Growing Korean film industry flexes international muscle Hallyu stars on demand in Hollywood By Chung Ah-young Just a few years ago Korea was not an attractive destination for Hollywood stars to promote their films ― they either went to Japan or China or Hong Kong, often skipping Korea. But now the nation is becoming a must-stop location for movie stars. In recent months, high-profile Hollywood mega stars such as Hugh Jackman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Cruise have rushed to Korea because the domestic film market is growing dramatically. Rising marketing pointActress Bae Doo-naActor Lee Byung-hunDirector Kim Jee-woonThe Korean cinematic market size was valued at over 1.4 trillion won in 2012, an increase of 21 percent last year from 1.2 trillion won in 2011, rising to number seven in world rankings ― on par with that of Germany’s.Last year, the number of moviegoers surpassed 194.89 million, up 22 percent from 159.72 million the previous year. The buying power of Korean moviegoers is strong enough to make foreign distributors concerned about their share in the market.Among some fApr 11, 2013
K-pop stars rush to screens Lee Seung-gi, right, and Suzy, left, star in the drama “Gu Family Book” that airs Mondays and Tuesdays.Fans love it, but critics remainBy Kim Ji-sooYoon Eun-hye, a successful K-popstar-turned-actressLee Seung-gi, who stars in the new TV drama “Gu Family Book,” wears so many hats that it’s hard to immediately decide what his real job is.A decade after his debut, Lee is more known as a multi-tasking entertainer than a singer he is.Following in Lee’s footsteps are hordes of K-pop “idol” group members. Former K-pop star has successfully transformed into acting including Yoon Yun-hye, formerly of Baby V.O.X. Yoon has branched out into directing as well. Another isPark Yu-chun of JYJ who now has a considerable filmography under his belt including the “Sungkyunkwan Scandal” (2010) and “Missing You” (2012). The latest most prominent is Suzy of Miss A, who stars opposite Lee in the new drama. Last year she became the nation’s sweetheart with a role in the popular film “Architecture 101.” Her poApr 10, 2013By Kim Ji-soo
Local movie to be released in 20 North American cities “Fists of Legend” was released Tuesday here and will also be distributed in certain North American cities from April 12 (local time).The cities include Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, San Francisco, Atlanta, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle, Houston, Dallas, New Jersey, Toronto and Vancouver among others.Although other movies such as “Masquerade” and “The Berlin File” had previously been shown there, it is unprecedented for a movie to be distributed in the same week as its release in Korea. Director Kang Woo-suk’s action movie depicts a heart-warming story of three friends who were famous in the past but face the wall of reality as they grow older.This is not the first time his movies have been shown on the North American market. “How to Top My Wife” (1995) received rave reviews from local critics, while “Two Cops” (1994) and “Public Enemy Returns” (2008) were well received by movie-goers there. Apr 10, 2013By Park Jin-hai
Celebs build up wealth with '2nd' job A hotel in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, owned by Big Bang’s leader G-Dragon.By Park Si-soo Another Big Bang memberSeungri, left, who runs three dance academies.JYJ’s member Junsu cutting a ribbon during the inauguration ceremony of his hotel on Jeju Island.2PM’s member Chansung who runs a fitness center in Seoul. / Korea Times filesLife comes to an end, as does fame. And entertainers are well aware of this, so they take action before it happens.There are lots of celebrities here who make extra money from “second” jobs. For some, the estimated income from these is much larger than that from their primary career.The most popular sector in which to make a secondary income is the hospitality industry since their public awareness is a strong tool for marketing without costs. In fact there are several celebrities who have accumulated massive wealth with their own restaurants that rapidly flourish with franchised outlets.For female entertainers, Internet sApr 9, 2013
Hallyu Line Lee Kwang-soo to promote BCM Lee Kwang-sooLee Kwang-soo, a star of the SBS variety show “Running Man” and actress Lee Chung-ah have been designated honorary ambassadors for the Busan Contents Market (BCM) 2013, slated for May 9-11. The organizing committee said Tuesday the two were selected because of their popularity with hallyu (Korean wave) fans in other parts of Asia, such as China, Japan and Thailand. Busan City has hosted the BCM since 2007. Over the last six years, it has grown into Asia’s largest venue to trade visual content. So far, 394 companies from 49 countries have registered for this year’s event. B.A.P sells 10,000 tickets for US tour K-pop group B.A.P sold out tickets for next month’s U.S. leg of its world tour in just an hour, its agency TS Entertainment said.The six-member boy band will start their American tour May 7 in Los Angeles, then perform in San Francisco May 10, Washington May 14 and New York on May 17. Each venue is scheduled to host about 2,500 concertgoers. The four-city stint is part of Apr 9, 2013By Park Jin-hai
OB Beer dominates Hong Kong Models pose with bottled and canned “Blue Girl” beers, manufactured by OB, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the products’ launch in Hong Kong at the Harbor Grand Hong Kong Hotel, April 4. / Courtesy of OB This is the third in a series of articles on Korean food companies and restaurants seeking to expand overseas. ― ED. OB Beer CEO: Jang In-sooBottled and canned beers manufactured by Korea’s Oriental Brewery Company (OB) are best sellers in Hong Kong, far exceeding China’s premium brand Tsingtao, Heineken from the Netherlands and Budweiser from the United States in market share.OB’s product, branded “Blue Girl,” is distributed by local agent Jebsen Group and priced higher than other beer brands due to the agent’s premium marketing scheme. OB has kept the leadership in sales for six consecutive years with a 12 percentage gap in market share with the runner-up brand SKOL imported from Brazil. Blue Girl&rsApr 9, 2013
K-pop stars doing whirlwind tour across Asia Kim Jae-joong, a JYJ member, performs at the “The return of the JYJ” concert in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday. He started a solo Asian tour in January. / Korea Times By Park Jin-hai Last weekend was more than enough to be called “Hallyu Weekend” with K-pop idols holding concerts all around Asia one after another.Kim Jae-joong, the leader of popular boy band JYJ spent Saturday in China, performing for 4,000 fans.His mini-concert “Your, My and Mine” in Nanjing was the fifth of its kind, following Seoul, Bangkok, Shanghai and Hong Kong.The 27-year-old singer sang “One Kiss” and rocked the audience with other equally powApr 8, 2013
Sibling duo tops K-Pop Star 2 Lee Soo-hyun, 13, left, and Lee Chan-hyuk, 16, of Akdong Musicians perform during the final of the SBS TV singing contest “K-Pop Star 2,” which aired on Sunday. / Courtesy of SBS By Baek Byung-yeulAkdong Musicians, a brother-sister duo of Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Soo-hyun, won the SBS television singing contest "K-Pop Star 2’’ in the much-anticipated final that aired Sunday.The top-place finish was the icing on the cake for Akdong Musicians, who emerged as a household name with performances over the past five months. Soo-hyun, 13, can really sing, while her brother Chan-hyuk, 16, shows creativity as a songwriter. Judging by their songs’ download numbers and YouTube hits, they are already one of the most influential actApr 8, 2013
Hallyu Line Lee Hyo-ri returns with new albumLee Hyo-riK-pop singer Lee Hyo-ri will release a new album in May for the first time in three years.According to B2M, her management agency, the 34-year-old will come back with her first new album since she released her fourth album, titled “H-Logic,” in April 2010.She has not yet decided the title of the album, which was produced by Kim Ji-woong. “Most of the songs have been recorded so far. As she has showcased diverse dance songs tinged with hip-hop in her previous recordings, this time she will be likely to choose a dance song as the title track for the new album also,” the agency said. Rapper Beenzino guests on the album.Lee posted messages on her fan cafe websites in February, saying she wants to stick to a full-length album rather than release digital singles or mini albums, despite the accompanying difficulties. “I want to more seriously make the album, so that takes more time. Please listen to all of the 10 tracks even if they are too long,” she said.Lee is expected to appear on television shows to promote Apr 8, 2013
'Serious games' rising as new growth engine Clockwise from top, Talklish, Lulu’s Monkey Land and EcoFriendz are among the emerging ‘serious games’ with educational or social purposes.By Chung Ah-youngFrom healthcare, education and defense to public service, “serious games” are reaching out to a variety of sectors with a clear mission of education or training. The concept of the serious game which was invented to refer to the games with a primary goal of providing education and other social functions is still new in Korea. Its presence however is dramatically growing in the world scene.Industry insiders say that for the next 10 years, non-entertainment games are presumed to be among the most potential sectors, expecting to uplift the negative image on conventional games.The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) has decided to support the serious games from development and production to promotion with more than 1.5 billion won this year as part of the efforts to nurture it as the driving engine in the nation’s future growth. The government’s support in non-entertainment games reflects thApr 8, 2013
