The 13th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival will kick off in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on Sept. 9 under the theme of “peace, communication and life.” DMZ Docs, which uses images taken by Korean documentary photographers every year for its poster, unveiled this year’s poster, titled “Baek Gi-wan’s fist.” The image, taken by photographer Noh Sun-tag, shows the clenched fist of social activist Baek Gi-wan who passed away in February. “The fist r

Disaster-comedy film "Sinkhole" has attracted over 147,000 moviegoers on the first day of its release, marking this year's highest opening-day attendance for a South Korean movie, data showed Thursday. The film drew 147,304 viewers upon its debut on Wednesday, pushing two-week box office leader "Escape from Mogadishu" to No. 2, according to data compiled by the Korean Film Council. "Sinkhole" logged the third-highest first-day score among all movies released this

Kang Shin-sung shares experience of joining North Koreans in flight during Somalia's civil war, frustrations with movie

Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM on Tuesday announced that a movie about k-pop titled “K-Pop: Lost in America (working title)” will be created jointly with Hollywood producer Lynda Obst. Obst is known for collaborating with director Christopher Nolan to co-produce the science fiction film “Interstellar.” She also produced many hit movies including “Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging” directed by Gurinder Chadha and “Sleepless in Seattle “ direct

South Korean cinema chain operators remained in a slump in the second quarter of 2021 but found a glimmer of hope for a rebound amid the protracted novel coronavirus pandemic, financial data showed Tuesday. CJ CGV, the No. 1 multiplex operator under the wing of entertainment giant CJ Group, said its operating loss reached 57.3 billion won ($49.9 million) over the April-June period, narrowing from an operating deficit of 130.5 billion won a year ago. Its sales shot up 288 percent to 161.7 billi

For veteran actor Hwang Jung-min, playing a character who shares his name in the upcoming movie “Hostage: Missing Celebrity” was huge challenge. “When I was asked to play Hwang Jung-min, I was concerned with how I should act in the movie, because I had never experienced being kidnapped before and was not able to imagine how I would behave if I was really abducted,” Hwang said during an online interview after the press preview on Thursday. Director Pil Gam-seong’s

Escape from Mogadishu (Korea) Opened July 28 Action, Drama Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan Set in 1991 Somalia, South Korean Ambassador to Somalia Han Shin-sung (Kim Yoon-seok) and National Security Planning Agency agent Kang Dae-jin (Jo In-sung) are competing against North Korean Ambassador (Heo Jun-ho) for South Korea’s membership in the United Nations. When a civil war breaks out in the African country, South and North Korean diplomats have to cooperate to escape the country together. Th

For veteran actor Kim Kang-woo, playing a role in a horror movie for the first time in his 19-year career gave him mixed feelings. “Having shot ‘Guimoon: The Lightless Door,’ I feel that an actor in the horror genre is required to have the skill to cover a wide range of emotions. It was difficult, but very exciting. I don’t know why I didn’t do any horror movie earlier,” Kim said in an online interview after the film’s press preview Tuesday. The film,

Homegrown actioner "Escape from Mogadishu" has topped a cumulative 1 million admissions on the seventh day of its release, becoming the first South Korean flick to achieve the feat this year, box office data showed Wednesday. The film, released on July 28, attracted 121,000 people on the previous day, bringing its combined total to 1.03 million, according to the data by the Korean Film Council. Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, the film became the first South Korean-made title shown in 202

Actor Yoo Teo is joining A24’s “Past Lives,” written by screenwriter Song Celine, US online entertainment publication Deadline reported Monday. Shooting of the film starring Yoo and Greta Lee will begin later this year with John Magaro co-starring in a key supporting role. “Past Lives” will be the first movie directed by Song, and will portray the story of a couple from childhood reuniting in South Korea, but the exact plot has not been revealed. Yoo played the

Seoul Cinema, which earlier announced its closure by the end of August, will hold a series of special farwell screenings. Free tickets will be provided for all films that are being screened from Aug. 11 to Aug. 31, the last day of its operation, on a first-come, first-served basis, the theater said Monday. On weekdays, 100 free tickets will be given out daily, while 200 free tickets will be given out on weekend days. In addition to the recently released action film “Escape From Mogadis

Homegrown actioner "Escape from Mogadishu" topped South Korea's weekend box office in the first week of its release, revitalizing pandemic-hit theaters, data showed Monday. The film, directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, sold more than 561,000 tickets over the Friday-Sunday period, bringing its combined total to over 788,000 since its release last Wednesday, according to data from the Korean Film Council. The big-budget tentpole starring popular actors like Kim Yun-seok and Zo In-sung is based

Living up to her nickname as the “Korean Agatha Christie,” screenwriter Kim Eun-hee came back with the darkest episode yet of the global hit Netflix series “Kingdom” (2019). “Kingdom: Ashin of the North,” which was released on July 23, centers around a new character Ashin (played by Jun Ji-hyun, or Gianna Jun, and Kim Sia) who is a lower-class tribe member living in what is now known as Hamgyong Province, North Korea. After Ashin finds out about her father&r

Escape from Mogadishu (Korea) Opened July 28 Action, Drama Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan Set in 1991 Somalia, South Korean Ambassador to Somalia Han Shin-sung (Kim Yoon-seok) and National Security Planning Agency agent Kang Dae-jin (Jo In-sung) are competing against North Korean Ambassador (Heo Jun-ho) for South Korea’s membership in the United Nations. When a civil war breaks out in the African country, South and North Korean diplomats have to cooperate to escape the country together. Th

A single 92-minute episode of historical zombie thriller “Kingdom” was not meant to be a hit, according to director Kim Seong-hun, who has headed the series since 2019. “‘Kingdom: Ashin of the North’ is more like a prequel or a stepping stone for the next season,” Kim said during an online interview with a group of reporters on Wednesday. “I was very focused on expanding the “Kingdom” universe and explaining the story of Ashin, I was glad t