Kwak Kyung-taek

Festival Film Review: The Classified File

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by Philip Gowman on 12 November, 2015

in Asides | Event reports and reviews | Film reviews and comment | London Korean Film Festival

As goodwill ambassador for Sancheong County, I was delighted when Sancheong’s most famous Buddhist monk, the late Seong Cheol sunim, got name checked in The Classified File as the Seon Master of the Buddhist-trained fortune teller who unofficially assisted the police in the real-life 1978 kidnap case that was the subject of the movie. One […]

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Kwak Kyung-taek is July’s featured director at the KCC

by Philip Gowman 8 July 2015
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July features the early films of Kwak Kyung-taek, best known for his 2001 movie Friend. The Doctor K (닥터 K, 1999) 9 July, 7pm, KCCUK Book here Cast: Cha In-pyo, Kim Hye-soo, Kim Ha-neul, Yu In-chon, Park Sang-myeon 107 mins, Cert. 15 A mysterious doctor has a very special gift that allows him to successfully […]

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Kwak Kyung-taek quizzed at the first LKFF on Typhoon, filming in Russia and more

by Saharial 29 June 2015
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Kwak Kyung-taek is July’s featured director at the KCC. This gives us the opportunity to resurrect from the archives Saharial’s transcription of a Q&A with the director following the UK premiere of his movie Typhoon, at the first of the KCCUK’s London Korean Film Festivals back in September 2006. Q: What drew you to the […]

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“A Reason to Live” and “Pain”: Two lame films to avoid

by Philip Gowman 13 April 2012
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What better time to catch up on films you might not otherwise see than a long-haul flight from Seoul to London? Of the ten Korean films available on Asiana flight OZ 521 last week: I’d already seen and enjoyed two (War of the Arrows and Leafie) Two were feelgood sporting movies – not my usual […]

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Korean film at the Terracotta film festival

by Events Editor 7 May 2009
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The new kid on the block when it comes to Asian film is Terracotta. They launched themselves last November by securing the rights to Im Pil-sung’s horror film Hansel and Gretel (which screens at the KCC later this month – 28 May), and they’re making a splash at the Prince Charles this month with the […]

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BBC news video on recent London Korean Film Festival

by Philip Gowman 5 October 2006

A quick interview with Kwak Kyung-taek and Roger Clark, and a quick preview of King and the Clown, to be featured at the BFI London Film Festival. The presenter mentions that there are two other Korean films at the BFI festival. I can only find the one short film. If anyone can spot the other […]

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Kwak Kyung-taek’s next film a lower-budget romance

by Philip Gowman 28 September 2006
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At last night’s Q&A following a packed showing of Typhoon (queue above), director Kwak Kyung-taek confirmed that his next film will have a slightly smaller budget than his last, which had disappointing box office result despite its large budget. It will be a romance, and Kwak is talking to Lee Jung-jae, the hero of Typhoon, […]

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