The Korea Times

'Top Gun: Maverick' tops local box offices for 9 consecutive days

A scene from the action blockbuster film, “Top Gun: Maverick” / Courtesy of Lotte EntertainmentBy Lee Gyu-leeHollywood blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” is soaring at local box offices, topping the chart for nine consecutive days through Thursday, despite the opening of other anticipated films, including director Park Chan-wook's "Decision to Leave,” which won him the Cannes' Best Director award. The sequel to the 1986 action film, starring Tom Cruise, saw over 146,000 ticket sales on Thursday, raising its total to about 2.18 million tickets.Since opening at the top of the chart on June 22 with over 188,000 ticket sales on opening day alone, the film has since surpassed 1 million in sales in only four days and 2 million in eight days. The aviation action flick follows the legendary naval aviator, “Maverick” (Cruise), 30 years after the original film. He returns to his elite training academy to train a group of aspiring pilots for a difficult mission. The romance film, "Decision to Leave,” debuted in second spot on the chart on its opening

Jul 1, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee

'Top Gun: Maverick' tops local box offices for 9 consecutive days

Shows & Dramas

Park Eun-bin plays genius lawyer in 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo'

From left, actor Kang Tae-oh, director Yoo In-sik, actors Park Eun-bin and Kang Ki-young pose during a press conference for the courtroom series, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” held in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of ENA By Lee Gyu-leeActress Park Eun-bin has taken on the role of a genius lawyer who is on the autism spectrum in ENA's new series, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” Led by director Yoo In-sik, who oversaw the hit series, “Dr. Romantic 2,” the heartfelt series revolves around a newbie at a top law firm, Woo Young-woo (Park). Due to her autism, Woo has an exceptional memory, remembering every single book she has read in her life, and was at the top of her class in law school.Starting her first job at the firm as a lawyer, Woo tackles challenges and prejudice beyond the courtroom as she wins lawsuits with the help of the firm's paralegal, Lee Jun-ho (Kang Tae-oh), and senior lawyer Jung Myung-seok (Kang Ki-young). The script is written

Jul 1, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee

Park Eun-bin plays genius lawyer in 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo'

Shows & Dramas

INTERVIEW Bae Suzy shows another side in 'Anna'

Bae Suzy plays the title role in the Coupang Play's new original series “Anna.” Courtesy of Coupang Play Coupang Play's series revolves around woman living in lieBy Lee Gyu-leeActor and singer Bae Suzy, who has typically played a protagonist in romance series like “Start-Up” (2020), has taken a step toward expanding her acting repertoire with the title role in streaming platform Coupang Play's new original series, “Anna.” Actor Bae Suzy / Courtesy of Coupang Play “I had this desire to show a new side of myself,” Bae said during an interview with The Korea Times, held at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Wednesday. “I wanted to show a different type of acting that I've never done before. And this is a series that any actor would want, so I didn't want to lose the chance. It was vague at first but since I made my decision, I felt the pressure and responsibi

Jun 30, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee

[INTERVIEW] Bae Suzy shows another side in 'Anna'

Shows & Dramas

INTERVIEW Park Hae-soo talks about differentiating his character in 'Money Heist' remake

Actor Park Hae-soo plays the role of Berlin in Netflix's new Korean series “Money Heist: Korea ― Joint Economic Area.” Courtesy of NetflixBy Lee Gyu-leeFollowing his global breakout role as a smart, cunning player in Netflix's “Squid Game,” actor Park Hae-soo has taken on another memorable role in the platform's new series “Money Heist: Korea ― Joint Economic Area.”The Korean remake of Netflix's smash-hit series “Money Heist” revolves around a gang of thieves, led by a criminal mastermind known as "the professor," who take over the mint of a newly unified Korea while holding hostages inside.Park plays the role of Berlin, the most wanted man in North Korea who escaped one of the rogue state's internment camps. He is the charismatic second-in-command of the gang, and instills fear in others to bring them under his control, which causes conflict among the hostages and the criminals inside the mint. “The biggest thing I focused on in playing the role of Berlin was trying not to imitate (the original character). I tried to portray the

Jun 29, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee

[INTERVIEW] Park Hae-soo talks about differentiating his character in 'Money Heist' remake

'Money Heist: Korea' ranks No. 2 on global Netflix chart

Shows & Dramas

'Money Heist: Korea' director says he expected mixed reviews

A scene from Netflix's Korean production “Money Heist: Korea ― Joint Economic Area” / Courtesy of NetflixBy Lee Gyu-leeDirector Kim Hong-sun, who led Netflix's latest Korean production, “Money Heist: Korea ― Joint Economic Area,” shared that he had expected a mixed response from the audience on the remake of the Spanish smash-hit series “Money Heist.”Director Kim Hong-sun / Courtesy of Netflix“Many have seen the original series and there were a lot of people who regarded it highly. So we knew that there will be both favorable and unfavorable responses (after seeing the remake),” the director said in an interview with The Korea Times via a video chat, Monday. “We tried to take in the strong elements that the original work had and thought it would be interesting to add our own story to it. So I think it's natural that we are getting such varied reviews.”The new thriller crime series follows the plot of the original series, in which a band of thieves plan to pull off the country's biggest heist ever at a mint, led by a criminal

Jun 27, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee

'Money Heist: Korea' director says he expected mixed reviews

Shows & Dramas

Lee Jung-eun to join season 2 of mystery series 'Missing'

Clockwise from top left are actors Go Soo, Heo Joon-ho, Lee Jung-eun, Ha Jun, Kim Dong-hwi and Ahn So-hee, who will star in the second season of “Missing: The Other Side.” Courtesy of tvN By Lee Gyu-leeActress Lee Jung-eun will star in the new season of the mystery series “Missing: The Other Side,” slated to air in the latter half of the year.The series' network, tvN, announced its cast for the second season, which included the previous season's stars Go Soo, Heo Joon-ho, Ahn So-hee and Ha Jun, along with new faces including Lee and actor Kim Dong-hwi. The drama series revolves around handsome con artist Kim Wook (Go) who happens to stumble across a mysterious village where the spirits of missing dead people are gathered. Partnering up with Jang Pan-seok (Heo), another person who knows the place, Wook helps solve the cases of those dead people and recover their bodies in the real world.The first season has garnered popularity with its palm-sweating murder-mystery th

Jun 27, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee

Lee Jung-eun to join season 2 of mystery series 'Missing'

Shows & Dramas

INTERVIEW Yoon Kye-sang enjoys returning to rom-com with 'Kiss Sixth Sense'

Actor Yoon Kye-sang plays the role of Cha Min-hu in the Disney+ rom-com series “Kiss Sixth Sense.” Courtesy of Disney+ Singer-turned-actor plays straightforward boss in workplace romanceBy Lee Gyu-leeActor Yoon Kye-sang, who made a strong impression with action films like “The Outlaws” (2017), has taken on a romantic comedy, playing the lead in the Disney+ series “Kiss Sixth Sense,” for the first time since 2015's “A Dramatic Night." “The biggest emotion a person can have is love. I really like the feeling of melodrama. It can turn a person into a fool or into a hero, so I like romance,” the actor said in an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in downtown Seoul, Thursday.“My agency recommended me the script (for this series) saying, 'you can show your attractive side with this piece.' So I read it and it was really sweet. I felt that someone more handsome and younger should play the character but they offered me the role. I hesitated for a moment but I felt thi

Jun 26, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee

[INTERVIEW] Yoon Kye-sang enjoys returning to rom-com with 'Kiss Sixth Sense'

Shows & Dramas

Kang Han-na tries to show changes in character in 'Bloody Heart'

Actress Kang Han-na played the role of Yoo Jeong in the period romance, “Bloody Heart.” Courtesy of KEYEAST By Lee Gyu-leeActress Kang Han-na expressed that working on her latest series, period romance, “Bloody Heart,” gave her a valuable experience. “I'm very grateful for this series, as I felt I've grown a lot after meeting my character, Yoo Jeong, and it gave me valuable experience. I feel this role helped me show my different sides in terms of acting so this piece will be remembered as a very meaningful and valuable work to me,” the actor said in a release, according to her agency, KeyEast, Wednesday.The 16-part romance series follows the love story between King Lee Tae (Lee Joon) and the daughter of a noble family, Yoo Jeong (Kang).Caught up in an intense fight for power, Lee Tae was forced to give up his love, Yoo Jeong, to pursue his goal of taking full control as a king without powerful high-ranking government official Park Gye-won (Jang Hyuk). Meanwhile, Yo

Jun 23, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee

Kang Han-na tries to show changes in character in 'Bloody Heart'

Shows & Dramas

Netflix 'Money Heist' Korean remake to incorporate story of divided peninsula

Crew and cast members of “Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area,” a Korean remake of Netflix's 2017 series “Money Heist,” pose during a press conference for the series at Coex in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap'Money Heist: Korea ― Joint Economic Area' follows group of thieves taking over mintBy Lee Gyu-leeNetflix is set to launch one of this year's most anticipated series, “Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area,” a remake of the platform's hit Spanish crime thriller series “Money Heist” (2017). The creators of the upcoming Korean original, director Kim Hong-sun and writer Ryu Yong-jae, shared ― in a press conference ― that the fictional story of a divided Korean Peninsula under the process of unifying will make the adaptation unique.“The hardest part we struggled with, from the beginning, was making the story convincing: how we can make it believable for the viewers that this could really happen in real life,” the director said during a press conference for the series held at Coex in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Wednesday.

Jun 22, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee

Netflix 'Money Heist' Korean remake to incorporate story of divided peninsula

Films

Netflix to make crime film 'Believer' sequel

From left, actors Cho Jin-woong, Cha Seung-won, and Han Hyo-joo will star in Netflix's crime film, "Believer 2."By Lee Gyu-leeThe sequel to the crime action film, “Believer,” which was released in 2018, will be made into a Netflix original film, the streaming platform announced Monday. Netflix also revealed the cast members for its upcoming film, which include actors from the first series, Cho Jin-woong and Cha Seung-won, as well as the new ones, Han Hyo-joo and Oh Seung-hoon.“Believer” revolves around a detective, Won-ho (Cho), who is determined to bring down the unseen kingpin of a drug cartel, nicknamed Teacher Lee, who runs Asia's biggest drug ring. With the help of revenge-thirsty, low-level drug dealer Rak (Ryu Jun-Yeol), Won-ho meets the vicious Korean Chinese drug boss (Kim Joo-hyuk) and ambitious member of the cartel, Brian (Cha), who leads him to clues that help him find the drug lord. The first film sold over 5.2 million tickets after hitting local theaters. The sequel will pick up on the story after the bloody, violent fight at the end of the first

Jun 21, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee

Lee Gyu-lee

Read more

'Top Gun: Maverick' tops local box offices for 9 consecutive days

Park Eun-bin plays genius lawyer in 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo'

INTERVIEW Bae Suzy shows another side in 'Anna'

INTERVIEW Park Hae-soo talks about differentiating his character in 'Money Heist' remake

'Money Heist: Korea' director says he expected mixed reviews

Lee Jung-eun to join season 2 of mystery series 'Missing'

INTERVIEW Yoon Kye-sang enjoys returning to rom-com with 'Kiss Sixth Sense'

Kang Han-na tries to show changes in character in 'Bloody Heart'

Netflix 'Money Heist' Korean remake to incorporate story of divided peninsula

Netflix to make crime film 'Believer' sequel

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