[Movie 2002] Addiction / Addicted 중독

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I thought the Hollywood remake of Possession had already been released February last year but sank without a trace at the box office.

January 18, 2009

Cultureline

Korean Film Remakes Debut in US

Hollywood adaptations of such South Korean movies as "The Tale of Two Sisters" make nationwide releases in the United States at the end of the month.

"The Uninvited," the Dreamworks version of the Kim Jee-woon thriller inspired by a famous Korean folktale "The Tale of Two Sisters," will appear in theaters Jan. 30.

The Tale of Two Sisters / The Uninvited

Brothers Charles and Thomas Guards direct the franchise and actresses Arielle Kebbel ("The Grudge 2") and Emily Browning ("Lemony Snicket's: A Series of Unfortunate Events") have replaced Korean stars Lim Soo-jung and Moon Geun-young, respectively.

Addiction (Addicted) / Possession

Meanwhile, "Possession," based on "Addiction" starring Lee Byung-hun and Lee Mi-yeon, will be released Jan. 23. Directed by Joel Bergvall and Simon Sandquist, the Hollywood rendition stars Lee Pace as a man claiming to be his brother opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Il Mare / The Lake House

Into the Mirror / Mirrors

My Sassy Girl (Korean/Hollywood)

Of the Korean movies that have sold adaptation rights to American producers, three have been released: "The Lake House" based on Lee Hyun-seung's "Il Mare" in 2006 and "Mirror" inspired by Kim Seong-ho's "Into the Mirror" and "My Sassy Girl" adapted from the Kwak Jae-yong film of the same title in 2008.

Source (for more info): koreatimes.co.kr

[Guest riehae]

I didn't really love the movie but I like the story. I was so touched. Come to think of it, it has been really a while since this movie.

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Just a highlight for new fans if interested.. the Hollywood remake of Addiction/Poisoning/Jungdok at the link provided..

Possession | Official Trailer | 2008

http://videobabble.com/2010/02/03/possessi...l-trailer-2008/

It seems a much darker, gloomy-suspenseful plot (not necessarily better or more believable though) than the Korean version by BH and LMY.. I still prefer Addiction all the way.. more subtle but with that everlasting impact indeed..

Addiction trailer 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc6nZGUiREg

Addiction trailer 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrQLwxnzncU

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February 15, 2010

[10LINE] Lee Byung-hun

Senior Reporter.Kang Myoung-Seok Editor.Lee Ji-Hye, Lucia Hong

Clockwise from top center, actor Lim Chang-jun, actor Song Seung-hun, actress Choi Ji-woo,

director Kim Ji-woon and actress Kim Tae-hee [10Asia]

Lee Byung-hun

He grabbed people's attention as soon as he made his acting debut. And he did great. He would then encounter a crisis but everytime, he would somehow find his way back. And he went around the world to look for new work. This is the life of this top star whose life is like a drama or drama turns out to be what his life is.

Related excerpt only, for full article please refer the source provided

Kim Ji-woon

Director of "A Bittersweet Life" and "The Good, the Bad, the Weird." Kim said, "Lee Byung-hun is an actor who will be able to portray the role of a person who is on top of the world one day but the next day have nothing. When he acts he calculates the start and finish of things." For his role in the movie "Joongdok," he actually was close to getting his car racing certificate. So when the character in the movie was faced with a situation, he was able to portray the exact emotion. His role in "A Bittersweet Life" made him the actor he is today. As the character gets revenge on his boss who betrayed him he asks himself 'why' but doesn't act like a tough guy or a cold-blooded killer. Instead he shows the risky sense of the situation and finishes his job. With the roles that he plays, it shows the diversity that he brings to each character. Of course he can play "the good guy role," "the bad" and "the weird" as well and maybe he can play "the crazy" too. .

Senior Reporter : Kang Myoung-Seok two@10asia.co.kr Editor : Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr Editor : Lucia Hong luciahong@asiae.co.kr

<ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved> 10.asiae.co.kr

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Source & credits: link-exchange-link.com

Fan comments

E. A Solinas says:

March 7, 2010 at 4:56 pm

If you could get true love with a lie, would you do it? If you were told that your love was now in another body, would you believe it?

Those questions are at the heart of “Addicted,” a painfully beautiful romance about a very ordinary love triangle, which turns out in a very extraordinary way. Young-hoon Park films this with exquisitely delicate care and some very subtle, powerful acting, as well as gentle humour and some very erotic romance.

The movie opens with brief, sepia-toned shots of Ho-Jin (Eol Lee) and Dae-Jin (Byung-hun Lee) playing basketball and bonding… only to be replaced by Ho-Jin’s frolicking with Eun-Su (Mi-yeon Le).

Three years after they wed, they’re still madly in love, and Dae-Jin is now living with them as a race car driver. But one day he crashes during a big race, and at that exact moment Ho-Jin’s taxi is smashed by a bus. A year later, Dae-jin miraculously wakes from his coma and wanders out into the lobby. He’s a bit dazed but okay physically and mentally, though Ho-Jin is practically dead, still hooked up to machines.

Eun-Su brings her young brother-in-law home, and for awhile he silently tries to recuperate. But then she starts noticing odd little quirks in his behavior that her husband had, and even tinkers in his abandoned art studio. Has the dying Ho-jin somehow been reborn in Dae-jin, or is Dae-jin pulling some kind of elaborate hoax? Eun-su struggles with the possibilities as she finds herself falling in love with him…

You could say that “Addicted” was the basis for the movie “Birth,” as well as an upcoming Hollywood remake. Reincarnation is obviously a major plot device in Asia, but the heart of the story could be from anywhere — what person who has loved and lost wouldn’t be afraid — and overjoyed — at the possibility of their love being returned to them?

The story does slow down considerably when Dae-jin is released from the hospital, and for awhile we mainly have him and Eun-su wordlessly circling around the house. But after that, the film blossoms and picks up speed — we get not only some really erotic love scenes, but the painful subplot about Ho-jin’s dying body, and the question of whether Dae-jin is truly possessed by his brother’s spirit.

As an exquisite directorial touch, the movie is bathed in a luminous golden light, which shines the most strongly when the main characters are together. And Young-hoon Park sprinkles it with some truly exquisite scenes, like the adrenaline-charged race/drive, or the flashback to Eun-Su driving through dandelions. But there are some darker moments — Eun-su’s harsh recounting of her old memories of Ho-jin, or receiving a nasty note from Dae-jin’s ex-girlfriend.

The ending is actually a bit of a shock, especially in Eun-su’s response. I won’t go into exactly what Eun-Su learns, but it leaves you wondering what is ahead for these two, and whether love is still there.

But the actors are what really bring it alive. Mi-young Le is absolutely brilliant as the pained, sorrowful young widow who finds love again, and Byung-hun Lee is absolutely eerie — this guy really did acquire Eol Lee’s mannerisms at times. Together, they have really fiery sexual tension, but also a playful side — there’s an adorable scene where they romp through the grocery store, grabbing produce.

Don’t expect romantic hijinks in “Addicted” — expect beautiful direction, and amazing acting. It’s a quiet, slow-moving little gem.

Rating: 5 / 5

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Actress Lee Mi Yeon (Eun Soo) .. currently

March 20, 2010

Lee Mi-yeon Ventures into Uncharted Waters

"I'm very happy that I'm playing a bright, happy role for the first time in a long time. I'e had so many gloomy parts," says Lee Mi-yeon. In recent years, Lee played the last empress Myeongseong, who has to withstand the burden of the historical past, a prostitute who has to hide her family history in the film "Typhoon," and a widow who falls in love with a man who killed her husband in SBS drama "Crazy in Love." Even when she played a brave and spirited woman, her part still had a gloomy side. But now, in KBS weekend drama "The Great Merchant," Lee shouts, runs around, and laughs out loud.

"The Great Merchant" follows the life of Kim Man-deok (1739-1812), the first female merchant to enjoy success in the Chosun Dynasty. Lee plays Kim, who became the richest person in Jeju Island despite her orphan origin, and then rescued thousands of people from hunger at her own expense. It is her second historical drama after "The Last Empress Myeongseong," but she feels a lot of pressure as she is making a comeback after three years of absence.

Lee Mi-yeon

While her contemporaries were busy playing the usual hardened housewife parts, Lee at 39 took a step back. She had many proposals, but had nothing that really captured her imagination. "I think if you want to change your image, you should do it by making gradual compromise between your expectations and the public's. Because I tend to be very picky about who the writer and director are and what their past work is like, I have hard time choosing projects," she says.

It has been 10 years since she got divorced. She has dated some people, but these relationships all broke up. "There were times when I couldn't accept the reasons for the break-up and was that desperate for marriage. But now I tell myself not to be too desperate to make relationships happen. I go with the flow," she says. "And to be honest I'm very happy being single."

Source: englishnews@chosun.com

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April 1, 2010

Nothing So Secret About 'Secret River'

By Lee Hyo-won

Staff Reporter

Yoon Jin-seo, right, plays the role of a woman who falls in love with her husband’s identical twin

brother (Yoo Ji-tae), in Ryu Hoon’s "The Secret River." /Courtesy of Cinergy

A young woman becomes romantically involved with identical twin brothers, and begins to doubt the rules of fortuity, chance and coincidence when it comes to love.

The premise seemed simple enough, with plenty of room to explore some classic themes. But confusion does not equal mystery. With its convoluted sequence of events and open-ended finale, Ryu Hoon’s star-studded film, “The Secret River,” feels more hollow than enigmatic. The movie tried to be hauntingly mysterious but ended up more like a messy, tangled up ball of yarn rather than a clever Rubik’s cube.

Jin-wu (Yoo Ji-tae) falls into a coma just two months after getting married. His devastated wife (Yoon Jin-seo) does her best to take care of him, but it isn’t easy; Yeon-i’s already missing deadlines and neglecting her work, and she only has footage from their wedding video to keep her spirits up. Hope and faith gradually seem like alien concepts to her.

This is when Jin-ho, Jin-wu’s twin brother, comes into the picture. As a marine biologist, he had also gotten into an accident while doing research abroad, and was unconscious for two months and unable to attend Jin-wu and Yeon-i’s wedding. Yeon-i thus had never met Jin-ho, nor did she know that the two brothers were identical twins. She is shocked to see an exact replica of her husband when she goes to pick up Jin-ho at the airport.

Jin-ho begins to sympathize with Yeon-i, whom he refuses to address properly as “hyeongsunim,” the correct title to call one’s sister-in-law. Yeon-i, on the other hand, shuns Jin-ho coldly at first but slowly begins to accept his bold advances. At this point, it is difficult to be convinced of the so-called inevitable attraction. Jin-ho seems to just be taking sexual advantage of an emotionally unstable woman.

The film immediately invites comparison to “Addiction,” which starred Lee Byung-hun as a man who is in love with his brother’s wife. Jin-ho’s resemblance with his brother in this story makes things quite convenient, since acquaintances who haven’t been told about Jin-wu’s condition assume they’re the original married couple.

Here, the twist is that Yeon-i only starts to open up to Jin-ho when she suspects that it was him, and not her husband, who had saved her from a hiking accident several years ago. She tied the knot with her “hero” Jin-wu just two months after reuniting with him. Unlike other love stories that proclaim that love is destiny, “The Secret River” questions the part fortuities play in matters of the heart.

Things, however, become complicated when Jin-wu miraculously wakes up from his coma. If having to live with a limp wasn’t bad enough, Jin-wu learns that his wife had been fooling around with his brother. In order to win back the love of his life, Jin-wu resorts to playing a game he and Jin-ho played as children and tests Yeon-i by pretending to be Jin-ho. At this point the melodrama sharply turns into a vengeance thriller, and a bad one at that, with some cheesy sound effects.

While Yoo and Yoon, both talented actors, give impressive performances, their characters act like puppets in a poorly staged play. As the brothers fight over Yeon-i, they scathingly touch upon shared identity crises twins often experience. Their manipulative role-switching game could have shed light on their deepest desires, but stops too short of providing any real character development.

Distributed by Cinergy. Now showing in theaters.

Credits: hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr

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Thanks to the highlight at Forever LeeByungHun fan-blog, original captures courtesy youu33.paran.com and as stated

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Capture from auctions yahoo.jp, thanks to the original sharing

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Captures from auctions yahoo.jp, thanks to the original fan-sharing & highlight

ADDICTION OST

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September 19, 2010

Thou Shalt Not Covet Your Brother's Wife....

A review by woopak_the_thrill lunch.com

Rating: +3

I’ve always been fond of Korean drama; it is a genre that Korean directors seem to excel in quite a lot. Director Young-Hoon Park’s absorbing tale of love, obsession and confusion “Addicted” (aka: The Poisoning) is a drama with a mix of mystery, romance and the (perhaps) supernatural. It had a slight box office success in Korea, and for most people, it is just middle of the road fare. Truthfully, I would agree with those folks, until I got a chance to see the film a second time prior to this review. This film was remade by U.S. filmmakers retitled "Possession" in 2009.

Hojin(Eol lee, Samaria) a woodwork artist, is married to Eun-soo (Mi-Yeon Lee). They are a recently wed couple and so their romance is very much alive and they get along remarkably. Ho-jin's brother, Dae-jin (Byung Hyun Lee, A Bittersweet Life), a bachelor who had just completed his national service and is now a race car driver lives in their house with them. The two actually welcome his presence in the house as Dae-jin brushes off the advances of a friend (Seo Hyeon-Park). One day, Ho-jin had an accident in a cab while his brother Dae-jin had an incident in the race track. Both brothers end up in a coma which shatters Eun-Soo‘s spirit. Dae-jin wakes up from his coma and then he spends months trying to recover from the trauma.

Strangely, he starts to show unusual behavior; Dai-jin starts doing the same chores like his brother and even demonstrates the same habits as leaving Eun-Soo’s toothbrush for her. Much to Eun-Soo’s puzzlement, Dae-jin soon insists that he is Ho-jin, steadfastly maintaining that he is possessed and being taken over by his brother's spirit and he seems to know things only Ho-Jin would know. Is he truly possessed or is this ploy to gain Eun-Soo’s trust?

The film is a blend of GHOST, BIRTH and The TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. I don't want to divulge any more details because it may ruin the experience. One question would come to mind is: Is he or Isn't he? Is Dae-jin mentally ill, is he playing a con or is he really possessed by his brother? The direction does make the tale very enthralling as the viewer is left to wonder the same things Eun-Soo is experiencing. The film is an emotional experience and much of the film relies on the viewers’ ability to read between the lines as unspoken emotions are laid out throughout the screenplay.

The film’s premise is pretty simple, and much of it focuses on the Eun-Soo and the actress if to be commended for taking much of the film’s burden. I liked the film’s ability to instill both sympathy and doubt in this new relationship between Eun-Soo and Dai-jin. I loved the way the two characters manages to feed off each other’s energy as they make each scene appear quite simple and yet so effective. The film is a slow-moving affair, I appreciate this method of direction as it allows the viewer to take on the film’s emotional narrative. The film does require some patience on the part of the viewer and a lot of the details lie in scenes such as sweating it out, holding an umbrella and just merely looking at each other.

The last act of the film is actually very touching as the film answers the questions that have puzzled both Eun-Soo and its audience. It is a question of unfulfilled love that may have reached its fruition, that may have come at a price and allows fate to play a hand and gives the protagonists a choice that is birthed from faith and misguided sense of opportuinity. After all, we are all defined by our actions and our decisions; we are defined by who we are and how good we are inside. If you were Dai-jin or Eun-Soo what choice should one make? Do we follow our sense of morale or take a chance and follow one’s desire? It is nice to see the direction sidestep the temptation of putting a judgment on its characters and allows the viewer to make this decision.

I have only seen the U.S. release of this film. I heard rumors of an uncut Korean release that is a lot longer. The film has a heart-rending climax that redeems the film‘s slow direction that is just so bitter and emotionally draining. It is to the credit of Korean filmmakers that they never seem to steer clear of difficult resolutions to their tales. “Addicted“ is a tepid affair but one cannot deny that it also provokes emotion wonderfully thanks to the performances of its cast.

Recommended! [3 ½ Out of 5 Stars]

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November 12, 2010

Founder of largest English K-pop site 'Soompi'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An Asian website

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

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

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

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

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

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

Future of Kpop & Soompi

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

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

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

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

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

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January 2, 2011

Soompi.com shows Hallyu where to go

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

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

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

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

Joyce Kim

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KH: Who are Soompi members?

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

KH: What aspect of Hallyu appeals to Soompi members?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Full credit and complete article (232 movies listed) HERE

March 22, 2011

Best Of, South Korean Cinema.

by Eric-Scissorhands imdb.com

I LOVE Asian Cinema. Films from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan as well as a few South East Asian features. However, for the past few years Ive been noticing a trend... a lot of the truly GREAT, Original films Asian or Non Asian alike have been coming out of SOUTH Korea. It seems they have been going through a "film renaissance" in the past few years and have been releasing great film after great film after another.

Today their film industry reminds me of how Hollywood used to be, from way back in the 70's BEFORE they started remaking EVERYTHING and adapting every comic book and video game there is (and doing a horrible job mind you), back when the movies that came out were original and superbly directed.

Ive compiled a list of some of the Best South Korean films Ive seen so far. And if you're anything like me, burnt out on crappy Superhero films (not counting the Nolan Batman Trilogy of course.), Pointless Horror Sequels and more mindless Hollywood turds, Feel free to give this list a look through and provide a few suggestions if i missed any notable ones... im always upen to "discover" more gems.

1. Oldboy (2003) 8.4/10

2. I Saw the Devil (2010) 7.8/10

“ No one does Modern Revenge films quite like East Asian Cinema.

Another instant Classic. Brutal stuff. ” - Eric-Scissorhands

3. Memories of Murder (2003) 8.1/10

4. Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004) 8.1/10

5. Castaway on the Moon (2009) 8.0/10

6. J.S.A.: Joint Security Area (2000) 7.8/10

“ Another Great, Great film from master story teller Chan Wook Park. ” - Eric-Scissorhands

7. Lady Vengeance (2005) 7.7/10

8. Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005) 7.7/10

9. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) 8.1/10

10. My Sassy Girl (2001) 8.1/10

11. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) 7.8/10

12. A Bittersweet Life (2005) 7.7/10

“ Imagine if Tony Montana SURVIVED the hit put out on him at the end of Scarface. Thats what this film expands on, after refusing to execute a woman, Korean Gangster Sun-woo gets beaten half to death, tortured, and even buried alive, he somehow escapes and takes REVENGE on the people who wronged him up until the highly stylized climactic shootout, there is even a great homage to Taxi Driver at the end. ” - Eric-Scissorhands

13. The Man from Nowhere (2010) 7.8/10

14. The Host (2006) 7.0/10

15. A Moment to Remember (2004) 8.2/10

16. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) 7.3/10

17. 3-Iron (2004) 8.0/10

18. The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008) 7.4/10

19. Crying Fist (2005)7.4/10

20. Thirst (2009) 7.1/10

21. Mother (2009) 7.9/10

22. The Chaser (2008) 7.9/10

23. The Classic (2003) 7.7/10

24. Save the Green Planet! (2003) 7.4/10

25. Peppermint Candy (1999) 7.7/10

26. Poetry (2010) 7.7/10

27. Failan (2001) 7.7/10

28. Bedevilled (2010) 7.2/10

29. Oasis (2002) 7.9/10

30. I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006) 7.0/10

31. Mr. Socrates (2005) 6.5/10

32. Secret Sunshine (2007) 7.4/10

33. The Warrior (2001) 7.3/10

34. Some (2004) 6.1/10

35. Public Enemy (2002) 7.1/10

36. Samaritan Girl (2004) 7.2/10

37. Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) 7.0/10

38. Kiss Me, Kill Me (2009) 6.9/10

39. The City of Violence (2006) 6.7/10

40. The Coast Guard (2002) 6.5/10

41. A Brand New Life (2009) 7.3/10

42. The King and the Clown (2005) 7.5/10

43. Arahan (2004) 6.7/10

44. Guns & Talks (2001) 6.9/10

45. The Bow (2005) 7.1/10

46. The Show Must Go On (2007) 7.1/10

47. The Isle (2000) 7.0/10

48. Time (2006) 7.2/10

49. No Mercy for the Rude (2006) 7.3/10

50. The Recipe (2010) 7.0/10

51. Attack the Gas Station! (1999) 6.9/10

52. Daisy (2006) 7.3/10

53. The Housemaid (2010) 6.6/10

54. Address Unknown (2001) 7.3/10

55. Friend (2001) 7.3/10

56. Last Present (2008) 7.2/10

57. A Dirty Carnival (2006) 7.5/10

58. The Quiet Family (1998) 7.0/10

59. Die Bad (2000) 7.0/10

60. Christmas in August (1998) 7.6/10

61.To Sir with Love (2006) 6.0/10

62.Treeless Mountain (2008) 7.0/10

63. Holy Daddy (2006) 6.3/10

64. Painted Fire (2002) 7.1/10

65. The World of Silence (2006) 7.1/10

66. Secret Reunion (2010) 7.1/10

67. Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (2000) 6.9/10

68. Punch Lady (2007) 7.2/10

69. Fighter in the Wind (2004) 6.9/10

70. The Foul King (2000) 7.0/10

71. Breathless (2008) 7.5/10

72. The Spirit of Jeet Kune Do (2004) 7.5/10

73. Champion (2002) 6.5/10

74. Shadowless Sword (2005) 6.5/10

75. Driving with My Wife's Lover (2006) 6.5/10

76. My Brother (2004) 7.2/10

77. Three... Extremes (2004) 7.1/10

“ Chan-wook Park (segment "Cut") ” - Eric-Scissorhands

78. Hahaha (2010) 6.8/10

79. Man of Vendetta (2010) 6.8/10

80. The Way Home (2002) 7.5/10

81. Addicted (2002) 7.2/10

82. Rules of Dating (2005) 6.5/10

83. No. 3 (1997) 6.7/10

84. Windstruck (2004) 7.1/10

85. The Yellow Sea (2010) 7.3/10

86. Bad Guy (2001) 6.8/10

87. More Than Blue (2009) 7.2/10

88. Acacia (2003) 5.8/10

89. Into the Mirror (2003) 6.5/10

90. Murder, Take One (2005) 6.4/10

91. Feathers in the Wind (2004) 7.3/10

92. With a Girl of Himalaya (2008) 6.7/10

93. Marriage Is a Crazy Thing (2002) 7.3/10

94. Oishii Man (2008) 7.1/10

95. Antarctic Journal (2005) 6.3/10

96. Take Care of My Cat (2001) 7.3/10

97. Maundy Thursday (2006) 7.3/10

98. Il Mare (2000) 7.6/10

99. Lover's Concerto (2002) 7.3/10

100. Enemy at the Dead End (2010) 7.1/10

+

106. Once in a Summer (2006) 7.2/10

124. The Harmonium in My Memory (1999) 7.3/10

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Related LBH excerpt
July 8, 2012
Kim Dong Wan Wants to be a Real Actor, Admires Lee Byung HunFull original article at enewsWorld or EverythingLBH.com 

Which actor do you want to be like?
“Lee Byung Hun sunbaenim and Lee Jung Jae sunbaenim. I loved Lee Byung Hun sunbaenim’sAddicted and Bungee Jumping of Their Own. As for Lee Jung Jae sunbaenim, I liked Present.”
Lee Byung Hun is currently active in Hollywood. Do you ever think of going overseas as an actor?
“I think in the English-speaking countries, I’ll be limited in what I can do because I can’t speak English. I’ve never thought of going to Hollywood. I do want to try going to China, though.”

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https://twitter.com/KCMassive

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Remember this from awhile ago .

July 11, 2012 Fan-Poll: The Best Movie Performance by Lee Byung Hunhttp://everythinglbh.com/entry_view.php?id=2526
 To A BITTERSWEET LIFE for the sweetest win 
and ADDICTION in second place

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March 1, 2013
A multiple-answers poll but voting can be done once every month with no time limit. It's probably better for fans who had finally catch up with the dramas or movies listed and can choose their favourite pairings again. 
If interested, please check out the fan poll to vote for the best Lee Byung Hun on-screen pairing at EverythingLBH.com, any discrepancies is purely our own shortcoming.
Choose one or more that you felt the best and most memorable. 
Fun Fan Poll: Best BH On-Screen Chemistry (click here)

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May 9, 2013
Hallyu's 10th year in Japan to be marked
By Shim Jae-yun The Korea Times
In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the advancement of hallyu in Japan triggered by “Winter Sonata,” Japanese media outlets are planning to carry out various projects.
According to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), they recently set up an executive committee toward that end.
They announced a package of programs during a recent symposium held at the KOCCA building with the theme “Vigor to hallyu! The prospect for hallyu market from the perspective of Korea and Japan.”
The committee comprises of major broadcaster TBS and content providers SPO, Pony Cannon, and Kyodo News Agency, and Kinma Junbo, a cinema media.
They plan to conduct voting on the popular hallyu dramas by hallyu fans in Japan starting from late June. The voting will continue for three months and the results will be used to select the top five works and three best actors and actresses to be announced around the end of the year.
It also plans to hold a ceremony where the selected celebrities will attend.
The committee will attempt to have TBS and other cable channels rebroadcast hallyu dramas and publish hallyu-related books.
Besides the firms which are part of the committee, it will also seek to invite some 30 broadcasters, and advertisers, and eventually increase the number of participating companies up to 100.
“Hallyu is not politics. It is a precious cultural exchange at the civilian level. We are determined to build up strong trust so that the hallyu road can continue,” said Ushio Kaski, head of SPO’s Seoul branch.
“Though hallyu has seen steady progress through such dramas as “Winter Sonata” and “Daejanggeum” (Jewel in the Palace), there has been a growing need for a big hit these days,” he said.
He cited the need to produce works that appeal to youngsters in Japan and form an environment favorable to producing new content.


SPO has been importing hallyu dramas into Japan starting with the purchase of“Jungdok” (Addiction) starred by Lee Byung-hun, “Gung” (Palace), and “City Hunter.”

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Fan sharing from LBH DC