Bae Doo Na 배두나

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Athletes’ story of friendship retold in ‘As One’

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

Apr 06, 2012

Bae Doo-na, left, and Ha Ji-won play the North and South Korean table tennis players who went on to win a gold medal during the World Table Tennis Championships held in Chiba, Japan, in 1991, in the film “As One.” Provided by CJ Entertainment

One might wonder why there has never been a movie about the dramatic 1991 World Table Tennis Championships, in which the first unified Korean national table tennis team won the gold medal.

Hyun Jung-hwa, the South Korean athlete who played on the team at the championships, certainly did.

South Korean table tennis player Hyun Jung-hwa, right, and North Korean player Lee Boon-hee compete during the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan. [JoongAng Ilbo]

“When the director approached me about the idea for a film about the championships in 1991, I said to him, ‘Why didn’t you approach me sooner?,’” the Olympic gold medalist said at a press conference for the film “As One” on Wednesday.

The film is based on the true story of the United Korea team, made up of North and South Korean players, which competed in the women’s team tournament at the Chiba World Table Tennis Championships in 1991 and won. As such, the filming process relied heavily on Hyun, who was involved in everything from the screenwriting process to teaching table tennis to the actors.

Hyun said that she focused on trying to make the film as honest and true to reality as possible.

“Lee Boon-hee [the unified team’s North Korean player] is left-handed. People on set said to Bae Doo-na [who plays Lee in the film], ‘Oh, only a few people know she is left-handed, so just play with your right hand.’ But I firmly said no,” said Hyun.

Although Bae said that she had some experience playing table tennis in elementary school, she confessed that the rigorous preproduction training took a toll on her.

“After a few months of training with coach Hyun Jung-hwa, my toes fell off!,” she said during the press conference, adding that trying to keep up with the athletic Ha Ji-won [who plays Hyun Jung-hwa in the film] was what motivated her to push herself further.

Ha, who was seated next to Bae, admitted her weakness for choosing physically challenging roles such as the one in “As One.”

“When we started training, I was still suffering from a knee injury that I got while filming ‘Sector 7’ [last year’s 3-D blockbuster],” said the actress.

“I like a challenge. However, the real challenge in this film was trying to recreate a true story in a convincing way. During the training, I tried to observe coach Hyun’s speech and body language very carefully.”

First-time director Moon Hyun-sung said he felt it was crucial that his own voice as a director didn’t outshine the drama of the real story.

“Instead of trying to put too much of my own voice as a director into the film, I thought it would be good if the audience felt the story unfold very naturally, as if they were watching a real-life melodrama,” said Moon.

The director said he also took extra precautions to ensure that the North Korean dialects in the film were as realistic as possible, with different actors getting coached on different dialects.

“For [Han] Ye-ri’s character [Yoo Soon-bok, one of the North Korean players], she was coached to do a Hamgyeong dialect. For the rest of the North Korean characters, we followed a Pyongyang accent.”

One of the more touching moments in the film takes place towards the end, when Hyun gives Lee a ring as a token of friendship as Lee sits on the bus that is headed back to North Korea.

In reality, the table tennis legend said that she gave the ring, complete with an engraving of Hyun and Lee’s names inside, to Lee on the last day of their stay in Japan.

“I told her that I wanted her to remember me,” said Hyun. She added that after the 1991 tournament, she saw Lee one last time in 1993, as a competitor representing North Korea. “I still feel very emotional when I think of her.”

Stars Bae Doo-na and Ha Ji-won said that they felt it was refreshing to play strong women in the film, without a leading male by their side.

“It is so rare in films nowadays for actresses to be able to tell a story about women in films, with a cast full of other actresses,” said Bae.

“Even though the film touches upon themes of a divided Korea through a sports tournament, it is ultimately about the friendship and love between two women.”

“As One” is slated to open in local theaters early next month.

Related links:

[KBS Global] Ha Ji Won: 'I Want to Share Feeling of Reunification’

[Soompi] Hyun Jung Hwa Requested Ha Ji Won to Portray Her for “Korea”

credit: Koreafilm.co.kr

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Poll: Multiple choice answers

International movie featuring Korean actor/actress/director that you're looking forward to?

http://www.soompi.com/forums/topic/376974-which-international-movie-featuring-korean-actoractressdirector-that-youre-looking-forward-to/

[rubie]

April 10, 2012

Sports flick 'As One' targets patriots

By Kwaak Je-yup jay@koreatimes.co.kr

Actresses Bae Doo-na, left, and Ha Ji-won in a scene from the new movie

“As One” / Courtesy of CJ Entertainment

It was the beginning of 1991, when the South and North Korean governments made an unprecedented attempt to warm relations by fusing their national sports teams together. After a couple of months, the unified Korean table tennis team broke the Chinese stranglehold on the highest podium of the world championships.

Coming to theaters in May is a film that tries to recreate the gold-medal-winning chemistry, titled “As One.”

Plugged simply as “Korea” in the national market, it is easy to see through the market-driven formula, following the well-trodden gilded path walked down by other sports-themed works of recent years.

It shamelessly panders to sentimental patriotism and sports aficionados’ nostalgia, like its older siblings before, such as “Forever the Moment (2008)” and “Take Off (2009),” which took on handball and ski jumping as their respective subjects.

The sweat- and tear-soaked trail to victory is a virtual guarantee for commercial success, especially with Chungmuro’s most wanted actress du jour Ha Ji-won and acclaimed risk-taker Bae Doo-na on the marquee.

But for the true-life Olympian, world champion and national heroine Hyun Jung-hwa (played by Ha), there is no room for calculations or cynicism. It is project dear to her heart. “When the head of the studio and director Kim Jee-woon approached me about a movie based on those days, I was very happy,” she said at a promotional press conference a week ago. “I actually asked them why they came so late, since this story is more genuine than the other recent sports films.”

Kim, originally slated to direct the feature, was later replaced by Moon Hyun-sung, who makes his debut with “As One.”

Reflecting her enthusiasm, Hyun, as well as other players active at the time, put in painstaking efforts to make every scene and detail as authentic as possible.

They participated in all aspects of production from the beginning to the end, said Moon. Hyun suggested the casting choice of Ha, and the retired athletes all availed themselves to on-set coaching sessions — for three months. Right-handed Bae had to learn how to play with her left to stay true to the playing style of her character, the North Korean table tennis star Li Bun-hui.

The conflict and the subsequent friendship budding between Hyun and Li form the principal arc of the film’s narrative.

At the press conference, the two lead actresses admitted to feeling a kind of oomph when they first read the scenario.

“It was like a punch to the heart,” said Ha.

Local filmgoers can see that power in action in about a month. Pundits predict a monster hit.

“As One (Korea)” opens in theaters nationwide in May. Visit www.asone2012.co.kr for more information. Distributed by CJ Entertainment.

[shayla]

The links for beating heart ost don't work, where can I find the ost?

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April 7, 2012 - SBS Movie World (접속! 무비월드) interview

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As One Main Trailer [YouTube] [YouTube] [YouTube]

via TV Report

Related link: [Soompi] Ha Ji Won and Bae Doo Na's "Korea" Releases Main Trailer

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Bae Doo Na Thought about North Korea’s ‘Great Leader’

2012-04-17 15:02 l CJ E&M enewsWorld Oh, MiJung

Translation Credit : Erika Kim

Bae Doo Na, who took on the role of Lee Bun Hui of the North Korean female table tennis team for the film Korea, talked about how she may have gotten into her role a bit too much.

She attended the press preview and roundtable held on April 16 in Seoul for the film to answer questions and reveal how she felt about her role as a North Korean athlete.

Bae Doo Na said, “Because there wasn’t much information about the North Korean athletes and because I’ve never been in such a situation, I filled up the role with advice from others and my imagination. My teacher, who taught me how to speak in North Korean dialect, told me a lot about North Korean culture and ideologies. I was supposed to be a North Korean athlete, so I tried to cut down on free and liberal expressions.”

“I know this may sound weird, but I did start to think about the Great Leader,” she added. “I felt while shooting this film that although we were born in a divided country, both South and North Korea are of the Korean people.”

For the film The Host, she took on the role of an archer, and this time for Korea, she became a table tennis player. Bae Doo Na joked about this, saying, “When I was playing the role of an archer my right shoulder was ruined, but this time because I played the role of a left-handed athlete, my left shoulder was ruined. I had to use up a lot of my energy to become an athlete. It helped me with my diet.”

Korea is based on the real story of how the North Korean and South Korean female table tennis teams came together as one team in 1991. At the time, the Korea team, led by South Korea’s Hyun Jung Hwa and North Korea’s Lee Bun Hui, won against China to become champion of the 41st International Table Tennis Competition.

Ha Ji Won will be appearing as Hyun Jung Hwa of South Korea. The cast also brings in Han Ye Ri, Park Chul Min, Kim Eung Soo, Oh Jung Se and Lee Jong Seok. Korea will premiere on May 3.

Related link: [enewsWorld] Ha Ji Won Shares Her Thoughts on ′Korea′

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Press Screening at CGV Yongsan

More photos @ Chosun Ilbo

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credit: Heymannews, Naver

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How Would You Rate Bae Doo Na′s ′Doomsday Book′ Fashion Sense?

2012-04-13 16:31 l CJ E&M enewsWorld Lee, InKyung

Translation Credit : Ju Ahn Lee

Bae Doo Na successfully managed to turn a piece of straw mat into high fashion apparel. Bae, who will appear in director Kim Ji Woon and Lim Pil Sung’s Doomsday Book, attracted the attention of the public with her distinctive ‘apocalypse′ fashion.

In Doomsday Book, Lim’s ‘Happy Birthday’ segment will feature Bae playing the role of Park Min Seo, a girl who is the fuse between the destruction of mankind and its only hope. Bae was able to showcase her apocalypse fashion in the bunker during the filming.

Although her character had to live inside an underground bunker for 10 years due to a comet collision, Bae was still able to show off the unique and mysterious charms of her character.

A movie official said, “Bae Doo Na was able to express her uniquely innocent and mysterious image through her apocalypse fashion. Her long straight hair as well as the distinctive tunic that was made from the old clothes available in the bunker, made it hard to believe that it was a fashion style that came about after living 10 years underground. In addition, Bae Doo Na’s fantastic model poses made it seem like the pictures appeared straight from a magazine photo set instead of the desolate field it was originally taken in.”

Doomsday Book was released in theaters on April 11.

Related link: [StarN] 'Human Extinction Report' Bae Doona's unique costume

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MBC Section TV - April 22, 2012

Watch online [Vandrama] [My Today] [Dasibogi]

via OSEN, Newsen

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Bae Doona "I have a better body than Kong Hyo-jin"

HanCinema | 2012/04/22

Bae Doona is confident that her body is better than Kong Hyo-jin's.

Bae Doona appeared in the MBC TV program "Section TV" on the 22nd and retraced her steps in life.

When she was asked who had the better body between herself and Kong Hyo-jin by a fan, she said, "Of course I am better".

Although she smiled in embarrassment after she said that she said, "It's a joke and I wish I was better. I think her fans might hate me now".

Meanwhile, Bae Doona said, "I want to be an actress who seems comfortable in front of the public and someone who the audience can trust".

Bae Doona "My body shape is better than Gong Hyojin's"

/Reporting by Oh Seol-Hye en@starnnews.com

2012-04-23 09:01

Bae Doona showed her pride in her body shape.

On 22nd, Bae Doona appeared on MBC 'Section TV', and had an interview.

During the interview, she was asked 'Gong Hyojin and Bae Doona, who has a better body shape?' and she answered "Me".

She added "I hope. Her fans might get mad at me," and made people laugh.

Bae Doona told that she had toe and knee injury during shooting movie 'Korea', and she said "I released my stress by drinking."

Viewers made comments, such as "She can be pride of herself," "Both have gorgeous body," and "Can't wait for 'Korea'."

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Bae Doona "US movie shoot was relaxing"

Star News via HanCinema | 2012/04/24

"It was comfortable."

Bae Doona revealed behind story of filming the Wachowski Brothers new movie "Cloud Atlas" which was taken in Berlin, Germany, in an interview with Star News on the 24th.

Bae Doona took on the role of a human clone in the year 2144 in "Cloud Atlas" and made her debut into Hollywood. She took off for Berlin as soon as she finished her role of table tennis player Ri Boon-hee in the movie "Korea". Having experience in Japanese movie "Air Doll" by Koreeda Hirokazu, Bae Doona departed alone without even a manager.

She said, "Two days after the movie "As One" I packed enough things to last me three to four months and left for Berlin. Movie sets are almost the same anywhere".

She said, "I was alone but there were many others who were like me. Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, Tom Hanks, and other top stars like them had bodyguards but most of the others were alone. There were a few who came with their families too. There are rules for every country but there was no foam there. It was very comfortable".

She continued, "I had to say English lines and I had to act out other languages but of course, the problem was language. I had to face the wall of English and that's what I thought I needed. I go directly to the director to say something if I have to without a translator".

She said, "There was a local assistant there to help me but stopped helping me when she saw what I had in mind. I felt really comfortable after a while I started butting into things".

Star News