The Korea Times

Viewers grow weary of same old audition shows

Contestants for MBC's audition show “Under Nineteen” are seen during a press conference at the broadcaster's headquarters in Seoul, Oct. 30. / Courtesy of MBCBy Park Jin-haiIt is almost audition show after audition show on television. Despite criticism that new music survival shows are only rehashed versions of old formats and now they have been reduced to an outlet to select members for debuting K-pop idol bands, local TV stations are busy broadcasting audition shows again. And viewer fatigue is growing rapidly over local TV's obsession with music survival shows. The ongoing music audition shows, including MBC's “Under Nineteen,” SBS' “The Fan” and JTBC's “YG Treasure Box,” have failed to make much difference from previous audition programs and ended up making little clamor in the local entertainment business. MBC's “Under Nineteen” takes almost the same format as Mnet's popular audition show “Produce 101” series, from the intention to audition the finalists for a debuting boy band, to the school uniforms candid

Dec 10, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Viewers grow weary of same old audition shows

Films

In 'Swing Kids,' wartime foes unite via tap dancing

A scene from the film “Swing Kids” / Courtesy of NEWBy Park Jin-haiA film about prisoners of war who try to seek happiness through dancing will arrive this winter. “Swing Kids,” starring Doh Kyung-soo, or D.O. of K-pop group EXO, brings the story of a tap dancing group trapped in a prison camp to the silver screen. Director Kang Hyoung-chul's new dance film is set during the 1951-53 Korean War in Geoje Prisoner of War Camp on Geoje Island, which was said to be as large as a little city. The camp held about 173,000 imprisoned soldiers from North Korea and China. By showing the characters' passion for dancing regardless of their nationalities, languages and ideologies, the film shows humanity surviving even in the most tragic environments.Kang, acclaimed for his previous hit films “Scandal Makers” (2008) and “Sunny” (2011), says the film started from his thoughts about the way Koreans live ― separated into the North and the South, still living under the threat of war. “The matter of two Koreas and ideological differences has been al

Dec 5, 2018By Park Jin-hai

In 'Swing Kids,' wartime foes unite via tap dancing

Films

'Leaving Las Vegas' director to make Korean-language film

English film director Mike Figgis / YonhapBy Park Jin-haiEnglish film director Mike Figgis, best known for his 1995 film “Leaving Las Vegas,” is making a Korean-language film in Seoul. The 70-year-old director and screenwriter, who was born in North West England and spent much of his childhood in Kenya, says he is a big fan of Korean dramas and films. “After Netflix was introduced in the U.K., it became much easier to access Korean films and especially TV dramas. The more I watched them, the more I became interested in Korean culture, and in their different approach to storytelling,” he said during an interview with The Korea Times, Tuesday.Adding that he particularly likes Korean dramas' portrayal of female characters and the way to weave social issues including family problems and sex crimes in its storytelling, Figgis counted “Something in the Rain,” starring Son Ye-jin, and “Secret Affair,” starring Kim Hee-ae, as the ones that impressed him the most deeply. His new film is a thriller about a woman who escapes from a psychopath who

Dec 4, 2018By Park Jin-hai

'Leaving Las Vegas' director to make Korean-language film

Shows & Dramas

'Memories of the Alhambra' is AR-gaming fantasy romance

Scenes from tvN's new fantasy drama “Memories of the Alhambra” / Courtesy of CJ ENMBy Park Jin-haiIn tvN's new fantasy romance “Memories of the Alhambra,” players wearing smart lenses, a fictional augmented reality (AR) gaming device, see the city around them turn into a fantasy gaming world. Once you log in, the cobblestone streets seem real and you are on a mission to find a weapon hidden within the city of Granada, Spain. The AR gaming craze, which took off with the popular “Pokemon Go” in 2016, is now a technology people can find easily in many games. “Memories,” starring hallyu stars Hyun Bin and Park Shin-hye, makes use of this widely available gaming technology for its much anticipated fantasy romance drama. It is penned by Song Jae-jung, who went back and forth between the real world and the webtoon world in her previous work “W,” and directed by Ahn Gil-ho of award-winning thriller “Stranger.” The new weekend drama tells the story of Yoo Jin-woo, an investment company CEO played by Hyun, who goes on a bu

Dec 3, 2018By Park Jin-hai

'Memories of the Alhambra' is AR-gaming fantasy romance

Shows & Dramas

'Cool Kids' to communicate with today's young generation

A promotional photo for JTBC's upcoming reality show “Cool Kids” / Courtesy of JTBCBy Park Jin-haiThe younger generation today lives in its own world, using own newly coined words that the older generation don't have a clue about. The younger generation watches YouTube more than TV. JTBC's new reality show “Cool Kids,” starring A-list comedian and emcee Yoo Jae-suk, football player-turned television personality Ahn Jung-hwan and comedian Kim Shin-young, will meet today's young people to bridge that generation gap. “As an older generation member myself, whenever I meet people younger than me I find myself asking them what they do, what they like and what they think,” the show's chief producer Yoon Hyun-joon said at a press conference at the broadcaster's headquarters in Seoul, Friday. “Then I began thinking about having a reality show that directly takes a look at how the young generation lives, plays and thinks.” The show viewed those under the age of 24 as members of this generation. Yoo, Ahn and Kim, who belong to older generations, j

Nov 30, 2018By Park Jin-hai

'Cool Kids' to communicate with today's young generation

Travel & Food

The old man and the bus terminal

Kim Jae-do, 81, shows Tapri Bus Terminal in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, which he inherited at 17 after the sudden death of his father in 1954. He has been running the terminal for 64 years. / Korea Times photo by Jun Joon-hoTerminal operator recalls good old daysBy Park Jin-haiTapri Bus Terminal, a small rural terminal in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, 260 kilometers from Seoul, has seen better days. The place, once crowded with commuting students and vendors with their hands full of bottari (cloth wrappings tied into bundles) carrying grains and fruit to sell in Daegu's large Seomun Market, is now a desolate and quiet place where only a few elderly people visit. The vintage bus terminal showing the wear and tear of time sits quietly like a granny living in a rural home who waits for a welcome visit from her grownup children who have made their own lives in the city. Kim Jae-do, 81, who inherited control of the intercity bus terminal service at 17 after the sudden death of his father in 1954, has been running the terminal for 64 years. “Now people as old as me mai

Nov 29, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

'SKY Castle' captures elite moms' education craze

A scene from JTBC's new drama “SKY Castle” / Courtesy of JTBCBy Park Jin-haiA new JTBC drama, featuring high class families' education craze to help their children gain a ticket to Seoul National University (SNU) and rise to “Kennedy family” status in Korea, has been unveiled. “SKY Castle,” premiered on Friday, starring veteran actresses Yum Jung-ah, Lee Tae-ran, Yoon Se-a, Oh Na-ra and Kim Seo-hyung, reveals the strategies and dirty tricks of elite mothers from families of medical doctors and law professors living in affluent residences to secure their children a position to attend the SNU medical school. “SKY” alludes to the prestigious trio of universities, Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University. “SKY Castle” is a satirical look at Korea's education system today, where it has become harder for poor families to climb the social ladder through the means of education. The story is told through the tales of rich families' twisted ambitions. The first episode started with a luxurious celebration part

Nov 25, 2018By Park Jin-hai

'SKY Castle' captures elite moms' education craze

Shows & Dramas

Star-studded 'Encounter' features heart-fluttering romance

Actress Song Hye-kyo, right, and Park Bo-gum make thier much anticipated returns in tvN's forthcoming TV series "Encounter." Courtesy of CJENMBy Park Jin-haiTwo big name stars Song Hye-kyo and Park Bo-gum make their much-anticipated returns in tvN's new romance drama “Encounter.” Actress Song, who starred in the 2016 pan-Asian smash hit drama “Descendents of the Sun,” and Park, heartthrob of another 2016 hit period drama “Love in the Moonlight,” will depict the beautiful moments of love's spell. “You need courage, big or small, when you start seeing someone and grow the encounter into something special. The drama is about the beautiful process,” said director Park Sin-woo during a press conference to preview the forthcoming TV series at Imperial Palace in Southern Seoul, Wednesday. The new Wed-Thurs romance, which will premiere next week, revolves around Cha Soo-hyun, played by Song, a conglomerate heir divorcee and politician's daughter who has never lived her own life, and Kim Jin-hyuk, played by Park, a free-spirited young man who li

Nov 23, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Star-studded 'Encounter' features heart-fluttering romance

Films

INTERVIEW In 'Beautiful Days,' Lee Na-young turns hurt into hope

Lee Na-young/ Courtesy of eden9By Park Jin-haiWhen describing Lee Na-young, the word “mystique” always seems to crop up. Despite the chic, modern and glamorous persona seen in TV commercials, the model-turned-actress has portrayed a surprisingly diverse and challenging range of characters. She portrayed a stalker in “Someone Special” (2004), a rape victim who attempts suicide in “Maundy Thursday” (2006), an emotionally tormented sleepwalker in Kim Ki-duk's “Dream” (2008) and a transgender photographer in “Lady Daddy” (2010). The past six years have been relatively quiet for Lee. Since her last film, “Howling” (2012), she has been absent from the cinema scene. In 2015, she surprised fans by tying the knot with top actor Won Bin in a wheat field in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province. Despite the couple's significant celebrity status, their married life has remained private.This November, Lee is making a welcome comeback to the big screen, breaking her six-year hiatus, with small-budget independent film “Beautiful Da

Nov 18, 2018By Park Jin-hai

[INTERVIEW] In 'Beautiful Days,' Lee Na-young turns hurt into hope

K-pop

BTS apologizes over T-shirt, Nazi hat

BTS performs "Fake Love" at the Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in May. Korea Times fileBy Park Jin-haiK-pop boy band BTS, which has been under fire recently for a controversial A-bomb T-shirt and Nazi hat its members wore in the past, has officially apologized for those incidents. The apology issued by Big Hit Entertainment, Tuesday night, stated the seven-member boy band and their agency had “no intention to cause distress or pain to anyone,” and “would like to offer our sincerest apologies to anyone who has suffered pain, distress and discomfort due to our shortcomings.”BTS, currently in Japan as part of their “Love Yourself” Asia tour, caused a stir over a T-shirt bearing a photo of Koreans celebrating their 1945 liberation from Japanese occupation in one corner and another showing the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945. Its member Jimin appeared wearing the T-shirt in a YouTube documentary filmed in March 2017. The incident prompted TV Asahi and other Japanese TV broadcasters to cancel the group's schedule

Nov 14, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Viewers grow weary of same old audition shows

In 'Swing Kids,' wartime foes unite via tap dancing

'Leaving Las Vegas' director to make Korean-language film

'Memories of the Alhambra' is AR-gaming fantasy romance

'Cool Kids' to communicate with today's young generation

The old man and the bus terminal

'SKY Castle' captures elite moms' education craze

Star-studded 'Encounter' features heart-fluttering romance

INTERVIEW In 'Beautiful Days,' Lee Na-young turns hurt into hope

BTS apologizes over T-shirt, Nazi hat

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