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Baek Byung-yeul

Korea Times K-Culture Reporter

Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.

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Films

'Authenticity is key to K-content's future,' says 'KPop Demon Hunters' director

Director Maggie Kang of Netflix's hit animated feature "KPop Demon Hunters" said the future of K-content will be even brighter if the Korean content industry, like her globally successful animation, makes a greater effort to showcase Korean culture without hiding it. "We have to just be confident with our culture and just our point of view. I think, as a filmmaker, I know that anytime you think about what other people are going to think, and you kind of cater to an audience's opinions and not your own, it doesn't feel authentic," the Korean Canadian director said during a press conference in Seoul on Friday. "And the audience knows that, they can smell it. They know exactly. They know that you're doing it, and it's not something that they want to see. They want authenticity." Released on Netflix in June, "KPop Demon Hunters" has become the most-watched animated feature on the streaming platform and is on track to soon become its most-watched movie overall. The film reimagines K-pop stars as demon slayers, with the members of the trio Huntrix — Rumi, Mira and Zoey — using the power of

Aug 22, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
'Authenticity is key to K-content's future,' says 'KPop Demon Hunters' director
Films

'Train to Busan' director takes on micro budget thriller 'The Ugly'

Director Yeon Sang-ho, known for "Train to Busan" (2016) and the Netflix series "Hellbound," has taken on a new challenge by making his latest film “The Ugly” with an ultra-low budget of around 200 million won ($143,600). "I've made a lot of films, and with each one, I always think, 'I want to make a new kind of film.’ And one day a thought suddenly struck me — if I want to make a movie with a new soul, it needs a new body,” Yeon said during a press conference in Seoul Friday. "So, I thought, what if I tried making a film in a way that's completely different from what I've done before.” “The Ugly" is a mystery thriller that follows Im Dong-hwan, the son of Im Yeong-gyu, a visually impaired seal engraver. When Dong-hwan discovers the skeletal remains of his mother, who has been missing for 40 years, he begins to dig into the truth behind his mother’s death. Actor Park Jeong-min takes on a dual role, playing both the younger Yeong-gyu and his son, Dong-hwan, while Kwon Hae-hyo plays the older Yeong-gyu. The film is an adaptation of the graphic novel "Eolgul," the Korean word

Aug 22, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
'Train to Busan' director takes on micro budget thriller 'The Ugly'
Films

'Final Semester' tells unspoken story of young workers' lives

Unlike students at general high schools in Korea who focus on college admission, vocational high school students do an internship at a factory in their last semester instead of attending classes. Directed by Lee Ran-hee, who gained attention for her 2020 film "A Leave," which portrayed laid-off workers, "The Final Semester" again captures working-class realities, this time from the perspective of youth caught between school and the start of their working lives. The movie centers on Chang-woo (Yoo Lee-ha), a student beginning his final semester internship at a factory. He accepts his teacher's recommendation for the position, which offers perks like special admission to college and exemption from military service, knowing he has to consider his family's precarious financial situation. Instead of wearing a school uniform and heading to classes with friends, Chang-woo now commutes to work, navigating harsh evaluations by his senior colleagues and the constant tension of a work environment where industrial accidents can be fatal. While he silently endures his new environment, fellow intern

Aug 21, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
'Final Semester' tells unspoken story of young workers' lives
Films

Will director Lee Sang-il’s Japanese hit film ‘Kokuho’ find success in Korea?

Korean Japanese filmmaker Lee Sang-il’s latest film, “Kokuho” (meaning national treasure in Japanese), is set to make its highly anticipated debut in Korea later this year, following a phenomenal run in Japan that captivated audiences and critics. Released on June 6 in Japan, “Kokuho” quickly became a box office sensation, drawing an incredible 7.47 million viewers in just 73 days and grossing 10.5 billion yen ($71 million). This overwhelming success has secured its place as the third-highest-grossing live-action film in Japanese cinematic history, surpassing the 1998 hit “Bayside Shakedown: The Movie.” The movie’s local importer Media Castle and distributor NEW said Wednesday that they decided to release “Kokuho” in Korea as the film has brought “a significant shift in the landscape of Japanese cinema for the first time in 27 years.” The film tells the story of Tachibana Kikuo (Ryo Yoshizawa), a boy born into a yakuza family during Japan’s period of high economic growth, who is adopted into a family of Kabuki actors. He devotes his life to mastering the intrica

Aug 20, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
Will director Lee Sang-il’s Japanese hit film ‘Kokuho’ find success in Korea?
Films

DMZ Docs returns with focus on peace, human rights

The DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, also known as DMZ Docs, a platform that explores global issues like peace, climate change and human rights near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas, is set to return this September. Chang Hae-rang, the festival director, said that this year's edition contemplates its role amid the unresolved violence and hatred in the world. "Through this film festival, we deliberated on how to overcome the issues of violence and hatred that the global society has yet to solve," Chang said during a press conference in Seoul Tuesday. "We prepared this festival with a resolve to take one more step forward and confront these problems." Since its start in 2009, DMZ Docs has become a major event that uses the divided border as a backdrop to discuss global issues like war, climate change, migration, refugees, gender and human rights. This year's event will be held from Sept. 11 to 17 in the DMZ-adjacent cities of Paju and Goyang in Gyeonggi Province. Chang said the festival's theme this year is "A Day We Wish to Live” (tentative English tran

Aug 19, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
DMZ Docs returns with focus on peace, human rights
Films

Shim Eun-kyung's 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers' wins top prize at Locarno Film Festival

Korean actor Shim Eun-kyung's film, the Japanese production "Two Seasons, Two Strangers," won the Golden Leopard prize at the 78th Locarno Film Festival, with Shim's acceptance speech in Korean garnering attention amid the growing global influence of Korean culture. "Two Seasons, Two Strangers" received the prestigious award at the closing ceremony of the festival in Locarno, Switzerland, Saturday (local time). Shim attended the Independent Jury Award ceremony with director Sho Miyake and shared her thoughts. She began her speech in Japanese, saying, "This is Shim Eun-kyung, who played the protagonist, Lee, in 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers.' I am Korean, so I would like to speak in Korean." She then continued her speech in Korean. "I am grateful to be part of this glorious occasion. This message may not be delivered directly, but so many people are watching from around the world that I wanted to speak in my native language," Shim said. "This film is a very meaningful work to me and I hope it reaches even further through the Locarno Film Festival." Founded in 1946, the Locarno Film Festival is

Aug 19, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
Shim Eun-kyung's 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers' wins top prize at Locarno Film Festival
North Korea

Yoido Full Gospel Church prepares to resume heart hospital construction in Pyongyang

Yoido Full Gospel Church is taking steps to resume the construction of the cardiac hospital in Pyongyang, a project that has been on hold since 2010 as the church’s senior pastor Lee Young-hoon recently met with Unification Minister Chung Dong-young to discuss reviving the humanitarian aid effort. South Korea’s largest Protestant church said Monday that Lee had a meeting with the minister on Aug. 11 to resume the halted construction project. “Pastor Lee Young-hoon met with Unification Minister Chung Dong-young at 6 p.m. on Aug. 11 at the Somerset Palace Seoul hotel to discuss resuming construction of the Pyongyang Heart Hospital,” a church official said. “At the time, the hospital was about 70 percent complete, and the resumption date will be coordinated through consultations between the government and North Korean authorities.” The meeting focused on restarting construction that was suspended in the sinking of the Cheonan corvette by a North Korean attack in the West Sea in 2010. Church officials hope the hospital, located in the heart of Pyongyang, will contribute to inter-K

Aug 18, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
Yoido Full Gospel Church prepares to resume heart hospital construction in Pyongyang
People & Events

FEBC-Korea honors 80th Liberation Day with patriotic concert

A moving and powerful performance by the nation’s leading Christian radio network Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC)-Korea's children's choir marked the 80th anniversary of Korea's Liberation Day on Friday. The annual Children’s Choir Patriotic Concert, held at the Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon, brought together about 6,000 attendees to celebrate a series of significant anniversaries — 80 years since liberation from Japanese colonial rule, 140 years since the introduction of Protestantism's arrival in Korea and the 75th anniversary of the Incheon Landing Operation during the 1950-53 Korean War. The concert, featuring 700 children from FEBC-Korea's regional choirs across the country, was held in Incheon to honor its historical importance as the city where FEBC-Korea first began broadcasting in 1956. Rev. Billy Kim, chairman of FEBC-Korea, said the concert was an opportunity for the next generation to reflect on the joy of liberation and the importance of peace on the Korean Peninsula. The two-hour concert was a dramatic and dynamic journey through Korean history, presented in

Aug 18, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
FEBC-Korea honors 80th Liberation Day with patriotic concert
People & Events

Bishop Timothy Yu Gyoung-chon dies at 63, remembered for humble service

Bishop Timothy Yu Gyoung-chon, who served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seoul, passed away on Friday at the age of 63. The Archdiocese of Seoul said that Yu died from an illness at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. He had been battling bile duct cancer, undergoing surgery and chemotherapy last year. Born in Seoul in 1962, the late bishop graduated from Catholic University of Korea. After completing his military service, he went on to study in Germany at the University of Wurzburg. He was ordained a priest in 1992 by the Archdiocese of Seoul and later earned a doctorate in theology from the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt. In 2013, Pope Francis appointed him as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seoul, and he was officially consecrated the following February. The late bishop was known for his modest lifestyle, rarely drawing attention to himself and even driving the same small, old car for decades. Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick of Seoul said that the late bishop aspired to be a priest who stood with the humble, and his frugal life an

Aug 17, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
Bishop Timothy Yu Gyoung-chon dies at 63, remembered for humble service
K-pop

K-pop legend Lee Hyun-do to revive Deux’s Kim Sung-jae with AI

K-pop pioneer Lee Hyun-do, one half of the iconic 1990s hip-hop duo Deux, will release new music featuring the voice of his late partner Kim Sung-jae using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, according to Yonhap News Agency. Lee said he aims to release a fourth full-length album of the duo band by the end of 2025. "I hope to get a reaction from the younger generation who don't know Deux, something like, 'I don't know who this is, but it's cool,'" he was quoted as saying by the local news agency on Saturday. Lee explained his plan to use AI to extract and synthesize Kim's voice from Deux's existing discography. He will then combine it with his own vocals to create new songs. He also mentioned that he is preparing a music video to accompany the new releases. Formed in 1993, Deux pioneered new jack swing in Korea, blending hip-hop, funk, pop and R&B. They quickly rose to fame with hit songs like "Look Back at Me" (1993), "In Summer" (1994) and “Break off the Yoke” (1994). In 1995, the band announced its disbandment, and fans were left in shock when Kim, who made a solo debut with a

Aug 17, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
K-pop legend Lee Hyun-do to revive Deux’s Kim Sung-jae with AI
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