Weekly Review Round-up (02/18-02/24, 2012)

A boatload of reviews for War of the Arrows, which was recently released on DVD/Blu-ray in the US, and The Front Line, which is getting its homevideo release in the UK on Monday.  Plenty more, including an early review for March thriller Helpless.

CURRENT KOREAN RELEASES

Dancing Queen

(SBS, February 22, 2012)

Helpless

(Yonhap News Agency, February 24, 2012)

RECENT RELEASES

Foxy Festival

(Init_Scenes, February 20, 2012)

Man of Vendetta

(Init_Scenes, February 17, 2012)

Night Fishing

(Korean Grindhouse, February 20, 2012)

Petty Romance

(Gwangju Blog, February 15, 2012)

Planet of Snail

(TV Bomb, February 23, 2012)

The Front Line

(AsianMovieWeb, February 19, 2012)

(Eastern Kicks, February 20, 2012)

(flickfeast, February 23, 2012)

(HeyUGuys.co.uk, February 21, 2012)

(The People's Movies, February 21, 2012)

The Unjust

(A Hero Never Dies, February 18, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 21, 2012)

The Yellow Sea

(The Movie Blog, February 24, 2012)

War of the Arrows

(About Heroes, February 19, 2012)

(Blog Critics, February 19, 2012)

(Blu-ray.com, February 15, 2012)

(Coffee, coffee and more coffee, February 21, 2012)

(Crititcal Outcast, February 22, 2012)

(dramabeans.com, February 18, 2012)

(DVD Verdict, February 23, 2012)

(Geeks of Doom, February 20, 2012)

(High Def Digest February 15, 2012)

(Home Theater Forum, February 22, 2012)

(Lunch.com, February 23, 2012)

(Movie Buzzers, February 20, 2012)

(Rock! Shock! Pop!, February 18, 2012)

(Shattered Ravings, February 21, 2012)

(The Admiral's Corner, February 19, 2012)

(Twitch, February 20, 2012)

PAST FILMS

Attack of the Pin-up Boys, 2007

(Init_Scenes, February 19, 2012)

Bad Buy, 2001

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 17, 2012)

Dasepo Naughty Girls, 2006

(Korean Candy, February 20, 2012)

Humming, 2007

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 18, 2012)

Save the Green Planet, 2003
(Modern Korean Cinema, February 20, 2012)

This Charming Girl, 2004

(Rainy Day Movies, February 20, 2012)

The Classic, 2003

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 19, 2012)

The Railroad, 2006

(Hangul Celluloid, February 19, 2012)

Treeless Mountain, 2009

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 22, 2012)

Windstruck, 2004

(The Asian Flicks, February 22, 2012)

The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office Update. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Box Office Update (02/17-02/19, 2012)

Howling Takes a Bite Out of the Box Office

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Howling	2/16/12	26.60%	530,291	637,885	549
2	Nameless Gangster	2/2/12	26.60%	498,920	3,394,229	552
3	Dancing Queen	1/18/12	8.90%	178,364	3,555,301	337
4	Legends of Valhalla: Thor (is)	2/9/12	7.70%	154,176	410,062	333
5	The Grey (us)	2/16/12	7.80%	152,028	184,488	300
6	Unbowed	1/18/12	4.90%	96,598	3,321,467	295
7	Tarbosaurus 3D	1/26/12	4.50%	71,608	892,711	197
8	Woman in Black (us)	2/16/12	3.50%	65,640	78,762	268
9	Ghost Rider 3D (us)	2/16/12	2.70%	53,741	70,433	236
10	Papa	2/1/12	1.10%	24,341	558,246	115

Business stayed very strong this weekend as yet another big Korean release took the top spot though it was a close finish for first place.  Two million tickets were sold over the frame and the overall market share for Korean films hit 70%, preserving a remarkable streak of recent domestic advantage.

Howling won the weekend as many expected it would but by a slimmer margin than expected.  It's 530,291 opening was good but not remarkable.  Though given the recent performances of films like Nameless Gangster and Unbowed, both of which strike similar demographics, perhaps this should come as no surprise.  However, reviews have been strong so word of mouth may see Howling increase in its sophomore frame.

In its third weekend, Nameless Gangster came a close second with 498,920 admissions.  Direct competition from Howling did lead to a 40% drop in business but it is still pulling in big numbers.  Currently it is well over the three million admissions mark and will be knocking on the door of four million soon.  It remains to be seen whether it can vie for five as well.

Dancing Queen also lost some steam in its fifth weekend as it wound up with 178,364.  The Uhm Jeong-hwa and Hwang Jeong-min comedy is now over the 3.5 million mark and will attempt to cross four but this will not be an easy task.  Regardless, the film has already been an enormous hit.

After its surprisingly good opening last weekend, Icelandic animated film Legends of Valhalla: Thor remained almost steady as it collected an additional 154,176 sales.  The picture will easily cross half a million and could go further still.  A good performance in any case but given the glut of children's films lately, it's interesting that this one came seemingly out of nowhere to outperform most of them.

Liam Neeson actioneer The Grey had a midlevel opening with 152,028.  Hollywood is having a tough go as local competition targeting the same audiences have overwhelmed it.

Unbowed slipped three spots to number 6 and shed over 60% of its business in the process for a 96,598 weekend.  The Ahn Sung-ki surprise hit has had a fantastic run and its total will soon cross the 3.5 million mark.  From here on out it will begin to shed theaters quickly as exhibitors look to clear away space for new films.

Tarbosaurus 3D is inching closer to the one million mark (it would only be the second animation to cross it after last year's hit Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild) as it garnered some 71,608 viewers over the frame.  It is still proving to be a very interesting time for Korean animation.

Two new US openers filled out slots 8 and 9, and both wer unable to entice audiences.  Woman in Black started its run with a tepid 65,640 while Nic Cage superhero sequel Ghost Rider 3D was D.O.A. with 53,741.

Rounding out the chart was Papa, which added another 24,341 in its third weekend.  The picture has crossed half a million but is a long way from being considered successful.

The only major release opening next weekend is Hollywood's Underworld 4 but the battle for first place will likely be waged between Howling and Nameless Gangster.

Source: kobis.or.kr


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Box Office Update (02/10-02/12, 2012)

Nameless Gangster Takes Another Victory Lap

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Nameless Gangster	2/2/12	40.80%	828,585	2,484,742	712
2	Dancing Queen	1/18/12	13.10%	282,560	3,200,481	426
3	Unbowed	1/18/12	12.00%	256,866	3,096,123	378
4	Legends of Valhalla: Thor	2/9/12	9.50%	198,414	208,842	382
5	Tarbosaurus 3D	1/26/12	6.80%	116,742	803,255	263
6	Papa	2/1/12	4.70%	107,868	478,378	314
7	Star Wars: The Phantom Menace	6/26/99	4.10%	59,278	69,038	200
8	War Horse	2/9/12	2.40%	53,558	64,780	226
9	Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy	2/9/12	2.10%	44,042	55,784	186
10	Happy Feet 2	2/2/12	1.60%	35,368	159,957	202

This past weekend was another exceptionally strong frame for local films as combined they took nearly 80% of the market share, up from 50% a year ago.  Total admissions came in at just over two million which was a 25% increase on last year's comparable weekend.

Once again leading the charge was Nameless Gangster which barely dropped from its gigantic opening to record a 828,585 weekend which already puts it within inches of the 2.5 million mark.   While it will likely lose a significant amount of business next weekend it's already a big success and will surely cross a few more landmarks during its run.

Dancing Queen moved up to number 2 this weekend with 282,560 which represented a tiny 15% drop.   It is now well over the three million mark and could cross four before finishing its impressive run.  It's going quite steady for the moment and should still remain competitive throughout the rest of the month.

Unbowed dropped to number 3 with a 40% drop that left it with 256,866.  It has now also crossed the three million admissions mark and could vie for the next milestone but this could prove to be a difficult obstacle to overcome.   The film has had an extraordinary run but with so much else crowding the theaters interested does seem to have waned so it will probably begin to wind up its run shortly.

Foreign animation Legends of Valhalla: Thor opened with a decent 198,414 but is unlikely to stay this high on the chart for long.  Considering how many children's films have opened recently this seems like a good start.

Tarbosaurus 3D lost about half its business this weekend as it garnered another 116,742 admissions but it has now crossed the one million mark.  This seems like a decent total for this kind of a film but I have no idea how much it cost or what its break-even point may be.  In any case it has been a difficult period for animation lately with so many crowding the marquee.

Papa dropped a spot to number 6 in its sophomore weekend as it halved its take to 107,868.  Not an impressive run but with so many quality offerings on offer its easy to see why a film with a slight and slightly perplexing premise could get lost in the mix.   One million admissions is probably not on the cards.

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace occupied the number 7 spot as it came out on rerelease with 59,278.  At number 8 was Spielberg's new offering War Horse which sold 53,558 tickets.   Meanwhile, the phenomenal Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy failed to attract many viewers as it attracted 44,042 viewers for number 9.   Last Happy Feet 2 dropped like a stone after an abismal opening as it wound up with a paltry 35,368 admissions.

All eyes will be on the Ha Yu directed and Song Kang-ho starring Howling as it opens wide next weekend.   Reviews have been excellent and anticipation is high but I wonder how the strong performance of the top three local films will affect its opening bow.

Source: kobis.or.kr


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Box Office Update (02/03-02/05, 2012)

Nameless Gangster Leads the Charge as Local Films Clean Out the Competition

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Nameless Gangster	2/2/12	38.90%	917,379	1,092,987	701
2	Unbowed	1/18/12	16.40%	406,646	2,642,340	454
3	Dancing Queen	1/18/12	12.80%	322,688	2,734,699	436
4	Tarbosaurus 3D	1/26/12	11.20%	219,930	662,139	320
5	Papa	2/1/12	7.90%	213,946	292,295	414
6	Happy Feet 2	2/2/12	4.40%	99,405	109,141	312
7	Puss in Boots	1/12/12	3.50%	83,013	2,005,691	247
8	Journey 2: The Mysterious Island	1/19/12	1.40%	36,000	1,119,487	174
9	I Don't Know How She Does It	2/2/12	1.30%	30,324	39,845	165
10	Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol	12/15/11	0.70%	17,438	7,538,551	89

Local films dominated the marketplace this weekend as they took the top 5 spots and an 88% market share, effectively wiping out Hollywood's mark on Korean theaters over the time frame.  Total admissions stood at 2.36 million, a very healthy figure for this time of year.  The chief element of success was a strong variety of enticing projects which have mostly benefited from positive reactions.

Leading the charge was the hotly anticipated Nameless Gangster which did not disappoint, both with its positive notices and supercharged 917,379 opening weekend.  It's no small feat coming so close to the million mark at this time of year but even more encouraging in light of the strong competition from Lunar New Year's leading releases.  It will probably remain strong next weekend, likely taking the crown again but will face stiff competition thereafter following the debut of Howling.

Unbowed slowed a little over 40% in its third weekend, winding up with 406,646 which put it past 2.5 millin admissions.  Dancing Queen was next with 322,688, a 45% drop, it also crossed the 2.5 million mark.  Dancing Queen is still in the lead but Unbowed is likely to pull ahead before too long.  3 million is a guarantee for both but it will be interesting to see if they go further, especially Unbowed.

Tarbosaurus 3D dropped about a third and succeeded in lording over the numerous other children's offerings with its 219,930 take. It looks set to cross the one million mark before long, another feather in Korean animation's cap.

Papa also opened this weekend but was overwhelmed by immense local competition, finding itself lost amongst event pictures.  It pulled in 213,946 viewers in its opening bow and is not likely to improve on that in coming weeks.  Seeing how the slate was shaping up at the beginning of the year, the distributors probably should have considered pushing its release back to a less crowded weekend.

The next three entries in the chart were Hollywood kids movies Happy Feet 2 (99,405), Puss in Boots (83,013), and Journey 2: Mysterious Island (36,000).  Sarah Jessica Parker vehicle I Don't Know How She Does It was a non-starter with 30,324 while Mission Impossible 4 is now winding up its extraordinary run, amassing an additional 17,438.  Its 7,538,551 total is enormous but Transformers 3's chart-topping figure is now soundly out of reach.

The local industry is on a bit of a roll and I am now very curious to see how things will shake up over the next few weekends.  Howling pushed its release date back a week, a wise choice given Nameless Gangster's strong performance especially given the film's similar appeal.  So quick on its heels it might also have overloaded the marketplace, it is now being released February 16.  Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The War Horse are opening next weekend but neither stands a chance of knocking Nameless Gangster from its perch.  Korean doc Two Lines will also be bowing in limited release.

Source: kobis.or.kr


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Weekly Review Round-up (01/28-02/03, 2012)

A couple of reviews of current films, including the hotly anticipated Nameless Gangster and lots of reviews for past films this week, including a trio concerning Lee Myeong-se's gorgeous Duelist (2005), which was screened in London with a Q&A from Lee himself as part of the KCCUK's 12 Korean Directors program of 2012.

CURRENT KOREAN RELEASES

Dancing Queen

(hancinema.net, January 28, 2012)

Nameless Gangster

(enewsworld.com, January 27, 2012)

RECENT FILMS

Children...

(Korean Candy, February 1, 2012)

Couples

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, January 28, 2012)

Death Bell: Bloody Camp

(Twitch, February 2, 2012)

Hanji

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 2, 2012)

Hindsight

(Modern Korean Cinema, January 30, 2012)

Marrying the Mafia IV

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 1, 2012)

Punch

(Film Business Asia, February 2, 2012)

Sector 7

(Film School Rejects, January 27, 2012)

The Front Line

(Hangul Celluloid, January 31, 2012)

(Korean Class Massive, January 30, 2012)

The Man From Nowhere

(Musings From a Twinkie, January 30, 2012)

The Yellow Sea

(Init_Scenes, February 1, 2012)

War of the Arrows

(Tai's Film Duet, January 28, 2012)

You're My Pet

(Otherwhere, February 2, 2012)

PAST FILMS

DMZ, 1965

(Rainy Day Movies, February 1, 2012)

Duelist, 2005

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, January 31, 2012)

(Korean Class Massive, January 27, 2012)

(Otherwhere, January 29, 2012)

I'm a Cyborg But That's Okay, 2006

(About Heroes, February 2, 2012)

(Thoughts From a Steel Monter, January 31, 2012)

Lost and Found, 2008

(Drama Beans, January 28, 2012)

My Tutor Friend, 2003

(Korean Candy, January 27, 2012)

The Housemaid, 1960

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, January 30, 2012)

The King and the Clown, 2005

(Korean Candy, February 1, 2012)

Volunteer, 1941

(Seen in Jeonju, January 25, 2012)

With a Girl From Black Soil, 2007

(Seen in Jeonju, January 19, 2012)

The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office Update. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Box Office Update (01/27-01/29, 2012)

Unbowed Shoots to the Top During Big Weekend for Korean Film 

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Unbowed	1/18/12	28.0 %	717,580	1,874,338	528
2	Dancing Queen	1/18/12	23.0 %	598,192	2,100,968	543
3	Tarbosaurus	1/26/12	15.6 %	330,411	366,523	454
4	Puss in Boots (us)	1/11/12	10.7 %	260,898	1,852,530	375
5	Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (us)	1/19/12	9.2 %	216,196	1,029,499	369
6	Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (us)	12/15/11	3.7 %	92,673	7,490,425	259
7	Pacemaker	1/18/12	2.3 %	60,634	429,413	309
8	We Bought a Zoo (us)	1/18/12	1.8 %	47,485	252,149	197
9	Never Ending Story	1/18/12	1.2 %	30,886	264,891	229
10	The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (us)	1/11/12	1.2 %	27,326	422,390	109

Local business finally found itself back in the driver's seat this past weekend as its market share soared to 71%.  That on top of the fact that total admissions were 2.56 million, 30% higher than last year's comparable weekend, and suddenly things are starting to look a lot rosier for Korean films in early 2012.

After a very strong start, Unbowed has taken over first place by jumping nearly 100% to 716,945.  Though it is not the only Lunar New Year's release on the path to success, it looks like the first major hit of the year.  It looks to continue the trend of strong small releases outperforming expectations that we saw so much of last year.

Meanwhile, Dancing Queen built on its successful opening by rising slightly to 597,666 and has now crossed the 2 million mark.  Competition from Unbowed and next week's opener Nameless Gangster will be tough, but it's already a hit.

The highest opener this week was another local release, the animated dinosaur feature Tarbosaurus 3D which wound up with an decent 329,625.  Though this film has managed to generate some buzz and has been presold to a number of markets, this probably wasn't the best time to release it.  The market has been flooded with children's fare recently and after the holidays, it's hard to imagine that this will pick up steam in February.

Puss in Boots remained steady at number 4 with 260,898 and looks to cross the 2 million mark before the end of its run.  Journey 2: The Mysterious Island dropped three places to number 5 but was able to hang on to nearly two thirds of its business as it finished the weekend with 216,196.  Mission Impossible 4 fell one spot to number 6 with 92,673.  It has now crossed War of the Arrows to become the second highest grossing film of 2011 and its total, which is inches from 7.5 million may come excruciatingly close to Transformers 3's chart topping tally, which stands at 7,790,434.

The other two Korean Lunar New Year's releases did not fare so well.  Pacemaker has simply failed to impress as it has receded 50% after a lackluster opening, its most recent take was 60,634. The marketing team behind the film desperately tried to increase awareness in interest in the film last week with a number of promotional tactics but these seem to have fallen flat.

Meanwhile, The Neverending Story, which no one seems to be talking about, finished at number 9 with 30,886 after losing 65% of its business.  It has barely managed to scrabble together a quarter million admissions to date and looks likely to finish with less than 500,000.

We Bought a Zoo stayed at number 8 as it added 47,485 to its paltry total while The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo rounded out the top 10 with 27,326.

Next week sees the release of the much anticipated Nameless Gangster starring Choi Min-sik and Ha Jung-woo but I am starting to wonder if it may fall short of expectations.  It will be hard enough to unseat Unbowed, which has taken over the public consciousness, but I'm wondering wether the film itself will fail to live up to the hype.  Papa will also be opening and will likely do so in the top 5 while the major US release will be Happy Feet 2 but after so much kids fare of late, I think this may be one too many.

Source: kobis.or.kr


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Cinema News (01/19-01/25, 2012)

More casting news for Snow Piercer this week as Jamie Bell and John Hurt are added (though MKC originally reported the latter a few weeks ago).  A number of great features this week including one from VCinema (a site to which I contribute).  Another big piece of news is the status of Korean films at the local box office which broke the 50% mark last year, more on this in the box office section.  Finally a new section detailing Upcoming Releases of Korean films (which can be found in the above tabs) has been added to MKC and will be updated regularly.

The Celluloid Traveler: In Search of The Host on the Han River
The Han River splits the city of Seoul neatly in two. North of the river lies the city’s past: huge, stately palaces; winding neighborhoods full of handsome hanok (traditional Korean houses); and monolithic gates that mark where defensive walls once stood.  South of the Han is Seoul’s future: Yeoido, the financial center of Korea; endless high-rise apartment buildings marching through what just a few decades ago was sleepy farm land; and some of the most expensive real estate on the peninsula.  The Han River is where Seoul’s ten million plus inhabitants go to unwind on a weekend afternoon, taking advantage of the myriads of parks and recreational facilities that line its banks.  It’s also where Bong Joon-Ho set some of the key scenes in his 2006 film The Host.  (VCinema, January 24, 2012)

Bleak Blockbusters
Korea had a bad 20th century.  First Japan occupied the country, then Allied forces occupied it, then a war ripped it in half, then North Korea became a dictatorship, then South Korea experienced a coup followed by a decade of military rule, followed by another decade of martial law, followed by the assassination of the president, another coup, another military regime, and, finally, in 1987, a return to constitutional government.  (Slate, January 18, 2012)

Jamie Bell in Talks to Join Bong Joon-ho's Snow Piercer
Well, well. Bong Joon-ho's upcoming post apocalyptic feature Snow Piercer is shaping up to have quite a cast.  We've known for a long time that Bong regular Song Kang-ho would have a part and just days ago came word that Chris Evans was in talks to join the adaptation of French graphic novel Le Transperceneige.   And now here come two more, with Variety reporting that both Tilda Swinton and Jamie Bell are in talks for the picture as well.  (Twitch, January 18, 2012)

Kelly Masterson Shining up the Snow Piercer
Sometimes a fresh set of eyes is all you need to punch up and polish a script, and that's exactly what's happening when it comes to the latest film from the makers of The Host (2006), Snow Piercer.  According to Variety, the flick will now get a rewrite before it goes into production this spring.  Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) scribe Kelly Masterson is doing the rewrite of the film that stars Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, and Jamie Bell.  (Dread Central, January 18, 2012)

Jeonju Digital Project 2012 Trio Announced
The 13thJeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) has announced the three directors for this year’s Jeonju Digital Project short film omnibus. Raya Martin, one of the most prominent young filmmakers of the Pinoy cinema renaissance, Vimukthi Jayasundara, “a visionary poet” of contemporary Sri Lankan cinema, and Ying Liang, one of the most promising directors on the Chinese digital independent filmmaking scene.  (KoBiz, January 20, 2012)

Rotterdam Lab to Welcome Four Korean Producers
The International Film Festival Rotterdam has announced the final 78 young film producers who will take part in the 12th edition of the Rotterdam Lab at CineMart to include four Korean producers.  These are Dahci Ma of Real Black Chicken Film, Lee Young-mi of Film Front, Dave Kim of Rainbow Factory and Han  Sunhee of BOL Pictures.  Started in 2000, the Jeonju Digital Project is an annual production by the festival which gives KW50 million (about US $44,000) each to three directors to make short films.  (KoBiZ, January 19, 2012)

Udine Plans 70s Korean Film Showcase
The 14th Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy has announced a retrospective of South Korean cinema entitled “The Darkest Decade: Korean Filmmakers in the 1970s”.  Curated by Korean cinema expert Darcy Paquet (who is also a frequent writer on the KoBiz site and Contributing Editor to Korean Cinema Today), the retrospective will feature ten films that have yet to be screened in the West.   (KoBiz, January 19, 2012)

Four Korean nominations at the Asian Film Awards
The 6th Asian Film Awards has announced nominations in 14 categories including one for Park Hae-il, the star of period action thriller War of the Arrows, and three nominations for South Korea’s Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film submission The Front Line.   (KoBiZ, January 18, 2012)

Smartphones Help Directors Look at Films from New Angles
It’s cheap, it’s easy, and it’s accessible.  Welcome to smartphone-filmmaking, which has become the new trend for both amateur and professional filmmakers in the past year.  The trend – which started about a year ago upon the domestic release of Apple’s iPhone 4 and its local carrier KT’s aggressive-creative promotion of the products – is becoming even bigger as more capital and talents are getting involved.  (The Korea Herald, January 20, 2012)

Goo Hye Sun's Short Length Film You to Premiere in Russia
The actress Goo Hye Sun’s short length film You will premiere in Russia.  The film was given an invitation to show at the Moscow “Korean Short Film Special Showing Event” that will be held from January 19-22.  The group that runs the event “Cool Connections Art Group” is planning to introduce Korean films to Russia. Out of the event if a film is chosen, it will also be shown in 5 different Russian cities.  (soompi.com, January 18, 2012)

John Hurt Joins Snow Piercer
Bong Joon-ho's train-set thriller Snow Piercer continues to gain momentum with news that legendary English actor John Hurt has joined the cast that already includes Captain America: The First Avenger star Chris Evans and internationally heralded chameleon Tilda Swinton.  (Cinema Blend, January 23, 2012)

Movie Sheds Light on Distrust in Judiciary
The release of a new movie that is based on a “crossbow terror” case in 2007, in which a judge was attacked by a professor, is causing controversy among the general public and the judiciary here.  (The Korea Times, January 20, 2012)

INTERVIEW

Spotlighting South Korean Cinema
Kyung Hyun Kim spent his childhood in Indonesia and the Middle East due to the career demands of his father, a petroleum engineer for a South Korean oil company. He turned to movies at an early age to escape the stress of frequent moves and new schools.  “I think because of their unfamiliarity with American culture, my parents let me watch a lot of movies that weren’t made for children,” says Kim, a UC Irvine associate professor of East Asian languages & literatures and film & media studies.  (uci.edu, January 2012)

2012 Sundance Filmmakers: Kangmin Kim
Hyphen continues its interviews with the Asian American filmmakers attending this year's Sundance film festival. Kangmin Kim, like Andrew Ahn, is also a CalArts grad.  While Ahn's interest is in social realist cinema, Kangmin's interest occupies the completely opposite end of the cinematic spectrum -- stop motion animation.  (Hyphen Magazine, January 20, 2012)

TRAILER

Choked (eng sub)


Tarbosaurus 3D (eng subs)

POSTER

2 Lines

Eighteen and Nineteen

Russian Coffee

BOX OFFICE

Dancing Queen Waltzes to First Place During Busy Lunar New Year Weekend

(Modern Korean Cinema, January 22, 2012)

South Korean Films Surge in 2011

Local-made films grabbed more than half of the South Korean box office last year, the first time in six years.  According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, South Korean films enjoyed a market share of 51.9% in 2011, up from 46.5% the previous year.  (Film Business Asia, January 23 2012)

Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

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