Director Jeong Ji-hye, 29, depicts in great detail an ordinary woman in her 50s in her feature film debut “Jeong-sun.” The concept was based on Jeong's year-long experience working part-time at a food packaging factory -- the same setting where the protagonist Jeong-sun works and faces an unexpected event. “While working at the factory, I became close with many middle-aged women who worked there. I could hear their life stories and about the environment they were in,&rdquo

A South Korean movie depicting the interaction between Fu Bao, the beloved giant panda born here in July 2020, and her zookeepers will be released in the fall. Tentatively titled "Hello, Grandpa," the movie is currently under production by Korean animation production company Accomz, in collaboration with Everland, the Korean theme park and zoo where Fu Bao lived before departing for China. "Hello, Grandpa" is to be an animated documentary based on interviews with zookeepers S

Actor Gang Dong-won turns a meticulous mastermind behind plots that appear to be accidents in his upcoming crime drama flick, “The Plot.” “The Plot” follows Young-il, played by Gang, who believes that all kinds of accidents can be manipulated. Next to him are his security master, Jackie (Lee Mi-sook), disguise master, Wol-cheon (Lee Hyun-wook) and youngest teammate, Jeom-man (Tang Joon-sang), who sincerely support Young-il’s plotting the scheme. But their solidity a

The director of the Netflix series “Goodbye Earth,” which was put in the middle of controversy ahead of its release after actor Yoo Ah-in was indicted on drug charges in October, said he never doubted the series would make it to screens. “Although there was a significant amount of time for waiting, I never doubted that this series would not be revealed. It was fate to come out to the world and meet the audience,” director Kim Jin-min told reporters during a press conferen

Actor Bae Doo-na, who stars as sword master Nemesis in Netflix original “Rebel Moon -- Part Two: The Scargiver,” said she suggested costume and makeup ideas for this mega-scale Hollywood project. Director Zack Snyder, who has also helmed “Justice League” and “300,” has stressed several times before that Bae’s character, Nemesis, is rooted in Korean identity. “In the original script, Nemesis didn’t wear anything particularly Korean, such as a

“Kung Fu Panda 4” (US) Opened April 10 Comedy Adventure Directed by Mike Mitchell Po becomes the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace and now he needs to train a new warrior, although he is not ready for it. But the emergence of a shape-shifting sorceress pushes Po to team up with a quick-witted corsac fox and move on. “The First Omen” (US) Opened April 3 Horror Directed by Arkasha Stevenson Young American woman Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) heads to Rome to devote her

South Korean auteur director Park Chan-wook said he focused on adding comedic elements to his latest series, “The Sympathizer.” The HBO original series, which is currently streaming via Coupang Play, is based on the 2016 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by Vietnamese-American author Viet Thanh Nguyen. "To add a cinematic methodology to a series production, it was important for me to set up a special narrative and add humor when it comes to the ironic, paradoxical s

First-time director Kim Se-hui's “Following” is a mystery thriller that depicts the secretive life of a voyeur and a pretentious attention-seeking social media influencer. Byun Yo-han stars as real estate agent Gu Jeong-tae, who follows influencer Han Sora, played by Shin Hae-sun. Lee El stars as detective Oh Young-ju investigating a death related to Jeong-tae and Sora. “Jeong-tae is a kind of character who is really hard to explain in words. That’s why we produced a

If there's one reason to watch “The Roundup: Punishment,” it's the comeback of scene-stealer Jang Yi-soo

79-year-old auteur mentions meeting with director Bong Joon-ho

In director Jeong Ji-hye’s debut feature film, drama “Jeong-sun,” Jeong-sun (Kim Geun-soon), a woman in her 50s lives an ordinary life with her busy daughter following the death of her husband. Feeling that it’s better to do something rather than stay at home, Jeong-sun works at a food packaging factory where she gets along with her colleagues. At work, she develops a secret romantic relationship with a newcomer, Young-soo (Cho Hyun-woo). That relationship leads her to fa

Despite the widespread popularity of watching films on streaming platforms like Netflix, slightly more Koreans still prefer watching the latest movies in theaters, according to market data. According to the survey conducted by consumer research institution Consumer Insight of 1,064 Korean moviegoers aged between 20 and 64, 37 percent said they prefer watching new films in theaters, whereas 33 percent said they only watch new films when they are uploaded on streaming services. Another 10 percent

“The Roundup: Punishment,” the fourth installment of the crime film franchise featuring South Korean action star Don Lee – known as Ma Dong-seok here – will meet audiences in 164 countries for a global release. The number of countries this installment will be released in is the most of the four films. The second installment, “The Roundup,” was sold to 132 countries in 2022 and the third installment, “The Roundup: No Way Out,” was sold to 158 coun

“The Last 10 Years” (Japan) Opened April 3 Drama Directed by Michihito Fujii Twenty-year-old Matsuri Takabayashi learns that she only has 10 years to live due to an incurable disease. She decides not to dwell on her life and not to fall in love, but then she meets Kazuto Manabe at a school reunion.   “The First Omen” (US) Opened April 3 Horror Directed by Arkasha Stevenson Young American woman Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) heads to Rome to devote her life to serving the

Ryoo Seung-wan, the director behind 2015 action blockbuster “Veteran,” has been invited to the 77th Cannes Film Festival with the film's sequel, “I, the Executioner,” the festival announced Thursday. The Cannes Film Festival unveiled its lineup in a press conference held in Paris on Thursday. The 77th edition runs May 15-25. Ryoo’s “I, the Executioner,” also referred to as “Veteran 2” here, was listed in the midnight screening category,