Filmmaker Park Chan-wook honored with LACMA Art+Film Gala

Renowned director Park Chan-wook was honored for his film “Decision to Leave” at the 11th annual LACMA Art+Film Gala held Saturday at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, California. The director was selected for the honor along with American artist Helen Pashgian. The LACMA Art+Film Gala was established in 2011 by the annual event’s co-chairman Eva Chow and actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Every year, it selects winners who contributed to cultural development in are

Nov. 7, 2022

[Herald Interview] Park Ha-sun on harsh reality of motherhood

Park Ha-sun, the star of hit shows such as "Birthcare Center" and "No, Thank You," is now a proud mother to a three-year-old daughter whom she had with fellow actor Ryu Soo-young. She had always dreamed of a marriage and family life but her familial bliss was impacted by the harsh realities of giving birth and raising a child in her industry. Recalling her experience of becoming a mother, Park said that South Korean female actors are faced with a unique set of hurdles. &qu

Nov. 7, 2022

First Ukrainian film festival in Korea to kick off next week

A Ukrainian film festival exploring the country’s history and culture will be held for the first time in Korea next week. Cinema Aid Ukraine, a film marathon, is scheduled to kick off Nov. 15 at the Korean Film Archive, located in Mapo-gu, western Seoul. The film marathon project was initiated by the Ukrainian State Film Agency in May with the Ukrainian Film Academy, the Watch Ukrainian! Association, the Ukrainian Motion Picture Association, the nongovernmental organization UkrKinoFest, th

Nov. 7, 2022

Director Im Sang-soo to create film on N. Korea’s Kim Jong-nam

Award-winning director Im Sang-soo is preparing a film based on the assassination of Kim Jong-nam. The auteur known for low-budget indie films said during a master class session of the 17th Korean Film Festival in Paris on Tuesday that he is getting ready to film an international film based on the killing of Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and half brother of the country’s current leader, Kim Jong-un,. Jong-nam fell out of favor with the regime a

Nov. 2, 2022

'Apartment With Two Women’ director on Korean, foreign audiences' reactions

Kim Se-in, director of the film “The Apartment With Two Women” which has screened at local and overseas film festivals, talked about the difference in reactions between Korean and foreign audiences during a press conference held at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University on Tuesday. Kim’s debut feature, which was created for a feature film production program organized by the Korean Academy of Film Arts, was screened as part of the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival’s Panora

Nov. 2, 2022

Korea's entertainment industry mourns Halloween tragedy

As Korea entered a weeklong national mourning period after a tragic Halloween crowd surge that killed at least 154 people in Itaewon, central Seoul, on Saturday night, the Korean entertainment industry is offering its condolences. Korean film distributors have called off events following the deadly crush. Lotte Entertainment on Monday said it canceled all stage greeting events that were planned on Sunday for the film “Confession.” Stage greetings are promotional events organized by

Oct. 31, 2022

Actor Lee Ji-han, cheerleader Kim Yu-na among 154 dead in Itaewon disaster

Actor Lee Ji-han, who appeared on the second season of Mnet’s male K-pop competition “Produce 101,” and Kim Yu-na, who worked as a cheerleader for the LG Twins and Kia Tigers, were among the 154 victims who died during the Itaewon disaster on Saturday night. Lee and Kim were both 24 years old. Lee’s agency 935 Entertainment on Sunday released a statement confirming that Lee died amid the crowd crush in Itaewon, central Seoul. “We offer our deepest condolences to L

Oct. 31, 2022

[Video] Everything about Anupam Tripathi from Squid Game

We sat down with Anupam Tripathi from Squid Game and got the full story behind his journey to the screen. From how Korea became his second home and exclusive behind-the-scenes stories, to his hopes for the future, we get the full scoop! Lee Ji-min, Lim Su-mi, Park Seo-hee and Park Ju-min contributed to this report. By Kim Min-jung (minjung.kim@heraldcorp.com) Choi Jeong-yoon (jychoi@heraldcorp.com)

Oct. 31, 2022

‘Parasite’ production company to start NFT business with Lambda 256

Barunson E&A, the production company behind the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," has joined hands with blockchain company Lambda 256. The blockchain firm is a subsidiary of Dunamu, the operator of Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit. “The driving force that made Korean cinema what it is today came from passionate and active movie fans. By creating this community where filmmakers and audiences can come together with their ‘love for movies' based on NFTs (non-fu

Oct. 28, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Black Adam (US) Opened Oct. 19 Action Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra Khandaq, a country that used to be prosperous, is now run by Intergang, which has oppressed its people for 27 years. Meanwhile, Adrianna (Sarah Shahi) accidentally frees Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson), who was bestowed with the almighty powers of the ancient gods -- and imprisoned just as quickly -- 5,000 years ago, from his earthly tomb. He is now ready to unleash his unique form of justice in the modern world. Everything Every

Oct. 28, 2022

Hitmaker Yoon Je-kyoon’s musical film ‘Hero’ to hit local theaters in December

The highly-anticipated musical film "Hero" directed by hit filmmaker Yoon Je-kyoon is slated to open in December, according to the film distributor CJ ENM. Yoon has previously directed two megahit movies, “Tidal Wave” (2009) and “Ode to My Father” (2014), which attracted more than 10 million moviegoers. Since the Hollywood science fiction film “Avatar: The Way of Water” directed by James Cameron is also expected hit theaters in December, the two fi

Oct. 26, 2022

Special free screening of EIDF 2022 winners and opening film

The opening film and two winners from this year's EBS International Documentary Festival will be shown at a special free screening at Megabox Ilsan Bellacitta in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 29. Recognized for its splendid presentation of 20,000 Buddhist nuns at an annual retreat on a Tibetan plateau filmed over eight years, Chinese director Jin Haquin's “Dark Red Forest” opened the EIDF held in August. The 85-minute documentary offers a glimpse of the religious women

Oct. 24, 2022

Indie film ‘Jeong-sun’ wins grand jury, best actress prizes at Rome Film Festival

Korean independent film “Jeong-sun” is bringing home two awards from the 17th Rome International Film Festival held on Saturday. Director Jeong Ji-hye won the Grand Jury Prize for her first full-length film, which is centered on a digital sex crime, while actress Kim Kum-soon won the best actress award. The ceremony was held at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, where the international film festival took place from Oct. 13 to Oct. 23. Kim and Jeong delivered their acceptance speeches

Oct. 24, 2022

Twitter to be official partner for 58th Daejong Film Awards

Global social media platform Twitter inked a content partnership deal for the 58th Daejong Film Awards, set to be held on Dec. 9, the tech giant said Wednesday. Under the new agreement, the two sides aim to bolster South Korea’s film industry and the help aficionados of Korea-based movie content and cinema around the globe access Korean films more easily. By clinching the deal, Twitter will be the only social media platform to exclusively stream the awards ceremony and other events durin

Oct. 24, 2022

Men, Seoul residents overrepresented in Korean films: study

An interim report on Korean films has determined that roles for men and characters living in Greater Seoul are overrepresented. As part of the Korean Movie Diversity & Inclusion Week, the report for the Center for Gender Equality in Korean Film, named "Deundeun," analyzed 446 Korean films in the top 40 percent of box office hits -- commercial films and independent films separately -- and streaming original films released from 2017 to 2021. The research looked at the main lead chara

Oct. 21, 2022

[Herald Interview] Top star So Ji-sub tired of playing good guys

Top Korean actor So Ji-sub said he was tired of playing good guys in TV dramas and movies when he got the script for “Confession,” directed by Yoon Jong-seok. “It has been a while since I started playing lead roles. All the protagonists have something in common. They are mostly nice guys. But this character was not, and that was appealing to me,” So said during an interview with a group of local reporters on Wednesday. “At the time I really wanted to play a new r

Oct. 20, 2022

Netflix film '20th Century Girl’ to bring back 1990s nostalgia

Set in 1999, the upcoming Netflix romance film "20th Century Girl” directed by Bang Woo-ri has many elements that can evoke nostalgia for the previous century. The film centers around Bo-ra (Kim You-jung), a 17-year-old high school student who is athletic and has a bright personality. One day, Bo-ra finds out that her best friend Yeon-doo (Roh Yoon-seo) has a big crush on Hyun-jin (Park Jung-woo). But before Yeon-doo gets a chance to become friends with Hyun-jin, she has to go to t

Oct. 19, 2022

[Herald Interview] Lee Sung-min hopes ‘Remember’ narrows generational divide

Veteran actor Lee Sung-min, 53, hopes that his new dramatic film “Remember” can help narrow the generational gap in Korean society. “I think the most attractive element of our film is that an elderly man in his 80s and a young man go on a journey together. I hope that people in this world can also become like the characters in our movie. I hope they can hang out with each other, respecting the older generation and also embracing the younger generation,” Lee said in an

Oct. 18, 2022

‘Project Wolf Hunting’ wins 2 awards, including Special Jury Award, at Sitges

Hard-boiled survival action film “Project Wolf Hunting” has received two awards, including the Special Jury Award, at the official competition selection at the 55th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival in Catalonia, Spain, on Sunday (local time), announced the film's local distributor TCO on Tuesday. “I am leaving with great inspiration and courage to move on to my next film,” said writer-director Kim Hong-sun in his acceptance speech. The film also won Best Speci

Oct. 18, 2022

Yeo Jin-goo, Cho Yi-hyun return with remake of hit romance film ‘Ditto’

Young actors Yeo Jin-goo and Cho Yi-hyun are returning with a remake of the hit romance sci-fi film "Ditto" (2000). In the new film set in 1999, university student Yong (Yeo) has just returned to school after completing his mandatory military service. There, he meets his first love, freshman Han-sol (Kim Hye-yoon). Meanwhile, Mu-nee (Cho), who lives in the present day, has a secret crush on her best guy friend (Na In-woo). One day, Yong somehow communicates with Mu-Nee through a walk

Oct. 17, 2022