Jeon Do-yeon to Appear on CNN's "Talk Asia"
Actress Jeon Do-yeon, who won the Best Actress award at the latest Cannes Film Festival, will appear on CNN's talk show "Talk Asia". The show introduces prominent people from Asia. Korean stars who have been invited to the show so far include singers Rain and Boa.
Jeon gave a two-hour interview to show host Anjali Rao, who visited Korea, on August 20. In her interview, which was held in Maronier Park in downtown Seoul, Jeon spoke about her acting career. Jeon, whose Cannes award has earned her global acclaim, was featured in Variety magazine as one of the 50 most influential women in the world.
Korean Films Dominate Local Box Office
The first half of this year saw some furrowed brows in Korea's film industry, but the summer is looking better with some Korean productions doing well at the box office.The crowd pleasers include a mix of sci-fi, drama, and comedy.
There seems to be no shortage of hot Korean films this summer, with domestic flicks grabbing over three-quarters of nationwide ticket sales in August.Leading the charge is the sci-fi blockbuster "D-War" (디 워).Drawing in 7 million viewers and counting, the movie has become the 7th biggest Korean film of all time.And much of the credit goes to director-cum-comedian Shim Hyungrae (심형래) whose six-year struggle to produce the work in Hollywood won the sympathy of fans at home. Though reviews go both ways, it still keeps packing in the crowds who awe over a bonanza of visual effects and computer graphics. Then there's "Hwaryeohan Hyuga" or "May 18" (화려한 휴가) a drama whose theater run has spilled well over its original schedule and has reached 6 million viewers. All age groups are drawn to its portrayal of the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement, a turning point in Koreans' fight for democracy. For lighter fare, moviegoers are also swarming to the comedy 'Underground Rendez-vous" (만남의 광장) and the romance "Changing Partners" (지금 사랑하는 사람과 살고 있습니까?). After opening last week, both have landed on the top five of the box office. And it looks like theaters will keep fans of domestic film glued to screens well into the fall, as a strong movie lineup is set for release just in time for Chuseok, Korea's Thanksgiving holiday.
Korea Makes Big Strides in Global Character Industry
Korea is home to Pororo, an animated penguin whose only dream is to be able to fly. In 2004, when the cartoon "Pororo the Little Penguin" hit television screens in France through TF1, the country's most popular network, the aspiring penguin was welcomed with a record-high 47 percent viewing rate. The cartoon then successfully made its way to the U.K., Italy, South America, China and finally Japan last year. In that time the little penguin has pulled in some W80 billion (US$1=W942) in revenue. Now other companies have begun commercializing on the character, such as Club Med which has organized Pororo children's camps in holiday destinations like Bali, Phuket and Bintan.
Pucca, another Korean-born character, is loved by fans in 130 countries. She appears on around 2,500 different types of merchandise including the cell phone accessories that first made her famous in 2001. Total sales of Pucca products last year came to well over W300 billion, matching those of any mid-sized company. Pucca is now preparing to make her grand entrance in the U.S. and Japanese markets, the homes of the character industry.
As the success of Pororo and Pucca illustrates, Korea has become a rising star in the global character business, the very core of the cultural content industry. More and more Koreans are turning their eyes to this promising and growing business as it marches towards success not only in Asia but also in Europe, the U.S. and Japan.
◆ Success through global strategy and IT
The sales volume of the character industry in Korea totaled W4.288 trillion in 2005, with Korean characters claiming a 41 percent share of the market, up 6 percentage points from three years before. Korean characters have been faring much better overseas -- according to data on character-related products, the export volume of W163.6 billion surpassed the import volume of W123.4 billion in 2005, whereas in 2004 exports were W134.2 billion and imports W148 billion. That means Korea is now in the black in the industry.
Experts say the overseas success can be attributed to a combination of global strategy and Korean IT. Chicaloca, a fashion character created in 2005 by Project 109, a character-specialist firm, will meet Japanese consumers in the apparel market following her success in Greece, Russia, Australia and New Zealand through licensing deals for stationery and bags. The firm plans to take Chicaloca to the U.S. next year.
Chicaloca's success after less than three years is unprecedented, industry figures say. The key is Project 109's thorough global strategy. When Chicaloca wears her hair black and dons a blouse, she becomes an Asian character. When she pulls on a pair of jeans and flips back blonde locks, she looks Western. No one can tell she was born in Korea.
When Chicaloca first appeared in a European magazine, her creators were inundated with calls from people wanting to know where she was from. "We targeted the global market right from the planning stage", said Kim Do-hee, the director of Project 109. Conscious of the worldwide trend for things Latin, the firm named the character by combining the Spanish words "chica" for girl and "loca" for passion.
The successful overseas debut of Pucca was the fruit of a multinational collaboration. Korea's Vooz Character Systems developed and marketed Pucca, the U.K'.s Jetix put up the funds, Canada's Studio B produced the animation, and an American writer took care of the story.
Korea's advanced information technology did its part in the development of the character. Korean characters are mostly created with 3D computer software. Characters used to be created through a laborious system of drawing on paper, but IT advancements enable much easier creation of elaborate images.
Jung Mi-kyeong, executive director of Iconix Entertainment, the creator of Pororo said, "Right now 3D is 'it' in the business. 3D characters are much more versatile than the 2D characters popular in Japan".
◆ Little room for offshoot industries
Mashimaro, an unpredictable bunny, received much fanfare in Japan, Hong Kong, China, the U.S and Europe at the beginning of this century. However, some unscrupulous Chinese producers preyed on its popularity by rolling out counterfeit products. When the original producer applied for a trademark registration somewhat belatedly, it was rejected. Surprised by its early success, mashimaro's producers failed to properly manage their character from the beginning.
There are other pitfalls in the business, such as the limits for offshoot industries for already-established characters. The Korean character business still relies heavily on selling character-related products and cartoons.
Bae Young-chul, the animation character team manager from Korea Culture & Content Agency said, "Korean character firms are still not strong enough to make hefty investments such as building theme parks. We need to develop an industry structure where companies can earn more royalties through more diverse content including publishing, fashion and games".
From slapstick to D-WAR's CG dragon director
A movie featuring Korean dragons is about ready for its local and worldwide release. Since completing the monster movie "Yongari" in 1999, Shim Hyung-rae, 50, has been preparing his new movie "D-War", or Dragon Wars. "D-War" will be by far the most expensive Korean movie in history. Shim was one of the most loved comedians in Korea during the 1980s and 90s. In the late 1990s, he made his less-than-stellar directorial movie the Godzillaesque "Yongari". But "D-War" and the hoped-for bigger bang from its 30 billion-won budget show how much Shim and the staff of his production company Younggu Art have been working to redeem themselves. The computer-generated special effects are being credited with bringing to life the best-looking Asian dragons ever. In broad daylight in Los Angels, two gigantic pythons -- one good, one evil -- fight each other over a crystal ball with the power to turn the victor into a dragon. The monsters wrap around skyscrapers, crush buildings and swallow hundreds of cars. The movie's serpents -- Dark Imoogi, Schaconne, Bulco and Dawdler -- and all of their movements were created through years of efforts by Younggu Art's computer graphic designers. "D-War" is based on a traditional myth about immogi (pythons in Korean) one of which is reborn as a dragon every 500 years after successfully embracing the yeouiju, a blessed crystal ball. A lady named Sarah was born with a dragon tattoo on her shoulder. She herself turns out to be the coveted yeouiju and is chased by Dark Imoogi, an evil serpent trying to become a dragon. When the movie premieres in Korea in early August, theatergoers will be treated to a soundtrack that features the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Choir performing Korea's most famous folk song "Arirang". Around 1,700 U.S. theaters are expected to screen "D-War" in mid-September, and in Japan, 500 cinemas will screen the movie during the winter vacation. The American production crew who joined the latter half of the production reportedly praised Shim's leadership and human touch at a press conference in L.A. in mid-July, saying he was always open to new ideas and put total trust in his staff. The Americans predicted the U.S. audience would find these Korean monsters exotic, radical and appealing. Shim plans to shoot another movie, "The Last God Father", in November.Korean Film Sold to Japan
The release rights for "Destiny", an upcoming film starring hallyu stars kwon Sang-woo and Song Seung-heon, has been sold in advance to a Japanese firm Formula Entertainment for $2 million.
"Destiny" is an action-thriller directed by Kim Hae-gon and produced by MKDK Productions. There are high expectations for the film, especially since Kwon and Song are two of the most popular Korean stars among Japanese audiences. The two actors have gained popularity in Japan because of hit dramas such as "Autumn in my Heart" (가을동화) and
"Stairway to Heaven" (천국의 계단).
Around 50 percent of filming has been completed. The movie is expected to be released before the end of the year.
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