Film production companies adapt to pandemic by flocking to TV series A scene from Netflix series “Suriname” / Courtesy of Netflix By Kwak Yeon-sooA growing number of film production companies are expanding their specialties from just making films to creating drama series as a way to adapt to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years.The aggregated revenues of the local film markets, which include domestic sales of movie tickets as well as online releases and exports, reached 1.02 trillion won ($822 million) last year, down 60 percent from the 2.5 trillion won during the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to data from the Korean Film Council. Aside from very big releases like “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” most films underperformed at the box office. As the film industry reeled from the impact of the pandemic, filmmakers crossed over to the small screen as a way of adjusting to changes in the market and in the ways audiences consume content.Local film production company Siren Pictures paved the way for success Mar 14, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Filmmaker zooms in on Korea's 'spycam' epidemic, woeful state of women's rights Filmmaker Do You-jin / Courtesy of Do You-jin'Mass protests by women, feminist discourse are changing society slowly'By Kwak Yeon-sooDirector Do You-jin's short film “Open Shutters” zooms in on the country's “spycam” epidemic that prompted mass street protests in 2018 and a larger conversation on the woeful state of women's rights in Korea.The 35-minute documentary follows the story of Choi Ji-eun, a journalist covering women's protests against “spycam” crimes (hidden cameras often placed in private spaces), as she finds out that she was being filmed through her 22nd-story apartment window by a voyeur on the rooftop of a nearby building.From the moment a police officer notifies her about the illegal filming to the resulting court case, Choi endures pain and suffering alone. Do said she was in Thailand on summer vacation when her then workplace colleague, Choi, called her from Korea. “I remember the exact date. It was July 25 of 2018. Choi sounded super anxious and she told me what happened. It was awful to see her in pain after learning aboutMar 10, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
French director mixes Korean, European cultures in film 'Vanishing' From left, actors Yoo Yeon-seok, Park Soi, Ye Ji-won and Choi Moo-sung, as well as director Denis Dercourt on the screen, speak during an online press conference in Seoul for the suspense film, "Vanishing," Tuesday. Courtesy of JNC Media Group By Lee Gyu-leeFrench filmmaker Denis Dercourt has said that his upcoming mystery thriller film, “Vanishing,” a French-made film set in Korea, will blend European and Korean cultures. “It's such an honor for a French director to do a Korean movie. I wanted to have the mix of two cultures: European culture (through the making of the film) in Korea,” the director said during an online press conference for the film, Tuesday. The suspense flick brings together French actress Olga Kurylenko, who is known for playing a Bond girl in “Quantum of Solace” (2008), and Korean actors Yoo Yeon-seok of tvN's romance series, “Mr. Sunshine,” and Ye Ji-won.It revolves around forensic scientist Alice (Kurylenko) who visits Korea for a conference.Mar 9, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
'The Batman' scores biggest opening of the year to date in Korea British Actor Robert Pattinson poses during the world premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures, 'The Batman' at Lincoln Center in New York March 1. EPA-Yonhap "The Batman" has set the best opening-day record for this year to date at the Korean box office with more than 190,000 people, data showed Wednesday.The Hollywood action blockbuster sold 192,000 tickets, which is 74 percent of all tickets sold at movie theaters nationwide, Tuesday, and topped the box office the following day, according to the data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).Two blockbuster films released earlier this year ― "The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure," a homegrown fantasy actioner, and "Uncharted" starring Tom Holland ― garnered 92,000 and 70,000 people, respectively, on their opening days in January and February.In December last year, Marvel's superhero movie "Spider-Man: No Way Home" attracted 630,000 moviegoers on the first day, the best opening-day record for a film since the COVID-19 pandemMar 2, 2022
Foreign films likely to dominate local box office in 2022 Actor Robert Pattinson in a scene from “The Batman” / Courtesy of Warner Bros. KoreaBy Kwak Yeon-sooKorean films' share of the box office has plunged to its lowest in 11 years. The future looks bleak as distributors are still holding back new releases. Instead, foreign films are likely to take the lead in the faltering market.According to a recent survey by the Korean Film Council, the market share of Korean films at the box office fell to 30.1 percent in 2021. This broke the 10-year streak of local films' dominating box office receipts. By contrast, U.S. films gained a 61 percent market share in admissions thanks to “Spider-Man: No Way Home” which grossed over $58.4 million as of January. In terms of box office sales, domestic films held a market share of 29.7 percent while foreign films accounted for 70.3 percent. The ticket sales figure was down 73 percent compared to 2019, the busiest year on record for the box office in Korea. However, the future doesn't seem promising as the release dates for some 70 Korean films, including big-name blockbusters like actMar 1, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Film industry faces 'existential threat' Film industry workers gather in front of the National Assembly, Dec. 21, 2021, to call for government support to revive the industry. Korea Times fileBy Kwak Yeon-sooSome 500 film industry workers jointly released an official statement on Wednesday, asking the government to set up fundamental measures to revive the industry. “The decline in box office sales due to COVID-19 has posed an existential threat to the film industry. Small- to medium-sized creators, producers and distributors are having the worst time ever. We cannot overcome the current crisis merely with measures such as encouraging the release of big-budget films or distributing discount coupons,” the statement read. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the aggregate number of moviegoers in Korea set a new annual record in 2019, surpassing 220 million, and five films screened here attracted more than 10 million moviegoers each. Korea has become the fifth-leading film market by gross box revenue, and “Parasite” became the first foreign language film ever to win the Best Picture award at the Oscars. &ldFeb 24, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Korean film market shrinks 2 years in row in 2021 amid protracted pandemic This file photo taken Oct. 26, 2021, shows a movie theater in Seoul. Korea Times fileSouth Korea's filmmaking industry contracted for a second straight year in 2021 due mainly to the yearslong COVID-19 pandemic, government data showed Tuesday.The aggregated revenues of the local film market, which includes domestic sales of movie tickets, and online releases and exports, reached 1.02 trillion won ($855 million) last year, according to the data by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).It is a slight on-year decrease from the previous year's 1.05 trillion won but marks a 60-percent plunge from 2.5 trillion won tallied in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.The total sales of movie tickets rose 14.5 percent on-year to 384.5 billion won last year, with the number of admissions edging up 1.7 percent on-year to 60.5 million. But the 2021 ticket sales accounted for 30.5 percent of those of 2019.The portion of South Korean-made movies hit 30.1 percent in 2021, sinking below the 50 percent level for the first time in 11 years.KOFIC said many big-budget homegrown movies have delayed their release scheduleFeb 22, 2022
Jung Woo plays third-rate gangster in action noir 'Hot Blooded' A scene from the film "Hot Blooded" / Courtesy of Kidari Studio By Kwak Yeon-sooActor Jung Woo said he wanted to break away from “the funny guy” image that he had and show off the tough, charismatic side of him in the action noir “Hot Blooded,” a film adaptation of Kim Un-su's novel of the same title. Set in a shabby town near the port city of Busan, the film tells the story of a third-rate gangster Hee-su (Jung Woo), who unwittingly becomes involved in a brutal gang war. The film also stars Kim Kap-soo, Choi Mu-sung and Ji Seung-hyun.“At first, I wasn't so intrigued by this story because I've already played a character like this before ― a gangster from Busan who uses Busan dialect,” he said during an online press conference for the film, Monday. “In the past, I've mostly played really bright, quirky characters. This time, I had this feeling that I could show a hyper-tough guy image by taking the lead in a mostly masculine story. It was the type of character that mFeb 21, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Chinese movie sparks controversy for depiction of Korean speedskaters A scene from the Chinese film “Fly, Skating Star” / Captured from Instagram By Dong Sun-hwaA Chinese movie has caused a stir for depicting Korean speedskaters as being dirty or unethical, leading a Korean professor to take the issue to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for violating the Olympic spirit.“Fly, Skating Star,” which was released on the Chinese platform iQiyi on Feb. 12, revolves around a Chinese country boy, who later becomes a member of the national speedskating team. However, in the film, his rivals from Korea are portrayed as rule breakers, who intentionally trip him with their feet and hurt his eye with a skate blade. This has led Seo Kyung-duk, a professor of general education at Sungshin Women's University who has been actively promoting Korea worldwide, to accuse Beijing city authorities of stirring up hatred against Korea. According to him, Beijing city was in charge of producing and distributing the controversial movie. Professor Seo Kyung-duk / Korea Times file“I sent an email to IOC President Thomas Bach and all other commiFeb 19, 2022By Dong Sun-hwa
Park Chan-wook, Apple team up for short film 'Life is But a Dream' From left, cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung, actors Yoo Hai-jin, Kim Ok-vin, director Park Chan-wook and actor Park Jeong-min pose during an online press conference for the film, “Life is But a Dream.” Courtesy of AppleBy Kwak Yeon-sooPark Chan-wook has teamed up with Apple to create a short film “Life is But a Dream” shot entirely on the latest iPhones. The 21-minute “Life is But a Dream” opens with a spooky scene then slowly reveals itself to be part fantasy, part martial arts and part musical. It also features “pansori” (a traditional Korean musical narrative) and “madanggeuk” (a traditional Korean outdoor play) to tell a supernatural-based tale featuring both a ghost wedding and funeral.Shot on the iPhone 13 Pro, it follows the story of an undertaker (Yoo Hai-jin) who digs up an abandoned grave to steal a coffin for the burial of a warrior (Kim Ok-vin) who had died saving a village. While digging, he accidentally awakens the ghost of an ancient swordsman (Park Jeong-min). When the ghost tries to take back its coffin, it rouFeb 18, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
