The Korea Times

Controversial trainee expelled from JYP, 'ProduceX101'

By Park Jin-haiYun Seo-binYun Byung-hui, a JYP trainee who performed under the stage name Yun Seo-bin as a top contestant of Mnet's idol survival show “ProduceX101,” has been expelled from his agency and the show, days after he was accused of having bullied his classmates during high school. In a statement released on Wednesday, JYP said “We concluded that keeping him doesn't comply with our policy, so decided to nullify the contract with trainee Yun Seo-bin, who is appearing in the music show ProduceX101… Yun is exiting the TV show.”The 20-year-old, JYP's sole participant on the show, gained attention from viewers after he finished first in the initial audition which aired on Friday. But he has fallen quickly into disgrace, following allegations that he was a high school bully. Past photos of Yun smoking and drinking in school uniform have surfaced on social media and multiple accusations of bullying and assault have been made by those who claim to have attended school with him. Some fans of the popular TV show called for him to be removed from the sho

May 8, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Controversial trainee expelled from JYP, 'ProduceX101'

Shows & Dramas

Spy thriller tells story of independence fighters

Scenes from MBC drama “Different Dreams” / Courtesy of MBCBy Park Jin-haiMBC's new blockbuster period spy thriller “Different Dreams,” focused on the life of legendary independence fighter Kim Won-bong, kicked off on Saturday. The 20 billion won-budget spy action series is designed to commemorate the centennial of the March 1 Independence Movement and establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai. The drama revolves around Kim, who organized a group of Korean independence fighters, called Uiyeoldan, at the age of 22 and led an armed resistance against the Japanese imperialists. The drama, starring Yoo Ji-tae as Kim Won-bong and Lee Yo-won as Lee Young-jin, debuted receiving fairly good ratings of over 7 percent. The first four episodes, each 30-minutes long, aired Saturday and the drama's fast-paced plot successfully encompassed various walks of life in the history of independence movement under Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945). The young, militant, patriotic members of Uiyeoldan, led by Kim Won-bong, in a secret meeting re

May 7, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Spy thriller tells story of independence fighters

K-pop

Hallyu export earned $9.5 billion in 2018

By Park Jin-haiHallyu, headed by global K-pop sensation BTS boosted the Korean economy last year by creating $9.48 billion in exports. In research titled “Report on the effect of Hallyu 2018,” issued by the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, the total amount of exports arising from hallyu was shown to have risen 9.1 percent from 2017. Out of the total, hallyu related exports and cultural content accounted for the largest at $4.42 billion, a 2.8 percent jump from 2017. The cultural content industry included games ($3 billion), music ($430 million) and broadcasting ($410 million).However, the sales from hallyu related consumer goods and tourism was slightly down at $5 billion, a 0.5 percent decrease. Tourism products earned $1.5 billion, followed by cosmetics export with $1 billion and food export with $770 million.The organization under the wing of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism polled some 7,500 hallyu content consumers in 16 different countries and used export data. Based on the information, it provides various data including the “ha

May 3, 2019By Park Jin-hai

K-pop

TWICE 'Like OOH-AHH' MV hits 300 mil. views

A scene captured from TWICE's music video for their song “Like OOH-AHH” / Courtesy of JYP EntertainmentBy Park Jin-haiThe music video for K-pop girl group TWICE's song “Like OOH-AHH” surpassed 300 million views on YouTube, Thursday. The nine-member girl group's debut song, included on its first EP “The Story Begins,” released in October 2015, became the band's fourth music video to hit 300 million viewers. Songs “TT,” “Likey,” and “Cheer Up” previously hit the milestone on YouTube.With the song “Like OOH-AHH,” TWICE became the first K-pop girl group to have all 10 music videos from its debut garner over 100 million views each. The band's new title, “Fancy,” included in its seventh mini album, released on April 22, is getting a lot of attention from global music fans. The song, in the three days following release, recorded 50 million views. The number surpassed 74 million viewers on Friday. The band is considered one of the best-selling artists in Korea, having sold over 3.75 mill

May 3, 2019By Park Jin-hai

TWICE 'Like OOH-AHH' MV hits 300 mil. views

Shows & Dramas

'Little Drummer Girl' wins award for photography in UK

By Park Jin-haiKim Woo-hyungKim Woo-hyung, the cinematographer for the BBC television miniseries “The Little Drummer Girl,” won an award at the BAFTA TV Craft Awards 2019 for his camera work, according to movie streaming service Watch Play, Tuesday. Kim, best known for his work on the films “Assassination” (2015) and “The Front Line” (2011), received the photography and lighting award in the fiction category for the spy thriller, directed by one of Korea's most celebrated directors, Park Chan-wook.“Each time I looked through the viewfinder I was only grateful, thanks to the great director and talented actors and beautiful artwork. I was so happy when I was shooting the series,” Kim said in a statement. The adaptation of John le Carre's 1983 best-selling novel of the same name, set in the late 1970s, is a spy thriller revolving around a young, idealistic actress Charlie, played by Florence Pugh. She is recruited by the mysterious Gadi Becker, an Israeli intelligence officer, whom she is drawn to, and takes on a dangerous mission devised

May 1, 2019By Park Jin-hai

'Little Drummer Girl' wins award for photography in UK

Films

Hollywood to remake Korean box office hits

By Park Jin-haiPoster for the film “Extreme Job”Korean hit films “Extreme Job” and “The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil” will be remade by Hollywood studios. The smash box office hit “Extreme Job,” a cop-comedy directed by Lee Byung-heon, has become Korea's second-most-watched film of all time, attracting more than 16 million moviegoers in local theaters, earlier this year.The film's local distributor CJ Entertainment said the company is collaborating with Universal Pictures to produce an English-language remake. Kevin Hart, American comedian, actor and producer, will star in the film's Hollywood reboot, while Tracy Oliver will write the screenplay. Hart will be also producing through his HartBeat production banner for Universal Pictures, which acquired the worldwide rights to the film. “At Hartbeat, we are always seeking fun projects that tell a story for worldwide audiences, and we could not be more excited to be a part of this one,” Hart said in a statement. Writer Oliver said, “The concept of this film is so unique.&r

May 1, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Hollywood to remake Korean box office hits

Entertainment

More Korean actors to appear in Hollywood films, dramas

By Park Jin-haiActor Ma Dong-seok/ Courtesy of MegaboxRecently actor Ma Dong-seok, star of “Train to Busan” (2016), is rumored to be in talks to join Marvel's new film “The Eternals.” Actress Jeon Jong-seo, who took the lead role in her debut film “Burning,” is also in discussion to star in the upcoming Hollywood movie “Blood Moon,” a fantasy film directed by Ana Lily Amirpour.Before them, actors like Kim Yun-jin, known for her role in American television series “Lost,” and Lee Byung-hun who has appeared in the “G.I. Joe” series, successfully expanded their acting careers beyond Korean territory.More actors will follow their footsteps this year. A band of actors and actresses including Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo and Cha In-pyo will appear in Hollywood films and dramas.Gang will make his Hollywood debut, appearing in disaster blockbuster film “Tsunami LA,” playing a Korean-American surfer who confronts a natural disaster. The film was initially slated to begin shooting in April last year and be release

Apr 29, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Films

'Avengers' rekindles screen quota debate

Moviegoers stand in front of a poster for the film “Avengers: Endgame” at a local theater in Seoul, Thursday. / YonhapBy Park Jin-haiThe “Avengers” have no rival. On its opening day, Wednesday, “Avengers: Endgame” attracted 1.34 million viewers at the local box office. On its fifth day, Sunday, the number is nearing 5 million. The superhero film single-handedly raked in 9.7 billion won in sales that day. Social media shows stories of movie fans who said they took a day off work to watch the Marvel film on its premiere. The film was screened 12,545 times in 2,760 local theaters on its opening day, accounting for about 85 percent of all seats at cinemas nationwide and 80.9 percent of all shows available on local screens. The record-smashing performance of the film has rekindled the decade-long dispute over “anti-monopoly” regulations in the local cinema market. The government is moving to pass legislation to prevent a market monopoly. Culture Minister Park Yang-woo, two days before the Avengers' release, said he was mulling over introduci

Apr 28, 2019By Park Jin-hai

'Avengers' rekindles screen quota debate

Films

'Mother roles are diverse enough to make a whole genre'

Actress Kim Hae-sook / Courtesy of June&IActress speaks of mother rolesBy Park Jin-haiActress Kim Hae-sook was given the nickname “National Mother.” Since she earned recognition for her role in the 2000 hit drama “Autumn in My Heart” playing the role of the mother of the lead actress Song Hye-kyo, Kim has garnered so many “mother” roles in dramas and films. The 63-year old veteran actress has at times played the role of a less educated, street smart middle aged mother with short-permed hair in romantic comedies, other times she was a mother who scarifies herself for her children. In the ongoing KBS drama “Mother of Mine,” she plays a down-to-earth mother who always argues with her three daughters. Kim says she once felt that her mother roles were like something that limited her acting spectrum. “When my roles were fixed to mothers, I really wanted to get out of it and play someone else. To me, then, all mother characters were deemed as the same old things. I felt some stress, too,” she said during a recent interview. &ld

Apr 23, 2019By Park Jin-hai

'Mother roles are diverse enough to make a whole genre'

Films

Box office readies for 'Avengers' perfect storm

By Park Jin-haiThe local box office is showing signs of being overheated ahead of the local release of “Avengers: Endgame,” Wednesday. With moviegoers' explosive anticipation for the last “Avengers” sequel, the film's ticket reservation rate reached 97 percent Tuesday. The number of ticket presales neared 2 million, marking a new record, which replaces the previous record set by “Avengers: Infinity War.” Advance ticket sales for “Infinity War,” released in April last year, reached 1.22 million. “Endgame” is also estimated to set a new record in the number of screens occupied in local theaters. The finale of a series of 22, Marvel studio's Infinity series is predicted to begin showing on 2,800 screens. Last year's Infinity War” had 2,460 screens on the opening day, which rose to a peak of 2,553 screens on the fourth day after its release. Fans' expectation for the much-awaited release of “Endgame” is pulling up the box office ranking of “Captain Marvel” as well, as fans crowded out to watch the f

Apr 23, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Controversial trainee expelled from JYP, 'ProduceX101'

Spy thriller tells story of independence fighters

Hallyu export earned $9.5 billion in 2018

TWICE 'Like OOH-AHH' MV hits 300 mil. views

'Little Drummer Girl' wins award for photography in UK

Hollywood to remake Korean box office hits

More Korean actors to appear in Hollywood films, dramas

'Avengers' rekindles screen quota debate

'Mother roles are diverse enough to make a whole genre'

Box office readies for 'Avengers' perfect storm

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