[News] Drama, Movies, Actors & Actresses

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January 31, 2011

Hallyu stars fuel Seoul City’s website boom

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldm.com) koreaherald.com Korean media updates at nate.com 1 l 2 l 3 l 4

More than 50 million people worldwide visited Seoul City’s international promotion websites last year, with hallyu entertainers the major reason for the boom.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the number of visitors to nine of its websites run in Japanese, English and Chinese marked 5,057,465 last year, about 15 times that of its official Korean site (www.seoul.go.kr).

The lion’s share went to Chinese with 28 million visiting the video streaming site (shouer.youku.com).

More than 68.8 million people have visited the site since June 2008, when the city government first opened it on Xina.com, one of China’s largest portal sites. The most popular content was the city’s tourism promotion video clip starring pop group Wonder Girls, marking 1.3 million page views.

About 1.2 million English users visited youtube.com/seouldreamseries and the most popular item was the online B-boy battle clip, drawing 617,037 clicks.

More than 120,000 Japanese users visited three sites ― blogs.yahoo.co.jp/hi_seoul_travel, seoul.blogs.yahoo.co.jp and youtube.com/hiseoul ― which were established in May. Actor Lee Byung-hun’s TV advertisement drew the most attention.

The city administration’s marketing department selected China and Japan as the “core” regions for promotion, Southeast Asian countries as a “focused” region, as well as the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Australia and others as “with potential” regions. But with the overseas marketing budget cut down to 990 million won ($88,390) this year from 2.5 billion won last year, events and promotions will be downsized, officials said.

“Since much of the content is softer than that uploaded on official sites, people like it and become easily attached. The cutback of the budget is a challenge but we will manage,” Kang Young-gyu, head of the marketing department, said.

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January 31, 2011

Hyun Bin to grace Berlinale red carpet

By Ines Min inesmin@koreatimes.co.kr

Actor Hyun Bin, 29, will be able to make the red carpet of the Berlin International Film Festival, ahead of entering the Marine Corps. March 7, it was announced Monday.

Hyun received permission from the authorities to leave the country from Feb. 15 to 23. The festival, commonly known as Berlinale, runs from Feb. 10 to 20.

Hyun requested permission to leave in order to attend the festival one month before his military service begins, but was initially informed that permission would not be given.

However, following a reference from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to the Military Manpower Administration regarding the deadline for Hyun to report for service, which emphasized the film festival’s prestige proved sufficient enough reason to approve the leave.

Two of Hyun’s films will be screened at the prestigious German festival. "Come Rain, Come Shine," co-starring Im Soo-jung, will compete for the Golden Bear and his multi-national project "Late Autumn" sees the actor starring opposite Tang Wei.

He recently saw a surge in fame with his return to the small screen in the SBS drama "Secret Garden." Hyun volunteered to take his military service in January.

The 61st Berlin International Film Festival will screen nine films from Korea.

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January 31, 2011

'Theater makes me feel alive'

Oh Dal-soo to portray fatherhood in return to roots

By Chung Ah-young chungay@koreatimes.co.kr

Actor Oh Dal-soo is set to return to his theater roots in the original “Sunset, Moon Dance” this month

in Daehangno, central Seoul. / Courtesy of Eda Entertainment

When actor Oh Dal-soo played a private jail owner who detains the male protagonist in Park Chan-wook’s “Oldboy,” he left his impression on one of the film’s most memorable scenes.

With his strong presence in “Oldboy,” he has received numerous offers from the local film industry as a scene stealer who makes works shine.

But few know Oh started his acting career in theater in Busan, not in film. Now he is returning to the stage with “Sunset, Moon Dance.”

Clad in a black jacket and pants with shoulder-length hair, Oh says the theater is like home, where he was born as an actor and makes him feel alive.

“I don’t want to divide my career into film and theater. It is meaningless for me. I want to be called an actor, rather than a movie star or a thespian,” Oh said in an interview with The Korea Times.

The 43-year-old made his debut in the famous play “Ogu,” directed by Lee Yun-taek, in Busan in 1990 and landed a role in “Namja Chungdong (Legend of the Man),” a hit drama directed by Cho Kwang-hwa in 1997 in Seoul, which totally changed his life. “I went to Seoul when I took the role in ‘Namja Chungdong.’ The play led me to Seoul and opened my eyes to the bigger world of acting,” he said.

“Sunset, Moon Dance,” a homegrown work written by rising playwright Dong I-hyang and director Sung Ki-woong, will be presented by Singiru Manhwagyeong (Mirage and Kaleidoscope), where Oh serves as head of the group, and Eda Entertainment.

In the upcoming play he will portray “Mr. Hwang,” an aging father obsessed with keeping his child safe within the perils of a goblin forest. The child tries to leave for the outside world, but instead encounters the tricky goblins and must forge a new way.

The drama uses traditional Korean language, song and dance to incite emotional, nostalgic responses via the visual and auditory senses. “Mr. Hwang is a lonely man who is obsessed with his child, and must watch as the adolescent leaves for the new world,” he said.

In a strong Busan dialect, Oh said that the goblins in the play represent a metaphor for the world the child will face. “It is an implication to the child of what kind of world is waiting.”

The coming-of-age play is told humorously, and fantasy-tinged scenes blur dreams and reality, time and space.

“I think the play begins from a father’s point of view to understand the relationship of father and child, and solve their tension of mixed feelings of love and hatred. To resolve this complicated process, I needed to draw up the portrait of the father,” he said. “Finding the right type of father figure for this play was my first task.”

Oh doesn’t want the audience to understand and enjoy the play in the same way he does, because he thinks the work is always the audience’s. “I always want to leave room for the audience because we don’t know what’s happening on stage. The stage performance is so spontaneous and unexpected. That’s one of the charms of theatrical performances. “It’s amazing, too, that both actors and spectators are in the same place and breathe the same atmosphere. So I love the theater,” he said.

Oh has been acting for some 20 years but says it is always tough.

“When I act, I always try to win the hearts of the actors opposite me and try to touch them in a very active way. If I move them first, I can touch the hearts of the audience. That’s my philosophy when acting.”

When he chooses productions, whether it’s for film or theater, the scripts or scenarios are the most important factor. “I have never regretted a role I took. I have never coveted a big role. Even if it’s minor, I don’t care. There shouldn’t be a minor or major for an actor,” he said.

But Oh jokingly said that someday, he wants to perform a warmhearted character who can touch the hearts of the audience, which is contrary to his former roles as cold-blooded villains or crime-related characters.

Oh has starred in films such as “OldBoy,” “Mapado,” “A Bittersweet Life,” “The Host,” “The Good, the Bad, the Weird,” “Festival” and the period piece “Detective K” now showing in theaters nationwide.

“Sunset, Moon Dance” will be on stage from Feb. 10 to 27 at Theater Eda in Daehangno, central Seoul. Tickets cost 25,000 won. For more information, call 1544-1555.

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February 1, 2011

Chun Jung-myung (left) and Han Ji-hye pose at a press event for their new TV drama in Seoul on Monday.

Source: englishnews@chosun.com

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February 1, 2011

Hyun Bin to Attend Berlin International Film Festival

Source: KBS Global

It had been unclear whether the actor Hyun Bin, who will join the Marine Corps on March 7, would be able to attend the Berlin International Film Festival, but his attendance has finally been confirmed. According to a person in the film industry on January 31, Hyun Bin has received permission from relevant authorities and he can now leave Korea from February 15 to 23 to walk the red carpet at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Hyun Bin had requested permission to travel to attend the film festival, but some people said that it might be impossible to leave the country in a situation where he has only one month left before he joins the army. But Hyun Bin had received a letter of reference from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and submitted it to the Military Manpower Administration, and the military authority had judged that his leave to attend the festival would be a proper leave and finally permitted his request.

The movie "Come Rain Come Shine," in which Hyun Bin appears with actress Im Soo Jeong, has advanced to the competition in the category of long film, and his other movie "Late Autumn," in which he appears with Chinese actress Tang Wei, has been invited to screen at the forum of the festival.

Nine total Korean movies have officially been invited to the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, which will begin from February 10.

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February 2, 2011

TV networks target holiday crowd with movies galore

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

If you want to kick back and relax this holiday - or simply drown out your chattering relatives - look no further than the television. Local networks are bringing out the big guns to celebrate the Lunar New Year, offering a slew of movies in a variety of genres. The lineup includes new titles, art films, romantic comedies and award-winning flicks.

There’s enough to keep you entertained for hours - and even days if necessary.

Cyrano Agency

Romance / Korean

Today at 9:10 p.m. on KBS2

This low-budget romantic comedy became the sleeper hit of 2010, attracting more than 2.5 million viewers with a simple plot and an under-the-radar cast. The film is focused on a dating agency that helps its customers win the hearts of the people they desire.

“Cyrano Agency” follows four different characters and their romantic encounters. It proved to be a big hit with moviegoers and critics alike, winning numerous awards at local film festivals last year, including best screenplay.

It also served as a breakout film for actress Lee Min-jeong, who grabbed five best new actress awards in Korea and rose to stardom.

Poetry

Drama / Korean

Saturday at 12:35 a.m. on KBS1

“Poetry” - a film directed by Lee Chang-dong - seemed poised for greatness after winning the best screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

But it failed to attract droves of fans because controversy surrounding the movie turned away moviegoers. The controversy was tied to the fact that the film didn’t receive any funding from the Korean Film Council because of political differences between the conservative council head and the liberal filmmaker.

The film traces the story of a woman in her 60’s suffering from Alzheimer’s disease who starts writing poetry as a way to get over traumatic experiences.

Mother

Mystery, drama / Korean

Thursday at 11:15 p.m. on SBS

Good news for fans of Korean director Bong Joon-ho: his 2009 hit “Mother” is finally coming to a television near you. Bong earned numerous awards domestically and internationally for this dark and gloomy film, which centers on a devoted Korean mother who will go to great lengths to protect her son.

With a compelling story and meaty performances by its leading actors - particularly veteran actress Kim Hye-ja - each scene is memorable in its own way.

Kim, 70, received the best actress nod from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association last month for her role in the film. Korean heartthrob Won Bin also stars in the movie.

Secret Reunion

Drama / Korean

Thursday at 1:20 a.m. on KBS1

Locally made films about spies from the two Koreas have existed for decades. But “Secret Reunion” aims to tackle new ground, approaching the spy genre from a different point of view. Unlike previous films that focus on confrontations between the two countries, this movie details a budding friendship that develops between a spy from the North and one from the South who unexpectedly find themselves living together.

Seasoned actor Song Gang-ho plays the role of the South Korean spy, while Gang Dong-won plays his counterpart from the North. Although some of the situations are tense, the film provides some well-timed comic relief.

Closer to Heaven

Drama / Korean

Saturday at 11 p.m. on SBS

There are a handful of actors and actresses whose names alone are enough to get people into theaters, regardless of plot, reviews or special effects. Moviegoers trust these stars to take on solid roles in films with strong stories.

One of these actors is Kim Myung-min. In “Closer to Heaven,” Kim plays a man who suffers from Lou Gehrig’s disease. To make his character believable, Kim shed about 20 kilograms (44 pounds), and his bony frame became the talk of the town.

Kim and actress Ha Ji-won, widely beloved for her role in the popular drama series “Secret Garden,” pair up in the movie as a couple who fall in love with each other against all odds.

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January 3, 2011

Kim Tae-hee Wins Over Viewers with 'My Princess'

Source: englishnews@chosun.com

Her stunning beauty is beyond dispute, but actress Kim Tae-hee has always been criticized for her wooden acting. She struggled even more in films than on TV, and none of her movies, including "The Restless," "Venus and Mars" and "Grand Prix," were a success at the box office.

But the soap "My Princess," currently on MBC, seems to have changed all that, and viewers have taken to Kim's adorable but comic character in a big way. They seem to enjoy seeing the inelegant side of someone who seems to have it all. And criticism of her acting skills seems on the wane.

"Viewers cheer when an actor shows a side that has never been seen before," one critic says. "But when the actor still gets criticized for their acting afterwards they tend to go back to their old image, and that can be fatal." In other words, the real test for Kim starts after "My Princess."

Of course, there are still some people criticizing Kim's acting on the web board of the "My Princess" homepage. In fact, Kim is perhaps the epitome of a star who appears in more commercials than films or TV series.

Others include Kim Hee-sun, Jeon Ji-hyun, Ko So-young and Lee Young-ae. More recently, Shin Min-a and Lee Min-jung also raised their profile through commercials before being cast in leading roles in films or TV series.

But while the financial rewards are great, viewers tend to disapprove. Woon Goon-il, a former SBS executive, said, "Actors should communicate with their audience through proper work with a story. If they shun it and bury themselves in commercials, their career is inevitably cut short."

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February 3, 2011

Top comedian Hwang booked for car accident during drunk driving

Source: koreatimes.co.kr

Top comedian Hwang Hyun-hee, 31, was booked for causing car accident during drunk driving in Guro, Seoul, early Wednesday.

According to Guro Pollice, the accident took place when he was driving his Mercedes Benz along Baedani Church in Guro-dong at around 4:36 am He drove streight on the street, neglecting traffic signal, crashing with a taxi coming on left turn.

"I was on my way home after drinking soju about a half of the bottle with my friends near the Daelim subway station," Hwang was quoted as saying. He was checked at 0.12 percent of blood alcohol content (BAC), the level at which driving licence could be cancelled.

Hwang has been appearing at popular comedy program of Gag Concert, on KBS1 at every Sunday night.

[Guest eucharis]

Feb 3, 2011

Where is the good looking and pretty Nam Sang Mi ?

Source: namsangmi-global.webs.com

An famous actress Nam Sang Mi recently appears on some online site. Her public appearance lately caught attention that different from her old beauty.

She used to show up with tiny pretty face. But last month on 20th, she appeared at Jayang-dong Lotte Cinema Konkuk University for ’Walled City of Pyongyang” movie Premiere as VIP and her appearance was totally different. She looked a bit fat. She was wearing fur outfit and not highlight her body as she used to. Netizens who saw her recent appearance said that she probably gained weight.

Last year, she made a good image from her acting for SBS drama “Life is Beautiful.”

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February 4, 2011

A Fine Balance: The Quiet Life of a Star Actress

By FRANZ LIDZ New York Times

The Korean actress Yun Jung-hee in “Poetry,” as a woman whose efforts to write are hindered by the onset of dementia. It is her first

feature film since she scaled back her work in 1994. (Kino International)

YUN JUNG-HEE appeared in the lounge of the Grand Hotel InterContinental here wearing a gray wool suit and a silk blouse the color of heliotrope, a grande dame trailing a half-century of South Korean film history as lightly as a wisp of perfume.

She was on the arm of her husband, the pianist Kun Woo Paik. They live in the Paris suburbs. “I’m his secretary,” Ms. Yun said, flirtatiously. “I fold his socks.”

Mr. Paik gazed at his wife with amusement. “Before I leave home on concert tours,” he said, “she makes sure I have black socks in my suitcase.”

He flinched at the memory of the socks that she once packed for a recital at Alice Tully Hall in New York. “They were black, all right,” he said, “but they belonged to our daughter, Jin-hi.”

Ms. Yun, 66, flashed the wry, wide smile that illuminated some 330 feature films from 1967 to 1994, the year she stepped out of the spotlight to fold and pack for Mr. Paik. Moviegoers will once again be able to glimpse that grin in “Poetry,” Lee Chang-dong’s intricate meditation on art and empathy, which opens Friday in New York.

She plays Mi-ja, a pensioner in a provincial town who signs up for a poetry class and struggles to find inspiration in everyday beauty. Her attempts at writing are complicated by the onset of dementia, the demands of mercy sex from the stroke victim she cares for, and the news that her sullen teenage grandson, whom she is raising herself, was involved in the gang rape of a classmate, leading to her suicide.

“To Mi-ja, writing poems is important because she’s discovering the meaning of the world,” Mr. Lee said. “The paradox of her life is that she’s leaving the world and forgetting the words.”

The filmmaker Lee Chang-dong said he wrote “Poetry” with Yun Jung-hee

in mind. (Kino International)

The paradox of Ms. Yun’s real life is that despite attempts to remain in the background she is celebrated all over the world. Her performance in “Poetry” has been wildly praised in South Korea, where she was named best actress at the 2010 Daejong Film Awards — that nation’s Academy Awards — for the third time.

Ms. Yun is “one of Korea’s most treasured, decorated and beloved actresses,” said Ted Kim, a Los Angeles-based executive at one of Korea’s biggest entertainment companies. “Like Michael Jordan she stepped away from the game in her absolute prime.”

Though Ms. Yun had been considered the front-runner for best actress at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the honor went to the local favorite Juliette Binoche for her role in Abbas Kiarostami’s “Certified Copy.”

“Great reviews are better than prizes,” Mr. Paik said, perhaps speaking from his own experiences. “It would be awful to get prizes and terrible reviews.”

Ms. Yun has been earning accolades since her film debut, in 1967, at 23. Born into modest affluence in Gwangju, she appeared in school musicals and idolized Audrey Hepburn but aspired to be a diplomat. She was majoring in history at a college in Seoul when, on a whim, she auditioned for “Cheongchun Geukjang,” (“Sorrowful Youth”), a film adaptation of a popular novel about Korean resistance fighters during the Japanese occupation.

She had read the book and strongly identified with one of the characters, an exchange student in Tokyo who falls in love. “I felt as if I could enter her personality directly,” recalled Ms. Yun, who won the part over 1,200 other hopefuls.

While the film was a sensation, she was something else again. (At that time in Korean cinema women were mostly limited to roles as housewives or femme fatales.) Screaming teenage girls mobbed her. Teenage boys scrawled fan letters in blood. “I couldn’t leave my house,” Ms. Yun said.

Not that she spent much time at home. During the ’60s and ’70s Ms. Yun worked on as many as 50 films a year, sometimes three in a single day.

“A melodrama in the morning, a historical drama in the afternoon, a comedy at night,” Mr. Paik said. At one point five of Ms. Yun’s films played in theaters simultaneously.

She essayed spies, teachers, taxi drivers, nightclub singers, shamans and kisaengs, the Korean equivalent of geishas. “Villains, not very much,” she said. “Once I was a servant who loved a man already married.” There was the slightest of pauses. “No, make that several times.”

Originally Ms. Yun planned to make movies in her homeland for five years, then move to the United States and attend film school. “I was grateful for the adoration I received in Korea, but I had no freedom,” she said of her popularity. “I wanted my real life to be a quiet life.”

Seven years later, in 1972, Ms. Yun did resettle, in Paris, where she enrolled in a film program and commuted to shoots in Asia. “I realized I should live in the land of the Lumière brothers,” she said.

That same year Ms. Yun and Mr. Paik, who was born in Seoul and was then living in New York, met at the National Theater Munich during a performance of “Sim Tjong,” an opera based on a folk tale about a girl who lives with her blind father.

“I saw a beautiful lady,” Mr. Paik said. “I didn’t know she was an actress.”

Ms. Yun said, “I didn’t know he was a pianist.”

She did know the opera’s plot, having just played the girl in a film version. The next night Mr. Paik accompanied her to a screening of the feature.

“I didn’t see much of the girl in the movie,” he said. “I was too enchanted by the beautiful lady in the audience.”

The couple married in 1974, and Ms. Yun scaled back her schedule considerably. After a Daejong Award-winning turn in the Korean War epic “Manmubang” (1994), she was offered — and declined — many projects.

As Mr. Lee, a novelist turned filmmaker who served as culture minister of South Korea from 2003 to 2004, wrote “Poetry,” he imagined the main character in Ms. Yun’s image. He introduced himself to her, and one night over dinner with Ms. Yun and her husband he sheepishly mentioned the screenplay. She was so flattered that she accepted the role without even knowing what the movie was about.

“I am like Mi-ja,” she said. “I daydream and lose myself in beauty. When I see a flower, I scream with joy.”

Sitting in the bright, airy lounge of the Grand Hotel, Mr. Paik listened to his wife with a look of infinite understanding.

“Years ago we went to Venice, and she practically floated through the city,” he said. “I felt like I was holding onto a balloon with a thin thread.”

Mr. Paik crossed his legs, revealing a black sock.

A version of this article appeared in print on February 6, 2011, on page AR13 of the New York edition.

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February 6, 2011

Entertainers fall behind office workers in income

Source: koreatimes.co.kr

Entertainers, including TV and film actors, singers and models, are found to fall behind office workers in average income, according to the National Tax Service.

Entertainers earned a total of 545,388 million won, averaging 24.99 million won in 2009, according to reports on businesses' establishments of value-added tax exempted by 21,817 people who were categorized as entertainers in 2009.

The average income of entertainers was down 12.3 percent or 3.52 million won from the previous year's 28.51 million won. In 2008, a total of 21,619 entertainers reported a total of 616,383 million won in income.

On the other hands, the average annual income of office workers showed a slight increase from 25.1 million won in 2008 to 25.3 million won, according to the NTS

TV and film actors outpowered singers and models in income among entertainers.

The annual income of TV and movie actors (11,972 people) averaged 33 million won, followed by singers (3,617 people) with 25 million won and models (6,228) with 10 million won.

However, TV and film actors suffered from aftershock of financial crisis rather than singers and models. Singers 'average income decreased 3.8 percent from 26 million won in 2008 and models' average income dropped 9 percent from 11 million won, compared to a 13.2 percent fall in income of TV and movie actors from 38 million won in 2008.

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February 6, 2011

'Blossom' portrays love in twilight years

By Kwon Mee-yoo chungay@koreatimes.co.kr

A scene from the film “Late Blossom”

Elderly people are often excluded from big and small screens dominated mainly by the portrayal of romance between young couples. However, the new movie “Late Blossom” features the love of four people in their twilight years, based on a hit Internet cartoon by Kangfull.

The movie is a definite tearjerker. The press conference of “Late Blossom” was delayed a few minutes because actress Kim Su-mi, who plays Cho Sun-i in the film, cried so much that she had to redo her makeup.

The movie revolves around four senior citizens living in a hillside village. Kim Man-seok, played by veteran actor Lee Soon-jae, is a milkman who wakes the village early each morning with his noisy, battered motorcycle. He meets Song (Yoon So-jung), who scavenges for scrap paper while roaming around the town at daybreak. As they meet again and again, they slowly develop feelings for each other.

Song parks her handcart at a junkyard and sees Jang Gun-bong (Song Jae-ho), the caretaker of the parking lot next to the scrap yard. One day, Jang wakes up late and forgets to lock his door and asks Song to fasten it for him. Meanwhile, Jang’s demented wife Cho wanders around the town, ending up on the back of Kim’s motorbike.

Often, these older, veteran actors appear in supporting roles in television soap operas or movies these days. But “Late Blossom” makes the most of their talent in bringing to life this love story in the most natural way.

The original cartoon, titled “I Love You” in Korean, was serialized online in 2007 and later published in three volumes. In 2008, the cartoon was turned into a play and drew audiences of more than 120,000 by 2010.

Kangfull’s success has been evident throughout the film industry. His works such as “Apart” (2006), “Fool” (2008) and “Soonjeong Manhwa” (2008) have also been adapted to the big screen.

“I started the cartoon doubtful of its success, as it told a story about old people, not young, good-looking men and women. However, the response was greater than I expected and it broadened the prospect of my works,” the web cartoonist said in a press release.

Actor Lee said this movie was a rare chance for him and other senior actors to play leading roles on the big screen. “Young people might be under the illusion that life is over after turning 60, but the heart doesn’t change despite getting old,” Lee said. The actor added that the elderly population in Korea has surpassed 5 million. “Not understanding their feelings would be a failure of television dramas, movies and even elections,” he said.

Yoon said, “I realized that I should love from the heart, not the head. This is a beautiful movie and I thought I should make such a film at least once in my lifetime.” She also said she had respected Lee for a long time and it was a pleasure being his partner in the movie.

Song said Jang is a romanticist who perseveres with the pain of his wife’s suffering. “All he knows is his wife. She is everything to him. I think Jang’s character is similar to my personality,” he said.

Kim, who plays a character, with Alzheimer’s, said she was impressed by the way elderly love was portrayed in the film. “In the movie, Kim saves embracing Song until the end of their love. It was stronger than a one-night stand between a young couple,” she said.

Popular younger actors starred in supporting roles. Song Ji-hyo appears as the granddaughter of Kim, while Oh Dal-soo plays a junk dealer who does business with Song.

“Late Blossom” is in theaters from Feb. 17. Distributed by Next Entertainment World (NEW).

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February 6, 2011

Actor Lee to direct asset management firm

Source: swchun@heraldm.com koreaherald.com

Actor Lee Seo-jin has become director of an asset management company.

Ask Veritas Assets Management said Jan. 31 that they have appointed Lee as directorial level manager of their Global Contents 2 Division. He will be in charge of work related to the company’s content.

Lee has a diploma in business management from New York University. His grandfather was president of Seoul Bank and Korea First Bank. His father served as chief executive of a savings bank.

Founded in April, 2009, Ask Veritas specializes in intellectual property and real estate investment.

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February 7, 2011

Nine S. Korean movies invited to Berlin film festival

Source: brk@yna.co.kr english.yonhapnews.co.kr

SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Yonhap) -- Nine South Korean movies will be screened at the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival to kick off on Thursday, with "Come Rain Come Shine" invited to the competitive section, industry officials said.

The romantic drama directed by Lee Yoon-ki is competing for the prestigious Golden Bear Award for the best film, along with 15 other films that include American female director Miranda July's "The Future" and "The Turin Horse" by Bela Tarr from Hungary, according to the event's Web site.

"Come Rain Come Shine" is about a couple on the verge of getting divorced and the husband's psychological change within a span of about five hours. The movie is set to be released locally on March 3.

Co-directed by Park Chan-wook and his brother Chan-kyong, "Night Fishing (Paranmanjang)," a flick shot completely on an iPhone, has been nominated for the short movies section, along with "Pu-Seo-Jin Bam" by Yang Hyo-joo.

"Chenggyecheon Medley: A Dream of Iron" by Park Kyung-kun and "Self Referential Traverse: Zeitgeist and Engagement" by Kim Sun will both be screened during the German festival's official Forum section.

Kim Soo-hyun's "Ashamed," Jeon Kyu-hwan's "Dance Town" and Ryoo Seung-wan's "The Unjust" have made the list for the event's Panorama division.

The 61st Berlin International Film Festival, one of the largest in Europe, will run Feb. 10-20 with acclaimed Italian actress and director Isabella Rossellini tapped as the president of the jury.

South Korean movie "Samaria," directed by Kim Ki-duk, won the award for Best Director at the 54th Berlinale in 2004.

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February 7, 2011

Actress Lee to open charity photo exhibition

By Ines Min inesmin@koreatimes.co.kr

Actress Lee Yeon-hee will hold a charity exhibition in support of the disabled, agency SM Entertainment announced Monday.

Lee, 22, will open the photography showcase "Time" at Olympus Hall, Samseong-dong, from Feb. 11 to 13. The exhibition will comprise of unpublished photos taken by the "Paradise Farm" actress herself.

After the show ends, the photos will be auctioned off at the online shopping mall DnShop (www.dnshop.com). All proceeds will be donated to organizations for the handicapped.

At 8 p.m. on the opening day, Lee will hold a fan meeting at the gallery as well as celebrate her birthday ― the actress turns 23 on Feb. 26.

Lee made her small screen debut in the 2004 "Sea God" and is currently starring opposite TVXQ member Max (Shim Chang-min) in the SBS drama "Paradise Farm." The TV show follows the love story of the two, set on Jeju Island.

Admission to "Time" is free. Olympus Hall is located 15 minutes from exit 7 of Cheongdam Station, subway line 7. For more information, visit www.olympushall.co.kr.

February 10, 2011

Lee Yeon-hee to Hold Photo Exhibition

Source: englishnews@chosun.com

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

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

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

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

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February 8, 2011

Han Hye Jin: 'I Challenged Myself Desperately'

Source: KBS Global

Actress Han Hye Jin will play the protagonist named Seo Jeong Eun in the KBS drama “The Thorn Birds.”

The MBC TV drama “Prince of the Legend,” in which Han appeared by playing the character “So Seo No,” finished in March, 2007, but people still remember actress Han Hye Jin (30) as “So Seo No.” She could not escape the character for the past four years. After the “Price of the Legend,” she appeared in dramas such as “Terroir” and “Jejungwon” and the movie “No Mercy,” but those works were not successful enough to remove her previous image from the “Prince of the Legend,” which had recorded 51.9 percent viewer ratings. But this time, she said that she felt like having a perfectly good card in her hand.

The good card that she mentioned is the KBS 2TV drama “The Thorn Birds” (written by Lee Sun Hee, directed by Kim Jong Chang) that will begin airing from March 2 as a follow-up drama to the drama “President.” She said with twinkling eyes, “It might be like counting my chickens before they hatch, but I have a feeling that this drama will be very successful. I can read the script smoothly and other cast members all agree that the story of the drama is very interesting.” She continued, “I hope that this drama will become another representative work of mine and actually I have that feeling. I had received too much love from people for playing the ‘So Seo No’ in the ‘Prince of the Legend,’ and I really appreciate the love, but I feel ashamed to still be called ‘So Seo No’ in 2011.”

The “The Thorn Birds” is a story about a woman who throws away everything only for her desire, and another woman who embraces those things the other woman had thrown away with love. Han Hye Jin will be the latter, a strong and good woman named Seo Jeong Eun. Han explained about the character, saying, “The character is the most difficult role to play as it requires wide acting ability. Seo Jeong Eun is a bit actress from an orphanage. She lives bravely with a hope that she might be able to find her mother if she could become a star actress. Basically, she is a pure and innocent character, but she always misses her mother. I have to play her becoming a star at last after many troubles and sufferings, so I need various acting ability. She lives a life full of ups and downs, she is like a mixture of every character that I had played until now.” Han Hye Jin explained the character is a difficult role, but actually the drama is a typical melodrama that viewers can easily understand and become immersed in. The story reveals an apparently obvious confrontation between good and evil in the twisted destinies of the two women. But Han disagreed, saying, “At first, I also thought that the story would be very simple, but actually it was not. It seems to be very simple, but more complicated psychology is contained in the simple storyline. Expressing that complicated psychology is very difficult. Seo Jeong Eun gives her love to people around her, but actually she suffers from lack of love. She always longs for affection. On the other hand, she has too pure of a personality, enough so to make people think that she is a foolish person. She experiences many difficulties and she always becomes humiliated by people, but she never loses her pure and naïve personality. I feel pressure because I have to present more mature acting to make people sympathize with the character, but I wanted to give it a try. It might be like running into the fire. I was so tense before the first shooting, but I could not even sleep the day before the first filming.” Playing an actor in the drama seems to be very exciting to her. She said, “I can recall the past when I was in my second year of high school. At that time, I went to many auditions with only my desire and no talent, but I could not pass any of those (laugh). I remember that I had heartbreaks due to failures at that time. I have to play Seo Jeong Eun, who will become a successful actress after many difficulties, and it will be presented in detail, so it might be very exciting.”

When Han Hye Jin appeared in her previous work “Jejungwon,” she expressed her strong affection and pride for the drama by writing her despondent feelings over low viewer ratings on the board of the drama’s website, and it had attracted people’s attention. She said, “I just wanted to say that the viewer ratings cannot be the sole criteria to decide whether a drama is successful or not. Actors should not be controlled by the viewer ratings, but actually it is true that actors can be encouraged by high viewer ratings and can be discouraged by low viewer ratings. The character named Seok Ran that I played in ‘Jejujngwon’ was a great character and I really appreciated that I could play the role. The work itself was very good, but I felt bad because the drama was not successful.” She added, “This drama, ‘The Thorn Birds,’ is a melodrama, but it will be differentiated from other melodramas by outstanding psychological aspects. I will act with my utmost effort for the drama’s success.”

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February 8, 2011

Young filmmaker's death draws public sympathy

By Kim Tae-jong e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr

The late Choi Ko-eun

“It’s shameful but I haven’t eaten anything for days. Please knock on the door if you have any cooked rice and kimchi to share.” It was a note written and hung on an apartment door by a short film director and screenwriter who was found dead by a neighbor.

The 32-year-old short film director died after long suffering from chronic diseases and financial difficulties.

Choi Ko-eun, director of “Passionate Sonata” (2006), was found dead by a neighbor on Jan. 29 in her house in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, and her body was cremated on Feb. 1 in accordance with the wishes of the deceased.

Her death is drawing public sympathy and causing a stir on the Internet, with hundreds of netizens posting messages mourning her death.

According to Anyang Police Station, she had suffered from hyperthyroidism and pancreatitis but received no proper medical treatment.

Police also suspect that she had not eaten for several days before dying, which police suspect is the key cause of her death.

“When we visited her house, she was very thin. We suspect she starved to death, especially suffering from chronic diseases. But the more accurate cause of death will be confirmed when the autopsy result is released in three weeks,” a police officer said.

She made her debut with “Passionate Sonata” in 2006, which earned her the Face in Shorts Award at the 4th Asiana International Short Film Festival. After graduating from Korea National University of Arts in 2007, she also worked as a screenwriter.

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February 8, 2011

Enswers to start Korean wave business in US

By Yoon Ja-young chizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr

Enswers CEO Jack Kim

Enswers is advancing into the U.S. market, having taken over Soompi, a website dedicated to hallyu, or Korean wave.

Enswers, announced Monday that it had acquired Soompi, the biggest online community in English language dedicated to Korean and other Asian celebrities, music and dramas. The two parties, however, decided not to disclose the price.

Founded in 2007, Enswers, one of the country’s most successful IT startups, is known for its video search technologies. Users find the video they want among tons of material on the Web, through the firm’s its audio and video signal processing and large-scale clustering technology. It provides video monitoring solutions and video search technology to portals, and advanced into the Japanese market last year with a monitoring service on World Cup games online.

Soompi started as the personal website of Susan Kang, a Korean American, dealing with Korean culture. It attracts 1.4 million daily visitors and page views average 22 million. Over 90 percent of the members are non-Koreans. The community is depending mostly on the website’s 100 volunteers and 1 million members. Its users are very active, with offline meet-ups continuing in some 50 countries around the world.

“Enswers has been looking to advance into overseas markets, through a media outlet dedicated to hallyu. Soompi was in need of good technology and a development team. We decided that the two satisfy the needs of each other,” a representative for Enswers said.

Enswers plans to set up Soompi Media this month, and launch the new Soompi site within the first half of this year by adding news on Korean pop culture and the video search technology of Enswers.

Lee Jun-pyo, an Enswers executive, will be heading Soompi Media, but Susan Kang, the website’s founder will continue leading the community as “Chief Evangelist.”

“We determined that hallyu would be the best content that could go global when coupled with our technology. Soompi inspired us most in this determination,” said Jack Kim, Enswers CEO. He said that the new business would prove the excellence of the country’s video search technology.

The deal made Enswers the first Korean start-up to take over a venture business in Silicon Valley. Enswers received investment from Softbank Ventures in 2008, followed by KT and Stonebridge Capital the following year.

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February 8, 2011

YouTube taking 'hallyu' on international ride

By Yoon Ja-young chizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr

Firms taking advantage of user contents sites

A video grab of the official YouTube channel

of YG Entertainment. Entertainment firms are

using YouTube as a means to attract fans./ Korea Times

The management of SM Entertainment, one of the biggest pop music agencies here, was amazed when they saw fans waiting in line for “SM Town Live 2010 World Tour in LA” last September. Among some 15,000 fans who gathered in Los Angeles for the concert featuring K-Pop singers including Girls’ Generation and Super Junior, Korean fans made up only 30 percent. Asians other than Koreans accounted for 20 percent, and half were non-Asians. Fans came from not only within the United States, but also from Europe and Latin America. Hallyu, or the Korean wave, seems to have turned into a truly global phenomenon.

YouTube globalizes Hallyu

The first wave of Hallyu started in Japan a decade ago with the Korean TV drama “Winter Sonata.” Its hero Bae Yong-joon won hearts of Japanese ladies, who gave him the affectionate nickname “Yonsama.” Bae and a number of handsome actors led the first wave of Hallyu, mostly in Japan and other Asian countries as non-Koreans came to enjoy Korean dramas.

The second wave of Hallyu reached beyond Asia, with singers like Rain, Boa and the Wonder Girls advancing into the United States.

The third wave of Hallyu has broadened the sphere. It has become a global phenomenon. Music videos of idol stars like Girls’ Generation, 2NE1, Big Bang and 2PM are popular around the world. Behind this new wave of Hallyu is YouTube.

When SM Entertainment released a teaser video of “Hoot” by its leading girl group Girls’ Generation, or better known as SNSD on the Web, via YouTube last October, it recorded one million views in just two days. This is impressive when considering that CNN’s official YouTube channel recorded only 17,000 views in two months after its launch and ESPN, the U.S. sports channel, attracted 2.4 million views in 8 months.

One will also find hundreds of cover videos uploaded by SNSD fans mimicking the girls’ dancing. “’Cover culture’ has become a cultural phenomenon in some Southeast Asian countries. Recently, videos mimicking Korean idols are increasing in Europe, Latin America and the United States as well,” said Jung Tae-soo, a researcher at Samsung Economic Research Institute.

The homepage of the official YouTube channel

for girl group The Wonder Girls. YouTube is

being used as a means to communicate with fans.

/ Korea Times

Entertainment firms using YouTube

Impressed by the hot reaction at YouTube, Korean entertainment firms are actively using the channel.

YG Entertainment, another leading entertainment management company, launched a showcase for the first solo album of G-Dragon and TOP, Big Bang members, through YouTube. A total of 11 songs included on the album were released through Big Bang’s official YouTube channel on Dec. 14. The one-hour live-streamed world premiere performance attracted 390,000 users worldwide.

YG had its girls’ group 2NE1 release three music videos from their first official album through YouTube’s main page and its official channel. “Clap Your Hands,” “Can’t Nobody” and “Go Away” recorded over 10 million views in just two weeks. “Clap Your Hands” in particular marked 470,000 hits on the day it was released, ending up as the most viewed video of the day on You Tube.

YouTube is saving them much of the marketing cost as well. Taeyang, a member of Big Bang, unveiled his first album “Solar” via YouTube without overseas marketing activities last July. It rose to No.2 in R&B sales in the United States and to the top in Canada on iTunes, for the first time for an Asian musician.

2PM of JYP Entertainment, which manages girl group Wonder Girls as well, released a teaser video demonstrating the acrobatic abilities of each member on Oct. 7. The video ended up as the most viewed video on YouTube worldwide for that day.

Real time Hallyu

Thanks to digital devices, Hallyu has turned into a real-time phenomenon. “The new Hallyu is expanding to Europe, the Middle East and Latin America from the previous hotbeds of China and Southeast Asia. In the past, they got popular in Korea first and then spread to other countries but it isn’t like that anymore. It is now consumed simultaneously around the world,” points out Jung.

He said that the expansion of social media, including YouTube, triggered the new Hallyu. People anywhere can access content uploaded on the YouTube channel. He added that the caption service by YouTube lowered the language barrier for Hallyu.

"Great content that is mass-produced in the very small and competitive local market has met global digital platforms like YouTube and earned widespread acclaim among users from all over the world,” said Suh Hwang-wook, a Google Korea director in charge of the YouTube partnership.

“Whereas the pre-existing 'Analog Hallyu Korean Wave' was only distributed offline in a single country at a time, the 'Digital Hallyu Korean Wave' is progressing across the globe simultaneously, and therefore its growth potential is boundless," he added.

According to an analysis of the official YouTube channels of SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, which are the biggest three in the industry, the total number of views generated by Korean music-related videos was 793,574,005 in 229 nations in 2010 alone. Some of views were from countries far from Korea such as Malta, Cyprus and Aruba, showing the unlimited potential of Hallyu coupled with the digital service.

Income model

The entertainment agencies and YouTube are working for mutual benefit through partnerships. While the agencies provide premium content in demand, YouTube helps its partners with various advertisement features, ranging from brand channels, a video statistics service and content identification (CID). CID protects the entertainment firm’s copyright over content by detecting videos that include even a minor portion of a partner’s content, helping to increase revenue by putting advertisements there. The partner entertainment agency and YouTube share the advertisement revenue that they get for each click.

Partner firms can also analyze location, age, and gender of viewers through YouTube’s statistics service.

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February 9, 2011

Kim Hyun-joo (left) and Kim Suk-hoon pose at a press conference for their new TV drama in Seoul on Tuesday.

Source: englishnews@chosun.com