The Korea Times

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

Shows & Dramas

'Ordinary people are who really run the show'

“Let's Eat Dinner Together” stars veteran host duo of Kang Ho-dong, left, and Lee Kyung-kyu, right, with two invited guests. / Courtesy of JTBC“Let's Eat Dinner Together” marks 2nd anniversaryBy Park Jin-haiJTBC's popular documentary-like reality show “Let's Eat Dinner Together,” which recently aired its 100th episode, is marking its 2nd anniversary Wednesday. The show, starring veteran host duo of Kang Ho-dong and Lee Kyung-kyu, with two invited guests, challenges them to knock on the doors of people in a certain neighborhood without prior notice and ask them if they will let them in so they can eat together. “After so many attempts and refusals, someone opens the door and lets us in, and the thrill of joy overwhelms. The whole space is filled with the warm feelings of welcoming,” said Bang Hyun-young, the show's producer in a recent interview. “When we are rejected, we feel embarrassed. But dispelling such negative feelings, we gather up the courage and challenge to knock on another person's door. The whole process is like a mic

Oct 22, 2018By Park Jin-hai

'Ordinary people are who really run the show'

Films

In 'Rampant,' hero slashes zombies

Actor Hyun Bin is seen in the upcoming zombie blockbuster “Rampant.” / Courtesy of NEWBy Park Jin-haiA much anticipated new zombie blockbuster, dubbed as a Joseon-era version of the 2016 box-office hit “Train to Busan,” has been unveiled to the media. In “Rampant,” director Kim Sung-hoon, of last year's action blockbuster “Confidential Assignment,” has joined hands with heartthrob Hyun Bin as his lead actor once again. It tells the story of Yi Chung, a prince who returns from the Qing Empire after his brother the crown prince's death. Yi happens to meet “night demons,” zombie and vampire hybrid-like monsters that follow loud sounds around and only attack human at nights, on his way to the palace. Facing the king, who only wants to keep his throne and find traitors, and Kim Ja-joon, played by Jang Dong-gun, an ambitious minister of war who doesn't welcome Yi's return, Yi teams up with a band of people to fight the night demons and save the nation.Compared with Yeon Sang-ho's “Train,” which explores human nature in

Oct 21, 2018By Park Jin-hai

K-pop

IU's single enters top 10 chart in China

Singer IU / Courtesy of Kakao MBy Park Jin-haiSinger-actress IU's new single “BBI BBI,” released Oct. 10, has made it into the top 10 music chart in China. The single released to celebrate the singer's 10th debut anniversary ranked 8th overall and topped the K-pop music genre, according to one of China's largest music streaming sites NetEase Cloud Music's weekly music chart, which has over 400 million users. “We realize the singer's strong popularity in China. Among K-pop artists, IU made it into the top 10 chart,” said an official of her agency Kakao M. It was IU's first music release since her last remake album “A Flower Bookmark #2” unveiled September last year. The single's music video also became the second most watched video in the K-pop category on China's music video sharing site YinYue Tai's weekly V-Chart. Following the album's release, IU's new single has swept major local music charts. Surpassing 1 million listeners on Melon music chart in 16 hours after its release, “BBIBBI” broke the 24-hour unique listener record on the m

Oct 16, 2018By Park Jin-hai

IU's single enters top 10 chart in China

Films

Han Ji-min plays tough woman in “Miss Baek”

Actress Han Ji-min takes on the toughest role of her entire acting career in her latest film “Miss Baek.” She plays ex-convict Baek Sang-ah who was abused by her mother and abandoned as a child. / Courtesy of Little Big PicturesActress Han Ji-min is no longer a “sweetheart.”In her latest film “Miss Baek,” the 35-year-old actress turns into a tough ex-convict, swearing, spitting and smoking on the street corner _ an image one can hardly imagine for the actress, known for her humanitarian work and voluntary efforts to help children from North Korea and in developing countries in Asia. The film “Miss Baek” deals with child abuse. Han plays Baek Sang-ah, a woman abused by her mother and abandoned as a child, who in protecting herself from sexual assault had to serve jail time, and then lives an emotionally closed-off life from the rest of the world.Instead of her given name, she lives as “Miss Baek” to hide her identity, but as she happens to meet a girl in the street who has been abused by her computer game-addicted father and

Oct 15, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Han Ji-min plays tough woman in “Miss Baek”

Shows & Dramas

g.o.d returns with travel variety show

A promotional photo for JTBC's new travel variety “Shall We Walk Together”/Courtesy of JTBCBy Park Jin-haiFive-member K-pop idol group g.o.d of the early 2000s, which received huge popularity by appearing in child-rearing variety show “Babysitting Diary” between 2000 and 2001, has returned with JTBC's new travel variety show  17 years later. In the “Shall We Walk Together” premiere Thursday, the five men, who debuted in January 1999, went on a two week long trek in the Camino de Santiago, Spain _ a route known as a spiritual path _ in order to commemorate their upcoming 20th anniversary. “It was physically the hardest show I've ever done. But there was more that I gained,” said Park Joon-hyung, leader of the group and now famous for his YouTube channel “Wassup Man,” during a press conference at the JTBC headquarters in Seoul, prior to the show's broadcast. “We have walked our separate ways for many years, but for the two weeks together with each other, I felt like it filled all the gaps between us,” he added

Oct 14, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

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

'Ordinary people are who really run the show'

In 'Rampant,' hero slashes zombies

IU's single enters top 10 chart in China

Han Ji-min plays tough woman in “Miss Baek”

g.o.d returns with travel variety show

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