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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

Film highlights discrimination against Chosun schools in Japan

A scene from the film, "Discrimination" / Courtesy of D.O. CinemaBy Kwak Yeon-sooIn 2010, the Japanese government waived high school tuition fees to reduce the burden of household education costs. However, 10 Chosun schools, providers of education for ethnic Koreans in Japan, were excluded from tuition exemptions because of their association with North Korea.The government cited the connection between Chosun schools and Chongryun, a pro-North Korean organization in Japan, as the reason for exclusion. There are roughly 70 Chosun schools in Japan that were founded in the 1940s by ethnic Koreans who came to the country to work in mines and factories. The schools were built and financially supported by the North Korean regime. The documentary film “Discrimination” traces two years of legal battles between Chosun schools in Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima and Kita-Kyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture and the Japanese government ― from Osaka District Court's first trial ruling to approve the eligibility of Osaka Korean High School in July 2017 to the Supreme Court's ruling in favor on the gov

Mar 17, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Film highlights discrimination against Chosun schools in Japan
Shows & Dramas

Kim Hee-ae, Moon So-ri team up for Netflix political drama 'Queenmaker'

A scene from Netflix's series "Queenmaker" / Courtesy of NetflixBy Kwak Yeon-sooAward-winning actresses Kim Hee-ae and Moon So-ri have joined hands for a new Netflix drama “Queenmaker.” The series will be directed by Oh Jin-suk, who previously directed “My First First Love” (2019), with a script written by Moon Ji-young. In the 12-part series, Kim will play the role of Hwang Do-hee, a consultant who is skilled at shaping the image of political candidates. She is determined to make human rights lawyer Oh Seung-sook (Moon) the new mayor of Seoul. “Even those who are not interested in politics can enjoy watching how two actresses play their characters out of their comfort zone,” director Oh said. A poster for Netflix series "Queenmaker" / Courtesy of NetflixWide-ranging stories led by female actors are becoming more common in the TV industry. Dramas such as “The Glory,” “Crash Course in Romance” and “Agency” depicted strong and ambitious female characters and were most talked about dramas of the first quarter of 202

Mar 17, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Kim Hee-ae, Moon So-ri team up for Netflix political drama 'Queenmaker'
Trends

Ortho-prosthetist hopes to make difference in amputees' quality of life

Kim Jung-hyun, ortho-prosthetist and CEO of Silobionic, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, Feb. 17. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-minBy Kwak Yeon-soo, Kim Kang-minAt least 10,000 amputations occur in Korea every year as a result of accidents, infections, or injuries.Kim Jung-hyun has been making prosthetics at Silobionic, a company established 14 years ago that manufactures, designs and customizes prosthetics.His interest was driven by his desire to help people with disabilities and to relieve their discomfort. Korea Times video by Kim Kang-min, Lee Ka-jin“My younger sibling has a disability. Growing up, I have always wanted to do something to help people who had lost a limb, make them feel more able and give them hope. I also love working with my hands so I thought about ways of putting these two things together to help people living with disabilities,” he said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.Kim decided to become an ortho-prosthetist because that seemed like an important job to him. He was also confident about mak

Mar 16, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Ortho-prosthetist hopes to make difference in amputees' quality of life
Trends

Environmental artist to exhibit garden inspired by Mount Jiri at Chelsea Flower Show

Garden designer and environmental artist Hwang Ji-hae / Courtesy of Hwang Ji-haeBy Kwak Yeon-sooAfter an 11-year absence, garden designer and environmental artist Hwang Ji-hae is returning to the Chelsea Flower Show with her entry entitled “Land of Healing: Korean Mountain Light.” In 2011, Hwang won the Best Artisan Award and the Gold Medal at Chelsea Flower Show with “Hae Woo So: Emptying Your Mind: Traditional Korean Toilet.” The following year, she won the President Award and a Gold Medal for exhibiting “Quiet Time: DMZ Forbidden Garden.” Established in 1827, Chelsea Flower Show is one of the world's most prestigious horticultural events, hosted by Britain's Royal Horticultural Society.“Chelsea takes a ridiculous amount of energy. Each time I competed in the show, I fought a lonely battle overcoming the language barrier, tight budget and cultural differences,” she said during a recent interview with The Korea Times. “But at the same time, exhibiting a garden at Chelsea was an opportunity to listen to my inner voice and develop

Mar 16, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Environmental artist to exhibit garden inspired by Mount Jiri at Chelsea Flower Show
Films

Film 'Rebound' to continue basketball boom following 'The First Slam Dunk'

A scene from the film "Rebound" / Courtesy of Barunson E&ABy Kwak Yeon-sooDirector Jang Hang-jun said he wishes to capitalize on the recent interest in basketball with “Rebound,” a film about the endeavors of a high school basketball team as they compete in a series of tournaments with the hope of winning a title. Japanese anime “The First Slam Dunk” has been experiencing immense popularity here, surpassing 4 million tickets sales in cinemas. It became the highest-grossing Japanese anime ever to be released in Korea.“This is the first time I showed support for a Japanese movie. I checked the box office data for 'The First Slam Dunk' every morning. 'Rebound' is coming out with perfect timing. It would be nice to continue the basketball boom, which was triggered by 'The First Slam Dunk,'” Jang said during a press conference for “Rebound” in Seoul, Tuesday. The film, based loosely on the true story of the JungAng High School basketball team in Busan, follows enthusiastic basketball coach Kang Yang-hyun (Ahn Jae-hong) as he tries to ral

Mar 14, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Film 'Rebound' to continue basketball boom following 'The First Slam Dunk'
Entertainment

Europe emerges as fastest growing market for hallyu: report

A robot greets visitors at the Korea stand at the International Tourism Trade Fair in Berlin, which features a giant interactive "Green Light Red Light" video game reminiscent of the popular "Squid Games" TV series, March 8. AFP-YonhapBy Kwak Yeon-sooEurope has emerged as the fastest-growing market for “hallyu” ― or the rising global demand for Korean pop culture ― according to an annual report published by the Korea Foundation (KF).The foundation estimated that there were about 13.2 million hallyu fans in Europe in 2022, a 37 percent jump from 2021. The main markets for Korean pop culture abroad were still in Asia and Oceania, accounting for 73.4 percent of all hallyu fans, the public organization said in its annual report “Global Hallyu 2022” published in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. By countries, there were more than 84.3 registered hallyu fans in China followed by 16.8 million in Thailand and 13.3 million in Vietnam. A total of 118 countries were surveyed by 149 overseas missions.“Hallyu has gained a strong foothold across Asia,

Mar 12, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Europe emerges as fastest growing market for hallyu: report
Shows & Dramas

'The Glory' part 2 debuts at No.3 on Netflix's global chart

A scene from Netflix's series "The Glory" / Courtesy of NetflixBy Kwak Yeon-sooNetflix's revenge thriller series “The Glory” part 2 has landed at No. 3 on its global chart for TV series, just two days after its release.According to data released by streaming analytics company FlixPatrol, the drama ranked third on its daily global chart for TV programs on Netflix.It was the most popular TV show in 26 countries, including Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Bolivia, Mexico, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. It ranked second in 13 countries including France, Bangladesh, Brazil, Kuwait, Pakistan and Turkey. Written by Kim Eun-sook of “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” (2016-2017), “Descendants of the Sun” (2016) and “Mr. Sunshine” (2018), “The Glory” tells the story of a woman named Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo) who suffered severe bullying in high school and seeks revenge against her former bullies 20 years later. An Gil-ho, whose other works include “Stranger” (2017) and “Memories of the Alhambra” (2018), took

Mar 12, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
'The Glory' part 2 debuts at No.3 on Netflix's global chart
Shows & Dramas

Creator of 'Physical 100' reveals footage to refute rigging allegations

A scene from Netflix's survival show "Physical: 100" / Courtesy of NetflixBy Kwak Yeon-sooIn response to weeks of rumors that the final challenge of Netflix's survival show "Physical: 100" was rigged, the show's producers said the claims are “untrue.” The production team held a press conference on Thursday, where raw footage of the final match was revealed.This comes after Jung Hae-min, the runner-up of “Physical: 100” accused the production team of intervening in the final match, resulting in an unfair win for his opponent, Woo Jin-yong.In the final match, cyclist Jung and cross-fitter Woo faced off in a rope-pulling challenge, where they had to pull on a heavy rope from an enormous spool until one of them reached its end.Jung claimed the rope-pulling challenge was repeated three times. According to him, the first interruption came after Woo raised his hand to stop the game. Minutes after the game resumed, however, the production team paused the game again.Producer Jang Ho-gi of “Physical: 100” refuted Jang's claims, saying that Woo never raised h

Mar 9, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Creator of 'Physical 100' reveals footage to refute rigging allegations
Films

'Cultural commonalities between Japan, Korea led to anime boom in Korea'

Japanese director Makoto Shinkai, left, and actress Nanoka Hara, pose during a press conference for the animated film, “Suzume,” at Megabox Seongsu theater in Seoul, Wednesday.By Kwak Yeon-sooMakoto Shinkai, the filmmaker behind fantasy-adventure anime films such as “Your Name” (2016) and “Weathering with You” (2019), said Japan and Korea share cultural commonalities and that is why Japanese animated films are huge in Korea.“Japan and Korea have similar landscapes and culture, and I think these factors contributed to my film's success here. I think a cityscape reflects the needs and desires of its citizens. In that sense, Seoul reminds me of Tokyo. Although Japan-Korea political relations have had their ups and downs, I hope the two countries keep moving toward deepening cultural ties,” he told Korean reporters during a press conference for his new film, “Suzume,” in Seoul, Wednesday. “Suzume” tells the story of a 17-year-old high school girl named Suzume who helps a mysterious young man named Souta to prevent a

Mar 8, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Cultural commonalities between Japan, Korea led to anime boom in Korea'
Films

Son Suk-ku, Kim Sung-cheol confirmed to star in 'The Comments Army'

Actors Son Suk-ku, left, and Kim Sung-cheol / Courtesy of Acemaker MovieworksBy Kwak Yeon-sooActors Son Suk-ku and Kim Sung-cheol have been confirmed to star in “The Comments Army” (working title), a film based on a popular novel of the same name by Chang Kang-myoung.The crime drama film is loosely based on the National Intelligence Service's reputed involvement in the 2012 presidential election by publishing thousands of pro-Park Geun-hye posts and comments online. The election saw Park defeat Moon Jae-in.In the film, Son will play the role of a journalist named Sang-jin, an investigative journalist who was suspended after exposing wrongdoings by a conglomerate. With the aim of returning to the newsroom, he investigates the “army of internet trolls” accused of meddling in the election.Son's career took off when he played the enigmatic Mr. Gu with a troubled past in the JTBC series, “My Liberation Notes,” in 2022. He played a vicious killer in crime action film, “The Roundup,” which became one of the 2022's top-grossing films in Korea.

Mar 7, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Son Suk-ku, Kim Sung-cheol confirmed to star in 'The Comments Army'
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