Soft-spoken Ahn So-hee seemed to put a great amount of thought into her answers before vocalizing them. One of her hobbies is simply to “observe people” as she herself isn’t “very outgoing or talkative,” Ahn said at an interview Wednesday at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.“People say that observing others, (and) seeing and feeling lots of things will help me even more in my future acting,” said the budding actress, who stars in the recent film “A Single Rider” alongside Lee Byung-hun and Gong H

Film Feb. 26, 2017

Oysters are in season, and they are great in soups. This oyster soup is simple, refreshingly clear, and incredibly briny. The recipe uses two main ingredients -- oysters and radish. The oysters impart a strong briny flavor, so you don’t need to use a flavorful broth such as anchovy broth as a soup base. I simply add a small piece of dried kelp (dashima) to boost umami, and use salt to season to highlight the briny flavor of oysters. You can use a little bit of soup soy sauce if you want. 　The ra

Food Feb. 25, 2017

A Single Rider(Korea)Opened Feb. 22Drama. Directed by Lee Zoo-youngJae-hoon (Lee Byung-hun) is a stockbroker who loses his fortune, friends and the trust of his clients after a risky investment goes abysmally wrong. He leaves for Australia to find his wife and son, who have relocated there, only to discover that they too are slipping out of his grasp. He hovers around them, observing their daily routine and wandering the streets in search of answers to a horrifying truth. New Trial(Korea)Opened

Film Feb. 24, 2017

“Tell the world what you have seen,” a character exclaims in “The Great Wall,” “and what is coming!” The warning is about the mythical mass of marauding monsters that are sweeping down northern China but it could just as easily be for the kind of Hollywood-China collaboration that is “The Great Wall.” The first English language feature shot entirely in China, it’s the biggest-budget attempt yet to straddle both sides of the Pacific, plucking a movie star (Matt Damon) from the West for a producti

Film Feb. 24, 2017

R&B artist Dean dropped a new single titled “limbo” on Feb. 17, comprised of two songs.　The producer-turned-singer, who has written songs for K-pop’s biggest names such as EXO, VIXX and Taeyeon, has been consistently collaborating with artists such as Crush to produce trendy tracks. 　The following is a list of facts about the new album:1. The album’s concept is the state of limbo between dreaming and reality, where the two are indistinguishable. 2. It was inspired by the Christopher Nolan movie

Performance Feb. 23, 2017

Go Ara’s breakthrough came in 2013, when she starred in the nostalgic drama series “Reply 1994.” Forgoing her previously pristine look, she cut her hair in a frizzy bob to portray the spunky university student Sung Na-jung, in a performance for which Go nabbed praise both critically and with viewers.The role, to a certain extent, enabled the actress to break free from the prejudice that she was “too pretty” to embody diverse characters, which is in fact her ultimate goal, Go said at an interview

Television Feb. 23, 2017

Korean film industry insiders are speculating on the next move by director Hong Sang-soo and actress Kim Min-hee, who won the best actress award at the Berlin International Film Festival on Sunday for their film “On the Beach at Night Alone.” The two have not yet made specific plans to return to Korea or hold a press conference here, as is customary after winning prominent international prizes.“On the Beach at Night Alone,” Hong and Kim’s second collaboration, meanwhile, will open in local theat

Film Feb. 22, 2017

Director Hong Sang-soo’s much-talked-about new film will hit local theaters on March 23, according to the production company Jeonwonsa Film Co., Monday.Although the film won Kim Min-hee the Silver Bear award for best actress at the Berlin International Film Festival on Sunday, there has been much speculation as to whether the film will enjoy success here. Poster for ‘On the Beach at Night Alone’ (Contents Panda)The film is Hong’s 19th feature and tells the story of an actress, played by Kim, who

Film Feb. 21, 2017

In one of his most acclaimed performances, Lee Byung-hun plays a gang member ordered to spy on his boss’s wife in director Kim Jee-woon’s 2005 noir “A Bittersweet Life.”The character starts out as a ruthless perfectionist trusted to unquestioningly execute orders. But struggling between his dreams and real life, he begins to act on his own impulses.Lee was strongly reminded of that tortured mobster he had portrayed over a decade ago while playing his recent role in the psychological drama “A Sin

Film Feb. 21, 2017

Red Velvet’s new song “Rookie” has been enjoying a streak of popularity lately, topping charts of major music programs since its Feb. 1 release. For two weeks in a row now, “Rookie” has nabbed first place on music programs “M Countdown,” “Music Bank” and “Inkigayo” as of the weekend of Feb. 18-19. Since Feb. 2, the song has maintained first place on the Korean songs section of Chinese Xiami Music charts.　 Red Velvet (S.M. Entertainment)Billboard describes “Rookie” as a “quirky, funk-driven dance

Performance Feb. 20, 2017

BTS revealed Monday the music video for “Not Today,” a song from the boy band’s new album “You Never Walk Alone,” released Feb. 13. The clip depicts BTS members performing powerful choreography with some 30 background dancers, similar to some of the boy band’s other beat-heavy hits such as “Fire” and “Dope.”  A scene from BTS’ music video for “Not Today” (YouTube) A scene from BTS’ music video for “Not Today” (YouTube)The music video, which shows the members dancing against a backdrop of rocky v

Performance Feb. 20, 2017

With chiseled features and deep dark eyes, Go Soo has earned himself the nickname “the statue of David” among Korean fans -- but his identity as an actor has been less defined. Now nearing 20 years since his debut, the actor had a busy but less-than-noticeable 2016, starring in the TV period drama “The Flower in the Prison” as a mysterious tradesman and making a brief appearance in the film “The Age of Shadows.”　Actor Go Soo (Young Hwa In)Go returns to the big screen as the lost, confused, tired

Film Feb. 19, 2017

New Trial(Korea)Opened Feb. 15Crime, thriller. Directed by Kim Tae-yunBased on a true story, the film traces Hyun-woo (Kang Ha-neul), who is framed after being the sole witness of a murder, due to the lackluster and overly aggressive investigation conducted by the police. Hyun-woo subsequently spends a decade in imprisonment. Lawyer Joon-young (Jung Woo) finds out about the case, and decides to uncover the truth.Fabricted City(Korea)Opened Feb. 9Thriller, science fiction. Directed by Park Kwang-

Film Feb. 17, 2017

You don’t need words to create poetry. Without spoken dialogue, the Oscar-nominated “The Red Turtle,” a richly imagined French-Belgian animated drama created with the skillful assistance of Japan’s virtuoso anime enterprise Studio Ghibli, tells an emotionally deep, thematically rich story.Kids and families are all but guaranteed to return home from the theater profoundly touched. And even moody souls whose hearts are three sizes too small must confess that animated films this spellbindingly beau

Film Feb. 17, 2017

In all the kinked knots and twists of satin that adorn “Fifty Shades Darker,” none is more worthwhile to uncoil than the tangled absurdities of its central dominator, Christian Grey.He’s a singularly ridiculous cocktail of money, abs and sex toys. “The right term is sadist,” he says in “Fifty Shades Darker,” the second in a planned trilogy based on E.L. James’ best sellers. He buys companies. He flies helicopters. He’s proficient with nipple clamps. He’s like some kind of humorless combination o

Film Feb. 17, 2017