Presidential election season is in full swing as the two main opposing parties level an endless stream of allegations at each other to win over more votes. This is a rough description of what happens in hit maker Byun Sung-hyun’s new political film “Kingmaker,” as well as what is happening in the Korean political scene right now. The film’s main lead Seol Kyung-gu, who played opposition party politician Kim Woon-beom, said that the movie’s release date was not in

Film Jan. 22, 2022

An exhibition that features trends of premium and unique sneakers titled “Neck Breakers” is being held at Hoard Gallery in Samcheong-dong, Seoul. The exhibition will run through Sunday. It displays various valuable sneakers including Michael Jordan’s Nike shoes, Kanye West’s Adidas shoes and also sneakers that were considered futuristic in the films of the ‘80s. The exhibition also features some behind stories related to sneaker companies and celebrities’ p

Culture Jan. 21, 2022

Criticisms over territorial broadcaster KBS1 abusing a horse to film a scene for the 7th episode of the period drama “The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won” is continuing even after the apology statement was released on Thursday. The scene, which was aired on Jan. 1, featured Yi Seong-gye, the founder of the Joseon Kingdom accidentally falling from the horse. “We feel deeply responsible and apologize for the accident that occurred during filming,” the broadcaster said. &ldquo

Television Jan. 21, 2022

Special Delivery (Korea) Opened Jan. 12 Action Directed by Park Dae-min Special delivery driver Eun-ha (Park So-dam) mainly works for a criminal group. She delivers anything that cannot be delivered legally. One day, Eun-ha receives a mission to deliver Seo-won (Jung Hyeon-jun), a young boy that a criminal group is chasing after. When she decides to save him, she becomes a target of not only the crime group, but also associated corrupt police officers. Sing 2 (US) Opened Jan. 5 Animation Direc

Film Jan. 21, 2022

Kang Dong-han, vice president of content at Netflix Korea, on Wednesday introduced 25 new Korean original content works that the streaming platform will introduce in 2022 with an expectation to see more successful cases like the global hit series “Squid Game.” “Last year was special, as Oh Young-soo who won the Golden Globes said, it was no longer ‘us in the world’, but ‘the world in us’,” Kang said during a press conference held via Zoom with loc

Television Jan. 19, 2022

Kang Ha-neul is returning to the big screen as a trouble-making swordsman in “The Pirates: Goblin Flag” directed by Kim Jung-hoon. Director Kim’s new movie is set in the Joseon era and revolves around a journey by pirates looking for hidden treasures of a Goryeo Kingdom that no longer exists. “When I first read the script, I thought of Muchi (the character played by Kang) as a troublemaker, so it was important for him to stay somewhat hyper most of the time. I thought o

Film Jan. 19, 2022

Jeonju International Film Festival’s organizing committee announced that the annual film fest will be held for 10 days from April 28 in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The 23rd Jeonju IFF committee also added that it is hoping to return nearly to how it previously operated the international film festival before the pandemic. There will be 18 sections and 230 films will be screened during the festival, which shows the committee’s determination to host an event just how it was before

Film Jan. 17, 2022

A female captain character is not only rare in Korean films but also for actress Han Hyo-joo, who is widely known for her roles in romantic movies. But Han said she enjoyed greatly playing the role of pirate captain in “The Pirates: Goblin Flag” directed by Kim Jung-hoon. “(Although it is set in the Joseon era,) I did not consider it as a period film but rather as a fantasy adventure movie so I could do everything freely and I really enjoyed it,” Han said. “When de

Film Jan. 16, 2022

“The Pirates,” which attracted an audience of more than 8.6 million eight years ago, has returned as “The Pirates: Goblin Flag” directed by Kim Jung-hoon. Although it is the sequel of the hit Korean pirate film, those who have not watched the first movie can enjoy the film without much difficulty as everything -- from the director, plot to all of the cast in the film -- is new. “The Pirates: Goblin Flag” revolves around a journey by pirates looking for hidd

Film Jan. 15, 2022

The Korean movie industry is taking to non-fungible tokens to attract audiences. Based on blockchain technology, NFTs are unique digital tokens of physical or digital assets that can be traded on the market. The value of the tokens changes depending on market demands. In conjunction with the release of “The Matrix Resurrections” on Dec. 22, Lotte Cinema and Warner Bros. jointly gifted NFT merchandise to the first 30,000 people who bought tickets. Moviegoers could get one of s

Film Jan. 14, 2022

Special Delivery (Korea) Opened Jan. 12 Action Directed by Park Dae-min Special delivery driver Eun-ha (Park So-dam) mainly works for a criminal group. She delivers anything that cannot be delivered legally. One day, Eun-ha receives a mission to deliver Seo-won (Jung Hyeon-jun), a young boy that a criminal group is chasing after. When she decides to save him, she becomes a target of not only the crime group, but also associated corrupt police officers. The Policeman’s Lineage (Korea) Ope

Film Jan. 14, 2022

The Korean film industry as a whole weathered a tough year in 2021, with only a few movies opening in theaters amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Looking at the list of films that did get a cinematic release, once again, it is hard to ignore the conspicuous absence of female actors. On the list of 20 highest grossing films in Korea last year are five Korean films --“Escape from Mogadishu, “Sinkhole,” “Hostage: Missing Celebrity,” “Hard Hit” and &ldq

Film Jan. 11, 2022

The upcoming documentary “Sewing Sisters” is a film recommended by the nation’s top filmmakers Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook. “Sewing Sisters,” co-directed by Kim Jung-young and Lee Hyuk-rae centers around three women who used to work for textile companies at Peace Market in the 1970s. “Parasite” director Bong appeared on stage before the film’s pre-screening event held on Jan. 4 and said, “I came here as a supporter and fan of the movie

Film Jan. 11, 2022

In a congratulatory message released after actor Oh Young-soo was announced as the winner in the supporting actor in a series, limited series, or television movie category at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, President Moon Jae-in applauded the actor, saying, “His journey of acting for more than half a century eventually overcame borders and cultural differences, creating great emotional and lingering impressions on the world stage. I would like to express my respect and gratitude to actor Oh

Film Jan. 10, 2022

The influence of global OTT platforms was once again proven with Netflix original series “Squid Game” supporting actor Oh Young-soo‘s win at the 79th Golden Globes on Monday. International successes like Oh’s are increasingly likely in the near future as more Korean actors have started working on projects targeting global audiences. Many big-name stars are choosing to appear in Netflix’s original series, which are made available in 190 countries. Kim Hye-soo and

Television Jan. 10, 2022