The Korea Times

'Love Alarm' cast teases big plot, mature characters for season 2

Song Kang, left, and Kim So-hyun pose during a press conference for the second season of “Love Alarm” held in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Netflix By Kwak Yeon-sooNetflix's original series “Love Alarm” is coming back for season 2 with more complicated plotlines and mature characters. Based on Chon Kye-young's webcomic of the same title, the series revolves around a mobile app called Love Alarm, which notifies its users if someone who has romantic feelings for them is within 10 meters.The first season featured a love triangle between three high school students ― Kim Jo-jo (Kim So-hyun), Hwang Sun-oh (Song Kang) and Lee Hye-young (Jung Ga-ram) ― while the new season will pick up from the ending of season 1 as the characters enter adulthood.By the end of season 1, the Love Alarm app releases a 2.0 version that can tell the user if a person within 10 meters truly loves them. It can also predict whether that person will fall in love with them in the future. With the update

Mar 8, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo

'Love Alarm' cast teases big plot, mature characters for season 2

Films

In new film 'Fighter,' N. Korean defector finds hope and meaning through boxing

From left, actors Baek Seo-bin, Lim Seong-mi and Oh Kwang-lok pose during a press conference for “Fighter” in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Indiestory By Kwak Yeon-sooDirector Yun Jero's “Fighter,” which has been invited to compete in the Berlin International Film Festival, follows a young North Korean defector's struggle to forge a new life through boxing.The film revolves around defector Jin-ah (Lim Seong-mi) who starts off working as a cleaner at a boxing gym, and then aspires to become a professional boxer. Despite discrimination and financial struggles, she finds hope through the sport. “Fighter” was invited to compete in the “Generation 14plus” category at the Berlinale, which is a competition program for international films aimed at young audiences aged 14 years old and above.The film won the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award, and Lim, the Actress of the Year Award, at the 2020 Busan International Film Festival. Yun, whose films center o

Mar 6, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo

In new film 'Fighter,' N. Korean defector finds hope and meaning through boxing

Entertainment

Stars accused of school bullying paying price

From left, actors Jisoo, Jo Byung-gyu and Park Hye-soo / Korea Times fileBy Kwak Yeon-sooStars accused of school bullying are paying the price for their past wrongdoings. Some were removed from their forthcoming drama series, while some were pressed to drop out of reality shows or had TV commercials they have appeared in pulled from air.Actor Ji Soo is in on the verge of losing his TV title role from KBS' historical romance series “River Where the Moon Rises.” More than 5,500 viewers left comments on the broadcaster's website as of Thursday, demanding the production team pull him out of the series.On Thursday, the 28-year-old actor issued an apology on Instagram, admitting to bullying his schoolmates in the past. “I'm truly sorry to those who suffered because of me. There are no excuses to make up for my past wrongdoings. They are unforgivable,” he wrote, adding that he had always felt guilty about his past and it had always weighed on him. On Tuesday, a fresh allegation about his past erupted after a post was uploaded to an online forum by an anonymous netize

Mar 4, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo

Stars accused of school bullying paying price

Snowballing bullying scandal deals blow to TV series projects

Films

Gong Yoo, Park Bo-gum's 'Seobok' to hit theaters, streaming service in April

Park Bo-gum in a scene from “Seobok” / Courtesy of CJ ENMBy Kwak Yeon-sooThe sci-fi action film “Seobok,” featuring Gong Yoo and Park Bo-gum, will simultaneously hit theaters and a local streaming service next month, its distributor CJ ENM said Wednesday. It will be the first big budget Korean film to take the “two-track” approach amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while a few have skipped theaters and gone directly to streaming platforms. “Time to Hunt” (2020) was the first Korean film to go to Netflix without a theatrical release, followed by the time-slip thriller “Call” in November and space opera “Space Sweepers” in February.“Seobok” is one of the most eagerly awaited films of 2021 because two heartthrob actors are starring together in a film for the first time. It was originally slated for a theatrical release in December, but this was thwarted by COVID-19. “Responding to the rapid changes in consumer's perspectives and needs for content, we decided to release Seobok in theaters and on streaming

Mar 3, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo

Gong Yoo, Park Bo-gum's 'Seobok' to hit theaters, streaming service in April

Entertainment

BTS contributes to Japanese film soundtrack

A scene from the music video for BTS' “Your Eyes Tell” / Courtesy of Little Big Pictures By Kwak Yeon-sooA song from BTS' fourth Japanese studio album “Map of the Soul: 7 The Journey” will be used as the theme song for a Japanese film, slated to hit local theaters in March. “Your Eyes Tell,” which was produced by Jungkook, will be featured on the soundtrack of the film of the same title. This is the first time the septet has contributed music and lyrics to a film soundtrack.A Japanese remake of the 2011 Korean romance film “Always” that featured So Ji-sub and Han Hyo-ju, “Your Eyes Tell” tells the love story of an ex-boxer (Yokohama Ryusei) who has been hiding his dark past before falling in love with a woman (Yoshitaka Yuriko) who is slowly losing her eyesight. Director Takahiro Miki revealed that he wanted to work with Korean musicians as in the original film. The production team mentioned BTS during their meeting, but they hesitated because the members were alrea

Mar 2, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo

J-Hope releases new song 'Blue Side' on 'Hope World' anniversary

Films

Exhibition highlights well-made Korean films in 21st century

A media display of women-centric films at the “21st Century Korean Films: The Age of Well-made Cinema” exhibition at the Korean Film Museum, Seoul / Courtesy of Korean Film Archive By Kwak Yeon-sooThe Korean Film Archive (KOFA) is holding a special exhibition, “21st Century Korean Films: The Age of Well-made Cinema,” at the Korean Film Museum. The exhibit features notable film trends that shaped the past two decades through video, media displays and an art wall displaying film posters, stills and pamphlets.Korean cinema has enjoyed an unprecedented renaissance over the last 20 years, achieving quantitative and aesthetic growth. The global status of Korean films has increased dramatically thanks to “Parasite,” which became the first non-English-language movie to win the Best Picture award at the Oscars.The so-called “well-made” films that carry both artistic and commercial appeal attracted public attention, and independent films with a strong social conscience have e

Mar 1, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo

Films

'Minari' wins best foreign-language film at 2021 Golden Globes

A scene from “Minari” / Courtesy of PancinemaBy Kwak Yeon-sooDirector Lee Isaac Chung's “Minari,” a moving drama about a Korean immigrant family starting a farm in rural Arkansas, won a Golden Globe for the best foreign-language film Monday (KST). This is the second consecutive year that a Korean-language film has won the category, following Bong Joon-ho's black-comedy “Parasite” last year. “Minari is about a family trying to learn how to speak a language of its own. It goes deeper than any American language and any foreign language. It's a language of the heart. I hope we all learn how to speak this language of love to each other, especially this year.” Chung said in his acceptance speech, thanking his creative team and family. Other nominees in the category included Thomas Vinterberg's “Another Round” (Denmark), Jayro Bustamante's “La Llorona” (Guatemala), Edoardo Ponti's “The Life Ahead” (Italy) and Filippo Meneghetti's “Two of Us” (France).Chung's semi-autobiographical “Minari&rd

Mar 1, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo

'Minari' wins best foreign-language film at 2021 Golden Globes

Films

'Minari' wrestles with how we can love each other in difficult situations, says director

Clockwise from top-left, actresses Youn Yuh-jung, Han Ye-ri, director Lee Isaac Chung and actor Steven Yeun discuss their film, “Minari,” in an online press conference, Friday. Courtesy of PancinemaBy Kwak Yeon-sooSteven Yeun, who plays a young father in the moving family drama, “Minari,” recalled that when he first got the script from writer-director Lee Isaac Chung, it felt like reading a script from Korea. “When you get scripts about people of color or minorities (in the U.S.), it's usually explanatory because the viewer is assumed to be a white audience. So, there's always a level of seeing yourself through the gaze and lens of the white majority,” Yeun told Korean reporters during an online press conference, Friday. He decided to come on board not just as an actor but also as a producer, because he wanted to add his voice to something that he deeply related to and had always wanted to talk about.“The thing that was really refreshing about Isaac's script was just how confident in its own point of view it was. I wanted to make sure our voi

Feb 26, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo

'Minari' wrestles with how we can love each other in difficult situations, says director

Trends

New culture minister vows 'kimchi diplomacy'

Culture Minister Hwang Hee speaks during a press conference at the Central Government Complex, Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and TourismMinister Hwang Hee met athletes over bullying scandals to search for solutions By Kwak Yeon-sooNew Culture Minister Hwang Hee said Thursday that he would step up efforts to promote Korea's cultural heritage and traditional cuisine ― such as hanbok, pansori and kimchi ― overseas as part of cultural diplomacy, amid the ongoing cultural feud between Korea and China. Hwang said, that some Chinese netizens' claims to kimchi and other Korean cultural assets, as part of Chinese culture reflect a growing international interest in Korean culture, noting the ministry will use the dispute as an opportunity to kick off an international campaign promoting Korea's staple dish and cultural heritage to prevent the recurrence of similar cases in the future.“I think such disputes arise because of the increasing global interest in Korean culture. Chinese people have varied thoughts about kimchi and our world-class heritage, but they don

Feb 25, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo

New culture minister vows 'kimchi diplomacy'

Anti-China sentiment growing in Korea

Films

Director Lee Joon-ik returns with historical biopic 'Book of Fish'

Actor Byun Yo-han in a scene from “The Book of Fish” / Courtesy of Megabox Plus MBy Kwak Yeon-sooLee Joon-ik, a pioneering director who tells stories about Korean society and its traditions through a historical drama format known as “sageuk,” is back with another black-and-white biopic, “The Book of Fish.”In his upcoming film, actor Seol Kyung-gu plays scholar Jeong Yak-jeon, the brother of one of the leading scholars in the late Joseon era Dasan Jeong Yak-yong. His character meets a young fisherman named Chang-dae (Byun Yo-han) while living in exile on Heuksan Island in South Jeolla Province. In contrast to Jeong, who tries to avoid his scholarly endeavors, Chang-dae seeks knowledge. The fisherman believes that Confucianism ― the state ideology of the Joseon Kingdom ― can protect the people, so he concentrates on studying rather than catching fish.Lee has received accolades for making historical films such as “The King and the Clown” (2005), which revolves around two male traveling performers who are arrested for satirizing King Yeonsa

Feb 24, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo

Kwak Yeon-soo

Read more

'Love Alarm' cast teases big plot, mature characters for season 2

In new film 'Fighter,' N. Korean defector finds hope and meaning through boxing

Stars accused of school bullying paying price

Gong Yoo, Park Bo-gum's 'Seobok' to hit theaters, streaming service in April

BTS contributes to Japanese film soundtrack

Exhibition highlights well-made Korean films in 21st century

'Minari' wins best foreign-language film at 2021 Golden Globes

'Minari' wrestles with how we can love each other in difficult situations, says director

New culture minister vows 'kimchi diplomacy'

Director Lee Joon-ik returns with historical biopic 'Book of Fish'

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