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

[rubie]

January 25, 2012

'Dancing Queen' and 'Unbowed' Fare Well Over Holiday Weekend

CJ E&M enewsWorld Lee, JinHo

The movies Dancing Queen and Unbowed fared well while Pacemaker and Neverending Story came short during the Lunar New Year holidays.

According to the data released by the Korean Film Council’s Compiled Ticket Computer Network on January 25, Dancing Queen reigned at the top by drawing 1,104,390 moviegoers (totaled at 1,228,384) to 535 theaters across the country during from January 20 to 24. The movie became the first to exceed the one million mark among films released during the holiday season.

Unbowed, based on a 2007 ‘crossbow terror’ incident, came in second by drawing out 813,532 audience members (totaled at 906,895) to 456 theaters nationwide during the same period. At the time of release, it was screened only on about 250 theaters, but the number of theaters has increased to 456 on the back of positive reviews.

Hollywood 3D adventure movie, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island came in third at the holiday box office with 663,152 (totaled at 709,387) on 398 theaters, followed by Puss in Boots and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, which brought in 566,796 (totaled at 1,479,143) and 313,070 (totaled at 7,348,712) viewers, respectively.

After all, Korean movies were successful at the holiday box office, beating out Hollywood movies.

But other Korean movies came short of expectations. Pacemaker ranked sixth by drawing 267,277 (totaled at 333,673) to 481 theaters during the holidays while Neverending Story came in eighth with 155,914 (206,311) on 267 theaters.

Meanwhile, Dancing Queen tells the story of a human rights lawyer who runs for Seoul mayor and his wife who pursues her lifelong dream of becoming a dance singer. Unbowed follows the story of a man who challenges the court, based on the true event which occurred five years ago.

Photo credit: Dancing Queen, Unbowed

[rubie]

January 25, 2012

Hwang Jung-min Blushes when Talking with Lee Hyori on Phone

Writer: Honorary reporter Sohn Ji-yeon CopyrightⒸKBS&KBS Media

On the episode of KBS 2 TV's "Happy Together" that aired on Jan. 19, actor Hwang Jung-min revealed he was a big fan of singer Lee Hyori, attracting attention from viewers.

On the episode, all the male cast members, including Hwang, cheered when Lee Hyori's name was called as a close acquaintance of singer Um Jeong-hwa, who appeared on the episode. In particular, Um said, “As I know, Hwang Jung-min likes Lee Hyori very much."

Then Hwang gushed over Lee Hyori, producing great laughter on the studio set. Hwang was very delighted to know that Lee was on the phone. As soon as he started to talk with Lee, he could not hide his embarrassment, blushing and stammering, driving the cast members into great laughter.

When Lee called him on the line, saying, "Mr. Jung-min," he became so embarrassed that he could not initially respond to her. At that time, Shin Bong-son said, "He seems to be the innocent country boy who appeared in the movie 'You are my destiny.'"

Hwang, who shouted at last, "I love you", expressed his delight to talk with Lee on the phone, saying, "Among the entertainers, I like Lee Hyori most."

Meanwhile, on the Thursday episode, Hwang's story about when he was about to emigrate to a foreign country -- discarding his dream of becoming an actor -- and Um's opinion on composer Chong Jae-hyung as a man were broadcast, receiving a positive response from viewers.

[rubie]

January 25, 2012

Korean movies beat Hollywood blockbusters over Lunar New Year

By Carla Sunwoo [carlasunwoo@joongang.co.kr] http://koreajoongangdaily.com

Korean films “Dancing Queen” and “Unbowed” topped box office sales over the Lunar New Year holiday, coming in first and second place, respectively, and beating out several foreign movies. The two films combined attracted 42.7 percent of cinema patrons from Jan. 20 to Jan. 24.

“Dancing Queen,” a comedy starring Uhm Jung-hwa and Hwang Jeong-min, was shown in some 535 cinemas nationwide, according to statistics from the Korean Film Commission released on Jan. 25. It tells the story of the wife of a mayoral candidate who secretly prepares to join a girl group.

A total of 1,104,390 people watched the film from Jan. 20 to Jan. 24, the commission said. Overall, 1,228,384 people have watched the film since it was released on Jan. 18.

The runner-up “Unbowed” stars Ahn Sung-ki, and during the long weekend, some 456 theaters showed the film to a total of 813,532 people. The film also opened on Jan. 18, and to date, it has sold 906,895 tickets.

Hollywood blockbuster “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” starring Dwayne Johnson and Michael Caine,” came in third place in the commission’s statistics.

[rubie]

January 26, 2012

Hwang Jung Min Likens Kim Jung Eun to Chocolate

CJ E&M enewsWorld Lee, JinHo

A press conference for general service channel, TV Chosun’s upcoming drama, The Korean Peninsula was held on January 26 in Seoul with its leading cast members, Hwang Jung Min, Kim Jung Eun, Kim Ji Sook, Gwak Hee Sung, Jo Sung Ha, Jo Yi Jin, and Ji Hoo, as well as director Lee Hyung Min, in attendance.

Hwang Jung Min shared his feelings on working with Kim Jung Eun, “We’ve talked about working together many times before. I thought I would work with her on a romantic comedy, but it turned out to be a slightly serious drama.”

Hwang is taking on the role of scientist Seo Myung Jun, who becomes the president of a unified Korea. The character falls in love with North Korean elite Lim Jin Jae (Kim Jung Eun) while developing a new energy source together.

He said, “Kim Jung Eun gives off feelings like chocolate. She is lovely, interesting and, on top of it, she is so nice.” He added with a smile, “I shot a kiss scene with such a person in Romania. Don’t you think it must have left a strong impression on me?”

He continued, “Korean Peninsula has such a great theme. There′s no country [except for Korea] in which such a theme can be dealt with.”

“People are talking about the drama′s political theme, but I don’t care about such matters. If I cared about such issues, I wouldn’t have worked on the film A Good Lawyer′s Wife or movies centered on homosexuality,” he added.

The drama is centered on a romance between Myung Jun and Jin Jae against the background of the Korean Peninsula where discussions on joint development of alternative energy source and unification steps up between the North and the South. It is set to premiere on February 6, at 8:50pm.

Photo credit: Kim Byung Kwan

[rubie]

January 26, 2012

Hwang Jung Min at 'Hanbando' Press Conference

Photos from Nate.com

[rubie]

[rubie]

January 26, 2012

Hwang Jung Min at 'Nameless Gangster' VIP Screening

Photos from Nate.com

[rubie]

Source: innolife.net

[rubie]

Source: innolife.tv

DL VOD

DL VOD

[rubie]

January 26, 2012

Dancing Queen Reaches 1.5 Million Viewers in 9 Days

Source: Nate by: animalcrackers via soompi.com

In just nine days, Uhm Jung Hwa's movie, "Dancing Queen," has brought in 1.5 million theater goers!

The movie hit theaters on January 18, and according to survey results released on January 27, "Dancing Queen" ranked second place in the box office, recording 109,353 people in one day on the 26th. In total so far, 1,501,677 people have seen the movie.

"Dancing Queen" is about Uhm Jung Hwa who receives a singer casting offer while her husband is campaigning for the position of Seoul Mayor. She eventually takes the offer and begins to lead a double life as a dancing queen and the wife of a politican.

"Dancing Queen" is second to "Broken Arrow," which ranked first in the box office with 113,339 theater goers on the 26th. In third was "Puss In Boots."

Following in fourth was 3D animation film, "Korea's Dinosaur 3D," and in fifth was "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island." "Mission Impossible," "Pace Maker," "Never Ending Story," "We Lived in the Zoo," and "Millennium" followed in ranking.

[rubie]

Source: chosun.com

[rubie]

January 30, 2012

Korean Box Office: January 27-29

Source: Seen in Jeonju

[rubie]

January 30, 2012

Dancing Queen surpassing the 2million audience mark

Nate 1 l 2 l 3

[rubie]

January 28, 2012

HanCinema Korea's Diary

Dancing Queen: Feel-Good Fun with Plenty to Say

Source: Hancinema.net

It's sometimes a complicated effort to find Korean films that are screening with English subtitles in Seoul. Many big cinema houses sporadically screen the latest Korean films and hearing about them is almost impossible without being in the loop as it were. So when I saw that Lee Seok-hoon's "Dancing Queen" was screening at Yongsan in Seoul, I resigned myself to the fact that, although it didn't look like a film I would willing choice to watch, I would see it because it is what was available. This reluctance was compounded by the film's 124-minute screen time but, despite this, I was happily surprised to walk out of the theatre with a smile on my face and a spring in my step.

"Dancing Queen" is currently the top film out on the Korean cinema circuit at the moment with a total of 632,837 admissions. It's a great start to what is a highly entertaining and hilarious film. I feel the need at this point to voice my personal objection to film's title and overall marketing. The film involves a middle-aged couple that have lost some sense of themselves and the dreams that they both once held. As they each pursue their dream their relationship becomes stretched to the breaking point. Hwang Jeong-min plays Jeong-min, a civil lawyer who's failing private practice is stuck in a rut and capping his ability to grow professionally and provide for his family. His wife, played by Uhm Jung-hwa, chose to let go of her dream to become a musical singer when the two of them got married some years back. As the film progresses, Jeong-min gets the opportunity to run for mayor while Jung-hwa secretly joins a girl group on the rise. The film favours neither one in particular but the production company clearly put stock in the fact that calling this "Dancing Queen" would help promote the film. Maybe they were right, as its first week and half has shown good results, but in writing this I hope to encourage those, who like myself are sceptical, to give the film a chance and not be distracted by the film's marketing strategies.

The film tackles a number of relevant socio-cultural issues currently being experienced in Korea. These range and include topics such as domestic identity, patriarchy, personal agency, and even homosexuality is touched on. It handles these, and other, issues in a light and digestible manner without diminishing or undermining their importance and place within the publics consciousness. Sure, some themes are simplified and are managed with less tact than others but their inclusion is definitely noted and contributes towards the film's impact as a whole.

Just by watching this film you can get a pretty good outline of some of the major social issues being raised in modern Korea. Education, the private industry in particular, has become almost unmanageable while the cost of living and housing continues to rise. Korea's low birth rate remains to be one of country's biggest long-term issues as Korea's future economic prowess could be threatened. Homosexuality in the workplace, and in society, is a relatively new social phenomenon and Korea has slowly been given it more attention and recognition. Jung-hwa and Jeong-min's relationship challenges traditional assumptions about the expectations of gender roles with the family. These themes, alone with others, are a plenty in the film and they stood out to me as a bold, almost provocative, text on Korea's progression as a nation in the 21st century.

The film makes for fantastic entertainment. The flecks of humour are pulled-off through some great acting and are altogether well paced. Throughout the film the types of emotions you will experience range and are, most importantly, well situated to each scene and the beats within. Progression is one of films strengths and, despite its length, it is one of longer Korean comedies that I wasn't continually checking the clock. "Dancing Queen" was able to create an absorbing narrative that keeps you engaged with new encounters and conflict without boring you in the process. Its likeable characters are handled well by the actors and you won't be able to walk away from the film without some form of inspiration or newfound positive perspective on life.

-C.J. Wheeler (Chriscjw@gmail.com)

[rubie]

February 1, 2012

Deleted 'Dancing Queen' Kissing Scene?

Source: Nate

[rubie]

February 2, 2012

Korean film in 2012

KOREA IT TIMES (INFO@KOREAITTIMES.COM)

SEOUL, KOREA — The Korean film industry has a lot to offer for the year of 2012. Korean films have been gathering more attention around the world and in the domestic market, as Korean films gain attention and Korean actors and producers take part in more international collaborations.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the market share for Korean films was 51.9%, up from 46.5 in 2010 and marking the first time in modern history that Korean moviegoing audiences showed a marked preference for domestic movies. As well, film exports increased by 14% in 2011.

Five Korean films sold more than four million tickets in Korean theatres in 2011, up from just two in 2010. Those include Sunny by director Kang Hyeong-cheol and Detective K, directed by Kim Seok-yoon, as well as Kim Han-min’s War of the Arrows, which sold almost 7.5 million tickets. The Crucible, based on the novel of the same name by Gong Ji-young, shone a light on the sexual abuse scandal at Gwangju Inhwa School, causing the public, the media, and lawmakers to sit up and take notice.

Already several movies have been released this year. Dancing Queen stars Uhm Jung-hwa as the wife of a politician who leads a secret life as a dance singer. Veteran actor Ahn Sung-gi stars in Chung Ji-young’s Unbowed, which depicts the 2007 incident known as the “crossbow terror” incident, in which a university professor fired a crossbow bolt at a judge. A 3D animated feature film, The Outback is a joint Korea/U.S. coproduction about a circus koala.

Already in theatres: Dancing Queen (CJ Entertainment) and Unbowed (NEW)

February will see yet another film starring Song Kang-ho, who has received acclaims throughout his career for films such as JSA, Memories of Murder, and The Host. He appears this time in action-drama Howling, in which he pursues a killer dog. Ha Jeong-woo is set to appear in three films this year; in February he and Oldboy star Choi Min-sik will costar as gangsters in Nameless Gangster, and also as a “Male Bridget Jones” in Love Fiction, both films out in February. Later in the year he will appear as a North Korean spy in The Berlin File. Other releases for the month include Han Ji-won’s The Angel’s Breath, a drama about an actor who dreams of becoming a star, and 2 Lines, a documentary by Ji Min about cohabitation.

PHOTO: Howling (CJ Entertainment)

March will be a busy month for new releases. Lee Sun-gyun, who broke through in the TV drama The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince, will appear in Train, a mystery thriller based on the novel All She was Worth by Miyabe Miyuki. Speaking of coffee, the historical drama Russian Coffee depicts King Gojong’s love of coffee, based on a novel by Kim Tak-hwan. Kim Ji-woon, who is currently in the U.S. directing Arnold Schwartzenegger for the 2013 film Last Stand, will showcase his directing talents alongside colleagues Han Jae-rim and Lim Pil-seong in The Fall of Humanity, an omnibus of three science fiction stories. Kim’s segment deals with a robot that gains sentience. Lim’s segment tells the story of a zombie apocalypse from the point of view of a zombie, and Han’s chapter is a musical movie set at the end of the world. If you want something a little safer, Bae Gwang-soo’s drama Eighteen and Nineteen tells of a scandal with adolescent fraternal twins Hoya and Seoya, and Lee Kwang-kuk’s Romance Joe tells a more conventional love story about a struggling film director and a coffee shop waitress.

PHOTO: In Russian Coffee (Cinema Service), Park Hee-soon depicts King Gojong, and Kim So-yeon serves him coffee.

After that, there seems to be a bit of a break in Korean releases until June, with the release of horror movie Don’t Click by Kim Tae-kyeong starring Park Bo-yeong. After watching an unidentified video, her character Se-hee must save her sister and her boyfriend from...something, presumably this time not a ghost who likes to crawl out of televisions.

PHOTO: Don't Click (Showbox Media Plex) teaches you to be careful what links you open on your computer.

Set for a summer release is Yeongasi, which is described as a natural disaster movie but with a plot more akin to Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Parasitic horsehair worms -- Yeongasi in Korean – mutate and begin infecting humans, controlling their minds. The star, Kim Myeong-min, received a neck injury while filming a scene where he is attacked by an angry mob. He had anticipated the injury and didn’t let it slow him down.

Many other Korean films are set to be released this year with no definite opening date yet. International star Lee Byeong-heon is set to appear in both an American and a Korean film, revisiting his character Storm Shadow in G.I. Joe: Retaliation and taking on a double role in I am King of Joseon, an adaptation of The Prince and the Pauper about a king and a beggar who switch roles. Rain stars in war film Soar into the Sky, a remake of Shin Sang-ok’s 1964 film The Red Muffler about air force pilots. Rain himself began his compulsive military service in October 2011 following the wrap of filming.

Two of the most anticipated films of 2012 will square off for best heist movie. Director Choi Dong-hoon will release his fourth movie, the highly anticipated The Thieves, a heist film set in Macao which has been called the Ocean’s Eleven of Korea. It features a star-studded cast including Lee Jung-jae (Oh! Brothers), Kim Yoon-seok (The Chaser), Kim Hye-su (Tazza: the High Rollers), and Jun Ji-hyun (My Sassy Girl), along with Chinese actors Simon Yam and Angelica Lee. It may face stiff competition from Kim Joo-ho’s The Grand Heist, which has been described as the Joseon Dynasty version of Ocean’s Eleven. Rather than cash or diamonds, the target of the film’s heist is a rare commodity of the Joseon era: ice.

PHOTO: The Thieves (Showbox Media Plex) was filmed in Macao, Hong Kong, and Korea.

The latter part of the year should see the release of a diverse array of Korean films. Ko Hyeon-jeong stars in Miss Conspirator, a mob comedy about the hunt for misplaced drugs. Shin Jeong-won’s film The Fortune Tellers is a mystery film that sends an ensemble cast to Uljin to solve a mystery. Korea, directed by Moon Hyeon-seong, depicts the story of the first victory of the inter-Korea team at the 1991 Chiba Worldwide Table Tennis Championships. Featuring actresses Ha Ji-won and Bae Doona, it should deliver some stirring performances. For the romantics, there’s also An Introduction to Architecture, a melodrama about an architect who rebuilds the home of his first love, in a nonlinear plot that skips between present and past.

PHOTO: Korea (CJ Entertainment) tells the story of North and South Koreans cooperating to win the 1991 tournament.

There will doubtlessly be many more Korean films released throughout the year. In order to make Korean films more approachable to foreigners residing in Korea, Korean films are often screened with English subtitles at theatres such as CGV Yongsan. Listings may vary throughout the year. For more news on Korean films, visit www.hancinema.net.

[rubie]

Thanks to the highlight by gle_perry at HJW thread

January 31, 2012 (disclaimer: very roughly gisted)

17 Korean box-office hit-makers since 2005

Source: Donga.com

1. Kim Yoon Seok

2. Song Kang Ho

3. Kang Dong Wan

4. Ha Ji Won

5. Sul Kyung Gu

6. Cha Tae Hyun

7. Lee Byung Hun

8. Park Hae Il

9. Kim Myung Min

10. Jang Dong Gun

11. Son Ye Jin

12. Kim Ha Neul

13. Ha Jung Woo

14. Hwang Jung Min

15. Jeon Do Yeon

16. Kwon Sang Woo

17. Lee Na Young

[rubie]

February 2, 2012

Korean movies take over the box office

Source: Nate via Hancinema.net

"Nameless Gangster", "Broken Arrow", "Dancing Queen", "PaPa" and more Korean movies have wiped the box office clean.

According to the Korean Films Council on February 3rd, on February 2nd "Nameless Gangster" rose to #1 at the box office in 598 theaters and drew in 158,809 admissions on the day it was released. Overall it has pulled in 169,886 admissions.

"Broken Arrow", which had remained in first place until now, settled down to second place with 69,677 admissions, 2,234,862 total.

"Dancing Queen", starring Uhm Jung-hwa and Hwang Jeong-min, rose to the third place with 54,243 admissions, 2,411,404 total.

"PaPa", which was released at about the same time as "Nameless Gangster", gathered 28,739 admissions (78,776 overall) and landed in fourth place and "Tarbosaurus 3D", which recorded the most admissions of among current Korean animations, came in fifth place with 14,086 admissions, 442,192 overall.

Thus, Korean movies now occupy all the rankings from 1 to 5.

[rubie]

February 3, 2012

Box office analysis, Jan. 18 - 31

BY Darcy PAQUET KOBIZ

Two Korean films emerged as major hits in 2012's Lunar New Year holiday season - <Dancing Queen> and <Unbowed>. The success of <Dancing Queen>, which sold 2.26 million tickets in its first two weeks on release, was not entirely unexpected.

The comic drama by director LEE Seok-hoon (<See You after School>) stars HWANG Jung-min and UHM Jung-hwa in an unusual story about a struggling human rights lawyer who is picked by a major political party to run in the elections for Seoul Mayor. Meanwhile his wife, who has dreamed all her life of becoming a singer, is suddenly given the opportunity - but given conservative attitudes about the role of politicians’ wives, will her dream derail her husband's political career? Both critics and mainstream audiences have greeted the film warmly, with the acting performances of the two leads singled out for particular praise.

If the strong start of <Dancing Queen> was no surprise, the performance of its strongest competitor certainly was. <Unbowed> is a film based on a real-life court case in which a professor carrying a crossbow confronted a judge whom he felt had issued a biased judgment against him. The film focuses on the efforts of a lawyer to defend his client, who appears to be the victim of further biased judgments by the court.

Directed by CHUNG Ji-young, a major figure of 1990s Korean cinema who hadn't directed a film in over a decade, <Unbowed> was well received during its premiere at the 2011 Busan International Film Festival. However the low-budget work was not expected to make much of an impact at the box office. Nonetheless, the dramatic story and the timeliness of its themes have turned the film's release into a social phenomenon, similar to how the Korean film <Silenced> became a #1 box office hit last September.

<Unbowed> sold 2.05 million tickets in its first two weeks, and has only gained momentum as time has passed. At the time of this writing it has overtaken <Dancing Queen> to become the #1 film in the daily box office tallies.

These two main box office contenders are trailed in the rankings by three US films - <Puss in Boots>, <Journey 2: The Mysterious Island> and <Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol>.

[rubie]

February 4, 2012

'Dancing Queen' Close to 3 Million Record

CJ E&M enewsWorld Kim, JiYeon

Although it′s now in its third week, Dancing Queen, starring Hwang Jung Min and Uhm Jung Hwa, is piling up ticket sales, coming close to a 3 million record.

Dancing Queen premiered on January 18, and according to the Korean Film Council′s Compiled Ticket Computer Network on February 3, the film sold over 2.41 million tickets. The numbers are expected to break through 2.5 million on February 4.

The film is staying strong amongst big films such as Nameless Gangster, PaPa, and even Unbowed, which is gathering popularity for its political stance. As such, it is soon expected to gather 3 million moviegoers.

Word of mouth turned out to be Dancing Queen′s most effective marketing, as moviegoers who saw the film started to spread the word that the film was well-made. Audiences are cheering the film on online with their favorable comments.

Dancing Queen tells the story of how the wife of a mayor candidate debuts as a dancing queen, and delivers the message of persuing ones′ dreams, laughter and touches emotions.

Photo credit: Dancing Queen