Korean Entertainment News 2011

katt

February 8, 2011

South Korean Hostage Drama to Get Film Adaptation
by Park Soo-Mee hollywoodreporter.com

The film version of the successful rescue of 21 hostages from a hijacked freighter will start shooting in Sept.

SEOUL -- A military raid by a South Korean commando that rescued hostages on a hijacked freighter in the Arabian Sea will be made into a film.

Dawn on the Gulf of Aden will be produced by Christmas Entertainment, one of the local investors of The Host (2006) with an estimated budget of 20 billion won ($1.8 million).

Last month armed Somali pirates attacked a South Korean cargo ship in the Arabian Sea. After a week of secret operations, the South Korean Navy stormed the troubled freighter and rescued all 21 hostages.

The film will go into production in September and is expected to open in theaters early next year.

katt

February 10, 2011

Actress’ limited-edition photo essay selling fast
Source: joongangdaily.com



Actress Song Hye-kyo has released a photo essay titled, “Moment, Song Hye-kyo,” which was created in collaboration with world-famous photographers.

Peter Lindbergh, Helena Christensen, Jean-Francois Carly, KT Kim and Park Ji-hyuk worked alongside the actress to produce the photography book.

An additional 150 staff members were involved in the production process, and the photos were shot in six countries on three continents.

The limited-edition publication, which was released on Jan. 28, is being sold worldwide, and half of the 2,000 available copies have already been sold overseas. That day, Song told the press that a portion of the profits will go to a charitable organization.

katt

February 10, 2011

'High Kick' sets sales record
Source: joongangdaily.com

The third season of the MBC sitcom “High Kick” has been sold for the highest fee in Korean TV history.

Through a press release on Monday, Chorokbaem Media, the show’s production company, said that the TV series was sold to MBC for 8.71 billion won ($7.85 million), which is 2.75 times higher than for the previous season.

“We are hoping to make over 10 billion won in profits by selling the content abroad,” Chorokbaem Media said in the release.

The series is still in the planning process and is expected to air this fall.

katt

February 10, 2011

Lee Yeon-hee to Hold Photo Exhibition
Source: englishnews@chosun.com



Actress Lee Yeon-hee, who currently stars in the SBS TV drama "Paradise Ranch" and is also known as an avid photographer, is showing a collection of her photographs at Olympus Hall in Samseong-dong, Seoul from Friday to Sunday.

The exhibition will feature works she took in her spare time as well as unreleased self-portraits and pictures from her photobook.

Admission to the exhibition is free, and the displayed pictures will be auctioned off after the show through an online shopping mall with the proceeds to be donated to a charity for the disabled.

On Friday at 8 p.m. Lee will celebrate her birthday and meet with fans at the venue.

katt

February 10, 2011

Star Chocolates
Source: englishnews@chosun.com



Actress Lee Yoon-ji shows chocolate of her own making at the Jonggak branch of Café Jubilee chocolatier on Wednesday. The proceeds will be donated to Jirani Children's Choir of Kenya. /Newsis

katt

February 9, 2011

Finecut Sells Distribution for Several Films Ahead of Berlin Fest
by Park Soo-mee hollywoodreporter.com

SEOUL -- Seoul based sales company Finecut announced a series of deals and upcoming international premiere titles at the Berlin Film Festival and EFM.

The Journals of Musan, a much-talked about Korean film by director Park Jungbum about the life of a North Korean defector in a South Korean society, was sold to Japan's Star Sands and Morocco TV's S.N.R.T. A debut film by Park, previously an assistant director of Lee Chang-dong, the film was the New Currents winner of last year's Pusan Int'l Film Festival. The film, which will hold a market premiere during the festival, also won Grand Prix at Marrakech Film Festival and the Tiger Award and the Fipresci Award at International Film Festival Rotterdam.

The company's earlier titles from Cannes also added more distributors. Lee Chang-dong's Poetry was recently sold to UK's Arrow Films, Norway's Arthaus and Singapore's Luna Films after a series of deals in other territories. Lee's film will be released in the U.S. on Feb. 11 by Kino-Lorber.

Separately, Argentinean helmer Pablo Trapero's Carancho was sold to Portugal's MPA, Switzerland's XENIX, and Thailand's J-BICS. Daytime Drinking, an indie film that has attracted moderate attention in Korea, was sold to U.K.'s Inclusionism. A Brand New Life by a Korean-French adoptee Ounie Lecomte and produced by Lee Chang-dong was sold to Norway's Fidalgo.

During the festival, the Seoul-based sales company presents a colorful lineup of films including Night Fishing by Park Chan-wook and his brother Park Chan-kyong shot entirely on the iPhone.

katt

February 10, 2011

Korean dramas stream into America
By Jane Han koreatimes.co.kr


A scene from the smash-hit series "Secret Garden"
from SBS

NEW YORK ― Korean fans hooked on American dramas, or "mideu" as they call it, know that it’s only routine to stay up all night with bloodshot eyes and at least half a dozen episodes queued up on the playlist.

Well, guess what? The love is becoming reciprocal as Korean dramas, too, are slowly starting to find their way into the hearts of American viewers.

"NCIS and CSI are good, but this is action drama at a whole new level. It’s one of those shows where you promise yourself 'just one more episode' and you end up watching the sun come up," says Rick Stone, 32, referring to the KBS hit "IRIS."

A newcomer to the world of Korean drama, Stone admits the newfound hobby is beginning to take its toll on his work during the day.

On Hulu.com, an online portal that streams TV shows and movies, it’s easy to find people with the same addiction.

"The first Korean drama I watched was 'Coffee Prince.' I watched all 17 episodes within 36 hours.. every episode ends in a way that you just have to keep watching," Shannon Simmons wrote in her review of MBC’s popular drama starring Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun-hye.

Discussing the latest SBS’ smash-hit series "Secret Garden," Allison Smith wrote, "It’s a perfect blend of romance, comedy and a little fantasy, but not too much to make it cheesy."

"Secret Garden" and a handful of other Korean dramas are currently ranked among the top 200 most popular shows on Hulu.com, a site exclusively for users in the U.S.

Like Hulu.com, DramaFever.com and DramaCrazy.net are among other popular sites that offer similar services to those that want a little Korean in their TV mix.

So what is it about the Korean shows are keeping American viewers hooked?

The PopWatch segment of Entertainment Weekly says it’s the different approach.

"You can’t enjoy a K-drama using the same standards as you would watch American TV," it said in a recent article. "The plots tend to unfold slowly, and teenage characters seem shocked by things that the kids on 'Skins' wouldn't even blink at."

It goes on to say, "K-dramas can appear simplistic and downright campy to an American viewer, but they're also fascinating and weirdly comfortable in a 'movie-of-the-week' kind of way."

"They’re not afraid to whack you over the head with an important moral lesson or social critique."

katt

February 10, 2011

Story of ‘Late Autumn’ beyond words
By Claire Lee ([email protected]) koreaherald.com

We human beings heavily rely on words. To communicate and interact, to defend and protect, and to love and care.

Yet director Kim Tae-yong’s newly released film, “Late Autumn,” tells a love story of two strangers who do not use a lot of words to share their innermost feelings.

Co-starring Korean actor Hyun Bin and Chinese actress Tang Wei, “Late Autumn” is a remake of Korean director Lee Man-hee’s 1966 film of the same title.

The movie begins as a prisoner Anna (Tang Wei), a Chinese-American woman who had murdered her husband seven years ago, is released from jail for three days to attend her mother’s funeral in Seattle.

In the bus heading to Seattle, Anna runs into Hoon (Hyun Bin), a Korean gigolo. Spending the next 72 hours together ― without sharing a lot of words ― the two begin to develop genuine feelings for each other.

Tang, whose performance touchingly delivers the very essence of tormented Anna, said playing the character was a huge challenge. “Every moment of playing Anna was extremely difficult,” Tang said at a press conference in Seoul on Thursday.


Chinese actress Tang Wei (center) shrugs at a press conference for “Late Autumn” with her Korean co-star
Hyun Bin (left) and director Kim Tae-yong (right). (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald)

“It was difficult to think about Anna’s life and emotions. Yet as she met Hoon, it felt like getting some sunshine.”

In the movie, English-fluent Anna, who is oppressed by her past and feelings, tells Hoon why she killed her husband in her mother tongue, Chinese. Hoon, who only knows how to say “good” and “bad” in Chinese, acts as if he understands what Anna says, repeatedly replying “hao” (good) and “hwei” (bad).

“This is a love story of two people of different cultural and linguistic background,” actor Hyun Bin said at the conference. “I hope the viewers can see how our characters overcome that barrier and fill in with something else.”

Hyun, who enjoyed enormous popularity for his wealthy CEO role in the highly successful SBS drama series “Secret Garden,” said he finds himself more like Hoon in the film than the character in the SBS drama.

“Joo-won in “Secret Garden” is very straightforward and is never afraid to express his feelings,” Hyun said. “I am not always like that. Like Hoon, I tend to keep my real feelings in and tend to express them indirectly.”

Hyun also showed a lot of attachment to his character, Hoon.

“Though he is bright on the outside, I think Hoon has a lot of sadness and hurtful memories inside,” he said. “While he pleases other people, he gets hurt and finds joy at the same time.”

Director Kim Tae-yong said the movie is about the moment when one opens up to another being.

“I don’t think one must believe that love exists,” he said. “But there are moments when people open up to the other. This movie is all about that.”

“Late Autumn” opens in theaters on Feb. 17.

katt

February 11, 2011

Anticipation builds for ‘Late Autumn’ debut
By Sung So-young [[email protected]] joongangdaily.com


Korean actor Hyun Bin, left, and Chinese actress Tang Wei pair up in “Late Autumn,” which is slated to open next Thursday in Korean theaters. [YONHAP]

It took just five seconds for “Late Autumn” to sell out at the 15th Pusan International Film Festival last October. It was the fastest-selling film among the hundreds of entries at Asia’s biggest film festival.

Four months have passed since then, but that has not diminished anticipation for the movie, which is a collaboration between production companies in Korea, China and the United States. Unlike previous multinational projects, which flopped at the box office, ticket sales for “Late Autumn” are expected to be high.

Tickets to 10 prescreenings organized prior to its official release on Feb. 17 all sold out within an hour earlier this month.

The film’s early success can be attributed to the participation of Chinese actress Tang Wei of “Lust, Caution” (2007), Korean actor Hyun Bin, famous for his leading role in the popular television series “Secret Garden” (2011), and Korean director Kim Tae-yong, who worked on the 2006 award-winning film “Family Ties.”

Although Tang nor Kim have had long careers - she has been in the business for seven years and he has been in it for 12 - neither has many films to their name. She has appeared in just two films and Kim directed just two commercial films prior to “Late Autumn.” But both have received critical acclaim for their work and both “Lust, Caution” and “Family Ties” won numerous international film-festival awards.

The three appeared at a press screening yesterday in eastern Seoul to promote the film, which is based on a 1966 Korean film classic of the same name.

The film, set in foggy Seattle, follows two strangers, Anna and Hoon, who meet and fall in love over the course of three days.

Anna is serving a nine-year prison term for killing her husband but is out on leave to attend her mother’s funeral when she meets Hoon, a male prostitute. The 1966 version was remade twice by Korean filmmakers in 1975 and 1981, respectively, and once by a Japanese filmmaker in 1972.

Tang said that she had to work hard on withholding her feelings throughout the film to portray the quiet and withdrawn Anna. “Every moment of playing Anna was difficult and challenging,” the 32-year-old actress, who arrived at the press screening in a fiery red dress, told reporters through an interpreter.

According to Kim, Tang is energetic and bubbly in person, which is in stark contrast to her character, and he said Tang devoted a great deal of time to shaping the character. Meanwhile, Hyun said he found it daunting to show the inner complexity of his character Hoon, who despite his profession, is a gentle person who tries to bridge the gap between Anna and the outside world.

“The screenplay [written by Kim] was almost like a rough draft of the story,” Hyun said. “Kim wanted us to fill in the blanks to build our characters, and the process was extremely interesting.”

Kim admitted that the lack of a detailed screenplay sometimes resulted in a painstaking production process.

“It sometimes took us four hours to shoot a single scene in which one actor says about eight lines,” Kim said.

katt

February 10, 2011

Taboo topics turn Proustian in 'Re-encounter'
By Lee Hyo-won hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr


Yoo Da-in appears in scene from “Re-encounter,” which follows the story of a young woman searching
for her daughter, thought to be adopted./ Courtesy of Indiestory

A scorned lover, a dementia-stricken widow and even a sickly stray dog meander through memories and abandoned houses. In “Re-encounter,” these dusty, depressing subjects, paired with uncomfortable issues like teenage pregnancy, adoption and animal rights, all somehow melt into a beautiful, poetically sparse mise-en-scene.

The film, which featured in last year’s Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival, embodies the hallmarks of independent cinema by showcasing the art of simplicity: It’s about the magic and curse of first loves, but like the best poetry, burns off any hint of sentimentality to instill, quite ironically, a heart-stopping and haunting effect, while not neglecting to provide wonderful wit, humor and even suspenseful twists.

Actress Yoo Da-in is compelling in her first lead role as the precocious teenager Hye-hwa. When Hye-hwa realizes that she is pregnant, the assertive young woman seems to have everything under control. But her convictions come crashing down when her loving, docile boyfriend Han-soo (played by endearing newcomer Yoon Yeon-seok) disappears without a word, apparently having been exiled to Canada by his mother.

Five years down the road, Hye-hwa’s spunky attitude and fondness for colorful manicures have been replaced by a fixation with rescuing abandoned dogs when she’s not grooming the creatures for a living. Mothering her widowed boss’ son provides some relief for our lonely protagonist, who is wise and weathered far beyond her 23 years. The fragile equilibrium maintained by her routine lifestyle breaks, however, after an unwarranted reencounter with Han-soo.

At first Hye-hwa refuses her ex’s approach, but her heart drops when he informs her that their child is actually well and alive — contrary to her understanding, that the baby girl had died hours after birth. Han-soo explains that their daughter had been given up for adoption by her own grandmothers.

The film raises awareness about the increasing number of teenage pregnancies and the fallibilities in adoption policies where children can be given up without the consent of both parents. Both are taboo topics here. But the film is not so much about the reconciliation process between an adopted child and birth family, like Tammy Chu’s documentary “Resilience.” It is essentially a Proustian journey of lost time, involving introspection and the possibility of second chances.

Writer-director Min Yong-keun proves to be an astute student of human psychology and responses, and moreover, a master of translating them into a strikingly simple audiovisual language. The delicate narrative architecture is complete with finely wrought details, crowned by melodramatic piano tunes that refrain from manipulating responses.

In theaters Feb. 17 and distributed by Indiestory.

katt

February 11, 2011

Wedding Bells to Ring for Jung Jun-ho
Source: englishnews@chosun.com


Jung Jun-ho (left) and Lee Ha-jeong

Actor Jung Jun-ho will tie the knot on March 25 with MBC presenter Lee Ha-jeong, five months after they began dating.

The 41-year-old actor met Lee in late November when she interviewed him about the TV drama "Queen of Reversal" in which he was starring.

Jung, who is currently visiting Japan for a fan meeting event, will return home on Sunday and officially announce his wedding plans.

katt

February 11, 2011

(Movie Review)
Instant but strong love between Korean man, Chinese woman
By Kim Boram [email protected] yonhapnews.co.kr

SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Yonhap) -- Anna (Tang Wei) returns home on a special three-day parole to participate in her mother's funeral. She has been in prison for seven years, being convicted of killing her abusive husband.

In a bus on her way to Seattle, she sits next to a man named Hoon (Hyun Bin), who has the face to ask her for 30 dollars.



Anna wants to rest, but Hoon continues flirting. He gives her his watch and tells her to keep it until he pays her back.

A strange love between a convicted murderer and a playboy begins this way in the movie "Late Autumn."

It is a remake of the 1966 Korean classic by director Kim Tae-yong, starring Tang Wei of China and Hyun Bin of South Korea.

The movie has come under a fresh limelight these days as Hyun has become one of the most popular actors in South Korea after the success of his TV drama "Secret Garden" last month. The 28-year-old actor drew greater public attention after announcing his decision to join the Marine Corps next month to serve the country's two-year military duty.

Director Kim changed the main characters to a Chinese woman and a Korean man and moved the setting of the story from South Korea to the United States in order to add to the disconnect between the two.

In the United States where various cultures coexist, mix and clash, the movie depicts a man and a woman falling in love and overcoming cultural differences, language barriers and a limited period of time. In the process, they learn to read each other's mind.

Anna enters the world for the first time in seven years but has to go back to prison the day after tomorrow, and he is a womanizer who supports himself on money he attains from his numerous muses.

They talk in English but can't fully express themselves to share and heal their wounds, as they lack an understanding of their current situation, as well as each other's pasts and feelings.

Three days seem to be too short for them to get to fully know each other and fall in love.

A few episodes between them depict the development of intimacy between the utter strangers. They spend time in an amusement park and have lunch together with little conversation. Long silences and awkwardness fill them and nobody can break the ice.

It is difficult to understand the sudden escalation of emotion between them.

Throughout the movie, listening to the non-native English speakers can be annoying to the audience, even though its intended purpose is one of the tools to show their gap.

But the actors put on a good display in expressing themselves through their eyes and gestures.

Late Autumn, which premiered during the Pusan International Film Festival last year, will be screened at the ongoing 61st Berlin Film Festival's official Forum section.

Produced by Boram Entertainment and distributed by CJ Entertainment, it will be released locally on Feb. 17.

katt

February 11, 2011

Lee Byung-hun attends promotional event for "I Saw the Devil" in Japan
Reporter : Lucia Hong luciahong@ Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@ <&#9426;10Asia All rights reserved> news.nate.com



Hallyu star Lee Byung-hun attended promotional events in Japan for the release of his film "I Saw the Devil" this week, according to his agency BH Entertainment.

BH announced in a press release that Lee flew into Tokyo on Wednesday and made several appearances on entertainment programs for Fuji TV, Nihon TV, Ashahi TV and on Japan's popular show "SMAP X SMAP."

He then attended two film premiere events held later that night which attracted over 2,000 fans in total to movie theater Milano 1 in Shinjuku, while he stayed after the screening and greeted about 800 fans.

Lee also met with local broadcasting companies TBS, NHK and other media outlets for more television appearances and interviews the following day.

"I Saw the Devil," also starring top Korean actor Choi Min-sik, is about a secret agent (Lee) who plots revenge against a serial killer (Choi) who killed his fiancee. It has garnered much attention from both fans in Korea and overseas since its release in August last year.

The film also won rave reviews after being screened last year at the Toronto International Festival and San Sebastian International Film Festival. The thriller will open in Japan on February 26.

katt

February 11, 2011

Jeong Jun Ho: ‘I Will Marry Lee Ha Jeong on March 25’
Source: KBS Global

Actor Jeong Jun Ho (41) will marry MBC announcer Lee Ha Jeong (32) on March 25 at the W Hotel located in Kwangjang-dong. A spokesperson to Jeong Jun Ho said on February 10, “Jeong Jun Ho had recently confirmed the wedding date and made reservations at the wedding hall. The wedding official and the host will be decided later.”



Jeong Jun Ho is now staying in Japan for a fan meeting and will make an official announcement about his wedding after coming back to Korea around February 13. Jeong and Lee first met last November when the announcer Lee Ha Jeong had visited the film set of the drama “Queen of Reversals” -- in which Jeong appeared -- to interview Jeong, and they had become a couple afterward. The interview aired as a feature of MBC TV’S “Six O’Clock News” entitled “The People Lee Ha Jung Meets.” Jeong Jun Ho had said during a previous interview with Yonhap News, “We have not seen each other for a long time, but how long we have known each other does not matter at all. She is a very nice person.”


Lee Ha Jeong joined MBC in November, 2005 and had hosted the children’s program “Kiss Kiss Kiss” and “Learning Korean.” Jeong Jun Ho debuted in 1995 through open recruitment at MBC, and he has enjoyed huge popularity with his appearances in movies such as “My Boss, My Teacher” and “Marrying the Mafia” and dramas such as “IRIS” and “The Last Scandal of My Life.”

net_level

Reply 2492# katt

baru pes time aku nampak dahi hyun bin nihhh.... hahahhahaha

katt

February 12, 2011

Yoo Sun's Career Blossoms in 2011
Source: englishnews@chosun.com



Yoo Sun's career is blossoming. She made a lasting impression in films "Black House" and "Moss," and plays the role of a warm teacher and manager of a school baseball team with a strong sense of justice in the latest film "Glove" released on Jan. 20. "Glove" topped the box office chart in its first week and is continuing to do well with over 1.5 million viewers until the Lunar New Year's holidays.

Before the filming of "Glove" began, Yoo Sun mastered sign language as her role as the manager of a baseball team composed of students with impaired hearing required. "I started learning sign language three months before shooting began. I practiced by translating song lyrics into sign language. What's so interesting is that just like the language we use, sign language has dialects and acronyms and differs from country to country. There are also slight differences among younger and older people," she says.

Because she has often played strong and solemn parts, Yoo says playing this seemingly normal character was difficult. "It was my first time playing a lively character in a film. I thought it would be a lot of fun as there should be a lot in common with my real personality, but it felt odd playing such a part because I had no experience. I realized that I had gotten so used to acting and conveying difficult life stories. Just because I have a lot in common with the character doesn't mean that it's easy."

She will have no fewer than four films released this year including "Glove." She has just finished shooting "Romantic Heaven," which is waiting for its release, and is currently filming period movie "Gabi," slated for a release in the second half of this year. Next up is "Don't Cry Mommy."

katt

February 11, 2011

'Bedevilled' Murder Thriller Goes to Distrib Films (Berlin)
by Park Soo-Mee hollywoodreporter.com

"Midnight F.M.," screening at the European Film Market, sold to three Asian territories.

SEOUL -- Bedevilled, the latest murder thriller from Jang Chul-soo, which recently won the Grand Prix at the Gerardmer Fantastic Film Festival, was sold to France’s Distrib Films, a Seoul-based sales company Finecut announced Friday.

Separately, a creature film Chaw and a blockbuster war movie 71 — Into the Fire, which is scheduled to be released in Japan this month by Kadokawa Pictures, were sold to CTV for French distribution. 71 — Into the Fire was also sold to Hwa Yea Multimedia for Malaysia and Brunei.

For other thrillers, Midnight F.M., which will be screened in EFM, was sold to Hong Kong’s Mei Ah Selection, Taiwan’s Eagle International and Singapore’s Shaw. The film centers on a psychological game between a female radio DJ and a psycho killer during a live radio show. Helmer Kim Jee-woon’s I Saw the Devil, another thriller, added a Spanish deal with Mediatres along with Maywin Films for ex-USSR, Portugal’s MPA, Atlantic for Scandinavia and Iceland and Mei Ah Selection for Hong Kong.

Cyrano Agency, a romantic comedy inspired by the French drama Cyrano de Bergerac, was sold to Taiwan’s CatchPlay and Singapore’s Clover Films. Also sold to Taiwan’s Catchplay is action film Troubleshooter. The film was also sold to Thailand’s J-Bics before EFM.

Martial Arts Epic 'The Grandmasters' Generating Heat in Berlin
by Borys Kit, Pamela McClintock hollywoodreporter.com

BERLIN -- One of the films to watch in Berlin is The Grandmasters, Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai's sumptuous telling of the tale of martial arts legend Ip Man.

The story has previously been told in films like Ip Man and Ip Man 2, but Kar Wai, director of Chungking Express and My Blueberry Nights, is generating buzz because the project is his first action movie.

Kar Wai took a break from filming to trek to Berlin, privately showing buyers footage from his epic.

Among those showing strong interest, according to insiders, were execs from Weinstein Co., Fox Searchlight and Sony Pictures Classics. Focus Features is likely in the mix as well.

Wild Bunch is selling international while CAA handles domestic.

The $25 million Chinese-language film might seem to be a tough sell in the U.S., for the mere fact that it isn't in English. Then again, that didn't stop Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon from crossing over from art house fare to becoming a major North American box office hit as well as a multiple Oscar winner.

Grandmasters stars Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen. Action sequences were choreographed by Yeun Woo-ping.

katt

February 12, 2011



Lee Yeon-hee poses at her photo exhibition in Seoul on Friday.







Source: englishnews@chosun.com

katt

February 12, 2011

'Night Fishing' Short Made Entirely on iPhone (Berlin)
by Park Soo-mee hollywoodreporter.com



SEOUL -- When a Cannes award-winning filmmaker Park Chan-wook and his younger brother Chan-kyong held a test screening of their first collaboration of the film Night Fishing they knew right away the film would be in black and white.

A 30-minute film shot entirely on iPhone, the coarseness of the image quality on the big screen reminded them of a restored black and white film. The two brothers, instead of trying to improve the picture quality by sharpening the fuzzy spots, exaggerated the coarseness even further. They reduced the amount of lighting in outdoor shooting, obscured details of the landscape and mounted a DSLR lens to give it a film-like look.

"It worked out because in the film you can't really see what's beyond the river (where the film takes place) and that creates a strange sense of fear," the 48-year old director says. "It was a choice due to budget constraint because we had limited access to lighting but it made sense artistically and also visually."

The result is a delirious fantasy-horror film unique to Park's style, based on the story of a man who catches a young shaman while fishing in a night river. For Korea Telecom, a local mobile phone carrier for iPhone who commissioned Park and funded 150 million won (130,000 USD), the film turned out to be a publicity stunt well worth the investment. Night Fishing was invited to Berlin's competition for shorts, where it screens at the CinemaxX 3, and also attracted 30,000 admissions in local multiplex theaters in January.

Park isn't the only filmmaker to venture into the new genre. In South Korea, the world's most wired country with more than 40 million mobile phone subscribers -- among which 7 million are smart phone users -- mobile phone companies are fiercely competing with each other to attract the attention of young, tech-savvy subscribers. One of their recent strategies had been to collaborate with high-profile filmmakers like Park and promote their movie-making apps.

Galaxy S, Samsung's ambitious attempt to move into a smart phone business, recently commissioned the director Kim Dae-woo of last year's box office hit The Servant to shoot a 20-minute short film. Age of Milk is a romantic comedy starring two TV idols -- Min Hyo-rin and Choi Daniel -- which has had more than 3.5 million downloads since it opened in December on the company's micro-site, according to Samsung Electronics. The film also played on major cablers like OCN and Super Action.

The film slips in scenes featuring the company's product like when the male lead shoots her lover underwater with his Galaxy S zipped in a plastic bag in a swimming pool. But overall it is a nifty short film that feels like an extended music video. Samsung explained in a press release that Age of Milk reflects the needs and trends of consumers in the age of smart phones.

"The question of finding the right story for a mobile phone is still baffling to me," said Kim, whose films are known for putting spin on classic Korean tales as in his screenplay for Scandal (2003), his adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons. "I am not an early adopter. I was terrified of how the film would look on a larger screen. But I was very impressed with the overall picture quality."

Other filmmakers see potentials in phone cameras and their apps as an alternative to professional equipment. The camera size is a big asset. Park's crew installed ten iPhone cameras for the filming of Night Fishing. This saved time and allowed access to more diverse angles without having to reshoot. He also discovered that actors performed more naturally, because phone cameras are un-intrusive.

"It really has changed the perspective of a film," says Hong Gyeong-po, a director of photography for Mother and Taeguki. "It's hard to believe that I'm making a film in an age where people shoot, edit and watch their films on their mobile phone."

A local survey also presents a dizzying future of the country's mobile technology. Korea Information Society Development Institute, a think-tank for mobile and wireless technology, said more than 20 million people, which is one-third of South Korean population, will become smart phone subscribers by the end of the year.

Already companies are offering carefully crafted marketing plans to reach their potential consumers.

A new app by a local developer features a program that shows Korean indie films on the iPhone. Korea Telecom is also collaborating with Lotte Entertainment, the country's second largest distributor next to CJ Entertainment, to host a smart phone festival later this month. The festival's jury is led by a veteran director Lee Joon-ik (The King and the Clown), and the winning films will be screened at Lotte Cinema, a local multiplex chain.

Ham Bo-ram, a 21-year old fine art student is one of the contestants who submitted a 9-minute film titled True Christmas. The film took him a month to shoot and edit. "I want to be a filmmaker and iPhone 4 is a great tool because it has iMovie (an application that allows the user to edit)," he says. "I eat, sleep and work. The rest of the time I play with my iPhone."

katt

February 13, 2011

Actors Hyun, Kim top list of ideal Valentine's dates
By Lee Hyo-won hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr


Single Korean women and men chose actors Hyun Bin, left, and Kim Tae-hee, respectively,
as ideal dates for Valentine’s Day. / Korea Times file

Single Korean women and men chose actors Hyun Bin and Kim Tae-hee, respectively, as ideal dates for Valentine’s Day.

In a telephone survey conducted by marriage consulting firm Sunoo (Couple.net), 26.4 percent of 250 single women aged 20 to 40 chose Hyun saying he is "attractive" and "handsome." The actor recently made the headlines for his role in the hit TV soap "Secret Garden" as well as starring in two local films that were invited to the ongoing Berlin Film Festival.

Some 13 percent of the 250 surveyed men from the same age range chose Kim, citing reasons that she is "beautiful" and "sophisticated." The actress is currently playing the lead role in the drama "My Princess."

Next in the ranking among male celebrities were actors Lee Seung-ki (8 percent), for his "kind, hard-working, cute and lovable" appeal; Song Seung-hun and Won Bin (7.2 percent each), for being "handsome" and "masculine"; and So Ji-sub (6.4 percent).

Among female stars, men favored singer IU (10.4 percent) for her "cute" and "extraordinary singing talent" and actress Soo Ae (8.4 percent) for her "coy" and "feminine" allure. Also in the top rating were Yuna of the K-pop band Girls’ Generation (6 percent) as well as actresses Shin Se-kyung and Ha Ji-won (5.6 percent each).

In the global celebrity category, respondents chose Hollywood couple "Brangelina," actress Angelina Jolie and husband Brad Pitt, as their dream Valentines.





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