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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

In 'Jexi,' foul-mouthed virtual assistant becomes life coach

Adam Devine in film “Jexi” / Courtesy of Wannabe FUNBy Kwak Yeon-soo“Jexi” is a light satirical comedy that features a virtual assistant controlling a user's phone and, furthermore, life. Imagine Siri or Alexa, but rude and controlling.The plot centers on isolated, phone-addicted Phil, played by Adam Devine, who works at Chatterbox, a Buzzfeed-like company in San Francisco. Though he dreams of handling “real news,” he cranks out mindless “listicles” all day long. On the day he encounters a bike shop owner Cate, played by Alexandra Shipp, Phil breaks his phone following an accidental collision with a cyclist, and replaces it with an off-brand model with a virtual assistant named Jexi, voiced by Rose Byrne. The assistant, which is programmed “to make Phil's life better,” takes over his world. It controls his e-mail accounts, bank accounts and social media accounts, and pushes him to make better choices ― coaches him to ask out a date and make friends at work. However, “Jexi,” which is capable of showing human emoti

Feb 17, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
In 'Jexi,' foul-mouthed virtual assistant becomes life coach
Films

Shin Hye-sun plays first lead role in 'Innocence'

Shin Hye-sun in film “Innocence” / Courtesy of KIDARI ENTBy Kwak Yeon-sooActress Shin Hye-sun, who has dazzled audiences with her performances in both film and TV shows, is all set to take her first leading role on the silver screen.In the upcoming film “Innocence,” Shin will be playing lawyer Jeong-in working to prove her mother Hwa-ja's innocence in a murder case.Hwa-ja (played by Bae Jong-ok), a woman suffering from dementia, is accused of mixing agricultural pesticide in makgeolli (rice wine) at her husband's funeral, which led to one death and three severe injuries. The motif of the film was born of a real-life story.On taking the lead role, Shin said she has worked hard to live up to growing expectations of her.“As I play bigger roles in drama series or films, the responsibility grows larger. I spend more time thinking about my acting and try not to compromise on the quality of my work,” Shin said during a press conference held at CGV Apgujeong, Seoul, Thursday.The actress shared that she chose to appear in the film partly because her father

Feb 11, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Shin Hye-sun plays first lead role in 'Innocence'
Films

Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' sweeps Oscars, wins 4 awards

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho accepts the award for Best International Feature Film for “Parasite” during the 92nd Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, Feb. 9 (local time). AFP-YonhapBy Kwak Yeon-sooThe South Korean film “Parasite” stunned the entertainment world Sunday, winning big at the 92nd Academy Awards in Los Angeles. Director Bong Joon-ho's first ever Oscar-nominated film won four awards ― best picture, best original screenplay, best international feature film and best director ― becoming the first Korean film to ever receive an Oscar. “Parasite” is the first non-English language movie to win the top prize in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards.It was also nominated in the best editing and best production design categories, but failed to win. The 50-year-old director, who had once described the Oscars as “very local,” delightfully accepted the trophies.“Writing a script is always such a lonely process. We never write to represent our countries, but this is the very first Oscar for South Korea,&r

Feb 10, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' sweeps Oscars, wins 4 awards
  • 'Parasite' makes history at Oscars
Films

'Parasite' intellectually captivating

Bong Joon-ho, center, and the cast of “Parasite” arrive for the 92nd annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, Sunday (local time). UPI-YonhapBy Kwak Yeon-sooThe Oscar-winning South Korean satirical thriller “Parasite” is the latest example of the success of Korean films in Hollywood. “Parasite” is not the first non-English language film to receive an award at the Oscars ― “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” won best foreign language film, best art direction, best original score and best cinematography in 2001. But it is the first Korean-made film to receive the recognition of The Academy.Director Bong Joon-ho's style of storytelling is considered wildly innovative, unpredictable and extremely entertaining. “Parasite” will lead to a further explosion of interest in Korean cinema that will become clear in years to come, critics said. Relatable, yet excitingly new“The film's theme of income inequality hits a chord in the U.S. as elsewhere around the world, but it's difficult to make

Feb 10, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Parasite' intellectually captivating
  • Hollywood barriers fall in milestone Oscars for 'Parasite'
Films

'Untold' documentary dredges up painful memories of Vietnam War

Director Lee-Kil Bora, right, stares at the graves in the military cemetery in Hoi An, Vietnam, in this March 8, 2016 photo. / Courtesy of Cinema DalBy Kwak Yeon-sooNguyen Thi Thanh, 60, still vividly remembers the day she lost her mother and two siblings in the 1968 Phong Nhi massacre.Her mother, who was raising four children alone after husband's death, was out in the field picking vegetables when Korean soldiers broke into their house and started firing guns.Nguyen's sister was shot when running through a back door. Her little brother was shot in the mouth. The two died following heavy blood loss.Nguyen was shot in her thigh when crawling into the kitchen, and her big brother in his buttock. The two luckily survived.When soldiers set fire to their house to cover up their crime, Nguyen hurriedly escaped, gasping for fresh air. Only eight years old at the time, she left her dying siblings behind and went searching for her mother. Neighbors assured her that mother was still alive, but that was a lie. Korean soldiers had pushed her mother onto a pile of bodies in the field and shot he

Feb 6, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Untold' documentary dredges up painful memories of Vietnam War
  • Filmmaker zooms in on migrant workers, wartime sex slaves
Films

Filmmaker zooms in on migrant workers, wartime sex slaves

Director Shekh Al Mamun speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Asia Media & Culture Factory in Seoul, Jan. 20. / Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seokBy Kwak Yeon-sooShekh Al Mamun, a Bangladeshi documentary filmmaker, initially came to Korea in 1998 as a migrant worker. Al Mamun remembers that his decision to come to Korea was made with no particular purpose. His cousin, who had already settled here in 1995, advised him to follow his lead, an offer he accepted. “Once I quit college, I just wanted to earn money. In the 1990s, relatively rich Bangladeshis migrated to Japan or Europe. The not-so-wealthy people like me moved to other regions of Asia or to the Middle East,” he said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.Although he barely knew the country and its culture, he quickly found a job at a furniture factory and adapted to Korean society. Since the early 1990s, Korea has recruited an increasing number of migrant workers through an industrial trainee program and the workers have toiled away in factories, on construction sites and on farms ― do

Feb 6, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Filmmaker zooms in on migrant workers, wartime sex slaves
  • 'Untold' documentary dredges up painful memories of Vietnam War
Shows & Dramas

Netflix series 'My Holo Love' features human-AI romance

By Kwak Yeon-sooFrom left, screenwriter Ryu Yong-jae, actors Yoon Hyun-min, Ko Sung-hee and director Lee Sang-yeob pose for a photo during a press conference for the new Netflix series “My Holo Love” in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Netflix Korea“My Holo Love” is a sci-fi romantic drama telling a story of a socially awkward woman falling in love with an artificial intelligence (AI) hologram. In the upcoming Netflix original series, So-yeon, played by Ko Sung-hee, is a public relations officer at an eyewear company. Her company develops holographic eyeglasses, through which a person can see and communicate with a good-looking, kind-hearted hologram named Holo, played by Yoon Hyun-min. She becomes a beta tester for Holo, and her AI companion seems just as real to her as anyone else in the world. Meanwhile Nan-do, the developer of Holo, watches their relationship closely. He has the same physical appearance as the AI hologram, but has a completely different personality. On playing the dual roles as Holo and Nan-do, actor Yoon said it was a challenging but worthwh

Feb 4, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Netflix series 'My Holo Love' features human-AI romance
Books

Yun I-hyeong leads writers protesting against 'unfair' contracts

Writer Yun I-hyeong / Korea Times fileBy Kwak Yeon-sooKorean writers, including Yun I-hyeong and Choi Eun-young, are demanding an apology from Munhaksasang, the organizer of the prestigious Yi Sang Literary Award, for imposing unfair terms in its publication contracts.Yun, the recipient of last year's award for her novel “Their First and Second Cat,” abruptly announced the end of her writing career, Friday, alleging that it was an inevitable choice to protest against deceptive copyright practices in the literary world.“I believe the only way to protest would be to end my writing career. I've grown so tired of the unfair practices in the literary world that I no longer want to continue writing,” she said in a statement. “I'd like to return my Yi Sang Literary Award because I belatedly realized the injustice behind it.” Yun's decision mirrors that of three winners of the 44th Yi Sang Literary Award ― Kim Keum-hee, Choi Eun-young and Lee Ki-ho ― who boycotted the awards due to unfair contract terms, which stipulate that authors transfer their winning

Feb 2, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Yun I-hyeong leads writers protesting against 'unfair' contracts
Films

'Birds of Prey' is ultimate 'girl gang' film, says Margot Robbie

Director Cathy Yan, right in front row, talks about the new film “Birds of Prey” at a live video conference held at Yongsan CGV in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Warner Bros. KoreaBy Kwak Yeon-soo“Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn,” which is told entirely from Harley's point of view, is an ensemble film where each of the characters has many shining moments, according to director Cathy Yan.In a video conference held at Yongsan CGV in Seoul, Tuesday, the director and cast discussed adapting characters from DC Extended Universe comics and the theme of sisterhood.“A big takeaway from the film is that it shows raw, imperfect characters becoming empowered in the end. All characters go on their own, similar journey and later join forces to defend a young girl from a villain,” Yan said. Talking about the film, Yan said that it pays homage to the entire history of the comic book, but has original elements too.“What's lovely is that although the film is inspired by the entire history of the character in the DC comic, a

Jan 29, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Birds of Prey' is ultimate 'girl gang' film, says Margot Robbie
Films

Movie theaters suffer amid coronavirus outbreak

Lee Byung-hun, right, and Lee Hee-jun in a scene from “The Man Standing Next” / Courtesy of ShowboxCinemas announce preventative measures to avoid coronavirusBy Kwak Yeon-sooMovie theaters suffered during the Lunar New Year holiday as ticket sales dropped year-on-year amid a nationwide fear of the Wuhan coronavirus.The Lunar New Year holiday is traditionally one of the high seasons for cinemas here. Last year, the local box office totaled 72.1 billion won ($61 million) during the five-day holiday, attracting more than 8 million moviegoers from Feb. 2 to 6.But this year, with the shorter holiday period and the outbreak of the deadly virus, the box office grossed only about 44.4 billion won ($37.7 million), according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). Multiplexes attracted only about 4.9 million moviegoers from Jan. 24 to 27. “The coronavirus outbreak may have brought about the decline in ticket reservations and sales during the Lunar New Year holiday,” a KOFIC official said. “However, a bigger reason for the lower attendance compared with last year is th

Jan 28, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Movie theaters suffer amid coronavirus outbreak
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