Korean Entertainment News 2012 - 2013

katt

September 2, 2012

'Pieta' set for Venice Film Fest debut
By Moon Gwang-lip Korea JoongAng Daily



Jo Min-su and Lee Jung-jin, the stars of Kim Ki-duk’s new movie “Pieta,” will leave for Italy to attend the premier of the Korean film at the Venice Film Festival, according to the movie distributor NEW yesterday.

The two actors will attend a press conference for “Pieta” in Venice at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Central European Time.

The movie - the 51-year-old French-educated Korean director’s 18th - is competing with 17 other films from all over the world in the Golden Lion Prize segment at the prestigious film festival, which kicked off Wednesday.

It is Kim’s fourth movie invited to the Venice festival.

“Pieta” is about an unexpected turn in the life of a cold-blooded debt collector, played by Lee, 34, who is surprised by the visit of a middle-aged woman, played by Jo, 47, who claims she is his mother.

It is the first Korean movie to compete in Venice since Park Chan-wook’s “Lady Vengeance” in 2005.

“Pieta” has also been invited to Toronto International Film Festival and Hamburg Film Festival.

katt

September 2, 2012

Thieves' now 2nd-most watched film
By Carla Sunwoo Korea JoongAng Daily

“The Thieves” became the second-most watched film in the history of Korean cinema last week with more than 12.31 million moviegoers having watched the flick.

According to the distributor Show Box, the film featuring some of the hottest stars including Kim Soo-hyun, Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Hye-soo overtook “The King and the Clown” with an additional 10,000 views. The 2005 film had accumulated 12,302,831.

Directed by Choe Dong-hoon, the film is about a heist carried out by 10 Korean and Chinese thieves stealing a $20 million diamond necklace at a casino in Macau.

After its release on July 25, “Thieves” began breaking records across the board.

Just three days after the film opened, more than a million people had watched it; that number doubled the following day and tripled by day six.

To date, it has usurped the records set by some of the most popular films in Korea like “The Host” (2006) and “Silmido” (2003). Its distributor expects the film to take the No. 1 spot on the all time box-office list by replacing “Avatar” (2009), which had 13.3 million views.

katt

September 3, 2012

Actress Song Hye-kyo Talks About Life and Work in Book of Essays
ChosunIlbo



Actress Song Hye-kyo's book of essays was released last Thursday, according to publisher NangmanBooks.

Song reveals hitherto unmentioned episodes from her life and shares her thoughts with her fans through the book, giving readers an opportunity to learn more about her. The book focuses on showing the real Song behind her public persona.

In her book, Song says she eats well and does not starve herself to maintain her figure like some other actresses. "Even if I weren't an actress, I'd still have to watch my figure simply because I'm a woman," she writes. She also brings up some of the conflicts she has to deal with in her daily work and life.

The book includes a number of anecdotes showing life behind-the-scenes when she is at work filming, as well as containing her personal stories and photos.

katt

September 3, 2012

S. Korean actress cancels visit to Japan amid tension over Dokdo
The Korea Herald

A South Korean TV actress has canceled her plan to visit Japan, her entertainment agency said Monday, after a Japanese network suspended the broadcast of a television drama starring her amid heightened diplomatic tension over the South Korean islets of Dokdo.

Ku Hye-sun planned to visit Japan on Monday and Tuesday to attend events to mark the release of a DVD set of "Absolute Darling," a Taiwanese TV drama in which she took a lead role.

"We canceled Ku's visit for various reasons," a source at Ku's management agency, YG Entertainment, said, without elaborating.

The cancellation came after Japanese Fuji TV's satellite channel, BS Fuji, suspended its plans to broadcast "Absolute Darling" late last month citing problems with programming. The channel had planned to start airing the show on Sept. 13.

However, industry watchers say the recent diplomatic tension over Japan's territorial claim to Dokdo probably influenced the decision to suspend the drama starring a Korean actress.

Ku is best known for her role as Geum Jan-di in the hit South Korean TV show "Boys Over Flowers." (Yonhap News)

katt

September 3, 2012

Jang Dong-gun brings some dignity back to the kitchen
By Carla Sunwoo Korea JoongAng Daily



Actor Jang Dong-gun will replace Lee Hyo-ri as rice cooker Cuchen’s new model.

A teaser for the new ads have already been released in which Jang can be seen cooking something up in the kitchen.

The rick cooker company said that Jang’s recent feat in captivating females of all ages through the drama “A Gentleman’s Dignity” led them to recruit Jang.

“Jang Dong-gun’s elitist image will work perfectly to promote Cuchen’s premium line of rice cookers,” said a spokesperson from the company.

katt

September 3, 2012

Lee Byung-hun says "I lost my six pack to perfectly portray the king"
Reporter: Lee Tae Ho Editor: Monica Suk KStar10



Actor Lee Byung-hun, who is famous for his skillful acting as well as well-muscled body, said that he chopped off his wavy locks to make himself more look like the king of the Joseon Dynasty.

Lee’s remark made at a press conference for “Masquerade” held in Seoul on September 3, was enough to show that the actor does not mind sacrificing for the double role as a king and a clown in his first historical movie in his 22-year acting career.

“Before the shooting got started, the director told me that he didn't want the king in the Joseon Dynasty period to have a six-pack. So I lost my six-pack abs to perfectly portray the king. It was easy because what I had to do was just not to exercise and go on a diet,” Lee said with a smile.

However, the actor said there were some difficulties during the shooting and that is when he had to find the perfect voice that suits the king.

While he later enjoyed using the unique voice tone used in historical films even in his everyday life, Lee explained the hardest thing in his first historical movie was not playing a double role but portraying the maturing process of Ha-sun.

"The attractive character, who is a clown that temporally substitutes the king, becomes more mature just like a real king during the movie. Because the shooting was not taken in a chronological order of the story, it was difficult for me to act out Ha-sun's changing process.”

Helmed by director Choo chang-min, “Masquerade" revolves around a low-class clown Ha-sun [played by Lee] becoming a misfortunate historic figure, King Gwang-hae of the Joseon Dynasty, who perfectly resembles Ha-sun himself.

While Lee plays the double role of Gwanghae and Ha-sun, actor Ryu Seung-ryeong and actress Han Hyo-joo each play a loyal courtier and the queen of the Joseon Dynasty.

Lee Byung-hun’s first period-set movie “Masquerade” is slated to open in local theaters on September 20.

katt

September 4, 2012

Jung Yu-mi's Gamble on TV Soap Proves Worthwhile
ChosunIlbo



Actress Jung Yu-mi was at first reluctant to accept the lead role in tvN's "I Need Romance," but she now feels the gambit of switching from movies to cable TV has paid off.

The show, a romantic comedy that finished airing early this month after garnering surprisingly favorable viewer ratings, is a sequel to the hit soap with the same title that first aired in 2011.

"I thought I'd be better off staying in films, even though I liked the [drama's] script and wanted the role very much. But now I think it was stupid of me to even consider not going for it," she said.

Jung made a name for herself by appearing in a number of movies, such as "Blossom Again," "My Dear Desperado," "The Crucible" and "In Another Country," after her debut in a short film named "How to Operate a Polaroid Camera" in 2004.

Many actors struggle to get out of character when the day's shooting wraps up, but Jung said she finds it easy to switch it on and off.

"Frankly, if I hadn't become an actress, it might be hard for me to live like an ordinary person. I don't get along with people very easily, and I'm not good at working in an organization," she said.

"However, one of my strengths is the ability to concentrate really well on what I'm doing. When I'm acting, I only think of my character, and when it ends, I totally forget all about it."

"When I'm asked how I performed in a particular scene, it's difficult to answer because I put it behind me so quickly," she added.

katt

September 3, 2012

Fundraising campaign for new Korean film draws large response
YonhapNews

SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Yonhap) -- The number of participants in a rare fundraising campaign for a local film project has topped the 10,000 mark, the movie's production company said Monday.

   The project to make "26 Years," a new film based on a famous Webtoon by Kang Pool featuring the 1980 Gwangju people's uprising for democracy, has drifted for years due to financial problems.

   This situation prompted Cheongeorahm Film, a local movie studio that organized the project, to launch a campaign among citizens on June 25 to raise the money necessary to make the film without investment from large conglomerates.

   It is very rare for a commercial feature film to raise funds to cover its production costs through an open fundraising campaign, according to the moviemaker.

   The company said a total of 10,128 people have taken part in the campaign, pledging to donate 413.98 million won (US$365,422) as of Monday.

   The amount is slightly lower than "Bridegroom," an American documentary project that became the highest-funded film in the history of Kickstarter, the world's largest Web site for raising funds for art projects, with $384,376 on July 24.

   The film's shooting has been under way since July 19 thanks to the large response to the fundraising campaign, according to the moviemaker. Directed by Jo Geun-hyeon, "26 Years" is set to open in the second half of this year.

   The uprising in Gwangju, about 320 kilometers from Seoul, was crushed in a bloody government crackdown. The regime of then-President Chun Doo-hwan, who took power through a military coup in 1979, dispatched paratroopers and tanks to brutally put down the revolt.

   According to government data, about 200 people were killed and 1,800 others wounded in the uprising. But unofficial figures put the death toll at more than 2,000.

katt

September 4, 2012

Korean films attract record audience in August
YonhapNews

SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean movie industry's peak summer season ended fairly successfully as homegrown films drew a record audience last month, official statistics showed Tuesday.

   The number of moviegoers that saw Korean films last month was tallied at 17 million, the largest since the authority began filing such data in 2007, data from the Korean Film Council showed.



The figure was up 22.9 percent from 13.84 million a year ago.

   The previous record was 16 million for August 2007 when "D-War," a sci-fi Korean monster movie, and "May 18," a Korean drama featuring the 1980 Gwangju people's uprising for democracy, hit the box office.

   Boosted by the success of Korean films, local movie theaters drew a total of 24.23 million viewers, up 20.8 percent from a year ago, the data showed.

   The market share of homegrown films stood at 70.2 percent, an increase of 1.2 percentage point from 69 percent in August 2011.

   The film council ascribed the record-high number of local moviegoers to the explosive popularity of "The Thieves," a local film that has attracted more than 12 million viewers since opening on July 25.

   Following the "The Thieves," a star-studded heist film directed by Choe Dong-hoon, "The Grand Heist," a historical comedy starring Cha Tae-hyun, has been a new box-office hit, drawing more than 4 million viewers, according to the council.

katt

September 4, 2012

Shin Hye-sung to go camping with fans
By Carla Sunwoo Korea JoongAng Daily



Shinhwa member Shin Hye-sung will spend two nights and three days with some 400 Korean and Japanese fans from Sept. 7 to 9.

Shin will hold his 2012 The Summer Holidays fan meet event at Phoenix Park in Pyeongchang in Gangwon -- his second summer camp since 2010.

There will be games, athletic events and many more activities to keep the fans busy.
Shin will also treat the fans to an outdoor concert, belting out his past hits and various covers in line with summer.

After camping, Shin will begin album preparations for a release late this year.

katt

September 4, 2012

Korean programs to be used as lecture tool
By Carla Sunwoo Korea JoongAng Daily



Selected Korean dramas and TV programs will be used as props for those learning Korean.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Sept. 4 that KBS programs such as “Winter Sonata,” “Dream High” and “Music Bank” will help introduce basic conversation skills.

As well as the scheduled programs, interviews with Korean stars will also aid the learning process through KBS World in October.

The learning material will also be made available on the Web site www.sejonghakdang.org from October.

“The lectures will be easy to follow, and next year, we’ll include even more programs,” said a spokesperson from the ministry.

katt

September 4, 2012

Lee Byung-hun talks about his lover
By Carla Sunwoo Korea JoongAng Daily



All eyes were on Hallyu actor Lee Byung-hun when he attended a press conference for the movie “Gwanghae” yesterday at a pub in Jongno District, central Seoul.

Despite the fact that the event was staged to promote the movie co-starring actors Han Hyo-joo, Ryu Seung-ryong and Kim In-kwon, reporters bombarded Lee with questions about his girlfriend, Lee Min-jung.

“I owe so much to her,” Lee said. “We can talk for hours, and she is also the only woman who can make me laugh.”

The 42-year-old star did add that their 12-year age gap was not ideal.

“I do feel bad for her that she’s dating someone so much older,” he said. But he added that Lee Min-jung was wise beyond her years and had recently impressed not only him but the cast and crew of his movie by sending them homemade lunch.

In regards to making the public announcement just last month, Lee said it has made life easier.

“It’s nice to think that we don’t have to hide our relationship,” he said.

katt

September 4, 2012

Kim Ju-hyeok and Kim Gyu-ri dating
By Carla Sunwoo Korea JoongAng Daily



Another co-star couple has been revealed. Agencies of both Kim Ju-hyeok and Kim Gyu-ri, actors in “God of War,” confirmed that romance has blossomed between the two.

“They’ve been dating for about three months now,” the agencies said.

Both agencies further added that the two were drawn to one another while spending time on the set of the MBC weekend period drama.

While the agencies denied that a wedding would soon follow, they did ask the public for their “support for the couple.”

As the news broke, netizens have claimed that the celebrity couple has been spotted enjoying dates around town.

Although they met on set, Kim Gyu-ri is no longer part of the drama; she appeared in her last episode in July.

Since departing from the program, the 33-year-old actress has been busy promoting the cosmetics brand Bobbi Brown.

katt

September 5, 2012

Korean morality tale premieres at Venice film fest
The Korea Herald

South Korean director Kim Ki-duk brought his brand of excruciating emotion and troubling imagery to the Venice film festival Tuesday with his condemnation of extreme capitalism in “Pieta”.

The film revolves around a brutal loan shark played by Lee Jung-jin who prowls the back alleys and small workshops of a central area of Seoul that is quickly going out of business and being replaced by skyscrapers.

Kim said at a press conference that he had been inspired by Michelangelo‘s famous “Pieta” statue in the Vatican of a Virgin Mary holding the corpse of her son Jesus Christ as well as the fallout from the current economic crisis.


Actors Cho Min-soo, right, and Lee Jung-Jin arrive for the premiere of the movie 'Pieta' at the 69th edition
of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP-Yonhap News)


Actor Lee Jung Jin poses for the photo call of the film ‘Pieta’ at the 69th edition of the Venice Film
Festival in Venice, Tuesday. (AP-Yonhap News)


Director Kim Ki-duk signs autographs as he arrives for the premiere of the movie 'Pieta' at the 69th edition
of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP-Yonhap News)

“I’ve been to the Vatican twice to admire this masterpiece by Michelangelo. The image of this embrace has stayed with me for many years. For me it is an embrace of humanity,” said the pony-tailed 51-year-old director.

“I feel that this movie in particular is a movie dedicated to humankind in a situation of a deep crisis in extreme capitalism,” he said.

“There are three protagonists. The two actors and the third one is money.”

Lee spoke of his apprehension when taking the part, saying: “I was a bit afraid because he works with darkness, with difficulty but it all went very well... I was not asked to play beautiful scenes but to play true scenes.”

Lee‘s character is often compared to an infernal creature by his victims and he enforces a grim Faustian pact -- hobbling the artisans who cannot pay their debts in order to cash in on the insurance they have been forced to take out.

One day a woman claiming to be his mother walks into his life and he tries to change his ways in an emotional crescendo until an ending in which audiences are left wondering whether there can ever be redemption for such a cruel man.

Kim has won awards at the Berlin and Venice film festivals and is known for shooting quickly and on low budgets. This is his 18th feature film.

“Pieta” is one of 18 movies vying for this year’s Golden Lion prize, which will be announced on Saturday. (AFP)

katt

September 5, 2012

(Movie Review) Kim Ki-duk's 'Pieta' films dark side of capitalism
By Shim Sun-ah YonhapNews

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) -- "Pieta," a bruising but wisely-woven drama by master director Kim Ki-duk, plainly shows how money can destroy humanity and create hellish interpersonal relationships.

   The film opens as a thick chain is lowered from the ceiling. A young man in a wheelchair hangs himself by tying the chain around his neck, and that is the beginning of the tragedy.



Then the unlikely protagonist Gang-do (Lee Jung-jin) appears, a lonely and brutal man working as a debt collector for a loan shark. He cripples clients if they cannot pay their debts by cutting their hands with a machine or pushing them off high buildings to use the insurance payments for their injuries to make up the difference.

   One day, this diabolical man is visited by a mysterious woman, Mi-sun (Jo Min-soo), who claims to be his long-lost mother, apologizing for abandoning him at birth. The man, who has been living for 30 or more years with no family, believing he was abandoned by his parents, initially tries to shun her, treating her harshly. But gradually slipping deep into the mother-son relationship, Gang-do recovers his humanity. Then Mi-sun suddenly disappears and Gang-do is confronted with an enormous secret.

   The title "Pieta" gives the false impression that the film is about trying to find meaning in life through religion. Director-writer-producer Kim, instead, cleverly borrows imagery from Christianity. For instance, the camera repeatedly focuses on a red cross glowing at night on top of a church, so close to where Gang-do lives in Seoul's industrial area of Cheonggyecheon that he can see it whenever he opens a window in his room. The film also alludes to images of Jesus Christ bleeding on a crucifix and the Virgin Mary grieving over her dead son.

   The red cross and new high-rise buildings surrounding the area are in stark contrast to the dark and dilapidated back alleys of the area where Gang-do and most of his clients dwell, showing how hellish this extreme capitalist society is, since people believe money is everything.

   In this human jungle where the winner takes all, Gang-do cannot survive without resorting to violence. The victims -- mostly owners or employees of small-scale industrial workshops teeming with machinery -- curse Gang-do for his merciless deeds, with one couple exchanging abusive language as they blame each other for taking the high-interest loan.



   Starting in the second half of the movie, the revenge switches positions between those who harm others, including Gang-do, and his victims. Although employing no direct physical violence, the revenge on Gang-do is unimaginably cruel and harsh. He then comes to realize how he destroyed other people's lives.

   The director shows that endless human greed can turn the world into a living hell, and all of us may have played a role in driving downtrodden individuals to suicide, even unintentionally, as they compete with others to take more of the pie.

   In many ways, the film is excellent in effectively delivering that message. It is too dry and rough, however, like a documentary film, with occasional zoom-in and hand-held camera work and almost no music. The movie also does not have sophisticated and sensitive scenes that shined in his previously internationally acclaimed works, "Samaritan Girl," (2004) "3-Iron" (2004) and "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" (2003).

   The abrupt change of Mi-sun from a self-proclaimed mother who initially keeps following Gang-do with sad looks to the incarnation of revenge in the second half is unrealistic. It is hard to imagine how an ordinary woman could perform acts of deception rivaling a professional actress, without being an actual actress.

   "Pieta," the 18th film of the prolific director, opens in local theaters on Sept. 6.

katt

September 4, 2012

'The Grand Heist' Lures 4.6 Million Cinemagoers
ChosunIlbo



"The Grand Heist" is on the verge of attracting 4.6 million viewers.

According to the Korea Film Council on Monday, the crime caper drew 107,774 viewers on Sunday alone to reach a total of 4.59 million moviegoers, surpassing the records set earlier this year by "Deranged" (4.45 million) and "All About My Wife" (4.58 million).

Since its release in Mid-August, the movie about thieves stealing ice blocks during the Chosun Dynasty has proven a huge hit with audiences, attracting 1 million viewers in the first five days of its release, 2 million in 15 days, and some 4 million in 19 days.

katt

september 6, 2012

'The Thieves' invited to three overseas film fests
YonhapNews

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's box-office hit "The Thieves" has received invitations to three international film festivals, its distributor said Thursday.

   The three festivals are Spain's Sitges International Film Festival as well as the Philadelphia International Film Festival and the Hawaii International Film Festival in the United States, according to Mediaplex Co.


   
The movie has specifically been chosen to close Casa Asia, a competitive section for Asian films, of the 45th Sitges film fest known as one of the world's three largest fantasy film festivals, the company said. The festival runs from Oct. 4-14.

   Directed by Choe Dong-hoon, who is known for "Tazza: the High Rollers" and "The Big Swindle," the heist film features 10 Korean and Chinese thieves teaming up to steal a valuable diamond necklace at a Macao casino.

   The movie has attracted more than 12 million viewers since opening on July 25 at home, according to the official box-office tally.

katt

September 6, 2012

TV networks ready for comedian Kang Ho-dong's return
YonhapNews

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- Major television networks and entertainment businesses on Thursday appeared to be busy devising plans on how to use famous comedian and entertainment show host Kang Ho-dong when he returns to the small screen after a one-year hiatus.

   Kang Ho-dong tentatively left the entertainment world a year ago after allegations of tax evasion sparked a public uproar.

   The 42-year-old athlete-turned-comedian was leading multiple top-rated entertainment shows of three major TV networks, KBS, MBS and SBS, at that time.

   He was one of the country's two top show hosts along with his rival Yoo Jae-seok, who is also a comedian.

   After he signed a new contract with S.M. C&C, an S.M. Entertainment affiliate, and unveiled a decision to resume broadcasting activities within this year last month, media speculation has mounted regarding when and to what TV show he will return. But TV stations say nothing has been confirmed yet.

   TV stations seem to be carefully expecting him to be a savior of their talk, reality, and other types of entertainment shows that have suffered from declining viewership since he left.

   "Nobody can tell whether Kang, if he's back, will enjoy the same popularity that he had before," an official at the largest broadcaster KBS said. "His return will be an interesting factor for both himself and broadcasting stations," the official forecast.

katt

September 5, 2012

Joo Won to go camping with fans
By Carla Sunwoo Korea JoongAng Daily



Actor Joo Won will go camping with 10 lucky fans (as well as 10 of their friends) from Oct. 12 to 13.

As a promotional event for Lotte Cantata instant coffee, of which he is the face, Joo will spend one night and two days with a total of 20 participants at Morning Calm Village resort in Gangwon.

Fans who purchase the coffee sachet will be able to apply until Sept. 22. Winners will be announced on Sept. 28.

Joo Won’s popularity soared when he starred in this year’s hit drama “The Chaser.”

Early in August, netizens were impressed with his perseverance as he battled the sun and shot through the heat for the TV show.

Pictures of him on set began circulating while later it was found that the actor was replenished by IV drips in between takes.

katt

September 5, 2012

'King of the Beast' will air in January
By Carla Sunwoo Korea JoongAng Daily



SBS announced that the much-awaited drama “The King of the Beast” featuring actors Kwon Sang-woo and Soo Ae will begin airing in January.

A spokesperson for the drama said yesterday the program has at last been allocated time slots on Monday and Tuesday nights.

Initially, filming was scheduled for August, but casting is still underway . Everything is set to be in order by November, and filming will commence then.

The announcement comes nearly three months after Kwon and Soo signed contracts.

Based on the work by cartoonist Park In-kwon, “The King of the Beast” tells the tale of a woman born into poverty who will let nothing stand in her way as she tries to become the first lady. Soo Ae will play the ambitious female character, while Kwon will be in the role of a hopeless romantic in love with the female protagonist.

Kwon’s agency said it was an easy decision for the star, who was in the TV adaptation of “Daemul,” also by Park. “I want to show another side of myself that is a little different from the role in ‘Daemul,’” said Kwon.