At the beginning of shooting for action film “Hard Hit,” actor Jo Woo-jin said he had worries because it was his first time playing a leading role in his 22-year career. “I was not sure if I am good enough for it,” he told local reporters during a joint media interview conducted via Zoom on Tuesday. “At the same time, I did not want to be arrogant and reminded myself of the thought that I had when I started acting.” He figured the best way to address his con

Netflix on Friday announced that it has cast star Yoo Ah-in for its new action film “Seoul Vibe.” The global streaming platform added that it had finished casting all the main characters for the film, which will be directed by Moon Hyun-sung, who created films including “As One” and “The King’s Case Note.” “Seoul Vibe” revolves around a team investigating a case related to a VIP’s slush fund on the day of the opening ceremony of the

Hard Hit (Korea) Opened June 23 Action Directed by Kim Chang-Ju Sung-kyu (Jo Woo-jin) works as a manager at a bank in Busan. One morning, he receives an anonymous phone call while driving his two kids to school. The stranger on the phone asks Sung-kyu for money and also threatens him by saying there is a bomb installed under his car seat and it will explode if he does not follow the instruction. Luca (US) Opened June 17 Animation Directed by Enrico Casarosa  Teenage sea monster Luca liv

South Korea plans to invest 50 billion won ($44 million) in a fund specializing in animation investment as part of efforts to boost the industry, the culture ministry said Thursday. The investment is part of a five-year plan aimed at increasing the local animation industry's revenue to 1 trillion won by 2025 from 640.5 billion won in 2019, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The ministry also aims to increase exports from $190 million to $360 million and expand the number

For actor Jo Woo-jin, playing his first title role in the upcoming action film “Hard Hit” in his 22-year career seems like a miracle. “There was a posting that I recently wrote to my fans. It says: ‘Hard hit’ will be released and I am now starting my race. I came to Seoul in 1999 with only 500,000 won ($440.84) in my hand. Everything that is happening to me from now on will feel like a miracle,” Jo said during a press conference held last Wednesday in CGV Y

Whispering Corridors 6: The Humming (Korea) Opened June 17 Horror Directed by Lee Mi-young Eun-hee (Kim Seo-hyung) is posted as a vice principal at a girls high school where she was once a student. After starting work at the school, she begins having hallucinations. One day, Eun-hee unexpectedly meets student Ha-yeong (Kim Hyun-soo) in a hidden washroom at the school that is now used as a storage space, and they hear a mysterious humming sound.  A Quiet Place Part II (US) Opened June 16

“Everglow,” directed by So Jun-moon, depicts the love story of Jin-ok, a 70-year-old female diver of Jeju Island, also known as “haenyeo,” and a 30-something documentary producer Kyung-hoon. The unconventional love story was a shock to veteran actor Go Doo-shim, 70, who plays Jin-ok in the upcoming film. “Ji Hyun-woo and I have somewhat of an age gap. I was an actor who did not get to perform in many romantic films so I craved them. But when I read the script, I

US media giant Netflix has promoted two Korean content experts to its senior creative leadership team as part of a strategy to strengthen its foothold in South Korea and the rest of the populous Asian region. According to Netflix, in a latest leadership reshuffle, Kim Min-young, formerly vice president of content for Korea, was appointed to take charge of content-related operations across Asia, excluding India. Kim has played a major role in helping the streamer pull off bullish growth in the

Disney's live action film "Cruella" has become the fifth movie to attract over 1 million viewers in South Korea this year, box office data showed Wednesday. The crime comedy flick, released on May 26, drew more than 24,000 people Tuesday, bringing its combined total to over 1.01 million, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. The movie topped the daily box office for five consecutive days from Friday. Among the movies released here in 2021, "Cruella" is the

The Korean Theater Association, which includes the top three local multiplex operators -- CGV, Lotte Cinema, Megabox -- among its members, has thrown a lifeline to two film distributors to encourage the release of their high-budget movies, “Escape from Mogadishu” and “Sinkhole,” it announced on Tuesday. Instead of splitting the ticket sales 50:50 between theaters and film distributors as is the practice, the theaters will forgo ticket sales proceeds until the amount rea

Not all expectant mothers experience a “pregnancy glow,” says director Kim Hye-mi, who hopes to highlight the tumultuous journey some pregnant women go through in her animated horror film “Climbing.” “I wanted to show that pregnancy not only has bright sides to it but a dark side to it as well. And I wanted to show is that we don’t have to always view it only positively,” Kim said during a recent interview with The Korea Herald. “I wanted to focu

Walt Disney Korea on Monday announced that Marvel superhero film “Black Widow” will be released globally on July 7, in theaters and its streaming service Disney+. Movie fans have long been waiting for news of the film’s release, its trailer was unveiled in March 2020. The release date of the film has been delayed multiple times due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Popular Avengers character Natasha Romanoff, known as Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) appears in the new film

At the far end of a long, spooky hallway, a girl with long hair in a school uniform is standing still. As the creepy atmosphere conquers the space, the girl swiftly moves toward the audience. The well-known scene comes from the first “Whispering Corridors” movie, which came out in 1998. The signature scene was re-created in the upcoming “Whispering Corridors 6: The Humming,” which marks a return to the series after 12 years. “As I was making the film, I mostly us

Local film distributors are protesting the Korean Film Council’s decision to deny art film status to “Assassins,” a documentary about Kim Jong-nam’s assassination. Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and half brother of the country’s current leader, Kim Jong-un, fell out of favor with the regime and began living in exile in 2003. Reports said Kim Jong-nam lived in Macao before his death. The film centers on the events that took

Park Sae-eun, 32, was named Etoile at the Paris Opera Ballet on Friday. She is the first Asian ballet dancer to obtain the title, which means star dancer, in the company’s 352-year history. The announcement was made after the “Romeo and Juliet” ballet performance began Thursday at the Bastille Opera in France. Park played Juliet alongside Paul Marque, who was designated star dancer in December. In 2011, she became an official member of the elite dance company in France an