Hwang Jung-Min 황정민 [Upcoming Movies: “12.12: The Day”, “Mission Cross”, “Veteran 2”, “Hope”]

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Star of movie "The Himalayas"

Hwang Jung-min, who plays a starring role in the new movie "The Himalayas," poses for a photo before an interview with Yonhap News Agency in Seoul on Dec. 8, 2015. Hwang is one of the lead actors in the film, which is based on a true story about South Korean mountaineer Um Hong-gik, who goes to the Himalayas in 2005 to find the body of Park Moo-taek, who died while climbing Mt. Everest. (Yonhap) (END)

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Source: Mwave

Hwang Jung Min lights up the room with his smile

Hwang Jung Min gives an animated answer

The cast of film Himalaya attended a press screening at the Wangshimni CGV in Seoul on December 7. 

Photo credit: Kim Byung Kwan

 

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December 8, 2015

[Herald Review] ‘Himalayas’ is its own mountain climb

A scene from “The Himalayas” (CJ Entertainment)

Lee Seok-hoon’s “The Himalayas” is one of the most anticipated films of the year, bringing together “Ode to My Father” director JK Youn as producer and star actor Hwang Jung-min (“Ode to My Father,” “Veteran”) to recreate the true story of well-known mountaineer Uhm Hong-gil.

So it may come as a surprise that compared to other mountain-climbing films like Hollywood’s “Everest,” which came out earlier this year, “The Himalayas” is decidedly less dramatic. 

That may be because of director Lee’s hope that the film would be as real as possible in its depictions of the life of climbers.

“Before we started work on the film, I had the chance to meet a lot of climbers,” he said. “They all told me the same thing: that there weren’t any well-made climbing movies out there. ... Of course, we wanted our film to be well received by the public, but before that we wanted it to be appreciated by actual climbers.”

The first half of the film plays almost like a documentary, following Uhm (Hwang Jung-min) as he trains and builds a relationship with his team -- most notably Park Moo-taek (Jung Woo), who becomes a protege and a brother to Uhm.

A scene from “The Himalayas” (CJ Entertainment)

The process is relatively uneventful and takes place mostly on the ground, making the audience almost forget that this is a mountain-climbing film. How Uhm and Park reached four Himalayan peaks (Kangchenjunga, K2, Shishapangma, Everest) together between 2000 and 2002 is skipped altogether, substituted by brief frames of the two men smiling and taking pictures at the summits. The focus is the brotherly love that builds between the two characters, and the love they share for climbing. 

It is only after this long hour-long narrative that the main story begins. Uhm has declared retirement from climbing when he hears that his protege Park had died on his way down from Everest and that his body still lay there. Uhm quickly assembles an expedition team to recover Park’s body.

This is when the film seems to really begin, with every frozen step shown in shaky detail by cameras that Lee directed to follow the actors rather than shoot from far away. The apparent pain of the climb mingled with Hwang’s convincing portrayal of a heartbroken mentor create an emotional swell toward the end of the film.

“It was a genre we’ve never done before. ... We had no reference,” Hwang Jung-min said. “With genres like action or romance we can monitor the scenes and decide what looks good or bad. But with ‘The Himalayas’ we didn’t have that. It was hard.”

The lack of reference seems to have done some good for the superb cast, who pulled off a film that cannot be typecast into any genre. “The Himalayas” is layered with elements of documentary, comedy, adventure and drama. It’ll throw off moviegoers who come to the theater wanting an exciting blockbuster, but it’s an interesting film that pays respect to Korea’s best-known mountaineer while being entertaining and heartwarming.

“The Himalayas” opens in local theaters on Dec. 16.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)

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December 7, 2015

Korean Films Top 100 Million Viewers for 4th Straight Year
Strong 2nd Half Gives Local Industry Market Edge

by Pierce Conran / KoBiz

 

For the fourth consecutive year, Korean films have surpassed 100 million viewers at the local box office. The mark was breached on November 29th as four local films topped the charts, Inside Men, The Priests, YOU CALL IT PASSION and THE SOUND OF A FLOWER. The milestone was reached faster than last year (December 23rd) but slower than both 2012 (November 20th) and 2013 (October 5th).
 
Korean films struggled for much of the early part of the year, with Ode to My Father (released in 2014, 8.92 million viewers in 2015) leading the way until Detective K : Secret of the Lost Island (3.87 million viewers) performed well during the Lunar New Year holiday, while many high profile films disappointed on the charts.
 
Things took a turn in summer, first with the success of Northern Limit Line (6.04 million viewers) and later with Assassination (12.7 million viewers) and Veteran (13.42 million viewers) both soaring to the top of the charts. The Throne (6.26 million viewers) kept local films on top over Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day) and local thrillers have successively opened in first place since late October.
 
Currently, The Priests and Inside Men are both angling to finish well over the five million admissions mark before the year’s last major releases (The Tiger and The Himalayas) open in mid-December.
 
Overall, the industry is expected to welcome 200 million viewers for the third straight year at some point this month. On December 1st, Korean films accounted for 80% of all sales, bringing the yearly local market share to 51%. The 229 local films released this year have so far earned revenues of USD 677 million.

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Source: 씨네21

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December 9, 2015

'Himalayas' taught Hwang humanity

By Baek Byung-yeul The Korea Times

Hwang Jung-min poses during an interview at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap

Actor Hwang Jung-min has already starred in two consecutive blockbusters this year.

After featuring in the smash-hit film "Ode to My Father," which became the second-most successful film in local box office history with more than 14 million tickets sold, Hwang had another box office success with cop-action flick "Veteran" this summer, which ranked as Korea's fourth-highest-grossing film.

Following the back-to-back box office successes, the 45-year-old stars in another box office offering ― the mountain-themed film "The Himalayas," which will hit local theaters on Dec. 16.

In "The Himalayas," Hwang features as renowned Korean mountaineer Um Hong-gil, who became the first person to reach the 16 highest mountain peaks on Earth.

 
Actor Hwang Jung-min, right, in a scene from "The Himalayas" / Courtesy of CJ E&M

Based on a real story that took place in 2005, Um and his expedition team ascend Mount Everest in search of the dead bodies of three Korean climbers who died climbing there a year earlier, including Park Moo-taek (played by actor Jung Woo), one of Um's expedition team members. Though they only recover Park, the journey to recover the bodies touched many people as their footage was made into a television documentary titled "Human Expedition Team."

When sharing his experiences from shooting "The Himalayas," Hwang learned the importance of humanity and the grandeur of nature.

"While shooting I learned how important the relationships between humans are," Hwang said in an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, Tuesday. "Also, I could feel the grandeur of nature and how small we are compared to it."

Hwang said his most difficult task was to distance himself from the real events.

"When I decided to appear in the film, I just thought it would be a mountain-climbing flick combined with humanism. But while shooting, the fact that it is based on true events became a burden to me," Hwang said.

"While agonizing how to mark the film off from true events, I had a chance to take a look at Um's recording of his team's 2005 activities. After reading the book, I couldn't stop crying because I finally realized the film version doesn't need to be different from the true events."

"The Himalayas" took about six months to shoot from November last year to this May at three locations -- Yeongwol in Gangwon Province, the Himalayas and Mont Blanc.

"When shooting in alpine regions, every crew member had to be cautious not to contract acute mountain sickness, as the highest point where we shot scenes was located at an altitude of 4,500 meters," Hwang said.

Hwang said Um gave much advice for the film.

"There is a scene where I make curry rice at a mountain cabin in the Himalayas at the beginning of the film," he said. "At the cabin which was recommended by Um, the whole view of Mount Everest spread out before us. It was really fantastic."

Another hardship he felt was the lack of reference.

"As there have been only a few mountain-climbing films in Korea, there was no reference," said Hwang. "Ranging from how to look cold at a certain altitude to how much snow will cover the face up there, we didn't have any clue. That was one of the hardest parts of shooting."

Despite those hardships, he was satisfied with the outcome.

"When I finally saw the final version of Himalayas at a premiere Monday, I was stunned by the final product" he said.

Although the film runs only about two hours, he spent about seven months with the crew, he said. "During that period, there were all kinds of emotions we went through, such as laughter, yelling, crying, annoyance and comradeship," he said. "There was no way not to be overwhelmed. I will never forget those experiences with them."

"The Himalayas" will hit theaters nationwide Dec. 16. 

baekby@ktimes.com

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Source: 씨네21

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Published on December 8, 2015 by K STAR 한류스타 리포트 & 생방송 스타뉴스

 

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December 9, 2015

“Himalaya” Poster Becomes Hilarious Meme in Korea

Source: Soompi by kiddy_days

Netizens have made a funny meme out of poster for the movie “Himalaya.”

The meme has netizens holding up the movie poster to their faces which gives the illusion of pasting actor’s Hwang Jung Min‘s face on to their own. The illusion is shockingly realistic, as the poster is exactly life-size, making the meme even funnier. Netizens have been using the meme to post proof-shots after watching the movie.

The meme began after actress Jung Yu Mi, who appears in the movie, posted the photo below on her Instagram:

Hwang Jung Min himself responded to the trend by posting up his own photos on CJ Entertainment’s official Facebook:

Source (1) (2)

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December 9, 2015

"The Himalayas" Hwang Jung Min, "I wish for people to look at each other after watching the movie"

Source: AsiaToday via Hancinema.net

Actor Hwang Jeong-min said he wishes people would look at each other warmly after watching the movie "The Himalayas".

Hwang Jeong-min was interviewed on the 8th in a café in Seoul. He said, "The first time I saw the snow-covered mountains I felt how great nature is and that humans were distorted. In the end, the movie is not about the mountain but the people".

"I hope people can see each others' faces warmly after the movie".

"The Himalayas" is a humane, dramatic film about Eom Hong-hil (Hwang Jeong-min) who sets out on a journey to find the dead body of one of his fellow mountain climbers.

Hwang Jeong-min played Eom Hong-gil, a real existing character and mountain climber.

"The Himalayas" starring Jeong Woo, Jo Seong-ha, Kim In-kwon, Ra Mi-ran, Kim Won-hae, and others is coming out on the 16th.

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December 11, 2015

HyunA joins in ‘Himalayas’ poster parody trend

(HyunA's Instagram)

Parodies of the poster for the movie “Himalayas,” exhibiting a snow-covered smiling face of lead actor Hwang Jung-min, are going viral. 

K-pop group 4 Minute’s singer HyunA jumped on the bandwagon together with groupmate Jiyoon, Thursday. 

Jiyoon hid her face behind the life-sized printed face of Hwang Jung-min and tidied her hair to fall around his face, effectively turning into Hwang with a female body and brown hair. 

HyunA took the video. She asked Jiyoon to explain what she was doing, but Jiyoon only put up a victory sign against her - or Hwang’s - chin. 

HyunA then bursts out laughing and tells Jiyoon she is taking a video not a photo. “Shoot me well,” Jiyoon replies in the short video uploaded on to Instagram.

A number of people have used the “Himalayas” poster to create funny photos as a good-hearted joke. 

Hwang is an award-winning actor who appeared in “Ode to My Father” and “Veteran.” Both movies were smash hits that sold more than 10 million tickets in 2015. 

“Himalayas,” Hwang’s last film of this year, will open on Dec. 16.

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By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)

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December 14, 2015

Actor of the year: Hwang Jung Min VS Hwang Jung Min VS Hwang Jung Min

Source: STARNEWS via Hancinema.net

2015 started off with Hwang Jeong-min and ended with him. He continued to star in movies and created results like "Ode to My Father", "Veteran" and "The Himalayas".

Hwang Jeong-min started off with "Ode to My Father" which set a record of 140 million viewers. The movie is about a regular head of a family in the 1950s but it brought about a massive wave in our society.

Hwang Jeong-min proved he could make the public cry if he wanted to. He perfectly portrayed the role of a character from his early teens to his old age.

Hwang Jeong-min was awarded the Best Actor at the 35th Golden Film Awards, Actor of the Year at the 15th Directors' Cut and the Best Couple Award at the 8th Seoul Elderly Film Awards.

Hwang Jeong-min then became a detective named Seo Do-cheol in the movie "Veteran". Along with Yoo Ah-in, Hwang Jeong-min played a detective boiling with justice.

"Veteran" set a record of 130 million viewers and made another hit. There hasn't been anyone yet who made a success this great two times in a row. Hwang Jeong-min was in the middle of Korean movie success.

That isn't it. Hwang Jeong-min even said, "It's no fun when an actor thinks about success. There are still many mountains to climb". Then he started off on his next venture.

Hwang Jeong-min starred in the newest movie "The Himalayas" which is based on the true story of mountain climber Eom Hong-gil and his expedition to rescue a teammate who never made it out alive of the Himalayas. Like the great leader Eom Hong-gil, Hwang Jeong-min was a great leader throughout the making of the movie.

Hwang Jeong-min created a lot of results. He's always played important roles in movies like "The Unjust", "Dancing Queen", "The New World" and "Fist of Legend" but now he will be remembered for "Ode to My Father" and "Veteran". His past works haven't always been greatly successful but he turned all that around this year.

With the end of 2015 almost here, Hwang Jeong-min is preparing to film movies "A Violent Prosecutor" with Kang Dong-won and "Asura" with Jeong Woo-seong. His co-stars are all top stars but Hwang Jeong-min has the ability to shine and create synergy with anyone.

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December 15, 2015

(Yearender) Diversity defines S. Korean movies, music in 2015

By Park Sojung

SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Yonhap) -- The year 2015 has been one of the most diverse years for South Korean movies and music, as both Korean and non-Korean films topped the local box-office chart and a wave of nostalgia brought on by TV series set in the 1980s and 90s took South Koreans down musical memory lane.

Foreign blockbusters dominated the first half of the year, as "Kingsman: The Secret Service" became the first box-office topper with 6.19 million viewers. With the audience tally double that of the 2006 fantasy war film "300," the British-American spy movie became the best-selling R-rated foreign film of all time in South Korea.

"Avengers: The Age of Ultron," out in April, was the first movie to be viewed by more than 10 million people in 2015. With 14.9 million admissions, it became the fourth best-selling foreign film of all time in South Korea after "Avatar," "Frozen" and "Interstellar."

Homegrown movies got off to a slow start, with the first local film to top 10 million viewers opening in late July. "The Assassination," starring Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Jung-jae and Ha Jung-woo, broke the 10 million mark exactly on the nation's Liberation Day of Aug. 15, when Korea was freed from Japanese colonial rule 70 years ago. The Choi Dong-hoon feature film takes place at the height of Japanese occupation in the 1930s and portrays a struggle by a group of Korean independence fighters to assassinate a Japanese military commander and their pro-Japanese compatriot.

"Veteran," another local movie, broke the 10 million viewer mark that same month in a rare South Korean movie success. Only in 2012 did two domestic films achieve that milestone for the first time. "The Thieves" drew 12.9 million viewers in August 2012 and two months later, "Masquerade," followed suit with 12.3 million.

South Korean movies continued their strong traditions at international awards this year. "Right Now, Wrong Then," an arthouse film by director Hong Sang-soo, won the Golden Leopard award at the Locarno International Film Festival in August. The male lead Jung Jae-young also became the first South Korean actor to be named best actor at the Swiss festival.

In June, a South Korean indie documentary "My Love, Don't Cross That River," portraying a long-standing love between an old couple in a remote village, became the first South Korean film to win Best Documentary at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

All in all, the South Korean movie scene remained strong, garnering 100 million moviegoers for the fourth consecutive year as of Nov. 30.

On the musical end of things, bands popular in the 1980s and 90s recaptured notoriety thanks to TV series themed on or set in those periods. Songs by S.E.S., Jinusean and Turbo re-entered music charts despite years of inactivity after the MBC variety show "Infinite Challenge" featured them singing old hits. Lee Moon-se's "Girl" and Zoo's "Hyehwadong" also topped drama soundtrack charts after characters on tvN's "Reply 1988" sung them.

Meanwhile, contemporary idol group BigBang dominated music charts for four consecutive months with singles released from May to August, which culminated in the album "MADE." EXO, another boy band, sold a million copies of its second album, breaking its own record set in 2013, when its first album sold the same number of copies.

The South Korean music scene, however, wasn't without its controversies in 2015.

Law enforcement authorities launched a probe into suspicions that MelOn, the operator of South Korea's largest music chart, may have been rigged to favor certain artists.

Korean-American rapper Yoo Seung-jun pleaded to be allowed into South Korea 13 years after he was permanently banned from the country for allegedly acquiring U.S. citizenship for the sole purpose of evading military service required of all able-bodied South Korean men. His public appeal, however, garnered little sympathy from his former compatriots. A Seoul court is still processing his petition to have the entry ban lifted.

Singer-songwriter IU came under fire for lyrics accused of portraying child molestation in a positive light. A local publishing house that translated the popular Brazilian children's book "My Sweet Orange Tree," on which her song "Zeze" is based, said the lyrics were suggestive of pedophilia. IU apologized for causing the controversy but continued to sing "Zeze" at concerts, introducing it as "a song I continue to love."

 sojungpark@yna.co.kr

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December 16, 2015

'Himalayas,' 'Tiger' open Wednesday

Posters for 'Himalaya' and 'Tiger' (right) (CJ Entertainment, NEW)

Korean blockbuster films “The Himalayas” and “The Tiger” simultaneously opened on Wednesday, triggering industry watchers’ attention to which will outperform the other. 

“The Himalayas” stars 2015's Daejong Awards winner Hwang Jung-min. Its plot is a touching drama based on a true story about a group of weathered mountaineers challenging the treacherous slopes of the Himalayas to salvage a climber’s corpse lost in the snow-covered mountain. Director Lee Seok-hoon of “The Pirates” (2014) is behind the production. 

“The Tiger” casts another celebrated champion Choi Min-sik, holder of best actor awards from 2014’s Daejong Awards and 2015’s Paeksang Arts Awards, and is about the dogged hunt for Joseon’s last remaining great tiger. Director Park Hoon-jung, who worked together with Choi previously for the film “New World (2012),” took the megaphone. 

“The Himalayas” spent 10.5 billion won ($8.8 million) on production, while “The Tiger” spent 14.5 billion won. 

According to the Korean Film Council, “The Himalayas” led ticket reservations in second place with 28.1 percent over “The Tiger” in third place 14.1 percent as of 8 a.m. 

Neither film is drawing great enthusiasm, as most public anticipation is leaning toward upcoming “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” with the top booking rate at 42.1 percent. 

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)
 

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December 14, 2015

The List 2015 Reveal Top 8 Earners In Korean Entertainment

Source: KBS Global

A cable network recently broadcast a special, called "The List 2015", revealing the top earnings of stars in Korea.

The top eight Korean entertainers were revealed, with seven out of the eight being actors/actresses. Each stars' income was estimated according to their product endoresement deals, number of drama episodes they appeared in, film roles, and other various factors presented by industry insiders and experts. 

Park Bo-young came in at eight place with an estimated total income of about 1 billion won (includes four endorsement deals). Following her in seventh place was actor Park Seo-joon, estimated to have earned about 1.08 billion won (includes a pay of 30 million won per drama episode + 400-5000 million won in endorsement deals). Yoo Hae-jin was sixth place due to his many movie roles, variety show popularity, and endorsement deals this year. Hwang Jung-eum was in fifth place, receiving honorable mention for a long lasting career that includes her singing career in k-pop.

Coming in at fourth was celebrity chef and entrepreneur Baek Jong-won. He boasts the success of having had regular spots on four variety programs and many endorsement deals this year. This is in addition to his running of 20+ restaurant franchises (for a total of 420 branches across Korea) as CEO. Big Bang was in third for breaking records in physical and digital album sales with their MADE series this year. The group is estimated to have earned about 11.5 billion won from just album sales alone. Hwang Jung-min was in second place for his three major film roles, six endorsement deals, and director/actor role in a musical this year. 

Finally, coming in at number one was young actor Yoo Ah-in. Yoo is estimated to have earned 450 million won for his role in the hit movie "The Throne", not to mention he earned about 70 million won per episode for his role in "Six Flying Dragons". He was also the endorsement model for many brands, ranging from coffee, clothing, and telecommunications.

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December 14, 2015

Waikiki Brothers

by Pierce Conran / KoBiz

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December 15, 2015

THE HIMALAYAS to Scale 63 Markets
45-Theater US Rollout Begins This Week

by Pierce Conran / KoBiz

 

LEE Seok-hoon’s mountaineering drama The Himalayas is poised to climb the local charts this week as well as 63 other markets in the near future, per distributor CJ Entertainment. US office CJ Entertainment America will launch the film in the United States this Friday (December 18th), just two days after its domestic bow, before rolling out to 45 theaters across North America by January.
 
In addition to the US, CJ Entertainment will directly distribute the film in China, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam through local affiliates. The distributor also locked a raft of deals on the title following its presentation at the American Film Market (AFM) in Santa Monica, CA last month. With 63 on board to screen The Himalayas, the title marks the biggest pre-sales success of a CJ film since Snowpiercer clinched 167 early deals in 2013.
 
Other markets on board for the expedition epic include the Middle East (Gulf Film), HK & Macau (Panorama), Turkey (Medyavizyon), Ex-Yugoslavia (Blitz), French Speaking Europe (AAA), Philippines (Viva Communications), Thailand (M Pictures) and Mongolia (Bloomsbury), among others.
 
HWANG Jung-min (Veteran) stars as real-life climber UM Hong-gil, who returns to Mount Everest to retrieve the body of a fallen comrade (played by C'est Si Bon’s JUNG Woo). The drama comes from production company JK Film, which previously released such hits as Haeundae (2009) and Ode to My Father (2014). Director LEE is hoping to add another hit to his bow, following 2012’s Dancing Queen (also with HWANG) and last summer’s period action film The Pirates.
 
The Himalayas is currently tracking second on the reservations chart in Korea, ahead of local contender The Tiger but behind US behemoth Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

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December 17, 2015

[Interview] Jung Woo expresses special thanks to Hwang Jung Min

Source: STARN News

Jung Woo expressed special thanks to Hwang Jung Min.

Recently, actor Jung Woo had an interview with StarN News at a café that is located in Palpan-dong, Seoul, and talked about his friendship with Hwang Jung Min.

Jung Woo played in movie 'The Himalayas' as Park Moo Taek, a mountaineer who builds special friendship with Um Hong Gil (played by Hwang Jung Min).

Regarding his relationship with Hwang Jung Min, Jung Woo said, "I call him senior during official occasions, but I just call him 'hyung (older brother)' when we are not at official occasions."

Jung Woo continued, "I met Jung Min for the first time through movie 'Bloody Tie' many years ago. I have known him for almost ten years, and it was a great pleasure to work with him again in 'The Himalayas.'"

Hwang Jung Min also said during a recent interview, "Jung Woo has got a great talent in acting, and I sincerely hope that he would become one of the most successful actors of Korea. He earned huge popularity after playing in drama 'Answer Me 1994,' and I could not be any happier."

Jung Woo said, "Not only Jung Min, but also Ryu Seung Bum, Kwon Sang Woo, Hyun Bin, and Bong Tae Gyu showed me huge supports over the years. I always feel huge gratitude for them."

Meanwhile, 'The Himalayas' is a new film directed by Lee Suk Hoon, who had directed 'The Pirates' and 'Dancing Queen.' Other than Hwang Jung Min and Jung Woo, Cho Sung Ha, Kim In Kwon, La Mi Ran, Kim Won Hae, Lee Hae Young, and Jeon Bae Soo played in the movie as lead roles.

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/Reporting by Lee Mi-Ji en@starnnews.com

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Source: KoBiz  

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Source: KoBiz