INTERVIEW Gang Dong-won focuses on portraying feelings of orphan in 'Broker' Actor Gang Dong-won plays a lead role in director Hirokazu Kore-eda's new drama film, “Broker,” which was released Wednesday. Courtesy of YG EntertainmentActor participates in film from script-developing stage By Lee Gyu-leeActor Gang Dong-won has been building a wide repertoire across genres, taking on various roles: from a sneaky con artist in the crime film, “A Violent Prosecutor” (2015), to a heroic soldier in the apocalyptic blockbuster film, “Peninsula” (2020). In Palme d'Or-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda's latest film, “Broker,” the actor portrays baby broker Dong-soo who grew up in an orphanage without knowing his parents. Teaming up with debt-ridden dry cleaner owner Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho), he steals babies from a baby box, a place where people can anonymously abandon their newborns, with the “well-intentioned justification” of taking a shortcut to find them a new home while making money himself.“As I've mostly done (dynamic) genre films until now, it felt much more comfortable to portray an everyday chaJun 8, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
'The Roundup' expected to become 1st movie since pandemic to hit 10-million mark A poster for the movie “The Roundup” is seen at a cinema in Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Dong Sun-hwaThe crime action movie, “The Roundup,” has attracted 9 million theatergoers as of Monday, showing a sign of revival for the pandemic-hit film industry. According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the 106-minute flick accumulated an audience of 9.03 million on Monday morning, 20 days after its premiere. “The Roundup” is projected to reach the milestone of 10 million cinemagoers within a few days, becoming the first movie to achieve the feat since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. The last Korean film that drew more than 10 million people was the 2019 Oscar-winning black comedy, “Parasite,” starring Song Kang-ho. “We did not think our movie would receive this much love and support after the pandemic,” the cast members said in a statement. “We are truly thankful and hope our film can help more people relieve their stress this summer.”“The Roundup” is the sequel to the 2017 hit, “The Jun 7, 2022By Dong Sun-hwa
Seoul International Eco Film festival kicks off A scene from “Animal,” the opening film of the 2022 Seoul International Eco Film Festival / Courtesy of Seoul International Eco Film Festival By Ko Dong-hwan Zae-in, a member of virtual K-pop girl group Eternity and one of the Eco Friends promoting this year's Seoul International Eco Film Festival / Courtesy of Seoul International Eco Film Festival The Seoul International Eco Film Festival kicked off on June 2, screening films that inspire viewers about environmental issues and increase awareness of how the climate crisis has pushed people closer to the brink of ecological destruction.The 19th annual event's opening ceremony was held at Seoul Forest in Seongdong District. However, no seating was arranged for audiences in order to minimize its carbon footprint, according to the festival's organizer. Instead, the ceremony was streamed live on the festiJun 4, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
Tom Cruise to visit Korea this month to promote new film U.S. actor Tom Cruise arrives at the premiere of 'Top Gun: Maverick' in London, May 19. Reuters-YonhapAmerican actor Tom Cruise will visit Korea this month to promote his new film "Top Gun: Maverick," its local distributor said Friday.The top star will make the visit June 18 together with Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer who collaborated with him to co-produce the film, Lotte Entertainment said.In Seoul, Cruise will also engage in various other promotional activities for the film ahead of its Korean release set for June 22, according to the company.This will be his 10th visit to Korea since the first in 1994 to promote "Interview with the Vampire."Directed by Tony Scott and starring Cruise, Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer, "Top Gun: Maverick" is the sequel to the 1986 classic "Top Gun."Cruise will also be accompanied by two other co-stars of the new film, Jay Ellis and Greg Tarzan Davis. (Yonhap)Jun 3, 2022
Park Chan-wook says 'Decision to Leave' differs from his previous films From left, actor Tang Wei, director Park Chan-wook and actor Park Hae-ill pose during a press conference of the romance thriller film “Decision to Leave,” held at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul in central Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of CJ ENMDirector Park's Cannes-winning film follows romance between detective and murder suspect By Lee Gyu-leeDirector Park Chan-wook, who notched the Best Director award at this year's Cannes Film Festival with the romance thriller film “Decision to Leave,” said that his new movie is made in a tone and style that are different from his previous works. The award-winning auteur, who had already had two wins at the Cannes with Grand Prix winner “Old Boy” (2004) and Jury Prize winner “Thirst” (2009), is set to debut his latest movie for the first time in six years since the psychological thriller "The Handmaiden" (2016).The subtle suspense romance follows a gentle, tidy detective named Hae-joon (Park Hae-ill) who leads an investigation into a murder case, and Chinese immigrant woman Seo-rae (Tang Wei), whoJun 2, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
INTERVIEW Rom-com queen Seo Hyun-jin talks about family relationship in her new film Actress Seo Hyun-jin / Courtesy of Triple PicturesActress takes silver screen with 'Cassiopeia,' small screen with 'Why Her' By Kwak Yeon-sooBreaking viewers' hearts and making them cry with laughter as the queen of romantic comedies in tvN's “Another Miss Oh” (2016) and JTBC's “Beauty Inside” (2018), actress Seo Hyun-jin has lit up every small screen she has appeared on.However, appearing on the big screen was a whole new challenge for her.“This is my first lead role in a motion picture, so I'm anxious to see how the audience would react,” she said during a recent interview with The Korea Times held via Zoom.The 37-year-old said she received the script for “Cassiopeia” about two years ago and saw it as an opportunity to come out of her comfort zone and do something incredibly different, vulnerable and raw. In the harrowing family drama, Seo plays a 30-something lawyer named Soo-jin who succumbs to Alzheimer's disease. After sending off her daughter to her ex-husband in the U.S., Soo-jin is left alone with her emotionally distant fatherJun 2, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Jurassic World Dominion' sets new opening day score during pandemic From left in the background are actors Jeff Goldblum, DeWanda Wise and Bryce Dallas Howard, director Colin Trevorrow, and actor Mamoudou Athie in front of a T-Rex model, during a photocall for the new film “Jurassic World Dominion” in Cologne, Germany, May 29. AP-YonhapThe sci-fi action adventure film "Jurassic World Dominion" has set the best opening-day record in Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic, box office data showed Thursday.The latest installment of the "Jurassic Park" franchise garnered 763,000 viewers upon its debut Wednesday, accounting for 52.9 percent of the tickets sold on the day, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).It marked the largest first-day score for any release since the coronavirus broke out in early 2020, beating the previous record of 715,000 set by Marvel Studios' "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," May 4.The Korean action comedy "The Roundup" came in second with 463,000 moviegoers, continuing its bullish run to bring its combined total to 7.48 million.Thanks to the stellar performance by the two blockbusters, a total of 1.46Jun 2, 2022
Movie theater attendance nears pre-pandemic level in May: data Movie posters are seen at a theater in Seoul, May 29. Yonhap Korean film attendance numbers nearly shot back up to the pre-pandemic level in May, data showed Wednesday, with a couple of big hits leading the charge.According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), movies screened in the country amassed a combined 14.55 million admissions in May, the highest monthly figure since 16.84 million in January 2020 ― the last full month before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.The May figure was also a massive jump from just 3.21 million admissions in April.During the pandemic, monthly attendance numbers reached rock bottom with 970,000 admissions in April 2020 and have been hovering around a couple of millions in the ensuing months."Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," the latest Marvel blockbuster, and "The Roundup," a Korean action comedy film, have been doing the heavy lifting since their premieres in May.The sequel to "Doctor Strange" had drawn over 5.8 million admissions Jun 1, 2022
Song Kang-ho was 'starting point' of 'Broker': director Kore-eda Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, center, and the cast of “Broker” pose during a press conference for the film in Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapKorean film by Japanese director talks about universal valuesBy Kwak Yeon-sooJapanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda shared that actor Song Kang-ho, who won Korea's first Best Actor award at this year's Cannes Film Festival, was the “starting point” of his first fully Korean film, “Broker.”The film centers on a group of crooks who form an unconventional family through a “baby box” where people abandon their unwanted infants anonymously.“I decided the starting point of the film should be Song gently holding and talking to the baby, but heartlessly selling him for money. An image of Song portraying the blurred line between good and evil struck me as I was preparing for the film,” he said during a press conference for the movie in Seoul, Tuesday.Kore-eda, who wrote and directed the film, explained what prompted him to tell a story about Korea's baby adoption system instead of shining light on sociMay 31, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Policy shift needed in film industry for more culturally diverse movies By Shim Jae-myungShim Jae-myung, CEO of Myung Films / Korea Times fileIn the late 1990s, Korea saw the “Renaissance” of its film industry, which was the combined result of the government's full attention and support under the slogan of “support without interference,” the production of innovative and quality movies backed by big conglomerates' advancement in the industry, and the emergence of highly competent directors, producers and actors. Multiplex chains drove the expansion of the film market, and Korean movies' stature was boosted at home and abroad following numerous awards won overseas.About two decades later in 2019, the industry saw more than 200 million moviegoers a year, the largest annual number ever, and five movies attracted more than 10 million viewers, each ― making Korea the world's fifth-largest film market and a film powerhouse where one member of the public watches 4.37 movies a year on average, the highest number in the world. “Parasite” winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the four wins at the Academy Awards mMay 31, 2022
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