Articles by Song Seung-hyun
Song Seung-hyun
ssh@heraldcorp.com-
Box office sales expected to drop 73.3% in 2020: KOFIC
The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) said Monday that cinema ticket sales this year are expected to drop 73.3 percent on-year to 510 billion won ($467.54 million), influenced by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Local movie theaters’ sales tumbled by 71.2 percent to 498 billion won for the January to November period, from 1.72 trillion won during the same period last year. It is unlikely that sales will pick up in December, KOFIC said, as the COVID-19 crisis is worsening here with 7,0
Film Dec. 14, 2020
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Korean movie industry stays quiet after filmmaker Kim Ki-duk’s death
The South Korean movie industry did not have much to say about director Kim Ki-duk’s death on Friday in Latvia from COVID-19 complications. None of the local movie associations released an official statement about the matter, and only a few of Kim’s acquaintances from the local film industry sent short social media messages mourning his loss. “You left lonely. We had makgeolli in Insadong and it became the last time we met. Goodbye, Ki-duk,” Won Dong-yeon, CEO of Rea
Film Dec. 13, 2020
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Pianist Kim Sun-wook’s recital canceled due to pandemic
Kim Sun-wook’s piano recital scheduled for Monday at the Lotte Concert Hall in Jamsil, eastern Seoul, has been canceled. Classical music concert organizer Vincero said the decision to indefinitely postpone Kim’s recital was made soon after the Seoul city government announced Friday afternoon that stricter social distancing rules would be in effect from Saturday to Dec. 18. This is not the first time that a performance of Kim’s has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Performance Dec. 4, 2020
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SIFF organizer connects local indie movie creators with distributors
The organizer of the Seoul Independent Film Festival announced Friday that its two-day event “Next Link,” held Tuesday and Wednesday to connect indie movie creators with distributors, was a success. The event at the Eyelove Art Center in Gangnam, Seoul, was organized jointly with Indie Ground, an independent movie retail and distribution hub created by the Korean Film Council in August. Short and feature-length indie films had separate sessions during the event where the directors
Film Dec. 4, 2020
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Online dance competition to promote Korean tourism set for Saturday
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will hold the final round of its IYKoongChallenge online dance competition Saturday in conjunction with the Korean Tourism Organization. The event will be livestreamed through the KTO’s YouTube (www.youtube.com/ImagineYourKorea) and Tiktok (tiktok.com/@imagineyourkorea) channels. The event aims to promote five South Korean cities selected as tourism hubs by the Culture Ministry in January: Busan; Gangneung, Gangwon Province; Jeonju, North Jeol
Travel Dec. 4, 2020
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Two Koreans on ArtReview’s Power 100 list
Two South Koreans made ArtReview’s Power 100 list this year: Kim Sun-jung, international curator and president of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, and Lee Hyun-sook, chairwoman of the Kukje Gallery in Seoul. Kim ranked No. 72, up five places from No. 77 in 2019. Lee ranked No. 83, having fallen from No. 60 last year. The British art magazine offers an annual ranking of the most influential movers and shakers in contemporary art at the end of each year. ArtReview mentioned Kim’s di
People Dec. 4, 2020
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[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week
Freaky (US) Opened Nov. 25 Comedy, Horror Directed by Christopher Landon A serial killer known as the Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn) murders four teenagers and steals an ancient dagger known as La Dola. The next day, bullied high school student Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton) is attacked by the Butcher. The serial killer stabs Millie in the shoulder with La Dola, causing an identical wound to instantly appear on his shoulder. Fortunately, Millie‘s older sister Charlene, a police office
Film Dec. 4, 2020
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W400m budget created for project to support Asian artists’ K-pop training
The National Assembly on Wednesday passed a budget of 400 million won ($365,000) for the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism’s project to support Asian artists’ K-pop training. The amount is far less than the 1.5 billion won the Culture Ministry initially hoped for to conduct the project with six groups from three other Asian countries. “Since the budget has been slashed to 400 million won. we will have to adjust our initial plan and conduct a program with less than six g
Performance Dec. 3, 2020
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“The Call” director reaches out to global audiences with Netflix debut
Director Lee Chung-hyun‘s highly anticipated thriller “The Call” was released through Netflix on Friday, after several delays in its theatrical release due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Releasing on Netflix means the film will not only be viewed by Koreans, but by audiences in 190 countries, an advantage not lost on the 30-year-old director. “It was interesting to receive feedback from many people living abroad, especially from other Asian countries,” Lee told The K
Film Dec. 2, 2020
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Women taking over movie screens
During a joint press interview held in September ahead of the release of “Diva,” actor Shin Min-ah told reporters that she was fascinated by the character of Yi-young, a woman who has a strong narrative in the movie. “These kinds of scripts telling women’s stories are very rare,” Shin said. “Diva,” a film about two female divers, is an example of women’s increasing influence in the South Korean movie industry, which was long dominated by men. N
Film Dec. 1, 2020
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Earliest monument from Silla Kingdom to go on permanent display in Gyeongju
The Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage under the Cultural Heritage Administration announced Monday that it will start exhibiting the Silla Monument in Jungseong-ri, Pohang from Dec. 8 at a permanent exhibition hall in Gyeongju National Museum. The artifact from the Silla Kingdom (57 BC-935) was designated as National Treasure No. 318 on April 22, 2015. The artifact was accidentally discovered at a road construction site in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, in May 2009.
Culture Nov. 30, 2020
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Film festival by directors to be held online
The CMR—Directors Week, a film festival organized by and for film directors, will be held from Tuesday to Saturday. The festival has been held under the name Chungmuro International Musical Film Festival, but in September, the film festival organizer Junggu Cultural Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with the Directors Guild of Korea to turn the musical film festival into a film festival for directors this year. The organizer added that the MOU aims to boost the film industr
Film Nov. 30, 2020
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A long journey worth taking
Official development assistance, government aid designed to promote the economic development and welfare of developing countries, is often channeled into projects to build infrastructure such as highways, schools, hospitals and bridges. But there is also cultural heritage ODA, another important form of assistance that the South Korean government provides to developing countries. “ODA projects to build bridges and roads are important, but it is also crucial to preserve cultural heritages
Culture Nov. 29, 2020
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[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week
Good Neighbor (Korea) Opened Nov. 25 Drama Directed by Lee Hwan-kyung Agent Dae-kwon (Jung Woo) is tasked with watching over influential opposition party politician Lee Eui-sik (Oh Dal-su), who seems to have plans to run in the next presidential election, and his family 24/7. Dae-kwon moves into a house next door and slowly becomes a neighbor close to the politician and his family. Run (US) Opened Nov. 20 Thriller Directed by Aneesh Chaganty Diane (Sarah Paulson) gives birth prematurely to
Film Nov. 27, 2020
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[Weekender] When the going gets tough, the tough deliver
In a year that has witnessed the COVID-19 pandemic disrupt lives and devastate economies around the world, Korea has sought innovations to meet the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The following is the second article of a four-part series on how Korea is creating a new normal during the pandemic, produced in partnership with The Korea Foundation -- Ed. When asked about his diet during live streaming on VLive in June last year, pop sensation BTS member Jungkook said it was not easy
Food Nov. 26, 2020
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