Theater, musical actors relishing small screen opportunities Actor Kim Seon-ho / Courtesy of tvNBy Kwak Yeon-sooEstablished stage actors have been flocking to the small screen at an accelerating pace, while continuing to maintain their connection to theater.Kim Seon-ho, who debuted as a stage actor in the 2009 play, “New Boeing Boeing,” made the jump to television in 2017 by appearing in KBS2's TV drama, “Good Manager.” He then won both the Best New Actor and Excellence Awards for his performance in MBC's “Two Cops” the same year. In recent years, he has starred in several very highly reviewed series, including tvN's “Start-Up” (2020) and “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” (2021). To feel equally comfortable between the screen and the stage, he briefly returned to perform in a play titled, “Ice,” earlier this year. “The stage is where I have much to observe and to learn. Whenever I lose confidence in acting, I think about theater plays,” the 35-year-old actor said of returning to the stage. “There is a direct connection between actors with the audience. It's a place Oct 10, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
Lost in translation? 'Squid Game' subtitles cause a stir The English subtitles of the Netflix series, "Squid Game," have started a debate online. Courtesy of NetflixBy Lee Gyu-leeNetflix's smash-hit series, "Squid Game," has caused controversy online as some viewers allege that its subtitles were inadequately translated. The thriller survival-themed series, which follows hundreds of cash-strapped people playing deadly children's games to win 45.6 billion won ($38 million) in prize money, has become a global cultural phenomenon, watched by audiences around the world. Korean American comedian Youngmi Mayer posted on Twitter last week that the English translation for the series changed the meaning of the original lines. “I watched 'Squid Game' with English subtitles and if you don't understand Korean you didn't really watch the same show. The translation was so bad,” she wrote. “The dialogue was written so well and zero of it was preserved.”She shared a video showing some of the examples from the closed-caption subtitles for the English dubbed version that were mistranslated. In one of the scenes, the character, Han MiOct 8, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee
Spinoff of 'Street Woman Fighter' to air this year Dance crew leaders from Mnet's dance competition show, “Street Woman Fighter” / Courtesy of MnetBy Dong Sun-hwa“Street Girls Fighter,” a spinoff of Mnet's popular female dance survival show, “Street Woman Fighter,” is scheduled to hit the air later this year. The upcoming program will feature a competition among female dance crews composed of only teenagers. The leaders and the members of eight dance crews from “Street Woman Fighter” ― PROWDMON, Coca N Butter, HOOK, LACHICA, HOLYBANG, WANT, WAYB and YGX ― will appear as the judges. “To thank the viewers who have been passionately supporting Street Woman Fighter, we came to launch its spinoff,” Kwon Young-chan, chief producer of both programs, said in a statement Thursday. “For our new show, we will try to discover teens with a knack for dancing, who are part of the MZ generation that enjoys dancing via diverse platforms such as YouTube.”MZ generation refers to people born between 1980 and 2010. As the producer said, “Street Woman Fighter,” which premiOct 7, 2021By Dong Sun-hwa
Star writer Kim Eun-hee gives sneak peek into mystery thriller 'Jirisan' TvN's upcoming mystery series “Jirisan,” written and created by Kim Eun-hee, will premiere Oct. 23. Courtesy of tvNBy Lee Gyu-leeWriter Kim Eun-hee, who created and wrote Netflix's apocalyptic series "Kingdom" and tvN's crime drama "Signal," spoke about her latest project, “Jirisan,” offering a glimpse of the highly anticipated upcoming tvN series. Writer Kim Eun-hee / Korea Times file“I've had the concept for the series in my mind for a few years. And about two years ago, when I was developing the story, I was going through some tough times. Because I always write about people killing other people, I was looking for a sense of healing for myself,” she said through a statement from the series' network, Thursday. “So I wanted to set the story on a mountain with greenery and nature and talk about the rangers who save people's lives.”Set in Jirisan National Park, located on the boundary between South Gyeongsang Province and the Jeolla provinces, the mystery series revolves around two mountain rangers ― Seo Yi-gang (Jun Ji-hyun) and Kang HyOct 7, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee
Lee Joon-gi to play prosecutor in upcoming SBS series Actor Lee Joon-gi / Courtesy of Namoo ActorsBy Lee Gyu-leeActor Lee Joon-gi will be starring in SBS's upcoming series, “Again My Life,” (direct translation), which is scheduled to air in the first half of next year. The actor's agency, Namoo Actors, announced Wednesday that he had been confirmed in the lead role for the new series.Based on the web novel of the same title, the series follows a prosecutor named Kim Hee-woo (Lee), seeking revenge for his death. Hee-woo is a resilient, determined prosecutor who does not negotiate with criminals. After getting killed while trying to take down a powerful crime boss, he enters the afterlife but is sent back for a second chance at life. Using his skill and determination, he uses this chance to hunt his murderer and take down the corrupt politician Cho Tae-sup (Lee Kyung-young) who runs his own crime cartel. The series is directed by Han Chul-soo, whose previous work includes the mystery series, “Graceful Family.”Lee debuted in 2003 with a minor role in the popular sitcom, “Nonstop 4,” and rose to stardom aOct 6, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee
Lead actors on wrapping up crime-comedy series 'Police University' Actors Jung Jin-young, from left, Jung Soo-jung and Cha Tae-hyun pose for pictures during the online media conference for the KBS series, "Police University," on Aug. 9. Courtesy of KBSBy Lee Gyu-leeThe cast members of KBS's crime-comedy series, “Police University,” have shared behind-the-scenes stories and thanked the viewers as they bid goodbye to the series, Wednesday. The series, starring actors Cha Tae-hyun, Jung Jin-young, and Jung Soo-jung, better known as Krystal, ended its 16-part run Tuesday with a 6.3 percent viewership rating. Directed by Yoo Gwan-mo, who led the suspenseful series, "Woman of 9.9 Billion,” the series revolves around former hacker Kang Seon-ho (Jung Jin-young) who joins the National Police University with his crush, Oh Kang-hui (Jung Soo-jung). There, he encounters detective-turned-professor Yoo Dong-man (Cha) who holds a grudge toward Seon-ho after the latter accidentally jeopardized Dong-man's investigation. Dong-man gets a tip that the crime ring he was investigating infiltrated the university and teams up with Seon-ho to solve the casOct 6, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee
Pohang residents overwhelmed by 'Hometown Cha Cha Cha' fan visits A scene from tvN's rom-com series, "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" / Korea Times fileBy Yoon Ja-youngResidents of a small seaside village in Pohang say they are suffering from fans of the drama who, in some cases, have even trespassed on residents' properties.Through a social media message on Oct. 5, the production team of tvN's popular Saturday-Sunday drama, “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha,” urged fans not to visit private areas where the drama was filmed. “The residences of Hye-jin, Du-sik, Gam-ri and Cho-hui in the drama are private properties that were granted permission for use during the shoot, and the owners currently reside there,” the production team said in a statement.“The owners provided support for the drama production in good will. However, their daily lives are now being interrupted due to visitors. When you visit the village from the series, please refrain from entering those residences.”Based on the 2004 film, "Mr. Handy,” the drama features realistic, big-city dentist Yoon Hye-jin, played by actress Shin Min-a, moving to the small seaside villOct 6, 2021By Yoon Ja-young
Netflix to edit scenes with real phone number in 'Squid Game' A business card that appears in some scenes of the Netflix original series “Squid Game” / Courtesy of NetflixBy Lee Hae-rinNetflix has announced it will edit several scenes in “Squid Game” showing a phone number, following the revelation that the number actually belongs to a real person here who has been bombarded with messages and phone calls from viewers of the globally successful original TV show.“Together with the production company (Siren Pictures), we are working to resolve this matter, including editing scenes showing the phone number where necessary,” the company said in its official statement in English, Wednesday.The breakout hit series used a real eight-digit phone number in several scenes in which cash-strapped people receive a business card inviting them to the deadly survival game. The owner of the phone number and some others with similar ones have claimed their privacy has been infringed upon since the series' Sept. 17 release.“Since the release of 'Squid Game,' I have been bombarded with calls and text messages and it's imposOct 6, 2021By Lee Hae-rin
'Squid Game' all the rage in Paris This photo, provided by Netflix France, shows visitors at a pop-up store for the Netflix series "Squid Game" in Paris playing a game of "dalgona bbobggi," Oct. 3. YonhapA pop-up store for Netflix's original Korean series "Squid Game" opened up in France over the weekend, attracting fans in Europe.The pop-up store, set up at a cafe in Paris' 2nd arrondissement, ran from Saturday to Sunday and allowed visitors to take photos with the staff dressed up as red-suit guards as in the show.The store also showcased a childhood game featured in the series known as "dalgona bbobgi." Visitors at the pop-up store took on the challenge, in which they have to successfully crack sugar candy into a particular shape, such as a star, without breaking the whole piece."Squid Game" is a nine-part thriller, which revolves around a group of people taking part in a series of deadly games to win 45.6 billion won ($38.5 million) in prize money.After its official release on Sept. 17, it entered the top 10 on the world's popular Netflix TV show rankings offered by streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol and became tOct 4, 2021
Viewership for star-studded 'Lost' plummets over 'unconvincing story' The JTBC melodrama series, “Lost,” hit its lowest rating so far, Saturday. Courtesy of C-JeS Entertainment and Dramahouse StudioBy Lee Gyu-leeJTBC's melodrama series, “Lost,” starring award-winning actress Jeon Do-yeon and actor Ryu Jun-yeol, has hit its lowest viewership rating so far with the latest episode, Saturday.The ninth episode saw a 1.2 percent viewership rating, which was lower than last week's record low of 1.4 percent. The network's 10th-anniversary project series had been highly anticipated by K-drama fans for its cast members and director. This series was the first small-screen appearance for actress Jeon in five years as well as the first TV series directed by filmmaker Hur Jin-ho, who is known for the leading period film, “Forbidden Dream” (2019), along with romance films “Christmas in August” (1998) and “April Snow” (2005). The first episode kicked off with a 4.2-percent rating on Sept. 4. However, the ratings soon took a nosedive, falling below 2 percent by the fifth episode. Written by Kim Ji-hye, whose wOct 3, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee
