Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Probe of first lady on Dior bag allegations set to begin
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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Indie rookie director shares sentimental roots
This is the ninth in a series on up-and-coming Korean filmmakers. ― Ed.Talking to director Min Yong-keun is as if listening to a late night radio show. The calm, eloquent man knows how to talk about the stuff he loves, without boring the listener.And it’s not surprising to find out he used to be an avid radio listener as a child, and an ardent fan of late folk rock singer and radio DJ Kim Kwang-seok. “I bought the cassette tape of his band ‘Dongmulwon’ (meaning the Zoo)’s first album when I was
Jan. 2, 2012
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Hollywood’s take on Obama: Less gushing this time
NEW YORK (AP) ― Hollywood loves the Next Big Thing, and four years ago, that was Barack Obama, the equivalent of a breakout movie star.“He is ‘The One,’’’ said Oprah Winfrey, his biggest and most influential celebrity champion.“The best candidate I’ve ever seen,’’ said George Clooney.Halle Berry said she’d “collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear.’’ Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am chimed in with the famous “Yes We Can’’ video.But you can’t be the Next Big Thing twice and a
Jan. 1, 2012
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Mood brightens for indie film at Sundance 2011
Jan. 1, 2012
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[Photo] Elizabeth Taylor
Jan. 1, 2012
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Box Office
Wonderful Radio (Korea)Opening Jan. 5Drama. Directed by Kwon Chil-in. Has-been star Jin-a (Lee Min-jung) works as a DJ for an unpopular radio show. Yet when the show’s new producer Jae-hyuk (Lee Jeong-jin) arrives, everything about the show is about to change. He wants to revise the show’s program without Jin-a’s consent. Jin-a, who isn’t quite ready to let go of her glory days, rebels against Jae-hyuk by pushing for a segment where listeners can choose the songs that are relevant to their perso
Dec. 30, 2011
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It’s Spielberg vs. Spielberg at the holiday box office
Steven Spielberg, arguably the most popular filmmaker of the 20th century, meets his match this week: Steven Spielberg. He will be opening two highly anticipated films just days apart. On Wednesday comes “The Adventures of Tintin,” based on the globally popular comics, mixing adventure, slapstick, mystery and humor in photorealistic 3D animation. “War Horse,” a poignant live-action drama about a farm animal that enters England’s World War I cavalry, arrives Sunday.Never before has Spielberg face
Dec. 30, 2011
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Chimp in ‘Tarzan’ dead at 80: zoo
WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Cheetah, a chimpanzee said to have performed in the “Tarzan” films of the 1930s, has died at the age of 80, according to the Florida sanctuary where he lived.“It is with great sadness that the community has lost a dear friend and family member on December 24, 2011,” the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, Florida announced on its website.Cheetah was said to have performed in “Tarzan the Ape Man” (1932) and “Tarzan and His Mate” (1934), classic films about a man reared i
Dec. 29, 2011
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Directors make their pick at Cinematheque
7th Cinematheque Festival celebrates 10th anniversary of Seoul Art CinemaLee Chang-dong, Kim Tae-yong, Ryu Seung-wan, Lee Joon-ik, and Byeon Young-joo.If you are a fan of any of the directors above, here’s your chance to find out the films they love, and watch the pieces along with their commentaries.The seventh edition of Cinematheque Friends Film Festival, which will open with the 1925 Charlie Chaplin movie “Gold Rush” on Jan. 12, features a total of 19 films picked by 23 acclaimed cineastes i
Dec. 27, 2011
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Cruise’s ‘Mission’ accomplishes box-office win
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Hollywood has picked up a little Christmas bonus.Studios generally underestimated the size of their movie audiences over the weekend, and they’re now revising the holiday revenues upward.Leading the way is Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible ― Ghost Protocol,” which pulled in $29.5 million for the weekend. That Monday figure is $3 million more than distributor Paramount estimated a day earlier.For the four-day period Friday to Monday, Paramount estimates “Ghost Protocol” will ha
Dec. 27, 2011
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Spielberg seeks ‘old-fashioned’ spectacle
LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Steven Spielberg’s new film “War Horse” is almost deliberately old-fashioned, pitting noble beast against the horrors of war, with sweeping, emotional set pieces ― and dividing critics as Hollywood’s awards season looms.The movie, which got a Golden Globe nomination this month ahead of its Christmas Day release in the United States, is even made on good old celluloid in a snub to the digital revolution.“I think that movies like that don’t get made much any more, you know the
Dec. 26, 2011
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Director explores childhood betrayal
‘Lovable’ director Park Chul-soon traces his creative rootsThis is the eighth in a series on up-and-coming Korean filmmakers. ― Ed. For anyone who has seen Park Chul-soon’s feature debut “Lovable,” a moving portrait of a young girl with Savant syndrome, it wouldn’t be surprising to discover the director full of playfulness.The 28-year-old’s debut, which won the best screenplay prize at Persons with Disabilities Film Festival this year, is filled with childhood desires and imaginative adventures.
Dec. 26, 2011
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Bullock coaxed into return by ‘Extremely Loud’
NEW YORK (AP) ― Sandra Bullock wasn’t looking to return to acting when Stephen Daldry called about “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”Bullock’s last film, 2009’s “The Blind Side,” was the kind of career apogee of which most actresses dream, winning her a best actress Academy Award in what essentially amounted to a coronation of Bullock as America’s most beloved female movie star.But the accomplishment ― which would normally be followed by a wave of projects to capitalize on the momentum ― was s
Dec. 25, 2011
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Box Office
My Way (Korea)Opened Dec. 21Drama. Directed by Kang Je-gyu. It’s 1938 in Japanese-colonized Gyeongseong, what is now Seoul, and young Joon-sik (later played by Jang Dong-gun) works for a farm owned by a Japanese family. His dream is to participate in the Tokyo Olympics as a marathon runner. He soon learns that Tatsuo (later played by Joe Odagiri), the grandson of the farm owner, dreams of doing the same thing, making them rivals. As World War II breaks out, however, their lives and destinies are
Dec. 23, 2011
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Little-known Rooney Mara about to get famous
“Rooney who?” is not a question people will be asking much longer.On Tuesday at 7 p.m., David Fincher’s adaptation of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” ― the first installment in the U.S. version of Stieg Larsson’s mega-selling “Millennium Trilogy” ― opens in theaters. And there Rooney Mara will be, pale, pierced, and punked-out, hacking into encrypted databases, sleeping with Daniel Craig (and with a woman she picks up at a bar), taking vengeance on a sicko state-appointed guardian ... if you’v
Dec. 23, 2011
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Sarajevans moved by Angelina Jolie war film
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Hercegovina (AFP) ― Sarajevans among the first filmgoers to see Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, a Bosnian wartime love story, came away deeply moved from a special screening in their city Thursday.“The movie is very realistic, moving and hard to watch for someone who was here during the war. I am very emotional,” Sabira Sokolovic told AFP.A story of love between a Muslim woman and a Serb man against the background of Bosnia’s 1992-95 inter-ethnic war, the movie sparked contr
Dec. 23, 2011
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Hollywood still struggling to focus 3-D technology
LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Two years after breakthrough 3-D megahit “Avatar,” Hollywood is still struggling to decide how best to use the new technology, as filmgoers tire of the novelty and say no to annoying glasses.While 2011 ends with a couple of well-received 3-D movies ― including Steven Spielberg’s holiday smash “Tintin” and Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” ― filmmakers need to focus on what works in three dimensions and what doesn’t, say experts.Following a series of 3-D flops over the last 12 months,
Dec. 22, 2011
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Cannes fest head Jacob wins new term
PARIS (AFP) ― Gilles Jacob, the 81-year-old president of the Cannes film festival, has secured a new term at the helm of the international movie showcase, along with its director Thierry Fremaux.Jacob has received the world’s top filmmakers in the Riviera city for the past 30 years, first as Cannes festival director then from 2001 as president, with a mandate that was due to expire after its 65th edition on May 16-27, 2012.Meeting on Tuesday, however, the Cannes board of administrators voted to
Dec. 22, 2011
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Three films, three cities
Special project offers films shot in Bucheon, Pohang and GwangjuIt’s been to Seoul, Busan, Jeju, Chuncheon, Daegu, Incheon, Yeosu and Gangleung.English language network Arirang TV’s annual film project featuring Korean cities is back with its third edition, this time offering three movies shot in Bucheon, Pohang and Gwangju. The upcoming films are not about the cities (no road movies to the cities!) but rather use them only as their background. The three featured directors ― Kim In-sik, Lee San
Dec. 22, 2011
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Pets, songs and babies top 2011 YouTube videos
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Online singing sensation Rebecca Black topped a 2011 most-viewed YouTube videos list Tuesday that included spoofs starring pets, talking babies and pop music star Michael Bolton.The collection of the year’s most popular YouTube snippets was based on an analysis of the more than one trillion video views logged at the Google-owned website.“That’s about 140 views for every person on the Earth,” YouTube trends manager Kevin Allocca said in a blog post. “More than twice as many
Dec. 21, 2011
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‘Unbowed’ portrays real-life ‘crossbow terror’ case
Director Chung Ji-young makes comeback with courtroom dramaA mathematics professor gets demoted a year after pointing out an error on the school’s entrance exam. He soon loses his job, as the university won’t renew his contract. Arguing he was fired unfairly, he sues the school administration and asks for reinstatement. When the court upholds the school’s decision, the professor decides to visit the court judge with a crossbow in his hand. Celebrated director Chung Ji-young, who is most well kno
Dec. 21, 2011