JEONJU, North Jeolla Province -- The Jeonju International Film Festival held an opening ceremony hosted by actor Kwon Hye-hyo and Park Ha-sun on Thursday night at the Sori Arts Center of Jeollabukdo. The event will last for 10 days until May 8. “Over the last 20 years, our festival has been introducing (films with) new topics. Old and familiar topics are comfortable but they cannot change the world. Jeonju International Film Festival has been preserving the value of independent movies&

Film April 29, 2021

Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, former Roman Catholic archbishop of Seoul, died at the age of 89 on Tuesday at 10:15 p.m., the office of the Seoul Archdiocese said. A requiem Mass for the cardinal took place at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul on Wednesday in the early morning hours, celebrated by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, the incumbent archbishop. “If Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan was our father, Cardinal Cheong Jin-suk was our mother,” Yeom said during the requiem Mass. Cheong cur

People April 28, 2021

Veteran actor Youn Yuh-jung, 73, opened a new chapter in Korean cinema by becoming the first actor to win the best supporting actress prize at the 93rd Academy Awards on Monday for her role in “Minari.” She portrays an unconventional Korean grandma Soon-ja who comes to America to look after her two grandkids while Jacob (Steven Yeun) and Monica are (Han Ye-ri) are out working to pursue the American dream in Arkansas. With the Oscar trophy, Youn has bagged more than 40 trophies at

Film April 26, 2021

Veteran actor Youn Yuh-jung clinched the best supporting actress award at the 93rd Academy Awards on Monday for her performance in US film “Minari” as an eccentric grandmother. With the win, Youn became the first South Korean to win an Oscar for acting. No other Korean actor, including those in the Oscar-winning “Parasite,” has ever been nominated for an Academy Award. The four other actors vying for the prize were Maria Bakalova for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,&

Film April 26, 2021

Veteran actor Youn Yuh-jung, 73, won the best supporting actress prize at the 93rd Academy Awards on Monday for her portrayal of eccentric grandmother Soon-ja in the US film “Minari.” Youn became the first Korean to win an Oscar trophy in an acting category. No other Korean actor, including those from last year’s breakthrough Oscar winner “Parasite,” had received any trophies from the Academy Awards. “Tremendous thanks to Academy members who vote for me,&rdq

Film April 26, 2021

Actor Kang Ha-neul said he liked the script of “Rain and Your Story” because it had blanks that he could fill in. “I like that the script did not have precise directions about the character‘s emotions and reactions,” Kang told local reporters during a joint media interview Thursday via Zoom. “It only had a minimum amount of words that are required to proceed with the story.” Set mostly in 2003, “Rain and Your Story” introduces Young-ho, w

Film April 25, 2021

The Korea Creative Content Agency on Thursday announced plans to expand support for local companies hoping to export and promote media content overseas. “The KOCCA has been conducting diverse online projects that reflect different demands to support the local industry that cannot continue their offline businesses due to COVID-19,” KOCCA official Lee Do-hyung said in a statement. “Through online support programs, we will further diversify the current exporting markets and hold

Television April 24, 2021

Recalled (Korea) Opened April 21 Thriller Directed by Seo You-min Soo-jin(Seo Yea-ji) wakes up after an accident but she lost part of her memory. Fortunately, her husband Ji-hoon (Kim Kang-woo) is there to take care of her. After returning home, Soo-Jin realized that she now has a special power to see the future of people, the moments when they are about to face dangerous situations. 　 Seobok (Korea) Opened April 15 Science fiction Directed by Lee Yong-joo Ki-hun (Gong Yoo) is a former intell

Film April 23, 2021

The Social and Labor Affairs Committee of the Jogye Order, the nation’s largest Buddhist sect, was denied special entry permits into Myanmar for three Korean monks. The Ven. Jimong, chairperson of the committee of the Jogye Order, submitted documents to the Myanmar Embassy to Korea on April 1, requesting special permits to visit the beleaguered country. The permit request was for three monks -- the Ven. Jimong, Hyedo and Jongsu. “This morning, we officially heard from the Minis

Culture April 21, 2021

Kang Ha-neul is returning to the big screen for the first time in three years, teaming up with actor Chun Woo-hee in the romance film “Rain and Your Story,” directed by Jo Jin-mo. The movie begins with a narration by Young-ho (Kang Ha-neul): ”This is a story about waiting.” Set mostly in 2003, “Rain and Your Story” introduces Young-ho who is studying for his third Suneung, the national college entrance exam, in Seoul. One day, he suddenly decides to write a

Film April 21, 2021

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the World Intellectual Property Organization on Monday announced the joint publication of webtoon “Let’s draw a dream” about the importance of copyrights, created by Korean lawyer Lee Young-wook. “We are glad that we could work with a professional from our country to create a webtoon that can increase the understanding of the importance of copyrights,” a Culture Ministry official said in a statement. Lee is currentl

Books April 19, 2021

Pianist Cho Seong-jin released a new album “Im Abendrot” -- meaning “at sunset” -- on Friday with German baritone Matthias Goerne, according to Universal Music‘s classical music label Deutsche Grammophon. The new album contains songs composed by three German composers of the Romantic era --Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883), Hans Erich Pfitzner (1869-1949), and Richard Strauss (1864-1949). “It’s almost impossible to describe the experience of explor

Performance April 16, 2021

Seobok (Korea) Opened April 15 Science fiction Directed by Lee Yong-joo Ki-hun (Gong Yoo) is a former intelligence agent. One day, he receives his last mission from the director of the intelligence agency (Cho Woo-jin), to move Seo-bok (Park Bo-gum) -- the first-ever human clone, who possesses the secret to eternal life -- to a safe location. Seo-bok has never known life outside of the laboratory and was raised by Lim Se-eun (Jang Young-nam). Nobody (US) Opened April 7 Comedy Directed by Ilya

Film April 16, 2021

Many local movies since last year have decided to skip theaters to release on Netflix due to the spread of COVID-19, which has kept moviegoers away from theaters. “Night in Paradise”also took this path, being released in 190 countries through Netflix on April 9. Five days after its release, lead actor Eom Tae-goo said he is curious about the response from global viewers, during a joint media interview held via Zoom on Wednesday. “To me, it is amazing that the movie is bein

Film April 15, 2021

When actor Gong Yoo first read the script for his upcoming film “Seobok,” he felt like it was asking him a question. “I felt like it was asking me ‘So, what is the purpose of your life?’,” Gong Yoo told local reporters during a joint media interview Tuesday via Zoom. “I could not give an answer to that question. This experience stunned and interested me.” He explained that he decided to perform for “Seobok” because it was not only wri

Film April 14, 2021