Two South Korean animated films, "Chun Tae-il: A Flame That Lives On" and "Persona," have been awarded at this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival. According to the winner's list Monday (Korean time), "Chun Tae-il," a biopic on the Korean workers' rights activist directed by Hong Jun-pyo, received the Contrechamp Jury Distinction prize at the 46th edition of the festival that kicked off June 13 and ran through Saturday. The 109-minute

An idea of two total strangers -- a grandmother with a spare room and a college student -- becoming a “family” might be as novel as it sounds, but it is an actual experimental room-sharing program that inspired director Lee Soon-sung for his upcoming film “My Perfect Roommate.” The room-sharing project has been running since 2013 in the northwest district of Nowon in Seoul and connects university students that are looking for a place to stay with elderly people who li

"Broker," the first Korean-language film project by Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda, surpassed 1 million admissions Saturday, the movie's local distributor said. The film hit the milestone at 8:30 a.m., becoming Kore-eda's first film to reach 1 million in South Korea, CJ ENM said. Released June 8, the flick was at No. 3 after "The Witch: Part 2. The Other One" and "The Roundup" at the daily box office in the country Friday. Starring Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won

The Witch: Part 2. The Other One (Korea) Opened June 15 Action Directed by Park Hoon-jung So-nyeo (Shin Shi-a), who possesses special powers, is the lone survivor of a secret laboratory that was attacked by intruders. After she escapes from the lab, So-nyeo meets Kyung-hee (Park Eun-bin) and saves her life. Guided by her new friend, So-nyeo learns about life outside of the lab. Meanwhile, the chase is on to capture So-nyeon. Among those hunting her are Dr. Baek (Jo Min-soo), who returns to

Showbox, US investor MCG present vision for globalization of Korean content

Documentary shot by father over three years shows a young woman connecting to world through art

Ordinary Hanyang University student Shin Si-a’s world was turned upside down when she was selected out of 1,408 actors to play protagonist So-nyeo in “The Witch: Part 2. The Other One.” The film is the sequel to Park Hoon-jung’s hit “The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion,” released in 2018. In her very first group interview with local reporters, the 25-year-old actor recalled the moment she heard from director Park after the audition. “I knew that if I go

Disney+ on Monday announced that “Oldboy” actor Choi Min-sik and rising star Son Suk-ku will star in the upcoming drama “Casino.” According to Disney+, this is Choi’s first performance in a drama series in 24 years, when he appeared on MBC‘s “Love and Farewell” (1997-1998). Since then he has only worked on big-screen projects, including “Oldboy” directed by Park Chan-wook, “Nameless Gangster” directed by Yoon Jong-bin and &

CJ CGV, South Korea's largest multiplex cinema chain, said Sunday that it will expand investment in high-technology, multi-projection screens and premium theaters to meet changing customer demand in the post-pandemic era. "We will focus more on expanding high-tech screens in a bid to help movie fans not only watch content but also experience something more special at theaters," said Cho Jin-ho, who is in charge of content programming in CGV. "We are also adding more small pri

The Korean action comedy "The Roundup" topped 10 million admissions in local theaters on Saturday. The sequel to the 2017 hit movie "The Outlaws" had set the record by 1:50 p.m., according to its local distributor, ABO Entertainment Co., based on a real-time box-office tally from the Korean Film Council. It exceeded the mark on the 25th day since its release on May 18 and became the 28th film to reach the milestone of 10 million ticket sales in South Korea. The 27th film w

Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival on Friday announced that it will hold in-person events at the festival year, slated to take place from July 7 to 17. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the fest had been holding opening and closing ceremonies, as well as a red carpet event at various locations in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, such as Bucheon City Hall and Bucheon Gymnasium. During the last two years, the fest had been downsized with all in-person events without audiences, and the openin

South Korea’s biggest cinema chain CJ CGV will hold special screenings of seven movies with Cannes-winning director Park Chan-wook and actor Song Kang-ho, from Thursday to June 29. “To celebrate director Park Chan-wook and actor Song Kang-ho winning the awards, we created this special screening event to share a meaningful achievement of Korean cinema which raised its reputation,” CGV official Yeo Kwang-jin said in a statement released Thursday. “I hope audiences can take

Broker (Korea) Opened June 8 Drama Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda So-young (IU) leaves her child in a baby box in front of a church. Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) and Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won) secretly steal the baby to sell him to a family who cannot legally adopt. So-young returns to the church the next day to retrieve the baby and finds out that Sang-hyun and Dong-soo have taken the child. Soon, So-young and the two men agree to look for the right parents for the baby together. After Yang (Ko

“I don’t know why I was kind of mean to my dad,” says Bong Hyo-min, recalling his childhood. Growing up under two filmmakers, film has always been part of his life. But it wasn’t until he became a director himself that he started understanding his dad, Bong Joon-ho, a little more. Now a rising director himself, working under the mononym Hyomin, he is on his journey to discovering how he can make an impact through his film and creativity. Check out Hyomin’s first

After appearing in Oscar-winning “Parasite” (2019), as well as becoming the first Korean to win best actor award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival for his role in “Broker” (2022) in May, Song Kang-ho is now at the center of global attention. Song, however, said he does not have any plans to do projects overseas, adding that he decided to perform in “Broker” because it is being produced in his home country. “After ‘Parasite’ I got lots of o