gwanghwamun Spongehouse (near exit 6 of Gwanghwamun station on subway line 5). Discounted admission upon presenting a ticket for "A Curtain Raiser" by Francois Ozon, currently showing. No English subtitles.

hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr

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[bag.lover]

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(source: Korea Herald 2008.03.14)
Seoul Fashion Week kicks off Monday

More than 50 fashion shows will be presented in the 08/09 Fall/Winter Seoul Collection, which begins its 8-day run on Monday at the Seoul Trade Exhibition Center in southern Seoul.

The fashion week is in its 14th season. Three designer groups in Seoul -- the Seoul Fashion Artists Association, the Korea Fashion Association and the Seoul Fashion Design Center -- will jointly host the event.

Members of SFAA, New Wave in Seoul and the Korea Fashion Designers Association as well as individual designers and teams of fashion designers will participate in the collection, which will offer a taste of next years cooler seasons.

The fashion week starts with men's ready-to-wear clothing.

Chang Kwang-hyo, one of well-known designers for menswear and a member of SFAA will open event at 12 a.m. on Monday, to be followed by other men's clothing designers in Korea, including Song Zio, Park Sung-chul and Lee Young-joon.

Wednesday and Thursday's line-up will feature runway presentations by nine SFAA members. They will include Lee Sang-bong, Rubina, Son Jung-wan and Kim Dong-soon.

Ten members of NWS will show their creations on March 21, and eight from KFDA will follow suit the next day.

Established designers Moon Young-hee, Lee Young-hee, Hong Enzu and Andy and Debb will participate independently on the two last days of the fashion show. Talented designer Gee Choon-hee will close the fashion week with her show scheduled for 4 p.m. on March 24.

The organizing committee of the Seoul Fashion Week has invited two international fashion experts -- Jean-Pierre Mocho, president of the French Federation of Ready-to-Wear and Anna Orsini, head of the international office of London Fashion Week -- aiming to build ties with Europe's fashionistas.

In an effort to take one step closer to the goal, the organizers have invited more than 80 buyers from Europe, the Middle East, China and Japan, as well as media from France, Italy, Britain, the Netherlands and the United States. To boost the business aspect of Fashion Week, the organizers will hold Seoul Fashion Fair for buyers and visitors.

The fashion show is sponsored by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldm.com)

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[bag.lover]

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(source: Korea Herald 2008.03.14)
[THE HIGH TIDE OF THE KOREAN WAVE(22)] Let me entertain you: The identity politics of contemporary Korean cinema

"A crisis in the Korean film industry -- the advance of foreign films." This was the essence of a 2007 report by the Korean Film Council. Is there a crisis in Korean cinema because films are losing half of their 146 screening days? Because of their weak content? Or their heavy dependence on theatrical releases?

"Crisis" seems to be the buzzword in 2008. The local industry's share of the domestic market slid from 63.8 percent to 50.8 percent in 2007. Of the 112 films screened in 2007, only 13 turned a profit. Three out of 2007's top 10 were Korean, compared to seven in 2006.

The Korean Wave is also said to be in crisis. The successive failure of Hallyu films in Japan was one of the reasons which led to the slowing of the Korean Wave. It also prevented Hallyu from reaching a broader audience.

Japan is Korea's biggest importer of films. In 2005, Japanese imports comprised 70 percent of Korean film exports. This declined to 42.4 percent in 2006 and 27.0 percent in 2007. Speculative investments and purchases relying on the ticket power of Hallyu stars generated numerous clones of Hallyu films but resulted in huge losses for the industry. The first year of the wave was astonishingly successful. But sacrificing quality for star power soon disappointed even the most ardent of Korean Wave fans.

Film is the flagship of the Korean Wave. The growing concerns about the future of Korean cinema in Europe are somewhat similar. Between 2006 and 2007, film exports to Asia declined from 69.5 percent to 56.5 percent, while exports to North America decreased from 8.0 percent to 2.5 percent. In comparison, exports to Europe increased from 20 percent to 37.1 percent in the same period. However, the majority of buyers say that Korean films are not as popular any more. Only a couple of years ago, Korean films were applauded as the trendiest newcomer to the world cinema scene. So what happened?

Minor national cinema can easily disappear if it loses institutional support. At best, it can serve a limited number of art-house filmgoers through transnational cooperation and sponsorship. The success of Korean cinema is a different story. The revival of Korean cinema was possible because it entertained audiences. It started with commercial success.

Industrial instability and the necessity for structural changes had been discussed even before the amendment in the screen quota system was announced in 2006. The dramatic revival of Korean cinema was possible despite the prevailing difficult conditions at the time.

In order to provide a diagnosis on the future of Korean cinema, we need to scrutinize its current responses to the changing environment with a longer-term view. In this sense, Korean cinema is now facing new challenges which can consolidate its success in competing with the Hollywood-led global film culture.

New identity politics

The success of Korean cinema offers a new perspective on the homogenizing trends of globalization led by Western cultural commodities. Until recent years, Korea was a Hollywood-dominated market, but it has the world's seventh largest film industry.

When the government lifted sanctions on direct importation and distribution by foreign film companies in the mid-1980s, the Korean film industry seemed to be on the point of extinction owing to its vulnerability to the hostile marketing strategies of Hollywood. Despite the relentless protests of local filmmakers, United International Pictures began operations in 1987.

The domestic market share of Korean films sharply declined from 38.5 percent in 1984 to 15.9 percent in 1993. Faced with the threat of the extinction of local films, the public expressed strong support for Korean cinema. As a reaction against Americanization, the Screen Quota Civil Society was established in 1985.

Responding to popular demand, the government increased the mandated number of screening days for Korean films from 121 days to 146 days in the same year. Filmmakers justified the provision on the basis that they were creating cultural commodities to preserve and realize the collective identity of the people, in contrast to the indiscriminate operation of free and fair market principles.

The "sense of crisis" surrounding the loss of cultural identity resulted in the revival of the film industry. Accordingly, the thriving film culture in contemporary Korea is the result of cultural resistance to the power of Western-led globalization.

The rise of South Korean films in world markets, especially in East and Southeast Asia, can attest to the role of a minor national film industry in enriching the diversity and multiplicity of contemporary film practices. In the last two decades, Korean film has undergone tremendous changes in its industrial structure, thematic features, generic experiments and aesthetic attributes.

Due to these radical developments, Korean national cinema has seen a dramatic reversal of fortunes since the late 1990s. It has successfully recovered domestic popularity and vigorously penetrated overseas markets. In 2003, Korean films were exported to 56 countries including Japan, Hong Kong, China, Europe and America. The domestic market share of Korean films has also significantly increased since the late 1990s. According to a 2006 report by the Korean Film Council, Korean cinema saw record-breaking ticket sales in the domestic market -- 53.5 percent in 2003, 59.3 percent in 2004, 59.0 percent in 2005 and 63.8 percent in 2006.

The industry has constantly sought to establish an international reputation for its artistic achievements, having won awards at various international film festivals since the mid-1980s. The industry's new sensibility and creativity in representing local history and cultural traditions challenged global audiences familiar with Hollywood films. Furthermore, the film industry was the leading force in spreading Hallyu in Asia.



At the same time, Korean filmmakers have contributed to the creation of a pan-Asian film culture. Among the various international film events staged in Korea, the Pusan International Film Festival, which started in 1996, is the largest and most successful. By focusing on the discovery of works by non-mainstream national filmmakers, PIFF offers a range of new conceptual approaches to global film culture.

The remarkable growth of the Korean film industry was possible due to the democratic transition of its society. South Korea used to be known for its rapid economic development led by successive military governments (1962-1987). The economic miracle demanded the sacrifice of human rights, freedom of speech and expression. The mid-1980s democratization of South Korea ended the dark years, and filmmakers were allowed to explore the colonial/post-colonial years, and the harsh experiences of the "compressed" modernization process.

A new identity politics of Korean national cinema emerged during this revolutionary period. The film industry is no longer subject to the abuse of state power. However, it urgently needs a new identity reflecting the dynamics of social and democratic change. Audiences reject films which reiterate political apathy or cultural conservatism. In order to meet these new preferences and tastes, the new identity politics aim to change the old image of the national cinema into a more progressive paradigm.

By blending familiarity and novelty, the new identity politics express the transitional identity of contemporary Koreans. However, the reality is far more complex. Audiences still exhibit a strong preference for well-crafted Hollywood films over domestically made films. Society as yet cannot provide sufficient funding and institutional support for the filmmakers.

Furthermore, international trends in film culture can more easily undermine the national film industry because there is a vacuum left by the former protectionist government. To a certain extent, the democratization of society encourages filmmakers to involve themselves in the new identity politics in order to achieve greater industrial competitiveness and artistic excellence.

<continuing in next post...>

[bag.lover]

Originally Posted by bag.lover

(source: Korea Herald 2008.03.14) [THE HIGH TIDE OF THE KOREAN WAVE(22)] Let me entertain you: The identity politics of contemporary Korean cinema

The hybridism of commercialism and artistic experimentalism is a significant factor in contemporary Korean cinema as it has successfully created its new identity politics in Asia. The creative adaptation of Hollywood dramatic conventions flavored by locality is essential to capture audiences. The filmmakers exploit history and cultural traditions to create national melodramas. The audience appears to experience more escapist pleasure in the new imaginary space, exposing resentment to the hegemonic ideologies of global powers.

In a sense, the historical and cultural intimacy presented by Korean films tends to gain a wider appeal among audiences. It achieves this through creating an emotional identification of being victimized by Western hegemonic powers by offering nostalgic romanticism, but with a richer, local flavor.

When "Shiri" (Kang Je-gyu, 1999) smashed box office records held by "Sopyonje" (Im Kwon-taek, 1993), many Korean filmmakers saw a chance to make a Korean-style blockbuster. Since the success of "Shiri," the record-breaking box-office sales of big-budget historical dramas has clearly marked this new development. The constant success of big-budget films, such as "Joint Security Area" (Park Chan-wook, 2000) and "Friend" (Kwak Kyung-taek, 2001) created a business-oriented filmmaking culture.

"Taegukgi" (Kang Je-gyu, 2004) and "Silmido" (Kang Woo-suk, 2003) ranked first and second at the box office in 2004. "The King and the Clown" (Lee Jun-ik, 2005) sold 12.7 million tickets in 2006. "The Host" (Bong Jun-ho, 2006) remains the bestselling local film ever with 13 million ticket sales -- enough for one-third of the whole population of South Korea to go and see it.

Romantic comedies fusing traditional Confucian family values and gender relations with Hollywood-style gangster films or screwball dramas -- such as "My Sassy Girl" (Kwak Jae-yong, 2001), "My Wife is a Gangster" (Jo Jin-gyu, 2001) and "Marrying the Mafia" (Jeong Heung-sun, 2002) generated the synthesis of different genres for the international bestsellers. These films will be remade in Hollywood. Selling remake rights is one of the ways that Korean filmmakers can access the American film market. "The Host" is one film whose remake rights were sold to Hollywood.

Regarding this phenomenon, the imitation of Hollywood tends to be suggested as the most effective way to challenge Hollywood's dominance in Asia and lead the successful "internationalization" of Korean national cinema. The popularity of "My Sassy Girl" in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam, and "Shiri," "JSA" and "Taegukgi" in Japan seems to support this argument. This shows an interesting contrast to Europe, the second-biggest foreign market for Korean film exports. European audiences prefer the auteur, art-house films, such as films by Kim Ki-duk, Park Chan-wook or Hong Sang-soo.

As noted above, the revival of the Korean film industry cinema is due to the success of its commercial films. However, this remarkable industrial expansion cannot shadow the accumulated achievements of the filmmakers in improving the quality of local films. Since Im Kwon-taek's "Chunhyang" was nominated for an award at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2002, Korean films have constantly received international recognition based on their artistic achievements. They include Im Kwon-taek's "Chihwaseon," which won the Best Director Award at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2003; Lee Chang-dong's "Oasis" and Kim Ki-duk's "3-Iron," which won the Special Award for Best Director at the Venice International Film Festival in 2003 and 2004 respectively; Kim Ki-duk's "Samaritan Girl," which won the Best Director Award at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival; and Park Chan-wook's "Oldboy." which won the Grand Prix of the Jury at Cannes in 2004. Significantly, these films cover a wide spectrum of genres, themes and film styles.

The various generic experiments and film styles pursued by contemporary Korean filmmakers predict an optimistic future for Korean film, indicating the presence of an alternative film culture for a global audience. However, the future of the Korean film industry is still uncertain. Increased production costs and the theatrical monopoly of a small number of "well-made" films cast serious doubts on the long-term stability and maturity of the film industry. The competition between "Silmido" and "Taegukgi" increased audience numbers and involved the most expensive budgets and marketing costs to date. "The Host" was criticized as having an unfair monopoly on distribution, clearly showing the polarization phenomenon. The spread of uncompromising commercialism pursued by overconfident investors resulted in many films being unable to attract buyers for their release and distribution.

Another warning sign is the negative growth of exports. But the regional differences varied. Whereas the decrease in exports to Asia in 2007 was due to the poor performance of commercial films, exports to Europe, which prefers art-house films, remained the same compared to previous years. Interestingly, exports to Hungary, Poland and South America -- where commercial films are more popular than art-house films -- increased.

In this sense, despite the success of Korean films in recent years, the fear remains. The world film market is still dominated by America, which maintains 85 percent of the international market and 97 percent of its own domestic market. In 2007, the Korean film industry showed the first negative growth in five years.

Film is a cultural commodity and needs to be treated differently from other consumer products. The protection of a minor local film industry is not merely a Korean issue. There are many countries maintaining similar film policies and raising serious concerns on the issue, including France, Spain and Canada. Also, there are countries which sustain a stricter protectionist policy, such as India, China, Egypt and Russia. At the same time, film is also mass entertainment.

The uncertain future of Korean cinema should be critically studied in order to help the industry reflect the everyday lives of its citizens. After all, film viewing should be a unique, cultural pleasure.

by Hyang-jin Lee



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