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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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Entertainment

Cannes-winning director Park Chan-wook brings cinematic style to ad

Director Park Chan-wook / Courtesy of Kukje GalleryBy Kwak Yeon-sooCannes-winning filmmaker Park Chan-wook has directed a commercial for Hey Dealer, a mobile app for used-car buyers, starring actress Han So-hee. This non-feature film work, bearing his signature directing style, has gone viral garnering close to 230,000 views on the company's YouTube channel just two days after its release.“[It is] quite impressive. It is like a very short but engaging film, which makes me watch it again and again,” a fan commented.The cinematic short film is characterized by Park's signature cinematography and is packed with beautiful scenery. It pays homage to his critically acclaimed films, including “Oldboy” (2003) “Sympathy For Lady Vengeance” (2005), “Thirst” (2009) and “Decision to Leave.”“I became interested in the project after I heard the company would like to make a commercial inspired by my films,” he said in a video released by Hey Dealer. Han, best known for her role in Netflix's “My Name” (2021), said wo

May 12, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Cannes-winning director Park Chan-wook brings cinematic style to ad
Entertainment

INTERVIEW Dooly returns to theaters to celebrate 40th anniversary

Cartoonist Kim Soo-jung, creator of Dooly / Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-hanBy Kwak Yeon-sooThis year marks the 40th anniversary of Dooly, one of Korea's most beloved cartoon characters. Kim Soo-jung, its creator, began publishing his cartoon “Dooly, the Little Dinosaur” in the monthly magazine Bomulseom in its April 1983 edition.It was later adapted for the animation series “Dooly, the Little Dinosaur,” which aired on KBS in 1987. In 1996, the film “Little Dinosaur Dooly: The Adventure of Ice Planet” landed in cinemas and became the fourth-highest-grossing film of that year. It was exported at the highest cost for a Korean film to a number of countries, including Germany. The animation series was revived in 2008 under a new creative team and it was aired on SBS under the title, “The Little Dino Dooly.”The 1996 animated film will be remastered in 4K and released in theaters on May 24. Just like the animation series, the film begins with Dooly, who had been locked inside of a glacier for 100 million years, floating down to a stream in no

May 11, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
[INTERVIEW] Dooly returns to theaters to celebrate 40th anniversary
Films

Husband-and-wife directors bring attention to overlooked women's stories in China

Filmmaker Ryuji Otsuka / Courtesy of JIFFBy Kwak Yeon-sooHusband-and-wife directors Ryuji Otsuka and Huang Ji are renowned for making films about often-overlooked women's stories that generate empathy. “Stonewalling” is the finale of a trilogy that centers on young women's sexual and reproductive rights in contemporary China. The two previous films were “Egg and Stone” (2012), about a 14-year-old girl who experiences family sexual abuse, and “The Foolish Bird” (2017), about a 16-year-old girl experiencing pregnancy resulting from rape.Their latest film follows Lynn (Honggui Yao), a college student aspiring to become a flight attendant. Her plans are plunged into doubt when she discovers she is pregnant. Not wanting an abortion, Lynn decides to carry the baby to term and give it away to another family to settle her mother's debts. Japanese director Otsuka, who recently visited Korea to screen “Stonewalling” at the 24th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), said he decided to make the film around 2016 when China ended its one-child p

May 10, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Husband-and-wife directors bring attention to overlooked women's stories in China
Trends

Cultural Heritage Administration unveils next plans after introducing free entry at temples

Choi Eung-chon, head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, speaks during a press conference held at the Westin Josun hotel in Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapBy Kwak Yeon-sooThe Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) said it will closely monitor visitor counts after the government introduced free entry to 65 Buddhist temples nationwide.Having an entry charge for Buddhist temples has been a contentious issue for over six decades, as even hikers who had to simply pass through the temples to enter mountain areas had to pay fees, ranging from 1,000 won ($0.70) to 5,000 won per person. The government recently revised the Cultural Heritage Protection Act to provide financial support in order to allow free admission to temples affiliated with the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. The revised act requires the government to fund free entry at Buddhist temples receiving its support. A total of 42.1 billion won was allocated this year, according to the CHA.“We haven't received any additional requests from the Jogye Order to increase the government funding to make up for the admission fees. We thin

May 10, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Cultural Heritage Administration unveils next plans after introducing free entry at temples
Books

Five Korean writers to participate in 2023 Brisbane Writers Festival

A poster for the 2023 Brisbane Writers Festival / Courtesy of LTI KoreaBy Kwak Yeon-sooFive Korean writers, whose works gained more recognition through English translation, will participate in the 2023 Brisbane Writers Festival, which runs from May 10-14.Founded in 1962, the Brisbane Writers Festival is the oldest continuous writers' festival in Australia and, as a large-scale literary festival, has more than 160 side events. The Literature Translation Institute (LTI) of Korea said Chung Bora, the author of “Cursed Bunny,” which was shortlisted for last year's International Booker Prize, and Choi Eun-young, whose English edition of short story collection “Shoko's Smile” was published by Penguin, will discuss the art of short fiction in the “Why is Short Fiction Important? (South Korean Focus)” session. Bae Suah, the author of “Nowhere to be Found,” which was longlisted for a PEN Translation Prize in 2016, and Krys Lee, a Korean-American writer and translator, will take part in a “Border Crossing” session to talk about how tr

May 8, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Five Korean writers to participate in 2023 Brisbane Writers Festival
Films

INTERVIEW Turkish filmmaker discusses exploring spaces and memories in 'Forms of Forgetting'

Turkish filmmaker Burak Cevik / Courtesy of JIFFBy Kwak Yeon-sooTurkish filmmaker Burak Cevik, who unveiled his two feature films, “Forms of Forgetting” and “A Woman Escapes,” at this year's Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), is known for making experimental films that are simultaneously abstract, nostalgic and mysterious. As a Berlinale regular, his works often blur the boundaries between reality and fiction.The 30-year-old director elaborated on the idea through “Forms of Forgetting,” which follows a couple who talk about how they broke up and neither of them remembers things quite the same. Starring real-life couple Nesrin and Erdem who happen to be actors, the two mostly talk over the conversation in voice-over format. “At first, I just shot some images (such as the frozen lake, the shipyard, the botanical garden and the construction site). While making this film, I realized spaces have their own memories. We die, but our traces will remain,” he said during a recent interview with The Korea Times. Cevik then discussed how th

May 7, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
[INTERVIEW] Turkish filmmaker discusses exploring spaces and memories in 'Forms of Forgetting'
Shows & Dramas

Shin Hae-sun, Ahn Bo-hyun to lead fantasy romance series 'See You in My 19th Life'

Actors Shin Hae-sun, left, and Ahn Bo-hyun / Courtesy of YNK Entertainment, FN EntertainmentBy Kwak Yeon-sooActors Shin Hae-sun and Ahn Bo-hyun will co-star in tvN's upcoming fantasy romance series, “See You in My 19th Life,” which will premiere in June.Based on the webtoon of the same name by Lee Hey, the series revolves around a woman named Ban Ji-eum (Shin) who has a supernatural ability of remembering all of her past lives. After her previous life is cut short by a tragic accident, she sets out to reconnect with the people of her past life in her current one. Ahn will play the character of Moon Seo-ha, the heir of a super-rich family who suffers from trauma after a car accident.A teaser poster for tvN series "See You in My 19th Life" / Courtesy of tvNThe series will be directed by Lee Na-jeong, who is behind hit TV series “Fight for My Way” (2017), “Love Alarm” (2019) and “Mine” (2021).“Our first goal was to keep everything from the original webtoon, but slightly add new layers to the story,” she said. “I tried to

May 4, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Shin Hae-sun, Ahn Bo-hyun to lead fantasy romance series 'See You in My 19th Life'
Films

Documentary looks into Moon Jae-in's life after presidency

A scene from the documentary film "This is the President" / Courtesy of M ProjectBy Kwak Yeon-soo“This is the President” is a documentary film that follows former President Moon Jae-in's life in Pyeongsan Village in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, after leaving office. He served as the 12th president of Korea between 2017 and 2022.Director Lee Chang-jae sits down with Moon and his aides for extended interviews, but much of the documentary centers around their admiration for the former president who is depicted as patient, calm and a good listener. No part of the interview with Moon touches on political controversies or issues related to his nuclear phase-out policy, corruption allegations and prosecution reform. Rather, it mainly follows the retired politician as he leads a quiet life gardening in his front yard and playing with his beloved cat and dogs.Director Lee Chang-jae poses on the red carpet of the 24th Jeonju International Film Festival held at the Sori Arts Center in Jeonju, April 27. YonhapLee, who made the 2017 film “Our President” about late P

May 3, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Documentary looks into Moon Jae-in's life after presidency
Films

'Super Mario Bros Movie' tops box office on opening weekend

A scene from the film "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" / Courtesy of Universal PicturesBy Kwak Yeon-soo“The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” a film adaptation of the popular Nintendo video game character, topped the box office during its opening weekend.“The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which was released in theaters on April 26, attracted 800,936 moviegoers over the long weekend from Friday to Monday (Labor Day), according to data from the Korean Film Council. The cumulative number of moviegoers for the film was 955,438 as of Monday. It is highly likely to surpass 1 million admissions on Tuesday.Second place in the box office over the weekend went to director Lee Byeong-heon's new film “Dream,” which garnered 488,613 moviegoers. Starring Park Seo-joon and IU, the film is about a group of homeless people forming a football team to participate in the Homeless World Cup. Third place went to “John Wick: Chapter 4,” which sold 285,703 tickets over the weekend for a total of 1.66 million. Long-running Japanese anime “Suzume” took fourth place over t

May 2, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Super Mario Bros Movie' tops box office on opening weekend
Films

Actor-artist Bek Hyun-jin selects 7 films for Jeonju film fest

Artist and actor Bek Hyun-jin / Courtesy of JIFFBy Kwak Yeon-sooJEONJU ― Versatile artist Bek Hyun-jin, best known for playing the villain in the 2021 hit SBS drama “Taxi Driver,” selected seven films as the programmer of Jeonju International Festival's (JIFF) special section “J Special: Programmer of the Year.” Bek is an all-around artist who held his first solo exhibition in 1996. As the vocalist of Uhuhboo Project, he is also part of the first generation of indie musicians in Korea, having worked on film soundtracks for auteurs Park Chan-wook and Hong Sang-soo.As an actor, he has starred in a number of Korean films and dramas, including “Yourself and Yours” (2016), “Broker” (2022), “Tomorrow, With You” (2017) and “The Devil Judge (2021).”“I wear many hats, but I finally accepted myself as an actor two or three years ago. After starring in the 2020 film 'Samjin Company English Class,' I started getting offers from drama productions. Before then, I mostly did indie movies,” Bek said during a press co

Apr 28, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Actor-artist Bek Hyun-jin selects 7 films for Jeonju film fest
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