[News] Drama, Movies, Actors & Actresses

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May 20, 2010

Lee Min-ho's "Personal Taste" sells to 3rd world countries

Reporter.Park Kun-ouc Editor.Lynn Kim

Official poster for TV series "Personal Taste" [MBC]

Korean actor Lee Min-ho is proving his Hallyu star status with his recent TV series "Personal Taste" selling to five countries in the Third World.

According to an industry source on Thursday, the MBC Wednesday-Thursday drama has been sold to United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Jordan, Venezuela and Mexico.

"These countries are very interested in Lee Min-ho's exotic looks in particular," the source was quoted as saying. "They are even asking if he is really Korean." He also added that Lee is "likely to further solidify his position as a major Hallyu influence during the latter half of the year" as the overseas broadcast could bring about a new generation of Korean Wave craze, even if the series had only sold for a moderate price.

So far, the only Korean drama to have been exported to South America or Middle East was MBC's 2004 hit "Jewel in the Palace", which starred top Korean actress Lee Young-ae.

Lee, 22, became a household name in Korea and throughout Asia last year with the success of KBS drama "Boys Over Flowers". In "Taste", he played a man pretending to be gay in order to move in with a female roommate, played by Korean actress Son Ye-jin.

Reporter : Park Kun-ouc kun1112@ Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@ <ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved> 10.asiae.co.kr

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May 19, 2010

Actress Park tries on 70s-era heroine for size

Coming fresh off a rom-com TV series, Park Jin-hee evades the fluffy genre with her latest small screen role; a vengeance-driven heroine in the SBS epic “Giant.”

“My character, Jung-youn, is an ambitious woman who finds success as a loan shark,” the 32-year-old actress revealed at the drama’s press conference on May 4. “Part of the reason why I signed on for this project is because I haven‘t done a piece set in the past,” she explained, referencing the backdrop of “Giant,” which centers on the 1970s. “In the past I have played lots of bright and upbeat characters so I was very charmed by this character, which is unlike anything I have done before.”

What Park says is true, if you don’t count her stint as a Joseon-period court maid in the historical horror flick “Shadows in the Palace” (2007). Furthermore, her career is peppered with memorable rom-coms. Remember her pseudo-amnesiac romanticist in “Lost and Found” (2008), or her turn as an older woman trapped in a younger woman’s body in “Please Come Back, Soon-Ae” (2006)?

In contrast, her character in “Giant” resembles something of a cross between The Bride in “Kill Bill” and Scarlett O‘Hara. She is a strong warrior woman with a mission.

Actress Park Jin-hee takes on a new role in SBS’ Monday and Tuesday night series

“Giant,” which started airing on May 10. (SBS)

Having recently starred in a veritable ratings flop -- MBC’s saccharine “Still Marry Me,” which brought in an average viewer rating of 5.8 percent -- Park could use a change, a departure from her previous heroine, the indomitable reporter Sin-young, a career woman who eventually allowed herself to be wooed by the much younger Min-jae (Kim Bum).

“Sin-young from ‘Still Marry Me’ was bright, cheery and adorable but also easy-going and professional when it came to work,” said Park. “But this time around, I play a character from when she is 22 to when she turns 40. The period that the series takes place in is different and her personality is entirely different. She is a really cold woman and harbors very different ambitions from Sin-young.”

The heroine Park describes is Hwang Jung-youn, the daughter of a construction company chairman, a tragic figure whose romantic other half, Lee Kang-mo (Lee Beom-soo), turns out to be the son of the man her father murdered.

Ill-fated love is not the only misfortune to befall her. Intent on becoming the heiress to her father’s business, she loses it to a former suitor. In true warrior woman-form, this heroine rises to the occasion and finds her true calling as a loan shark. “I have been going to bookstores,” Park said of how she is prepping for her role. “But, to be honest, there aren’t many texts on loan sharks. There can’t be. So, of course, there is a limit to what books I can get but since I haven’t any real experience in this field, I am trying to get some indirect know-how on the matter.”

In addition to hitting bookstores, Park is also thinking about cutting her hair later on to highlight her character’s transition from a 22-year old to a 40-year old. “I think it will be good to change my hairstyle to show that time has passed,” she explained. Park, however, has plenty of time to think about what kind of coif she wants. The grown-up Jung-youn won’t make her appearance until the eighth or ninth episode of “Giant.” 　

When she does make her grand entrance, Park promises to bring something new to the table: “Because she harbors ambitions for success, I think she will present a radically different persona.” 　

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldm.com) koreaherald.com

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May 20, 2010

"Poetry" wins rave reviews at Cannes screening

Reporter.Ko Kyoung-seok Editor.Lucia Hong

The cast and director of "Poetry" at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival [Asia Economic Daily]

Korean film "Poetry," competing at the Cannes Film Festival this year, won favorable reviews at its first screenings yesterday.

The movie was first screened in the morning at the Grand Theatre Lumiere attended by some 2,000 viewers composed of film journalists and industry officials from around the world.

Most of the audience remained until the ending credits went up despite its long running time of 139 minutes although a few people were seen exiting the theater toward the end of the film. “The running time was a bit long but overall, the movie stood out and Yoon Jung-hee’s acting in particular was great,” explained a French reporter in his 40s.

Another journalist, a German man in his 30s, complimented Yoon's acting adding, "I think she'll be a strong candidate for best actress." Later in the day, "Poetry" was shown at the Gala screening where it received an eight-minute standing ovation once the ending credits began to roll and continued until director Lee Chang-dong and actress Yoon Jung-hee left the theatre.

The film attracted a lengthier applause than its Korean competitor "The Housemaid" which received four to five minutes of accolade during its Gala screening the previous day. An associate from the production company of "Poetry" was quoted saying, "We got great reviews from both screenings. The cast of the movie will be attending the after party and be able to talk with the viewers."

Film critics and reporters present at the Gala screening gave the movie high marks, going as far to say it is a strong candidate for the prestigious Palme d'Or award, as well as its heroine for the best actress title.

"Poetry," helmed by noted filmmaker Lee Chang-dong, is about Mija (played by Yoon) who takes poetry classes and writes her own poems while battling Alzheimer's disease.

The cast and director of "Poetry" at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival [Asia Economic Daily]

Reporter : Ko Kyoung-seok kave@ Editor : Lucia Hong luciahong@ <ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved> 10.asiae.co.kr

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May 20, 2010

[iNTERVIEW] Yoon Jeong-hee: Part 1-3

Yoon Jeong-hee says "'Poetry' is worthy of winning best picture at Cannes"

Senior Reporter.Kang Myoung-Seok Photographer.Chae ki-won Editor.Lynn Kim, Lee Ji-Hye

Veteran Korean actress Yoon Jeong-hee [photographed by Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Here is a truly unbelievable story that one must believe. When Yoon Jeong-hee was at the peak of her popularity in her career, she won an award at a film festival and went on a car parade in downtown Seoul. And what is even more unbelievable is that she left that popularity behind and left for France as she had planned. She was the biggest star to have graced the history of Korean film, an actress who keeps getting scripts even after she went to France and still has a fan club. And she chose director Lee Chang-dong's "Poetry" as her comeback movie, her first in fifteen years. What kind of a life does this actress live? We asked Yoon Jeong-hee about her life and her films.

Q: You have been doing a lot of interviews with the press in time with the opening of film "Poetry." This kind of an experience is a first for you, isn't it?

Yoon: It is a first. When I was at the top of my game, I didn't have time and in many cases, reporters would come to the set or come in groups. But with this movie, I felt like it was my responsibility to truly inform people about this wonderful movie rather than just loving "Poetry" and leaving it after I had finished my work as an actress. I am learning a lot of new things doing interviews with new people, so I like it.

Q: You must be truly satisfied with "Poetry." (laugh)

Yoon: Of course I was. Once you see the film, you will agree with what I am saying. "Poetry" is competing at Cannes and if I were one of the judges, I would seriously give the best picture award to "Poetry." It is worthy of winning best picture, unless another incredibly amazing movie comes out.

Actress Yoon Jeong-hee [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Q: That incredibly amazing movie is probably "Poetry." How did you meet director Lee Chang-dong?

Yoon: I try to watch as many good movies as I can. So, of course, I tried to watch all the movies directed by Lee Chang-dong. When I used to serve as a judge at numerous film festivals, I would often watch films on a big movie screen but, unfortunately, I saw Lee Chang-dong's movies all on DVDs. When I was watching them, I would think 'Wow, what an incredible director he is.'

Q: What was the most impressive film out of all of Lee Chang-dong's movies?

Yoon: "Poetry." (laugh)

Q: Haha. How did director Lee Chang-dong convince you to appear in "Poetry"?

Yoon: He didn't try to convince me at all. One day he asked me and my husband to have dinner with him and his wife. So the four of us met, had dinner and went to a coffee shop afterwards. And there he told me that he has something to tell me. He said he was writing a script with me in mind and that he had a heavy heart not telling me about it. When he told me that, my husband and I were like "Oh!", we were so happy. I didn't ask him what it was about and I didn't know anything about the story, I just told him I would do it. You know how kids these days say, "It was moving." (laugh) That is exactly how I felt.

Q: It would not be an exaggeration to say that the you pretty much lead the entire film. There were many parts in the movie that must have been hard for you as an actress. How did you feel when you got the script?

Yoon: When I read the script, I saw that I had to lead over 90 percent of the film which means that I had as much responsibility. But I really loved the script and the role of Mi-ja was so appealing. I hoped that the audience would start dreaming their dreams and live their lives in beauty while watching this film. Of course, some enormous incidents happen in the movie, but life doesn't come with just peaceful and beautiful things, does it?

Actress Yoon Jeong-hee [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Q: But it must have been quite hard for you to play Mi-ja. In your previous film like "The Fog," there was a much stronger theatrical feel to the acting style of those times But actors nowadays try to act as naturally as they can. And director Lee Chang-dong, in particular, asks his actors to do natural acting.

Yoon: This film is not a melodrama nor does it contain any suspense or erotic elements. The film required diverse and delicate acting, not an extremely strong performance. And you know how director Lee Chang-dong makes his films extremely realistically. From the set design down to every little decoration, even the extras have to act naturally, like an ordinary person. So I needed to work on doing that kind of acting. Sometimes I would get an okay sign after one or two takes but once, when things were going tough, I had to do thirty-five takes. But there is no such thing as everything running 100 percent smoothly in making a film. When you are struggling to make a scene work, the joy of finding the solution during the process makes you happy, doesn't it? It wasn't easy to act naturally but I had great chemistry with the crew and director Lee Chang-dong so it wasn't painful. I think we kept on communicating with one another and came up with results little by little rather than just searching for one right answer.

Q: Which scene took you thirty-five takes to shoot?

Yoon: There is a scene where I meet another lady and have to tell her unpleasant things. But at that point in time, Mi-ja happens to be very soaked in romanticism and even seems like someone who is living a fantasy. Such a moment could happen in real life but it could also be very unrealistic, and it was very hard for me to act that out naturally like my character Mi-ja would.

Yoon Jeong-hee says "I live with the hope that I will meet a film that tells the story of my life"

Veteran Korean actress Yoon Jeong-hee [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Q: What did director Lee Chang-dong tell you about your acting?

Yoon: I really liked how he coached me on my acting. He wrote the script, directed the film and even offered various ideas of Mi-ja that he had imagined of. During my conversations with director Lee Chang-dong, I was able to see a side of Yoon Jeong-hee that I had not known about. We talked a lot and got along very well, so we were able to work hard on the film. Even in the scene that I shot thirty-five times, I could keep immersing myself into the character because I had something in common with her. Like Mi-ja, I too sometimes lose myself and become self-absorbed. (laugh) Another similarity is that I don't take anything in life for granted, not even the smallest thing, and I can lose myself in the beauty of it.

Q: But Mi-ja's and your life look completely different on the outside. Your character is around your age but she is a very different woman. How did you try to approach Mi-ja as an actress?

Yoon: I didn't think about it in that way -- I just tried to approach her depending on how I felt about her, from moment to moment. Of course, I did all the research before the shoot but I think I was faithful to those momentary feelings on the set. When I stand in front of the camera, I fall into a reverie like I am dreaming. Maintaining that feeling really helped me a lot. I still live my life with certain delusions.

Actress Yoon Jeong-hee [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Q: Delusions about what?

Yoon: About my age! (laugh) Of course, the gap between my mental age and physical age shouldn't be too wide. (laugh) But back when I was in school, I would read a book and totally become the character, feeling that I was her and swimming in my own thoughts. (laugh) In my debut film "Youth Theater", I first became immersed with the main character by reading the book, thinking she was a very charming woman. I think those kind of thoughts helped me a lot when I later shot the film.

Q: You said that your heart still pounds when you see a flower. Even back then, you were a sensitive little girl.

Yoon: Who doesn't like flowers? (laugh) And for me, my heart doesn't pound, I scream in joy. (laugh)

Q: So then have you ever written a poem yourself?

Yoon: Only when I was in school. (laugh) But I did give many recitations of poetry. I even put out a poetry recitation record where I recited [Korea's famous poet] Midang Seo Jeong-ju's poems. Sir Midang adored me and my husband so much and we wanted to repay him for his love. So my husband [famed concert pianist Paik Kun-woo] played the piano and I read his poems. Before we recorded the recitations, I studied the poems with Sir Midang. And when the record came out, he really loved it. His poems are so wonderful to read out loud. Before I went into shooting for "Poetry," I had ten poetry books beside my bed and read them. One of the poems that really touched my heart was a poem by the poet Kim Yong-taek. I loved it because the more I would read it, the more comfortable it felt and I was surprised when he appeared in the film. And I was also very surprised that he acted so well. (laugh)

Q: But most people, as they get older, find it hard to maintain that sensitivity which makes them feel moved when they read poetry. In that sense, I think you have lived a very different kind of life compared to other people.

Yoon: I think it is in my nature. Comparing my movie-making days in Korea and my current life in France, I don't think much has changed. Only the atmosphere of the country and my friends has changed a bit. Because even back when I was a movie star, I was only an actress when I was standing in front of the camera. When I walked out of the studio, I always went back to my real self and to my real name Son Mi-ja. That Mi-ja person has not changed in either country and I think I was able to keep that part of me all these years. If I hadn't, it would have been very uncomfortable.

Actress Yoon Jeong-hee [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Q: Most stars have to maintain their image as a star in their personal life.

Yoon: That wasn't the case for me. (laugh) Even my acting days weren't glamourous at all. It was the fans who made me into a star and in my heart, I didn't even regard myself as a big star. My name is Son Mi-ja and there is a reason I made my stage name Yoon Jeong-hee. Back then and even now, people think of acting as some incredibly fancy profession and I wanted to stay quiet and grounded even when I went into such profession. So 'Jeong' stands for tranquility [in Chinese characters] and 'Hee' stands for female. And I chose the last name Yoon because I had a friend who was really pretty and kind and her family name was Yoon. So I took her name without even asking for her permission. (laugh)

Q: It seems like you were dreaming of a life of your own, not a glamorous life as an actress. In one of your interviews, you said that you were determined to quit acting after five years, but then you did it for two more years and left the business.

Yoon: Being an actor was not my original dream. It just happened. I originally wanted to continue studying and become a college professor or a diplomat. I was going to do it for just five years and then go to the U.S. to study. But back then, it was the heyday of Korean films and I was able to shoot all these incredible movies. So it became very hard for me to leave so I did it for seven years. Then in 1972, I went to Paris with director Shin Sang-ok to track down a movie and that is when I realized that Paris is where I should be, not the U.S. I needed to go to Paris, where the Lumiere brothers made films.

Q: But you made your acting debut in the film "Youth Theater" where the competition for the lead actress was 1200 to 1. In a situation like that, don't you usually need to have a strong desire to be an actress? (laugh)

Yoon: My friends told me about the casting call for Oh Yu-kyung in the film "Youth Theater," so I just went in and auditioned. (laugh) Actually, they had a screen test at the end of the interview and I heard someone say that the producers had already decided to cast someone. And I happened to be an extremely proud person, which is one of my flaws. (laugh) So when I heard that, I just walked out in the middle of my audition. I was taking a walk by the Han River and somebody talked me into going back to finish the audition. So I went back, did the screen test and got the part.

Actress Yoon Jeong-hee [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Q: You were spunky. (laugh) For you to think like that at such a young age, your parents must have instilled a tremendous amount of confidence in you when they raised you.

Yoon: My father was an incredible romanticist. He told me it was his dream to send me to France and my younger siblings to the U.S. And his dreams came true eventually. And when we started kindergarten, he had us learn dancing and singing which helped a lot when I was acting. I did ballet and traditional Korean dance, my body knew how to move when I was doing dancing scenes in my movies.

Q: Wow, surely it couldn't have been easy to do that back in those days.

Yoon: My father went to Tokyo to study abroad. He went to law school in Japan and he took a lot of pictures with actors when he was studying there. (laugh) He didn't want to be an actor himself but he was very interested in that world.

Q: And you also have a lot of interest in romanticism and art, like your father. (laugh) It wasn't your goal to be an actress or a star.

Yoon: Yes. When I was busy working as an actress, I didn't have a personal life. When I go outside, girls would mob me and men would write letters in their blood. (laugh) I was grateful for that kind of adoration but I didn't have any freedom. So I went to France to find my freedom and studied film. And whenever I got a good script, I would come to Korea and shoot the movie. Even after I got married, I did about twenty movies. (laugh) How wonderful is that? Life isn't all about being young, whether you are a man or a woman. Look how beautiful life is for me, a ninety-year-old woman living a fabulous life. I think about how I can spend my time here beautifully and live with the hope that I will meet a film that tells the story of my life.

Q: In that respect, the films that you chose after you went to France must have more special meaning to you.

Yoon: That is right. Because I shot just one film at a time over the years. I wanted to do just one movie at a time, cherish them more and dig deeper into them. And after I did the film "Manmoobang" [in 1994], I got a lot of offers from all kinds of industry people for fifteen years. But I had saved myself and waited for something good to come along, and I got a wonderful film like this one. (laugh) After I had decided to leave for France to find my freedom, every film I did felt more precious to me. An actor is someone who re-enacts life and I started thinking that I would never leave this field until I die.

Actress Yoon Jeong-hee [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Q: How does living in a country like France influence you in maintaining that kind of sensitivity?

Yoon: I don't think living in France has an enormously huge effect. It's just that Paris is the city of art. There are so many exhibitions, so many concerts and you have so much freedom living in Paris. Nobody interferes with your personal life. I suppose such freedom could influence you. My husband and I travel to all parts of the world but when we get back to Paris, there is definitely a certain vibe about the city. What influences me the most is my family. What makes it possible for me to do this is because my family is more into film than I am and they love it when I make good movies.

Q: When you were working on "Poetry," I heard that you practiced acting in front of Sir Paik Kun-woo for the first time ever.

Yoon: I never did that before. (laugh) Because I could do it by myself then. But there was one scene that I wanted to do really well in and I needed another person to act in that scene. I always work hard but I worked particularly hard for this movie. On the contrary, my husband and I talk a lot about his music. When he is making a set list for his concerts, he is like, 'Do you want to hear this?' and plays it for me. He regards me as an audience who likes classical music and asks me what I think. Of course, when I am doing a movie, my husband gives me a lot of ideas.

Q: I heard that you have never been to the Cannes Film Festival. How can that be -- you love film and you even live in France.

Yoon: Why would I go when none of my movies are competing there? I didn't have time to go play. (laugh)

Q: Well, you get to go there this time. (laugh) How do you feel?

Yoon: I really love that I can experience what it is like to be at Cannes. The best thing about serving as a judge at an international film festival is meeting good talent in the film industry. I want to meet a talented movie person at Cannes too.

Q: Have you thought about what you are going to wear on the red carpet at Cannes?

Yoon: I will leave that to your imagination. (laugh)

Senior Reporter : Kang Myoung-Seok two@ Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@ Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@ , Lee Ji-Hye seven@ <ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved> 10.asiae.co.kr l 10.asiae.co.kr l 10.asiae.co.kr

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May 21, 2010

Manhwa industry declines, but movies are hits

Characters in the manhwa “Blades of Blood” by cartoonist Park Heung-yong

and the actors who play them in the movie are, from left: Power-thirsty swordsman

Lee Mong-hak is played by actor Cha Seung-won and the blind swordsman

Hwang Jung-hak is played by actor Hwang Jung-min.

Provided by Achim Distribution Company

Over the years, Korean manhwa has served as the inspiration for numerous films, television dramas and musicals, many of which have gone on to critical and financial success. This provided a critical boost to an entertainment industry that was facing increased competition from foreign imports.

But the nation’s once-thriving manhwa industry - which encompasses comic books, graphic novels and animated cartoons - is in the midst of a crisis because of rampant illegal downloads and a shrinking market.

The latest film to borrow from manhwa is Lee Joon-ik’s “Blades of Blood,” based on the Korean comic of the same name. Meanwhile, Bong Joon-ho, of “Mother” (2009) and “The Host” (2006), is planning a film adaptation of the French comic book “Le Transperceneige.” Television drama series like “A Man Called God” (2010), “Boys Over Flowers” (2009) and “Masters of the Art of Study” (2009) all incorporate comic book story lines, as does the forthcoming drama “Buddy Buddy.”

But their success doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the manhwa on which they are based will be successful, too. “If certain comics are made into films or TV dramas, sales of those comics rise. But it’s not the same for the entire manhwa industry,” said Shin Kyung-soon, secretary general of the Korea Cartoonists Association.

When Huh Young-man’s manhwa “Tazza” was made into the film “The War of Flowers” in September 2006, it attracted about 6.8 million moviegoers, and a year later, it was made into a TV drama series. Sales of the comic book itself, however, were lower than expected. “When a comic is made into a film, it sells very well,” said Kim Jin-young at Random House Korea. “[Tazza] was even made into a drama. But for some reason its sales were lower than expected.” She declined to share the sales figures for the comic.

Even successful manhwa artists find it is hard to make ends meet. Yang Jae-hyun is well known for his legendary manhwa series “The Ruler of the Land,” which started in 1994. Since then, 51 volumes have been printed and more than 4 million copies have been sold, which is rare in the Korean manhwa market. “I have about three comic books published a year and each volume sells about 4,000 copies,” Yang wrote on his fan site in early March. “But I earn about 2 million won [$1,818] per month,” Yang wrote.

That may sound like a comfortable salary, but it’s not, Yang says. “I also work with two or three assistants,” he wrote. “In addition to paying them, I have an electric bill of 300,000 won per month because we draw the comics with computers. After paying all of that, there is nothing left.” Yang says that the nation’s comic book industry is on the brink of collapse, largely because so many comics are downloaded illegally from the Internet.

The widespread perception that comics can be downloaded from the Net for free via peer-to-peer sites has also contributed to the industry’s woes, said Shin of the KCA. According to a 2006 report on the nation’s manhwa industry by the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, the manhwa market was estimated at 32.2 billion won that year, which was a 9.5 percent decrease from the previous year.

The industry’s decline has led many comic book artists to stop publishing books. Instead they are transforming their work into Webtoons, or comic books serialized on the Web. One of these artists is Yoon Tae-ho. “The market outlook is dim, but manhwa artists are trying to survive in other ways such as with Webtoons,” said Shin of the KCA.

And there is hope that they can make the transition. Yoon’s Webtoon “The Moss” is scheduled to be made into a film by director Kang Woo-suk, who directed “Two Cops” (1993) and “Silmido” (2003).

By Sung So-young [so@joongang.co.kr] joongangdaily.joins.com

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May 21, 2010

Search for beauty clashes with harsh reality in ‘Poetry’

[Jainnie's Cine Korea]

Yun Jung-hee stars in Lee Chang-dong’s new film “Poetry” Provided by UniKorea

Sixty-six year old Mi-ja (played by Yoon Jung-hee) is a silly old dreamer. Clad in flower print chiffon, she waltzes around her small rural town with poetry on her mind.

Mi-ja is also a mother and grandmother, who supports herself and her grandson by working as a housemaid and personal nurse for a sick neighbor. One day, she decides to take a poetry class at her local culture center and begins her attempt to create something beautiful. As things progress, we discover, sadly, that Mi-ja’s reality doesn’t quite match her dreams. Things start unraveling when she discovers that her teenage grandson took part in the repeated gang rape of a girl at his school who later committed suicide.

Like other characters from the director’s previous films, Mi-ja is confronted with guilt, a struggle for salvation and forgiveness, and a loss of innocence. As the universe offers up an unceasingly brutal slice of destiny, Mi-ja’s idea of poetry starts to look more like a vestige of the real thing.

In “Poetry,” director Lee Chang-dong takes us on this uncomfortable journey and dares to ask what might seem like irrelevant questions in the digital age: What drives us to read or write poetry? And what is the relationship between poetry and beauty?

The movie opens and closes with the image of a serene river on a peaceful, sunny day. As the water glitters with the afternoon sunlight, the body of the dead school girl edges up to the screen, floating with the calm pace of the river, at which point the Korean word for poetry appears on the screen in red calligraphy. In this breathtakingly paradoxical opening image, Lee finds a lyrical way to convey metaphors for the whole story as he connects the obtrusive image of death to what seems to be just an ordinary day by the river.

Just like that river which flows calmly, indifferently towards tragedy, the people in Mi-ja’s life are callous towards the senseless death of the young girl. The parents of the students who gang raped the girl talk about collecting the settlement money as if they are conducting a regular bank transaction. When Mi-ja places a photo of the dead girl on the kitchen table for her grandson to see, the grandson glances at the photo for a mere second and then goes back to watching TV. It seems that Mi-ja is the only one to feel remorse about what happened.

In one scene, Mi-ja complains to her poetry teacher that writing poetry is too hard. Her teacher, poet Kim Yong-tek, says, “It is not poetry that is hard to write. It is hard to summon up the mentality to write poetry.” Mi-ja in the end, writes a poem. As her voice recites the poem during the last scene, it overlaps and changes to that of the dead girl’s. With this, Mi-ja’s and the girl’s experiences mingle into a universal chain.

Although Mi-ja’s life doesn’t conjure beauty, it was Mi-ja’s longing for poetry that kept her dreaming. Perhaps the beauty in Poetry lies in Mi-ja’s search for it.

By Cho Jae-eun [jainnie@joongang.co.kr] joongangdaily.joins.com

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May 21, 2010

'Poetry' a Contender for Cannes Top Prize

Actress Yun Jung-hee (left) and director Lee Chang-dong

arrive for the screening of "Poetry" in competition

at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in France on Thursday. /AFP-Yonhap

Lee Chang-dong's film "Poetry" received hearty applause both in a preview for reporters and in its official screening at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday (local time). A total 19 films were invited to the official competition section, and the Korean movie is said to be in the running along with three others for the prestigious Palme d'Or award.

AFP has named "Poetry" as a strong candidate for the top award, along with "Another Year" by director Mike Leigh, "Of Gods and Men" by Xavier Beauvois, and "Certified Copy" by Abbas Kiarostami.

Not everyone praised "Poetry." The film earned an average score of 2.36 out of 4.0 points in a poll of 11 critics by French magazine Le Film Français, and 2.7 in a poll by Britain's Screen International.

But actress Yun Jung-hee was acclaimed for her performance in "Poetry." Jon Frosch of TV channel France 24 said the veteran Korean actress is "a likely contender" for the Best Actress award along with Lesley Manville of “Another Year” and Juliette Binoche of "Certified Copy."

Source: englishnews@chosun.com l chosun.com

From left, actors Lee Joon-dong, Lee David, Yun Jung-hee and director Lee Chang-dong arrive for the screening of “Poetry” on Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival. After the screening, the audience gave the film a five-minute standing ovation. Another Korean movie, “The Housemaid,” directed by Im Sang-soo, received a three-minute standing ovation. Both films are in competition for the grand prize. [YONHAP]

Source: joongangdaily.com

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May 21, 2010

Choi Kang-hee Picked to Promote World Environment Day

Actress Choi Kang-hee has been named the Korean goodwill ambassador for World Environment Day 2010 by the local committee of the United Nations Environment Programme. She was also selected to be the main model for the official Korean-language website marking the annual event.

World Environment Day, which falls June 5 every year, was established to raise awareness of environmental issues and promote worldwide campaigns. The local UNEP committee launched the new website to encourage more environmental participation among Koreans.

Choi Kang-hee

"Environmental problems are becoming serious around the world these days, as signs of climate change are evident already," said Choi. "I hope the website will serve as an impetus for many people to initiate participation in environmental campaigns."

Choi will also contribute writings to the website sharing her thoughts on ways to help preserve the environment.

Source: englishnews@chosun.com

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May 23, 2010

Director Hong Wins Sidebar Prize at Cannes

Director Hong Sang-soo has won the top prize at the Cannes International Film Festival's sidebar competition, Un Certain Regard, for his film "Ha Ha Ha." If the film is distributed in France, he will receive a subsidy of 30 thousand euros.

Hong in his acceptance speech thanked his cast and staff for trusting him and following his direction under a difficult production environment and passed the honor to them.

"Ha Ha Ha" is a drunken trip down memory lane as a filmmaker prepares to leave Korea to immigrate to Canada. The movie is considered to be the most appealing of Hong's films to a general audience.

The film is also one of three Korean entries in the official selection at Cannes this year.

Source: KBS World

'Ha Ha Ha' wins top sidebar prize at Cannes

Movie “Ha Ha Ha” by South Korean director Hong Sang-soo won the top prize at the Cannes film festival sidebar competition, Un Certain Regard, on Saturday.

The movie is about a drunken trip down memory lane as a film-maker prepares to leave Korea to live in Canada. Korean top actors and actresses including Kim Sang-gyung, Yu Jun-sang, Moon So-ri, Ye Ji-won and Youn Yuh-jung starred in the film.

From left, the cast of "Ha Ha Ha," actress Youn Yuh-jung, actor Yu Joon-sang, actress Ye Ji-won,

and director Hong Sang-soo, arrive for the the premiere of "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives",

at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival, in Cannes, southern France, Friday. (AP-Yonhap News)

“I hope this prize can help many friends who made the movie together. I am going to keep on making movies, in the same way I used to make them,” said Hong after winning the prize.

Hong had been invited to the world’s biggest film fest six times so far but this is the first time he brought home a prize.

The win is especially notable as the sidebar competition was extra tough this year. Films by world-famous directors such as Zhang Ke Jia and Jean-Luc Godard were in the competition along with Hong’s.

Un Certain Regard gave its jury prize to “Octubre” by Peruvian brothers Daniel and Diego Vega. Adela Sanchez, Eva Bianco and Victoria Raposo, three actresses in the Argentinian film “Los Labios” by Ivan Fund and Santiago Loza, won the best acting prize.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com) koreaherald.com

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May 23, 2010

Actor Lee marries English interpreter

By Chung Ah-young

Staff reporter

Actor Lee Beom-soo, 41, tied the knot with Lee Yun-jin, an English interpreter at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Seoul in Gwangjang-dong, eastern Seoul, Saturday.

Lee's wife, 14 years younger than him, is an English interpreter for international conferences and an English columnist having worked as an announcer on MBC in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province and OBS based in Gyeonggi Province. The couple first met when she taught him English in 2008. She also taught singer Rain for four months.

Top star Lee Byung-hun hosted the wedding ceremony and singers Hwanhee, Whisung and SG Wannbe sang at the wedding.

The actor made his debut in the 1990 film "Yes, Let's Look Up at the Sky Now and Again" and rose to stardom with the 2003 film "Singles." He has starred in numerous films such as "Wet Dreams" (2002), "Oh Brothers'' (2003) and "Mr. Gam's Victory" (2004).

The actor recently garnered popularity in hit television dramas "Surgeon Bong Dal-hee" (2007) as a charismatic surgeon and "On Air" (2008) as a manager of a top star and is currently appearing in SBS drama "Giant."

The actor previously married in 2003 but got divorced four months later.

Source: chungay@koreatimes.co.kr

Source: news.nate.com

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May 24, 2010

Cannes gears up for red carpet finale

Right: Actress Ye Ji-won in a Chinese Qi Pao-inspired red dress, left, and director Hong Sang-soo

arrive for the screening of “Ha Ha Ha” at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival on Friday in Cannes.

The film on Saturday won the top prize at the Cannes film festival sidebar competition, Un Certain Regard. [AFP/YONHAP]

Left: Director Im Sang-soo, left, and Jeon Do-yeon pose on the red carpet on May 14 for the screening

of the film “The Housemaid” in competition during the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in France. She wears

a bronze-colored dress from Salvatore Ferragamo’s 2010 F/W Collection, which was brought directly

from Milan before the seasonal collection’s official launch. [AP/YONHAP]

At Cannes, the buzz on likely winners of the festival’s top prize Sunday is keeping fashionistas and filmmakers alike awake at nights, as brands and movies fight for red carpet limelight. A city studded with high-end jewelers and designer boutiques, sun-kissed Cannes transforms into the world’s capital of luxury once a year when the 12-day festival comes around.

The prime time for Gucci, Pucci, Armani and the rest will be the gala close Sunday when paparazzi and TV networks from across the globe flash celebs sashaying up the red carpet’s 24 steps for the Palme d’Or awards finale. “The red carpet has become a catwalk show,” said Francois Ortarix, spokesman for Swarovski, the Austrian crystal makers of cutting-edge jewelry and other accessories.

The firm this year did “Desperate Housewife” Eva Longoria an 11th-hour favor when she called 15 minutes before stepping up the carpet to say her free 500 euro ($630) gift Swarovski clutch-bag was a little oversize and didn’t match her dress. Ortarix literally ran to her swish hotel suite with a smaller pouch in a different shade. “She even offered to return the other one,” he said. Like other designer labels, Swarovski flies into the festival each year, setting up a showroom in one of the city’s swankiest hotels where movie stars and celebs are offered jewels and accessories on loan. “People the world over watch the red carpet for new styles. It makes our customers dream they too can be as stunning as the stars,” he said.

In a showroom nearby looking over the Mediterranean, Lebanese couture supremo Elie Saab has flown in 100-odd evening gowns worth anywhere from 3,000 to 30,000 euros - also lent for the night for free, but only to celebs. “Our problem this year is there are more male than female stars but we don’t do suits,” said spokeswoman Emilie Legendre. Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai, Chinese star Fan Bingbing, Britain’s Helen Mirren and Longoria all stepped out in Elie Saab at Cannes this year. Once loaned, the gowns can never hit the red carpet again.

A recent documentary titled “Red Carpet” said members of last year’s Cannes jury that names the winners of the festival awards were paid 90,000 euros each to wear an Armani creation for the opening ceremony. At the Oscars, said the movie’s director Olivier Nicklaus, fashion houses lavish sums of up to 250,000 dollars to get a dress in the spotlight. But Elie Saab’s Legendre said their fashion house did not hand over cash. “We don’t have muses, we don’t pay. People call, or their agents, asking for a gown. Sometimes the requests are made in Los Angeles, way before Cannes, sometimes it’s a last-minute affair.”

The label brings a seamstress for the duration of the film fest and when necessary finds a hairdresser, jeweler, shoes or bags. With premieres, parties, photo-calls and cocktails, luxury labels are busy throughout the 12-day festival, the movie world’s biggest annual event. Chopard, the legendary Swiss luxury goods firm, hired the rooftop terrace of the Martinez hotel, where suites can cost tens of thousands of euros a night, for the duration of the festival. There it hosts soirees where champagne flows and stars wander in and out. At a mega-party for its 150th anniversary, Lionel Richie flew in to perform for A-listers such as Paris Hilton, Marion Cotillard, Meg Ryan and Naomi Campbell.

Chivas whisky, one of 40-odd partners of the festival, treats its best customers to a day in Cannes, including wining, dining, late night partying and a red carpet premiere. So as the Cannes finale looms, the battle has begun to dress the stars. “We don’t know yet though the rumor-mill is beginning to buzz,” said Legendre. “In the meantime we’re on call here every day from 4 p.m. to midnight in case a star needs a dress.”

Source: AFP l joongangdaily.com

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May 24, 2010

Director Lee wins best screenplay award in Cannes

Renowned Korean director Lee Chang-Dong won the best screenplay award for his latest film “Poetry” at the international film festival which closed in Cannes, France, Sunday.

The film, Lee's fifth feature, tells the story of an elderly lady who finds happiness in learning poetry for the first time, while a harsh reality forces her to suffer guilt and fear. Written by the director himself, the story has drawn rave reviews with emphatic insight into crimes and redemption.

"I'm delighted and happy to think that the virtue of scenarios has been acknowledged (with this prize)," Yonhap News quoted Lee as sayisng in a press conference after the 63rd Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony. "This will (give me) momentum and is encouragement for me to keep up with my work."

The film's main character Mija lives with her grandson in a small apartment in a suburban town. She begins taking a poetry class at a cultural center and is enchanted by the challenge of writing from her life's experience. But her bliss soon gets overshadowed by the discovery of her advancing Alzheimer's disease and her grandson's involvement in a group rape, which prompts the victim's suicide.

Playing 66-year-old Mija is former popular movie star Yun Jung-hee, who made an impressive return after 17 years of absence from the screen.She was widely thought to be a strong contender for the best actress award, but the honor went to France's Juliette Binoche, who played an art dealer in Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's "Certified Copy." "I feel greatly indebted to Yun Jung-hee," Lee said, "As my name was called, I even felt sorry," Lee said. "But the fact that they (audience) were moved by Yun Jung-hee's acting and supported her to the end, I believe that itself is the award."

Lee's 2007 film, "Secret Sunshine," earned Jeon Do-youn the best actress award at the Cannes festival. Jeon came to this year's Cannes with Im Sang-soo's "The Housemaid," a remake of Kim Ki-young's 1960 erotic thriller of the same title, which was also in the official competition section.

Korean directors and actors have been regulars in the world's biggest film festival since Im Kwon-taek won the best director award with "Painted Fire." Park Chan-wook received the second-highest honor, the Grand Prix, in 2004 and the jury prize last year with "Thirst." This year's Palme d'or, the top prize at the festival, went to Thailand's avant garde director Apichatpong Weerasethakul with "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives."

Korean director Hong Sang-soo's "Ha Ha Ha" won the top prize at the Cannes festival sidebar competition, Un Certain Regard, on Saturday.

Source: webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr

Hong Sang-soo's 'Hahaha' Wins Cannes Award

Director Hong Sang-soo's film "Hahaha" won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes International Film Festival on Saturday (local time). It is Hong's first award at Cannes after being invited to the festival six times, and the first Korean film to be awarded in the category.

Nineteen films were screened in the category, including works by big name directors such as Manoel de Oliveira, Jean-Luc Godard and Jia Zhangke. French director Claire Denis, who presided over the jury, said it was very difficult to choose the winner from among so many great films.

/AFP

In the award ceremony, Hong said, "I'll take this award as encouragement to continue making good films. I'd like to thank all the actors who worked with me." Starting with "The Power of Kangwon Province" in 1998, Hong has had six films invited to Cannes, in the Competition, Un Certain Regard and Directors' Fortnight categories.

Source: englishnews@chosun.com

Thai Film Wins Top Prize at Cannes

Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul poses

after winning the Palme d'Or at the 63rd international

film festival, in Cannes, southern France on May 23, 2010. /AP

An unusual film from Thailand with an unusual name has won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

The jury awarded the Golden Palm to the film "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives." It is a surreal story of a dying man who sees ghosts, monkeys, bugs and catfish. Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul thanked those he called the "spirits and ghosts" in Thailand who he says made it possible for him to be in France.

The Grand Prix for runner-up went to "Of Gods and Men" from director Xavier Beauvois of France. That film is based on the true story of seven French monks beheaded during Algeria's civil war in 1996. The Jury Prize for the third best film in the competition went to "A Screaming Man," directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun of Chad. Korea's Lee Chang-dong won the Best Screenplay award for his film "Poetry."

Other winners include France's Mathieu Amalric for best director, and Javier Bardem and Elio Germano, who shared the Best Actor prize. Juliette Binoche won the Best Actress award for her role in "Certified Copy," by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.VOA News l chosun.com

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May 24, 2010

Director Lee Chang-dong portrays beauty in the unseen

By Kim Hyun

SEOUL, May 24 (Yonhap) -- Lee Chang-dong, who won the best screenplay with "Poetry" at the Cannes film festival on Monday (Seoul time), is said to be a latecomer to moviemaking in South Korea, having made his directorial debut in his 40s.

But none of his five feature films have failed to receive critical attention. His subjects consistently involve some of the gloomiest corners of Korean society -- the disabled, the socially maladjusted, boys in the criminal world, victims and perpetrators.

Lee, born in the southeastern provincial town of Daegu in 1954, turned to writing novels in the midst of his stable career as a high school teacher of Korean literature. Slowly, he shifted into moviemaking, writing scripts. He made his cinema debut as a screenwriter and assistant director for Park Kwang-soo's "To the Starry Island," a 1993 film about an ideological specter chasing island residents amid the Korean War.

In 1995, Lee won the local Baeksang Arts Screenplay Award for writing "A Single Spark." Another feature by Park, the film recounted the emotional story of Jeon Tae-il, a young labor activist who killed himself to protest the brutal working conditions under the Park Chung-hee authoritarian regime in the 1960s.

Lee was 43 when he made his directorial debut with "Green Fish," a critically acclaimed movie on the shadows of Korea's urbanization. The film brought him various awards at home and abroad, including one at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 1997. His second feature, "Peppermint Candy," further cemented his fame with a story retelling a man's life in reverse chronological order in the wake of the 1980 democracy uprising.

As his reputation grew, Lee became a regular in international film fests. Peppermint Candy was invited to the Directors' Fortnight at the 2002 Cannes festival, while his third film "Oasis" was premiered at the 2002 Venice Film Festival and won the best director's award. Heroine Moon So-ri, who played a disabled woman in a relationship with a social outcast, won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for leading actress. After making a brief career detour as culture minister in 2003-2004, Lee returned with "Secret Sunshine" in 2007, which earned Jeon Do-youn the best actress at the Cannes festival that same year.

Lee's cinematic focus has been consistent in pursuing themes such as crime and redemption, victims and perpetrators, and the director has never been one to rely on star power or technical effects. The director said he has sought to see beauty in the ugly and the unseen. "As I was thinking of making a movie about poetry, its first scene and its plot naturally came to my mind at the same time. The beauty that is seen is not the whole of the world and is not the sole subject of poetry. To the other side of beauty exists the ugliness and horror, " Lee said after receiving the best screenplay award for Poetry.

The film tells the story of an elderly lady who finds happiness in learning poetry for the first time, while the harshness of reality forces her to suffer guilt and fear. The main character, Mija, lives with her grandson in a small apartment in a suburban town. Taking a poetry class at a cultural center, Mija gets enchanted by the challenge of writing about her life's experiences. But her bliss soon gets overshadowed by the discovery of her advancing Alzheimer's disease and her grandson's involvement in a group rape, which prompts the victim's suicide.

"I'm delighted and happy to think that the virtue of scenarios has been acknowledged (with this prize)," Lee said.

Source: hkim@yna.co.kr yonhapnews.co.kr

'Poetry' Wins Best Screenplay Award at Cannes

Director Lee Chang-dong's film "Poetry" has won the Award for Best Screenplay at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.

Since its screening on Thursday, the film has received high praise for its theme and was also in the running for the festival’s Grand Prix Award.

The Palme d'Or top prize went to "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" directed by Thailand's Apichatpong Weerasethakul. French film-maker Xavier Beauvois' "Of Gods and Men" took the runner-up Grand Prix Award and Mathieu Amalric won the Best Director Award for his film “On Tour.”

France's Juliette Binoche won the Best Actress Award and Spanish actor Javier Bardem and Italy's Elio Germano shared the Best Actor Award. Another Korean film "Ha Ha Ha," by Hong Sang-soo, won the top prize at the sidebar competition, Un Certain Regard, on Saturday.

Source: KBS World

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May 24, 2010

'Poetry' Wins Best Screenplay Award at Cannes

Filmmaker Lee Chang-dong's latest work "Poetry" won the Best Screenplay prize at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday (local time).

Starring veteran actress Yun Jung-hee, who made a comeback after a 16-year absence from the film scene, "Poetry" tells the story of an old lady who finds solace writing poems amid the onset of Alzheimer's and problems with her troublesome grandson.

The 12-day festival came to a close on Sunday after awarding the hypnotic Thai film "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" with the highest prize, the Palme d'Or.

Meanwhile another Korean film, "Hahaha" by director Hong Sang-soo, won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard category.

Arirang News / chosun.com

Pouring Praise on ‘Poetry’ and Yoon Jeong Hee in Cannes

▲ Actress Yoon Jeong Hee and director Lee Chang Dong attended the preview of “Poetry”

In France, where the 63rd Cannes Film Festival is being held, people in the international movie industry are showing a tremendous response to the movie “Poetry,” which is directed by Lee Chang Dong and stars Yoon Jeong Hee.

After the press preview had finished on May 19 (local time), the foreign press and important world-renowned movie websites have given favorable comments on the movie “Poetry” and there are even predictions that “Poetry” might achieve something big.

Agence France-Press wrote an article entitled "Korean cocktail of crime and poetry stuns Cannes." In the article, it reported the atmosphere of Cannes by saying, "An unlikely brew of teenage gang-rape and poetry stirred Cannes and firmed Asia's shot at the festival's top prize as Korean director Lee Chang-Dong's 'Poetry' screened."

The press continued, "A classic morality tale, the 140-minute movie dazzled hardened Cannes critics, strengthening the hand of the powerful contingent of Asian films competing for the Palme d'Or."

The article evaluated that director Lee Change Dong has portrayed one side of the lives of Koreans in the movie and elevated the movie to a higher grade when he cast Yoon Jeong Hee --"a doyenne in the Korean movie industry"-- who made a comeback after 16 years.

Film industry news provider "Screen Daily" also evaluated the movie by saying, "'Poetry' is director Lee Chang Dong's quietest and most thematically complete film to date." It continued, "The movie 'Poetry' charts a grandmother’s attempt to write a single poem, while she deals with a failing body and mind, and the terrible consequences of her teenage grandson’s irresponsibility."

Source: KBS Global

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May 24, 2010

'Poetry' wins Cannes best screenplay prize

Korean film "Poetry" won the best screen play prize at the Cannes film festival on Sunday, news reports said.

South Korean director Lee Chang-dong poses after winning the Best Screenplay award for his film

"Poetry" during the photocall of the closing ceremony at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival on May 23,

2010 in Cannes. (AP-Yonhap News)

The film, directed by Lee Chang-dong, tells a story of an old lady who finds happiness in learning of poetry for the first time in her life while a harsh reality forces her to suffer guilt and fear, Yonhap News said.

The film “Ha Ha Ha” by South Korean director Hong Sang-soo won the top prize at the Cannes film festival sidebar competition, Un Certain Regard, on Sunday. The movie is about a trip down memory lane with a filmmaker and a movie critic sharing memories about their separate trips to Tongyoung, South Gyeongsang Province.

South Korean top actors and actresses including Kim Sang-gyung, Yu Jun-sang, Moon So-ri, Ye Ji-won and Youn Yuh-jung starred in the film, receiving no compensation. Hong has a reputation of making movies in such a way. “I hope this prize can help many friends who made the movie together. I am going to keep on making movies, in the same way I used to make them,” said Hong after winning the prize. Actor Yu Jun-sang and actress Ye Ji-won were by his side at the festival.

<YONHAP PHOTO-0196> From left, the cast of "Ha Ha Ha", actress Youn Yuh-jung,

actor Yu Joonsang, actress Ye Jiwon, and director Hong Sang-soo, arrive for the the premiere

of "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives", at the 63rd international film festival,

in Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Mark Mainz)

Hong said the prize money of 51 million won ($42,700) will be used to support the movie’s distribution in France. “It is not a big amount of money but can be a big support in distributing small-scale movies such as ‘Ha Ha Ha,’” he said. “My movies are something people can feel at ease with. But sometimes they do not even get the chance to be shown to the public because of their ‘image’ as a difficult art film. I hope this win can boost the number of viewers for my movies.”

Hong had been invited to the world’s biggest film festival six times -- the most frequently invited among South Korean directors -- but this is the first time he has won a prize. Other works by Hong that were shown at Cannes include “The Power of Kangwon Province” (1998), “Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors” (2000), “Woman is the Future of Man” (2004), “Tale of Cinema” (2005) and “Like You Know It All” (2009).

It is also the first time that a South Korean movie has won the top prize at the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes film festival since director Lee Doo-yong’s “Moulleya, Moulleya” was first invited to the competition 26 years ago. “Mother,” by director Bong Joon-ho had also entered the category last year but did not win a prize.

The win is especially notable as the competition was extra tough this year. Films by world-famous directors such as “I Wish I Knew” by Jia Zhangke, “The Strange Case of Angelica” by Manuel de Oliviera and “Film Socialism” by Jean-Luc Godard were in the competition along with Hong’s.

Un Certain Regard gave its jury prize to “Octubre” by Peruvian brothers Daniel and Diego Vega, who were awarded on their first visit to Cannes. Adela Sanchez, Eva Bianco and Victoria Raposo, three actresses in the Argentinean film “Los Labios” by Ivan Fund and Santiago Loza, won the best acting prizes.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com) koreaherald.com

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May 24, 2010

Akita soaks up 'IRIS' drama series tourism boom

With a 360-degree observation floor

100 meters above the ground, Port Tower Selion

is an Akita Port symbol. (Mainichi)

Ever since the broadcast of the spy action drama series "IRIS" in South Korea last year, tourism in the northern prefecture of Akita has boomed. Visitors hail from Japan, South Korea and elsewhere, and flights between Akita and Seoul, which began running in 2001 and had been floundering since, saw a record number of passengers in January of this year.

I arrive at Tazawako Station in Akita's city of Senboku, a three-hour bullet train ride away from Tokyo Station. From there to my hotel, Ischia, it's a 15-minute ride in the hotel's complimentary bus.

The second-floor lounge at Hotel Ischia

has been left the way it was during shooting,

and is on exhibit. (Mainichi)

"This is probably my 20th time coming to Akita this past year," says Tazuko Asakawa, a 67-year-old homemaker from Morioka in neighboring Iwate Prefecture that I happen to meet in the hotel lobby. She's a big fan of Lee Byung-hun, the South Korean actor who starred in "IRIS," and says she's been visiting Akita since Lee came here on location for the TV series in March of last year. There's a group of some 40 South Korean tourists staying at the hotel, too, and Asakawa says, "It's great to be able to interact with Koreans like this."

Close to 100 actors and staff of "IRIS" -- which began showing in Japan this April following its success in South Korea -- stayed at Ischia for three weeks, during which shooting also took place in the hotel. According to Ischia proprietor Kyoko Sato, 66, the production team was not charged a single yen. "My wish was for people to learn about the beauty of Akita, where the landscape of old Japan remains, through the TV drama."

A set in the hotel's second-floor lounge, where a romantic scene between Lee and actress Kim Tae-hee was shot, is on display. Even visitors who are not staying at the hotel can have a look if they order a drink. Cigarette butts, a used bathrobe and a cologne bottle are on display in the room where Lee stayed, and because the actor told the hotel staff that he would be back some day with his mother, the room has not been rented out to any other customers.

Lake Tazawa is visible from all the seats

at restaurant Orae. The seats where the actors

sat in the TV series are decorated with photos

and autographs. (Mainichi)

Shooting also took place at Orae, a restaurant on Lake Tazawa that is 15 minutes from the hotel on foot. The 2,000-yen "IRIS Special" created for Lee, who during shooting was on a diet to maintain his weight, is popular among female diners. "We've been featured in fans' blogs, and have had people come visit us from the Kansai region and even the U.S.," says Kumiko Sekiguchi, managing director of Toast, the local company that operates the restaurant.

With a depth of 423.4 meters, Lake Tazawa is the deepest lake in Japan. Legend has it that a girl named Tatsuko who lived by the lake drained a spring dry, hoping that drinking the water would keep her forever young and beautiful. Instead, she turned into a dragon and became the master of the lake. It's a 40-minute ride on one of the hotel's rental bicycles to the Tatsuko statue, where a scene of an embrace between Lee and Kim was shot. Tourists hoping for a picture alongside the statue continued to come even in drizzling rain.

Tourists pose by the statue of the legendary Tatsuko.

Lake Tazawa is a mysterious lake that does not freeze over,

even in the middle of winter. (Mainichi)

The following day, I take a one-hour ride on the Akita Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tazawako Station to the city of Akita. Smuggling scenes in the drama were taken at Akita Port, which takes 25 minutes on a local bus from Akita Station. Port Tower Selion, a glass-walled tower, looms higher than any other structure in the area. At 143.6 meters including the antenna, it is the highest building in the Tohoku region. From the observation floor 100 meters above the ground, I have a view of the World Heritage Site Shirakami Sanchi mountain forest that straddles Akita and Aomori prefectures, and Mount Chokai on the border of Akita and Yamagata prefectures.

On the Oga Peninsula, which stands out clearly in the distance, is the hotel in which Lee's character -- dressed like the local legendary demon "namahage" -- assassinated an enemy. It is also where the aquarium Gao, where a date scene was shot, is located.

I eat fresh fish caught in nearby waters at Ichiban Zushi, a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant operated by the food market near Akita Station -- where shopping scenes in the drama were taken. At Yoneshiro, a Japanese-style pub located five minutes from the market, I sit at a counter seat with a sign that announces: "Kim Tae-hee sat here," and devour a grilled rice ball filled with salted cod roe that Lee is said to have eaten. On the wall by the counter are instant camera photos of all the "IRIS" fans that have flocked to the pub.

Apparently, it's not just local specialties like kiritanpo (pounded cooked rice on skewers, which are toasted) and Inaniwa udon (flour noodles) that Lee and the staff enjoyed during shooting. As it turns out, "B-kyu" (B-grade or second-class) foods proved surprisingly popular with the actors and staff.

"Yokote Yakisoba," a fried noodle dish that came in first place in the 2009 B-1 Grand Prix -- a B-grade food contest -- and now considered a new specialty of Yokote, is made of thick straight boiled noodles, and comes with a side of a runny egg, sunny side up, and fukujinzuke (a type of pickles). I buy a 1,050-yen gift pack that comes with 4 servings and try it out at home. The noodles, flavored with Worcestershire sauce, are a great match with the yolky egg.

The "Aigake Jindai Curry" is a "B-kyu" food that came in fourth place in the same competition. In this dish, two types of curry roux -- a "traditional" one with fish sausages and mushrooms that is said to have been made in Senboku (previously Jindai village) for 50 years, and a newer one -- are poured over rice, and served with a side of daikon radish pickles and a poached egg. It's like getting three dishes in one.

By Yuko Shimizu, Home-Life News Group (Mainichi Japan)

[rubie]

May 24, 2010

Kim Ji-seok enters Korean military today

Photographer.Park Sung-Ki Editor.Lynn Kim Editor.Jessica Kim

Korean actor Kim Ji-seok speaks to reporters before entering the Korean military [Asia Economic Daily]

Korean actor Kim Ji-suk entered the Korean army today as part of fulfilling the country's mandatory two-year military services.

Speaking to a group of reporters and fans in front of Nonsan training camp on Monday, Kim remarked that actor Jang Hyuk, his co-star in the recent hit drama "The Slave Hunters", had told him that he "will be the first to visit [Kim] in the military." "He has been to the military already so he gave me a lot of advice," the actor said. "Jang Hyuk even told me I should try serving at the front lines [near the two Korea's Military Demarcation Line]."

The actor appeared determined to face his forthcoming military days, commenting that he will work hard as if he is "shooting a blockbuster solider film that takes two years to shoot," and hinted that he wants to play a very masculine character when he returns to acting after discharge. He also apologized for making a big deal of his military entrance, referring to the media hype that had been created during the weeks leading up to today.

Kim Ji-suk, whose real name is Kim Bo-suk, has appeared in many television dramas and films including the "The Slave Hunters" (KBS2, 2010), "Personal Taste" (MBC, 2010) and sports flick "Take Off" (2009).

Actor Kim Ji-suk salutes his fans ahead of entering the Nonsan training center in the South Chungcheong Province of South Korea on May 24, 2010. He will undergo a five-week basic training session as part of completing the country's two-year mandatory military service.

Korean actor Kim Ji-seok salutes his fans before entering the mlitary [Asia Economic Daily]

Actor Kim Ji-suk says goodbye to his Japanese fans ahead of entering the Nonsan training center in the South Chungcheong Province of South Korea on May 24, 2010. He will undergo a five-week basic training session as part of completing the country's two-year mandatory military service.

Photographer: Park Sung-Ki musictok@ Editor: Jessica Kim jesskim@ Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@ <ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved> 10.asiae.co.kr 1 l 2 l 3

[rubie]

May 24, 2010

"Into Fire" sold to four additional countries

Editor.Jessica Kim

Official poster for film "Into The Fire" [Taewon Entertainment]

Korean film "Into Fire" has been sold to another four countries including the U.K., Germany, Singapore and Russia at a film market in France held concurrently with the Cannes Film Festival which ended over the weekend.

The film had been picked up even ahead of its promotional screening at the market by Ascot Elite Entertainment Group which distributes to German speaking countries in Europe and Benelux.

According to the film's overseas distributor Fine Cut, the international buyers for the newly signed countries said "Into Fire" is different from previous Korean War movies in terms of its commercial potential and sensitivity which can relay to a global audience.

Fine Cut also added that they are also in the process of fine-tuning the terms of contracts with countries such as Australia, China, Swiss, Taiwan, and Spain who have also shown strong interest in buying rights for the film.

“Into Fire,” starring actors Cha Seung-won, Kim Seung-woo, Kwon Sang-woo and T.O.P of the idol group Big Bang, is based on a true event during the Korean War where 71 student soldiers fought to protect a support line along the Nakdong River, the country's largest river which flows through the center and south of South Korea.

The film paying tribute to the 60th anniversary of the war is set for release on June 17th.

Reporter: Yoon-hyung Kim Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@ <ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved>

10.asiae.co.kr

[rubie]

May 24, 2010

Kim Ha-neul to hold first fan meeting in Japan

By Han Sang-hee

Staff reporter

Korean movie star Kim Ha-neul is holding her first fan meeting in Japan, according to her agency J.One Plus Entertainment.

The star of hit film "7th Grade Civil Servant" (2009) will appear next month at Ginza Yama Hall, Tokyo, for her the meeting titled "Love Letter.'' "I am so looking forward to meeting my Japanese fans. I'm preparing hard to show the best of me," Kim was quoted as saying by her agency.

Kim has appeared in press conferences and events to promote her television dramas and films in Japan, but this is the first time for her to arrange a specific event for her Japanese fans. At the fan meeting, Kim is planning to sing a couple of songs to show her gratitude and also release some never-before scenes from the television drama "On Air" (SBS), "7th Grade Civil Servant" and her most recent TV project "Road No. 1" slated for airing this June.

The agency added that the venue also proved Kim's popularity in Japan, as it is hard for even top Japanese stars to rent the hall for shows and fan meetings. Making her debut in 1996, Kim has appeared in numerous dramas and films and has proved her versatility as an actor throughout the years. She appears in "Road No. 1," which will air in June, with fellow hallyu stars So Ji.

Source: sanghee@koreatimes.co.kr

Kim Ha-neul to hold 1st fan meeting in Japan in June

Reporter.Lucia Hong Editor.Jessica Kim

Korean actress Kim Ha-neul for her first Japanese fan meeting "Love Letter" [J.One Entertainment]

Korean actress Kim Ha-neul will hold her first-ever solo fan meeting in Japan on June 26, according to her agency J.One Entertainment on Monday.

J.One announced in a press release that the actress will be flying to Japan in June for the event titled "Love Letter" to hosted by Japanese company Yamaha A&R at the Ginza Yama Hall in Tokyo. "We have gotten a lot of questions regarding the fan meeting," stated A&R. "Many of the fans are excited for the actress to visit the country."

"I am really looking forward to meeting my Japanese fans. I am working hard in preparing for the event and hope that I show my best for them," Kim was quoted saying. Kim will sing two songs, reveal never before seen footage from her dramas "On Air," "Road No. 1" and from her movie "My Girlfriend is an Agent," hold a surprise event, and shake hands with her fans.

A representative from J.One's overseas marketing team explained, "The interest for Kim Ha-neul is growing. She is being acknowledged for her 10 years in the entertainment industry for her classic look and acting skills."

Kim, 31, made her debut in the industry as a model in 1996. She starred in numerous TV series and movies including "Romance" and "On Air" and hit movie "My Tutor Friend" alongside Hallyu star Kwon Sang-woo.

She is currently finishing up the production of MBC TV series "Road No. 1" alongside actors So Ji-sub and Yoon Kye-sang.

Reporter : Lucia Hong luciahong@ Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@ <ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved> 10.asiae.co.kr

Actress Kim Haneul Set to Hold Her First Japanese Fan Meeting

Actress Kim Ha-neul is set to have her first fan meeting called "Love Letter" in Tokyo, Japan this coming June 26th.

The title of the event is symbolic of her expressing her love to her fans that have so loyally supported her and sent her their love all this time.

Kim's reps said that though the star has held press conferences or made public appearances at some of her movie premieres, this is the first time she will be interacting with her fans on such an intimate basis. They added that the actress is very excited to meet her fans and is making the necessary preparations to ensure that she can put her best foot forward for her Japanese fans. Kim has even prepared to sing two songs for them, along with a video clip titled "D-31" showing her fans the process that it took to put this event together.

Source: KBS Global

[rubie]

Hong Sang-soo scores first win at Cannes with "Hahaha"

Reporter.Ko Kyoung-seok Editor.Lynn Kim

Official poster for Hong Sang-soo's film "Hahaha"

Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo has scored his first win at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival with his film "Hahaha."

Hong's latest pic was handed the grand prize for the "Un Certain Regard" category at the award ceremony, held May 22 (France time) at Debussy theater in Cannes, France.

The director, who won his first trophy at Cannes on his sixth visit to the film fest, shared his excitement with actors Yu Jun-sang and Ye Ji-won, the main cast of his award-winning pic."I will regard this as an encouragement to make my next film well," the 50-year-old director said while meeting with Korean reporters after he won the award. "I hope this will help everyone who has helped me make this film...... I am grateful that I could pay them back with at least this."

The actors and crew in "Hahaha" had reportedly worked on the film free of charge. When told that he had defeated notable filmmakers from the East and the West such as Jean-Luc Godard, Manoel De Oliveira and Jia Zhangke, he jokingly remarked, "I don't know -- I haven't seen their films. How would I know what the judges were thinking."

"Hahaha" is about an aspiring filmmaker and a film critic who meet in the seaside city of Tong-young and share their life stories and experiences. Hong was first invited to Cannes in 1998 for the film "The Power of Kangwon Province" and again two years later for "Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors" in the "Un Certain Regard" category.

His pics "Woman Is the Future of Man" (2004) and "Tale of Cinema" (2005) ran for the top Palme d'Or prize of the main competition and last year, he was invited to show his film "Like You Know It All" during the Director's Fortnight section. With six trips to prestigious film fest, Hong holds the title for making most appearances at Cannes and has become the first Korean filmmaker to win an award in the "Un Certain Regard" category, which introduces films with various visions and styles from around the world.

This year, the judges panel for the category was presided over by French filmmaker Claire Denis and included Kim Dong-ho, executive chairman of Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) committee.

The Jury award for the section went to "Octubre," directed by Daniel Vega and Diego Vera," while the acting title was claimed by three actresses who starred in "The Lips" -- Adela Sanchez, Eva Bianco and Victoria Raposo.

Reporter : Ko Kyoung-seok kave@ Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@ <ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved> 10.asiae.co.kr

[iNTERVIEW] Hong Sang-soo - Part 1 l Part 2 l Part 3