Korean American actors, directors say 'Koreanness’ made them think more deeply about cinema

BUSAN -- Korean American actors and filmmakers including John Cho, Steven Yeun, Justin Chon and Lee Isaac Chung gathered Friday in the port city of Busan, South Korea, as part of the Busan International Film Festival’s newly established section, “Korea Diasporic Cinema,” which showcases critically acclaimed works by or featuring Korean Americans. The programmer of Asia’s largest film festival said that the festival organizers wanted to delve deeply into Korean Americans&r

Oct. 6, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“30 Days” (South Korea) Opened Oct. 3 Comedy Directed by Nam Dae-joong Jung-yeol (Kang Ha-neul), an intelligent lawyer, and his wife Nara (Jung So-min), a passionate film producer, see their idyllic newlywed life eventually drive nerdy Jung-yeol and quick-tempered Nara apart. “Dr. Cheon and The Lost Talisman” (South Korea) Opened Sept. 27 Fantasy/Mystery Directed by Kim Seong-sik Fraudulent exorcist Dr. Cheon (Gang Dong-won) meets a new client, You-kyung (Lee Som), who

Oct. 6, 2023

Actor Park Eun-bin opens 28th Busan International Film Festival’s opening ceremony

Actor Park Eun-bin opened this year’s Busan International Film Festival Wednesday, Asia’s largest film festival which will showcase a total of 269 films from 69 countries on 25 screens in Busan throughout the 10 day-long festival. The related Asian content and film market will be held Oct. 7-10. Park, the breakout star of hit drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022), was the festival’s first-ever solo host for the opening ceremony, due to a sudden surgery of actor Lee Je-hoon. L

Oct. 4, 2023

[Herald Interview] When ‘comedy freak’ filmmaker makes rom-com '30 Days’

Director Nam Dae-jung who directed comedy flicks “The Last Ride" (2016) and “Homme Fatale” (2019), has returned with “30 Days,” a rom-com featuring a couple with amnesia going through a comical divorce. Nam said he watched the film hundreds of times while editing. “The film ended shooting in February this year. Since then until the opening of the film, I think I’ve watched the film more than 600 times while editing. This is because, for comedy films

Oct. 2, 2023

Auteur Chung Ji-young returns with another high-profile case-based film in ‘The Boys’

South Korean auteur Chung Ji-young returns for the first time in four years with the crime flick “The Boys,” another work based on a real-life high-profile case. The new film follows “Unbowed” (2011) and “Black Money” (2019), which dealt with the true stories of a professor who went against a corrupt Korean judicial system in 2007 and the 2012 sale of the Korean Exchange Bank to American equity firm Lone Star Funds, respectively. “The Boys” revolve

Sept. 27, 2023

[Herald Interview] Song Joong-ki seeks different genres over types of characters

Actor Song Joong-ki, who has wowed the audience with both commercial and critical TV success through “Reborn Rich” (2022) and “Vincenzo” (2021), chose to show his rough side this time through rookie director Kim Chang-hoon’s noir flick “Hopeless.” Song, who returned to Korea after spending time with his newborn son and British wife in Rome for nine months, said he has always been on the lookout for opportunities to try new genres and projects internation

Sept. 26, 2023

[Herald Interview] Kim Jee-woon has high hopes of Korean cinema revival through 'Cobweb'

Just like director Kim Yeol in “Cobweb,” the film's 58-year-old director, Kim Jee-won, is adamant about what he does as a filmmaker. “Amid the unprecedented crisis that Korean cinema is facing, all I ask for (regarding the release of my film) is for ‘Cobweb’ to create a momentum for the revival of the Korean cinema,” Kim told The Korea Herald in an interview in Seoul on Sept. 21. Kim was behind hit projects like “The Good, The Bad, The Strange&rdquo

Sept. 25, 2023

[Herald Review] ‘Cobweb’ sends fresh, new breeze through Korean cinema scene

Hit filmmaker Kim Jee-woon has returned with black comedy “Cobweb,” joining forces with Cannes-winning actor Song Kang-ho to bring a breath of fresh air to the box office where plot-missing disaster flicks and childish romantic comedy films have been dominating recently. “Cobweb” follows a fresh plot development, storyline and characters. The weighty question “What is film?” penetrates the 130-minute running time, anchoring the scenes of witty, funny and sad m

Sept. 25, 2023

[Herald Interview] Jung Soo-jung sees ‘Cobweb’ as career turning point

In director Kim Jee-woon’s upcoming black comedy, “Cobweb,” Jung Soo-jung, also known as Krystal from K-pop girl group f(x), plays a chic and edgy rising star, Han Yu-rim, giving the role her own, almost flawless interpretation. The 28-year-old actor seamlessly reproduces a unique tone that actors would use in the 1970s, making it hard to believe that “Cobweb” is Jung's first commercial film role. Jung has previously starred in the indie film, “More Than

Sept. 24, 2023

[Herald Interview] ‘Another Body,’ a riveting documentary on devasting effects of deepfake porn

In Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn’s new documentary “Another Body,” a 23-year-old engineering student named Taylor finds herself victimized in a uniquely modern-day form of abuse: deepfake pornography. But this eye-opening 80-minute film doesn’t just show Taylor tracking down who has digitally planted her face over the bodies of porn stars -- it also shows how she navigates the devastating situation and manages her mental health. “Another Body” is told from

Sept. 23, 2023

French and Chinese directors win 2023 DMZ Docs awards

French director Sylvain George's “Obscure Night” won the grand prize at the 2023 DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, or DMZ Docs, which took place Sept. 14-21. On Thursday evening, DMZ Docs held its closing ceremony at the CGV Goyang Baekseok theater in Gyeonggi Province, awarding 10 documentary films. George's “Obscure Night” was praised for its in-depth depiction of young migrants in Morocco who are trying to travel from Africa to Europe via land rout

Sept. 22, 2023

[Herald Interview] Gang Dong-won says he’s ready to take on older roles

Dr. Cheon, the fake, comical exorcist Gang Dong-won portrays in the upcoming occult comedy flick “Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman,” has many similarities to the characters he played in 2009’s “Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard” and 2016’s “A Violent Prosecutor.” “I did intend to set the tone of Dr. Cheon character to be somewhere in between Woo-chi and Chi-won -- at least in the first half of the story where Dr. Cheon’s cunning wits had t

Sept. 22, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Sleep” (South Korea) Opened Sept. 6 Mystery/Thriller Directed by Jason Yu A pregnant Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) discovers that her husband, Hyun-soo (Lee Sun-kyun), has started exhibiting strange behaviors while asleep. Overcome with anxiety that he may be a danger to the family, Soo-jin goes to great lengths to protect them and their baby. “A Haunting in Venice” (US) Opened Sept. 13 Mystery/Crime Directed by Kenneth Branagh Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot returns to his peace

Sept. 22, 2023

CGV to screen Apple TV+ original film ‘Flora and Son’

Irish filmmaker John Carney’s latest movie “Flora and Son” will be screened exclusively at CGV theaters starting Friday. Viewers watching the 97-minute film at CGV theaters can get special gifts, including A3 posters, that are available on a first-come, first-served basis, the multiplex chain said. The audience can bring their tickets to the ticket counter to receive special “Flora and Son” merchandise for free. Helmed by the director of "Begin Again" (20

Sept. 21, 2023

[Herald Review] Gang Dong-won in ‘Dr. Cheon’ gives viewers a welcome sense of deja vu

Actors often say they strive to show a different side of themselves in their latest films. But actor Gang Dong-won’s performance as Dr. Cheon in “Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman,” seems very familiar, as if he intended to act like he has done in the past. His comical swordsmanship and his impactful role as Dr. Cheon is reminiscent of his characters in “Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard” (2009) and “Kundo: Age of Rampant” (2014). His cunning wit is also sim

Sept. 20, 2023

[Herald Interview] Filmmaker Kang Je-gyu waited 3 years for ‘Road to Boston’ to open in cinemas

Director Kang Je-gyu's "Road to Boston" depicts the obstacle-laden path for Korean marathoners to participate in the 1947 Boston Marathon, but the film's journey to the screen was just as arduous. The film wrapped up shooting in January 2020, but Kang had to wait three years and eight months to see the film open in theaters. “It was hard, to be honest,” Kang told The Korea Herald in an interview in Seoul on Sept. 12. “Back then, I was expecting the film to b

Sept. 19, 2023

[Herald Interview] Song Kang-ho on why he doesn't do international projects

A household name in South Korea, actor Song Kang-ho returns to the screen in director Kim Jee-woon’s ensemble comedy “Cobweb,” marking their fifth project together. With “Cobweb,” Song visited Cannes for the eighth time. He said he joined "Cobweb" with a desire to wow the audience through the concept of "this is exactly what a movie is." “What intrigued me about ‘Cobweb’ was that it was not a typical genre film. The movie is abo

Sept. 19, 2023

[Herald review] ‘Road to Boston’: uplifting tale of Korea’s heroic marathoners

“Road to Boston” begins with South Korean marathoner Sohn Kee-chung (Ha Jung-woo) standing on the highest podium with a gold medal around his neck at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. While Japan's national anthem plays in the background, Sohn covers the Japanese flag attached on his shirt with a flower pot in his hand. For this, Sohn is told never to run again by the Japanese. Eleven years later, Korea is liberated from Japanese colonial rule. An up-and-coming runner named Suh Yun-bok

Sept. 18, 2023

Family of late director Kim Ki-young files suit against 'Cobweb' film screening

The family of late filmmaker Kim Ki-young has filed a lawsuit against "Cobweb" production company Anthology Studios to stop the screening of the film, arguing that the film negatively portrays the director. Anthology Studios claims director Kim was not the motif for director Kim Yeol (Song Kang-ho) in the film, reiterating that they would work to prevent any misunderstanding that might arise during the promotion of the film. "We're sorry to have worried the family members of

Sept. 15, 2023

28th BIFF's Actor's House to spotlight Song Joong-ki, Han Hyo-joo, Youn Yuh-jung, John Cho

This year's Busan International Film Festival will have actors Song Joong-ki, Han Hyo-joo, Youn Yuh-jung and John Cho at its flagship special talk session called Actor's House. Launched in 2021 as an intimate, in-depth talk show, Actor's House has become a place where actors go over their filmography and reveal their new plans and projects. Veteran actor Youn Yuh-jung will meet with the audience on Oct. 6. She is expected to share her insights, wisdom and wit, and speak about her

Sept. 15, 2023