Highschooler Sohee is required to complete an internship before she can graduate. She is placed in a local call centre with a stressful metric-driven environment so toxic it drives one of her colleagues to suicide. July Jung’s compelling drama exposes the harrowing impacts of capitalism, particularly on the young and disadvantaged. Content warning: Contains scenes … [Read More]
People: Bae Doo-na
Broker: UK theatrical release
On a rainy night in Busan, So-young (Lee ‘IU’ Ji-eun) leaves her baby Woo-sung outside a ‘baby box’, a safe place set up in Korean churches for new mothers to leave unwanted infants. Instead, he’s picked up by Sang-hyun (Parasite’s Song Kang-ho) who runs an unofficial adoption brokerage and plans to find him a new … [Read More]
Persona (페르소나, 2019) review: a versatile showcase of IU and four contemporary directors
An anthology consisting of four short films all starring K-pop star IU, Persona not only showcases her burgeoning acting prowess but also points to the sheer film-making talents of four critically acclaimed directors, in a wholly engaging and memorable manner throughout. [Read More]
Love without Boundaries: A Girl At My Door
The first screening in the Love without Boundaries season was the hit of the 2014 festivals: A Girl at my Door (도희야) Director: July Jung (2014, 119 mins) Cast: Bae Doona, Kim Sae Ron, Song Sae Byuk Thursday 4 July 2019, 7:00 pm @KCCUK | Reserve your seat Following a personal scandal which disgraces her … [Read More]
Why I’m beginning to warm to Netflix
After a rocky start with Netflix, I’m now coming round to it. I started subscribing to the online service in order to watch Okja, the Netflix-only feature film by director Bong Joon-ho. Although that particular experience was a big disappointment, I continued the subscription in case I was tempted by any of the other movies … [Read More]
Hyeon Nam-seop’s Saving My Hubby: female strength, comedy and the New Korean Cinema Wave
Saving My Hubby (2002) follows Geum-sun as she navigates parenthood, marriage, and a frantic night rescuing her husband. Blending madcap comedy with New Korean Cinema trends, the film highlights modern female strength, role reversals, and the rise of light-hearted, relatable stories reflecting young adults’ evolving attitudes toward family and relationships. [Read More]
Film review: Tunnel – will it be a hit outside Korea?
Tunnel (dir: Kim Sung-hoon, whose Hard Day put him on the map) has been topping the Korean box office since it was released less than four weeks ago, and amazingly now has a one-week release in the UK, until 8 September. What has contributed to its popularity in Korea? And could it attain the same … [Read More]
Film news: Tunnel gets a lightning-quick UK release
So unusual that a movie that was topping the Korean box office less than a month ago (and still is) gets a theatrical release in the UK. Tunnel (터널) Director: Kim Seong-Hun, 2016, 127 minutes Cast: Ha Jung-Woo, Doona Bae, Oh Dal-Su Based on the novel “Tunnel” by So Jae-Won (2013) Jung-soo, the manager of … [Read More]
Bae Doo-na interview: “I think I’m good at acting silently”
Bae Doo-na discusses A Girl at My Door as a critique of social prejudice, isolation, and marginalisation. She reflects on supporting challenging Korean films, choosing directors over scale, working across Korean and international cinema, her preference for expressive, non-verbal acting, and formative projects from Barking Dogs Never Bite to Sense8. [Read More]
Event news: Bae Doona Q+A after A Girl at My Door screening
July Jung’s debut feature, A Girl at My Door (도희야, 2014), was one of the highlights of last year’s London Korean Film Festival, so it’s good that the film is getting a tiny extra bit of UK screen time. The release date is 18 September from Peccadillo Pictures, and according to filmdates.co.uk you can catch … [Read More]
The London Korean Links Awards 2014
Our regular unscientific seasonal post which recognises some of the people, books, films and events which made 2014 an outstanding year. Personality of the Year This year there seem to have been more anti-heroes than heroes – examples to avoid rather than emulate. Villains we loved to hate this year have included the reclusive photographer, … [Read More]
Festival Film reviews: we also went to…
We’ve almost finished clearing the London Korean Film Festival backlog, the only major review outstanding now being Park Chan-kyong’s fascinating documentary Manshin. While I’m polishing that, here are a few brief reviews of the films I didn’t feel moved to write dedicated articles about. Han Gong-ju A heavy and depressing story redeemed by the sensitive … [Read More]
July Jung interview: loneliness, damage and connection in “A Girl at My Door”
July Jung discusses the obstacles facing female filmmakers in Korea, the precarious path to making A Girl at My Door, and her focus on loneliness, abuse, sexuality and prejudice. She explains the rural setting as a social microcosm, her collaboration with Lee Chang-dong, and her belief that intimate, local stories can achieve universal resonance. [Read More]
Some amazing street art of Bae Doona
Thanks to @Sean_Macdonald_ for posting on Twitter a photograph of some street art of Bae Doona in Cloud Atlas. The painting is about a 5 minute walk from King’s Cross Station on the Caledonian Road. [Read More]
Cloud Atlas – one Hollywood appearance of which a Korean actor can be proud
How many Hollywood films have you seen, featuring Korean actors, where you have thought “Yes, he (or she) can be proud of that?” I confess not to having seen Red 2 (Lee Byung-hun) yet, so maybe that will be one of them. But thinking back to the two GI Joe films (Lee Byung-hun), Ninja Assassin … [Read More]
Bae Doo-na’s London fashion shoot
Bae Doo-na was in London earlier this year, staying with her language coach in preparation for the shooting of Cloud Atlas (which we’re really looking forward to at LKL). She took the time out to do a fashion shoot for Marie Claire Korea, which recently hit the news stands. Thanks to Yuna at the Marmot’s … [Read More]