Korea Times K-Culture Reporter
Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.
Pianist Lim Yun-chan, 20, will perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City for the second consecutive year, following his highly-anticipated debut on Feb. 21.
Yoona, left, and Jo Jung-suk, co-stars of disaster action film “EXIT,” demonstrate the same pose they did for the film's poster during a press conference for the film at a local theater in southern Seoul, Thursday./ YonhapBy Park Jin-haiBlockbuster disaster films targeting the peak summer season mostly focus on the tragic, life-threatening moments. However, director Lee Sang-geun's new disaster action film “EXIT” says he strived to inject humor into the genre, allowing audiences to enjoy amusing scenes along with the human moments. Jo Jung-suk, lead actor co-starring with Yoona of Girls' Generation, said the film has it all ― hilariously funny moments, white-knuckle action and tear-jerking scenes. Jo takes on the role of a young unemployed man called Yong-nam, who used to be an excellent climber in his college climbing club. The film revolves around him and his former college climbing club friend Eui-joo, played by Yoona, when their reunion gets interrupted by a mysterious toxic gas that has engulfed the entire city. “The film started from the question o
Cho Yoon-ju shares her cancer-fighting stories on her YouTube channel "Cancer Patient Poppy." / Captured from Cho's YouTube)By Park Jin-haiCho Yoon-ju, a 30-year-old ovarian cancer patient, says she has had “life or death” surgery twice already. In December, 2011, four months after Cho started working as a lecturer on customer services, she felt excruciating pain in her abdominal area and collapsed several times on the subway. At the hospital for what she thought would be a “minor” procedure, she went through an eight-hour long surgery. She lost her womb and ovaries at the age of 21. After a year-long course of treatment, the cancer was gone. But unfortunately it returned in 2016, and painful chemotherapy followed, causing her to lose her hair and with it, her self-esteem. “That was the worst moment of my life. I kept on thinking 'why me?' I was just working hard every day of my life,” said Cho during an interview with The Korea Times. She beat cancer twice and started her YouTube channel, “Cancer Patient Poppy,” in December 2018 in ord
Song Kang-ho is seen in the upcoming film "The King's Letters." / Courtesy of MegaboxBy Park Jin-haiUpcoming Korean films are fully loaded with diverse genres and star casts, targeting audiences for the summer peak season.From classic period dramas and disaster movies to films about the occult and thrillers, Korean films hiring veteran actors and rising stars will vie fiercely for viewers' attention in the most lucrative season of the year. Traditionally, cinema admissions tallied between July and August amount to 50 million, or approximately one quarter of the annual total. During the period between late July and late August, in particular, when most students and workers are on summer vacation, local movie theaters see 35 million tickets sold.It is a boon for movie fans, fatigued with a lack of diversity in Korean films. Veteran actor Song Kang-ho, the star of award-winning film “Parasite,” will return as King Sejong, or Sejong the Great, in the upcoming period film “The King's Letters.” The film will feature the last eight years of the fourth king of the 139
Visitors walk around streets of China Town, adorned with red and gold colors, in Incheon, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Park Jin-haiThe city of Incheon, some 40 kilometers west of Seoul, invites visitors to take a historic journey to the late 19th century, when the country saw its first modernization, following the forced opening of the port in 1883 by foreign countries.Over 130 years ago, the urbanscape of Incheon was “international,” bustling with merchants from Japan, China, the U.S., Germany, France and Russia. Starting from Japan, China and then Western countries, foreigners resided within a special settlement with extraterritoriality. The city exuded a cosmopolitan atmosphere with various foreign languages being spoken and rare imported goods being traded. Banks and hotels appeared and an expatriates' social club, the Jemulpo Club, was built. Through those exchanges, Incheon expanded into a modern city, initiating the modernization of the country. When the late Joseon Kingdom was on its precarious way to becoming forcefully annexed by Japan in 191
A scene from Bong Joon-ho's latest film “Parasite” / Courtesy of CJ EntertainmentBy Park Jin-haiCannes-winning Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho's “Parasite” won the Sydney Film Prize, the top prize at this year's Sydney Film Festival. According to the film festival, the director received the trophy and prize money during the closing ceremony at the State Theatre in Sydney, Sunday. Earlier in late May, Bong's tragicomedy won Cannes Film Festival's most coveted Palme D'Or, making Korean film history. The Sydney Film Prize is awarded to the most “audacious, cutting-edge and courageous” film in the festival's official competition. John Maynard, jury president of the festival, was quoted as saying, “Parasite has an outrageous disregard for genre conventions ― it is tender and brutal; beautiful and harsh; funny and tragic and a masterwork in its exploration of class.”The director's 2017 film “Okja” was selected as the closing film at the same film festival in the past. Australian movie fans can Bong's latest film when it is released in
Ven. Dongbong, chief monk of Daegaksa Temple, poses at his temple in Seoul, on June 12. He wrote a letter to Dalai Lama in March, marking the 60th anniversary of the Tibetan spiritual leader's exile. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Park Jin-haiWith the news that the aged Dalai Lama is being treated for various illnesses, revered Korean Buddhist monk urged the Tibetan spiritual leader to end his 60 years of life in exile and go back to his old Tibetan home under the rule of China. In his letter to Dalai Lama, Ven. Dongbong, of Daegaksa Temple, home to the Korean independent fighters under the tyranny of Japanese colonial rule, wrote: “Relinquish all attachment to life as the Buddha taught and please go back to your homeland Tibet… To live among Tibetans is the way you should walk to the end of your life, even though it may seem humbling to you. Rather than speaking in front of millions while in exile, this would be much more beautiful and sublime.” “Time is running against him. If he dies outside his old Tibet home, not being able to reach his people and
People buy tickets for the award-winning movie “Parasite” directed by Bong Joon-ho at a ticket kiosk in a theater in Seoul, Thursday. Nearly 570,000 tickets were sold for the film's premiere here. YonhapBy Park Jin-haiKorean auteur Bong Joon-ho's Cannes Film Festival award-winning movie “Parasite” swept the local box office on its opening day Thursday. Fanned by its Palme d'Or crown and moviegoers' high expectations for the director, “Parasite” attracted ab audience of almost 570,000 on its opening day, easily surpassing that of runner-up “Aladdin” with 74,000, according to data from the Korean Film Council. Given the real-time reservation rate for the film on its second day remains at 70 percent, and that audiences have left mostly positive reviews, the local industry is expecting “Parasite” to become a box office hit. The reservation rate is similar to that of “Train to Busan” and “Along with the Gods,” smash box office hits that accrued more than 10 million viewers. Bong's tragicomedy is about two
By Park Jin-haiPoster for U2's first Seoul concert / Courtesy of MBCLegendary Irish rock band U2, led by singer-songwriter Bono, will perform in Seoul for the first time in December. The four-member band's first Seoul concert is part of “The Joshua Tree Tour 2019,” named after the group's 1987 album. It will be held at Gocheok Sky Dome, Dec. 8, according to Live Nation Korea, Friday. The popular band, formed in 1976 in Dublin is made up of vocalist Bono, guitarist The Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. The band won its first Grammy Award with “The Joshua Tree,” its fifth album. “The Joshua Tree Tour 2017,” which celebrated the monumental album's 30th anniversary, included 51 concerts in six months, with 2.7 million fans around the world enjoying the music. This year's tour begins in New Zealand in November. Korea and Singapore are newly included. The band has sold more than 170 million albums and won 22 Grammy Awards. It is actively involved in social issues and charities through organizations such as Amnesty International and
Director tells of Palme d'Or winning film, personaBy Park Jin-haiBong Joon-ho. YonhapDirector Bong Joon-ho, who won Cannes' top prize with “Parasite,” has said more about his film and actor Song Kang-ho, whom he calls his “persona.”His tragicomedy, telling the story of two families of extremely different social backgrounds, one poor and one wealthy, allowed him to become the first Korean director to win the Palme d'Or last Saturday. Mentioning that the widening rich-poor gap is a worldwide issue these days, Bong said he wanted to evade the typical way of depicting the two different social classes. “It is a very familiar scene where those poor and righteous people with great a cause join forces to fight against those vile, greedy and violent rich people. But I don't think this reflects the reality,” the director said during an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Seoul, Wednesday. “I wanted to feature the class gap in a more delicate and multi-layered manner. So the rich family couple has been depicted as well-mannered, elegant and naiv