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Category Archives: Bong Joon-ho

Barking Dogs at the KCC

25-Nov-08

Barking Dogs at the KCC

The Korean Cultural Centre completes its retrospective of Bong Joon-ho's works this month with his first feature, the entertaining Barking Dogs Never Bite (플란다스의 개) (2000), starring Lee Seong-jae and Bae Doo-na. As with Bong's subsequent films, there's plenty of humour amid the drama, and this one is well worth checking out, particularly for the stand-out performance of the quirky Bae Doo-na (right) Here's a synopsis: In a peaceful middle-class apartment, part-time lecturer Yoon-ju is becoming hyper-sensitive to a dog’s barking coming from somewhere in the apartment. In attempts to find the source, he puts his ear to the floor or listens carefully to the sounds from the ceiling. Then one day, returning from his recycling ritual, he discovers a puppy standing ...
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Bong Joon-ho month at the KCC

08-Oct-08

Bong Joon-ho month at the KCC

This month gives you an opportunity to see two of the best films to have come out of Korea - or anywhere - this century. Both star Song Kang-ho, both are by director Bong Joon-ho, who debuted in 2000 with the amazing Barking Dogs Never Bite. On 9 October, there's the film which provided koreanfilm.org.uk with its masthead, one of the few films which I have spontaneously applauded at the end: Memories of Murder (2003), based on a true story: Synopsis 1986, Kyonggi Province. A young woman is found brutally raped and murdered. A couple of months later, several other rapes and murders occur under similar circumstances. In a country that has never known such crimes, the dark whispers about a serial killer grow ...
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The London Korean Links Awards 2006

31-Dec-06

The London Korean Links Awards 2006

In the year-end spirit of reviewing the highlights and lowlights of 2006, here are the winners of the first LKL Awards - a personal and unscientific selection. The awards are in the following categories: Man of the Year Woman of the Year Best cultural promotion: Briton in Korea Best cultural promotion: Korean in Britain Best cultural promotion: Non-Korean in Britain Best photo Best album Best book Best film London event of the year Headline of the year and some miscellaneous awards... Man of the Year I don't think there's any competition. Rain, Rain, Rain. Time's most influential entertainer, Seoul's tourism goodwill ambassador, a starring role in Park Chan-wook's latest film, a sell-out concert in New York, a Christmas eve gig in Las Vegas, a good selling album (below). What have I missed? He hasn't ...
Also filed in 2006 year-end posts, Business, Celebs, General book news, Humming Urban Stereo, Music: K-pop, Performance arts, Pictures, Rain, Samsung, Sport | Tagged , | Comments (6) »

Careful not to try earning a little cash on the side

10-Oct-06
The Marmot has picked up a little news item from the Korean press: a couple of foreigners were caught out earning a little but of cash by getting bit-parts in Bong Joon-ho's The Host, and they now face deportation. One of them was only in Korea on a 90 day tourist visa. Good news for the both, however. If they pay a 1 million won fine and leave Korea, they can return anytime they like. If they fail to pay the fine, however, they would be forcefully deported and barred from reentering the Land of the Morning Calm for 3-5 years. Which would suck. Other foreigners doing a bit of moonlighting include the wife of the American ambassador who ...
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Lee Myung-se’s The Duelist - and The Host - to get nationwide release

19-Sep-06
Related posts:Provisional release date for the Duelist For those of you who are eager to see Lee...The Chaser gets theatrical release For those who missed “The Chaser” at Frightfest, don’t forget...Countdown to London premiere of The Host Tickets for Frightfest go on sale on Tuesday 1 August... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
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Is The Host anti-American (spoilers)?

30-Aug-06

Is The Host anti-American (spoilers)?

The packed performance of The Host at Frightfest on Monday went down well. We were told by the organisers that we were watching the longest possible print. Whether that means there are cuts in other theatrical versions I don't know. One of the things about The Host is that it's generated a lot of noise about anti-Americanism. A lot of the criticism is based on the first scene. But there are other examples throughout. Here's my list (spoiler alert): (Opening scene) The treatment of the Korean lab assistant by the American boss. The Korean is just there to do menial tasks (like cleaning the lab), and work through the night if his boss orders him to. And the lab is nowhere near ...
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Countdown to the Host (2)

21-Aug-06

Countdown to the Host (2)

The London debut of the Host is one week away. And it's still breaking box office records. It's sold out at the Edinburgh Festival, where Bong Joon-ho will be making a personal appearance, while in Korea, after one week according to the Chosun, the film brought in some 2.7 million viewers in just four days, setting records by opening on the greatest number of screens (620), the highest number of reservations (99 percent), and as the quickest movie to break the 1 million viewer mark (three days). That knocks the previous record-holders into a cocked hat. The previous record for biggest first week was held by "Typhoon" with 1.81 million tickets sold, for biggest one-day showing "Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War" ...
Also filed in Film, Kim Ki-duk | | Comments (0) »

Countdown to London premiere of The Host

28-Jul-06
Tickets for Frightfest go on sale on Tuesday 1 August at 11 am. Make sure you get in early. There's a very slim possibility that Bong Joon-ho himself might be there, but don't get your hopes up. To whet your appetite, have a listen to the Metropolitician's latest podcast: it's a discussion with Darcy and Q on the film. Michael has been helping Darcy to get the subtitles into decent English, so has seen the film a number of times, but is still blown away by seeing it on the big screen. Michael's speciality is the sweary bits. He has posts on the Host here and here. Related posts:Countdown to the Host (2) The London debut of the Host is one week away....The ...
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Korean success at Cannes

22-May-06
Breaking news, but I hear Bong Joon-ho's film The Host has met with great critical acclaim at Cannes, receiving a standing ovation (which doesn't surprise me, as Bong's previous film, Memories of Murder, is the only film I can think of where I felt like applauding at the end). Here's a quote from the New York Times: Another offering from South Korea -- and the best film I've seen to date at this year's festival -- is "The Host," which for some reason is screening outside the main festival program in a parallel section called the Directors' Fortnight. Directed by Bong Joon-ho, who made the policier "Memories of Murder," this terrific hybrid-genre fantasy about a mutant creature with a lotuslike mouth ...
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