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(Click here for a list of films released this year)         

      ♠    Duncan reviews the low-budget film The Naked Kitchen (2009), which screens in a sidebar of the Berlin Film Festival this month.

      ♠    Duncan Mitchel reviews the TV drama Thank You (2007) starring the great Gong Hyo-jin and Jang Hyuk.

      ♠    Adam reviews the top grossing Korean film of 2009, Haeundae.

      ♠   Adam contributes a review of Radio Dayz (2008), set during the Japanese colonial era.

2010.01.01:  Best Korean films of 2009   It's funny, I spent much of the year 2009 in a funk over the current state of Korean cinema. And yet when I sit down to make a top 10 list, I am reminded of how many good films there actually were. I guess what actually happened is that the middle fell out of Korean cinema -- whereas the majority of Korean films used to be mid-budget genre projects, now almost everything is either very big or very small. To some extent this is a worldwide trend, but the particulars of the filmmaking environment in Korea (especially the lack of a viable DVD market) seem to compound the problem.

There were two kinds of big films in 2009: huge commercial projects like Haeundae and Take Off, which earned a lot of money and made some people more optimistic about the state of the industry; and films by some of Korea's biggest name directors, i.e. Park Chan-wook (Thirst) and Bong Joon-ho (Mother). The latter films underperformed commercially, but in my opinion were both quite fascinating.

The growth and success of small films was particularly surprising, however. I've quoted this statistic elsewhere, but five years ago only 3 films with a budget of less than ten billion won (about $1 million) received a theatrical release in Korea. In 2009 my back of the envelope estimation is that there were over 50. Many of these were very bad, excruciatingly bad -- I sat through a lot of them -- but others were very, very good. Some of them even did quite well commercially.

Film magazine Cine21 polled 35 critics and collated the (interestingly diverse) results to determine the following ranking for the year's best films: (1) Mother, (2) Like You Know It All, (3) Paju, (4) Thirst, (5) Breathless. I was included among the 35 critics, and my top five was published in the magazine, but now I'm going to contradict myself and rearrange spots 3-5. Here is my personal top 10:

1. Paju
2. Thirst
3. Like You Know It All
4. Mother
5. A Brand New Life
6. The Actresses
7. Possessed
8. I Am Happy
9. The Pit and the Pendulum
10. Daytime Drinking

The top two films on this list were true standouts for me. Thirst has proven to be an audience divider, but it may well be my favorite Park Chan-wook film. It definitely felt like the first step in a new direction for Park (is it demeaning of his previous work to say that this film felt more mature?). With time I may well change my mind and consider it the best film of 2009. Meanwhile Paju really hit a nerve in me. It's a complex film whose complexities only seem to grow deeper the more you consider them. And I liked it as much for what it didn't show as for what it did. (I can feel that these vague, abstract comments are unconvincing arguments, but how can you to justice to such films in just a few lines?)

The next three films occupy my "second tier". As time goes on, I am becoming more and more personally attached to the films of Hong Sang-soo, and the second half of Like You Know It All in particular was captivating. Then there is the latest film by my favorite director Bong Joon-ho. I've come to conclude that Mother is a progression of amazing scenes, but there is something about the overall structure of the work that prevents each scene from building off the previous ones as it should. The film's momentum seems slightly off, somehow. But it is still an amazing work. Finally, A Brand New Life is the heartbreaking story of a girl sent to an orphanage, and the direction and acting are so perfectly pitched that it is a thrill to watch.

As for the rest -- The Actresses is a great idea for a film, and it is surprisingly entertaining for a film with basically no story; Possessed should go down as one of the classic Korean horror films, and it's clear this first-time director Lee Yong-joo is worth watching; I Am Happy by Sorum director Yoon Jong-chan seems to have had no international exposure at all after screening as the closing film at Pusan in 2008, but it deserves attention; The Pit and the Pendulum is clearly not a movie for everyone, as it toys with the viewer's perceptions and expectations and then leaves you completely clueless in the end, but there is something about this cold, uncomfortable work that sticks with you; and finally Daytime Drinking for making such an interesting film on such a tiny budget, and for having one of the best endings of 2009.

So why isn't Breathless on my list? To be honest, I feel that this is a film I should re-watch, and I reserve the right to change my opinion about it. It's not that I didn't like it, and I have no argument with the plaudits given to the acting, but I feel the film itself has been overpraised. While watching it, I remember feeling disappointed that the film would take this particular situation and move so forcefully towards melodrama as its ultimate destination. The ending feels too easy to me in many ways. But obviously, many people disagree with me!

This more or less wraps up my overview of the films of 2009, but I feel some comment is probably also needed about the state of this website in the past year, and into the future. Obviously the site has not been updated as much as it should have been. The long and short of it is that physical problems have severely affected my ability to work. I sort of feel uncomfortable writing about this, but in addition to the carpal tunnel/RSI issues I've been dealing with in recent years, over the past 12 months I've also had an eye problem (specifically, an eye muscle problem) that has made it at times very difficult to read. My eyesight is fine, but in the first half of 2009 in particular it was very hard to deal with. Over the last six months there has been slow but steady improvement, but I've had to be careful not to push myself. Now I've found some new treatment (applied kinesiology/Pilates) that really seems to have hit on the source of both problems. Within a month or two I should have a clearer idea of what I can handle going forward. I am hoping that I won't need to make any more announcements, and I can just get back to contributing regularly.

      ♠   Darcy contributes a review of Paju (2009), the critical hit of the fall season.

      ♠    Darcy adds a review he wrote earlier this year for the classic Korean horror film A Bloodthirsty Killer (1965).

      ♠    This is to let readers know that Kyu Hyun's blog Q Branch is now online again, and he will be reposting the lost data in parts. I have also just set up a new discussion board, at a new url. Old users will have to reregister, I'm afraid, but I hope we can get it moving again.

      ♠    Kyu Hyun provides two more reviews: the indie horror film The Pot (2009) and men-in-a-car thriller Truck (2008).

      ♠    Kyu Hyun reviews the horror film Possessed (2009), the debut of director Lee Yong-ju.

2009.10.07:  Lost data (a very sad post).   For some time now I've had terrible troubles with my server, a small company based in Australia called solidinternet.com. I have known that I needed to jump ship and move my website to a more reliable hosting company. Finally in August I began the process, but unfortunately it was already too late. For the past few months they have, without any warning, been slowly shutting down. All of their support services were more or less gone by August, including, unfortunately, all access to the databases which hold data for Tom and Kyu Hyun's blogs and the discussion board (direct user access was blocked). I had all of the files on my site backed up, but (partially due to my own ignorance) I had either none or much older copies of the databases.

In recent weeks as I have been frantically trying to contact them, e-mail, FTP and other services have all been shut down one by one. Other people have apparently been experiencing the same thing, according to this link. Today when I put solidinternet.com into my browser's address bar, I just get a blank page.

It's hard to describe just how awful this feels, particularly because it is other people's contributions that have been lost. I think through cached pages we can retrieve much of the data from the blogs, but the discussion board is another matter. For the time being I will start up a new one with different software. It may be possible to reproduce some segment of the old one, but it is likely to be a challenge, particularly because the discussion board software is now obsolete.

My sincerest apologies to Tom, Kyu Hyun and all the contributors to the discussion board.

2009.08.25:  Moving to a new server.   This is a quick notice that I am moving this site to a new server. Things may be a little out of place during the next few days, but everything should return to normal soon. The main site will go up first, then the blogs and eventually the discussion board.

      ♠    Kyu Hyun reviews (as Korean marketing agents describe it) 'Korea's first real monster adventure!' Chaw (2009).

      ♠    Duncan Mitchel reviews Mother (2009), the latest film from star director Bong Joon-ho, while Kyu Hyun reviews action thriller Marine Boy (2009).

      ♠    Two more reviews from Djuna: pickpocket thriller Open City (2008) and the indie film sensation Breathless (2009).

      ♠    Kyu Hyun reviews the fifth of Whispering Corridors series, A Blood Pledge (2009).

      ♠    Adam reviews Hong Sang-soo's Night and Day (2008), set among the Korean community in paris.

      ♠    Adam reviews GoGo 70s (2008), a film about soul music during the military dictatorship in 1970s Korea.

      ♠    Darcy reviews two more films: the first Korean rotoscope animation Life is Cool (2008), and the comic book adaptation romance Hello Schoolgirl (2008).

      ♠    Djuna reviews the nerve-straining thriller Handphone (2009), and the Japanese colonial period detective film Private Eye (2009).

2009.05.13:  Djuna reviews on the way.   We at koreanfilm.org are extremely pleased to have available for our readers, starting May 2009, reviews of notable Korean films by Djuna, noted science fiction writer and film critic. In case anyone is wondering, "Djuna" is a nom de plume derived from Djuna Barnes: the "real Djuna(s)" prefer to remain anonymous (For the sake of convenience, "she" will be referred to in female singular here). Since early 1990s, she has been active as a cutting-edge science fiction writer with a distinctive voice, publishing numerous works both on- and off-line, the majority of which are collected in The Duty-Free Zone (2000), The Trans-Pacific Express (2002) and The Proxy War (2006). Djuna has also been writing film reviews and criticisms extensively. Her film-related writings have appeared in numerous major media outlets, including The Hankyoreh and Cine 21. Her early essays on cinema have been collected as Grumbling in front of Silver Screen (2001). Djuna's reviews of Korean films to be uploaded here have been originally written in Korean and published in her popular "Djuna's Cinema Graffiti Board"

      ♠    Kyu Hyun provides one of the first reviews of the hotly-anticipated film Thirst (2009) by Park Chan-wook.

      ♠    Kyu Hyun reviews the horror-tinged fairy tale Hansel and Gretel (2007).

      ♠    Darcy reviews two more films that will screen at the upcoming Udine Far East Film Festival: Yu Ha's period drama Frozen Flower (2008) and the critically praised debut film Crush and Blush (2008).

      ♠    Two more reviews: Darcy reviews My Dear Enemy(2008) starring Jeon Do-yeon, and Kyu Hyun reviews the detective mystery Once Upon a Time in Corea(2008).

2009.03.24:  The site is back.   If any of you have visited the site in the past ten days or so you will have been greeted by an ugly message saying the site was suspended. Somehow spammers managed to infiltrate a small corner of the site and they were using it to send out massive amounts of spam mail, so I was shut down. I was also locked out of the site so I basically had to wait for my webhostings company to fix the problem, which took an excruciatingly long time. Apologies for the inconvenience, which was probably the result of a programming error on my part. Meanwhile, there will be more updates coming soon, I promise...

      ♠    Mikuk reviews the thriller Rainbow Eyes (2007), while Darcy uploads an old review of the children's film Bunt (2007).

      ♠    Kyu Hyun has contributed two new reviews from 2007 : the big budget costume drama Hwang Jin-Yi and the serial killer movie Our Town.

2009.01.18:  Darcy's top 10 Korean films of 2008.   I had two major goals for the year 2008: one was to finish writing my book, and the other was to try to breathe some life back into this website. If you are strict about the dates, I suppose I failed in both resolutions, although I did manage to finally send my manuscript to the publisher in the first week of January (six months late). There is still some editing to do on it, but it should be published on schedule in this coming August or September. More about that later...

I hadn't counted on physical problems being my biggest challenge last year, with the RSI in my arms finally reaching a point where I had to stop typing altogether from September. But I've managed to train myself how to use voice recognition software, and in the meantime my arms are healing. The one thing that is especially difficult to do with voice commands is to update the site, but thankfully there are some people who have generously offered to help me.

In the Korean film industry, the general mood in 2008 reached a new low. Companies continued to struggle, and there were a lot of bad films that seemed to display the signs of cut corners or a lack of polish. However if you separate out the good films and consider them as a group, it wasn't such a bad year. Particularly encouraging was the critical and/or commercial success of a number of debut films, including The Chaser, Crush & Blush, Rough Cut, and Scandal Makers.

I rearranged the list below on several occasions before stopping at the current configuration. I have very warm feelings towards the top seven films in particular. I hope that all of them live long in people's memories.

1. The Chaser -- for the genius of its execution, rather than its originality. Director Na Hong-jin may have a long career ahead of him.

2. My Friend and His Wife -- this 2006 film by Shin Dong-il finally received a theatrical release in November. A comparatively low budget, emotionally wracking film that lurches left and right but never loses control.

3. Night and Day -- less tightly wound than many other Hong Sang-soo films, this is one of my favorites.

4. My Dear Enemy -- the directing prowess of Lee Yoon-ki is less obvious in this film than in This Charming Girl or Ad Lib Night, because he lets the amazing acting performances of Ha Jung-woo and Jeon Do-yeon dominate.

5. Crush & Blush -- it's at number five, but this is my emotional favorite because of its weird energy and bad attitude.

6. The Good, the Bad, The Weird -- exciting, funny, quirky, explosive, original, even if a bit thin.

7. Rough Cut -- somehow every part of this film worked really well, and it was hugely entertaining too.

8. Frozen Flower -- a sexy epic period drama that offers up little original, but breathes new energy into familiar settings.

9. Life Track -- a co-winner of the top prize in Pusan in 2007 that was released theatrically in 2008. Anguished and grim, this is a Chinese-Korean coproduction by an ethnic Korean director living in Yanbian.

10. Scandal Makers -- at long last, a Korean comedy that despite being thoroughly conventional, is directed with skill and flair.

I realize that there may be little information about some of these films on the site right now, but I'll try my best to get to them in the near future.

      ♠    Darcy reviews the critical hit from 2006 Like A Virgin.

      ♠    Duncan reviews the low budget independent film Five Is Too Many from 2005.

      ♠    Kyu Hyun provides a festival report from this year's Pifan festival, while Adam reviews Lee Myung-Se's debut feature Gagman (1989).

      ♠    Darcy reviews the debut film Rough Cut (2008), which is enjoying strong buzz after its September release.

2008.09.27:  State of the website.   This is turning out to be a year of trials. I've had pain in my arms (repetitive stress injury) for a couple of years now, but recently it has gone from bad to scary bad. I haven't been able to write with pencil and paper for close to a month now, and after typing even a short e-mail the pain lingers for hours. Actually the pain is not hard to deal with, but if I try to type through the pain it gets much worse in a very short time, and I have no choice but to stop. Emotionally, it's a real struggle.

So I'm dictating this now with voice recognition software, and it seems my only option it is to look for students in Seoul who can type for me in return for an hourly wage. I'm going to try keeping my hands off the computer for a month, and continue treatment for it, then maybe things will improve. In the meantime, I have found some help for the website so hopefully updates will continue. My book, meanwhile, is 80% done, but it feels like I'm running a marathon with a sprained ankle. Let me also issue a blanket apology to all the people whose emails I haven't answered in recent months.

The Korean film industry is also in dealing with its own crisis, but in the next couple months at least there are a number of very interesting films. Rough Cut, a debut film by Jang Hoon, has a lot of people buzzing this month. You can read my review of the film here. My Dear Enemy, by Lee Yoon-ki and starring Jeon Do-yeon, opens this week, and it is also worth getting excited about. Meanwhile, I must confess to being a huge fan of the film Crush and Blush, though I guess most viewers will hate it. Filled with shrieking and hysterics, it is nonetheless the most original film Korea has produced in years.

And of course, the Pusan International Film Festival opens on October 2. The past two years, I've been too busy with my duties as a journalist to write a festival report for this site. This year, I hope to make up for that, even if I have to struggle with this stupid voice recognition software! (Long delayed festival reports from Jeonju and Puchon will also be up shortly)

      ♠    Kyu Hyun reviews Death Bell (2008), the one Korean horror film to open this summer, while Adam provides his take on Pang Eun-jin's 2005 debut Princess Aurora (apologies to Adam for the delay in posting this).

      ♠    Duncan Mitchel reviews the popular TV drama Coffee Prince Number One (2007).

      ♠    Kyu Hyun reviews Na Hong-jin's The Chaser (2008) and Won Shin-yeon's Seven Days (2007).

      ♠    Kyu Hyun reviews Kim Jee-woon's The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), which has sold 3 million tickets in its first full week.

      ♠    Kyu Hyun reviews the independent film Pruning the Grapevine (2007).

      ♠    Recently updates have been held back because my book deadline is approaching, but here is a review by Adam of the gay-themed 2005 omnibus film Camellia Project.

      ♠    Kyu Hyun wonders what the producers of last year's horror film The Evil Twin (2007) were thinking.

2008.05.11:  May, the month of classic films   The most exciting Korean films scheduled to appear in theaters this May all happen to be made decades ago. This is because the Korean Film Archive (KOFA) is holding a festival to commemorate the official opening of their new cinematheque and film museum. It is also because the lineup of new contemporary films this month looks like the crumbs left at the bottom of the cookie jar. Not to denigrate those few low-budget films that have secured a release -- I haven't seen them yet, and they may turn out to be OK -- but as a measure of the current state of the Korean film industry, it's pretty depressing. (June and July, at least, should be better)

But the classic movies are indeed big news. The festival's opening film, which screened on Friday and again on Saturday, was the recently re-discovered 1934 silent feature Turning Point of the Youngsters. An original nitrate negative of the film was discovered in Korea last year by the son of a former theater owner. It was then handed over to the Archive, which arranged for restoration work to be done in Japan. Eight of the film's nine reels were salvaged, making for a 73-minute feature.

Most notably, Turning Point of the Youngsters (it seems like a more natural translation would be Crossroads of Youth) is now the oldest Korean film in possession, and the first film from Korea's silent era which is available for viewing. (There is another Korean silent film, The Prosecutor and the Woman Teacher, from 1948, but this is an odd exception because it was only shot in silent format because some older film stock happened to be available. At that point, it had been over a decade since Korea had switched over exclusively to sound)

As in Japan, Korean silent films feature no intertitles but are instead screened to the commentary of a live narrator (called a "byeonsa" in Korean, or "benshi" in Japanese). To fully revive the experience, KOFA staged a show with live music, onstage singing, and the narration of a byeonsa dressed up in 1930s-style clothing and speaking in a period dialect. The byeonsa was film and theater actor Jo Hee-bong (Midnight Ballad for Ghost Theater), the narration was written by Oh Ryu-mi, and overall direction of the screening/performance was done by Family Ties director Kim Tae-yong.

It was quite an impressive experience, actually. I once read a fascinating article about how, in the West, musicians who accompanied the screening of silent features in the 1910s could drastically affect the viewing experience based on the tone of their music -- and would sometimes, if they sensed the crowd to be bored, even mock the film with sarcastic music. (For anyone who might want to track the article down, it's by Tim Anderson, in the fall 1997 volume of Cinema Journal) For a byeonsa, who not only describes what happens onscreen but throws in all manner of comments, the effect is vastly multiplied. A KOFA employee told me that at first, when planning this screening, they intended to do it "straight", and maintain a respectful, serious attitude towards the film. But later -- and I feel this was absolutely the right decision -- they decided to let the byeonsa throw himself into the melodramatic narrative and insert comedy when appropriate. The end result was very involving and funny, and it never felt disrespectful.

The film itself, about a brother and sister who come from the country into Seoul and encounter modern life (and heartless playboys) for the first time, would never be mistaken for a masterpiece. It is directed by An Jong-hwa, who made 12 features between 1930 and 1960. It also features Shin Il-seon, who starred in the lost classic Arirang (1926). Its biggest charm for modern viewers is probably the way in which it presents upper-class 1930s Seoul as if to the eyes of a first-time viewer. Many viewers of that time period would probably never have seen a golf course, an elevator, or the interior of an upscale restaurant. And we too, of course, take a similar perspective watching it today.

There is only one more screening scheduled, this one without the performance/narration, on May 21 at 5:30pm (seeing it in this way will be infinitely drier and more confusing, I'm sure). But the Saturday screening I saw was completely sold out and the young audience went crazy over it, so I think that KOFA will have to plan to do this again sometime.

In the meantime, they have the rest of the festival to finish. And in addition to a selection of overlooked Korean classics, restored films from around the world, a screening of early-twentieth century footage of Seoul, and more, they have another surprise for the closing film: Korea's very first animated feature, Hong Gil-dong (1967). Tom Giammarco wrote a great introduction to the film in his Brief History of Korean Animation, Part II. It was believed to be lost, but recently the film was discovered in Japan and returned to Korea. There is one (unsubtitled) screening only, on May 25 at 7pm. If you plan to be there, buy your tickets early.

      ♠    Darcy reviews an early work by Shin Sang-ok, A College Woman's Confession (1958) which screened as part of a recent mini-retrospective in Udine (more on that later), while Adam reviews the adolescent drama Lump of Sugar (2006) starring Lim Soo-jung.

      ♠    Adam reviews Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu's Mongolia-set, French-Korean co-production Desert Dream (2007), and Darcy talks up Lee Joon-ik's The Happy Life (2007), about three middle aged guys who start up a band.

      ♠    Darcy reviews the Jang Jin-scripted comedy Going by the Book (2007).

2008.04.09:  A summer without horror?   This week's issue of Cine21 asks a scary question: could it be that not a single Korean horror film is released this summer? Usually producers of horror films aim specifically for the summer season, given that a tradition of sorts has emerged over the last decade. As the weather heats up, viewers seem to look forward to something to scare their socks off. But this year they may have to do with imported horror, because production companies have apparently decided that the genre needs a rest.

No less than six were released between May and August last year (in order: The Evil Twin, which was actually produced in 2005, Black House, Cadaver (aka The Cut), Muoi, Epitaph, and Someone Behind You). However none of them really met box-office expectations. Black House, the highest grossing of the group, sold 1.4 million tickets, but given the high profile cast and its big marketing push CJ Entertainment was hoping for a bit more. The Evil Twin, Muoi and Someone Behind You qualify as major flops. At the same time, Asian horror doesn't sell as well on the international market as it used to.

Given the much-discussed crisis in the film industry, and the scarcity of investment these days, it seems that (probably without intending to) all the major distributors have ended up bypassing the tradition this year. There is actually one lower-profile project that went into production in February that the Cine21 article didn't mention. With a Korean title of Oetori ("Loner"?), it is directed by Park Jae-sik and stars Jeong Yu-seok, Chae Min-seo and Goh Eun-a (pictures of the cast here). But we'll have to wait and see if it actually secures a release in the summer.

Meanwhile, The Guard Post (which mixes genres, but is probably closest to horror) was released last week, and though it opened at #1, ticket sales were still pretty low. Other companies are supposedly developing horror films for the future, but they won't be ready for the summer season.

      ♠    Darcy reviews relationship drama Hellcats (2008), from January.

      ♠    Kyu Hyun reviews the low-budget debut film The Wonder Years (2007), and the book Seoul Searching: Culture and Identity in Contemporary Korean Cinema (2007) has been added to the books page.

      ♠    Adam reviews director Hur Jin-ho's fourth film Happiness (2007).

      ♠    Darcy reviews the military horror film The Guard Post (2008), which opened this Thursday.

2008.04.02:  Jeonju, and a note to readers   First let me start this blog post with some personal news, since it is likely to affect the site. My work life is going to be changing this spring: first of all, I have decided to stop writing for Variety. I enjoyed the time I spent as the magazine's Korea correspondent, but I've been feeling overwhelmed recently, and just need to simplify my life a bit. I also need to spend less time on the computer, because the arm pain (RSI) I have is sometimes quite severe. So I'm hoping to concentrate most of my film writing on this website, and maybe get back to doing some teaching to replace the lost income. (Or, with luck, I may finally get a proper sponsor for the site).

I'm also in the process of writing a book. It won't be officially announced until the manuscript is in, but it's an entry into the Short Cuts series published by Wallflower Press in the U.K. It will examine the changes that have taken place in Korean cinema from the 1980s until the present, while also giving a basic overview of the political and social developments that transformed Korea in that time period. My deadline for the initial draft is the end of June, so perhaps sometime next year we can see it in print.

Those are my two goals this spring: finish the book, and put the mojo back into this website. Wish me luck.

In the meantime, I thought I would comment a bit on this year's Jeonju International Film Festival, scheduled for May 1-9. The full program was revealed yesterday at press conferences in Jeonju and Seoul. The opening film is from Japan, Manda Kunitoshi's The Kiss ("Seppun"), and the closing film will be the fourth installment of If You Were Me, the omnibus films sponsored by the Korean Human Rights Commission. Whereas If You Were Me 1, 2, and 3 were mostly focused on the issue of discrimination, this time around the focus will be on the challenges facing young people in today's Korea. The five directors chosen are Kim Tae-yong (Family Ties), Pang Eun-jin (Princess Aurora), Lee Hyeon-seung (Il Mare), Yoon Seung-ho (Milky Way Liberation Front), and Jeon Gye-su (Midnight Ballad for Ghost Theater). It strikes me as a more difficult subject to portray well than issues related to discrimination, but we'll see...

I'm also excited about a new documentary by Kim Dong-won, whose Repatriation (2004) was maybe the best Korean documentary ever. The new film, a 60-minute documentary titled 63 Years On, tracks down former comfort women (i.e., women forced into sexual slavery during WWII by the Japanese military) living in Korea, China, the Philippines and the Netherlands. This topic has been covered before in Korean documentaries, most famously by Byun Young-joo's The Murmuring (1995), Habitual Sadness (1997) and My Own Breathing (1999), but Kim's take on this subject is sure to be interesting.

There will also be around 10 brand new Korean independent features, mostly by debut directors. These days, so many low-budget HD works are being made that it's a real challenge to keep up with them. I'm not complaining, mind you -- though some are inevitably very bad, others are well made, so that talent spotting at festivals like Jeonju is becoming a more engaging sport. As for films from other countries, there will be retrospectives on Bela Tarr, Alexander Kluge, cinema of the former Soviet central Asian republics, and Vietnamese cinema.

If any of you readers are living in Korea and have never been to this festival, I strongly urge you to take some time and go. There's something about the small city, the festival's focus on the films, and the great food that makes it feel completely different from Pusan or Puchon. My head is clearer when I am in Jeonju, and I feel more like a cinephile. This year I'll be able to stay longer than usual at the festival, thanks to its dates being pushed a little later (in the past it always conflicted with the Udine Far East Film Festival). So I hope to discuss more about the films and issues at this year's JIFF in a festival report.

      ♠    A 2008 page has finally been added to the reviews section, together with Darcy's take on the surprise commercial success Forever the Moment (2008).

      ♠    Kyu Hyun has reviewed Lee Gyu-man's medical thriller Wide Awake (2007).

      ♠    Giuseppe Sedia has contributed an interview with Bong Joon-ho.

      ♠    Adam reviews the 1962 feature The Salaryman, by Lee Bong-rae.

      ♠    Kyu Hyun reviews the 2007 horror film Someone Behind You (2007).

2008.01.03:  Top news stories of 2007   Since these days I haven't been able to keep up with the old news pages or newsletter, I thought I would take this chance to look back at the top news stories of 2007 (from my perspective, at least). It's been an eventful year, as always!

#1. Crisis, Crisis, Crisis.  The never-ending news story this year has been the recent troubles of Korean film companies. Admissions are going down, exports are crashing, the cost of making movies continues to rise, and audiences seem to be re-kindling their interest in Hollywood films. It's still too early to tell where all of this is going, and part of it may just be a case of overly inflated expectations, but certainly the mood this year has been grim.

#2. Jeon Do-yeon wins Best Actress at Cannes for her role in Secret Sunshine.  Korea's highest profile acting award since Kang Su-yeon won in Venice in 1987 for Surrogate Woman couldn't have happened to a more deserving person. Here's hoping that her next film, a low budget art film by Lee Yoon-ki, boosts her growing international profile.

#3. The uproar over D-War.  Korea had a taste of its own culture wars in August, when Shim Hyung-rae's mega-budget monster D-War hit the screens. Independent director Leesong Hee-il ridiculed the film and the hype surrounding it, comparing it to 1970's-era excitement over the export of toasters to the U.S. Furious fanboys responded with a massive, homophobic-tinged attack on his blog. Critics sparred on TV talk shows, viewer rating boards on the internet turned into angry battlegrounds, and Shim himself publicly sulked about how nobody in the Korean film industry respected him. Even I got called some rather choice names on the internet after I slammed it on Cine21's critics board, though nobody ended up attacking this site. All this over an infantile and rather incompetent monster flick that ultimately bombed in U.S. theaters... was it really worth it?

#4. Korean actors go international.  The Korean Wave seems to be fading in many respects, but a string of top Korean stars were cast in international projects in 2007. Jun Ji-hyun (aka Gianna Jun) will take the lead in Blood: The Last Vampire. Actor/singer Rain will take a small role in Speed Racer. Jang Dong-gun stars in Laundry Warrior, which is being shot in New Zealand. Song Hye-gyo will headline a small New York-set U.S. independent film. Lee Byung-heon will get a small role opposite Josh Hartnett in I Come With the Rain. Jang Hyuk took an English-speaking role in a Singapore film. And there continues to be interest in other actors as well. In the coming year, we'll get to actually see all of these films, and find out if they're any good...

#5. Telecoms companies move into the film industry.  In terms of business news, one of the biggest new trends is the newly active role being taken by Korea's biggest telecoms companies. SK Telecom will launch its own film division in 2008. KTH is funding expansion by its subsidiary, Sidus FNH, into distribution. Both companies will also likely become active in IPTV (internet protocol TV), which many hope will become an important future source of revenue for local films. Is this the start of a new era?

#6. US-Korea FTA deal concluded (but not ratified).  This free trade deal, which still may not happen if either legislature rejects it, will have a greater effect on the TV industry than on the film industry. Nonetheless, one clause of the treaty "locks in" the recent reduction of the Screen Quota, and there will also be an extention of copyright from 50 to 70 years -- which will affect classic films.

#7. First film labor deal concluded.  Lower ranking Korean crewmembers have struggled through with miniscule pay and virtually no benefits or insurance for years, while actors and other top talent have seen their salaries skyrocket in recent years. This labor deal is intended to improve things for people on the lower rungs, though unfortunately the timing is not great -- it came into effect just as the industry was embarking on a widespread effort to lower budgets. Only a few films have complied with the new labor rules so far, but in time it may become the new industry standard.

#8. IndieSpace opens.  Seoul and other major cities have a number of arthouse theaters, but the newly-opened IndieSpace is the first theater devoted entirely to Korean low-budget independent films. Each film that debuts at the theater will play for two weeks, and through this venue we should be able to watch a lot of films that weren't available before. Great news!

#9. Megabox sold to foreign investors.  Megabox ranks as Korea's third or fourth biggest theater chain, and this year it was sold to a consortium of investors headed by an Australian bank. There may be less to this than meets the eye, as Megabox's sister company Showbox has signed a long term deal to continue operating the company. But personally, I wish all of the big theater chains would be sold off. It's not healthy or fair to have the biggest distributors owning and operating so many movie theaters across Korea.

#10. CHIFFS holds a successful first edition.  There is certainly no shortage of film festivals in Korea -- a recent Film 2.0 article says there are more than 40 of them registered with KOFIC -- but the successful launch of the Chungmuro International Film Festival in Seoul (CHIFFS) was good news. Unlike most festivals, CHIFFS features almost no new films, and instead places its focus on great movies of the past. There were large numbers of old Korean films screened, as well as Hollywood classics, Asian musicals, director retrospectives, and more. Also, though some other festivals have troubled to attract viewers, CHIFFS had close to 70% of its seats filled. I'm looking forward to the second edition, scheduled for the end of August.

(To read more, visit the blog archives for 2005 and 2006-7)   

Upcoming Films

(by Tom Giammarco and Darcy Paquet)

THE ACTRESSES.('Yeobaeu-deul') Director E J-yong (Untold Scandal, Dasepo Naughty Girls) is returning with un usual project that was supposedly conceived over a conversation about Francois Ozon's 8 femmes. 6 Korean actresses play themselves in a story that unfolds during a photo shoot for Vogue. The film has reportedly been invited to the panorama section at the Berlin International Film Festival. The actresses taking part include Youn Yuh-jung (A Good Lawyer's Wife), Lee Mi-suk (Untold Scandal), Ko Hyun-jung (Woman on the Beach), Choi Ji-woo (Winter Sonata), Kim Min-hee (Hellcats), Kim Ok-vin (Thirst). The film will be released by Showbox on December 10.

I'M IN TROUBLE!('Naneun gongyeonge chyeohaetta') Winner of the New Current award at the 2009 Pusan International Film Festival, this is a debut feature produced by the Korean Academy of Film Arts. Min Sung-wook plays a jobless writer who experiences a wide range of romantic troubles. This film is being tipped for selection for the 2010 Berlin Film Festival's forum section. It will receive a small release with other KAFA-produced films on December 10.

GIRL FRIENDS.('Geol peurenjeu') Gang Hye-jung (Old Boy) has a new boy friend; the problem is he already has two other girlfriends (Han Chae-young of Good Morning President and Heo Yi-jae who played the younger sister in A Dirty Carnival). At first her instinct is to try to seal him away but then the three women start to grow close... This film is directed by Kang Seok-beom, who previously made Sunflower (2006). N.E.W. will release it on December 17.

WOOCHI.('Jeon woochi') Choi Dong-hoon, the acclaimed director of Tazza and The Big Swindle has created a big budget Korean superhero film for his third feature. Starring Kang Dong-won (M), Lim Soo-jung (I'm a Cyborg but That's ok), Kim Yoon-seok (The Chaser), Baek Yoon-sik (The President's Last Bang), Yoo Hae-jin (King and the Clown), it is considered the highest profile commercial release of the winter season. CJ Entertainment will release it on December 23.

NO MERCY.('Yongseo-neun eopta') Sol Kgung-gu returns again in the role of a police detective. This time he has taken a young environmental activist, played by Ryoo Seung-beom, as a suspect, but the case takes a turn for the worse when the detective's daughter disappears. Cinema Service will release this debut film by Kim Hyung-jun on January 7.

POETRY. ("Shi") Celebrated director Lee Chang-dong (Secret Sunshine, Oasis, Peppermint Candy)'s 5th feature is a drama starring Yoon Jung-hee, a legendary actress of the 1960s and 1970s. She plays a woman who, while raising her grandson, decides to take poetry classes and realize her life long dream to write poems. This film is scheduled to be complete in spring 2010, and it will surely be strongly considered for the Cannes film festival.


HA HA HA. ("Hahaha") Director Hong Sang-soo has fallen into a regular schedule in recent years. Since he teaches at a university, he sets each summer aside to shoot a new film. Then he takes his time editing it and preparing for a release the subsequent year. His tenth feature film is titled Ha Ha Ha, and it stars regular collaborator Kim Sang-kyung (Turning Gate, Tale of Cinema), acclaimed actress Moon So-ri (Oasis), and Yu Jun-sang (Woman on the Beach). A very basic plot outline tells us that the film is about an assistant director and film critic who meet over drinks and realize they have recently traveled to the same place.


LATE AUTUMN. ("Manchu") Filmmaker Kim Tae-yong first became known to Korean audiences when he co-directed the 1999 horror classic Memento Mori with Min Kyu-dong, but his real break through came in 2006 with his solo work Family Ties. Now he has been chosen to direct a remake of Lee Man-hee's lost 1966 classic Late Autumn (which was previously remade by Kim Soo-yong and Kim Ki-yong.) The project has a couple surprises: first, it is being shot in Seattle, mostly in English. Second, Lust, Caution star Tang Wei has signed on to play the female lead! Stepping in opposite her is Hyun Bin (I Am Happy). This Korean-Chinese-US co-production is likely to get a release in late summer 2010.


WHERE ARE YOU GOING? ("Teukbyeolshi saramdeul") After completing his Masters at the Chicago School of Fine Arts, debuting director Park Cheol-woong returned to Korea to tell the story of four optimists living in a shanty town in the shadow of the bustling, glamorous district of Gangnam in Seoul. His cast consists of Kim Gab-soo (A Tale of Two Sisters, Mutt Boy), Jo Han-seon (My New Partner, Cruel Winter Blues), Kim Yoo-tae (Texture of Skin), Cha Ye-ryeon (Muoi, The Voice), Yoo Min (APT, Blue Swallow) and Park Hyo-joon (A Dirty Carnival). This new drama from Cineline 2 Productions screened at the 2009 Pusan Film Festival and awaiting a release date.


A LITTLE POND. ("Jageun yeonmot") During the Korean War, refugees streamed south in a desperate effort to escape injury and loss of life. For at least one group of refugees, however, such efforts proved futile. Unable to determine whether or not spies for the northern army were among the fleeing villagers, the American forces decided to open fire on them all resulting in the loss of life of several hundred men, women and children. Less than a decade ago, this shocking and tragic incident now known as the Bridge of Nongunri came to light and helped fuel recent anti-American feelings. Lee Sang-woo, the writer of La Belle and A Killing Story, is tackling this story for his debut as a director. An impressive list of actors have signed up to work on this project including Kang Shin-il (Love Phobia), Moon Seong-geun (A Petal), Kim Roe-ha (Memories of Murder) and Kim Seung-wook (Lost in Love). This is an MK Pictures film.

SHALL I CRY? ("Urodeo johseumnikka?") Choi Chang-hwan has devoted his life to studying films. He graduated from Korea's premier film schools, Dongguk University and the Korean Film Academy, and has worked on music videos and assisted with editing of films (such as Save the Green Planet). He already has two short films to his name, Planet Hopping and Salejang Motel Miss Bang. Now he is taking that huge step and making a feature length commercial film. It is described briefly as being a tearful story of a teen's first love and stars Yoon Jin-seo (Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, Old Boy), Kim Dong-yoon, Seo Ji-seok (The Bow), Lee Eun-hye (R-Point) and Kim Hak-jin (Love House). Tube Pictures is funding this 'youth melodrama' which is completed but does not yet have a release date.


NEVER BELONGS TO ME. ('Samgeori Museutang Sonyeonui Choihu) Director Nam Ki-woong, whose previous works include the critically acclaimed Show Me and Teenage Hooker Becomes Killing Machine , returns with another movie that may appeal to a similar audience. Labeled as an erotic drama/fantasy, the promotional stills seem to make it look more like a bloodbath than anything remotely erotic. The movie casts two unknowns in the leads, Kang Hyeon-jung as Geon-tae and Ye Su-an taking two important parts. Other members of the cast include Kim Byeong-jun (Dance With The Wind), Lee Sang-hun (Windstruck, Mutt Boy), Hong Seok-yeon (Tell Me Something) and Jo Han-hee (Flying Boys, Double Agent). This Digi-Gaon picture screened at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, and is currently waiting for a release.


MUDEUNG SANTAJAN, PARK HEUNG-SUK. (formerly "The Brother" or "Hyeong") Here's a name I haven't seen in a while. Park Woo-sang is returning as a director after his last film in 1997, KK Family List, flopped. Director Park has been directing films since the early 70's and is well known for his low-budget action flix like Chinatown 2, My Name Is Twin Bridges, and Don't Ask Where I'm Going. His latest movie stars Ko Ju-won, Kim Gyu-ri (Libera Me, Nightmare), Lee Jong-su (Phone, RU Ready), Lee Jae-eun (Jakarta, Segimal), Jang Tae-seong (Jail Breakers, Kick the Moon), Choi Seong-wook (Sex Is Zero) and Jo Dal-hwan (Sex Is Zero, My Boss My Hero). He has some actors this time, lets see if he can make a movie. This film continues to have its release delayed.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SUN. ('Taeyangui imyeon') Brothers Su-hyeon and Se-jin are at the center of this film looking at the lives of four struggling teens. Su-hyeon works in a 'host' bar while his younger brother decides to quit school and join his friend Jung-bae on the streets extorting money. Lee Gyu-han (Mapado 2) is Su-hyeon and his brother is played by Kwon Min (Some). Also in the cast are Han Yeo-ryeom (The Bow), Choi Ban-ya (Woman On The Beach) and Lee Cheol-min (Blue Sky). Yoon Yeong-ho directs this film which opened at JIFF IN 2007. His previous films have all been shorts and include Walk Like A Zombie and Bardo.


RAINY DAYS. ('Jangma') The producer of Camel(s), Ko Choong-gil, is now trying his hand at directing. In his film, a man and woman meet by chance at a bus stop. As they board the bus, they begin to feel an attraction to each other but remain unaware of how the other feels. Both anticipation and anxiety build in the characters as they try to deduce the other's emotions without revealing too much of themselves. Kim Yeong-jae (Singles, Au Revoir UFO) and Jang Ye-won star as the uncertain couple. Originally screened at JIFF IN 2007.


ZIG ZAG LOVE. ("Ilpyeondanshim yangdari") "Cupid sometimes shoots twice!" proclaims the poster of this film which features Jae Hee (3 Iron, Art of Fighting), Shin Yi (A Bold Family, My Boyfriend is Type B), Park Shi-yeon (The Fox Family) and Myeong Seung-hoon. Seong-hyeon (Jae Hee) finds himself attracted to Ra-yeong (Park Shi-yeon) despite the fact that both of them are already involved in committed relationships--Seong-hyeon with the kind but somewhat odd Park Se and Ra-yeong with the ideal but intense Kyeong-soo. New director Han Seung-rim directs this Parang-Sae Entertainment romantic comedy.


GOODBYE DAY. We have seen many teen romances set in high schools over the years. And it is not unusual to see in movies and dramas a love story complicated by economic differences. In this new film by Yoo Sang-wook (Windmill Palm Grove, Pianoman) we will see this again--but with a difference. The teen lovers of this film are both men. Wealthy Woo-min played by new actor Kim Kwang-yeong falls in love with Ho-jin (Yoon Ji-hoo of TV's Jinjja Jinjja Johahae) from a struggling family. Long absent Kang Mu-yeong (Hot Rain, Bbong 2) will appear in the film as will Kil Yong-woo (star of 80s films like Speeding Horse and lots of recent TV dramas). This melodrama is an M&U film.


A GHOSTS STORY. ("Gwishin iyagi") Five students, members of a photography club, decide to take pictures in the remote village of Dokgakri which is supposedly haunted. They discover in their single night there that the village is haunted by far more than a single ghost, but they may not survive long enough to warn anyone. The writer of the film Foolish Game, Im Jin-pyeong, will direct this film which he also wrote. Among the actors in this film are Kim Shi-hoo (Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, The City Of Violence), TV actress Lee Yeong-ah, Park Hyo-joon (To Sir With Love, Dirty Carnival), Kim Tae-hyeon (All For Love, Spin Kick), and Ahn Gil-kang (Sad Movie, Turning Gate). This Tube Pictures film is categorized as a comic horror.


INRYU-YEOLMANG BOGOSEO. An omnibus by directors Kim Jee-woon (Tale of Two Sisters, Quiet Family), Im Pil-seong (Antarctic Journal, Show Me), and Han Jae-rim(Rules of Dating). The first tale Cheonsangui Pijomul (Kim Jee-woon) is being described as a 'nonsense' story about a robot who wants to attain Buddhist enlightenment. Im Pil-sung's story is about an innocent young man who is turned into a zombie in Meotjin Shinsegi and in director Han's film, Christmas Seonmul, is a musical sci-fi based on the O. Henry short story Gift Of The Magi. Kim Kang-woo (Beast and the Beauty, The Aggressives), Kim Min-seon (Memento Mori, Low Life), Jo Yoon-hee (Taegukgi) and Kim Seo-hyeon (Sweet Sex and Love, Over the Rainbow) will all be appearing in different chapters of the film. No release date has been set as yet for this Lucy Film.


THE FRIENDS. ("Yeoruemi joon seonmool") Three elementary school students, Ye-joon, Dong-hee, and Yeong-tan, are very curious about death and decide that they want to learn about death during their summer vacation. They start to spend time with an elderly man helping to take care of him and spending time with him while they wait for him to die. However, the children learn far more about life than death from the tenacious old man. The elderly grandfather is played by Oh Hyeon-kyeong (who has appeared on and off in films since the mid-60s but most recently appeared in Blood Rain). Other parts are played by Baek Seung-do, Jang Joon-yeong (A Good Lawyer's Wife) and Son Sook (A Hot Roof). This Cinema Service drama has not yet been assigned a release date.


SOJUNGHAN NALUI GGUM. A new animation is in the works under the direction of Ahn Jae-hun and Han Hye-jin and is being produced by Pencilled Meditation. Mr Ahn has previously worked on many Warner Brothers TV series such as Superman and Mucha Lucha School. He has also directed works of his own such as One Day Of Alfred Hitchcock and Wishing Star. Ms Han has worked on many of the same projects and also had a part in the Korean adult animation Nudl Nude 2. Their latest animated film, set between 1979 and 1984, is the story of three high school girls facing day to day life. While the problems of the protagonists may seem trivial and understated, the pair hope to tell a realistic coming of age story.


JINJURA CHEONRIGIL. Bae Hyo-min is debuting as a director with a film starring Japanese actor Takao Osawa. Bae's only other contribution to cinema prior to this was his screenwriting work on the all but forgotten film Baby Alone. In this new film, Osawa (Into The Sun, Hana & Alice, All About Lily Chou Chou) plays a gangster name Murao who comes to Korea where he meets and falls in love with meek tour guide Hae-in. Playing the other half of this romantic mismatch is Uhm Ji-won (Over The Rainbow, Mutt Boy). This comedy is being produced by Miracin Korea.


BAEKKOP. Directors Park Je-hyeon (How To Keep My Love, Oolala Sisters) and Park Bo-sang team up to deliever a new comedic drama from Taewon Entertainment. It will star Cheon Ho-jin (Guard Post), Lee Mi-sook (Untold Scandal), Kim Seung-woo (Woman on the Beach) and Kim Hyo-jin (Mr. Wacky) lead the cast in the story of a wealthy family plagued by scandals of their own making. This film is likely to be released in June.


LAUNDRY WARRIOR. Top star Jang Dong-gun (Typhoon, The Promise, Taegukgi) will once again be appearing in an action extravaganza along with Hollywood actress Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton), actor Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3, Elizabeth: The Golden Age) and Hong Kong star Lung Ti (Heavenly Mission, One Last Dance). Director Lee Seung-mu who had previously worked on the screenplay for The Evil Lake is debuting with this film about a warrior from the Far East who journeys across the ocean to the West. This Sad Flutes picture is being described as a futuristic martial arts fantasy that blends the grace and action of Kung Fu films with the gritty action of Hollywood. (I'm not sure if this technically qualifies as a Korean production or not, but we'll be inclusive and list it)


LOVERS. ("Yeonin") Baek Yoon-shik (Tazza, The Art of Fighting) and Kim Mi-sook (Marathon) play a couple in their fifties who have been married for thirty years. However, their time together seems to be drawing to a close as one of them is diagnosed with incurable cancer. This sad story is being directed by Kim Dae-seung whose impressive resume so far includes Bungee Jumping on Their Own, Blood Rain and Traces of Love. A talented young director, Kim has even had the chance to appear in movies such as his role in Im Kwon-taek's film Low Life. Kim Hye-na (HERs, Into the Mirror) also appears in this movie which is being produced by Masulpiri and sold by iHQ.


MY DARLING FBI. Albert Lee refuses to give up his love for Mimi. After she refuses his proposal of marriage, Mimi breaks off all contact with him. Albert is not discouraged and becomes even more determined to win her heart. Albert Lee is played by American actor Ricky Kim while the role of Mimi goes to Kim Gyu-ri (Bunshinsaba, Libera Me). Park Yong-shik (Dasepo Naughty Girls), Jeon Won-joo (The Last Witness) and Kim Se-joon (Jakarta) will all be showing up in this romantic comedy from Triumph Pictures. Overseeing this project is Lee In-soo the director of HAAN.


MYODO YAHWA. Director Kang Ron gained a certain cult following with his hard-to-find 2001 film Looking for Bruce Lee featuring the underground band Crying Nut. He is currently working on his second project seven years later which will star popular rapper/tv personality MC Mong who has previously appeared in Three Fellas. It is a comic drama about three couples who visit a strange island that their father had wished to be buried on after his death. So Yi-hyeon (Dark Forest), Lee Han-wi (My Son, Hanbando), Seong Dong-il (200 Pound Beauty), Jeon Soo-kyeong (Ghost Mama) and Kim Kwang-gyu (Oh My God) have signed on for the project which will also feature performances by Kim Hee-ra who has been acting in films since the late sixties and has more than 100 films under his belt as well as Japanese-born Yukie Mori who has been appearing in numerous Korean films recently including Our Town, Hwang Jin-yi and Milky Way Liberation Front.


STAR RUNNER. Kim Hyun-ju and Oh Geon-ho (TV's Meteor Garden) are united under the direction of Lee In-hang (a Hong Kong director working under the name of Daniel Lee who recently directed Fighter Blue). In this film, a woman goes to Hong Kong to teach Korean and falls in love with one of her students who dreams of being a kickboxing champion. This film has already been released in Hong Kong, and is waiting for a Korean release.


WINTER STORY. ("Gyeol iyagi") Director Shin Sang-ok, who has been directing movies since the early 1950s including such classics as Romance Papa, Youth '75, and Pulgasari, returns with a new drama of a man suffering from senility. As his condition worsens, his relationships with his family deteriorates as well, especially the relationship with his daughter-in-law. Starring veteran actor Shin Gu (whose recent works include YMCA Baseball Team and Christmas in August) and Kim Ji-suk. Status: Finished, but waiting for release.


NAE NAMJACHINGU-UI ILGI. Twenty-two year old So-yeon has never loved anyone since her parents were killed in a car accident long ago. Instead, all her affection is given to the plants which she raises to sell from her small nursery. However, when a handsome high school student several years younger than she arrives at her shop, the feelings of first love awaken within her. That is the basic plot for the first feature length film by director Jang Seong-su who has not been involved in film-making since 1992 when he directed a short film called Have A Good Time Without Me. For this new melodrama from Culture Cap Media, Jang Shin-yeong (Redeye) has been cast as So-yeon and the actor who played the younger brother in Marathon, Baek Seong-hyeon has accepted the role of Jun-oh, the object of her affection.