Song Kang-Ho 송강호 [“Broker”, “Emergency Declaration”]

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SKH first acted with JMS in Memories of Murder and again in her last movie, The King's Letters. Both roles as his spouse.

 

July 2, 2019

 

Actors, friends pay respects to Chun
 

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

 

Actors, directors and friends of actor Chun Mi-sun, who was found dead on Saturday, gathered to pay their respects at her funeral which began on Sunday in southern Seoul.

 

A private funeral service was held for Chun at Asan Medical Center in Southern Seoul. Chun’s husband, director Park Sang-hoon, and her mother and older brother attended the funeral.

 

The first person to visit the funeral on Sunday was actor Song Kang-ho who features alongside Chun as King Sejong in “The King’s Letters,” which was set to premiere at the end of July. The duo also starred together in director Bong Joon-ho’s “Memories of Murder” (2003).

 

Bong also attended the funeral, as did actors such as Yum Jung-ah, Park Hae-il, Yoon Yoo-sun, Jung Yu-mi, Kang Tae-oh and Song Geon-hee. The crew from “The King’s Letters” and organizers from KBS 2TV drama series “The Joseon Romantic-Comedy Tale of Nok-Du” (literal translation), which Chun was scheduled to start filming soon, also attended. 

 

The news of Chun’s death, which early reports suggest was by suicide, shocked fans and colleagues alike, as she was seen just days earlier at a press conference for “The King’s Letters.” Her agency, Boas Entertainment, confirmed that Chun was suffering from depression and was receiving treatment. 

 

Chun was buried at 5:30 a.m. today.

 

By Lee Jae-lim 

 

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July 2, 2019

 

HanCinema's News: Lawsuit Filed Against "The King's Letters"

 

By William Schwartz HanCinema.net

 

 

On July 2nd Nanok Publishing filed an injunction to prevent the film from screening later this month. In a statement Nanok Publishing said that "The King's Letters" is based on a book for which they currently hold adaptation rights and for which they were not consulted.

The book in question is titled 'The Road to the Korean Alphabet'. Nanok Publishing pressed its claim with the production company behind "The King's Letters" last year requesting a credit but, Doodoong Pictures rebuffed their claim and decided to go ahead with production even though the issue was unresolved.

 

Doodoong Pictures offered an agreement to Nanok Publishing to head off these legal issues back in April, but the deal collapsed for reasons that are as yet unknown. Doodoong Pictures is currently claiming that "The King's Letters" is not based on 'The Road to the Korean Alphabet'.

 

As 'The Road to the Korean Alphabet' is a historical book it may be difficult to ascertain to what extent "The King's Letters" is based on it, as opposed to other historical sources. But even if that was not the case, it would normally be in the best interest of "The King's Letters" to claim to be based on a real historical book, as it would bolster the film's authenticity. Instead, the looming legal battle threatens to push back "The King's Letters" currently planned release date of July 24th.

 

- Written by William Schwartz

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Source: Soompi

 

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Source: CINE21

 

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July 5, 2019

 

HanCinema's News

"Parasite" and Jeon Jong-seo Among 24th Choonsa Movie Festival Nominations
 

By William Schwartz HanCinema.net

 

 

On July 18th the Choonsa Movie Festival award ceremony will be held. The Choonsa Film Festival is the most prestigious of the various South Korean award ceremonies. In contrast to the other ones, which have broader voting bodies and focus principally on mainstream films, the Choonsa Film Festival's nominations are decided by five highly respected local film critics and voted on by South Korean film directors.

"Parasite" leads the field with eight nominations spread out across seven categories. For best director (Bong Joon-ho), best cinematography (Hong Kyung-pyo), best actor (Song Kang-ho and Choi Wooshik), best actress (Jo Yeo-jung), best supporting actress (Lee Jung-eun), and best supporting actor (Park Myung-hoon-I).

 

"Burning" and "Extreme Job" follow with five nominations apiece. "Burning" has best director (Lee Chang-dong), best cinematography (Hong Kyung-pyo), best actor (Yoo Ah-in), best supporting actor (Steven Yeun), and best new actress (Jeon Jong-seo). "Extreme Job" has best director (Lee Byeong-heon-I), best script (Moon Choong-il), best actor (Ryu Seung-ryong), best supporting actor (Jin Seon-kyu), and best new actor (Gong Myung).

 

"The Spy Gone North", "Believer", and "Last Child" had four nominations apiece. "Microhabitat", "After My Death", "Dark Figure of Crime", "Miss Baek", "Juror 8", "Birthday", "Little Forest", "The Great Battle", "Sunset in My Hometown", "Ode to the Goose", "Herstory", "Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum", "Beautiful Days", "Park Hwa-young", "The Witch : Part 1. The Subversion" also received nominations across ten categories.

 

Written by William Schwartz

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July 8, 2019

 

Korean cultural contents spread to world through translations

 

Source: The DONG-A ILBO

Nowadays, it is not a rarity to see South Korean boyband BTS’ fans around the world singing along the group’s songs in Korean at concerts. Lyrics videos in YouTube are apparently of great help to them. The music video of BTS’ song “IDOL,” for example, has English translations such as “Hooray it’s so awesome” and “Bum badum bum brrrrumble” so that foreign fans can easily understand what the original lyrics are about. This shows that translations have helped the world-famous boyband to earn fame by foreigners, who praise their songs for being “the most Korean yet global.”

 

As such, Korean cultural contents owe their success to translations in large part. Quality translations are what is driving the popularity of K-contents including not only K-pop but also films or literature. 

 

As for K-pop, domestic fans have been more than passionate about letting the music be known to the world. As soon as idol groups release new songs, fans translate the lyrics into various languages and post them on social media. You can find not a few Twitter accounts on which translated lyrics are regularly posted.

 

In the meantime, the importance of translations has been also proved with film director  Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” winning the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Since the production of “Breathless” (2008), which received critical acclaim overseas, independent films have also provided translations for the foreign audience. In film “Granny Poetry Club” (2018), grannies’ Gyeongsang dialects were translated into English with Southern dialects to convey the unique accents.

 

Poems may be the trickiest to translate. Since poets are not bound by grammar and often use idiomatic phrases not found in dictionaries, translators need to communicate closely with poets to translate their jobs. Whether the subject should be inserted or omitted, or how idioms should be translated need to be discussed in advance.

 

Oftentimes, acclaimed translations are born out of pain. Korean poet Choi Jeong-rye’s poem “Eollukdeolluk” was translated with a title “Zebra Lines” in 2017 by English translator Mattho Mandersloot. With the whimsical idea to convey the Korean expression‎, the translation was awarded the Oxford Korean Poetry Translation Prize.

 

Some have called for the overhaul of the entire translation system. “We are seeing the emergence of new contents like web fictions or web dramas, as well as more diverse ways to distribute them such as YouTube,” culture critic Kim Heon-sik said, stressing that now is the time to think of measures to reflect such trends in translation systems and platforms.

Kyu-Jin Shin newjin@donga.com

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July 11, 2019

 

Favorite films come to life in Lotte Annual Art Project

 

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily // CINE21

While organizers of the film industries are hosting various events to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Korean Cinema, Lotte Annual Art Project (LAAP) will also celebrate it with style. 

 

The project is in second year to host simultaneous exhibitions in Lotte galleries across the country under one unifying theme. Last year was fashion, and this year is films under the title of “Behind the Scenes.” Added atop with director Bong Joon-ho’s achievement of winning the Palme d’Or for “Parasite,” the project had singled out films as an important part of local popular culture. 

“Through this project, we wanted to provide the viewers [of the exhibitions] a space to talk about their most memorable scenes in films,” art director of the Lotte Gallery Kim Hyun-kyung said as she explained the motive behind the exhibitions at the press conference on Friday. “Usually when we watch films, we are only left with feelings or memories of the scenes. So we wanted the viewers to remanence and share with others the special moments or powerful emotions they’ve experienced while watching films through the artist’s works.”

 

At the Jamsil branch, eastern Seoul, artworks of 100 contemporary artists are displayed in the area which reinterpret their favorite cinematic scenes across canvas. Moreover, the organizers asked film-related collectors such as Yang Hae-nam, Choi Kyu-sung and culture critic Choi Ji-woong to share their collections with the audience. Yang is an avid collector of film posters, currently in possession of 2,400 posters from 1989. Choi is a graphic designer of film posters, postcards, archive books, and more and will share his works with the audience. Lastly, culture critic Choi collects the LPs and albums of the films’ original soundtracks. 

 

Besides Jamsil branch, other exhibitions are being held across total of 10 branches- four in Seoul, and each one at Incheon, Daejeon, Ilsan, Daegu, Gwangju and Busan. 

 

In Incheon, under the sub title of “Wes Anderson: Nostalgia,” the organizers want the audience to indirectly experience the scenes in the director’s representative work “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (2014) by recreating the scent that Gustave wears, the L’Air de Panache cologne, through the local brand Sutome Apothecary. Inside the gallery, the audience can also taste a whip of Mendl’s cake that also acts as a scene-stealer in the film. 

 

Other exhibitions include “Summer Cinema: Rho Jae Oon Project in Avenuel” held at the main branch in Myeong-dong, “Hidden Pictures in Cinema” in Yeongdeungpo, and Ilsan branch’s “Bric_Behind the Scenes.” All the exhibitions will be held until July 28. 

 

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]

 

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July 12, 2019

 

4 Korean movies to premiere in theaters dominated by Disney films

 

Source: The DONG-A Ilbo

 

 

Disney movies are making big waves in South Korean theaters this month. The live-action “Aladdin” will soon reach 10 million viewers and “Toy Story 4” is also attracting a lot of viewers by bringing nostalgia among its long-time fans. Now, the live-action “Lion King” is awaiting to premiere on July 17 and take over the huge popularity of Disney films.

 

The original “Lion King” that was released in 1994 still holds the record for the biggest success worldwide among the G-rated animated films. This year’s live-action adaptation was directly by Jon Favreau who also directed “The Jungle Book” while globally renowned film score composer Hans Zimmer and singer-songwriter Elton John were in charge of the music. Actor Donald Glover and Beyoncé each provided their voice to Simba and Nala as well. 

 

Against the rather intimidating cast of “Lion King,” Korean movies will try to win movie-goers’ hearts with a combination of seasoned actors and newcomers, as well as diverse genres from a disaster action film, historical drama, period piece, to occult, offering broader options to choose from. 

 

Among them, the first to be released on July 24 is “The King's Letters” directed by Cho Chul-hyun, a story about the creation of the Korean alphabet “Hangul.”

 

“EXIT” directed by Lee Sang-geun and “The Divine Fury” directed by Kim Ju-hwan will follow and premiere on July 31 together. “EXIT,” a disaster action movie where an escape operation takes place to get away from the city due to mysterious gas spreading from an unknown cause, is garnering anticipation for Jo Jung-suk’s high-quality comedy performance. “The Divine Fury” is an occult film, which has enthusiastic fans. It tells the story of a martial arts champion, played by Park Seo-joon, fighting against a powerful evil force along with a priest from Vatican City, played by Ahn Sung-ki. 

 

The last movie to be showcased in theaters, “Battle of Fengwudong” directed by Won Shin-yun, will premiere on August 7. It features a battle and victory of Korean independence army against the Japanese troop in June 1920. The production team made admirable efforts to keep the details of the movie as close as possible to what actually happened by referring to “Tongnip Sinmun,” the first newspaper published in Korea, and independence activist Hong Beom-do’s journal while consulting with descendants of independence army members and historians.

Seo-Hyun Lee baltika7@donga.com

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July 15, 2019

New movie 'The King's Letters'
 

 

Actor Song Kang-ho, who stars in the new movie "The King's Letters," speaks during the movie's preview at a Seoul theater on July 15, 2019. The movie, which is about King Sejong, the inventor of the Korean alphabet "hangeul," will hit local screens on July 24. (Yonhap) 

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July 16, 2019

 

‘The King’s Letters’ takes soft approach for release:

Despite controversy and tragedy around film, it will be in theaters as planned

 

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

 

From left, director Cho Chul-hyun and actors Song Kang-ho and Park Hae-il speak at a press conference held at Megabox Coex in southern Seoul on Monday. The production company Doodoong Pictures decided to refrain from further promotion after the event out of respect for the late actor Chun Mi-sun. [NEWS1]

 

“The King’s Letters,” featuring the late actor Chun Mi-sun, will be released in local theaters as originally scheduled, but the film’s promotion will be limited to one press conference. 

 

The historical fiction film gained unwanted attention recently for two matters: One, the weekend after a press conference for the film was held, actor Chun died by suicide at a hotel in Jeonju, North Jeolla. While the cast and crew of the film were still in shock following the news, the publishing company Nanok filed for an injunction against the film’s production company, Doodoong Pictures, on July 2. Nanok accused Doodoong Pictures of “making a film without the consent of the original author.” The company published writer Park Hae-jin’s book “The Way of Hunminjeongeum, Biography of Ven. Hyegak” (2014), which reorganized historical evidence to uncover another hidden, but key character who contributed in creating the national letter system hangul, Buddhist monk Shin-mi. 

 

However, the production company quickly refuted the charges, telling local press that their work was based on their own historical findings. According to their official statement, the company personally visited Park to discuss the historical findings and paid the author for his consultation. 

 

“As the audience will come to realize while watching the film, [it is] a creative production that did not adapt any other original works,” said Doodoong Pictures CEO Oh Seung-hyun at the beginning of a press conference held on Monday. “We have not reached an agreement with [the publishing company] and are simply waiting for the court decision.” 

 

When asked about the motive behind the film, the director gave a more specific answer than the previous press event. “The critical evidence came from a theme park I visited in front of Haein Temple in Hapcheon County, South Gyeongsang, years ago,” Cho stated. “At the park, there was a map which traces how the Tripitaka Koreana spread from India, Tibet, Khitan, Goryeo and to Japan. I was mesmerized by the map and this made me think that the map was not merely a road of how Tripitaka Koreana was spread, but a journey of how phonograms developed.” After he saw the map, he dug deeper into the research and discovered that majority of the sounds were originally made by Buddhist monks. 

 

As a producer and a scriptwriter in the film industry for 33 years, Cho has worked on an especially large number of historical dramas, his most recent being “The Throne” (2014) featuring actor Song Kang-ho and Yoo Ah-in as King Yeongjo and Crown Prince Sado set in Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Even with all of his experience, Cho admits that he is still unsure how to find the right balance between fiction and facts. 

 

“I think that even documentaries cannot be entirely truthful because the work was created from the producer’s perspective,” he said. “So instead of focusing on that, I tried to focus on the relationships between the characters, and each characters’ own desires and motivation for creating the hangul.”

 

A veteran producer of historical dramas, Cho and rest of the film’s producers spent months persuading the Cultural Heritage Administration to allow them to actually film the movie in Unesco World Heritage sites such as Haein Temple, which houses the Tripitaka Koreana, and Muryangsu Hall of Buseok Temple in North Gyeongsang to make the movie more visually pleasing. 

 

Most importantly, Cho wanted to delve into the specific process of creating the hangul system - a process through which people can relate to and feel for themselves how beautiful the process of creating the letters with ink, brush and hanji (traditional Korean paper) was. 

 

At the event, Cho, Song, and Park Hae-il paid their respects to the late Chun. When asked to compare Chun’s acting to Queen Soheon, Cho said that he had no right to do so. 

 

“As I’ve said before, the film is ultimately about one worthy leader and two followers,” he said. “The leader is Queen Soheon, who sometimes patiently - and sometimes strictly - guided King Sejong and monk Shin-mi to their greatness.” 

 

“All of us - the staff and the actors are grieving over the tragedy,” Song added. “I feel like it’s a kind of twisted fate, but I want the viewers to see the film as a beautiful story that overcame its part of sadness.” 

 

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]

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July 17, 2019

 

Movie Review

'The King's Letters' introduces unknown contributor to Hangeul

By Kim Boram

 

SEOUL, July 17 (Yonhap) -- Sejong the Great, the fourth King of Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), and his invention of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, is one of the most frequently used and well-known items in local TV series.

 

For filmmakers and actors, choosing this story may be like walking a tight rope, balancing between familiarity and staleness.

 

The historical film "The King's Letters," the maiden work by director Jo Chul-hyun, takes the risk. He puts the Buddhist monk Shinmi, who wasn't recorded in official history, at the center of the plot to add freshness to the movie.

 

The movie opens with King Sejong, played by Song Kang-ho of the Cannes-winning "Parasite," trying to create a new, easy and simple alphabet for his people.

 

But he faces difficulty in designing a new set of phonetic letters from the offset, while the literary elite of Joseon, like Korean Confucian scholars and politicians, strongly oppose the king's move, claiming that the invention may challenge the Chinese world order. Before the invention of hangeul, Koreans used the Chinese writing system, which was difficult for the lower class to learn.

 

The image provided by Megabox Plus M shows a scene from "The King's Letters." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

Here, Monk Shinmi, played by Park Hae-il, appears. Known as the best expert in phonology throughout the kingdom, the eccentric Buddhist priest becomes a key assistant to the king's plan.

 

Along with his disciples and Sejong's sons, Shinmi leads the project to create a new phonogram tailored to the Korean language through studying other phonetic letters like Sanskrit.

 

The movie features the detailed story of the underlying principle of the new characters, how consonants and vowels were invented and designed, even though nearly all Koreans are well aware of it.

 

However, the Buddhist priest's unbecoming participation in the project leads to an eventual clash with Sejong, who is the leader of the Joseon Dynasty, which was founded on Confucianism and anti-Buddhism.

 

The ideological struggle between King Sejong and Shinmi is the highlight of the movie.

 

"King Sejong has to go through this project in a secretive way because of the opposition by his officials and the Chinese monarchy," director Jo said at a premiere for the press held Monday. "I wanted to picture the inner conflict between the two closest partners, Sejong and Shinmi."

 

Moreover, "The King's Letters" doesn't illustrate Sejong as a perfect leader, a commonplace image that people entertain. The king feels guilty about the killing of his wife's family on charges of treason and is anxious about losing his sight before completing Hangeul. But he is still full of energy and willpower to invent Hangeul as a new writing system for his people at the eleventh hour.

 

Such depiction of a humane hero is well expressed by Song Kang-ho, a veteran actor who took the role of King Yeongjo in the 2015 historical movie "The Throne." Song's Sejong is dignified and majestic but kind and warm-hearted as well.

 

When he reads the preface of "Hunminjeongeum," an official document describing the principle of Hangeul and explanation of letters and their sounds, his grandeur and stateliness overshadow the familiar and palpable story of King Sejong.

 

Song said he tried to add something new and creative to the historical hero.

 

"King Sejong is the greatest of all time, and we know his achievements very well through a number of dramas and movies," Song said. "I think previous pieces rarely focused on the detailed process of Hangeul's invention and the king's personal affliction and loneliness."

 

However, "The King's Letters" may face criticism for the mitigated role of King Sejong in the project as the movie shows Shinmi is the true inventor of the native script.

 

Although it adopts one of the few theories that explain the origins of Hangeul, the movie may make audiences feel uncomfortable, regarding the widely accepted notion that King Sejong is solely responsible for the invention.

 

At the same time, it is embroiled in a plagiarism issue, as a local publisher has filed a lawsuit against the movie's production studio, claiming that the film infringes on its copyright to the story. The litigation is currently under way.

 

"The King's Letters" will hit local screens next Wednesday.

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July 18, 2019

 

(News Focus) S. Korean box office thrives despite slowing economy

By Kim Boram

 

SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- With the year 2019 having just passed the halfway point, the South Korean film industry is eying the possibility of four movies posting more than 10 million admissions, considered a huge box-office success in a country with a population of about 52 million.

 

Comedy film "Extreme Job" opened in January and posted the year's highest mark with a total of 16.2 million tickets sold, followed by Marvel's "Avengers: Endgame" with 13.9 million and Walt Disney's live-action film "Aladdin" with 10.3 million.

 

Cannes-winning "Parasite" is expected to be the next to join the 10-million club, having logged 9.9 million admissions as of Wednesday. It will then be the 26th film of all time to record more than 10 million tickets sales in South Korea.

 

This image, taken on June 7, 2019, shows electronic posters of the Cannes-winning "Parasite" at a Seoul theater. (Yonhap)

 

It would be the first time in the Korean box office that four films hit the milestone in the first seven months of a year, and would tie the annual record set in 2014.

 

In 2014, four movies -- Disney's animated film "Frozen," science fiction "Interstellar," Korean historical movie "Roaring Currents" and Korean drama "Ode to My Father" -- sold more than 10 million tickets throughout the year.

 

Driven by the huge popularity of the four 10-million films -- "Extreme Job", "Endgame," "Aladdin" and "Parasite," Korean cinemas saw a record number of viewers in the first half.

 

Total admissions in the January-June period jumped 13.5 percent on-year to an all-time high of 109.32 million, according to a report released by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) on Thursday. Sales expanded 16 percent on-year to a record 930.7 billion won (US$795.4 million) over the same period.

 

The KOFIC report said "Extreme Job," about a group of goofy anti-drug cops who stake out an organized drug trafficking ring, successfully met the demand of comedy movie fans who were tired of films on heavy social and historical issues, like "Default," about the 1997-98 financial crisis, from the end of 2018.

 

"Endgame," which hit local screens in April, was widely expected to dominate the local box office, given the huge success of previous "Avengers" series flicks -- "Infinity War" and "Age of Ultron" -- in the country. But its pace was faster than expected, as it took only 11 days to exceed the 10 million mark. It eventually became the most-watched foreign-film of all time in South Korea.

 

Moreover, experts say star director Bong Joon-ho's family satire "Parasite" and its Cannes Palme d'Or victory, appealed to middle-aged people who rarely go to the movies.

 

"For the past few years, there has been a boom in crime movies in Korea, which middle-aged people don't really like," Kwak Seo-yeon, a researcher in charge of the KOFIC report, said on Thursday. "This year, 'Parasite' caught the hearts of those in their 50s and older on the back of Cannes' highest prize."

 

She said its popularity contributed to filling the shoulder season of late spring, along with "Aladdin."

 

Disney's live-action film, which opened a week before "Parasite" and had remained an underdog for weeks, made a long rally at the box office and became the third movie to hit the 10-million milestone in 2019.

 

The May-June period is usually considered off-season for the Korean movie industry, making the two films' achievement more remarkable.

 

Film experts pointed out that a recent change in movie consumption patterns, driven by a protracted economic slowdown, is also partly responsible for the booming film market.

 

"An increasing number of people tend to spend their free time watching movies, which offer two or three hours of fun at a relatively cheaper price of less than 20,000 won," an expert said on condition of anonymity. "The ticket price has risen sharply in the past few years, but many people still feel it's relatively cheaper than other cultural activities, like musicals or classical concerts. For them, going to the movies has now become part of their weekend routine."

 

The fresh trend of watching a certain film more than once is another factor behind the bullish box office results.

 

"Both 'Parasite' and 'Aladdin' benefited from the multiple-watching trend," said Hwang Jae-hyeon from CJ CGV, the largest multiplex theater chain in Korea. "People share their feeling and impression of movies they saw on social media and this goes viral on the internet and attracts people to the theaters again."

 

Cutting-edge 4DX theaters have encouraged movie fans to enjoy movies again and created a new niche market, he added.

 

Insiders said more films will join the so-called 10-million club this year when the highly-anticipated Hollywood blockbusters Disney's "Lion King" and "Frozen II" open in the second half.

 

"Big-name movies will likely dominate the box office in the second half," Kwak, the KOFIC researcher, said. "The lineup is very good, but we have to wait and see until the end of the year."

 

brk@yna.co.kr

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July 19, 2019

 

HanCinema's News

"Parasite" Invited to San Sebastian Film Festival

 

 By William Schwartz HanCinema.net

 

"Parasite" has been invited to the Perlak section of the San Sebastian Film Festival. It will compete with seven other international films for the San Sebastian Audience Award among others in the Spanish film festival, which will run from September 20th to September 28th.

 

The San Sebastian Film Festival has long been a supporter of director Bong Joon-ho's career. He was awarded best director and best new director for "Memories of Murder" back in the festival's 2003 edition. The news follows "Parasite" winning four awards at the Choonsa Film Festival, which is not actually a film festival, but rather an awards ceremony voted on by South Korean directors.

 

Next stop for Bong Joon-ho and his lead actor Song Kang-ho is Switzerland, where "Parasite" will screen as part of the Locarno International Film Festival in August. "Parasite" is also expected to appear at the Lumiere Film Festival in France come October.

 

Written by William Schwartz

 

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July 22, 2019

 

'Parasite' Passes 10-Million Viewer Milestone in Nearly 2 Months

 

Source: The Chosun Ilbo 

Director Bong Joon-ho's latest film "Parasite" has topped the 10-million viewer mark, perhaps later than expected given the huge hype created for the film, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

 

According to the Korean Film Council on Monday, the film drew 33,080 moviegoers over the weekend to reach the milestone nearly two months after its release on May 30.

 

It is the 19th domestic film to draw more than 10 million viewers and 26th among all films screened in Korea.

 

"Parasite" is Bong's second work to achieve the feat following "The Host," which attracted over 13 million viewers in 2006.

 

Actor Song Kang-ho, who starred in both films, now has four works to reach the milestone. The others are "The Attorney" in 2013 with 11.4 million tickets sold and "A Taxi Driver" in 2018 with 12.2 million viewers.

 

Other films that have reached the milestone so far this year are Lee Byoung-heon's comedy "Extreme Job," Marvel's superhero blockbuster "Avengers: Endgame," and Disney's live-action musical "Aladdin."

 

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Source: Pierce Conran

 

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July 22, 2019

 

Cannes-winning black comedy film 'Parasite' garners 10 million viewers in S. Korea

Park Sae-jin Reporter(swatchsjp@ajunews.com) | AJU Business Daily

 

[Courtesy of CJ Entertainment]

 

SEOUL -- Parasite," a prize-winning black comedy film at this year's Cannes Film Festival, has broken the 10 million mark in South Korea's box-office in 53 days of screening, demonstrating the popularity and brand power of director Bong Joon-ho.

 

The film was awarded the "Palme d'Or", also known as the Golden Palm award, at Cannes in May. Since it opened in South Korea on May 30, Parasite has been viewed by more than 10 million people.

 

Data released by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) showed that Parasite garnered 10,000,249 moviegoers as of July 21, becoming the fourth film to break the 10 million mark this year in a country with a population of about 51.7 million after "Extreme Job", "Avengers: Endgame" and "Aladdin".

 

Parasite received positive feedbacks from critics for picturizing the contrast between the livelihood of the disrespected lower-class and that of the snobby high-class. Viewers felt sympathetic as the film depicts a tragic story about a lower-class family meticulously planning its secretive entry into a high-class family like a parasite.

 

Moviegoers have watched the film, again and again, to find hidden messages in the film in the so-called "Parasite Phenomenon". "Director Bong has smartly placed messages all over the film and they are easy to miss if you are watching the film for the first time," Kim Kyo-seok, a pop-culture critic, said, adding active online discussions have caused curiosity.

 

It was Bong's second film to break the 10 million mark. The director's 2006 monster film, "The Host", attracted more than 13 million viewers. Armed with eye-popping special effects, the 2006 film created sympathy and bondage between Bong and viewers by depicting how ordinary South Korean families stride through the daily life which strikes them with a force similar to that of natural disasters.

 

Actor Song Kang-ho, 52, also starred in both of Bong's films. The veteran actor, who is often reflected as Bong's persona, played the father of a lower-class family in Parasite, coloring tragic and horrible scenes with a touch of comedy.

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July 23, 2019

 

‘Letters’ will also screen overseas

 

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

“The King’s Letters,” slated to premiere on Thursday in local cinemas, will be simultaneously released in overseas, its distribution company Megabox M Plus announced on Monday. 

 

The film is scheduled to debut in 12 cities in North America on Friday, including Los Angles, and will be shown in total of 20 cities abroad in total. 

 

The film’s American distribution company 815 Pictures said that it was “an honor just to see the collaboration of actors Song Kang-ho and Park Hae-il after ‘Memories of Murder’ and ‘The Host’.

 

As predicted, the two actors’ performances were perfect in portraying the conflicts and solidarity of King Sejong and monk Shin-mi.” 

 

Moreover, the film is set to be released at 20 theaters in Taiwan on the following day. 

 

By Lee Jae-lim 

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Source: Jason Bechervaise

 

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July 19, 2019

 

Local Blockbusters Prepare to Go Head-to-Head as Summer Heats Up
Period Drama, Disaster Comedy, Supernatural Action-Drama and War Film in the Mix

 

by Pierce Conran KOFIC

 

Following a busier than usual late spring and early summer period, which has already welcomed two new members to the 10 million viewer club, the Disney titles Avengers: Endgame and Aladdin, and with BONG Joon-ho’s PARASITE a few days away from reaching the mark as well, Korea’s multiplexes won’t have time to catch their breath as we reach the high summer season at the Korean box office, which coincides with the school holidays and usually stretches from late July until mid-August.

 

Korea’s top studios have assembled five major titles, among them one animation, which will each vie for glory during the busiest box office season of the year. Previous summer champs that bowed in the same time frame include The Host (2006), The Thieves (2012), Roaring Currents (2014), TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016) and last year’s Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days.

 

This week, Disney will once again look for box office glory as their live action update of The Lion King goes wide on Wednesday, July 17, but following that, save for the animated title The Secret Life of Pets 2 and some smaller titles, local titles will take over the box office, with no major Hollywood titles on deck again until August 14 when Universal will debut Fast & Furious presents: Hobbs & Shaw.

 

The King’s Letters

DIRECTOR CHO Chul-hyun
CAST SONG Kang-ho, PARK Hae-il, JEON Mi-sun
RELEASE DATE July 24

 

 

Kicking off the local blockbuster season will be the period drama The King’s Letters, which will reunite Memories Of Murder (2003) and The Host (2006) co-stars SONG Kang-ho and PARK Hae-il for the third time. The film marks the directorial debut of CHO Chul-hyun, a veteran writer and producer known for working with director LEE Joon-ik on some of his most famous period dramas, including 2015’s The Throne, also with SONG Kang-ho.

 

SONG plays King Sejong, the revered fourth monarch of the Joseon Dynasty, who teams up with a Buddhist monk, played by PARK, to develop a simplified writing system for the Korean language, which would eventually become the world-famous Hangeul writing system.

 

Tragically, the film was dealt a huge blow just a few weeks ahead of its release when one of the film’s stars, JEON Mi-sun, passed away as a result of suicide. JEON had previously appeared with SONG and PARK in Memories Of Murder (2003).

 

Red Shoes

DIRECTOR HONG Sung-ho
CAST Chloe Grace MORETZ, Sam CLAFIN, Gina GERSHON
RELEASE DATE July 25

 

EXIT

DIRECTOR LEE Sang-geun
CAST JO Jung-suk, Yoon-a
RELEASE DATE July 31

 

The Divine Fury

DIRECTOR Jason KIM
CAST PARK Seo-jun, AHN Sung-ki, WOO Do-hwan
RELEASE DATE July 31

 

The Battle: Roar to Victory

DIRECTOR WON Shin-yun
CAST RYU Jun-yeol, YOO Hae-jin, JO Woo-jin
RELEASE DATE August 7

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July 24, 2019

 

HanCinema's News

Director Bong Joon-ho Praises "The King's Letters"

 

By William Schwartz HanCinema.net

 

 

On July 24th Megabox released a new trailer for "The King's Letters" featuring testimonials. Director Bong Joon-ho of the recent hit "Parasite" appears in the trailer, offering his positive recommendation for the movie.

In the trailer, Bong Joon-ho says that the film gives a close look to a thrilling and wondrous historical moment. Bong Joon-ho described himself as feeling the incredible lonely genius of King Sejong as he typed out messages to friends after the movie on his phone, which he naturally did using the very same Korean characters which "The King's Letters" depicts the invention of.

 

Bong Joon-ho also made mention of lead actress Jeon Mi-sun, who died shortly before the film's release. He said that the beautiful story of "The King's Letters" was what she had left us with. Bong Joon-ho also praised the performance of Song Kang-ho, who also appeared in "Parasite", and emphasized that the film's experience was best felt on a big screen, calling out art director Ryoo Seong-hee's work as being particularly impressive.

 

Written by William Schwartz