The Korea Times

INTERVIEW Culture minister upbeat about 'pandemic-defying hallyu'

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Park Yang-woo speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the National Theater Company in Seoul, Sept. 3. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulMinister blasts Japan's history distortion By Kwak Yeon-sooUnlike other areas that have been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, hallyu ― or the Korean wave ― has arguably remained robust. Oddly enough, its global presence has become stronger after people being stuck at home has become the new normal around the world in the wake of the pandemic.People stuck at home have naturally turned to entertainment they can enjoy online, such as films, dramas, games, webcomics and concert broadcasts ― which are already staples of Korea's cultural exports.The phenomenon of hallyu being unfazed by the pandemic has pushed local experts to coin the term “new hallyu.” A newly launched hallyu cooperation committee includes representatives from 13 ministries, and a hallyu department has been established within the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in June. Culture Minister Park Yang-woo was u

Sep 10, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo

[INTERVIEW] Culture minister upbeat about 'pandemic-defying hallyu'

Films

INTERVIEW Creators behind 'Beauty Water' satirize absurdity of lookism

Producer Jeon Byung-jin, left, and director Cho Kyung-hun of horror-thriller animated film “Beauty Water” pose for a picture after an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of SS AnimentBy Kwak Yeon-sooHorror-thriller animated film “Beauty Water,” directed by Cho Kyung-hun, is adapted from a popular webcomic “Tales of the Unusual” by cartoonist Oh Seong-dae.It revolves around a girl named Ye-ji who comes across mysterious water that enables her to lose weight and reshape her appearance. She finds her life is more in danger the more she desires to be beautiful.While keeping the original webcomic's eccentric world view, the film adds to the story with dynamic movements and vivid drawings. The work lampoons the absurdity of modern society's obsession with appearance through the protagonist, who is swayed by the beauty standards that end up destroying her.Making its world premiere at the 24th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, the film was invited to 12 international film festivals so far, including Annecy Internationa

Sep 10, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo

[INTERVIEW] Creators behind 'Beauty Water' satirize absurdity of lookism

Entertainment

BLACKPINK to release documentary on Netflix

A teaser image of BLACKPINK's documentary “BLACKPINK: Light Up The Sky” / Courtesy of NetflixBy Kwak Yeon-sooA documentary featuring K-pop girl group BLACKPINK will premiere on Oct. 14 on Netflix, providing fans a chance to see their idols as they never have before. This will come after the group drops its first full-length album titled “The Album” on Oct. 2.According to the group's agency YG Entertainment and Netflix, a documentary titled “BLACKPINK: Light Up The Sky” will follow the four years since the group's debut in 2016.BLACKPINK, consisting of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa, shot to fame after the group's music video for 2016's “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” surpassed ten million views in just six hours and racked up 36.2 million views in one day. The group has been garnering international fame after collaborating with Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez this year.Helmed by Caroline Suh, the director of Netflix's “Salt Fat Acid Heat,” the film features exclusive interviews with the four members with video footage of their days as trai

Sep 9, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo

BLACKPINK to release documentary on Netflix

K-pop

With BTS' Billboard feat, gov't pushes to revise military service act

BTS members pose at an online press event after topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their latest single “Dynamite,” Wednesday. Courtesy of Big Hit EntertainmentBy Kwak Yeon-sooThe government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are working to revise the Military Service Act in order to allow outstanding pop culture artists, who boost the country's status on the world stage, to postpone their enlistment.The move comes after boy-band BTS became the first K-pop act to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their latest single “Dynamite,” Tuesday.DPK lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi said Thursday he was proposing a bill to revise the act to allow artists, who have elevated Korea's prestige at the international level, to defer their service. Citing that BTS has generated value of 5.6 trillion won ($4.7 billion), the lawmaker argued that K-pop artists recommended by the culture minister should be permitted to postpone their enlistment.“Deferring military service is a totally different issue from granting exemptions,” Jeon said in a news release. &ldquo

Sep 4, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo

With BTS' Billboard feat, gov't pushes to revise military service act

Films

'Spiritwalker' invited to Spain's Sitges film festival

A poster for the film “Spiritwalker” / Courtesy of ABO EntertainmentBy Kwak Yeon-sooDirector Yoon Jae-keun's fantasy action film “Spiritwalker” has been invited to the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, the film's distributor said Friday.It has been invited to the Panorama Fantastic Section of the 53rd edition of the festival, which will take place in the coastal town of Sitges, Spain, from Oct. 8 to 18.Starring Yoon Kye-sang, Lim Ji-yeon and Park Yong-woo, “Spiritwalker” is about a man who wakes up with no memory in a different body every 12 hours and has to make it back to his own body. Helmed by producers of “The Outlaws” and “The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil,” the film has been sold to more than a dozen overseas markets, including Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, and the Middle East.Sitges is considered one of the top three fantasy genre film festivals in the world, along with Portugal's Fantasporto-Oporto International Film Festival and the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival of Belgium. It specializes

Sep 4, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo

'Spiritwalker' invited to Spain's Sitges film festival

Entertainment

The hallyu effect: culture ministry vows to vitalize Korean language education

“Learn! Korean with BTS” package / Courtesy of Weverse ShopBy Kwak Yeon-sooSouth Korea is making a strong bet on the country's mother tongue, riding on the overseas popularity of hallyu ― or the “Korean wave” of pop culture.This doesn't come as a surprise because the government has already partnered with universities and K-pop agencies to promote the Korean language as a catalyst to spread Korean culture around the world.In August, the Korean Foundation partnered with Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of BTS, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies to open a BTS-themed Korean-language course titled “Learn! Korean with BTS” at several overseas Korean-teaching universities starting in the 2020 fall semester. The first schools adopting the course starting this fall are Middlebury College in the U.S., Ecole Normale Superieure and EDHEC Business School of France, Ain Shams University in Egypt and Vietnam's University of Languages & International Studies and Thang Long University.As soon as “Learn! Korean with BTS” ― the Korea

Sep 2, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo

The hallyu effect: culture ministry vows to vitalize Korean language education

Entertainment

'Oh! My Gran' portrays family coping with Alzheimer's

Na Moon-hee, left, and Lee Hee-jun in a scene from the film “Oh! My Gran” / Courtesy of CGV ArthouseBy Kwak Yeon-sooComedy drama “Oh! My Gran” is not rolling-in-the-aisles funny, but has something eloquent to say about the meaning of family.In the film, veteran actor Na Moon-hee plays Mun-hui, a woman who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and lives with her son Du-won (played by Lee Hee-jun) and granddaughter Bo-mi (Lee Jin-joo). She slips between the present and the past, sometimes fully aware of her precarious condition and sometimes completely oblivious.Due to the symptoms associated with dementia, Mun-hui causes stress for the family and Du-won's devastated wife leaves home. One night, Mun-hui takes Bo-mi out for a night walk and the child becomes the victim in a hit-and-run incident, which leaves her in a coma. Mun-hui is the only witness but she mumbles nonsense and the police do not even care to look into the case so Du-won has to track down the culprit with the little evidence that his mother collected from the scene of the accident while she was tempo

Sep 1, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo

'Oh! My Gran' portrays family coping with Alzheimer's

Films

After success of 'Parasite,' Park So-dam moves on to arthouse flick 'Fukuoka'

By Kwak Yeon-sooActress Park So-dam / Courtesy of CJ EntertainmentPark So-dam, well-known for her outstanding performance from the Oscar-winning “Parasite,” has moved on to a smaller, less commercial film “Fukuoka.” The art house flick displays the importance of communication through three different characters. In the film, Park plays So-dam, a mysterious young woman who inspires Je-moon (Yoon Je-moon), a second-hand bookstore owner, to travel to Fukuoka and meet his long estranged friend Hae-hyo (Kwon Hae-hyo).The two men lost touch 28 years ago after falling in love with the same girl, who eventually left both of them. Hae-hyo moved to the girl's hometown of Fukuoka to look for her, but never saw her again. Struggling to get over his ex-girlfriend, Hae-hyo has been running a bar in the Japanese city and growing old alone, just like Je-moon.The characters go through conflicts in their lives, many of which remain unresolved. It's hard to pin down exactly who or what Park really is because details about her character are kept under wraps throughout the film. Sh

Aug 31, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo

After success of 'Parasite,' Park So-dam moves on to arthouse flick 'Fukuoka'

Entertainment

Yoona of Girls' Generation in talks to join 'Confidential Assignment 2'

Yoona of Girls' Generation. / Courtesy of SM EntertainmentBy Kwak Yeon-sooYoona of Girls' Generation is in talks to join the cast of comedy-action flick “Confidential Assignment 2,” featuring the stellar cast of Hyun Bin, Yoo Hai-jin and Daniel Henney. SM Entertainment, the singer-actress's agency, said Friday she had received an offer to join the cast of “Confidential Assignment 2” and was positively reviewing the role.“Confidential Assignment 2” is the follow up to 2017's “Confidential Assignment,” in which North Korean detective Lim Cheol-ryung (Hyun Bin) joins hands with South Korean police detective Kang Jin-tae (Yoo Hai-jin) to complete a secret mission. Filmmaker Lee Seok-hoon, who produced “Dancing Queen” (2012), “The Pirates” (2014) and “The Himalayas” (2015), will direct the sequel. Director Kim Sung-hoon, known for “A Wonderful Moment” (2013) was at the helm the 2017 film, which drew more than 7 million moviegoers.Hyun and Yoo are returning for the sequel, and Henney will join t

Aug 28, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo

Yoona of Girls' Generation in talks to join 'Confidential Assignment 2'

Films

Major film releases delayed again as COVID-19 resurges

Liu Yifei in “Mulan” / Courtesy of Walt Disney Co. KoreaBy Kwak Yeon-sooMany major film releases have been pushed back again due to a resurgence of COVID-19 in Korea.The country has reported three-digit figures on new infection cases for the past 15 days, with the latest new infection case number released on Friday reaching 371.The government raised the social distancing guidelines to Level 2 on Sunday, and is cautiously reviewing the situation to raise them to Level 3. Level 2 bans indoor gatherings of more than 50 and outdoor gatherings of more than 100, in comparison with Level 3 that bans gatherings of 10 people or more except for essential meetings for business and state affairs.The release of “Mulan” has been delayed to Sept. 17 from Sept. 10. Originally scheduled to hit the screens in March, the live-action remake of the 1998 animated film has been delayed four times. “Given the country's COVID-19 situation, we have decided to delay the release of Mulan. We ask for everyone's understanding,” distributor Walt Disney Co. Korea said in a news r

Aug 28, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo

Kwak Yeon-soo

Read more

INTERVIEW Culture minister upbeat about 'pandemic-defying hallyu'

INTERVIEW Creators behind 'Beauty Water' satirize absurdity of lookism

BLACKPINK to release documentary on Netflix

With BTS' Billboard feat, gov't pushes to revise military service act

'Spiritwalker' invited to Spain's Sitges film festival

The hallyu effect: culture ministry vows to vitalize Korean language education

'Oh! My Gran' portrays family coping with Alzheimer's

After success of 'Parasite,' Park So-dam moves on to arthouse flick 'Fukuoka'

Yoona of Girls' Generation in talks to join 'Confidential Assignment 2'

Major film releases delayed again as COVID-19 resurges

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