In rookie director Kim Chang-hoon’s feature debut film “Hopeless” which opened in theaters last week, Hong Xa-bin plays Yeon-kyu, an 18-year-old high school student who lives with an abusive stepfather and an enervated mother. He is even asked to leave the Chinese restaurant where he works part time. Then, he meets Chi-gun (Song Joong-ki), the right-hand man of a gang boss, who seems to be a haven for Yeon-kyu. Before "Hopeless," which was invited to the Cannes Film F

Film Oct. 16, 2023

For those of you who are tired of Americanos and sweetened lattes, Turkish coffee might just be what you needed. If you’re a coffee purist, why not try Turkish coffee, known as one of the strongest coffee with high level of caffeine? Turkey, a country with over 1,000 years of coffee history, makes coffee in the most traditional way. Also known as sand coffee here, you need sand that’s heated in a pan over a stove before preparing to make a coffee. Finely ground coffee and water are b

Food Oct. 14, 2023

The 28th Busan International Film Festival came to an end Friday, completing its 10 day-run. The event saw some 140,000 moviegoers visit the port city to watch 209 films from 70 countries. The closing ceremony for this year’s BIFF, hosted by actors Go Min-si and Hong Kyung, was held at the Busan Cinema Center. As part of the ceremony, the festival bestowed "The Wrestler” by Iqbal H. Chowdhury and “September 1923” by Mori Tatsuya with the New Currents award -- an awar

Film Oct. 13, 2023

“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

Film Oct. 13, 2023

Marvel Studio’s much-anticipated superhero flick “The Marvels” confirmed its release in Korea on Nov. 8, according to Walt Disney Korea. South Korean heartthrob Park Seo-joon, who has starred in numerous hit films such as “Parasite,” “Midnight Runners” and most recently the Oscar-submitted “Concrete Utopia,” has been cast to play Prince Yan in “The Marvels.” Prince Yan is the husband of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) – also kno

Film Oct. 12, 2023

It’s rare for a rookie director like Kim Chang-hoon, whose debut action noir “Hopeless” hits local theaters this week, to be invited to the Cannes International Film Festival. “(The festival took place in) a foreign country so I couldn’t really understand the feedback (I received). But just last week in Busan, I was able to meet with local audiences and hear their responses and communicate with them,” Kim told The Korea Herald in an interview in Seoul on Tuesd

Film Oct. 11, 2023

This year’s Busan International Film Festival, which kicked off Oct. 4, invited a total of 269 movies -- about 90 fewer than last year due to a cut in government funding. But Asia's largest film festival continues to be a hit with the public, achieving a 90 percent seat occupancy rate as of Monday. With just days to go before the 28th edition of Asia's largest film festival comes to an end Friday, following is a recap of the first half of the festival. 'Ballerina' A

Film Oct. 10, 2023

“Because I hate Korea,” director Jang Kun-jae’s coming-of-age film based on the novel of same title by Jang Kang-myung, realistically portrays the journey of Kye-na (Go Ah-sung) in search of empathy and consolation. In her late 20s, Kye-na isn’t sure about her life in Korea. Her longtime boyfriend Ji-myeong who is preparing to become a journalist, not so well-off parents who are dependent on Kye-na and her boss who asks Kye-na to do something unethical because it is a com

Film Oct. 9, 2023

The 28th Busan International Film Festival held its new awards festival, the Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards, at Busan Cinema Center on Sunday, with Disney+ drama "Moving" the biggest winner on the night. The Asia Contents Awards, established in 2019, has been renamed to the Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards this year, to reflect the global trend toward streaming. At this year’s edition, five new awards have been added, including the Best Creative award. D

Film Oct. 8, 2023

South Korean veteran actor Youn Yuh-jung and prolific actor Han Hyo-joo went over their latest acting career feats with the audience in Busan during the 28th Busan International Film Festival’s flagship special talk session Actors' House. Launched in 2021 as an intimate, in-depth talk show, Actors' House has become a place where actors go over their filmography, reveal behind-the-scene stories and their new plans and projects. Youn shared what it meant for her to receive the pres

Film Oct. 8, 2023

Director Kim Seong-sik’s “Dr. Cheon and The Lost Talisman,” which has been top of the box office since the extended Chuseok holiday that started Sept. 28, comes after he spent 10 years as an assistant director. In the first week of opening, the film attracted over 1.5 million moviegoers. Originally an animator who wished to become like renowned Japanese animation filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, Kim decided to change course after watching director Bong Joon-ho’s “Memories

Film Oct. 7, 2023

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

Film Oct. 6, 2023

“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

Film Oct. 6, 2023

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

Film Oct. 4, 2023

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

Film Oct. 2, 2023