Jon's Korean Film Newsletter

[DVD Review] Kim Ki-young DVD Collection

This month, Taewon Entertainment, under the auspices of the Korean Film Archive, has released a boxset of four films by legendary director Kim Ki-young. It has been over a decade since the 2nd Pusan International Film Festival hosted the first major retrospective of the director’s work, leading to requests from festivals the world over to do the same. In 1998, a retrospective was held at the Berlin International Film Festival, and more recently, there have been screenings at the Cinémathèque Française, in San Fransisco and New York, as well as last month at the Korean Film Council in Seoul. These events created expectations that a release on DVD would be forthcoming. Which prompts the question: was it worth the wait?

To begin with, we are treated to only four of the 23 surviving films, and those four prints have more than their fair share of fading, scratches and dust specks. One film is even missing a couple of reels. Most of the films and supplements are plagued with faulty English subtitles. Furthermore, The Housemaid (하녀, 1960), the most eagerly anticipated title, is not included in this set (it will be released separately). So just why must you own this set?

Because Kim Ki-young was without a doubt one of the most distinctive filmmakers working not only in Korea, but in the world. The director, who seems to have developed a fondness for B-films in the 1970s, was not averse to to mixing genres, and his stories are often a curious blend of mystery, horror, supernatural, melodrama and exploitation. It should come as no surprise that in stories in which rape, murder, human sacrifice (and mice) figure prominently, extreme camerawork was called for, and it is there in spades: colored gels, intentional blurring, rapid pans and zooms, sudden close-ups, wacky camera angles and lurid color, much to the delight of fans everywhere.

Quite unlike his contemporaries, Kim presents a world in chaos, peopled by predatory females, cowardly males driven by the basest of impulses, where unquestioned patriarchal authority no longer exists. Sexual politics is what interests him most. All this might be heavy going were it not for the abundant flourishes of brazen humor that add spice to the proceedings, such as when a woman justifies her husband’s non-consensual vasectomy, invoking the “Family Planning Act” (The Insect Woman, 1972). When asked what audience he had in mind when making these subversive and often shocking films, Kim responded that they were made for women, as housewives represented the bulk of filmgoers.

What is baffling is that these movies were made under the most unfavorable circumstances imaginable, during the repressive military dictatorship of Park Chun-hee, when everything from the rearing of children to the workplace was highly regimented. On top of which, in spite of the reclusive director’s utter disregard for commercial considerations, his pictures continued to achieve box-office success well into the 1970s, and went on to capture several awards. What is perhaps even more remarkable, considering the bizarre nature of his films, is that by all accounts, the director led a relatively stable life: he grew up in a loving home, studied dentistry at Seoul National University, married a classmate and remained faithful until their untimely death in a house fire in 1998.

Goryeojang (고려장, 1963)

The earliest film in the collection, Goryeojang features superb B&W lensing and outstanding performances. A woman arrives with her sole surviving son (Guryong) to a village in order to marry a man with ten sons by four previous marriages (yes, I’m not making this up!). The village is beset by recurring famines and has an unfortunate tradition of sending its elderly to the Sacred Peak to die (apparently, abstinence was not an option). The village shaman, scorned by the groom, places a curse on his ten sons. Shortly after their wedding, the sons play a cruel trick on Guryong and he is maimed for life. The woman leaves her husband to live with her son on a plot of land he has given her. The years go by, and the bitter rivalry between the ten sons intensifies when they learn of Guryong’s impending wedding. Shortly after his wedding, tragedy strikes and he is alone again with his aging mother. Many more years pass when a prolonged drought pits the brothers, who own the sole well in the village, against Guryong, who has been using his supply of food to extort land from all the villagers.

Persons with disablities appear to have been a recurring the motif in Kim’s oeuvre, stemming perhaps from his experience as a filmmaker for the USIS during the Korean War, where he must have witnessed many such casualties. In this film, he handles them with a refreshing realism and lack of affectation. The sets and makeup are spectacular, as is the set of the Sacred Peak that Kim reserves until toward the film’s breathtaking finale. The adult Guryong is performed by Kim Jin-kyu, who also starred in some of Shin Sang-ok’s finest movies and Jeon Young-sun, the saccharine daughter in Mother and Guest, also has a small but affecting role.

Two reels of film are lost and during seventeen minutes of the movie there is no image, only the soundtrack. The dialogue and missing scenes are provided in the accompanying booklet. The English subtitles on this film are excellent.

The Insect Woman (충녀, 1972)

Myung-ja (Yun Yeo-jong), a schoolgirl traumatized by the loss of her “father”, is coerced by her mother into working as a barmaid in order to help put her older brother through college. The inexperienced girl falls into the hands of the shrewd proprieter and madam (Park Jeong-ja). At the club, Myung-ja is introduced to Mr. Kim ( Nam Gung-won), a customer suffering from impotency and henpecked by a domineering wife. When the middle-aged man consents to make the teenager his mistress, a vicious and often bitingly humorous battles ensues between the two women. Not since the Japanese Angel Guts series have I seen a film as audacious, inventive and perverse as this one, with its frank portrayal of the cannibalistic relations between the sexes. Perhaps the film’s most famous image is that of the sex scene on a glass floor covered with colored candies. Yoon is wonderful as the feisty Myung-ja, as is Nam Gung-won as the fumbling Mr. Kim.

Of the four films included in the set, this transfer suffers the most from every imaginable sort of damage—fading, dirt, scratches and shifting color balance—in addition to the added distraction of burned-in Spanish subtitles. 

Promise of the Flesh (육체의 약속, 1975)

This story is a remake of Lee Man-hee’s Late Autumn, which no longer exists. When we first encounter Hyo-soon (Kim Ji-mi), she is boarding the train for her hometown to meet the only man she has ever loved, a meeting we are told will never take place. Through flashbacks, we learn that while serving time in prison for unpremeditated murder, Hyo-soon was allowed by a compassionate parole officer (Park Jeong-ja) to make the very same journey several years earlier.

Along the way, the two women are greeted by a young man (Lee Jeong-gil) who offers them a lunch box from the train station, a gesture that would later hold great significance for Hyo-soon. The woman had until then experienced nothing but grief at the hands of men, having been raped several times. Her loss of faith in humanity, compounded by the loss of her mother, left her with little reason to live, and she had already made repeated attempts to take her own life. The chance meeting of the young man restored her will to live, and the two lovers vowed to meet again after her release from prison in two years.

The haunting theme song and the uncharacteristic use of voice-over convey Hyo-soon’s longing and contribute to the air of melancholy that permeates this, the most subjective and intensely personal film in the collection. Long stretches of time pass on the train without any dialogue, punctuated only by the sound of the train rolling along the tracks. The little details of ordinary life: a coke bottle rolling along the floor, the parole officer feeding pink candies to her prisoner, the young man blowing cigarette smoke rings to amuse the women—acquire an added gravity as they are recalled in flashbacks. The frantic attempts by the couple to embrace one another through a prison wall, efforts thwarted by the parole officer and several policemen, make a vivid impression, and Park Jin-pyo made use of this scene in You Are My Sunshine (너는 내 운명, 2005). The print shows the effects of age and is covered with dust specks. The English subtitles are awkward, with many grammatical errors.

Ieodo (이어도, 1977)

What begins as a press junket for a new hotel on Jeju Island to be named after the mythical island of the film’s title turns into a supernatural murder mystery when one of the journalists (Choi Yoon-seok) aboard the ship disappears overnight after a quarrel with Seonwoo Hyun (Kim Jeong-cheol), the mastermind behind the promotional event. In order to clear his name of any suspicion of wrongdoing, Seonwoo Hyun, together with the reporter’s boss (Park Am) head for Parang island, inhabited only by a population of aging sex-starved female divers. The blend of mystery, supernatural, pseudo-science and graphic sexual imagery likening sex to the mating of insects recalls the tales of Japanese writer Edogawa Rampo. The camera takes full advantage of the beauty of the ocean, the island’s jagged coastline and actress Lee Hwa-si’s stunning features. Toss in an exuberant sexually-charged shamanistic ritual (performed by Park Jeong-ja) and a shocking scene of necrophilia, and it adds up to an experience you won’t soon forget. The subtitles are frustratingly bad and the faded print has loads of dust specks, but the colors are more saturated than those of the other films in the set.

Bonus Material

Disc One: Goryeojang

Commentary by Lee Yeon-ho (film critic) and Kim Dae-seung (director, Blood Rain)
Directors on Kim Ki-young (Kim Hong-joon, 2006) 48 min.

The list of 22 directors who pay tribute to Kim Ki-young on this featurette reads like a who’s who of some of Chungmuro’s brightest young filmmakers. Here’s the rundown: Kim Gok, Kim Dae-seung, Kim Sun, Kim Ji-woon, Kim Tae-young, Ryoo Seung-wan, Min Dong-hyun, Park Ki-hyung, Park Soo-young, Park Jae-young, Park Jin-pyo, Park Chan-wook, Byun Young-joo, Bong Joon-ho, Song Il-gon, Shin Jane, Um Hye-jung, Oh Seung-wook, Im Sang-soo, Jang Jun-hwan, Jung Yoon-chul and Jung Ji-woo.

The prevailing sentiment is that of an accumulation of lost opportunities: regret that the Kim Ki-young did not live to complete what was to have been his ‘comeback’ film, Diabolical Woman; regret at not having had the occasion to speak with the director, or in the case of Bong Joon-ho, not realizing at the time he was filming The Host that one of his actresses had actually worked alongside Kim. Some of them acknowledged their indebtedness to the director, including Kim Ji-woon and Park Jin-pyo, both of whom adapted scenes of his for use in their own films. In addition to scenes from films included in the set, are clips from numerous other of Kim’s films from the 70s and 80s, as well as from The Housemaid. The directors are nicely photographed, presumably in their studio offices. Special mention must be made of the grammatically correct, idiomatic English subtitles, the best of the set.

Disc Two: The Insect Woman

Commentary by Kim Young-jin (film critic) and Bong Joon-ho (director, The Host)
Kim Ki-young on Kim Ki-young (1997) 35 minutes

This featurette, made on the occasion of the retrospective at the 2nd Pusan International Film Festival, was shot in the director’s home and is divided into eight themes:

I) Reflection of Contemporary Images: Kim Ki-young’s Filmmaking
II) To Hate Ideas and Ideology
III) Cult Film? To Show the Truth
IV) Main Theme: Women and Family
V) To Anticipate Women Dominating Society
VI) Criticisms on the Completion Quality of His Latter Films and His Answer
VII) Depth, Kim Ki-young’s Space Design
VIII) Critical Interest in Kim Ki-young’s Films

Kim talks about the influence Greek plays and Ibsen had on his scriptwriting; his dislike of ‘ism’s’ and ideologies; and his dislike of clear-cut endings, among many other things. Kim seems relaxed in the comfort of his home, taking puffs on his pipe as he delivers his answers, which he appears to be reading from a prepared manuscript.

Disc Three: Promise of the Flesh

Commentary by Chung Sung-il (film critic)
Director Kim Ki-young Special Documentary (52 minutes)

This documentary was made on the occasion of the retrospective of the director’s work at the 2nd Pusan International Film Festival. Director Kim was accompanied by cinematographer Jeong Il-seong and actress Park Jeong-ja at the press conference. The room was practically empty. Clearly choked up and eyes welling with tears, Jeong said that he felt sorry that only one director deigned to attend Kim’s press conference. Know who that was? Hint: he just completed his hundredth film last year.

After a screening of The Housemaid, Kim tells the audience that filmmaking was his hobby, and that he was an amateur director, by which he meant that he was completely self-taught and had no business sense whatsoever. He went on to say that it was thanks to the support of his wife, who produced his films, that he was able to pursue his filmmaking career. It was when as many as 300 films and 1000 videos a year began to inundate the market that Kim discontinued making movies. In 1997, he said, Koreans, maybe sick of watching American films, were starting to watch Korean films again. This documentary also contains the same footage found on Kim Ki-young on Kim Ki-young.

Disc Four: Ieodo

Commentary by Kim Young-jin (film critic) and Oh Seung-wuk (director, Kilimanjaro, 2000)

Final Thoughts

This handsomely packaged set is the most significant Korean release since last year’s Shin Sang-ok Collection, and both belong in any filmlover’s collection. While one can gripe about the condition of the prints and the poor English subtitling, the selection is a fine one, and opinions are likely to be strongly divided over which film is best. My own favorite? Why, Goryeojang, of course! In the meanwhile, The Housemaid, which screened at Cannes in May, is undergoing restoration by the World Cinema Foundation and will hopefully be released on DVD sometime early next year.

DVD Details

All four discs are NTSC, all-region and anamorphically enhanced for widescreen television.
English, Korean and Japanese subtitles on feature films, bonus materials and commentary tracks.
An 87 page bilingual booklet that includes the missing scenes and dialogue from Goryeojang.

Related Links

• Order the set here

-- Posted July 13, 2008 by Jon Pais

[Korean Film News] Kim Hae-gon's Destiny (숙명) Pre-Sold to Japan

You can’t keep a bad man down. Scathing reviews couldn’t prevent Shim Hyung-rae’s CG dragon film D-War (디 워) from becoming the biggest hit of the year (7 million tickets and counting...) by a Korean director. And a directorial debut as distasteful as Between Love and Hate (연애, 그 참을 수 없는 가벼움, 2006), which attracted a mere 531,681 viewers, couldn’t stop actor/writer turned filmmaker Kim Hae-gon (김해곤) from jumping headlong into his next project. Starring Kwon Sang-woo (Once Upon a Time in High School) and Song Seung-heon, Destiny (숙명) is described as an action noir “depicting four friends dealing with friendship, righteousness and betrayal”. Kwon plays “a man whose boundless desires seem to lead towards a catastrophe”. Evidently, Kwon, one of Korea’s bankable hallyu stars, still wants to be taken seriously as an actor. Some may recall the heartthrob’s over-the-top performance in Running Wild (야수, 2005), in which Kwon played a violent detective with bad hair and Tourette’s syndrome. The Japanese rights to Destiny have been pre-sold to Formula Entertainment for US $2 million, the largest figure paid this year, presumably on the strength of Kwon’s idol status in Japan. We reported a while back that Failan (파이란, 2001), whose screenplay was written by Kim, is to be remade by director Vadim Perelman. Shooting of Destiny began last May and a release is tentatively scheduled by year’s end.

[Source: KOFIC]

Related Links

KFC Forum Thread

--Posted 28 August 2007 by Jon Pais

[Korean Film News] Yu Ha Casts Jo In-seong for Upcoming Historical Drama

Director Yu Ha (유하) is putting the finishing touches on the screenplay for his next film, but it won’t be the anticipated closing chapter of his gangster trilogy that began with the outstanding Once Upon a Time in High School (말죽거리 잔혹사) (2003), followed by last year’s A Dirty Carnival (비열한 거리). Instead, the director will be tackling a historical melodrama about a bi-sexual warrior in the Goryeo Kingdom (918 - 1392). In an interview, Yu said he always felt uncomfortable with the genre, but welcomed the challenge and a chance to do something new. As he is still at work on the script, Yu was understandably tight-lipped about the project, other than to describe the movie as “a love story between men”. The as-yet unnamed film will once more star heartthrob Jo In-seong (조인성) who, in addition to undergoing martial arts training at the end of this month, will also have to learn horseback riding, fencing and how to play the geomungo, a six-stringed wooden instrument. This will be Jo’s last film before his compulsory military service. Other cast members remain to be chosen. Opus Pictures will produce. The script should be ready by the end of September, with filming to begin next March.

Listen to the geomungo

[Source: broasia, KOFIC]

--Posted 18 August 2007 by Jon Pais

[Korean DVD News] If You Were Me 3 [세 번째 시선] Available for Pre-Order

The third installment of the critically acclaimed “If You Were Me” series commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea consists of six shorts dealing with everything from illegal immigration to racism and workplace insecurity. Included in the set are: Muhammad The Hermit King by Jeong Yun-cheol [정윤철] (Marathon), The Girl Disappeared by Kim Hyeon-pil [김현필] (Wonderful Days), GaP by Lee Mi-yeon [이미연] (L’Abri), A Rough Life by Noh Dong-seok [노동석] (My Generation), Bomb! Bomb! Bomb! by Kim Gok [김곡] and Kim Sun [김선] (Capitalist Manifesto: Working Men Of All Countries, Accumulate!) and What Shall I Do? by Hong Gi-seon [홍기선] (The Road Taken). Adam Hartzell, reporting for GreenCine Daily from last year’s PIFF, wrote that Bomb! Bomb! Bomb! was the best thing he’d seen so far at the festival, and called the Kim duo’s previous collaboration “fascinatingly weird”. I happened to catch Capitalist Manifesto on an outstanding DVD collection called The True Heart Towards the World, and thought it the most disappointing entry in the set, leading me to wonder if we’d even been watching the same film. If You Were Me 3 screened at both the Jeonju International Film Festival and the Pusan International Film Festival.

Volumes one and two of the ongoing series may now be purchased together as a special limited edition set.

Adam Hartzell’s Review

Posters, Screen Shots, Trailers, Production Photos

Pre-Order DVD (Available August 21)

--Posted 4 August 2007 by Jon Pais

Hong Sang-soo to Begin Filming Nuit et jour (Night and Day) in August

Hong Sang-soo, in Paris last September for the casting of his next film, will return this fall to shoot Nuit et jour (Night and Day), but it will no longer be in French. The dramatic comedy is about a debt-ridden painter who must flee Seoul for Paris, leaving his wife behind. This being a Hong Sang-soo film, it comes as no surprise that the artist soon finds himself romantically involved with a young Korean student. The lead actors, known mostly for their work in television, include Kim Young-ho, who has had small roles in films, including My Wife is a Gangster. The French-Korean co-production, to be filmed mostly in Korean, will be released in early 2008.

[Source: Cinémasie]

--Posted 1 August 2007 by Jon Pais

 

 

[Korean DVD News] Kim Hee-jung's The Wonder Years [열세살, 수아] (2007) Available for Pre-Order

If you thought you'd just read about the theatrical release of The Wonder Years, you're not mistaken. As collectors of Korean DVDs are well aware, once a film is shown on the big screen, its appearance on the coveted shiny disc can never be far behind -- usually a matter of just a few months. But, in what amounts to about as close to a simultaneous theatrical/video release as one could possibly imagine, Kim Hee-jung's [김희정] debut feature is slated for release on DVD on July 31st -- a mere six weeks after it opened in the tenth spot on June 14th. True, the film sold a lousy 3,000 tickets, but it was competing against blockbusters like Ocean's 13 and Shrek 3. The coming-of-age film stars Lee Se-young [이세영] as a teenager who believes her true mother is the lead singer (Kim Yu-na [김윤아], lead vocal of Jaurim) of a popular rock group. Determined to find her, the young girl heads off for Seoul with a friend in order to be reunited with her real parent. Lee Hyo-won, writing for the Korea Times, calls The Wonder Years "[a] small gem of a film with subdued charms," and goes on to say that "[t]he film is quietly captivating in its realistic portrait of life in a small suburban city (...) Kim captures on-screen insightful details, believable characters and familiar emotional tensions." The film also stars Choo Sang-Mi [추상미] (Turning Gate). Director Kim, a graduate of the Polish National Film School in Lodz, is the first Korean to be selected for support from the 2005 Cannes Residence Program. The single disc "Limited Edition" DVD is encoded region 3 and has optional English subtitles.

Pre-Order DVD

--Posted 13 July 2007 by Jon Pais

 

[Korean DVD News] Driving With My Wife's Lover [아내의 애인을 만나다] (2006) DVD Available in August

Kim Tae-sik’s [김태식] debut feature film, Driving With My Wife’s Lover [아내의 애인을 만나다], will be released on DVD next month by Art Service Korea. The black comedy about a jilted husband bent on revenge stars Park Kwang-jung [박광정] as Tae-han, an ordinarily mild-mannered husband who shuts down his small shop to hail the taxi belonging to Joon-sik (Jung Bo-suk, 정보석), his wife’s lover, for a comic and tension-filled ride from Seoul back to Naksan, his hometown. Other cast members include Jo Eun-Ji [조은지] (The President's Last Bang), Kim Seong-Mi [김성미], Yu Yeon-Su [유연수], and Oh Dal-Su [오달수] (The Show Must Go On, I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK). The Japanese-Korean co-production has screened at numerous festivals, including the Sundance International Film Festival, Denmark’s NatFilm Festival, and the 35th Belgrade International Film Festival, and has picked up several awards, including Best Director Award at Monaco’s International Emerging Talent Film Festival last May. The film was also nominated for Best New Director and Best New Actor (Park Kwang-jung) at this year's Grand Bell Awards. Future engagements include the 30th Asian American International Film Festival in New York and the 9th Cinepan Asian Film Festival in New Delhi. The film premiered last October at the 11th Pusan International Film Festival and was released locally on April 26, 2007. The DVD is scheduled for release on August 30, 2007.

Posters, Photos, Production Shots

Previous entry

[Source: KOFIC]

--Posted 11 July 2007 by Jon Pais

 

[Korean DVD News] The Shin Sang Ok Collection Up For Pre-Order

An event of major importance for film lovers, Taewon Entertainment will be releasing a set of five films by legendary director Shin Sang-ok [신상옥], some of which have never before been seen in the West. Shin, born in Chongjin (now part of North Korea) in 1926, went to Japan at the age of 16 to study film. Returning to Korea three years later, he got his first start in motion pictures as art director on Choi In-kyu’s Liberation film Hurrah! For Freedom (1946). In the 1950s and 1960s, Shin established himself as one of Korea’s major filmmakers, producing hundreds of films and directing as many as two or three per year. In 1954, Shin married popular actress Choi Eun-hee, who would later star in several of the director’s films, including Mother and a Guest, for which Shin received the Best Director prize at the 1st Daejong Film Awards. In the 1970s, strict government censorship crippled the local film industry, and Shin’s studio was closed down in 1978. That same year, Shin and his recently divorced wife were kidnapped by North Korean dictator and self-professed film buff Kim Jung-il, with the intention of jump-starting the Stalinist state’s film industry. Shin directed seven films in the North before making a daring escape with Choi in 1986. The couple sought asylum in the United States where the director, working under the alias Simon Sheen, made “3 Ninjas Knuckle Up” (1995), a children’s martial-arts movie. Shin returned to South Korea in 1994, continuing to make films until health problems put an end to his career. Shin died in Seoul on April 11, 2006. The “Shin Sang Ok Collection” includes A Romantic Papa (1960), Mother and a Guest [사랑방 손님과 어머니] (1961), Seong Chun-hyang [성춘향] (1961), Deaf Samryongee (1964), and One Thousand-Year-Old Fox (1969). Special features include a documentary and interview. Optional English subtitles are provided for the films and bonus materials, and the set comes with a handsome Korean/English guidebook.

Review of Mother and a Guest (by Peter Martin)

Wikipedia entry

Pre-Order Shin Sang Ok Collection, LE (5 DVD Box Set) (Scheduled release date: July 19, 2007)

 

[Korean Film News] Black House [검은 집] To Haunt Japan in October

Korean horror film Black House [검은 집], the sophomore effort by director Sin Tae-ra [신태라], and starring Hwang Jeong-min [황정민] (You Are My Sunshine), is scheduled to open in 250 theatres in Japan this October. In the picture, based on a best-selling Japanese novel by Yûsuke Kishi, Hwang plays an insurance company employee who must fight against a psychopath while investigating the suicide of a 7- year-old boy. The film, which opened on 353 screens in Korea on June 21st, sold 377,195 admissions over the weekend, landing the number 1 spot and breaking an eight-week stranglehold by Hollywood. The movie sold 909,172 tickets as of July 1st, restoring a bit of lustre to the Korean film industry, suffering the worst first-half year performance since 2001.

[Source: KBS Global, Variety]

 

--Posted 6 July 2007 by Jon Pais

[Korean Film News] CJ Takes Over Reins of The Good, The Bad and the Weird

Aside from Bong Joon-ho's proposed science-fiction film based on the French comic book "La Transperceneige", no other big-budget Korean film interests me quite as much as does Kim Ji-woon's Sergio Leone-inspired The Good, the Bad and the Weird [좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈]. Shooting had hardly begun on the $11 million "Korean spaghetti western", which stars Lee Byeong-heon, Jeong Woo-seong, and Song Kang-ho, when news broke that Showbox was pulling out of the deal. CJ Entertainment will take over the financing and distribution. There is speculation that the soft market for Korean films, particularly in Japan, is the reason for Showbox's last-minute withdrawal. The picture pre-sold to French outfit ARP Selection for a six-figure sum at the Cannes market in May.

[Source: Variety]

 

--Posted 29 June 2007 by Jon Pais

 

[Korean Film News] Sequel to The Host in Pre-Production

Chungeoram Productions is already at work on the sequel to Bong Joon-ho's The Host, and while details about the director and cast have yet to be announced, executive producer Choi Yong-bae said Monday that full-scale production will begin this fall, with a theatrical release slated for sometime in 2008. The computer graphics for the 10 billion won (US$10.7 million) film will be done locally this time. San Fransisco-based The Orphanage created the special effects for Bong Joon-ho's monster hit.

[Source: Yonhap News via The Hankyoreh]

 

 

[Korean Film News] New Trailer for Kim Ji-hoon’s Historical Drama May 18 [화려한 휴가]

We've got a new poster and trailer for Kim Ji-hoon's upcoming historical drama May 18 [화려한 휴가], thanks to KFCC. The film deals with the Kwangju uprising, a pivotal moment in Korea's struggle for democracy. I voiced my reservations about the choice of director and crew in an earlier article, but I must say the trailer has definitely peaked my interest. The film hits theatres July 19th.

Trailer (downloadable, wmv)

Posters, trailers, photos, production shots

KFCC forum thread

Previous entry

[Korean Film News] Kim Hee-Jeong's The Wonder Years [열세살, 수아]

In the midst of the clamour of the summer season, along comes a subdued coming-of-age drama about a young girl (Lee Se-young) whose quite ordinary life takes on new meaning when she becomes persuaded that her real mother is the lead singer (Kim Yu-na, lead vocal of Jaurim) of a popular rock group. By ordinary, we don’t mean dull, as the film is brimming with observations about small-town life and the joys and sorrows of being a teenager. When thirteen-year-old Su -ah and her mother (Choo Sang-mi) are forced to leave the eatery that also serves as their home, the taunts of peers persuade her to take off for Seoul with a friend, determined to find the female rock star. Kim Hee-jung, 37, is the first Korean to receive support from the Cannes Residence Program for new directors. The film opened in theatres on June 14th.

Director: Kim Hee-Jeong [김희정]
Cast: Choo Sang-Mi [추상미] (Turning Gate, 2002), Lee Se-Yeong [이세영] (Lovely Rivals, 2004), Kim Yu-na [김윤아] (The President's Last Bang, 2005)

Posters, photos, production shots, trailers

[Source: The Korea Times]

--Posted 16 June 2007 by Jon Pais

[Korean Film News] Costume Drama Hwang Jin-yi [황진이] Arrives In June

The life of Hwang Jin-yi, a celebrated 16th century courtesan, has been the inspiration for countless novels, TV dramas and films, but director Jang Yoon-hyeon's (The Contact, 1997) latest work is the most lavish to date. The 10 billion won ($10.7 million) period drama is based on a ficitonalized account by award-winning North Korean novelist Hong Seok-jung and stars Song Hye-kyo in the title role. Decked out with splashy action pieces, stylish costumes and the obligatory doomed love affair, any pretence of authenticity must soon be cast aside. While precious little historical evidence has survived, Hwang is thought to have been an accomplished poet and entertainer renowned for her beauty and intelligence. Charting her journey from the age of 15, when the young Jin-yi chooses the life of a gisaeng, to her rise as the most sought-after entertainer in Gaeseong (now North Korea), the film paints the picture of a passionate, strong-willed woman contemptuous of artificial class distinctions, who is torn between her love for a childhood sweetheart and the attentions of a wealthy magistrate. At the press screening, Lee Hyo-won, writing for the Korea Times, called the film "a convoluted mess that is less than compelling", and Yang Sung-jin, film critic for the Korea Herald, complained that the running time of 2 hours and 21 minutes was "unbearably long." The film opens in local theatres on June 6.

Director: Jang Yun-Hyeon [장윤현]
Cast: Song Hye-Kyo [송혜교], Yoo Ji-Tae [유지태], Park No-Shik [박노식], Jeong Yumi [정유미], Oh Tae-Gyeong [오태경]
Studio: Cine2000

Posters, Photos, Trailers, Production Shots

[Source: Korea Herald, Korea Times, Cinemasie]

Arriving in theatres in June, May 18, a film dealing with the Kwangju uprising in 1980, is interesting as much for the circumstances surrounding the film’s production as it is for some questions it raises concerning historical films, Korean cinema and film culture in general. A pivotal event in Korea’s struggle for democracy, the Kwangju uprising was a direct response to the repressive policies of General Chun Doo-hwan, who ordered universities to be shut down, muzzled the press, outlawed demonstrations and ordered the arrest of dissidents and opposition political figures. Paratroopers were sent into the city, killing hundreds of civilians. Furthermore, alleged support of the military operation by the United States was the harbinger of anti-American sentiment in the country. The film centers on the actions of Min-woo (Kim Sang-kyung), who enlists in a citizen militia charged with protecting demonstrators against Chun’s assault troops. Produced by Yoo In-taek, the film will be directed by Kim Ji-hoon (Mokpo, Gangster's Paradise [목포는 항구다], 2004). One of several films being released this year that re-examine the Kwangju uprising, the release hits theatres at a time when market share of domestic films is at a historic low, during a season traditionally reserved for horror films and Hollywood blockbusters. If May 18 fizzles at the box office, as did Im Sang-soo’s The Old Garden [오래된 정원], released in January and similarly based on events surrounding the Kwangju massacre, will it mean the end of big-budget films tackling politically charged events in Korea’s recent history?

Not by a long shot – historical films are here to stay, and the number of those treating events in recent memory is on the rise. It should come as no surprise, given the country’s turbulent past, its touch-and-go relationship with North Korea (with whom it is technically still at war), and Koreans’ strong national consciousness, that historical and political dramas figure prominently in the list of highest-grossing Korean films. A glance at the “top ten” yields: the historical fusion drama King and the Clown [왕의 남자] (2005, 12.3 M admissions), two sickly pro-reunification dramas – political thriller JSA [공동경비구역] (5.83 M admissions) and the Korean War drama Welcome to Dongmakgol [웰컴 투 동막골] (2005, 8 M admissions); another Korean War drama, Taegukgi [태극기(2004, 11.75 M admissions); and the political thrillers Shiri [쉬리] (1999, 6.2 M admissions), and Silmido [실미도] (2003, 11.1 M admissions). Hanbando [한반도], a political thriller criticized for its vehemently anti-Japanese rhetoric, was the fourth highest-grossing film of 2006.

Coupled with Koreans’ insatiable appetite for historical films is Chungmuro’s increasing experience with the genre and ever-increasing budgets. However, historical films are not without liabilities peculiar to the genre, specifically lengthy development windows and potentially excessive production costs. There are also unquantifiable risks. In 2005, the Seoul Central Court ordered the producers of Im Sang-soo’s brilliant political satire The President’s Last Bang [그때 그사람들] to remove 3 minutes and 50 seconds of documentary footage as a result of a lawsuit brought by Park Chung-hee’s son Park Ji-man (the ruling was overturned in August 2006). The film centered on events leading up to the assassination of President Park Chung-hee by the chief of the KCIA on October 26, 1979. Blue Swallow [청연] (2005), based on the life of an early female pilot and set during the 1920s, was unable to recuperate from allegations of the heroine’s pro-Japanese activities, effectively destroying the film’s chances of success. Evidently, the more recent the events depicted in a film are, the greater the likelihood of stirring up still simmering political disputes. Yet, even though set in the remote past and relying as much on myth as on written documents, the MBC TV drama Jumong [주몽] (2006), about the founder of Goguryeo, ignited an international dispute when Chinese authorities took issue with the frontiers of the ancient kingdom (37 BC- 668 AD) as depicted in the show.

As opposed to the hugely popular historical fusion dramas and a handful of costume dramas based on the lives of notable figures from Korea’s past (and targeting a predominantly female audience) -- Hwang jin yi [황진이] , Like Fireworks and Butterflies, Lee Shim and Julia -- the release of May 18 [화려한 휴가] coincides with the production of a number of films depicting significant events from Korea’s recent past, including Splendid Holidays [화려한 휴가], also dealing with the Kwangju uprising, and The Bridge at Nogunri [작은 연못], a Korean War drama recounting the slaughter by American forces of hundreds of civilians fleeing North Korea. It makes sense that Yoo In-taek, who produced A Single Spark [아름다운 청년 전태일] (1995), about labor leader Jeon Tae-il, who immolated himself on November 13, 1970 in protest of the exploitation of workers under President Park’s government, should be involved in a project like May 18. What is less clear is why director Kim, nine years of age at the time of the Kwangju uprising, and whose debut comedy Mokpo, Gangster’s Paradise [목포는 항구다] (2004) was critically trounced, was entrusted with the project.

The casting, which brings together a mix of seasoned veterans and younger hallyu stars, includes:

Kim Sang-kyeong [김상경]. A World of Silence [조용한 세상] (2006), A Tale of Cinema [극장전] (2005), Lawyers [변호사들] (TV, 2005), Memories of Murder [살인의 추억] (2003), and Turning Gate [생활의 발견] (2002).

Veteran actor Ahn Sung-ki [안성기] starred alongside Hong Kong actor Andy Lau in A Battle of Wits [墨攻] (2006). Other recent films include Radio Star [라디오 스타] (2006), Duelist [형사] (2005), and Arahan [아라한 장풍대작전] (2004).

Lee Joon-ki [이준기], best known for his role in King and the Clown [왕의 남자] (2005), appeared in Fly Daddy, Fly [플라이 대디] (2006) and My Girl [마이걸] (TV, 2005).

Cha In-pyo [차인표]. Hanbando [한반도] (2006), Mokpo, Gangster’s Paradise [목포는 항구다] (2004).

Song Jae-ho [송재호]. The President’s Last Bang [그때 그사람들] (2005), Memories of Murder [살인의 추억] (2003).

Park Cheol-min [박철민], who in the past ten years has amassed a filmography that would be the envy of those much older. See You After School [방과후 옥상] (2006), The Customer is Always Right [손님은 왕이다] (2006), and When Romance Meets Destiny [광식이 동생 광태] (2005).

Park Won-sang [박원상], another prolific actor, starred in Paradise Murdered [극락도 살인사건] (2007), The Art of Fighting [싸움의 기술] (2006), Bewitching Attraction [여교수의 은밀한 매력] (2005), Spider Forest [거미숲] (2004), The Big Swindle [범죄의 재구성] (2004), and Marriage is a Crazy Thing [결혼은 미친 짓이다] (2002).

Na Moon-hee [나문희]. Cruel Winter Blues [열혈남아] (2006), You Are My Sunshine [너는 내 운명] (2005), and Crying Fist [주먹이 운다] (2005).

Lee Yo-won [이요원]. Fashion 70s [패션] (TV, 2005), When Romance Meets Destiny [광식이 동생 광태] (2005), and Take Care of My Cat [고양이를 부탁해] (2001).

Manning the camera is Lee Doo-man, the cinematographer responsible for Wedding Campaign [나의 결혼원정기] (2005), about two farmers who go off to Uzbekistan to find a wife. Workmanlike and composed mostly of static medium and close-up shots, the lensmanship is more notable for being filmed on location rather than for any visual panache. Art direction will be handled by Park Il-hyun, creator of the look of Crying Fist [주먹이 운다] (2005), and responsible for Marriage is a Crazy Thing [결혼은 미친 짓이다] (2002), Peppermint Candy [박하사탕] (2000), and Shiri [쉬리] (1999). Obviously, with so many variables both in front of and behind the camera, just how well May 18 will do is anybody's guess.

Faced with plummeting exports, soaring production costs and the lowest domestic market share (48%) at any time since 2002, the Korean film industry is undergoing profound upheavals. In the search for solutions, the industry has curtailed the number of works in production and is seeking ways to reduce expenses, especially fees paid to top-billed stars. But these measures fail to address a fundamental underlying problem: the numbing quantity of look-alike comedies, gangster films and sequels. One possible culprit is the over-reliance on internet novels and mangas rather than on original, fully-developped scripts. More than one critic has noted a want of vitality in today’s productions when compared to the emerging cinema of the immediate post-IMF (1997) years -- a period that saw the release of films like Happy End [해피 엔드] (1999), Peppermint Candy [박하사탕] (2000), Kick the Moon [신라의 달밤] (2000), No Blood No Tears [피도 눈물도 없이] (2002), Road Movie [로드 무비] (2002), and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance [복수는 나의 것] (2002), to name just a few. Some of the most powerful works in those early years were not films, but television dramas. Two critically-acclaimed TV dramas, Eye of Dawn [여명의 눈동자] (1992) and Sandglass [모래시계] (1995), juxtaposed powerfully engaging personal stories against the unfolding panorama of Korea's struggle for independence and an end to government corruption, establishing the standard against which subsequent dramas would be measured. This engagement has increasingly shifted from mainstream to documentary and independent filmmakers, whose films are then marginalized to the festival circuit or relegated to limited runs in art house theatres, a notable example being the critically acclaimed omnibus If You Were Me series commissioned by the Korea National Human Rights Commission. As the number of special effects-laden star-vehicles rises, it is to be hoped that Korean cinema doesn't follow the trajectory of China's film industry, which not too long ago turned out films like Raise the Red Lantern (1991), now produces works like Curse of the Golden Flower (2006).

Director: Kim Ji-hoon
Cast: Lee Yo-won, Kim Sang-kyung
Executive Producer: Yoo In-taek
Producer: Lee Soo-nam, Park Chang-hyun
Distributor: CJ Entertainment
Original Story: Park Sang-yun
Cinematography: Lee doo-man
Lighting: Kang Seong-hun
Music: Kim Sung-hyun
Recording: Lee Dong-suk
Sound: Lee Sung-jin
Art: Park Il-hyun
Costumes: Kim Kyung-mi
Make-up: Yun Ye-ryung
Budget: $10 million
Release date: July

KFCC Forum Thread

Posters, Trailers, Screen Shots, Production Photos

[Source: KOFIC, Koreanfilm.org, KFCC, Han Cinema, Cinemasie]

--Posted 24 May 2007 by Jon Pais

[Korean Film News] KOFIC Publishes New English-Language Book on Lee Chang-dong

What do the films My Scary Girl [달콤, 살벌한 연인], The Customer is Always Right [손님은 왕이다], Like a Virgin [천하장사 마돈나] and Family Ties [가족의 탄생] all have in common? If you answered that they all star Baek Yoon-sik as a mentor who takes a younger protege under his wing, deduct five points. The answer? All were produced for under US $5.7 million, the average cost of making a film in Korea. My Scary Girl, the least expensive of the bunch (US $.9 million) was also the most successful - drawing in over 2 million viewers during its run, the 'break even' point according to the Korean Film Council. Though the other titles did considerably poorer at the box office, all four movies were some of the most innovative works to emerge from the peninsula in 2006, combining outstanding performances, enlivening soundtracks, excellent cinematography, and first and foremost, uniquely original screenwriting. Yet, low-budget independent films will be among the hardest hit as the Korean film industry, reeling from one of the worst years since 2002, applies a series of belt-tightening measures intended to increase profitability. These measures are to include fewer press conferences and VIP screenings, curtailing the number of prints, and encouraging longer runs in movie houses. Meanwhile, the Korea Film Producers' Association is pursuing the chimerical goal of driving down the production cost of the average mainstream film to $3.24 million. Their objective is to reduce expenses associated with top stars, whose unreasonable profit-sharing demands have upset the cost structure. The Show Must Go On, starring Song Kang-ho, is only the latest high-profile picture to flop at the box office, drawing fewer than 1 million admissions. Up until recently, it was production staff members who bore the brunt of cost-cutting measures, but a recent hard-won labor contract puts pressure on producers to find alternative means of holding down expenses. Typically, smaller producers have had little sway with popular stars, but it is hoped that by combining their efforts, individual companies will be able to exert greater leverage. Average production costs, which remained relatively stable from 2002 through 2005 (considering the phenomenal growth of the industry), soared to 5.3 billion won in 2006 from 4 billion won the previous year.

My Scary Girl (US $.9 million) 2,023,198 admissions
Like a Virgin (US $2.5 million) 571,034 admissions
Family Ties (US $2.5 million) 167,209 admissions
The Customer is Always Right (US $1.7 million) 138,278 admissions

[Source: JoongAng Daily, Variety, The Korea Herald]

--Posted 16 May 2007 by Jon Pais

Following the trend in the ongoing saga of multi-format wars, Magnolia will be releasing no fewer than four versions of Bong Joon-ho's The Host in the US - a single disc version, a 2-disc collector's edition, as well as HD DVD and Blu-Ray versions. Click on link below for specs and info on special features. Release date for all four versions is July 24.

Pre-Order Single-Disc

Pre-Order Double-Disc

Pre-Order HD DVD

Pre-Order Blu-Ray

[DVD Active via KFCC]

[Korean Film News] 4th Green Film Festival in Seoul

[Korean DVD News] Park Jin-pyo's Faction-Drama Voice of a Murderer [그놈 목소리] Up For Pre-Order

We reported a few months back conflicting predictions concerning the eventual box office success of Park Jin-pyo's (You Are My Sunshine, 2005) docudrama Voice of a Murderer, which opened on February 1, 2007. One critic foretold a huge flop, while Darcy over at Koreanfilm.org went out on a limb, prophesying the biggest hit of the year. In fact, the film sold 1.46 million tickets opening weekend, outperforming War of Flowers (1.16 million opening week), and went on to register 3.1 million admissions during its run. Based on highly publicized events that took place in 1991, the drama tells the story of a kidnapper who abducts the child of a successful news anchor (Seol Kyeong-gu, the outstanding actor of Oasis and Peppermint Candy) and his wife (Kim Nam-joo). Over the course of 44 days, the parents receive threatening calls demanding large sums of money. The nine-year-old boy is eventually found dead on the banks of the Han river, and the killer is still at large. Distributed by CJ Entertainment, Voice of a Murderer: Special Edition (2-DVD set) will feature anamorphic widescreen presentation, Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and English subtitles (on feature only).

Pre-Order DVD (Available June 8)

Have too much time on your hands? Do you find yourself daydreaming about being at Cannes for the screening of Lee Chang-dong's Secret Sunshine? Or perhaps you manage to turn every conversation around to Korean cinema, no matter that your friends were discussing sports or Paris Hilton? Then you should probably head right on over to the Korean Film Council's (KOFIC) English-language website, click on the heading "Publications", and download their newly-published Korean Film History. The work, with contributions by thirty authors, covers topics such as "The Japanese Colonial Period, Heyday of Silent Films 1926~1934" and "The New Military Regime's Rule over Culture and the Advent of The New Films Culture 1980~1987" and explores themes like "The Genealogy of Shinpa Melodramas in Korean Cinema". What are you waiting for?

[Source: KOFIC]

[Korean Film News] Jang Joon-hwan to Shoot War of Flowers Sequel

Jang Joon-hwan, the director responsible for the impossibly wonderful and insane cult phenomenon Save the Green Planet (2003), will be making a sequel -- but it won't involve kidnapping Andromedans to save the earth from imminent destruction (or who knows -- maybe it will!). Rather, Jang will be shooting the sequel to Choi Dong-hoon's Tazza: The High Rollers, aka War of Flowers, one of the ten most successful Korean films of all time and winner of the Daesang Film Big Prize at the 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards. The film, which opened in September of last year, went on to sell 6.8 million tickets. Jang will first make the rounds of casinos in the Phillipines before settling down to write the screenplay for the film, which is scheduled for release in late 2008. Jang made headlines last year when it was announced that he would be exchanging wedding vows with Moon So-ri, one of Korea's most gifted actresses.

War of Flowers Review

[Source: Darcy Paquet for Variety]

--Posted 07 May 2007 by Jon Pais

[Korean DVD News] I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK Available For Pre-Order

Park Chan-wook's asylum comedy I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK , starring Rain (winner, Best New Actor at the 43rd Baeksang Awards) and Lim Soo-jung (Tale of Two Sisters) is up for pre-order. The director of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (one of the Top 10 Korean films), Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and Oldboy might at first seem to have made a radical departure with this romantic comedy about two patients in a mental institution, but be forewarned -- the proceedings are not all sweetness and light as the posters and screenshots would lead one to believe. For sure, Park has not abandoned his usual visual flair -- evident from the very opening credits and manifesting itself in a palette of vibrant colors -- but neither has he tempered his penchant for violent imagery and eccentric characters so over-the-top that even viewers accustomed to the director's gallery of outcasts might find the going a bit frustrating. The R3 2-DVD Limited Edition distributed by CJ Entertainment features anamorphic widescreen presentation (1.85:1), English subtitles and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Extras include Making-Of, Director Commentary, Cast and Staff Interviews, Trailers and Deleted Scenes. Special Features are not English-subtitled.

Pre-order DVD (Available May 4)

There are certain directors -- Im Sang-soo, Choi Dong-hoon, Yu Ha, the team of Lee Hae-joon and Lee Hae-young to name just a few -- whose work is so fresh and innovative that one can't help but wait in anticipation of their upcoming works. Another such filmmaker is Han Jae-rim, whose Rules of Dating [연애의 목적] was one of the most exciting discoveries of 2005. So when it was revealed that the director was working on a gangster film, I knew it would be anything but conventional. My enthousiasm even led me (a bit hastily) to predict a spectacular box office success, provided that Han was able to marshal the same quirky humor and snappy dialogue of his debut feature, without descending into the sappy melodrama that spoils so many otherwise good Korean pictures. At the time, I made no mention of his leading actor's abilities -- by now, there is no question of Song Kang-ho turning in a great performance. In The Show Must Go On, Song plays a mid-level gangster trying to balance work life and family life, with disastrous results. It would seem that Han has not only imbued his latest film with humor and superb camerawork, but also an added element of irony and escalating violence not seen in his previous outing. The film landed the number one slot opening weekend, but by the second week, ticket sales had fallen dramatically, though it still held onto the second slot (Paradise Murdered holding the no. 1 spot). It might be that viewers were troubled by Han's trademark jerky camerawork, the mix of lighter moments with the more serious aspects of the story, and a slightly overlong running time. The R3 DVD released July 30 by KD Media will as usual be anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs and feature optional English subtitles.

Posters, Photos, Production Stills, Trailers

Review (Russell Edwards for Variety)

Review (Darcy Paquet)

--Posted 23 April 2007 by Jon Pais

[Korean DVD News] "Paradise Murdered" [극락도 살인사건] R3 DVD Available July 30

The black comedy Driving With My Wife's Lover , a Japanese-Korean co-production directed by Kim Tae-sik [김태식], promises to offer a refreshing change of pace from Chungmuro's surfeit of gangster films, melodramas and comedies and this summer's onslaught of mediocre horror films. A cuckolded husband travels to Seoul to confront the taxi driver who slept with his wife, hiring the cab for a long, tension-filled ride back to his hometown. Along the way, as the cabbie and the husband become involved in a frank discussion of the opposite sex, the latter's resolve appears to falter and the viewer is left to ponder whether he will fulfill his vengeful deed. Filled with dark humor, elegantly shot and graced with impeccable performances, Driving With My Wife's Lover is a meticulously crafted examination of human behavior. The film's gestation was beset by difficulties. In an interview with Filmmaker Magazine coinciding with the film's screening at Sundance, director Kim Tae-sik spoke openly about the obstacles involved in the making of the film. KOFIC had promised to provide half the funding with a Japanese firm putting up the remainder, but during shooting, the Japanese producer, strapped for cash, halved its contribution, completely disrupting Kim's schedule and sinking the director heavily into debt. During editing of the film, because of insufficient scenes and logistical problems during filming, post-production was chaotic. While this is Kim's directorial debut, he is hardly a new kid on the block. Kim studied film at the Seoul Institute of the Arts and finished his courses at the Japan Academy of Moving Images in 1986. He proceeded to produce commercials and TV programs in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong before debuting as assistant director in Park Chul-soo's Kazoku Cinema (1998). His short film, 32nd Dec.: Where is Mr. President? (2002), screened at the 53rd Berlin International Film Festival. Driving With My Wife's Lover has screened at a number of international film festivals: in October of last year in the "New Currents" category at the 11th Pusan International Film Festival, in the "World Cinema Competition: Dramatic Section" at the Sundance Film Festival (2007), and in the "Films of the Future" section at the Rotterdam festival. It is also a candidate for the Nat Film Festival in Denmark, and will be invited to the 9th Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival and the 14th Budapest International Film Festival. Driving With My Wife's Lover opens in local theatres April 26.

Cast: Park Gwang-Jeong [박광정] (Iron Palm, A Petal), Jeong Bosuk [정보석] (Everybody Has Secrets), Jo Eun-Ji [조은지] (The President's Last Bang), Kim Seong-Mi [김성미], Yu Yeon-Su [유연수], Oh Dal-Su [오달수]
Composer: Jeong Yong-jin [정용진]
Script: Kim Tae-Shik [김태식], Kim Jeon-Han [김전한]

Review (Variety)

Posters, Photos, Production Shots

[Source: KOFIC, KBS World, Koreanfilm.org, Filmmaker magazine]

--Posted 12 April 2007 by Jon Pais