Sad news that the lKorean actor Ahn Sung-ki has passed away:
Ahn Sung-ki, one of the country’s most beloved actors, widely known for his warm public image and decades-long contributions to Korean cinema, died Monday. He was 74.
He had been receiving treatment in an intensive care unit of a Seoul hospital after collapsing while choking on food at his home Tuesday.
He died at the hospital at around 9 a.m., surrounded by his family, according to the Korea Film Actor’s Association.
Another Korean celebrity has unfortunately decided to take her own life:
Late actress Kim Sae-ron left no note and her death will be ruled a suicide, police said Monday.
The 24-year-old was found dead at her home in Seoul on Sunday afternoon.
“We believe she made an extreme choice and plan to handle it as a suicide,” a police official told reporters.
Kim gained fame after appearing in films such as “The Man from Nowhere” and “The Neighbors,” but her career took a hit following a DUI incident in 2022.
The K-Wave has swept the world and the BBC tries to explain why:
Korean entertainment is also a big tourist draw, with visitors dressing up in period costumes when they visit Seoul’s Gyeongbokgung Palace
The so-called Korean Wave swept the world, experts say, when the success of streaming met American-inspired production value. And Korean entertainment – from pop music and mushy dramas to acclaimed hits built around universal themes – was ready for it.
BTS and Blackpink are now familiar names on the global pop circuit. People are swooning over sappy K-dramas from Dubai to India to Singapore. Overseas sales of all this Korean content – including video games – is now worth billions.
Last month, after 53-year-old poet and novelist Han Kang won the Nobel Prize for her literature, online boards were full of memes noting South Korea’s “Culture Victory” — a reference to the popular video game series Civilisation.
And there were jokes about how the country had achieved the dream of founding father Kim Koo, who famously wrote that he wished for Korea to be a nation of culture rather than might.
As it turns out, this moment had been in the making for years. (………..)
International fans are often looking for an alternative world because of disappointment with their own society, Prof Chung says.
The prim romances, with handsome, caring and chivalrous heroes, are drawing a female audience turning away from what they see as hypersexual American entertainment. And when social inequality became a stronger theme in Korean films and shows – such as Parasite and Squid Game – it attracted global viewers disillusioned with capitalism and a yawning wealth divide in their countries.
You can read more at the link, but I think Korean entertainment has become so popular because people are looking for original stories and not just the endless sequels and the usual storylines that Hollywood produces. I can remember going to the Korean markets in the U.S. to rent K-dramas and movies, but streaming has brought these movies for everyone to access. I suspect Korean entertainment will be a force for many years to come.
Has anyone read or seen these movies from South Korea’s recently awarded Nobel Literature award winner Han Kang? Are they worth reading or watching?:
Two films based on the works of Nobel Prize-winning author Han Kang will receive special screening sections later this week, CJ CGV said Monday.
The films, “The Vegetarian” and “Scars,” will be shown on Thursday, in celebration of the Korean novelist’s recent Nobel literature award, according to the multiplex cinema chain.
Directed by Lim Woo-seong, the films are adaptations of Han’s novels — “The Vegetarian,” which won the International Booker Prize in 2016, and her 1999 novel, “Baby Buddha.”
The former was invited to the Panorama section of the Busan International Film Festival’s Korean Movie Today in 2009 and the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000.
Although neither film gained significant attention from the general public at the time of their release, they have attracted renewed interest following her prestigious win last week.
Teenage me would be shocked hearing this, but if South Korean movies and TV shows keep doing what they've been doing for the past few years, I think I'm done with Hollywood. I don't need yet another superhero movie. I want compelling character-driven stories.
Here is some good news for the South Korean film industry:
Bong Joon-ho’s sensation “Parasite” earned six nominations, including best picture, for the upcoming Academy Awards on Monday, becoming the first South Korean movie to compete at the world’s biggest film event.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its final list of nominations for the 2020 Oscars Awards, to be held on Feb. 9.
“Parasite” was up for best picture, best directing, best original screenplay, best international feature film, production design and film editing.
It is the first time that a South Korean-made film has made it to the final nominees list of the Academy Awards.
