The Korean Film Council’s decision to cut funding for the Busan International Film Festival by nearly half in 2015 has led to speculation that the quasi-governmental agency is trying to punish the festival for screening a politically controversial documentary last year.On April 30, the agency announced its 2015 funding decisions for six festivals as part of its international film festival development program. The BIFF was awarded a total of 800 million won ($740,000), down nearly half from 1.46

Film May 5, 2015

G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, Seungri, and Daesung raised eyebrows online with the release of their “Bae Bae” music video. It was unusual in many ways, and -- as American music magazine Billboard put it, represented Big Bang’s “sexual peak.” In a conversation with reporters at the Conrad Hotel in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on Monday, Big Bang talked about the creation of the buzz-creating video. (YG Entertainment)“We wanted to make something unusual, something that people would find fun, something that

Performance May 4, 2015

The 16th year of the nation’s second-largest film festival kicked off Thursday at Jeonju Sports Stadium.The outdoor stadium was packed with fans as stars lined the red carpet and opening ceremony cohosts Kim Dong-wan and Im Sung-min took the stage to officially begin the Jeonju International Film Festival. Kim Dong-wan is a member of boy band Shinhwa, while Lim Sung-min is an anchorwoman-turned-actress.  Lim Sung-min and Kim Dong-wan host the opening ceremony of the JIFF at Jeonju Sports Stadium

Film April 30, 2015

GONGJU, South Chungcheong Province ― Nestled in the hills of Mount Taehwasan sits Magoksa Temple, a serene haven with cozy tiled-roof shrines dotting sprawling courtyards and a five-story stone pagoda as its centerpiece. The spring mountain scenery surrounding the temple is lush and pristine, as if this were the first spring it had ever known. But the temple, founded in 640, bears the signs of history in its time-worn walls. It is this history that the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism hopes to cel

Culture April 30, 2015

Mnet and JYP Entertainment have teamed up to launch the new survival-style debut program “Sixteen.”The program’s name refers to the number of contestants who will vie for a spot in the new seven-member group to come from JYP. The new group would be named “Twice,” JYP Entertainment’s CEO Park Jin-young revealed at a press conference at the 63 Convention Center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Wednesday.“We chose that name because the members will be wowing their fans once through their ears, and twice

Performance April 29, 2015

Darkness and isolation are the two constants in “Coin Locker Girl,” the feature-length debut from director Han Jun-hee. It is a crime drama ― violent, unpredictable and thrilling, but even amid its unexpected twists and turns the film never strays from its central message: life is a hard, solitary endeavor.That theme is counterintuitive to the fact that the central characters in the film call each other a “family” despite having no biological connection. In fact, it isn’t clear at first what the

Film April 28, 2015

“B, to the I, to the?” “Bang! Bang!”YG Entertainment’s iconic boy group Big Bang lit up the Olympic Gymnastics Arena at Seoul Olympic Park on Sunday, the second day of the Seoul concert that kicks off their long-awaited group comeback. The 13,000 seats were packed strong with VIPs (as Big Bang’s fans are called) as the five members dominated the stage, freely moving around onstage and relocating ramps to interact with the audience. “I’m not as nervous as I was yesterday,” rapper T.O.P said, refe

Performance April 27, 2015

In her third EP, Lim Kim has grown up, and learned to approach life with a “Simple Mind.” “It’s an album about looking at things as simply as possible,” Kim said at a press showcase at Lezhin Comics V-Hall in Mapo-gu, Seoul on Monday.Newly blonde and dressed in a studded black leather jacket, Kim sang three songs from the seven-track album ― the playful and daring “Awoo,” which was prereleased on April 22, the addictive title track “Love Game,” and the poetic “Barama,” originally performed with

Performance April 27, 2015

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” is setting box office records worldwide, and Korea is no exception to seeing the Disney Marvel superhero action movie hitting it big.The second Avengers film hit local theaters last Thursday, showing at over 44 percent of multiplex screens nationwide.It sold over 3 million tickets, or 21.2 billion won ($19.7 million), as of Sunday morning, according to the Korean Film Council.The movie, about a band of Earth’s mightiest heroes including Iron Man and Thor from Marvel’s c

Film April 26, 2015

Brian Wilson is back with evocative albumBrian Wilson“No Pier Pressure”(Capitol)Brian Wilson‘s “No Pier Pressure” offers ample reason to celebrate the extended solo career that has followed his Beach Boys’ journey. 　 His 11th solo studio offering opens with “This Beautiful Day,” a short track that captures all of Wilson‘s yearning and desire in the simplest, most direct way, offset by lovely harmonies and some fine trumpet work. 　 Of course, the entire CD does not reach that level, and some of t

Performance April 24, 2015

Coin Locker Girl (Korea)Opening April 29Drama. Directed by Han Jun-heeThe dark underworld of loan sharks, drugs, and commissioned kills are all Il-young (Kim Go-eun) knows as she grows up under the wing of Mother (Kim Hye-soo), the crime boss who bought Il-young when she was a little girl. Il-young is blindly loyal to Mother until she catches a glimpse of a normal life through her unlikely friendship with Suk-hyun (Park Bo-gum), the son of a debtor. Chaos ensues as Il-young slowly turns her back

Film April 24, 2015

“The Shameless,” a new film from director Oh Seung-uk starring Jeon Do-yeon and Kim Nam-gil, is described by its filmmakers as a “hardboiled melodrama-romance.” As one of the official selections invited to the sidebar “Un Certain Regard” competition of the 68th Cannes Film Festival, the film has been stoking curiosity about how Oh would bring together the seemingly antithetical genres of hardboiled and romance.“In terms of genre, the movie is closer to romance,” Oh said at a press conference at

Film April 24, 2015

Director Joss Whedon dispenses with all introductions and jumps straight into the action in the hotly anticipated “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” The opening sequence kicks off with the Avengers raiding a HYDRA stronghold in the snowy mountains of Sokovia, kicking, punching and blasting their way to capture Loki’s powerful scepter. From there, the action never slows down throughout the 140-minute film screened for the media at CGV Wangsimni on Tuesday. But between the heavy gunfire and scorched metal

Film April 22, 2015

Two films about families struggling with disabilities will hit theaters side by side on April 23, three days after the designated national day to raise awareness about physical disabilities. Despite their common subject matter, the films present a striking contrast in their portrayals of life with disabilities.The first film is “Glittering Hands,” the first full-length feature film from 25-year-old Lee-Kil Bora that received accolades at the Seoul Independent Film Festival and the Persons with D

Film April 21, 2015