The Seollal holiday is usually one of the busiest times of the year at movie theaters with many new works being released. It is also the time when local broadcasters present special films for viewers who are staying home during the holidays.
Despite the plethora of options on offer, there are times when it feels like there is nothing to watch.
For those people, it might be a good idea to check out some of the films produced by familiar stars. These vary from series on streaming platforms to short films and features.
Read on for a list of some of the better-known films by actors.
“The Silent Sea” by Jung Woo-sung
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“The Silent Sea” produced by actor Jung Woo-sung (Netflix) |
In Netflix Korea’s promotion video for “The Silent Sea” on YouTube, actor Gong Yoo invites the producer of the show onto the stage, without mentioning his name. The man, whose face is covered with images on screen, is later revealed to viewers to be Jung Woo-sung, a big-name star in the Korean film industry.
The series is an adaptation of a short film of the same title by director Choi Hang-yong. Choi’s film was shown at the Mise-en-scene Short Film Festival in 2014, where the project attracted Jung’s attention.
“I thought it had an amazing story in which humans head to the moon in search of water when they run into a shortage of water on Earth. So I thought I should produce the film,” Jung said during an interview.
The show is set in a dystopian 2075 when Earth is struck by a water shortage due to desertification.
The eight episodes mainly depict astronauts trying to complete a mission to retrieve special samples from an abandoned research facility on the moon.
“Three Sisters” by Moon So-ri
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“Three Sisters” co-produced by actor Moon So-ri (Scon) |
Moon So-ri, who plays the film’s middle sister of the sibling trio, is the co-producer of the feature “Three Sister.”
Moon participated in the project from the very beginning.
“I had lots of discussions with the director (as a producer). I did not attend all the meetings (with the investors), but there was a time when I wrote a letter asking for funds. I did all the things I could as a co-producer,” Moon said.
The 115-minute movie revolves around three sisters Mi-yeon (Moon), Hee-sook (Kim Sun-young) and Mi-ok (Jang Yoon-ju), who each has her own struggles.
Mi-yeon, who appears to live an enviable life, one day finds out that her husband is having an affair.
The oldest sister Hee-sook struggles to manage her rebellious daughter and is also saddled with debts run up by her husband.
Youngest sister Mi-ok is an alcoholic navigating the thorny relationship with her stepson who looks down on her.
The three sisters return to their hometown for their father’s birthday and the trip triggers unpleasant childhood memories, which they thought had been forgotten.
“Unframed” project by Lee Je-hoon
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“Blue Happiness” produced and directed by actor Lee Je-hoon (Watcha) |
“Unframed” is an omnibus short film project jointly organized by Watcha and Hardcut, a new production company co-founded by actor Lee Je-hoon.
Lee directed one of the four short films.
“Through my production company Hardcut, I wanted to do a project with actors directing films. So I started gathering actors who might be interested in this project,” Lee said during a press conference held ahead of the project’s release.
The project aims to gather unique and unconventional short films by four actors — Lee’s “Blue Happiness,” Park Jeong-min ‘s “Vote for ‘I Don′t Know,’” Son Suk-ku’s “Rerun” and Choi Hee-seo’s “Bandi.”
Lee’s short film follows a young man who gets involved in stock trading while seeking employment.
Park’s short film is a story about elementary school students selecting their class president.
Son’s short film centers around an elderly aunt and her grown-up nephew during a journey to a wedding ceremony.
Choi’s short film tells the story of a girl named Bandi who lives with a single mother.
By Song Seung-hyun (
ssh@heraldcorp.com)
