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Jun 12, 2007

8 Korean Films Screen at China's Top Fest

Seven South Korean features and one short film will be presented at this year's 10th anniversary edition of the Shanghai International Film Festival. China's top film event opens June 16th for a nine-day run.

Of the seven features, two have been selected in competition sections. Director Lee Joon-ik's "Radio Star" (2006) is nominated for the Jin Jue Award, while Kwon Hyeong-jin's debut feature "For Horowitz" ("My Piano") is nominated for the Asia New Talent Award.

In the Panorama section a variety of genres in Korean film will be showcased including comedy sequel "Mapado 2: Back to the Island", director Yoo Ha's gangster-drama "A Dirty Carnival", gothic-cult-musical Night Ballad For "The Ghost Theater", melodrama "Lost in Love" starring Seol Kyeong-gu, and youthful comedy "Miracle on 1st Street" by Yoon Je-kyoon.

The short film selected is Soeyoun by Kim Jin-man, an environmentally-themed work using animation techniques. Korean star Lee Joon-ki ("The King and the Clown") will be present at the opening ceremony for the festival and has been named recipient of the Overseas Star Award.

KOFIC will participate in the Shanghai International Film Festival Filmmart and promote Korean films. For further inquiry, contact Ms. Jiyin PARK, Manager of Asia (heedong21@kofic.or.kr, 17th ~ 19th, June )

Nigel D'Sa (KOFIC)

Source : http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/

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May 24, 2007

'Hwang' Is Lovely But Lackluster

"Hwangjin-y - Movie - 2007" delivers a novel interpretation of one of the most celebrated women in the Joseon Kingdom era (1392-1910), but shines just dimly on the silver screen. The shortcomings of the highly anticipated film regrettably eclipse its...

May 07, 2007

[MOVIE REVIEW] 'Secret Sunshine' sheds light on hope, redemption

In his latest film, set to compete at Cannes, director Lee Chang-dong achieves a thought-provoking drama that asks if hope exists Life, they say, is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think. "Milyang" ("Secret Sunshine") ampli...

Apr 25, 2007

Top Movie Star Jo In-seong Dropped From University

Top actor Jo In-Seong has been expelled from Dongguk University as he failed to meet the school's attendance requirements. The university said that the 26-year-old actor was asked not to return to the Department of Theater, which has strict regula...

Apr 23, 2007

KWON Sang-woo in KIM Hae-gon Action Noir

kwon Sang-woo is cast alongside his friend Song Seung-heon for the upcoming film Sookmyeong (English translation: "Destiny"). The action noir will be helmed by director Kim Hae-gon. The film will depict four friends dealing with friendship, right...

Apr 17, 2007

The Good and the not so good

Deauville Asian Film Festival 2007 By Gautaman Bhaskaran South Asia Correspondent There are a million film festivals through the year, but there are some that sparkle. The Deauville Asian Film Festival on the French Atlantic coast in Normand...

Apr 17, 2007

[Talk of the town] KIM HYE-SOO TO HOST UDINE FILM FESTIVAL

Actress Kim Hye-soo has been invited to be the guest "diva" at the Udine Far East Film Festival opening Friday in northern Italy. She will meet with the local press there, as well as participate in a panel discussion on Korean film. "I am very hono...

Apr 17, 2007

14 Korean Films go to Italy's Far East Fest

The 9th Udine Far East Film Festival boasts one of the largest showcases of Asian cinema in Europe. This year around 60 titles from across Asia were selected to screen at the event which runs April 20th to 28th in the picturesque northern Italian cit...

Apr 10, 2007

Minister Returns as Director of 'Sunshine'

A piano teacher and her son come to her husband's hometown in a province after the death of her husband. However, she even loses her son in the town. She is cornered into great grief and feeling of loss. How can she live her life when she loses the p...

Apr 09, 2007

'Ennio Morricone of Korea' spotlighted with his best album

Can you imagine the film "Cinema Paradiso" without Ennio Morricone's score masterfully capturing the gentle-natured, nostalgic feel of the film? Music's influence on moviegoers' attitude toward a film is far greater than one might think, yet few attr...

Apr 05, 2007

2 Korean Films Awarded at 9th Deuville

Local blockbuster "The King and the Clown" and low-budget drama "Ad-Lib Night" took home two of the four main awards handed out the 9th Deuville Asian Film Festival in France. With a 5-day run this year from March 28 to April 1st, the event has, sinc...

Apr 04, 2007

Lee Joon-ki Leaves for Japan to Promote "First Snow"

Actor Lee Joonki left for Japan early Wednesday morning to promote "First Snow", a joint Korean-Japanese film in which he played the leading role. Lee will hold a press conference with his co-star Aoi Miyazaki during the four-day visit. Lee's agen...

Apr 02, 2007

"The King and the Clown" Wins Award in French Movie Festival

As yet more proof of the Korean film industry's growing presence in the international arena, the domestic blockbuster "The King and the Clown" by director Lee Joon-ik has won an award at the 9th Deauville Asian Film Festival in France. The movie, ...

Apr 01, 2007

2007 Deauville Asian Film Festival Awards

LOTUS DU MEILLEUR FILM | BEST FILM SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY de Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL (Thaïlande - Thailand) LOTUS DU JURY | JURY PRIZE "The King and the Clown" de Lee Joon-ik (Corée du Sud - South Korea) LOTUS AIR FRANCE | CRITICS' PRIZE...

Mar 30, 2007

Jeon Ji-hyeon Cedes Advertising Power to Jang Dong-gun

Consumers no longer feel that Jeon Ji-hyun is the most bankable advertising model and instead name Jang Dong-gun. The finding is the result of a survey of 1,465 people in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province by brand consultancy Brand38 from March 5 until 15....

Mar 30, 2007

The show goes on for pop star turned dancer

Will she be dancing or not? After Eugene (Kim Eu-gene - Yoo Jin), an original member of the dance trio S.E.S., fractured a rib during practice, no one knew whether she would be able to do her new Latin spins on stage during the Korean musical "Danc...

Mar 29, 2007

PARK Joong-hoon Retrospective in NY

The Jacob Burns Film Center will hold an "unique and unprecedented mini-retrospective" of Korean actor Park Joong-hoon's films. Renowned director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) who worked with PARK on the film The Truth About Charlie (2002), a...

Mar 20, 2007

Yoon Kye-sang to Hold 1st Fan Meeting in Japan

Singer/Actor Yoon Kye-sang, who made a comeback through the SBS TV drama "Crazy with Love" after finishing his military service, will hold his first fan meeting in Japan. Yoon will meet with his Japanese fans in Tokyo on April 14 and in Osaka on A...

Mar 15, 2007

Lesbians suffer more hostility than gay men

With his film "No Regret", director Lee Song-hee-il pulled off a small coup last year by getting the public to question whether homosexuality is still taboo in Korea. It seems the answer depends on whether one is male or female, according to Park Eu...

Mar 14, 2007

[DVD review] Drama wins the day in 'Cruel Winter'

The film "Cruel Winter Blues" pays an uncomfortable tribute to immature male heroes from Korean gangster films by casting Jeom-sim (played by Na Moon-hee) in the role of a strong, self-sacrificing mother who has no choice but to endure her hardships....

Mar 13, 2007

Soo: Hard-hitting film by CHOI Yang-il (SAI Yoichi)

Korean-Japanese director Choi Yang-il, known in Japan as SAI Yoichi, is in town with his first film made entirely in Korea with a Korean cast. "Soo", is a hard-boiled revenge-thriller about a man, Tae-su, who witnesses the killing of his identical tw...

Mar 12, 2007

Korean Actor Park's Retrospective Exhibition to be Held in New York

Did people ever figure out the truth about Charlie? We might not be able to tell you much about the truth but you can find out more about the actor Park Joong-hoon at his retrospective exhibition that will be held by the Jacob Burns Film Center in Ap...

Mar 08, 2007

Korea movies dominate box office in Feb.

Korean films dominated the box office in February, led by Park Jin-pyo's kidnapping drama "Voice of Murderer" that sold 3.1 million tickets, the major multiplex cinema operator CGV said. Six films in the top 10 box office rankings were Korean. "Vo...

Mar 08, 2007

New Movie: Big Bang

I met Kam Woo-seong, who stars in the buddy movie "Big Bang", with Kim Soo-ro, on Monday at Samcheong-dong, Seoul. In the movie, Kam plays the role of Park Man-soo, who lives on the straight and narrow, exactly as his father taught him. In frustratio...

Mar 07, 2007

Music Occupies Chungmuro Productions

It is now music that Chungmuro, Korea's "Hollywood", is taking up as the new trend in subject matter after it previously sought after the "gangster" film theme. The latest trend began with "Radio Star", which deals with the friendship between a singe...

Mar 07, 2007

Cult Director Jodorowsky Likes Korean Films

Surreal bizarreness, bloody violence and bold eroticism are some words invariably associated with director Alejandro Jodorowsky. But the best way to understand him is to see his works. That had been almost impossible till now, as his works have lo...

Mar 05, 2007

Lee Joon-ki's New Movie to Open in Korea, Japan

The opening date of the joint Korean-Japanese movie "Virgin Snow" starring Korean actor Lee Joon-ki and Japanese actress Aoi Miyazaki and directed by Han Sang-hee has been announced recently. The movie, whose completion is slated for late March an...

Mar 04, 2007

Critics Say Korean Films Need Stronger Marketing

Korean movies have enjoyed growing recognition by international film festivals receiving a few major honors in recent years. But the US Academy Awards have largely ignored Korean cinema something which Korean film critics say must change through str...

Mar 01, 2007

Period dramas, key to reviving homegrown musicals?

It is obviously not easy to rent major theaters in Seoul for local productions that wish to stage creative homegrown musicals. But there is an answer. Historical musicals produced on a grand-scale might work. Following footsteps of smash hit music...

Mar 01, 2007

Actors pay makes it impossible to create good films

The co-president of SidusFNH, Cha Seung-jae, 47, has been appointed chairman of the Korean Film Producers Association. Mr. Cha is considered one of the pioneers who inspired a renaissance in the local film industry. Mr. Cha has produced films that ha...

Feb 27, 2007

Stars Are Late Bloomers

Actress Ha Ji-won recently graduated from Dankook University. It took her 10 years to finish a four-year program. She expressed her joy with big smiles during the Feb. 14 graduation ceremony in which she received a special award. "It's more meanin...

Feb 23, 2007

KBS Marks 80th Anniversary

Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) will celebrate its 80th anniversary with various special programs ranging from documentaries to movies. On Feb. 26, KBS 1TV will air a concert by legendary trot singer Lee Mi-ja, who will perform some 30 songs that ...

Feb 20, 2007

Actresses Dominate on Big Screen

The stars of actresses are shining brighter than those of their male counterparts in local films. It's not only their physical beauty, but also the range of different characters they play that have been attracting moviegoers and better box office ...

Feb 19, 2007

'Radio Star' Tries to Live up to Past

Lee Joon-ik's latest film suffers in comparison to previous hit Mirja Maletzki (jane0815) Having to live up to your own fame is never easy. The elderly rock star Choi Gon (Park Joong-hoon) finds out the hard way in Lee Joon-ik's 2006 movie "Rad...

Feb 17, 2007

Trainers make stars shine brighter

Recent movies out in theaters probably left you dumbfounded for a couple of good reasons. You gaped at Kwon Oh-joong's sleek kung fu moves. (Wasn't he the chubby dude in that silly sit-com about a gynecologist's family?) Your eyes opened wide when yo...

Feb 16, 2007

Week's New Movie Premieres

Thanks for staying with us. Movie lovers over this holiday weekend can choose from a pair of Korean comedies - two Oscar-nominated movies from Hollywood and an adapation of a famous children's fantasy novel. Son Heekyung has this week's new release...

Feb 15, 2007

Reception Held for Youth Film Festival

A reception was held today in Seoul for a forthcoming youth film festival named after the late Korean director Shin Sang-ok. The first Shin Sang-ok Youth Film Festival will run for five days from August 10th in South Chungcheong Province. Mr. Shin ...

Feb 15, 2007

'Highway Star' Has Several Holes

The success of recent movies that center on music such as "Radio Star" and "200 Pounds Beauty" can be attributed to their successful appeal to the ear as well as the eye. Because of its enjoyable music, the new comedy "Highway Star" has potential ...

Feb 15, 2007

HAN Sang-jun named PiFan festival director

The Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) has named HAN Sang-jun to serve as festival director for the next three years. HAN, who last year served as head programmer, has also worked as a professor at ChungAng University and as a pr...

Feb 12, 2007

LEE Joon-ik's Joyful Life

Director Lee Joon-ik has announced his next project, reprising themes from his previous film "Radio Star" (2006). He is currently preparing to shoot "Joyful Life", a nostalgic tale about three unhappy middle-agers who, some 20 years ago, had a room-s...

Feb 12, 2007

Exports plummet for Korean films

Overconfidence in Korean Wave results in poor strategy, with a series of major flops in Japan sparking setbacks By Yang Sung-jin The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is poised to infuse more energy into the sagging export of Korean films in a bi...

Feb 12, 2007

Monthly film screening series

The King and the Clown 2005, 119 min Directed by Lee Joon-ik. Starring Lee Joon-ki. Recorded the highest grossing Korean film in history with 12.3 million viewers. Based on the popular play "Yi" ("You"), which was inspired by the diaries of a s...

Feb 08, 2007

How to Spot the Real Crowd-Pleaser Movies

Lee Joon-ik's "Radio Star" has earned average ratings of 9.22 out of 10 in a poll of 7,749 Netizens by the portal site Naver late last month, easily topping the popularity chart among those who watched the film. According to the Korean Film Council, ...

Feb 06, 2007