Category Archives: Korean

[Film] My Beautiful Short Films (Volume 4) [South Korea]

Posted on January 6th, 2013

My Beautiful Short Films (Volume 4) Originally posted in 2010 on London Korean Links) Released by KOFIC (Korean Academy of Film Arts) this DVD was one I was very curious and keen to see. Consisting of 10 short films made by directors while studying at the Academy, the shorts range between 11 and 30 minutes [...]

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Terracotta Film Festival: Dancing Queen [Lee Suk-Hoon, S. Korea,2012]

Posted on April 21st, 2012

This second film of the Korean Breakfast Club double bill was a comedy with a little more social punch, dealing with gender roles in Korean society, politics and show business. The story focuses on Jung-Hwa (Uhm Jung Hwa) once known as the Madonna of Shinchon who once dreamed of being a singer before marrying her childhood [...]

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Terracotta Film festival: Couples [Jeong Yong-Ki, S. Korea, 2011]

Posted on April 21st, 2012

Couples is not an easy storyline to explain, but that is perhaps one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. A remake of the film ‘Stranger of Mine‘ (Ken Uchida, Japan 2005), the main action takes place during one day as we follow the story of several couples and how their lives intertwine and [...]

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Terracotta Film Festival: Opening Night “My Way” [Kang Je-Kyu, Korea, 2011]

Posted on April 13th, 2012

“My Way”, directed by Kang JeKyu (Taeguki)and with a pan Asian cast was the selected opening night film for the Festival and whilst the top class cast of Jang Dong-gun (Brotherhood: Taegukgi, Friend), Joe Odagiri (Azumi, Shinobi) and Fan Bingbing (Shaolin, Flashpoint) sounded very promising, I had heard from some of my Korean friends that [...]

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[Film] Moss (2010, Kang Woo-Suk)

Posted on July 21st, 2011

originally written Jan 2011 for LondonKoreanLinks.net Moss (이끼 – Ikki) Director: Kang Woo-Suk Writer: Ji Woo Chung I am liking international travel, especially when the film choices on the flight I took from Vancouver to New York had ‘Moss’ in their Asian cinema collection. Starring Park Hae-il (Memories of Murder) it is a thriller mystery [...]

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[Film] The Chaser (2008, Na Hong-Jin)

Posted on May 3rd, 2011

(review originally written in 2008 for LKL) I was delighted when I discovered, at long last, a Korean film showing again in a city centre cinema, something that seems very rare these days. The basic story that I knew before I went in, was that it concerned a former cop who was now a pimp, [...]

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[Film] Antique (2008, Dong Min Gyu)

Posted on May 1st, 2011

Antique A delicious slice of feel-good cinema! Story Based closely on the 2002 Yaoi manga Antique Bakery (西洋 骨董 洋菓子店, Seiyō Kottō Yōgashiten, “Western Antique Cake-Shop”) by Fumi Yoshinaga, the Korean adaptation broke through the million mark of legitimate viewers three weeks after opening. It was invited to the Berlin film festival for the culinary [...]

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[Film] The Case of Itaewon Homicide

Posted on April 23rd, 2011

The Case of Itaewon Homicide Director: Hong Ki-seon Writer: Lee Maeng-yu Release Date: September 10, 2009 Cast: Jang Geun Suk, Jeong  Jin-yeong, Shin Seung-hwan, Oh Kwang-rok, Ko Chang-Seok Synopsis Based on real events that have been ‘dramatised and changed for dramatic purposes’ the story tells of an incident in 1997 when a student was found [...]

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[Film] A few thoughts on the Kwishin in Korean Film

Posted on April 7th, 2011

The  most iconic figure in Korean and Japanese horror movies is the kwishin. Exuding menace, the long dark hair hides her face and, whether dressed in every day clothes or a burial robe seeing one of these in a film is sure to mean trouble and suffering for all. The Kwishin (귀신) is a traditional [...]

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[Music] Memories Of Music – Korean Film Scores

Posted on March 10th, 2011

In 2003 I went to a screening of ‘Memories of Murder’ at the Raindance Film festival in London and was captivated by the film in the first opening bars of music that was composed by Tarō Iwashiro. A simple phrase on the piano against quiet synthesised harmonics and the visual backdrop of countryside and golden [...]

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