Do you like Spring Bear ?

봄날의 곰을 좋아하세요? (Bom-nal-eui Gom-eul Jong-a-ha-se-yo ?))

 Director : Yong-ih(용이)

Cast : Bae Doo-na(배두나)
Kim Nam-jin(김남진)

Genre : Romance/Romantic comedy/Melodrama
Running Time : 97min 35mm
Opening Date : Oct 24, 2003

Supporting CastIm Hyeon-kyeong
Kim Hong-pyo
Kim Soo-mi
Kong Hyeong-jin
Kwon O-joong
Lee Eol
Lee Hyeon-kyeong
Yong-ih
Yoon Ji-hye

  

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Did you know that Malaysia won Japan & Korea in a dance competition 2 years straight!? Ask your dancer friends to join, we can win it again!

The Art of Seduction

작업의 정석 (Jak-eob-eui Jeong-seok)

Director : Oh Ki-hwan(오기환)

Cast : Son Ye-jin(손예진)
Song Il-gook(송일국)

Genre : Comedy/Romance/Romantic comedy
Running Time : 100min 35mm
Opening Date : Dec 21, 2005

Supporting Cast

Park Joon-gyoo
Noh Joo-hyeon
Park Yong-woo
Hyeon Yeong
Ahn Seon-yeong
Yoon Yeong-joon
Ahn Sang-tae
Woo Hyeon
Kim Ae-kyeong
Jeong Jeong-ah
Geum Bo-ra
Hong Seok-cheon

 

 

Hanji: Paper! Paper! Read All About It!

It's a good thing, I didn't read the synopsis of Hanji in the MoMA Korean Film Festival brochure beforehand. I never would've gone to the theater. A film about the challenges, setbacks and rewards encountered by a local government official helping to revive the traditional method of papermaking hardly promises the stuff of high drama. And funnily enough, within this movie itself, are snippets of what appears to be the dreaded documentary we'd expect from that description: a clunky primer on the fine art of Hanji that pans reverentially over intricate antiques while a droning voice-over puts us summarily to sleep. Crafting a new copy of the Annals of the Chosun Dynasty may be a momentous occasion to scholars but most of us are not going to perch on the edge of our seats, desperately waiting to see if the undertaking succeeds. Will they master the old craft? Who cares! Director Im Kwon-taek does a little, perhaps, but at the same time that's not the story that he's set out to tell with Hanji either. Im's sublimely understated film is based on a real story but doesn't relate history so much as it distills  reality. (That's much more interesting!) His Hanji quietly conveys how the lives of people of no historic note are deeply impacted by something as unexpected as a well-meaning civic restoration project.

The movie's central character is  Pil-yong (Park Joong-hoon), a womanizing bureaucrat incapable of advancement and burdened with a wife (Ye Ji-won), whose severe disability was caused in part by his last extramarital affair. As he works to incite the masters of the local paper-making community to participate in the project, he strikes up a friendship of sorts with a divorced female film director (Kang Soo-yeon) who makes the aforementioned documentary, in part because she can't get funding for a feature film. No major love triangle emerges. Throughout Hanji, conflicts are small; treacheries, minor. What distinguishes Hanji is not its ability to extract tragic consequences from a historic footnote but rather its acknowledgment that a story with little razzle dazzle can nevertheless be the biggest thing to happen in some people's lives. Im's blunt depiction of cubicle culture, stroke rehabilitation, and petty crime as nothing but a part of daily life, any life, every life, underscores that the familiar and the pedestrian can still be quite deep. There's a beautiful passage in Hanji during which one character talks about the moon being a source of light that you can stare at continually without danger. Like the moon, most of us will not be as radiant as the sun but our insignificant lives are no less worthy of uninterrupted, loving attention.

Frozen Flower

쌍화점 (Ssang-hwa-jeom)

Directed & Screenplay by Yoo--Ha

Cast : Jo In-Seong as King`s bodyguard, Hong-rim
Joo Jin-mo as Koryeo`s king
Song Ji-hyo as Queen

Genre : Drama, Historical
Running time : 133min
35mm, Cinemascope(2.35)
Opening Date : Dec 30, 2008

Synopsis
Synopsis In the end of Goryeo era politically manipulated by the Yuan Dynasty, the ambitious King of the Goryeo Dynasty organizes Kunryongwe. Hong Lim, the commander of Kunryongwe, captivates the King of Goryeo, and the Queen keeps her eyes on the relationship between Hong Lim and the King with a reluctant view. Meanwhile, the bilateral relation between Goryeo and the Yuan gets worse as Yuan demands to install the cousin of the King in the Crown Prince of Goryeo with ascribing it to no son the King has. The King refuses it resolutely, so the high-ranking officials of Goryeo, who are in submission to Yuan, are discontented with the king. One day, the King gives Hong Lim a covert yet unobjectionable order to sleep with the Queen instead of himself to protect the independence of Goryeo from the Yuan by making a son, the successor to Goryeo throne.

Extended Cast
Shim Ji-ho as Second commanding officer, Seung-gi
Im Joo-hwan as King's men, Han-baek
Yeo Wook-hwan as ;;;; King's men, Im-bo
Jang Ji-won as King's men, Bo-deok
Kim Choon-gi as Eunuch Hwang
Lee Jong-goo as Tae-sa
Kwon Tae-won as Jo Il-moon
Do Yong-goo as Ki Won-hong
Ko In-beom as Yeon Ki-mok
Ham Geon-soo as Won kingdom's servant
No Min-woo as Min-woo
Do Ye-seong as Choi Kwan
Park Jong-soo as Eunuch Shin
Kim Dae-hoon as King's men
Jeong Seong-il as King's men
Lee Seok-woo as King's men
Kim Hyeon-woo as King's men
Baek Jae-ho as King's men
Kim Ji-won as King's men
Lee Jae-won I as King's men
Hwang Joon-hyeok as King's men
Han Tae-seong as King's men
Yoon Yeong-jin as King's men
Ri-eul as King's men
Park Seong-hoon as King's men
Jeong Woo-jin as King's men
Kim Ki-beom as King's men
Dae-ho as ;;;; King's men
Kim Hyeon-woong as King's men
Kim Seong-joon as King's men
Hong Jong-hyeon as King's men
Moon Seok-hee as King's men
Jo Sang-min as King's men
Kim Woo-hee as King's men
Jo Kang-hyeon as King's men
Kim Tae-soo as King's men
Cha Seung-joon as King's men
Son Jong-hak as Secret messenger
Kang-poong as Secret messenger
Jo Yong-hyeon as Young eunuch
Kim Pil-joong as Young eunuch
Jeong In-hwa as Palace lady Park
Park Jong-bo as Chin-won noble
Yeo Jin-goo as Young Hong-rim
Lee Poong-woon as Young king
Baek Seung-ho as Young Seung-gi
Seo Yeong-joo as Young Han-baek
Kim Gi-seok as Young monk
Park Min-gyoo as Young monk
Kim Gi-bang as Byeok-ran-do store owner
Lee Se-rang as Hyang-nang store owner
Lee Ye-na as King's additional wife
Hong Ga-yeon as King's additional wife
Min Ji-hyeon as King's additional wife
Lee Jeong-joo as Palace lady dressed as a man
Kim Min-ah as Queen's maid
Lee Jin-ah as Queen's maid
Kim Hee-seon as Young-soo palace lady
Kim Se-hee as Young-soo palace lady
Kim Kyeong-hee-I as Palace lady
Choi Seung-hee as Palace lady
Choi Seung-il as Eunuch
Lee Seon-min as Eunuch
Kang Dong-gyoon as Eunuch
Kim Hyo-joo as Celebration dancer
Han Seon-yeong as Celebration dancer
Park Seon-yeong as Celebration dancer
Choi Yoo-jin as Celebration dancer
Im Ji-hyeon as Celebration dancer
Im Ji-yeong as Celebration dancer
Lee Mi-yeon as Celebration dancer
Kim Se-jeong as Celebration dancer
Kim Ga-eun as Celebration dancer
Kim Soo-ji as Celebration dancer
Lee Geum-hee as Celebration dancer
Yoon Hye-seon as Celebration dancer
Jeong An-woo as Young king's men
Jeong Gwang-min as Young king's men
Kim Gi-yoon as Young king's men
Kim Gwang-jo as Young king's men
Jo Jin-woong - Cameo
Lim Hyeon-seong - Cameo

Hansel and Gretel

헨젤과 그레텔 (Hansel and Gretel )

Director : Lim Pil-seong(임필성)
Cast : Cheon Jeong-myeong(천정명)
Eon Won-jae(은원재)
Shim Eon-kyeong(심은경)
Jin Ji-hee(진지희)

Genre : Drama/Fantasy
Running Time : 116min 35mm
Opening Date : Dec 27, 2007

Synopsis

A reckless youngster Eun-soo drives to his mother’s, and has a car accident. When Eun-soo wakes up, he meets a mysterious girl and is led to her fairytale-like house in the middle of the forest. There, Eun-soo is trapped with the girl and her siblings who never age. Soon he learns all the adults who visited or stayed in the house have met mysterious yet terrible ends. More shockingly, their cruel deaths are drawn in details and made into a fairytale book by the children. Scared Eun-soo tries to find the way out, but the house is secluded in the forest with no way out. And then, Eun-soo discovers a book which tells a brutal end of none other than himself!

Supporting Cast
Park Li-di-a (박리디아)
Kim Kyeong-ik (김경익)
Jang Young-nam (장영남)
Choi Deok-moon (최창균)
Kang Ji-Won (강지원)

200 Pounds Beauty

미녀는 괴로워 (Mi-nyeo-neun Goi-ro-wa)

Director : Kim Yong-hwa(김용화)

Cast : Kim Ah-joong(김아중)
Joo Jin-mo(주진모)

Genre : Comedy/Romance/Romantic comedy
Running Time : 120min 35mm
Opening Date : Dec 14, 2006
Synopsis

Hanna is a lip sync vocalist for Ami, the famous Korean pop singer. Even though she is always ignored because of her appearance, she has been a bright and lighthearted girl until Amy humiliates her in front of Sang-jun, her secret love. At last she makes a decision of a lifetime to have plastic surgery all over her body. Her unrequited love gets any return?

Supporting CastKim Yong-geon (김용건)
Seong Dong-il (성동일)
Lim Hyeon-shik (임현식)
Lee Han-wi (이한위)
Kim Hyeon-sook (김현숙)
Park No-sik (박노식)
Jeong Yoon (정윤)
Park Hwi-soon (박휘순)
Park Jin-gook (박진국)

My Wife is a Gangster 3

조폭 마누라 3 (Jo-pok Ma-noo-ra 3)

Director : Jo Jin-kyoo(조진규)
Cast : Shu Qi(서기)
Lee Beom-soo(이범수)
Hyeon Yeong(현영)
Oh Ji-ho(오지호)

Genre : Comedy/Action
Running Time : 115min 35mm
Opening Date : Dec 28, 2006

 Supporting Cast

Jo Hee-bong (조희봉)
Choi Ryeong (최령)
Kim Byeong-choon (김병춘)
Choo Sang-rok (추상록)
Choi Hak-rak (최학락)
Ji Dae-han (지대한)
Sin Choong-sik (신충식)

Moss

이끼 (I-ggi)

•Directed by Kang Woo-seok (강우석)
•Screenplay by Jeong Ji-woo (정지우)
•Thriller
•163min
Opening Date : Jul 14, 2010

Movie remade from a popular internet cartoon. The story of the few people who live in a village, and a man who comes to the village for his father's funeral. He tries to figure out the mystery of his father's death, but the villagers watch his every move.

Note
RYU Mok-hyeong, a member of a small prayer house located in a remote mountain village, is well-respected for his leadership and gift of speech. In order to build a new prayer house Mok- hyeong leaves the mountains to build a new village with the help of his friend, Yong-duk. Many years pass and Mok-hyeong is discovered dead after sharing a bottle of rice wine with Yong-duk. Mok-hyeong’s good for nothing son, RYU Hae-guk, arrives from Seoul to attend his father’s funeral. Hae-guk soon realizes that the villagers are trying to hide something from him leading him to seek the help of PARK Min-uk, the public prosecutor responsible for his demotion to a local branch during his more reckless past. Hae-guk plans to conduct his father’s autopsy himself, but arrives at his father’s grave only to find his corpse missing. Hae-guk suspects that Yong-duk is responsible.

Cast
Park Hae-il 박해일 As Ryoo Hae-gook (류해국)
Jeong Jae-yeong 정재영 As Cheon Yong-deok (천용덕)
Yoo--Seon 유선 As Lee Yeong-ji (이영지)
Yoo Joon-sang 유준상 As Public prosecutor Park (박 검사)
Yoo Hae-jin 유해진 As Kim Deok-cheon, villager (김덕천, 마을 주민)
Kim Sang-ho 김상호 As Jeon Seok-man, villager (전석만, 마을 주민)

The Unjust

부당거래 (Moo-dang-geo-rae)

•Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan (류승완)
•Screenplay by Park Hoon-jeong-I (박훈정)
•Crime/Thriller
•119min
Opening Date : Oct 28, 2010

Synopsis

A serial killer targeting elementary school students is on the loose—and 5 victims means even the president gets involved in the investigation. When the most probable suspect dies in custody and the case looks like it’s reached a dead end, high ranking police brass decide to create a killer—and anyone will do. Though Detective CHOI Cheol-gi boasts an incredible number of arrests over his career his rank never showed it. He was framed and demoted for another crime and decides that this is his last chance at professional redemption. He makes a deal with mob boss JANG Seok-gu, who he has been investigating, and together they decide to set up one of the existing suspects as the serial killer. The only hurdle in their plan is public prosecutor JU Yang, who takes on the case. JU himself had been involved in a deal with the boss of a rival criminal organization, and President Kim wants CHOI dismissed from his position. When the secret deals and back alley agreements start to come to light, it only serves to drag CHOI, JU, JANG, and KIM deeper and deeper into a dark hole of questionable ethics and abuse of the law.

Cast

Hwang Jeong-min 황정민 As Choi Cheol-gi (최철기)
Ryoo Seung-beom 류승범 As Joo-yang (주양)
Yoo Hae-jin 유해진 As Jang Seok-goo (장석구)
Cheon Ho-jin 천호진 As Director Kang (강 국장)
Ma Dong-seok 마동석 As Dae-ho (대호)
Woo Don-gi 우돈기 As Lee Dong-seok (이동석)

Gloria

글로리아 (Geul-lo-ri-a)

Genre: Drama
Episodes: 50
Broadcast Network: MBC
Air time: Saturday & Sunday 19:55
Broadcasting dates :
Jul 31, 2010 ~ Jan 16, 2010

Synopsis

Gloria is an intense tale of people who are fiercely devoted to surviving their rough lives, focusing in particular on the life of a nightclub singer, Na Jin Jin, who braves the difficulties of her work to provide for her mentally handicapped younger sister, Jin Joo. She finds an unwavering source of strength and support from her loyal childhood friend, Ha Dong Ah, a talented fighter and gangster. Jin Jin also meets a potential love interest in Lee Kang Suk, the illegitimate son of an entrepreneur.

Cast
Bae Doo-na as Na Jin Jin
Seo Ji-seok as Lee Kang Suk
Lee Cheon-hee as Ha Dong Ah
So Yi Hyun
Oh Hyun Kyung as Na Jin Joo
Lee Jong Won
Kim Young Ok
Yeon Kyu Jin
Na Young Hee as Yeo Jung Nan
Lee Young Ha

Production Credits
Director: Kim Min Shik
Scriptwriter: Jung Ji Woo 

A Good Day For The Wind To Blow

바람 불어 좋은날

Chinese Title : 风吹好日子
Also known as: Windy But Pleasant Day
Genre: Romance, family
Episodes: 100+
Broadcast network: KBS1
Air time: Monday to Friday 20:25
Broadcasting dates :
Feb 01, 2010 ~

Synopsis

Kwon Oh Bok (Kim So Eun) is a a 19-year-old young woman/orphan who refuses to give up her dream of becoming a top illustrator. Because she grew up poor (and is still struggling), she is extremely frugal, and maintains an optimistic outlook on things. Kwon Oh Bok has nothing that she can call her own in her life-time, not even the little room that she stays in. However, her hot temper will flares whenever she witness any injustice.

Cast

Kim So-eun as Kwon Oh Bok
Jung Seung Ho as Kwon Yi Moon (Oh Bok’s father)

Jang family

Na Moon Hee as Na Kkeut Soon (grandmother)
Kang In Duk as Jang Jung Nam (father)
Yoon Mi Ra as Yoon Sun Hee (mother)
Jin Yi Han as Jang Dae Han
Seo Hyo Rim as Jang Man Se
Lee Hyun Jin as Jang Min Guk

Kang family

Kim Sung Hwan as Kang In Soo (father)
Nah Young Hee as Cha Yeon Shil (mother)
Kang Ji Sub as Kang Sang Jun

Lee family

Kim Mi Sook as Lee Kang Hee
Kwon Oh Hyun (권오현) as Seo Dong Shik (brother-in-law)
Ahn Hye Kyung as Kim Nam Suk (Dong Shik’s wife)

Other people

Lee Sung Min as Choi Mi Ran (Jang Dok Rip’s biological mother)
Kang Eun Tak (강은탁) as Han Ki Chul (Oh Bok’s friend)
Jung Da Young as Han Sol Ji

Production Credits

Producer: Lee Duk Gun
Scriptwriter: Lee Duk Jae

Garden of Heaven: She's Dying to Fall in Love for the First Time

Let someone else with a nobler sense of right and wrong deride Garden of Heaven for its oversimplified protrayal of hospice patients. I, for one, found its shameless depiction of the terminally ill to be jaw-droppingly hilarious. There isn't a cliched representation overlooked or underplayed from the cute kid who crayons self-portraits on the wall so his mom won't forget him to a carefree young woman who insists the doctor himself is her most effective painkiller. That blithe spirit is played by none other than Lee Eun-ju, the incredibly talented actress who went on to give a brilliantly harrowing performance in The Scarlet Letter before committing suicide shortly thereafter. You'd never know Lee was suffering from depression from watching Garden of Heaven because there's nothing self-pitying in the way her character baldly states that she's an orphan who's never been in love and who wants to be held by "someone who cares" in her final moments. That Lee is able to relate such treacly sentiments in a such a matter-of-fact manner turns what might've been soapy stuff — of which there's still quite a bit — into something that's a little less corny. She often disarms you and never depresses you. You may even assume that she's a little more complex than she is when, in one particularly fatuous plot twist, she parlays her cancer into a modeling gig for an unintentionally hysterical television advertisement for life insurance. But she's no scam artist. She really is dying.

Her co-star Ahn Jae-wook isn't quite as nuanced as paramour-savior Dr. Choi but at least he shares Lee's complete lack of concern with tugging heartstrings, despite their being endlessly ready for plucking. Ahn appears to have turned his charisma down for Garden of Heaven. The quartet of nurses who worship the ground he walks on are inexplicably blind to the cruel rebuke he levels at a mother who's just lost her child ("Let's get the death certificate now!") and his complete disregard for professional ethics as he falls for the prettiest patient on the ward. A rather tearless tearjerker, Garden of Heaven pushes the expected buttons in the disease-romance genre without triggering the de facto response. Think of the fundraiser near the end of the movie: A filmmaker who's dying at the hospice makes a short documentary about Dr. Choi that lauds him as an Angel of Death then a lineup of patients play a melancholic tune with handbells that create sounds that don't sync up with the soundtrack. That constant sense of something off make Garden of Heaven something you should turn on.

I Am a Dad

나는 아빠다 (Na-neun Abba-da)

Directed by Jeon Man-bae (전만배), Lee Se-yeong-II (이세영)

Screenplay by Yoon Hyeon-ho (윤현호)

•Action •Crime •Drama

99min | Release date in South Korea : 2011/04/14
Synopsis


Opening Date : Apr 14, 2011
Synopsis
Corrupt detective Han Jong-sik (Kim Seung-woo) takes care of a gang and gets kickbacks to save his daughter. One day he gets news from the organ transplant coordinator that they have found a heart for his daughter (kim Sae-ron). However, he finds out the donor is magician Na Sang-man (Son Byeong-ho) who he put false charges over and was in jail.

Sang-man lost his young daughter and wife and became a vegetative state himself. Jong-sik guesses he wouldn’t allow the transplant so he plans a way to get rid of him. Just as Sang-man is about to go over in the hands of a gang and get surgery, he realizes the plan and disappears with Jong-sik’s daughter.

Personal Taste

개인의 취향 (Kaeinui Chwihyang)

Chinese Title : 个人取向
Also known as: Personal Preference
Genre: Romance, comedy
Episodes: 16
Broadcast network: MBC
Air time: Wednesdays & Thursdays 21:55
Broadcasting dates :
Mar 31, 2010 ~ May 20, 2010

Synopsis

Jeon Jin Ho is a straight guy who pretends to be gay in order to become a roommate to his female friend, Park Kae In. His hobbies include organization and ironing, and he’s known for his stoic poker face. He’s a stickler for cleanliness, but he also has a talent for figuring out women’s feelings. Kae In is very trusting even though she has a habit of being betrayed. However that doesn’t stop her from giving people the benefit of doubt and Jin Ho is no different. How will Kae In react when she finds out that her gay roommate is not actually gay at all and that he has fallen for her?

Cast
Lee Min-ho as Jeon Jin Ho
Son Ye-jin as Park Kae In
Kim Ji Suk as Han Chang Ryul
Wang Ji Hye as Kim In Hee
Ryu Seung Ryong as Choi Kwan Jang
Im Seul Ong as Kim Tae Hoon
Choi Eun Seo as Hye Mi
Jo Eun Ji
Jung Sung Hwa
Ahn Suk Hwan
Bong Tae Kyu
Jang Won Young

Production Credits
Director: Son Hyung Suk (손형석)
Original writing: Noval “Personal Preference” by Lee Sae In (이새인)
Screenwriter: Park Hye Kyung (박혜경)

Kim Soo Ro

 

 김수로 (Kim-soo-ro)

Title: 김수로 / Kim Soo Ro
Chinese Title : 金首露
Genre: Historical
Episodes: 32
Broadcast network: MBC
Air time: Saturday & Sunday 21:45
Broadcasting dates :
May 29, 2010 ~ Sep 12, 2010

Synopsis

This drama charts the life of Kim Soo Ro, the legendary founder of the city-state of Geumgwan Gaya during the Three Kingdoms Period.

Cast
Ji-Seong as Kim Soo Ro
- Park Gun Tae as young Soo Ro
Bae Jong-ok as Queen Jung Gyun
Yoo Oh-seong as Shin Kwi Gan / Tae Gang
Seo Ji Hye as Heo Hwang Ok
Go Joo Won as Ijinashi
Kang Byul as Ah Hyo
Lee Pil Mo as Suk Tal Hae
Lee Jong Won as Jo Bang
Jang Dong Jik as Yoo Chun
Kim Hyung Il as Kim Yoong
Son Tae Young as Ah Hyo’s aunt
Choi Hwa Jung
Lee Won Jong
Kim Chae Bin (김채빈)
Won Duk Hyun
Shin Dong Woo
Lee Hyo Jung

Production Credits
Chief Producer: Jang Geun Soo
Producer: Hong Sun Gwan (홍순관)
Director: Choi Jong Soo, Jang Soo Bong
Screenwriter: Kim Mi Sook (김미숙)

A Man Once a Superman

슈퍼맨이었던 사나이 (A Man Who Was Superman)

Directed : Jeong Yoon-cheol(정윤철)
Cast : Hwang Jeong-min(황정민)
Jeon Ji-hyeon(전지현)


Synopsis
The two join forces in ``A Man Who Was Superman,'' a story about an unlikely ``hero'' (Hwang), who goes out of his way to help ― or rescue ― the planet by helping senior citizens cross the street and hand-standing in the middle of the road ``to push away'' the detrimental effects of the sun. Jun plays the role of Song Su-jeong, a cynical documentary filmmaker who records his story.
...
Kryptonite is a fictional substance that weakens Superman's powers in the original American comic series. In the movie, his character claims to have kryptonite stuck in his head, and when Song (Jun) discovers through an X-ray that there really is something in his brain, she knows she has the story of her life...

Supporting Cast
Jin Ji-hee (진지희)
Lee Sang Yeob (이상엽)
Seon Woo-seon (선우선)
Seo Yeong-hwa (서영화)
Park Yong-soo (박용수)
Kim Jae-rok (김재록)

Ghost : In Your Arms Again

고스트 : 보이지 않는 사랑 (Go-seu-teu : Bo-i-ji Anh-neun Sa-rang)

Directed by Tarô Ohtani (大谷太郎)
•Drama/Fantasy/Melodrama/Romance/Thriller
Opening Date : Nov 25, 2010

Ghost : In Your Arms Again' is a remake of the 1990 American movie 'Ghost' and is a co-production between South Korea and Japan. Previously titled 'Love and Soul'.
Synopsis
'Are you with the person who loves you right now?'
Nanami is a successful CEO and Joon-ho is a potter who went to Tokyo to learn pottery. They become a couple after many troubles but Nanami dies due to an accident. Nanami hangs around Joon-ho even after her death because she couldn’t leave her loved one and then she eventually finds out the truth about her death.
Will they love each other once again?

Cast

Song Seung-heon 송승헌 As Joon-ho (준호)
Nanako Matsushima 松嶋菜々子 As Nanami (나나미)

Bang-ja Chronicles

방자전 (Bang-ja-jeon)

Directed by Kim Dae-woo (김대우)
•Drama/Historical
Opening Date : Jun 03, 2010

'Bang-ja Chronicles' (BANGJAJEON) is a motion picture twist to Chunhyangjeon, a classic Korean romance novel. In this new film, Kim changes its plot - in the original novel, it's a love story of Mongryong and Chunhyang, but in the film, Bangja, Mongryong's servant, joins in to make it a love triangle.

Kim Joo-hyeok plays Bangja, Ryoo Seung-beom as Mongryong and Jo Yeo-jeong as Chunhyang. The film opens on June 3.

The original novel has been adapted into movies several times, most notably as SEONG CHUNHYANG in 1961 by Shin Sang-ok. Starring Choi Eun-hee and Kim Jin-gyu as Chunhyang and Mongryong, respectively, it was one of the first full color-cinemascope Korean films. Veteran director Im Kwon-taek also made his own adaptation CHUNHYANG in 2000, starring Jo Seung-woo and Lee Hyo-jeong.

Cast
Kim Joo-hyeok 김주혁 As Bang-ja (방자)
Ryoo Seung-beom 류승범 As Lee Mong-ryong (이몽룡)
Jo Yeo-jeong 조여정 As Choon-hyang (춘향)
Ryoo Hyeon-kyeong 류현경 As Hyang Dan-i (향단이)
Jeong Yang 정양 As Wol-lae (월래)
Kim Seong-ryeong 김성령 As Wol-mae (월매)

The Anarchists: The Nicest Terrorists You'll Ever Meet

On the eve of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, it's more than a little weird to watch Yu Yong-sik's The Anarchists (a.k.a. Anakiseuteu Anarchists) because this historical bromance about Korean terrorists who assassinate Japanese oppressors in 1920s Shanghai is so little about politics and violence and so much about brotherhood and youthful aimlessness. With a screenplay by none less than Park Chan-wook, The Anarchists isn't shy about slaughter. Men are stabbed, shot repeatedly, slit in the throat... Even women get tortured. But most of the time, this movie's all about male bonding, how young revolutionary Sang-gul (Kim In-kwon), once rescued from the gallows, comes to love and respect his mentors in the revolution. They're a likable bunch: a nihilistic opium addict named Seregay (Jang Dong-gun), a hotheaded prankster named Dol-suk (Lee Beom-su), a bespectacled didact named Myung-Gon (Kim Sang-jung) and a wannabe radical named Geun (Jeong Jun-ho) who never really seems to have his heart in the cause even as he's willing to sacrifice his life to it. Though the characters never break into a chorus of "Friendship / Friendship / Just a perfect blendship," you do get the feeling that they're humming it when the camera pans away.

Platonic loyalty is hardly unique to Park's canon. Think of the absurdly devoted women in Lady Vengeance or the extreme devotion among the soldiers in J.S.A.: Joint Security Area. But the camaraderie shared by characters written by Park but directed by others always feels more palsy-walsy than sealed in blood. In both Yu's The Anarchists and Lee Mu-yeong's The Humanist, the extremism that defines unconditional love is tempered, leaving something more like chumminess in its place. Admittedly, few directors can match Park's ability to glamorize violence without losing its grotesqueness. De Palma and Scorsese immediately come to mind. And Yu, admittedly has one scene that comes close: A slow-mo bit in which Seregay gets a bullet hole in the head then falls backwards, his descent captured at various camera angles heightening the surreality of the cigarette still smoking between his now-dead lips. But that's an isolated moment. Most bloody encounters in The Anarchists are a little too tamely respectful of the audience to actually achieve something that would earn the audience's wildly undying respect.

The Invincible

무적자 (Moo-jeok-ja)

Directed by Song Hae-seong (송해성)
•Action
•124min
Opening Date : Sep 16, 2010
'The Invincible' is a remake of 'A Better Tomorrow' by John Woo, it's a co-production between South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan.

Cast

Joo Jin-mo 주진모 As Hyeok (혁)
Song Seung-heon 송승헌 As Yeong-choon (영춘)
Kim Kang-woo 김강우 As Cheol (철)
Jo Han-seon 조한선 As Tae-min (태민)
Seo Tae-hwa 서태화

Mischievous Kiss

장난스런 키스 (Jangnanseureon Kiseu)

Chinese Title : 韩版惡作劇之吻
Also known as: Playful Kiss
Genre: Romance, school
Episodes: 20
Broadcast Network: MBC
Air time: Wednesday & Thursday 21:55
Broadcasting dates :
Sep 01, 2010 ~ Nov 04, 2010

Synopsis

Based on the popular manga, Oh Ha Ni is a clumsy student who falls for the perfectionist, Baek Seung Jo. However, Seung Jo is indifferent towards her and rejects her love. When Ha Ni’s house collapses, she and her father moves into his long-time friend’s house. It turns out that Seung Jo is the friend’s son and Ha Ni is given the opportunity to be near the guy she loves. Will she be able to move Seung Jo’s heart?

Cast
Kim Hyun Joong as Baek Seung Jo
Jung So Min as Oh Ha Ni
Lee Tae Sung as Bong Joon Gu
Jang Ah Young as Hong Jang Mi
Choi Won Hong as Baek Eun Jo (Seung Jo’s brother)
Kang Nam Gil as Oh Gi Dong (Ha Ni’s father)
Jung Hye Young as (Seung Jo’s mother)
Oh Kyung Soo (오경수) as Baek Soo Chang (Seung Jo’s father)
Yoon Seung Ah as Ko Min Ah (Ha Ni’s friend)
Hong Yoon Hwa (홍윤화) as Jung Joo Ri (Ha Ni’s friend)
Hwang Hyo Eun as Song Kang Yi (Ha Ni’s homeroom teacher)
Kang Doo as Song Ji Oh (Seung Jo’s homeroom teacher)
Song Yong Shik (송용식)

Production Credits
Production Company: Group Eight
Chief Producer: Han Hee
Producer: Song Byung Joon (송병준)
Director: Hwang In Roe, Kim Do Hyung (김도형)
Original writing: Manga “Itazura na Kiss” by Tada Kaoru
Screenwriter: Go Eun Nim (고은님)

White: The Melody of the Curse (Movie - 2011)

화이트: 저주의 멜로디 (Hwa-i-teu: Jeo-woo-eui Mel-lo-di)

Directed by Kim Gok (김곡), Kim Sun (김선)

•Horror •Fear

Release date in South Korea : 2011/06/09
Previously known as "White"


Opening Date : Jun 09, 2011

Synopsis
Pop band Pink Dolls emerges to stardom after releasing a remake of “White,” written by an anonymous composer. The more popular the members become, however, the more they become torn by jealousy and rivalries. But as the girls each take turns to become the lead vocalist, mysterious incidents occur.

White Valentine: When a Love Story Isn't About Love at All

I find Yang Yun-ho's White Valentine incredibly frustrating. And not just because Lee Eun-kyeong's meandering screenplay has its characters needlessly talking in code or telling each other "Don't tell me!" when the hidden truths don't even seem that earth-shattering. I won't even blame the twee hypersensitivity so execrably conveyed by Jun Gianna as a female high school dropout with a passion for drawing and Park Shin-yang as a widowed pet store owner obsessed with damaged pigeons. I've seen poorly written screenplays poorly acted before. They tend to bore more than irritate me as a rule. What truly sucks about White Valentine, however, is the way it keeps pretending to be this sentimental love story about two drifting rejects who can't find a way to set sail together, because they're too timid to reveal their true selves.

They meet in a park. They write each other anonymous notes sent via carrier pigeon. He keeps pining for her even as she stalks him. He can't see the obvious and she won't announce her identity — maybe because she can't comprehend why he can't pull together all the freaking clues she puts in his way. After awhile, you get the feeling in White Valentine, that this morose duo isn't unlucky so much as they're unsure. Sure, they're stunted beings unlikely to take big risks. But maybe, just maybe, they're also circumspect cynics who are looking at each other and thinking, "Hmm, maybe this one isn't what I"m looking for." On that count, they may both be right. She's able to turn her inner frustration into a piece of kiddie lit. He turns his angst into a coffee table book of bird photographs. Can you really fault love lost when it gives you each a book deal? And when, years later, he discovers the children's book that she's illustrated and recognizes the cover artwork (and the truth that comes with it: It was HER after all!), does he race to find his secret sweetheart? No. He moseys over to the store that her just-as-evasive grandfather (Jeon Mu-song) once ran then shuffles outside the train station where she's about to embark to other climes. When suddenly he makes a mad dash for the tracks, I, for one, was left fantasizing that he'd thrown himself on the tracks. I can't imagine eternal bliss for these two. I see a house filled with melancholia. Boo-hoo and then boo.

From obscurity, a star is born

Within a month, Cha Ji-yeon, 29, has gone from obscurity to renown in the music industry. That may seem like an instant in a world where stars are born and flame out quickly, but Cha's whirlwind success has actually been years in the making.


It all started in May when she appeared as a backup singer with Yim Jae-bum on "Survival: I Am a Singer", a popular reality TV show. Though the segment was short, Cha managed to captivate the audience.


She also managed to impress a few record company executives, who offered her a recording contract. She released her first single, "Where Are You?", at the end of the month.


Then, earlier this month, she was named best actress at the Musical Awards on June 7 for her performance in the musical "Seopyeonje".


Taken together, she said, the experience was magical.


"Last month felt like a dream. Every morning I would wake up afraid of feeling too blessed", she said.


To some, Cha may just seem like a lucky woman. But she has endured all kinds of hardship in her relatively young life. When she was still a teenager, her family's business failed and she moved to Seoul with her younger sister to earn money for her family. For the next six years, she worked at bars and food stands while taking care of her sister and continuing to pursue her dream of becoming a singer. During that time, she sent demo tapes to record companies, but never had any success until a friend suggested she audition for a musical.


It wasn't long before she was cast as an understudy in a Japanese production of "The Lion King". She got her turn on stage when the actor playing Rafiki, a leading role, was unable to continue and she was selected to play the part.


Despite having a tough journey on her way to stardom, Cha is familiar with fame. Her grandfather, Park Oh-yong, is a renowned pansori (theatrical form of narrative singing) singer and an intangible cultural asset. As a child, the people in Cha's neighborhood referred to her a "gugak (Korean traditional music) prodigy". So it was fitting that she won her best actress award for Seopyeonje, which tells the story of a pansori family.


The JoongAng Ilbo recently sat down with Cha to talk with her about her recent success and future plans.




Q. How do you feel about winning the best actress award?


A. As someone once said, if you follow your passion there will come a day when you finally get what you want. The award has surely given me confidence. I'm pleased that the way I've lived my life is worthy of an award.


What does Seopyeonje mean to you?


It is a piece that marked a turning point in my life as an actress. Prior to that, I was used to playing tough characters who were unlucky yet passionate. But in Seopyeonje, I was able to be rather relaxed and natural.


What do musicals mean to you?


When I received the award, I was not exaggerating when I said that I have never thought of myself as Someone Special. I was uneasy about my future in my 20s, but musical theater was an escape. As an actress I was trying not to let my life collapse. It feels unreal that I get to sing and act on stage. I guess I am well suited for the theater.


How did you end up working with Yim Jae-bum on I Am a Singer?


When I was in The Lion King, songwriter Ha Gwang-hun saw me perform. Later, he came backstage and told me that he felt like something interesting would eventually happen with my career and he was eager to see what I would do. His generosity made me trust him, just as a daughter has faith in her father.


Two days before the I Am a Singer episode was to be taped, he asked me to sing backup vocals for Yim Jae-bum. I was a little afraid, but Ha encouraged me by saying, "You can do it". I had one day of rehearsal before the taping, but I think I did well. And I was shocked by the positive reaction from the audience.


Now that you have a recording contract, how do you feel about having to face the record producers who once rejected you?


I act as if nothing happened, but facing them is quite uncomfortable. It was heartbreaking to try for six years to produce an album only to fail. But I think those years helped me become the person I am today. If it had been easy, then I wouldn't have the passionate and obsessive attitude toward my job that I do now.


What are you planning to do next?


I'm going to be a guest on Yim's upcoming Korea tour and plan to release more albums. I'm also thinking about auditioning for a movie or television drama. I want to be adventurous and try new things. This will help me find my inner self.

Upcoming Korean movie 'Invasion of Alien Bikini'

Added the upcoming Korean movie "Invasion of Alien Bikini"'s page to HanCinema database


"Invasion of Alien Bikini" (2010)


Directed by Oh Young-Doo


With Hong Young-Guen, Ha Eun-jeong, Seo Byeong-cheol, Choi Yeong-jo, Jo Hoon-yeong, Kim Hyeon-tae,...


Synopsis

Young-gun saves a young lady from assailants and brings her into his house. She is an alien which needs sperms to breed and seduces Young-gun to get his sperms. However, Young-gun has taken a vow of chastity to keep his virginity until his marriage. She exhausts every means of gaining his sperms.

King Geunchogo

근초고왕 (Geunchogo Wang)

Chinese Title : 近肖古王
Genre: Historical
Episodes: 70
Broadcast network: KBS1
Air time: Saturday & Sunday 21:40
Broadcasting dates :
Nov 06, 2010 ~ Jan 01, 2011

Synopsis

The story of King Geunchogo, warrior king of Baekje. Under his reign, the kingdom experienced its glory days, with military conquests that saw him controlling most of the Korean peninsula and a subsequent enhancement of political power that reached its greatest height in Baekje’s history.

Cast
Kam Woo Sung as King Geunchogo
Kim Ji Soo as Buyeo Hwa
Lee Jong Won as King Gogukwon
Lee Ji Hoon as Hae Gun
Ahn Jae Mo as Jin Seung
Lee Se Eun as Wi Hong Ran
Yoon Seung Won as King Biryu (Geunchogo’s father)
Suh In Suk as Heukganggong
Choi Myung Gil as Haebi Haesosul (Biryu’s 1st Queen)
Kim Do Yun as Jinbi Saha (Biryu’s 2nd Queen)
Lee Jong Soo as Buyeo Chan
Lee Byung Wook as Buyeo Hwi
Kim Tae Hoon as Buyeo San
Han Jin Hee as King Gye
Ahn Shin Woo (안신우) as Buyeo Min
Choi Ji Na as Suk Ra Hae (Buyeo Min’s wife)
Hwang Dong Joo as Buyeo Moon
Jung Woong In as Wi Bi Rang
Kang Sung Jin as Pa Yoon
Kim Hyo Won (김효원) as Jin Jung
Kim Ki Bok as Hae Nyung
Kim Hyung Il as Jin Go Do
Jung Ui Kap as Bu Gan Tae
Kim Eung Soo as Jo Bool
Jun Byung Ok (전병옥) as Go No Ja
Park Chul Ho as Go Chi Soo
Won Suk Yun (원석연) as So Woo
Kim Joo Young as Onjo
Lee Duk Hwa as King Dongmyeongseong (Jumong)
Jung Ae Ri as So Seo No
Park Jung Woo as Queen Yuri
Han Jung Soo as Bok Goo Geom (cameo)

Production Credits
Chief Producer: Lee Jae Young (이재영)
Producer: Shin Hyun Soo, Han Chul Kyung
Director: Yoon Chang Bum, Kim Young Jo (김영조)
Assistant Director: Yoo Jong Sun (유종선), Kim Shin Il (김신일)
Sceenwriter: Jung Sung Hee, Yoo Seung Ryul (유승렬)

Pretty Mom

엄마도 예쁘다 (Eommado Yeppeuda)

Chinese Title : 妈妈也漂亮
Also known as: Mom is Also Pretty / Even Mom is Pretty
Genre: Family, Romance
Episodes: 100+
Broadcast network: KBS2
Air time: Monday to Saturday 9:20 A
Broadcasting dates :
Apr 05, 2010 ~  

Synopsis

Even mothers were girls once, and although they’re no longer young, it does not mean they cannot love. This warm family drama tells the story of Lee Soon Jin, a mother who raised her four children without a husband and single-handedly ran a restaurant to support their monetary needs.

Cast

Oh family
Kim Ja-ok as Lee Soon Jin
Kim Bin-woo as Oh Jung Soo
Jang Tae Sung as Oh Jung Chul
Lee Young Suk as Oh Jung Woo
Oh Na Ra as Oh Jung Hee
Kim Kwang Young (김광영) as Joo Min Hyuk (Jung Hee’s husband)

Hong famiy
Kim Dong Hyun as Hong Kyu Tak
Park Soon Chun as Myung Sook
Kim Sun Hyuk as Hong Woo Jin
Kim Ye Rang as Je Ni

Other people
Ahn Hong Jin as Choi Moo Young
Kim Hyung Min as Cha Young Joon
Kim So Young as Lee Yoon Joo
Jo Yang Ja as San Chung Daek

Production Credits
Director: Uhm Ki Baek (엄기백)