Changed Storytelling Is Helping Korean Content Stay in Touch With Audiences

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Band of Brothers” writer Bruce McKenna is teaming with David Broyles (“Six”) and Nick Jones Jr. (“Yasuke”) to write and produce a limited TV series “Buffalo Rangers” about the 2nd Ranger Company, the only all-Black special operations combat unit in U.S. history. They were notable for their efforts in the Korean War. The series is being produced by South Korea-based Moving Pictures Company, which has a growing English-language slate. No broadcaster or streamer has been announced. Producing alongside Broyles, Jones and McKenna are Thomas Suh (through his production company Système D Entertainment), Paul Merryman (“The Outpost”), Debra Martin Chase (“Harriet,” CBS’s “The Equalizer”) and Jariko Denman (“The Outpost”), a retired master sergeant with 15 combat deployments.

YouTuber Oli London is a British actor, singer and influencer with a huge following around the world. London first spoke with Fox News Digital exclusively on Monday about his process of detransitioning back to a man after living as a transgender woman for the last six months, and now he's opening up about the steep cost of his many procedures – totaling $300,000. Born a Caucasian male, London wanted to look like a South Korean woman and underwent extensive surgeries – 32, to be exact – to accomplish his desired appearance.

Clayton Davis J.D. Dillard’s “Devotion” was announced as the Audience Award winner for best narrative film following the conclusion of the Middleburg Film Festival. The Sony Pictures historical drama, which stars Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell, was a heavy favorite from patrons and could be a quiet dark horse contender in the Oscar race. Dillard and actor Christina Jackson were both in attendance in Virginia for a post-screening Q&A. Written by Jake Crane and Jonathan Stewart, the film is based on Adam Makos’ novel and tells the inspirational, true story of two elite U.S. Navy fighter pilots who fought in the Korean War in the 1950s. “We were honored to have these filmmakers join us at the festival to present their exceptional films to our audiences and engage in thoughtful conversations,” said Susan Koch, MFF executive director.

After much speculation about whether they’d be exempt or not, BTS is enlisting in the military!

BTS is switching gears and preparing to fulfill their duty to their country. The band's record label, BIGHIT MUSIC, has announced that the members of BTS are on their way to fulfilling their mandatory military service requirements for the South Korean government. The group's eldest member, Jin, 29, will be the first to enlist. Under South Korean law, all able-bodied men are required to perform 18-21 months of military service. NBC News notes that the band has already been granted a two-year extension on their government-mandated military service, with top-performing athletes and musicians occasionally granted exemptions.

The members of South Korean supergroup BTS will fulfill their mandatory military service before reconvening “around” 2025, agency Big Hit Music announced on Monday. 

If and when they choose to speak out about it, survivors of sexual assault each find their own ways of describing their harrowing memories of the incident that victimized them. Going into survival mode, however, is perhaps one experience several would agree on.

Netflix is currently in talks to stream upcoming Korean blockbuster The Match exclusively on its platform.South Korean news outlet The Korea Herald reported on October 12 that The Match – which stars Squid Game’s Lee Byung-hun and Hellbound’s Yoo Ah-in as its leading stars – is currently considering forgoing a theatrical release in favour of a Netflix premiere.The producers of The Match had reportedly previously sorted out a release date for its theatrical premiere, but are now in talks to change tactics considering local movie theatre attendance has yet to improve since the ease of COVID-19 restrictions in South Korea. However, representatives of Netflix told The Korea Herald that “nothing has been decided yet”.Based on true events, The Match follows the tale of two notable Go (a traditional Chinese board game) players set in the ’80s and ’90s.

Rebecca Souw Achieving a balance between artistic creativity and commercial appeal has been a key component of the success of the Korean film and TV industries, said senior executives at the Asin Contents & Film Market, held this week as part of the Busan International Film Festival. Leading U.S. producer Ted Hope said that “Being audience focused but ambitiously creating authored work,” is significant and that Korean filmmakers are able to tap into a wide range of emotions. Yang Yoomin, a Korean producer who has worked with hit filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho, explained why such a discussion was important. She gave the examples of the Hong Kong and Japanese film industries which have both at times enjoyed international success, but which have recently been eclipsed. Hope said that Hong Kong films and Japanese animation are at opposite ends of the spectrum stretching from commerce and art films, but said that Korean stories demonstrate a balance between authorship and audience-focused approaches.

North Korea has fired two short range missiles toward its eastern coast hours after the U.S. military concluded military training exercises with South Korea. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement they detected the two missiles launched between 1:48 a.m.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic In what plays like Singapore’s answer to “About Schmidt,” never-too-late-to-live dramedy “Ajoomma” follows a widowed housewife as she steps out of her comfort zone by making a solo trip to South Korea. This upbeat debut from director He Shuming — whose title is the Korean equivalent of all-purpose Asian term of respect “Auntie” — offers longtime TV actor Hong Huifang (“Housewives’ Holiday”) a chance to shine in the title role, which has already netted her a Golden Horse Award nom. Selected to rep Singapore at the Oscars, affable “Ajoomma” is more of a dark horse in that race, albeit one with art-house sleeper potential. Mrs. Lim’s life is light on excitement. What it lacks in drama, she fills by binging on Korean soap operas — a not at all uncommon obsession among Asian women (and a growing number of Americans, thanks to services like Kocowa and Viki). “Auntie,” as most of the other characters call Hong’s character, fusses a bit too much over her only son, who long ago agreed to accompany her on a special tour of Seoul. Now, mere days before they’re to depart, he backs out for a job interview in New York — one that would put some much-needed distance between the closeted young man and his overly suffocating mom.

HYBE Labels, home to acts like BTS and SEVENTEEN, has reportedly acquired Supertone, a Korea-based AI voice company.South Korean news outlet Pulse reported on September 27 that the entertainment giant had acquired the startup for approximately ₩45billion (roughly £28.3million), following an investment it made last year when it acquired an 18 per cent stake in Supertone.Valued at about ₩22billion (roughly £13.8 million), Supertone is known for its “adversarially trained end-to-end Korean singing voice synthesis” technology founded in 2020. Dubbed commercially as the ‘singing voice synthesis’ (SVS), Supertone’s AI technology first gained traction when it was featured on a local television programme last year, for mimicking the voice of the late Korean musician Kim Kwang-seok on the Kim Bum-soo classic ‘I Miss You’.According to Pulse, several unidentified sources claimed that HYBE made the decision to acquire Supertone in order to synergise its own artist intellectual property with Supertone’s technology for future endeavours in content production.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Manta Comics is to release a webcomic adaptation of “A Hard Day,” a Korean action thriller film from 2014 originally directed by Kim Seong-hun. In Manta’s adaptation, the protagonist Ko Gunsoo has been recreated as a female detective, and the story begins when she accidentally hits a homeless person with her car shortly after her mother’s death. Unwilling to catch a manslaughter charge, Gunsoo hides the body in her mother’s casket. A mysterious stranger soon arrives, claiming knowledge of the hit-and-run, and Gunsoo finds herself embroiled in a shady police corruption scandal.  The 2014 movie was produced by AD406 and distributed internationally by Showbox / Mediaplex.

Rebecca Souw Along with “Return to Seoul” and Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Broker,” Singaporean comedy film “Ajoomma” joins a growing list of recent foreign movies set in Korea or probing contemporary Korean culture.  “Ajoomma,” which premieres at the upcoming Busan International Film Festival on Friday in the New Currents competition section, tells the story of stereotypical Singaporean middle–aged woman (or “auntie”). Her obsession with Korean TV dramas leads her to visit Korea for the first time and as a result, embarks on a journey of self-discovery. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong multi-hyphenate Peter Chan Ho-sun is far too intellectual to call himself an “arms dealer,” as Sony Pictures has in casting itself as an unattached supplier to streaming platforms. But politeness and Bob Dylan references aside, Chan’s new company, Changin’ Pictures, aims to become a major independent purveyor of premium Asian TV content for the streamers. The company is using this week’s Busan International Film Festival as its launchpad and will unveil the first five series of its 20-title pan-Asian slate.  Chan’s thesis is that global audiences are hungry for Asian content but have not been able to access it easily under legacy film and TV distribution systems. With streaming making everything accessible everywhere, and audiences no longer balking at subtitles, quality Asian drama can and will travel.

North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Thursday morning local time, just two days after Pyongyang sent an intermediate-range ballistic missile flying over Japan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.  About 40 missiles have been launched by North Korea this year, including six in the past two weeks, but Tuesday's test marked the first time in five years that the country has sent a missile over Japan.  The U.S. and South Korea staged joint drills on Wednesday in response, with the USS Ronald Reagan moving into waters east of South Korea.

Netflix has shared the first look at its upcoming K-drama, The Fabulous, starring SHINee’s Minho.The much-anticipated first glimpse at the new series was shared by Netflix on October 5, and features snippets pulled from The Fabulous encompassing the fast-paced, glamorous world of South Korea’s illustrious fashion scene. Freelance photo editor Ji Woo-min (played by SHINee’s Minho) is at the heart of its schemes, crossing paths and eventually developing a romance with PR manager Pyo Ji-eun (Rookie Cops’ Chae Soo-bin).It also features cameo appearances from several top South Korean models, most notably including Choi So-ra, best known as the winner of the third cycle of Korea’s Next Top Model. Slated to make its global premiere on the streaming platform on November 4, The Fabulous, set against the backdrop of Seoul’s fashion industry and will depict the stories of young men and women as they navigate their work, personal lives, friendships and romances, along with their struggles to stay afloat in a fast-changing and competitive fashion landscape.Other cast members previously announced to be joining Minho and Chae on The Fabulous include Kim Min-kyu, a past Produce X 101 contestant, as well as Byun Jun-seo (Woori The Virgin), Lee Mi-do (Kiss Sixth Sense, House Of Lies), Kwon Hae-sung (Cafe Minamdang, The Devil Judge) and rookie actress Ye Seon-ho, among others.The first official details of the upcoming romance series first surfaced as early as September 2021.