The Korea Times

Despite bashing, BTS still catches on in Japan

People take their photos with fans bearing photos of the members of South Korean boy band BTS outside Tokyo Dome where the band's concert will be held in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday.  / Reuters-YonhapBy Park Jin-haiBTS' popularity in Japan has remained unscathed, despite the sweeping bashing among Japanese media outlets surrounding a T-shirt BTS member Jimin wore in March 2017. The incident prompted TV Asahi to cancel the group's live performance the day before they were scheduled to appear on a Friday night show on the channel.It also caused some Japanese intellectuals to raise questions regarding possible political motivation behind the cancellation. Tokyo Sports on Oct. 26 reported the controversy first, condemning BTS member Jimin for wearing a T-shirt bearing a photo of Koreans celebrating their liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945 in one corner and another showing the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, with the words “patriotism,” “our history” and “liberation” printed on it, calling it “an anti-Japanese act.” Ji

Nov 13, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Despite bashing, BTS still catches on in Japan

Films

'Beautiful Days' asks meaning of family

In “Beautiful Days,” actress Lee Na-young, left, plays a North Korean defector who leads a tragic life in Seoul. / Courtesy of Contents PandaBy Park Jin-haiVeteran actress Lee Na-young makes a welcome return to the big screen, playing a North Korean defector and mother who has lived a tragic life. “Beautiful Days,” which opened this year's Busan International Film Festival, features a young Korean-Chinese man, Zhen Chen, played by Jang Dong-yoon, who goes to South Korea in search of his mother. His mother, played by actress Lee, escaped from North Korea and got married in China. But she ran away from their China home when her son was a child. Encountering his mother 14 years later, working at a bar and living with a hoodlum husband, Zhen Chen gets caught up in complex emotions of longing, hatred and resentment. And after observing his mother's seemingly cold and composed demeanor, he returns to China brokenhearted. But on his way back home, he finds his mother's notebook detailing her tragic past. Director Yun Jero, who has been telling stories of marginalized

Nov 11, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Films

'Youngju' delivers message of forgiveness

Actress Kim Hyang-gi is seen in the film “Youngju.” / Courtesy of CGVBy Park Jin-haiSmall-budget film “Youngju,” starring rising star Kim Hyang-gi and veteran actor Yu Jae-myeong, tells a story of forgiveness through a tragic accident. Kim, best known for her role in the “Along with the Gods” series, plays the leading role of Young-ju, who stuggles to make a living with her little brother after losing both parents in a car accident. The film follows what happens after Young-ju decides to meet those responsible for the accident five years later. The film's writer and director Cha Sung-Duk says her directorial debut feature was inspired by her own story of loss. “The film's synopsis is based on the story that I've been holding in my heart for a long time,” the director said during a press conference at a theater in Seoul, Tuesday. “In a sense, the film stems from my private story. Like Young-ju, I also lost my parents in an accident when I was a teenager. “When I thought of making it into a film, the first thing that came to m

Nov 7, 2018By Park Jin-hai

'Youngju' delivers message of forgiveness

K-pop

Singer releasing monthly songs for 8 years

By Park Jin-haiYoon Jong-shin / Courtesy of Mystic EntertainmentYoon Jong-shin, a 49-year-old K-pop ballad singer-songwriter and CEO of Mystic Entertainment, takes a special place in Korea's fast-changing pop music industry with his “tenacity.” The singer, best known as guest singer of the 1990s ballad band 015B, has made it a rule of releasing a new single each month for over eight years straight since March 2010. The singer's project called “Monthly Yoon Jong-shin” was initially brushed off as a one-time gig for a 40-something singer who had seen better days. But Yoon, regardless of the publicity his albums receive, continued to unveil a digital single each month. His 103rd single “Cramming,” featuring Yuju of K-pop girl group G-Friend, will be released on Friday. At a time when digital singles were relatively new to Korea's music industry, Yoon, through his project he calls a “playground,” made nostalgic ballads he is best known for, but also expanded his musical genres to hip-hop, reggae, heavy metal and EDM. His songs released each

Nov 6, 2018By Park Jin-hai

K-pop

Composer imagines unified Korea through music

Yang Bang-ean, a composer and pianist, speaks about his upcoming concert “Yang Bang-ean Utopia 2018” during a press conference at a restaurant in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of PRMBy Park Jin-haiYang Bang-ean, a composer and pianist who delivered a message of peace in the opening and closing ceremonies of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics earlier this year, said his heart raced with excitement when the two Koreas announced an agreement to connect their railways in April. “A new era has opened. It seems like the Gyeongui Line linking Seoul through Sinuiju of North Korea all the way to Europe lies in front of my eyes,” Yang said during a press conference last Thursday. “My father came from Jeju Island, my mother from Sinuiju and I was born and raised in Tokyo. When I heard the railroad will be reconnected, I was so much moved by the news. I thought that now is the right time to perform my 2012 music 'Dream Railroad.'” Yang will hold his fourth “Yang Bang-ean Utopia 2018” concert later this month.The ethnic Korean, born to a South Korean fathe

Nov 4, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Composer imagines unified Korea through music

Films

INTERVIEW From rom-com heartthrob to action hero

Actor Hyun Bin poses during a recent interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Seoul. Courtesy of NEWHyun Bin's cinematic challenge is ongoing By Park Jin-haiHyun Bin has been a long-time heartthrob for many K-drama fans, playing a rich heir who has a cold appearance but is warm to those he loves. Thanks to two romantic comedy dramas “My Lovely Sam Soon” (2005) and “Secret Garden” (2010), he became one of the most sought-after actors in romance dramas. In the drama “Secret Garden,” Hyun's portrayal of a spoiled chaebol heir with a love for tacky tracksuits including a blue sparkling tracksuit and the famous cappuccino foam kiss scene have catapulted him into the ranks of hottest hallyu actors with an immense following. Yet after returning to the entertainment business, finishing his mandatory military service in 2012, Hyun has been fiercely expanding his acting spectrum. He was challenging in his first role in the period film “The Fatal Encounter” as King Jeongjo in 2014. Then he acted as a dashing North Korean agent in the action fli

Nov 4, 2018By Park Jin-hai

[INTERVIEW] From rom-com heartthrob to action hero

Films

Korea's Dwayne Johnson stars in new thriller

Actor Ma Dong-seok stars in the upcoming thriller “The Villagers.” / Courtesy of Little Big PicturesBy Park Jin-haiMa Dong-seok, a Korean-American actor with bulging muscles best known for his appearance in “Train to Busan,” returns to the big screen with thriller “The Villagers.”The 47-year-old action star, who is often compared to Dwayne Johnson for their similarity in masculine appearance, will take the role of a physical education teacher named Yeok Gi-cheol who comes to a high school in the countryside. When a schoolgirl disappears, and no one in the small village takes issue with it, he tracks down all leads to find the truth behind her disappearance. Ma, a late bloomer who only recently shot to stardom since his 2005 debut, has known about the film's director Im Jin-sun and his scenario for the past five or so years. “Many of my recent films are what I've been involved in from the pre-planning. For The Villagers, I've developed many ideas with its director when I was an unknown actor,” the actor said during a press conference at

Oct 30, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Korea's Dwayne Johnson stars in new thriller

Films

'Default' brings back economic nightmare

Actress Kim Hye-soo, second from left, other cast members and director Choi Kook-hee, center, of the upcoming film “Default,” pose during a recent press conference at a CGV in southern Seoul. / Courtesy of CJ ENMBy Park Jin-haiThe Asian Financial Crisis, which first erupted in Thailand in 1997 with the collapse of its currency, the baht, and then rapidly spread to neighboring countries and Korea later in the year, wreaked the worst havoc on the Korean economy.The economic nightmare still affects people's lives over two decades later. The upcoming film “Default,” starring veteran actors Kim Hye-soo and Yoo Ah-in, brings Korea's worst financial crisis in recent memory to the silver screen and depicts various people who made different choices when the country's whole economy was in peril. It is the first Korean film with the financial crisis as the central theme. Kim takes on the lead role of Han Si-hyun, a senior financial analyst at the Bank of Korea who is striving to do the right thing during the seven days before the country declared a liquidity crisis and s

Oct 28, 2018By Park Jin-hai

'Default' brings back economic nightmare

Travel & Food

Daeryong Market where time has stopped

Daeryong Market, in the center of Gyodong Island, Incheon, has been created by displaced North Koreans who settled on the island. The small vintage stores that are over half a century old bring visitors back in time to 1960s and 70s Korea.  / Korea Times photos by Choi Won-sukBy Park Jin-haiGYODONG ISLAND, Incheon ― Daeryong Market, the one and only major market located in the center of Gyodong Island, is a place where time has stopped. Like a broken old chiming wall clock, time has stopped at somewhere between the 1960s and 1970s. Walking through the marketplace, those small old slate-roofed shops selling popular snacks and various necessities of the time, vintage tea houses, a rundown drugstore, a barber shop and a clock repair shop bearing all the traces of time, give visitors the surreal feeling of being channeled into the past. “It's been quite a long time since I've seen as many people as these days. I have mixed feelings about the tourists coming here, both good and bad,” a pharmacist's old wife said in a small voice and a graceful smile over the counter at Gy

Oct 25, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Home is right there but out of reach

Travel & Food

Home is right there but out of reach

Hwang Rae-ha, 76, a farmer on Gyodong Island, Incheon, fled his hometown in Haeseong, Yeonbaek County (now Yonan County) in 1950 at age 8, in a wooden boat to escape North Korean soldiers during the Korean War. He says his only wish is to meet his mother again even if that is in his sleep.  Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukSeparated families in long wait for reunion By Park Jin-haiGyodong Island, Incheon ― With the two Koreas taking steps to disarm the Joint Security Area (JSA) and allow soldiers and civilians to cross the Military Demarcation Line there, following the three inter-Korean summits this year alone, hope for permanent peace on the peninsula runs higher than ever before.Gyodong, a small island 70 kilometers northwest of central Seoul, is home to around 20,000 people who were displaced during the 1950-53 Korean War. After the outbreak of the war, they fled their homes now in North Korea and settled on this small island near the inter-Korean maritime border.For the islanders, peace means their way back home to Yeonbaek County in Hwanghae Province, North Korea, some 65

Oct 25, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Daeryong Market where time has stopped

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Despite bashing, BTS still catches on in Japan

'Beautiful Days' asks meaning of family

'Youngju' delivers message of forgiveness

Singer releasing monthly songs for 8 years

Composer imagines unified Korea through music

INTERVIEW From rom-com heartthrob to action hero

Korea's Dwayne Johnson stars in new thriller

'Default' brings back economic nightmare

Daeryong Market where time has stopped

Home is right there but out of reach

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