LEAFF today officially revealed its 2021 programme, with eight Korean movies in its schedule including Yoon Jae-keun’s 2021 thriller Spritwalker as the closing gala. Here’s the list of Korean films, with ticket links and screening times. THE PRAYER (간호중, 2020) Dir. Min Kyu-dong (Official Selection | European Premiere) Fri Oct 22 18:30 @ The Cinema … [Read More]
Director: Kim Ki-young
Korean Film Nights return online with Trapped! The Cinema of Confinement
The KCCUK has been adapting its activities to fit the constraints of a Covid-19 world. Together with the Birkbeck Film Programming and Curating MA course they have curated a new season of four film nights on a suitable theme. The movies are all available on the Korean Film Archive YouTube Channel (LKL’s index here), but … [Read More]
The Korean Film Archive Youtube Channel
Continuing some suggestions of what to do when you’re stuck at home… Many of you will already be aware that the Korean Film Archive has a wonderful YouTube Channel with loads of classic Korean movies, with English subtitles, available for free. Thing is, I’ve never found an index of the channel. So, over the years … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2019: the official press release
Here is today’s official press release that announces the line-up for the 2019 London Korean Film Festival: The London Korean Film Festival (LKFF) has launched its full programme of films and events for the upcoming 14th edition, taking place from 1st-14th November in London before embarking on the annual tour 18th-24th November. The Special Focus, … [Read More]
Home Truths season: Woman of Fire
The fifth screening in the Home Truths season brings one of Kim Ki-young’s remakes of his classic Housemaid. Woman of Fire (화녀) Director: Kim Ki-young (1971, 98mins) Cast: Youn Yuh-jung, Jeon Gye-hyeon, Nam Koong Won 13 June 2019 7:00 pm @KCCUK | Reserve your seat Woman of Fire sees Kim Ki-young remake his stunning classic … [Read More]
KCC Screening: The Sea Knows
The second in the KCC’s Rebels with a Cause season: The Sea Knows (현해탄은 알고 있다) Director: Kim Ki-young (1961, 119 mins) Cast: Woon-ha Kim, Sang-sa Lee, Ye-chun Lee 26 July 2018 7:00 pm @KCCUK | Book tickets Includes conversation between Danielle Capretti and Dr Mark Morris. In 1944, Japan is conscripting Koreans into the … [Read More]
Brief review: Kim Ki-young – The Soil
I’m not sure quite how to assess Kim Ki-young’s adaptation of Yi Kwang-su’s 500-page serial novel The Soil (흙, 1932-3). At 125 minutes, it doesn’t sound particularly long. But as we got up from our seats at the KCC last Thursday at around 9:15pm, it felt much later – maybe around 10:30pm. And that wasn’t … [Read More]
Screening: Kim Ki-young’s The Soil
This year the KCC’s first film screenings are adaptations of Korean novels. We start the season with Kim Ki-young’s adaptation of Yi Kwang-su’s 1932 novel 흙, variously known as The Soil, Earth or Peasants. Kim Ki-young: The Soil (흙 – 1978) Cast: Lee Hwa-si, Kim Jeong-cheol, Yeom Bok-soon, Nam Sung-hoon Thu 29 March 2018, 19:00 … [Read More]
Kim Hong-joon: Two or Three Things I Know About Kim Ki-young
Kim Hong-joon knows many more than two or three things about Kim Ki-young. Do not miss this talk. Two or Three Things I Know About Kim Ki-young, with Kim Hong-joon Thursday 22 February, 7pm Korean Cultural Centre UK | 1-3 Strand | London WC2N 5BW Register via Eventbrite The 5th of February marks the 20th anniversary … [Read More]
A class apart: why Im Sang-soo loses to Kim Ki-young in the battle of The Housemaids
What really intrigued me about Kim Ki-young’s original Housemaid (1960) was when I read that the female audience were so incensed by the seducing housemaid’s character, that they stood up in cinema auditoriums and shouted: “Kill the wench!” I can’t help but think that a female watching Im Sang-soo’s 2010 remake would remark: “nice house.” … [Read More]
Event news: Kim Ki-young’s Insect Woman screens at the KCC
Having had some classic film from Lee Man-hee during this year’s festival, we now have the treat of Kim Ki-young’s Insect Woman (1972) on 1 December. It’s unfortunate that we have to choose between this and an interesting talk at the Japan Foundation. But this is Kim Ki-young, and the film is said to be … [Read More]
Kim Ki-young’s debut film restored
Kim Ki-young’s 1955 directorial debut “The Boxes of Death” found its way back to the big screen in Seoul, after being lost for more than a half-century. koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2… [Read More]
It’s finally happened: Housemaid on DVD
It had to happen eventually. It’s been at the top of every Korean film buff’s most-wanted DVD release for longer than we can all remember. They’ve been working on polishing up the print and subtitles for rather too long. Versions of the film have been available at film festivals for a while – we saw … [Read More]
February is classic film month at the KCC
The Korean Cultural Centre has now been screening Korean films on a bi-weekly basis for a year now since the centre has opened. And to celebrate their year anniversary, they are delighted to present to you the Korean classic film series, which begins on Thursday 5 February with the screening of Han Myeong-mo’s classic Hyperbola … [Read More]
Aimless bullet, scary housemaid and Korea’s modern history
Two classic films from Korean cinema’s golden age provided a fascinating compare-and-contrast exercise last Monday night at the Barbican. Encouragingly, the films were better attended than the comparable double-bill last year (Madame Freedom and My Mother and her Guest). Maybe that reflects the growing literacy of UK audiences when it comes to Korean film. Or … [Read More]
The London Korean Film Festival 2008
The programme for the 2008 London Korean Film Festival has been announced. A great line-up with something for everyone. From the latest releases, there’s the biggest film of 2008 (The Good, the Bad and the Weird), plus one or two I’d forgotten about, but which with a bit of thought are obvious choices: last year’s … [Read More]