Breaking news! Hwang Jung-min, Korea’s top star, has been kidnapped by a gang of thugs and taken to a remote location. Well, not really, but that’s the concept of Pil Gam-sung’s action-thriller Hostage: Missing Celebrity. As per the previous (joke) announcement, Hostage: Missing Celebrity is what you probably expect it to be about: It follows…
Month: April 2022
24th Udine Far East Film Festival: “One Day You Will Reach the Sea” Review
Mana Kotani’s (Yukino Kishii) world is turned upside down the moment she learned that her best friend, and first love, Sumire Utsuki (Minami Hamabe) has died. The bright and bubbly woman she met on her first day of college has gone, there one moment and gone the next. It takes everything she has to keep…
24th Udine Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Park Dae-min, Director of “Special Delivery”
It took a while for Park Dae-min to make his first film. Although he graduated with a degree in architecture, he found his passion for filmmaking back in 2002 when he directed a short film Hey, What Are You Looking For, which was invited to screen at the Busan International Short Film Festival. Park Dae-min…
24th Udine Far East Film Festival: “Special Delivery” Review
Sometimes, when you have seen too many dramas, you just wish to chill out while watching a good action film. And Special Delivery, written and directed by Park Dae-min, is one of those films. Eun-ha (Park So-dam: Parasite) is a delivery driver who asks no questions. She works for Baek Sa-jang (Kim Eui-sung: Taxi Driver),…
“I Would like to Be a Musician That Can Stay Consistent and Continue to Make Music That He Loves.” – In Conversation with Kim Feel, a South Korean Singer-songwriter
“Yours, Sincerely was made while I was doing my mandatory military service. It was an album with the most candid stories of so many concerns that I had about myself, things I missed, and emotions I couldn’t accept”, says Kim Feel when asked about his first studio album which released in 2019. He also admits…
MCND Brings Cosmic Energy to London’s O2 Islington – Concert Review
“They were truly born to be on stage”, one of MCND’s fans exclaimed after the gig. [twitter handle: HUIJUNLVR]. And she was right! It is very rare for me, a person who is quite particular about the K-pop music they enjoy, to be absorbed by a new up-and-coming boy-group’s performance. But let’s start from the…
“Singing Is About Feelings” – In Conversation with CHOA, a South Korean Singer
K-pop holds a specific place in the Korean music industry, and if one wants to survive in such a place, they have to make sure that they won’t become a star for just a single season. Unfortunately, this often happens to idols who decide to leave their groups to focus on solo careers or at…
“If One Person Somewhere Is Affected by the Emotions or the Words of My Songs, That’s Enough Reason for Me to Make Music.” – In Conversation with Kim Jeong-uk, a Singer-songwriter and Rapper
Kim Jeong-uk, a South Korean singer-songwriter and rapper, began his music career when he debuted as a member of a boy group, 24K, back in 2012. After a relatively successful career with the group, the artist decided to pursue a solo career. In 2019, Jeong-uk released his first EP called #down which brought a new…
Santi Review
Santi (Jon Gutierrez) sits wedged on a sofa at a dinner party with his girlfriend Violet (Zulekha Chaka). He’s politely listening as two of Violet’s friends bicker about the ongoings of a night out – a night out Santi clearly wasn’t invited to. Squished on-screen between their two out-of-focus side profiles, Santi can’t get a…
VIEW OF THE ARTS 