Veteran actor Kim Soo-mi dies at age of 75

Actor Kim Young-ok, more commonly known by her stage name, Kim Soo-mi, a prominent presence in Korean film and television, passed away on Friday morning. She was 75. According to the Seoul Seocho Police Station, Kim suffered a cardiac arrest and was transported to The Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary's Hospital in Seocho-gu, Seoul, around 8 a.m., where she was later pronounced dead. Kim's son is reported to have told the local media that the cause of her death is due to hype

Oct. 25, 2024

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“A Normal Family” (South Korea) Opened Oct. 16 Drama Directed by Hur Jin-ho Successful lawyer Jae-wan (Sol Kyung-gu) and his brother meet for dinner with pediatrician Jae-kyu (Jang Dong-gun) to discuss how to handle a violent crime committed by their children, which tests the brothers' consciences. “Love in the Big City” (South Korea) Opened Oct. 1 Drama Directed by Lee Eon-hee Jae-hee (Kim Go-eun) and Heung-soo (Noh Sang-hyun), young Seoulites who have known each

Oct. 25, 2024

Youn Yuh-jung to star as billionaire in Netflix's ‘Beef’ season 2

Veteran actor Youn Yuj-jung (“Minari,” “Pachinko”) will star in season two of the Netflix series “Beef.” The new installment of this US anthology drama will feature Youn as the Korean billionaire owner of a country club. While the show’s creator, executive producer and showrunner Lee Sung-jin continues to helm season two of “Beef,” the new season will feature a whole new cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton and Cai

Oct. 24, 2024

[Herald Interview] 'Oldboy' to 'Oddity': Tense cinema is universal

The Irish director of horror suspense film “Oddity,” Damian McCarthy has informed his work with an appreciation for Korean cinema. “I think of Choi Min-sik when he just has explosive temper at the end of ‘Oldboy’ or anything Song Kang-ho has done, it just ... this guy's just incredible,” he said at the start of an interview with The Korea Herald, hours before attending the awards ceremony where his film was in the international feature competition at the

Oct. 22, 2024

[Herald Review] ‘Can We Get Married?’ depicts agonies of today’s 30-somethings

Korean cinema has recently seen a number of works that examine in-depth the real-life agony of young people in Korea, such as “Because I Hate Korea” and “Love in the Big City,” which closely depict young Koreans’ hardships in getting a job and embracing one’s identity. Director Kim Jin-tae of “Can We Get Married?” portrays an average 30-something couple in Korea facing a bumpy ride ahead as they get ready to get married. Lee Dong-hwi (“Reply

Oct. 22, 2024

Lim Young-woong concert film breaks records, surpassing BTS

Korean trot star Lim Young-woong's concert film is making waves, surpassing BTS's record to become the highest-grossing concert film of all time. According to CGV, the film “I'm Hero: The Stadium,” which captures his concert at Seoul World Cup Stadium held in May, has attracted over 343,000 cumulative viewers as of Saturday, setting a new record for live performance films in Korea. This surpasses Lim's own previous record set by "I’m Hero: The Final,&qu

Oct. 21, 2024

[History through films] ‘Hunt’ spy flick set in Korea’s violent, chaotic ’80s

South Korea in the 1980s is often described as an era of violence and chaos. The period was marked by numerous major events in South Korean history, among them: the Gwangju Democratic Uprising in 1980 in which the military cracked down on civilians leading to a massacre; one of the largest fraud cases to date involving Jang Young-ja, a woman associated with then-President Chun Doo-hwan’s wife’s family in 1982; the Oct. 9, 1983 assassination attempt on Chun in Yangon, Myanmar in which

Oct. 21, 2024

Will any upcoming Hollywood blockbusters be hits in Korea?

Amid the ongoing slump of Hollywood blockbusters at the local box office, attention is focused on whether any of the upcoming mega-scale films can break the trend or struggle to compete against a diverse lineup of Korean movies. First on the list is “Venom: The Last Dance,” an American superhero film. The final installment in the Venom trilogy, opening in Korea on Oct. 23, sees Tom Hardy return to his role as Venom, one of Marvel’s most complex characters. The previous films

Oct. 20, 2024

Hemingway's 'The Killers' interpreted by 4 directors in 1 film

A set of creative interpretations of Ernest Hemingway’s short story “The Killers” is set to hit Korean cinemas, captivating audiences with stunning cinematography and an innovative approach. The Korean film "The Killers" is an anthology comprising four short films, each directed by a different filmmaker: Kim Jong-kwan, Roh Deok, Chang Hang-jun and Lee Myung-se. These directors are well known for their previous works: “Josee,” “Very Ordinary Couple,&r

Oct. 20, 2024

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Love in the Big City” (South Korea) Opened Oct. 1 Drama Directed by Lee Eon-hee Jae-hee (Kim Go-eun) and Heung-soo (Noh Sang-hyun), young Seoulites who have known each other since college, find themselves and come to understand one another better than anyone else. “The Wild Robot” (US) Opened Oct. 1 Animation Directed by Chris Sanders Roz (Lupita Nyong'o), a newly manufactured robot shipwrecked on an uninhabited island with no human inhabitants, learns to adapt to

Oct. 18, 2024

Movie for 4,000 won? Short horror film ‘4 mins 44 secs’ to hit theaters Nov. 1

The short-form thriller “4 minutes 44 seconds” will hit local theaters next month, following the unusual success of the short film “Night Fishing” starring Son Suk-ku in June. As the title suggests, “4 minutes 44 seconds” is an eight-episode horror-thriller with each story lasting 4 minutes and 44 seconds. The short-form film follows residents and visitors of the mysterious Bukchon Apartment, where someone disappears at 4:44 p.m. every day. The movie will ex

Oct. 16, 2024

[Herald Interview] ‘Uprising’ director Kim Sang-man sees social ranks still around today

Director Kim Sang-man, whose last film was 2004’s “The Tenor - Lirico Spinto,” was hesitant at first to make a period action flick set in Joseon (1392-1910). He said it was because of the massive amount of historical evidence and ancient records he would have to reference, which might have limited his creativity when directing. What, then, led him to direct the period action film “Uprising”? The film, which follows the friendship, fate and rebellion of a young maste

Oct. 15, 2024

No more ticket wars. Concert, musical films head to multiplex cinemas

Booking tickets online for a K-pop idol concert or a top-selling musical show, which sell out in several minutes or even seconds, is stressful. The high ticket prices, hovering above 100,000 won per ticket, are also agonizing. But at multiplex cinemas here, you can enjoy the exact same concert or musical on a large screen right in front of you and on an even-better sound system at just one-third of the price. In recent years, local multiplex cinema chains CGV and Megabox have been screening conc

Oct. 14, 2024

Busan film fest ends with lingering controversy over streaming platform presence

The 29th Busan International Film Festival ended Friday after a 10-day run during which it hosted 145,238 guests and screened 224 films from 63 countries. The BIFF organizers said the seat occupancy rate at its 28 screens in seven Busan theaters reached 84 percent, a slight increase over last year's 82 percent. This marks the highest seat occupancy in the festival’s history, surpassing even the pre-pandemic years when it featured more than 300 films. This year’s New Currents Awa

Oct. 13, 2024

'Heavy Snow,' Han So-hee's big screen debut, examines stereotypes of beauty

"Heavy Snow," exploring a fragile yet beautiful romance budding between two friends, examines societal perceptions faced by those with striking physical beauty. “Heavy Snow” follows aspiring actor Soo-ahn (Han Hae-in) as she falls in love with her beautiful schoolmate, popular teen actor Yoon-seol (Han So-hee). Riding high on its artistic qualities, the film has been invited to a number of domestic and international film festivals, including the Jeonju International Film Fe

Oct. 11, 2024

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“The Wild Robot” (US) Opened Oct. 1 Animation Directed by Chris Sanders Roz (Lupita Nyong'o), a newly manufactured robot shipwrecked on an uninhabited island with no human inhabitants, learns to adapt to the local wildlife and becomes the adoptive mother of an orphaned goose. “Joker: Folie a Deux” (US) Opened Oct. 1 Crime/Musical Directed by Todd Phillips Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a failed comedian, is institutionalized at Arkham, awaiting trial for his crime

Oct. 11, 2024

[History through films] ‘A Taxi Driver’: Simple-hearted man’s adventurous ride to Gwangju Democratic Uprising

“A Taxi Driver,” a 2017 action drama flick by Jang Hoon (“The Front Line,” “The Secret Reunion”), is not the first movie to have depicted the Gwangju Democratic Uprising of May 18, 1980. But unlike other movies cover the student-led democratization movement — “Peppermint Candy,” “May 18,” “26 Years” — “A Taxi Driver” sets itself apart by following the day’s events from an outsider’s point

Oct. 8, 2024

Netflix, streaming platforms come under fire for loose ratings

Global streaming platforms like Netflix, Apple TV+ and Disney+ have been applying loose ratings, violating the Promotion of the Motion Pictures and Video Products Act, according to a report from a lawmaker on Monday. According to Korea Media Rating Board data obtained by Rep. Cho Gye-won of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, Netflix led in violating the law by applying lax ratings for provocative content, recording 76 such violations since the government approved the self-rating sy

Oct. 7, 2024

[Herald Interview] Always around but never understood: ‘Tiger Stripes’ speaks up for teenagers

BUSAN -- Written and directed by Malaysian director Amanda Neel Eu, “Tiger Stripes” follows carefree 12-year-old Zaffan who starts to experience unexpected bodily changes as she is the first to get her period among her group of friends. For Zaffan, puberty becomes something she fights for in front of others after being publicly ostracized at school and in the community. Later, she embraces her anger and wrath to show everyone the beauty of her changing body. “Going through pube

Oct. 7, 2024

From thrillers to animation: Netflix's 2025 Korean originals promise universal fun, fresh stories

Netflix, a global streaming service, plans to roll out seven Korean original films next year, responding to rapidly evolving content consumption trends as movie viewing extends beyond traditional theaters. The company prioritized "enhancing quality and expanding diversity" when selecting the films for next year, Kim Tae-won, director of the Content & Business team at Netflix Korea, said at a press conference Friday night on the sidelines of the Busan International Film Festival (BI

Oct. 5, 2024