South Korea's leading cinema chain CJ CGV said Tuesday it will screen two meditation movies starting next week to help people enjoy tranquility in the evening after being busy in the daytime. "Peace of Mind," featuring the beauty of oceans, the sky and space, along with a meditation guide, will be screened from June 9-18, according to CGV. From June 23 to July 2, "Body Scan" will be shown to allow viewers to enjoy self-reflective body movements at movie theaters. The movie

  Veteran director Yoo Ha’s new film, “Pipeline,” has a completely different vibe from his previous hits. While he’s best known for serious crime films such as “Little Odessa,” “Gangnam Blues” and “Spirit of Jeet Keun Do -- Once Upon a Time in High School,” this time he has come out with a black comedy. “I have the mindset of a nomad. I like challenging myself by directing new genres that I haven’t done before,”

Pipeline (Korea) Opened May 26 Crime Directed by Yoo Ha Pindol (Seo In-guk), the best pipeline-drilling technician in South Korea, decides to take up an offer from Gun-woo (Lee Soo-hyuk), heir to a large conglomerate, to be part of a dangerous oil heist. For the job, Gun-woo rounds up a team of four thieves -- Jeobsae (Eum Moon-suk), Manager Na (Yoo Seung-mok), Keunsab (Tae Hang-ho) and Counter (Bae Da-bin). Voyagers (US) Opened May 26 Science Fiction Directed by Neil Burger In 2063, the fut

South Korea's Cannes-winning filmmaker Bong Joon-ho has had his name listed in a renowned French encyclopedia for his cinematic achievements and recognition in the European nation, a report showed Thursday. In the latest edition of "Petit Larousse Illustre," a French-language encyclopedic dictionary launched in 1905, the South Korean director won a page, along with 40 new figures from various sectors like literature, cinema and sports, according to the report by the Korea Creative Con

Although the local box office shows some signs of recovery before the summer peak season, the pandemic-hit Korean film industry still remains wary of releasing big-budget films in the near future. The South Korean box office recently made a long-waited turnaround thanks to a bullish run by "F9," the latest chapter in the "Fast and Furious" series. Released on May 19, the Hollywood blockbuster posted 400,000 viewers on opening day to set the biggest first-day score since the

Director Yoo Ha’s latest movie “Pipeline” does not follow the rules of traditional heist movies, according to actor Seo In-guk who stars in the film. “The biggest difference is that the main characters are not professionals,” Seo said during an interview with a group of reporters on Monday. “Except for my character Pindol, all of them are ordinary people. Even Pindol who has experience being part of oil theft, only did the drilling. They are a ragtag group o

The Seoul Independent Film Festival will introduce Korean independent movies during the 4th Indie & Doc Korean Cinema Fest, which will be held from June 1-13 in Madrid, Spain. To mark the 10th anniversary of the Korean Cultural Center in Madrid, Spain, this year’s annual Korean indie film fest will double in size and screen 18 movies, according to the event organizer. The fourth edition of the festival will have three sections -- a short films section with the theme of people and t

"F9," the latest chapter in the "Fast and Furious" series, has topped 1 million attendees in its first week of release in South Korea, local box office data showed Monday. The action blockbuster attracted 628,000 people over the Friday-Sunday period, bringing its combined total to 1.13 million, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. It became the fourth title to surpass the 1 million threshold in 2021, following Disney-Pixar fantasy "Soul," Japanese a

Actor Seo In-guk is returning to the big screen as a leader of a ragtag team of oil thieves in the upcoming comedy-crime film “Pipeline,” directed by Yoo Ha. “I was surprised that a movie about this topic is being created,” Seo said during the press conference Thursday that followed a press screening. “I was not familiar with the concept of thieves that steal oil from the pipeline. I have never seen any Korean movie with a similar subject.” In the new movie

Fast & Furious 9 (US) Opened May 19 Action Directed by Justin Lin Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) finds out that his younger brother Jakob (John Cena), a deadly assassin, is working with Cipher (Charlize Theron) to put the world in danger. To prevent this, Dominic gathers his family once again to create an amazing plan for a counter-attack. 　 The Courier (US) Opened April 28 Thriller Directed by Dominic Cooke In 1960, Soviet agent Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) has a letter containing imp

The Korean streaming platform dedicated to presenting women’s cinema, Purplay, will screen movies from the 9th Diaspora Film Festival for three days starting from Friday without charge. Eighteen movies will be streamed on Purplay, which accounts for 30 percent of the total of 58 movies that were selected for the festival this year. The streaming platform has two separate sections for this year’s Diaspora Film Festival -– Diaspora in Focus and Diaspora Shorts. This year&r

For actor Gong Seung-yeon, an extrovert who enjoys hanging out with different people, her character Jin-ah in “Aloners,” who tries to avoid any personal interaction with others, was not easy to understand. “I did not understand why she had to be so extreme,” Gong told local reporters during a joint media interview at the Korean Film Council’s office in Mapo, Seoul. “As the story developed I could understand her gradually. I hope audiences also experience thi

An animated Japanese film has become the second title attracting more than 2 million moviegoers in South Korea in 2021, box office data showed Monday. The dark fantasy "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train" sold 29,000 tickets over the weekend, surpassing the 2 million threshold nearly four months after its release in late January, according to the data by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). It is the second film released in 2021 to hit 2 million in the country, followi

Director Lee Joon-ik of the historical drama "Book of Fish" and comedian Yoo Jae-suk have won the grand prize in the film and TV categories, respectively, at this year's Baeksang Arts Awards. Lee, known as a master of period films in South Korea for his previous hits like "King and the Clown" (2005) and "The Throne" (2015), took the top prize for films at the prestigious entertainment awards show held at KINTEX exhibition hall on Thursday in Goyang, just northwest

Those Who Wish Me Dead (US) Opened May 5 Action Directed by Taylor Sheridan Smoke jumper Hannah Faber (Angelina Jolie) lives with trauma after failing to save three children from a wildfire. One day, in a forest, she meets Connor Casserly (Finn Little), a boy on the run from the two assassins who killed his father. Hannah has to help Connor get out of the forest safely. 　 The Courier (US) Opened April 28 Thriller Directed by Dominic Cooke In 1960, Soviet agent Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) h