‘Big Mouth’: Girls’ Generation’s YoonA, Lee Jong-suk star in new teaser

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefLee Jung-jae, the Korean actor who has received an Emmy nomination for his role in Netflix hit series “Squid Game,” has re-edited “Hunt,” the film that marked his feature directorial debut. The new version will play at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.“Hunt,” a 1980s-set espionage thriller about rival agents from North and South Korea, had its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

IZ*ONE member and soloist Choi Yena has released the music video for ‘Smartphone’, the title track of her sophomore mini-album of the same name.In the vibrant visual, Choi is a gamer who guides an avatar of herself through a playground filled with whimsical mascots, eventually stopping at a shooting game inspired by the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise.“Mix and match as you like / Airplane in my hands / No matter where you’re going or what you’re going to do, get connected / This star is too narrow to contain me,” Choi sings.Apart from the title track, ‘Smartphone’ includes four other songs – two of which credit Choi as lyrics co-writer. The idol is credited as one of the writers for B-sides ‘Make U Smile’ and ‘WithOrWithout’, as well as title track ‘Smartphone’.

Bae Suzy and Yang Se-jong will be co-starring in Netflix’s upcoming original K-drama The Girl Downstairs.On July 19, South Korean news outlet JoyNews24 reported that the two actors have been confirmed to lead the upcoming series. Based on the Naver webtoon of the same name by Min Song-ah, The Girl Downstairs revolves around college students Lee Doo-na (Bae) and Lee Won-joon (Yang) who end living together.In the original webtoon, Lee Doo-na is a former member of the fictional girl group Dream Sweet, who abruptly decides to retire to resume her studies at Minsong University as a theatre and film student.  It is currently unknown if the Netflix adaptation will retain the same plot.As of writing, Netflix has yet to announce a projected premiere date for The Girl Downstairs.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefA powerful debut for “Hansan: Rising Dragon,” a locally-made historical action film, lifted the South Korean box office to its second highest weekend of the year and helped July to be the best month of 2022.The film is a prequel to “Roaring Currents” a tale of an heroic 14th century naval admiral that amassed some 17 million admissions in 2014 and is currently the most-watched Korean film of all time.Data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), showed that “Hansan” earned $13.4 million from 1.63 million ticket sales between Friday and Sunday, for a market share of 60%. Over its first five days in theaters, the film amassed $17.9 million from 2.27 million spectators.

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae’s directorial debut Hunt has been released.Set in the ’80s, Hunt follows two top National Intelligence Service (NIS) agents who uncover shocking truths as they chase down the person in charge of North Korean spies who have infiltrated the country.On top of serving as the film’s director and screenwriter, Lee Jung-jae stars as agent Park Pyung-ho, with Jung Woo-sung playing his colleague and rival Kim Jung-do.The new trailer for the film begins with Pyung-ho and Jung-do finding themselves in the middle of a sudden shoot-out as they attempt to put a stop to the South Korean president’s visit. They then learn of a spy with the code name Dong-rim who has infiltrated the organisation as part of a plan to assassinate the president.Aside from the film’s two main leads, Hunt also features a supporting cast inclusive of Jeon Hye-jin (Uncle, Ashfall), Heo Sung-tae (Squid Game), Ko Yoon-jung (Alchemy of Souls, Rookie Cops) and Kim Jong-soo (Snowdrop, Dream), among others.

Seoul Vibe – watch it above.Starring Yoo Ah-in, Go Kyung-po, Lee Kyu-hung and more, Seoul Vibe is an action blockbuster set against the backdrop of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. It follows a ragtag crew of drivers and mechanics who dub themselves the “Sanggye-dong Supreme Team” who’ve been hired to uncover the truth behind a massive money laundering ring.The first teaser for the film introduces prodigal driver Dong-wook (played by Hellbound’s Yoo Ah-in) and his motley crew, who accept a high-stakes job that promises a hefty payment of ₩10million (around £6,400) upon completion.

SEVENTEEN’s Hoshi has released a new single ‘Tiger’ in collaboration with veteran rapper Tiger JK.The energetic new song was released on July 29 in celebration of Global Tiger Day, an annual celebration that raises awareness for tiger conservation. Hoshi’s stage name is an abbreviation of the Korean phrase for “tiger’s gaze”, and he’s known for coining the phrase “horanghae”, which directly translated to “I tiger you”.Featuring veteran South Korean hip-hop artist Tiger JK, ‘Tiger’ is co-composed by production team BOOMBASTIC as well as SEVENTEEN bandmate Woozi, with lyrics co-written by Hoshi, Woozi and Tiger JK.In a recent interview with Vogue Korea, the SEVENTEEN singer opened up about the “serious discussion” the 13-piece had with each other before deciding to renew their contracts with longtime label Pledis Entertainment.“All the members are on the same page of ‘Let’s be SEVENTEEN together’ and we talked a lot about the details,” Hoshi said.

Abel Ferrara, Shia LaBeouf And Steve Buscemi Head To Venice Sidebar Giornate Degli Autori

Netflix has dropped a new trailer for its forthcoming South Korean original series A Model Family. The brand-new visual for A Model Family dropped yesterday (July 27), and begins with a man (played by Jung Woo) stumbling across a crashed car with bloodied, dead bodies. He chances upon a duffel bag filled with cash in the backseat and begins scrambling to pocket the money for himself.However, his choice to steal the money would eventually lead to more catastrophic events – he has become the target of a dangerous drug syndicate, who threaten his family and his own life if he doesn’t agree to take on the role of a mule for the gang.

Disney+ has unveiled the all-star cast set to feature on upcoming K-drama Big Bet, including Sohn Seok-gu, Lee Dong-hwi and more.Formerly known as King Of Savvy, the new Korean series is set to tell the tale of a man who struggles to achieve his goal of becoming a casino mogul, however is majorly set back after a chain of unfortunate events. The man begins to risk everything he has, including his own life, to get himself back on track.Big Bet will star veteran South Korean actor Choi Min-sik as the series’ leading protagonist, marking his first television role in approximately 26 years since the 1997 show Love and Parting.

Pledis Entertainment has announced that Jang Gyu-ri will leave fromis_9 following the expiration of her contract.Earlier today (July 28), South Korean music label Pledis Entertainment took to fromis_9’s official Twitter page to announce Jang’s departure from the K-pop girl group at the end of the month following the expiry of her exclusive contract with the group’s previous agency.“fromis_9 will become an eight-member group starting from this coming August and will meet their fans in their upcoming Japanese activities and other various activities scheduled for the second half of this year,” wrote Pledis.“fromis_9’s fifth EP ‘from our Memento Box’ will be the last promotional activity of Jang Gyu-ri as she wraps up her time as a member of fromis_9. She will conclude her contract earlier with us as of July 31 to embark on a new journey.”With Jang’s departure, fromis_9 will consist of Lee Sae-rom, Song Ha-young, Park Ji-won, Roh Ji-sun, Lee Seo-yeon, Lee Chae-young, Lee Na-gyung and Baek Ji-heon.Pledis Entertainment said the remaining members of fromis_9 had opted to sign new exclusive contracts with the company after the group transferred to Pledis from WAKEONE in August 2021, and Jang was the only member who did not do so.[공지] 프로미스나인 향후 활동 안내Read: https://t.co/6r7wJ2minB— fromis_9 [프로미스나인] (@realfromis_9) July 28, 2022“Jang Gyu-ri maintained the conditions of the original contract with her former agency and Pledis has been in charge of tasks including the management of her team and individual activities,” the label continued.

Emergency Declaration, starring Squid Game’s Lee Byung-hun and Parasite’s Song Kang-ho, has been released.Emergency Declaration follows a detective’s investigation into a suspected terrorist who has already managed to board a plane and has broadcast his plan to kill everyone on board.The new visual follows Jae Hyuk (Lee) and his fellow airplane passengers, who begin to suspect that something sinister is afoot when their plane begins to tilt dangerously and they witness one of the stewardesses having a seizure.Their suspicions are later confirmed when they see a video uploaded by passenger Jin Seok (Im Si-wan, also a member of the boyband ZE:A). “This is it,” Jin Seok declares, as he records the video elsewhere on the plane.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNew release titles “Alienoid” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru” dominated business at the South Korean box office over the weekend. “Alienoid,” a sci-fi fantasy about the search for a legendary sword across different eras, opened on Wednesday and consistently, but narrowly, bested its animated rival. “Alienoid” earned $5.19 million between Friday and Sunday for a 32% market share, having played on more than 1,800 screens.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSong Kang-ho, the Korean actor who starred in Oscar-winning black comedy “Parasite” has grabbed headlines again with news of his philanthropic activities.Song, who recently won the best actor award at Cannes for his turn in “Broker,” was reported to have given KRW100 million ($75,000) this month to Hope Bridge Association of Korea’s National Disaster Relief aimed at helping the victims of recent wildfires in South Korea’s eastern coastal region.The news was reported Friday by the Korea Times newspaper. It quoted Song’s agency Sublime, as saying: “Song has been thinking about how to return some of the love he has received from fans.

GFRIEND member Yuju has announced a new digital single ‘Evening’, featuring BIG Naughty.Yuju made the announcement through social media on July 21 at midnight KST, sharing a teaser image of herself lying on a fabric-covered surface, surrounded by used paint supplies and a filled scrapbook.‘Evening’ is set to feature up-and-coming South Korean rapper BIG Naughty, and will arrive next week on July 28 at 6pm KST.YUJU Digital Single이브닝 Feat. BIG Naughty2022.07.28 6PM (KST)#YUJU #유주 #이브닝 #BIGNaughty pic.twitter.com/vL60FFaaaD— 유주 YUJU (@konnect_YUJU) July 20, 2022Notably, Yuju’s forthcoming release of ‘Evening’ will mark her first music since she debuted as a soloist in January with the mini-album ‘REC.’, which was led by the single ‘Play’.

Miky Lee, Vice Chairwoman of South Korea’s CJ Group, will receive the International 2022 Directorate Emmy Award.

Daniel Kaluuya and Steven Yeun looked dapper on the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of their new film Nope Monday. Both actors are starring the thriller along with Keke Palmer, 28.  The British born Daniel, 33, stood out in a modern looking double breasted black suit with a white mock turtleneck shirt.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Top Gun Maverick” reclaimed the lead at the South Korea box office as “Thor: Love and Thunder” slowed rapidly and Korean cinemas endured a weekend that slowed the recent recovery trend.“Top Gun Maverick” earned $5.77 million between Friday and Sunday, in its fourth week of release in Korea, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That was a drop of only 11% from its previous weekend.In contrast, “Thor Love and Thunder” registered a 66% weekend-on-weekend tumble, falling from $9.88 million previously to $3.34 million.

BTS alum on Friday released his debut solo album,, alongside a fiery new music video for the song «Arson.» The 10-track full-length can be streamed in full now via digital media services. According to a press release, the 28-year-old South Korean superstar is «leaping out of the box,» showing off new sides of himself and how much he has grown as an artist. In the first two tracks, listeners will hear the story behind the origin of J-Hope's stage name, born from Greek and Roman mythology of «Pandora's Box.» The dual main tracks «MORE» and «Arson» dive deeper into the artist's authentic and personal story. The release comes as J-Hope tops Billboard's Emerging Artists chart with «MORE,» becoming the fifth member of BTS to do so as a soloist. Earlier this month, J-Hope shared with fans a visually stunning music video for that first single.