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Park Jin-hai

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.

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Films

Award-winning director Bong unveils eerie family tragicomedy

Director Bong Joon-ho speaks during a press conference for his upcoming film “Parasite” at the Westin Chosun Seoul, Monday. The Cannes Film Festival recently announced the film was selected for the 2019 competition. / YonhapBy Park Jin-haiBong Joon-ho, director of the internationally acclaimed films like “Snowpiercer,” “The Host” and “Okja,” has returned with his new movie “Parasite.”The much-anticipated film, starring Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun and Choi Woo-sik, tells the story of two families with extremely different social backgrounds ― a poor jobless household and a wealthy upper-class one. It is Bong's seventh feature film and first Korean-language movie in 10 years.Expectations for the new film are running particularly high, after the Cannes Film Festival announced its selection of the film for its 2019 competition, Thursday. This is Bong's second time to compete for the Palme d'Or award. The director's 2017 film “Okja” was previously selected. Bong, known for his freewheeling cinematic imagination and crea

Apr 22, 2019By Park Jin-hai
Award-winning director Bong unveils eerie family tragicomedy
  • PHOTOS Guess 'Parasite' plot with 12 still images
Trends

Senior models rock catwalk

Hottest elderly model _ Kim Chil-doo / Courtesy of TSP ModelBy Park Jin-haiKim Chil-doo's dream has come true after four decades. The tall man who has been interested in fashion from a young age had to compromise his dreams due to economic difficulties. As a father and the main breadwinner of the household, he had forgotten about the goals of his youth. It was only last year when he finally made his dream come true and became a professional model, at age 63. Kim says he always had a unique fashion sense as a young man. “I loved fahion and liked to try clothes that others wouldn't wear. I worked briefly for a small boutique and once entered a modeling contest to win a prize at 21,” he said. But as he grew older and life became more serious, he had to let go of his dream. “I couldn't afford to continue. Modeling was a low-paying job. Unlike today, there were not enough channels for me to promote myself like the internet and social media.”Kim, who used to sell clothes he designed, spent the better days of his life working different jobs selling groceries, fish an

Apr 18, 2019By Park Jin-hai
Senior models rock catwalk
  • 'Silver is the new black'
Trends

'Silver is the new black'

Elderly models pose for a group photo at the TSP Entertainment in Seoul. / Courtesy of The Show ProjectBy Park Jin-haiMore than a dozen models in their various styles ― some in body-fitting glittering dresses and others in jeans or designer clothes with high heels ― gathered at a modeling school in southern Seoul. After listening to the feedback from their catwalk teacher for their last show, they lined up in a big circle and took turns doing twist turns on the small runway. To the songs of musical “Mamma Mia!” the teacher shouted “Please, pose more slowly, madams!”These models are as passionate as ones at any other modeling school, but the only difference is their average age is north of 60. With people aged 65 and older surpassing 14 percent of the population, Korea is one of the fastest aging societies. The steady rise in the maximum recorded life span enables people to expect to live a century. And with the help of media, portraying the older generations as being as active as young generations, people have begun to perceive aging as not “something to

Apr 18, 2019By Park Jin-hai
'Silver is the new black'
  • Senior models rock catwalk
K-pop

BTS tops US, UK music charts

BTS performs at the NBC Rock Rockefeller Center in New York, last Saturday. The band made their “Saturday Night Live” debut. Courtesy of NBCBy Park Jin-haiK-pop sensation BTS is almost certain to top music charts in the United States and U.K with its latest album “Map of the Soul: Persona,” making K-pop history. In an article published prior to its next listing, Sunday, Billboard said the new album is heading for the top spot on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. If that is the case, it will be the third time for the seven-member boy band to have accomplished this following “Love Yourself: Tear” last May, and “Love Yourself: Answer” in September.Billboard predicted the album could sell between 200,000 and 225,000 album-equivalent units in the U.S. by April 18. The Billboard 200 ranks the week's 200 most popular albums of all genres.BTS is also set to get first place in the U.K.'s Official Albums Chart as well. Saying that the album has sold over 10,000 copies so far, the music chart added that midweek sales are already more than the first

Apr 16, 2019By Park Jin-hai
BTS tops US, UK music charts
  • Will BigHit go public with BTS fever?
Films

Marvel ends Avengers saga with Endgame

“Avengers: Endgame” directors Joe Russo (left), and Anthony Russo, and stars Brie Larson, Robert Downey Jr. and Jeremy Renner, hold jogakbo, traditional Korean patchwork featuring the Avengers' symbol during the press conference in Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Park Jin-hai“Avengers: Endgame” cast and the head of Marvel Studios visited Seoul to promote the final installment in the “Avengers” series, which will hit local theaters next Wednesday.With the film's world premiere a little over a week away, actors Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner and Brie Larson, directors Anthony and Joe Russo and producer Trinh Tran visited Korea to promote the final Avengers movie and the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios president since 2007, also accompanied the visiting actors. Feige, who came here in 2013 for the “Thor: The Dark World” junket, stressed the significance of the upcoming film. “This film is the culmination of 22 films that we've made up to this point, so the Infinity War was r

Apr 15, 2019By Park Jin-hai
Marvel ends Avengers saga with Endgame
Shows & Dramas

New audition show aims to nurture band music in Korea

By Park Jin-haiJoe Hahn, DJ and producer of American rock band Linkin ParkAmid the Korean music scene dominated with K-pop idol music, JTBC's new music audition show was launched on a mission to create a “super” band composed of versatile musicians capable of producing music spanning many musical genres.“Super Band” premiered on Friday evening, with many talented contestants and musical prodigies appearing on the show. Five judges ― veteran singer-producers Yoon Jong-shin and Yoon Sang, Joe Hahn of U.S. rock band Linkin Park, popular band Nell's lead vocalist Kim Jong-wan and K-pop duo AKMU's Suhyun ― participate in the show. The contestants will pair with each other to make their own bands and advance to each round. The final winning band will receive prize money of 100 million won and the chance to have a concert tour.The “super contestants” as Joe Hahn called them in the press event showed their individual talents in the first episode. Among them was a young man who had not taken any formal music training but the talent he displayed on YouTube l

Apr 14, 2019By Park Jin-hai
New audition show aims to nurture band music in Korea
Entertainment

Actor denies drug abuse allegation

K-pop singer Park Yoo-chun speaks during a news conference at Press Center in central Seoul, Wednesday. He denied the allegation that he encouraged his former girl friend Hwang Ha-na to use prohibited drugs.By Park Jin-haiPark Yoo-chun, actor and a member of the K-pop boy group JYJ, has denied allegations that he encouraged his ex-girlfriend Hwang Ha-na, the granddaughter of the founder of a major Korean dairy producer, to use drugs.In a press conference held at the Press Center, Wednesday evening, Park said, “I've never taken drugs nor did I force Hwang to use them.”“At a time when I'm working hard every day in order to resume my activities, it is total nonsense that I've even thought about using drugs that can make all my efforts in vain.” The 33-year-old star fell from grace following a rape charge brought against him in 2016, but he was legally cleared of the charge later.Hwang has been taken into custody following suspicions of the abuse of prohibited drugs between May 2015 and April 2018. During questioning, she allegedly said Saturday, “2015 was t

Apr 10, 2019By Park Jin-hai
Actor denies drug abuse allegation
Shows & Dramas

Drama portrays life of freedom fighter

Actor Yoo Ji-tae will play legendary independence fighter Kim Won-bong in MBC's new period drama “Different Dreams” / courtesy of MBCMBC TV series to rekindle controversy about him By Park Jin-haiMBC's upcoming blockbuster period drama “Different Dreams” will portray the life of legendary independence fighter Kim Won-bong.The drama is set in Seoul, Manchuria and Shanghai during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea (1910-1945). Starring Yoo Ji-tae and Lee Yo-won, the story revolves around Kim Won-bong, who organized a group of Korean independence fighters called Uiyeoldan at the age of 22 and led armed resistance against the Japanese imperialists. Actress Lee plays a surgeon named Lee Young-jin, a Korean adopted by a Japanese couple. She later becomes a spy for the Korean government-in-exile in Shanghai. It is being broadcast to commemorate the centennial of the March 1 Independence Movement and establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai.Yoon Sang-ho, director of the upcoming drama, said he wanted to make “the second

Apr 10, 2019By Park Jin-hai
Drama portrays life of freedom fighter
Films

Shin Seong-il retrospective: forever young

By Park Jin-hai The last actor Shin Seong-il / YonhapThe late actor Shin Seong-il is an integral part of Korean cinema history. Recalling Shin, director Park Chan-wook said, “Without understanding Shin, people cannot talk about the history of Korean cinema or modern Korean culture.”The Korea Film Archive is holding a retrospective for the great actor, titled “The Legend of Korean Cinema, Shin Seong-il,” which started last Thursday and will continue through June 30, to shine a light on his life. Shin died of lung cancer in November last year. He was 81. Since his debut in 1960 with “Romance Papa,” directed by prominent director Shin Sang-ok, he instantly emerged as the icon of young people in the 1960s. Throughout his life, he starred in 514 films.Although his roles changed from the young rebellious adult of the 1960s to a helpless middle-aged man in the 1970s and an aging man afterwards, for many movie fans Shin is remembered as a “young icon.” The exhibition focuses on his “new generation image” and why he became the icon o

Apr 8, 2019By Park Jin-hai
Shin Seong-il retrospective: forever young
Shows & Dramas

New JTBC drama brings up school violence issue

Cast members for JTBC's new drama “Beautiful World, from left, Park Hee-soon, Choo Ja-hyun, Cho Yeo-jeong and Oh Man-seok pose during a press event at Imperial Palace in Seoul, Thursday. /Courtesy of JTBCBy Park Jin-haiJTBC, the cable network that enjoyed nationwide popularity due to its portrayal of Korea's twisted education fervor in the recent drama “SKY Castle,” is heading to school again. Its upcoming weekend drama “Beautiful World” will cover the issue of school violence. The 16-part drama, starring Choo Ja-hyun, Park Hee-soon, Cho Yeo-jeong and Oh Man-seok, will tell the story of two families: the family of a school violence victim and that of the perpetrator. Choo, who gained popularity with her Chinese husband Yu Xiaoguang by appearing in the reality show “Same Bed, Different Dreams 2 ― You Are My Destiny,” is returning to the small screen here after almost a decade. The 40-year-old actress has mostly focused on the Chinese market, since she was cast in a Taiwanese drama in 2003. She will play Kang In-ha, the victim's mother who is m

Apr 5, 2019By Park Jin-hai
New JTBC drama brings up school violence issue
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