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Kwak Yeon-soo

Korea Times Digital Content Reporter

Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.

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Films

Shim Eun-kyung plays comic relief character in 'Blue Hour'

Actress Shim Eun-kyung in a scene from the film “Blue Hour” / Courtesy of AUD By Kwak Yeon-sooActress Shim Eun-kyung plays a charming and fun supporting character in Japanese film “Blue Hour” alongside Japanese actress Kaho. The star duo jointly received the Best Actress award at the 34th Takasaki Film Festival in March.The film title “Blue Hour” refers to the time of a day when the sky fills with blue light right before dawn, according to director Yuko Hakota. In “Blue Hour,” Kaho plays Sunada, a successful but exhausted TV commercial director, and Shim plays Kiyoura, who is Sunada's unemployed childhood friend. Experiencing burnout, Sunada decides to visit her rural hometown in Ibaraki with her friend Kiyoura. Kiyoura appears to be a lighthearted character who clings to simple pleasures in life ― a familiar trait to Shim because she has played similar roles before in “Miss Granny” and “The Princess and the Matchmaker.” However, the 26-year-old actress explained th

Jul 21, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Shim Eun-kyung plays comic relief character in 'Blue Hour'
Films

Zombie blockbuster shows the way

Posters for “Peninsula” are on display at a theater in Seoul, Sunday. The zombie blockbuster surpassed 1 million admissions in Korea on Saturday, the fourth day of its run, according to its distributor Next Entertainment World. / Yonhap

Jul 19, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Zombie blockbuster shows the way
Entertainment

Culture ministry to spearhead global expansion of Korean wave

Culture Minister Park Yang-woo speaks during a press briefing at the Central Government Complex, Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and TourismBy Kwak Yeon-sooKorea will diversify its cultural output and foster related industries such as consumer goods and service sectors in order to create a sustainable environment for the global spread of Korean soft power, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday. The Korean wave, or hallyu, has expanded rapidly with the growth of the Korean content industry, playing a key role in promoting cultural products overseas and developing the country's image as dynamic and futuristic. However, the fact that hallyu content is concentrated on K-pop and TV dramas, and that anti-Korean sentiment exists in some regions were chosen as factors that hinder the continued spread of hallyu.As a result, the culture ministry held a meeting in February of a pan-government hallyu cooperation committee, which includes representatives from 13 ministries, and established the Hallyu Support and Cooperation Division within the minist

Jul 19, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Culture ministry to spearhead global expansion of Korean wave
Music

Apink's Jeong Eun-ji conveys message of empathy in new EP 'Simple'

Jeong Eun-ji of K-pop act Apink released her fourth solo mini-album “Simple” on July 15. / Courtesy of Play M EntertainmentBy Kwak Yeon-sooJeong Eun-ji, the main vocalist of K-pop act Apink, dropped her fourth solo mini-album “Simple” on Wednesday. This comes a year and nine months since her third solo mini-album “Hyehwa” released in 2018.“I'm nervous but happy about releasing a new solo album and performing on stage again,” Jeong said through her agency Play M Entertainment.The 27-year-old singer explained that the overall theme of her new album is “simple is beautiful,” elaborating that she wanted to convey messages of empathy and consolation to listeners.Jeong participated in producing all six tracks of the album to add her persona to the music. “I prepared this album thinking about what kind of music I'd like to pursue and what my fans would be willing to listen to over and over again,” she said. “I feel this album is very important because I wrote and co-composed the songs, shared ideas about album con

Jul 16, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Apink's Jeong Eun-ji conveys message of empathy in new EP 'Simple'
Films

INTERVIEW Yeon Sang-ho has no fear of trying new genres, crossover films

Director Yeon Sang-ho poses before an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of NEWBy Kwak Yeon-sooDirector Yeon Sang-ho says he has never been afraid of tackling new genres. In recent years, the animator and live-action filmmaker has gravitated toward the scope of blockbuster action films, opening the gateway for K-zombie flicks. Well-known for his creative approach and smart storytelling skills, the filmmaker is back with “Peninsula,” the sequel to 2016 mega-hit “Train to Busan.”Yeon confessed that he had initially been reluctant to direct a “Train to Busan” sequel because his 2016 film received such a strong reaction that he wondered if he could actually make another film to tell a new story. “I honestly felt two ways about directing the sequel to Train to Busan. Many encouraged me to produce the second installment, but I wasn't sure if there's more story left to tell. It was when I started planning Peninsula that I found the joy of imagining the world in ruin,” he said during an interview with The Kor

Jul 15, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
[INTERVIEW] Yeon Sang-ho has no fear of trying new genres, crossover films
Films

'Okay! Madam' tells of hilarious rescue operation from hijacked plane

From left, actors Lee Sang-yun, Park Sung-woong, Uhm Jung-hwa, Bae Jung-nam and Lee Sun-bin pose at a press event held in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of PlanItBy Kwak Yeon-sooThe upcoming action comedy “Okay! Madam” is an homage to the Hong Kong action flick “Yes Madam!” the film's director said Monday. Director Lee Cheol-ha said he strived to infuse humor to the action film, allowing audiences to enjoy amusing scenes along with human moments. “I'm of a generation that grew up watching Hong Kong action movies. With Okay! Madam, I want to revive the genre,” Lee said in a press event streamed online. “I constantly thought about how to create the pacing and the rhythm that I want in order to carry laughs and thrills until the end of the film.”The filmmaker revealed that “Okay! Madam” was shot inside an actual Boeing 777 aircraft, and thus the production team had to position cameras on the ceilings.Uhm Jung-hwa, who co-starred with Park Sung-woong, said the film has it all ― hilariously funny moments and white-knuckle action scenes.

Jul 13, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Okay! Madam' tells of hilarious rescue operation from hijacked plane
Shows & Dramas

'SF8' is Korean equivalent of Netflix Original 'Black Mirror'

Actors and directors of cinematic drama “SF8” pose during a press conference held in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of WavveBy Kwak Yeon-soo“SF8,” the Korean equivalent of the “Black Mirror” anthology series, unravels philosophical questions throughout each episode's futurist premise, including the presence of artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR).This anthology piece, created by eight different directors, is comprised of eight episodes that each last over 50 minutes ― “The Prayer,” “Manxin,” “Blink,” “Empty Body,” “Joan's Galaxy,” “Love Virtually,” “Baby it's over outside” and “White Crow.”Starring Lee Yoo-young and Ye Soo-jung, “The Prayer” revolves around an AI caregiving robot that faces a dilemma between saving its patient or the patient's guardian. “Manxin,” featuring Lee Yeon-hee and Lee Dong-hui, shows how the public is fooled by an AI fortune-telling service. Director Han Ga-ram's “Blink” draws the

Jul 10, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
'SF8' is Korean equivalent of Netflix Original 'Black Mirror'
Films

'Peninsula' casts commentary over human desire to outlive

Director Yeon Sang-ho, third from right, poses with the cast of “Peninsula” at the press conference held in Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times fileBy Kwak Yeon-sooFollowing the success of “Train to Busan,” “Peninsula” is another Korean zombie film that casts a commentary on people's desire to live and find hope in the worst situation.Set four years after the hit “Train to Busan,” the upcoming blockbuster tells the story of the survivors and a world taken over by zombies.Gang Dong-won plays Jung-seok, a former soldier who goes back to the zombie-packed peninsula on a mission, while Lee Jung-hyun plays Min-jung, a mother of two daughters and an uninfected survivor of the zombie apocalypse. Lee saves the lives of Jung-seok and his mission crew from a massive zombie attack and they join forces to escape the devastated land.Director Yeon Sang-ho said he wanted to go with a different ending compared with “Train to Busan,” carrying a message of hope and positivity. “In the movie, all the characters have the desire to escape the p

Jul 10, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Peninsula' casts commentary over human desire to outlive
Entertainment

Hanbok sweeps global K-pop fans off their feet

BLACKPINK members pose wearing “modernized” hanbok outfits. Courtesy of YG EntertainmentBLACKPINK's modernized outfits pique interest of overseas fansBy Kwak Yeon-sooWhen BLACKPINK released their highly anticipated music video of “How You Like That” in late June, it was not their music, but their fashion that stole the show. Being stylishly reinterpreted with its traditional traits intact, the Korean costume, hanbok, mesmerized global fans and has encouraged them to discover Korea's traditional beauty that was lesser known than K-pop.BLACKPINK members are globally recognized fashionistas. They have already proven their impeccable fashion taste by becoming faces of luxury fashion houses: Jennie is Chanel's house ambassador, Rose is Saint Laurent's global ambassador, Jisoo is Dior's Beauty ambassador and Lisa is the muse for Celine.In “How You Like That” music video, which earned multiple Guinness World Record titles for being the most viewed video, music video and K-pop video on YouTube in a 24-hour period, BLACKPINK members dance in “modified

Jul 9, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Hanbok sweeps global K-pop fans off their feet
  • The reformation of Korean tradition: the gae-ryang hanbok
  • Korean hanbok: How and when to wear the traditional Korean dress
Shows & Dramas

INTERVIEW Jasper Liu satisfied with his first unscripted travel reality show

Taiwanese actor and musician Jasper Liu / Courtesy of NetflixBy Kwak Yeon-sooJasper Liu, a Taiwanese actor and musician, has taken an unprecedented move to co-star in the unscripted travel reality show “Twogether” alongside Korean singer-actor Lee Seung-gi.His new venture has proven successful, with “Twogether” landing on Netflix's daily top 10 list in major Asian countries and territories, including Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. In the eight-episode series, the two stars travel to six Asian cities ― Yogyakarta and Bali in Indonesia, Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand and Pokhara and Kathmandu in Nepal ― to meet their local fans. To find each fan's home, Liu and Lee have to beat the clock to complete tasks and collect clues.Liu said he chose to join the project because he liked the concept of traveling around Asia and meeting local fans. “When I heard that Seung-gi was cast in Twogether and the Running Man team is producing it, I wanted to join them regardless of cultural and language barriers,” he said during an online interview

Jul 8, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
[INTERVIEW] Jasper Liu satisfied with his first unscripted travel reality show
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