Peter Chung Soon-taick was officially installed as Seoul’s new Roman Catholic archbishop after an inaugural Mass at Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul on Wednesday. The last inaugural Mass was held nine years ago, in 2012, when Bishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung became the 13th archbishop of Seoul after the late Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk retired from the post. In February 2014, Yeom was appointed as a cardinal and became South Korea’s third. In October, Pope Francis appointed Ch

Culture Dec. 8, 2021

Korean movie stars Park Jeong-min, Lee Je-hoon, Son Suk-ku and Choi Hee-seo are stepping behind the camera to direct a slate of short films for Korean streaming platform Watcha’s “Unframed” project. The omnibus short film project is jointly organized by Watcha and HardCut, a new production company co-founded by actor Lee Je-hoon, film producer Kim Yoo-kyung and film director Yang Kyung-mo. The project aims to gather unique and unconventional stories and marks the directorial

Film Dec. 6, 2021

Spiritwalker (Korea) Opened Nov. 24 Action Directed by Yoon Jae-keun I-an (Yoon Kye-sang) is an intelligence agent. One day he gets into a car accident. When he wakes up he is in a different body and also finds out that he cannot remember anything. After that day, he keeps losing his memory regularly and also wakes up in a different body every 12 hours. I-an figures out that he has to find his original body to solve this situation and starts looking for it. Nothing Serious (US) Opened Nov. 24 Ro

Film Dec. 3, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic is once again shaking the Korean filmmaking industry, as two star actors -- Jung Woo-sung and Go Kyung-pyo -- tested positive for the COVID-19 virus on Tuesday. Other actors and crew who worked with Jung and Go now find themselves in a situation in which they have to halt their current projects and undergo COVID-19 PCR tests. According to Jung’s agency Artist Company, the actor went into self-quarantine after being confirmed as a COVID-19 patient on Monday night.

Film Dec. 1, 2021

Korean director Kwak Jae-yong, a master of the romance genre, is releasing “Happy New Year,” a romantic film with an ensemble cast of 14 actors. Kwak, 62, has created many hit romance films, including “My Sassy Girl” and “The Classic.” The film’s format is similar to UK film “Love Actually,” which presents a large cast and tells intertwined love stories between characters. Kwak’s film includes young big-name actors like Han Ji-min

Film Dec. 1, 2021

Netflix’s “Squid Game” has proven original content’s power to attract subscribers. Following the release of the Korean content in September, the global streaming platform’s monthly active users here reached 9.48 million, the highest since the company entered the Korean market, according to data from Nielsen Korea. Many of the major Korean streaming platforms have been creating original content to secure their own market shares in the Korean market. CJ ENM’

Television Nov. 30, 2021

“Squid Game” was announced the winner of the breakthrough series’ long format category at the 2021 Gotham Awards on Tuesday. Five other TV series, including Amazon Studios’ “Small Axe” and HBO Max’s “It’s A Sin,” vied for the prize in the over 40-minute category at the annual US awards ceremony for lower-budget indie movies and TV series. The award ceremony took place on Tuesday in New York and “Squid Game” director Hwan

Film Nov. 30, 2021

When Korean actor Lee Chae-young first heard the title of the upcoming film “Tazza: The Poker Queen,” it immediately reminded her of Korean film “The War of Flower,” which had the Korean title “Tazza.” Lee said she was hesitant to accept the role out of worry she could not outperform the 2006 hit. “However, after reading Kim Se-young’s comic that the film is created based on, I became to think that there is a story about woman gamblers that could

Film Nov. 27, 2021

As the cold winter blast is expected to continue this weekend, how about checking out indie movies at the 47th Seoul Independent Film Festival at CGV Art House Apgujeong and CGV Apgujeong in Seoul. The film festival kicked off Thursday and will run through Dec 3. Those who missed the opening film “Sprinter,” directed by Choi Seung-yeon that premiered on Thursday, can catch it at 3:20 p.m., Sunday. The film centers around three track athletes -- Hyun-soo, Jun-seo and Jung-ho --who

Film Nov. 27, 2021

Jeon Jong-seo has attracted attention for her character’s frank comments about sex in romantic comedy “Nothing Serious,” but for her the role was all about the director’s wit. Jeon plays Ham Ja-young, a 29-year-old single woman who often talks about her sex life with her friends and even makes sexual jokes to Park Woo-ri, a man she just met on a dating app.  “I think quirky and honest lines are director Jung Ga-young’s style. If I didn’t like t

Film Nov. 26, 2021

John D. Michaels and Daniel C. Kennedy faced harsh criticism after appearing on the Netflix global sensation “Squid Game” as two of the VIPs. They addressed that criticism during a recent interview with The Korea Herald. Critics said the foreign actors’ performances were over the top and did not fit the tone of the series. Although they are aware of the criticism, Michaels and Kennedy said they would not do it much differently even if they had the chance. They al

Film Nov. 26, 2021

One of the frequently asked questions of Koreans traveling abroad is: “Are you from the North or the South?” The protagonists of Kim Cheol-min’s independent documentary film, “I Am From Chosun,” would answer the question by saying they are from both, or perhaps neither. Kim’s documentary depicts his journey of learning about the Zainichi people in Japan, who are ethnic Koreans who moved to Japan mostly during the early 1900s before the Korean Peninsula was

Film Nov. 24, 2021

BTS indeed is the biggest boy band in history. The seven-member boy band on Monday bagged three trophies at this year’s American Music Awards, including the top prize -- the artist of the year. The 49th Annual AMAs was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. “Four years ago, we gave this first-time-ever TV live performance at this stage, AMAs, it was ‘DNA,’ and we were too excited and nervous at the time. And it’s been a long and amazing ride since then, bu

Performance Nov. 22, 2021

Netflix’s fantasy thriller “Hellbound” directed by Yeon Sang-ho is off to a good start in following in the footsteps of global sensation “Squid Game.” A day after being released Friday, Yeon’s Netflix series topped the Top TV show on Netlflix chart, according to streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol. “Squid Game” grabbed the No. 2 spot on the chart Saturday. The global hit TV series directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk had stayed atop FlixPatrol’s T

Film Nov. 21, 2021

Rookie Korean director Jung Ga-young, 31, said she focused on creating a female character with a daring personality when writing the script for romantic comedy “Nothing Serious” “I wanted to make a rom-com. I am a big fan of the genre and on top of that I wanted to create a film that centers around a female character,” the director said during a press conference held at CGV Yongsan in central Seoul on Wednesday. “I also wanted the female character to be honest when

Film Nov. 20, 2021