Jang Jin Young 장진영

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December 17, 2009

Jang Jin-young’s wedding photo

December 17th, 2009 // by javabeans

Actress Jang Jin-young died of stomach cancer in September, after which it was belatedly revealed that she had been secretly married. She had wed her husband, Kim Young-kyun, while in the U.S. for cancer treatment, and registered the marriage to make it official in Korea just days before her passing.

Now her husband has published a book commemorating the 608 days of their relationship, called My Last Gift To Her [그녀에게 보내는 마지막 선물]. Their Las Vegas wedding photo, above, is featured in the book.

The book was published on December 18 and starts with their meeting in January 2008, and follows their nearly two-year romance. The last year of her life was spent receiving cancer treatment, and the secret wedding took place in the summer of 2009 in Vegas. The book also includes previously unreleased photos.

Husband Kim Young-kyun said regarding the publication, “Right now we all remember her clearly, but someday my memories will also grow dim. I don’t want that.”

An interview with Kim

After seeing the book, how did you feel?

I feel glad. It’s wonderful to have the time I spent with Jin-young presented in this book. As the title says, I hope this can be the biggest gift that I can give to her.

There were a lot of opinions about your reasons for writing this. What’s your reason for getting involved in writing the book?

Right now, my memories of Jin-young are distinct, but I’m human and someday my memories will grow dimmer. I don’t want to lose my memories of being with her. Writing this was my way to deal with that. Someone who writes for a living told me that it helps and is a good method for organizing their emotions, and those words motivated me to write the book. Also, as I’ve already said in the prologue, Jin-young was an actress who had a great future ahead of her, and I thought it would help in having her remembered beautifully. Even when her time was limited, she didn’t give up hope and lived diligently, and I wanted to let people know of Jin-young’s passionate life.

Speak about the writing process. When did you start?

Ironically, I decided to write the book after I read a report in the media three months ago that I was writing a book. Afterward, I proposed it to the publisher, and I finished writing through a lot of help from other people, so I’m very satisfied. I think I said everything I wanted to say. I’m prepared to receive the reviews calmly. If anyone were to feel uncomfortable about anything in the book, I’d like to ask that they understand with an open mind.

With the book now coming out, you’re once again the focus of the press’s interest. Do you feel pressure from that?

If I was going to feel that, I wouldn’t have started. Jin-young was a much more womanly person than people know, and on the other hand she was also tougher than anyone. I hope that this book can offer a little comfort to the many people who loved Jin-young.

Via Mk.co.kr / dramabeans.com

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December 22, 2009

Mother, Thirst take home Director’s Cut Awards

December 22nd, 2009 // by javabeans

This year’s 12th Director’s Cut Awards were given out on December 21, and the top winners this year were Thirst, Park Chan-wook’s stylish vampire-horror film starring Song Kang-ho as a vampire priest, as well as Bong Joon-ho’s Mother, whose Kim Hye-ja is earning a number of accolades as the titular mother who goes all-out to protect her dimwitted son (Won Bin) from a false charge.

Also honored was Jeon Do-yeon, who didn’t win an acting award but was given a plaque of appreciation as part of the Cinema Angel Project, which promotes the development of independent films. In addition, a commemorative plaque was issued in memory of Jang Jin-young, who recently passed away of stomach cancer at the age of 35.

Winners List

Best Director: Park Chan-wook (Thirst)

Best Actor/Actress: Song Kang-ho (Thirst), Kim Hye-ja (Mother)

Best New Director: Ounie Lecomte (A Brand New Life)

Best New Actor/Actress: Kim Dong-wook (Take Off), Park Bo-young (Speed Scandal)

Best Producer: Yoon Je-kyun (Haeundae, JK Films)

Best Indie Film Director: Yang Ik-joon (Breathless)

Via Newsen, thanks to dramabeans.com

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July 28, 2010

Jang Jin-young's Widower Reveals Their Wedding Photos

Kim Young-kyun, the widower of the late actress Jang Jin-young, has unveiled some photos of Jang to mark the first anniversary of their marriage.

Kim wrote on his blog on Monday, "I have posted some of photos of our wedding to mark our first anniversary." They were married in a church in Las Vegas on July 26 last year.

"I think these will probably be the last photos of Jin-young that I can show you. I hope all of her fans remember her for a long time," he wrote.

Jang died of stomach cancer last September at the age of 36. Kim has published an essay that recounts her last days. He also revealed last month a video clip of their wedding ceremony, at an altar in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province where her remains are kept.

Source: englishnews@chosun.com

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July 28, 2010

The late actress Jang’s wedding photos disclosed

The husband of the late actress Jang Jin-young unveiled their wedding pictures to help her fans be reminded of her.

Kim Young-kyun on Sunday posted eight wedding photos on his homepage that had yet to be disclosed to the public.

“I have posted some pictures to commemorate [his and Jang’s] wedding anniversary,” he said. “These pictures will probably be the last ones of Jin-young that I can show.” He also left a touching message, ‘Please do not forget her forever.”

The couple held their wedding in a church within the vicinity of Las Vegas on July 26t last year. The wedding pictures show that Jang was wearing a pure white dress and holding a bouquet of bright red roses in a radiant smile that lit her face with joy.

In the photo with the couple’s shared kiss, anyone could see that Jang looked as though she was the happiest bride alive. Only her thin frame dampened the festival mood for her fans. Seen in other photos are the officiating pastor and the couples’ friends who make well-wishing gestures.

Upon viewing the photos, netizens said they “felt blue.” They left comments that solaced Kim and Jung, such as: “One year has passed by already,” “Jang in her wedding dress brings out beauty incomparable to other brides,” “She, who has left to a faraway place, is missed” and “I wish for both to reminisce your love for ever.”

Jang passed away last September at the age of 36, fighting stomach cancer.

Source: koreatimes.co.kr

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August 31, 2010

Jang Jin-young's "Wedding Video" to premiere on MBC Special

The MBC Special documentary on September 1st will be featuring the late actress Jang Jin Young's Vegas wedding & interview with her family and acquaintances as a tribute to her one-year anniversary.

Source: innolife.net

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Loved ones attend Jang Jin Young’s one year anniversary memorial

by Luigi on September 1, 2010 at 4:15 am

It has already been one year since the passing away of actress Jang Jin Young, who unfortunately died at age 37 after battling from an inevitable stomach cancer last September.

On the 1st September at 11am, Jang Jin Young’s loved ones came together once again to open her one year memorial at the Sky Castle Memorial Park in Gyeonggi-do.

Those present at the memorial included the actress’s husband Kim Young Kyun, her father Jang Gil Nam and her family, associates from her entertainment company Yedang Entertainment, and members of the actress’s fanclub J-Rose. They brought along flowers and words of remembrance, and released balloons into the sky in the hope for Jang Jin Young to eternally rest in peace.

The memorial commenced with a meditation led by her then manager Kim Han Chul. Letters written by members of J-Rose and her entertainment company were read out, which was followed by speeches from Jang Jin Young’s father and husband.

Her father Jang Nam Gil said, “Whenever I call out her name it feels like she would come running to me with her bright smile, but it has already been a year since time has passed. The saying ‘you bury your child in your heart’ is piercingly heart-breaking .” He continued, “For this past year, every time I came across little traces of you in each room, my heart collapsed into pieces.”

Lastly he finished his letter with, “I thank all the fans who have shown love for Jin Young and Jin Young’s dramas”, “Jin Young, I love you. I will love you forever.”

Her husband Kim Yong Kyun read aloud, “It has been one year since you left my side and the people who loved you. Time passes so thoughtlessly. Why do I feel so embarrassed living by myself without you. Whenever I think of you, all I can say is sorry.”

He continued, “I can’t see you again, you can’t come back to me but because of our beautiful memories together I can live on without forgetting you”, “I dream of meeting you again and loving you forever. I won’t say this is the last. I will just say goodbye and wait for the day I get to meet you again.”

To refreshen your memory, we shared a sweet love story of Jang Jin Young and her husband shortly after her death. It was while Jang Jin Young and Kim Yong Kyun were dating when the actress was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and persisted on breaking up with him without revealing the reason why. Kim Yong Kyun eventually found out and confessed that he wanted to stay with her until the end.

Jang’s father said after the memorial, “After one year, I can feel how important your own child is, and how well she took care of me. I regret not taking better care of her. What gets me the most is when I was against her going into acting. There was another time when I told her to just cut her hair with scissors, and when she went into acting I was too busy to give her attention due to work. Sometimes I think, if I let her do what she wanted a bit earlier, would we still have come to this conclusion today.”

Actress Jang Jin Young gained popularity from her works, including movies ‘Scent of Chrysanthemums’, ‘Singles’ and ‘Blue Swallow’.

Source: allkpop.com and images from nate.news.com

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November 12, 2010

Founder of largest English K-pop site 'Soompi'

Korean-American web developer creates first global online community devoted to K-pop, Asian entertainment

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

Main page of the ultimate K-pop site “Soompi”

If you’re looking for news about a SuperJunior concert, reviews for a 2NE1 album, recaps of Korean drama "Sungkyunkwan Scandal" or simply anything about Korean entertainment, chances are you’ll find it on Soompi.com.

Soompi.com is the oldest and currently the largest English-language online community devoted to Korean and Asian entertainment, with a million unique visitors every month.

Soompi has come a long way from its early days as a personal online shrine devoted to K-pop started by Korean-American Susan Kang in 1998.

"I had recently graduated from college with nothing much to do. As a recent fan of both K-pop and the Internet (AOL was all the rage), I noticed that there weren't any English-language sites devoted to Korean pop music or TV dramas, so I purchased a book called `Make Your Own Website with Microsoft Word '97’, and the rest, as they say, is history," Kang said, now a 35-year-old mother living in Irvine, Calif., in an email interview with The Korea Times.

Kang’s original site, Soompitown, was fairly simple. She would just upload photos of her favorite K-pop acts like H.O.T., S.E.S., Shinhwa and FinKL and English translations of Korean magazine articles, as well as post CD audio samples and her own album reviews. Basically, Kang ran the website out of "love" for K-pop.

(If you’re wondering about the meaning of Soompi, it simply refers to a nickname that a roommate’s family gave Kang in college.)

In the early 2000s, hallyu or the Korean wave began spreading around Asia and international fans discovered Soompi, the first website that actually provided English-language information about their favorite Korean stars.

Soon Soompi became more and more popular, requiring more servers and more technical expertise. A team of volunteers helped moderate the forums and post content on the website, but Kang, who also worked full-time as a web developer, was running the website on her own as a hobby and it was starting to feel burdensome.

For one, it was getting expensive to pay for the server fees out of her own pocket, although it was partially funded by member donations and small ad buys.

Then came the fateful day, Oct. 5, 2005, when the entire Soompi website crashed. Its entire database of 80,000 members and millions of forum posts was gone. "I seriously thought of just making that the end of Soompi, as I'd been running the site as a hobby for seven years at that point, and was paying for the servers completely out of my own pocket," she said.

"The turning point was when we re-opened an empty forum with 0 members and 0 posts, and within 5 days, we already had 40,000 members. That's when I knew that Soompi was bigger and more important than just one person's hobby."

Soon, it became apparent that a more serious, business-oriented approach to Soompi was needed.

In 2006, Joyce Lan Kim, a lawyer then working for technology firms in Silicon Valley, joined Soompi to handle the business side, albeit on a part-time basis.

"I joined the company, working on advertising and thinking of ways the company can break even. Susan never started this with business in mind. It was always just about fun. It was about bringing K-pop to the people. But how we make this sustainable is our job," Kim told The Korea Times at a coffee shop in downtown Seoul, last week.

Last year, Kang and Kim both decided to leave their full-time jobs and focus on Soompi.

The 33 year old Kim, who studied at Cornell and Harvard universities and received a law degree from Columbia University, had no second thoughts giving up a law career. She sees Soompi as a good business opportunity with K-pop’s potential to expand around the world.

Soompi is may not yet be profitable, but there is no doubt it is an Internet success with 500,000 registered members, and attracts over one million unique visitors every month (``That's like a small city,'' Kim quipped.) Revenues are currently generated from ads, premium membership and affiliate programs, but not enough for the company to break even.

There may be other K-pop websites that attract more hits, but Soompi has the most activity among community members, such as posting content and comments on the site. "Our success comes from covering such a wide variety of topics - not only the latest K-pop news, but Korean dramas and variety shows, original fan fiction, our own member-run shops, beauty & fashion, among so much more," Kang said.

Aside from sections on entertainment news, fan clubs and beauty & fashion, Soompi also has its own weekly music chart and annual contests, such as Soompi Idol, Soompi Dance Idol, Soompi Ulzzang, fan fiction writing and graphics contests.

All contests were originally started by Soompi members themselves. This year, Soompi Ulzzang Contest, a modeling competition for Soompi members, has become an official event and sponsored by Korean entertainment company Sidus HQ.

Member feedback is invaluable to keeping Soompi relevant. Whenever new features are launched, Soompi looks at the comments from members and makes the appropriate tweaks. Members can also vote for which Soompi fan clubs should be created next, as well as recommend new forums and sub-forums.

Soompi is working to make the site more user-friendly. "It's not a hobby anymore. We have to do it for real. Functionality is very important for us. We are definitely working on making it easier to use, and on getting great content," Kim said.

In terms of technical innovations, the Soompi Street Teams Twitter application is being launched. This will make it easier for fans to get their favorite K-pop idols on Twitter’s top trending topics.

"We wanted to make it easier for everybody to join together and tweet in support of their celebs. Twitter is not just for K-pop, because it's for everyone... Each time a K-pop celebrity ends up as a Twitter topic, people go, `who is this guy?’ Like when (SuperJunior member) Kim Hee-chul was trending on Twitter, everyone was talking about him... We can expose more people to the world of K-pop," Kim said.

An Asian website

Soompi is no longer just devoted to Korean pop music, but Asian pop and entertainment in general. It is also very much a global community, with most members from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia.

The majority or 81 percent of Soompi members are Asian, while 8 percent are white, 5 percent are multi-ethnic and the rest are African-American, Hispanic and other ethnicities. The most surprising fact was 60 to 80 percent of the non-Asian groups said they "know some Korean."

"It’s mostly non-Koreans, as opposed to 7 or 8 years ago when majority were Korean-Americans. Now Korean Americans are a minority on the site. We have ever growing number of people who are not even Asian. We have Caucasians, African-Americans, Middle East, Latin American, South East Asians," Kim said.

Soompi stands out because of its tight-knit community and its members. "Soompi is very community-focused, not just information or gossip-focused. It feels like home to many, and there are many members who have literally grown up on the site ― from Junior High to High School to College to getting married and having children," Kang said.

Noticeably, the Soompi forums are relatively free from the anti-fans and trolls who frequent K-pop websites to post vitriolic comments that rile up fans.

"I think our biggest defining feature is our members. Our members are the ones who do the subtitles, episode recaps and organize fan meetings," Kim said. "We have good members."

Future of Kpop & Soompi

Perhaps it is not an exaggeration to say that Soompi has helped give a boost to K-pop and Korean entertainment’s popularity among English speakers.

But while K-pop is undeniably big in Asia, there is yet to be a real K-pop breakthrough in the U.S., despite attempts by Rain, Wonder Girls and Se7en. "Honestly, I'm not sure if the U.S. is ready to accept Asians as idols, as Asians are still widely portrayed as awkward geeks or kung fu masters on TV and film, but I do believe it's just a matter of 'when', not 'if'. I hope it's sooner than later," Kang said.

Looking back, Kang admitted being constantly amazed and inspired by the level of commitment and amount of time people will willingly volunteer to support their favorite idols. "Passion will drive people to do crazy and wonderful things," she said.

In the future, Soompi hopes to leverage its brand value as the oldest K-pop online resource, and to continue fanning the flames of K-pop and Asian pop fever around the world.

"In 10 years, I'll be 45 years old. I hope by then, the Soompi community will still be going strong, with the love for Korean and Asian pop being passed to a much wider audience. We'll still be providing the best place for people to express their fandom and meet others who share their passion," Kang said.

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January 2, 2011

Soompi.com shows Hallyu where to go

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

Soompi.com is the world’s biggest English-language online community dedicated to Korean pop culture. It boasts some 1.4 million visitors daily. More importantly, 90 percent of its members are non-Koreans.

The website is widely regarded as a promising social network venture that has secured a solid user base on the strength of Korean cultural content. Softbank of Japan has already invested in Soompi.com and other investors are lining up amid the outlook that the website will emerge as a key gateway to Asian pop culture for English-speaking audiences.

Soompi.com CEO Joyce Kim, who lives in San Francisco, said in an interview that Hallyu is still in the early stages of growth internationally and the website would help foster its development online as “the central online activity hub for all fans of Hallyu and Asian pop.”

Joyce Kim

As for Hallyu, Kim noted that the near absence of a legitimate distribution of Korean pop content is a serious problem that is often neglected by Koreans.

The following are excerpts from the e-mail interview with Kim.

Korea Herald: How did Soompi.com start, and how did you get involved in the site?

Joyce Kim: Soompi was started by my co-founder Susan Kang in 1998 as her own personal website dedicated to her interest in Korean dramas and music. During the initial first few years, Susan would scan Korean entertainment magazine articles, translate them into English and post them on the site. Slowly, a community began to grow around the site and Susan soon had people volunteering to help with the site. As the first Hallyu wave began to grow, the site also began to grow. Soon, there were hundreds of thousands of visitors each month.

I met Susan because she is the older sister of my best friend from law school. We initially started to work together on Soompi in 2006 when the site growth was really taking off which meant server expenses were also taking off. I was helping Susan set up the advertising system on the site and eventually we decided to officially create a company and work on Soompi together. At first, we both kept our full-time jobs (Susan as a coder and me as a lawyer) and worked on Soompi during our nights and weekends. But by the end of 2008, the site was so active that it was obvious that the site needed more support. We made the decision to leave our jobs in 2009 and work on Soompi full-time.

KH: If you define Soompi.com, what is it?

Kim: Soompi is an online fan community for Hallyu. Soompi’s greatest strength lies in our members. Ninety-nine percent of the content on Soompi is user-generated content so our members are the ones who find the information to share and discuss. They spend a great deal of time online answering each other’s questions. No amount of money or marketing can create the organic community that sites like Soompi have.

KH: Who are Soompi members?

Kim: Soompi members are mostly young Americans of many different backgrounds (Asian, Caucasian, black and Latino) followed by people in their teens and 20s in South East Asia (Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, etc). They are typically very fashionable and up on the latest trends since they follow entertainment so closely. When they come to Soompi, they are often looking for the latest news about Hallyu and to meet other passionate fans. Hallyu fans love to work together to do events and share their love for their idols.

KH: What aspect of Hallyu appeals to Soompi members?

Kim: Soompi members love the celebrities ― their personalities, their visuals, their songs ― all of it. In fact, many of our members (90 percent of whom are not Korean) have started to learn Korean to better understand the music and dramas. Hallyu has definitely started to grow beyond its typical Asian boundaries. I think we will see Hallyu spread to the U.S., Latin America and Europe in 2011. However, for Hallyu to be truly successful abroad, Korean entertainment companies need to better understand international fans better ― this is important for creating new fans and reaching out to new markets.

KH: What can Korean websites and firms interested in Hallyu learn from Soompi?

Kim: I would say two differences between Soompi and Korean sites are 1) we really take into consideration the community’s desires when we build new products ― meaning oftentimes we look at community feedback first when thinking about new features and 2) we push out features before they are 100 percent perfect ― sometimes it means it has bugs, but it also means we can get our full community reaction quickly and fix or change things as needed.

For entertainment firms working in the Hallyu industry, it is important to make the music and drama content easily available for international fans. People in Korea do not realize how hard it is for international fans to buy the music and dramas legally ― there are not good options available. If entertainment firms made their content for easily available for international purchase, then more international fans would buy the content. But at the moment, we cannot even easily register on Korean websites.

KH: To create new and successful services based on social network service, what should and shouldn’t Korean venture startups do?

Kim: I see many Korean startups that are testing or half-heartedly targeting the global market. The decision whether to go global should be made early as it significantly impacts the kind of team that needs to be built and the product. If you are building an SNS service targeting the international market, then you should create your team abroad.

KH: What was the purpose of your latest visit to Seoul, and what did you feel when you were in Seoul?

Kim: I visit Seoul at least once a year to meet with Korean entertainment companies and Korean Internet startups. On the entertainment front, there is strong interest in online and social media strategy from the entertainment companies. This is one of the big growth opportunities for Hallyu. But I think Korean entertainment companies will need to hire people with international Internet experience to really open that opportunity.

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May 16, 2011

Late Actress Jang Jin Young’s Memorial Hall Opens on May 14

Source: KBS Global

"A chrysanthemum under a high autumn sky sleeps the eternal sleep. Even though we cannot see her graceful appearance again in person, she will stay forever as a delicate scent in every person’s mind who loves her.”

Actress Jang Jin Young died with stomach cancer in September, 2009, and the three-thousand square meter memorial hall for commemorating her sprit was built and opened in Imsil-gun in Jeollabukdo province on May 14. The memorial hall has been built by his father Jang Gil Nam (78), who wanted to let her rest in peace in a remote mountain village with clean air.

The 240 square meter exhibition displays her possessions such as her diary, costumes, and accessories, and things related to movie to present her life with movies during her lifetime. In particular, a scholarship foundation was established to keep her will to help poor students with 1.1 billion-funding and the foundation’s office has placed right beside the memorial place. The late Jang Jin Young had helped poor students for a long time. The office will be also used as a study room for children living in the village.

The scholarship foundation has selected excellent students in academy and arts among high school and university students from the village since last year and has given scholarship to those students. Her father Jang Gil Nam said, “During the financial crisis in 1997, our family was on the verge of bankruptcy, but we could overcome the bad financial difficulties with Jin Young’s every help both materially and spiritually. She had shown great love to her family members, so I have decided to establish this memorial place as my last present to her as her parents.”On the opening ceremony held on May 14 with her family members and close friends attending, short introduction about her was given, the memorial stone was unveiled, and the scholarship was provide to students.

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August 29, 2011

Kim Young Kyun reflects on life after the death of wife/actress Jang Jin Young

by VITALSIGN allkpop.com

Kim Young Kyun, the husband of the late actress Jang Jin Young, recently guested on MBC Life’s ‘After History‘ and talked about his life after the death of his wife.

Jang Jin Young passed away from cancer on September 1st, 2009. Kim stayed by her side throughout the entire ordeal, even marrying her in private in the States. Kim said, “I remember happily preparing for our marriage with her in the States. She never once lost hope even while battling cancer.”

When asked why he married her, he replied, “I fell in love with her at first sight and we promised to love each other eternally so her sickness was never a problem. I wanted to become a source of strength for her because she was fighting something so big on her own.”

Kim went on to reveal that he still spent their anniversaries at her memorial. “She still comes to visit me in my dreams so I’ve been living life happily so far. I still miss her a lot when I go to places we went to together or eat her favorite foods.”

Source + Photos: TV Daily via Nate

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June 18, 2012
The late Jang Jin-yeong's husband wishes her "Happy Birthday" in the skySource: enews24 via hancinema.net

Husband Kim Yeong-gun celebrated the birthday of the late Jang Jin-yeong.
On her birthday which was on the 14th, Kim posted on his mini homepage, "Happy Birthday". There were still races of Jang on Kim's homepage.
Her beauty fills the homepage and the pictures in the albums are of her in her wedding dress and other beautiful ones to cherish her memory.
On the day of her birthday, many came by the homepage to commemorate her. They posted, "Happy Birthday, I hope you are well there. I believe your husband is praying for you. We won't ever forget you and your smile", "It seemed like time had stopped but it's already your third birthday from the heavens. We love you and Happy Birthday" and more.
Meanwhile, Jang Jin-yeong passed away with stomach cancer on the 1st of September, 2009 at the age of thirty-six.

[PeerNorway]

It truly breaks my heart to find out that Mrs. Jang Ji Young have already passed away. I just watched the movie "Over the Rainbow" (2002) and I liked her in this movie. I wanted to find out if I could find more about her and movies she had starred in.... She did leave me with quite an impression, and as I looked through this tread a few tears come as this is so sad. 
Rest in peace Mrs. Jang Ji Young - gone too soon....

[PeerNorway]

By the way, I am hoping that Mr. Kim Young-kyun's book "My Last Gift to Her" 그녀에게 보내는 마지막 선물 will be released in English as I would love to read their love story.

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September 1, 2014
Jang Jin Young 5th Anniversary

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August 14, 2015

Sensitive era scares off audiences and filmmakers

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

A peculiar curse exists in Korea’s movie industry: Films set in the Japanese colonial era (1910-45) never make it.

Notably, there was Kang Je-kyu’s ambitious Korean-Chinese war drama “My Way” (2011), set in 1938, starring Jang Dong-gun, Joe Odagiri and Fan Bing Bing, which attracted a disappointing 2.1 million moviegoers.

Considering its international stellar cast and jaw-dropping 2.8 billion won ($2.4 million) production cost, the outcome was far below expectations. 

Comedy flick “Radio Days” (2008) and romance film “Modern Boy” (2008), both of which were set in the 1930s, also took in a dreadful 214,946 and 758,473 admissions, respectively.

Critics say the depressing mood and sense of defeat pervasive in the era scare away cinemagoers, who are looking for entertainment at the theaters. 

Of course, there are always exceptions.

In theaters now is Choi Dong-hoon’s latest historical action flick, “Assassination,” set in 1933, which has been seen by more than nine million moviegoers as of Wednesday. 

Generating buzz for its nice portrayal of major historical facts and Choi’s signature fast-paced editing, the highly entertaining “Assassination” is on the verge of hitting the monumental 10 million mark, easily surpassing its break-even point of seven million admissions.

By depicting a stumbling yet glorious assassination scheme carried out by Korean independence fighters, the film is also said to be resonating in the current atmosphere in Korea where a sour sentiment toward its neighbor to the east still remains. 

But in most other past cases, the jinx holds true. 

“People don’t want to remember the era where Korea was under Japanese control,” explains culture critic Ha Jae-keun. “Those who go to theaters to find something entertaining aren’t interested in films set in this gloomy era.”

This also explains why films set in the final years of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) have also failed to win the hearts of the public. 

Representatively, “Gabi” (2012) and “The Sword With No Name” (2009) flopped, despite depicting the dynamic lives of well-known historical figures King Gojong (1852-1919) and his first wife, Empress Myeongseong (1851-1895), who was put to death by the Japanese. 

Meanwhile, Kim Jee-woon’s “The Good, The Bad, The Weird” achieved an unusual level success. This is likely because the film was made in an entertaining way, and there was no mention of Japanese colonization . 

“Events happening in that film could be cut out and placed into any time of the history and it would still work,” said film critic Hwang Young-mee.

Sometimes, the sullen sentiment towards the Japanese government surfaces in the public’s reaction to films set in the era. In “Blue Shallow” (2005), the late actress Jang Jin-young played Park Kyung-won, the first Korean female pilot, who had attended a Japanese flying school.

However, once the film began to be perceived as pro-Japanese, it led to the launch of an online petition against seeing movie. The film’s box office sales topped out at 543,597 admissions.

“The film itself was pretty well-made, but the social sentiment didn’t support it,” said Hwang.

However, Hwang believes the era should continue to be “excavated.”

“The Japanese colonial era contains an indefinite source of stories, because Korea was going through uneven development, having both sophisticated culture brought in by intellectuals who studied abroad while also having an underdeveloped side with many people still suffering from exploitation,” she said.

“Just as the Chinese keep making films about the frustration and sense of loss they felt when they lost the Second Sino-Japanese War, we should think about how to revive past events to find valuable meaning and relevance to present-day audiences.” 

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]