‘House of the Seasons’ Review: A Beautifully Poised Debut Reveling in the Joys and Sorrows of Family Life

America Ferrera, Eva Longoria and Linda Yvette Chavez, and Celine Song and Greta Lee have been set as recipients of this year’s WIF Honors.

BTS, (G)I-DLE and LE SSERAFIM, have denied any rumours of links to a recent spate of drug-related investigations in the Korean entertainment industry.In the past week, popular South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun and Big Bang member G-Dragon were booked on suspicion of drug use. The two cases are said to be unrelated to one another.Soon after the news broke, rumours that other high-profile K-pop stars were also being investigated for drug use started circulating online, according to SBS Star.Among them were LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Chaewon, (G)I-DLE’s Jeon Soyeon and K-pop boyband BTS.

Soojin, an ex-member of girl group (G)I-DLE, has teased her much-anticipated solo debut with a mysterious video, titled ‘Black Forest’.Soojin released a cryptic two-minute clip on her new Instagram and YouTube pages today (October 25). The monochrome video features the K-pop idol on a bare set, performing an original contemporary dance to dramatic instrumental music, before two masked back-up dancers join her in the second half.Apart from the dance video, which has been titled ‘Black Forest’, no other details about her much anticipated solo debut have been revealed as of writing.

Netflix has released a new trailer for reality series Squid Game: The Challenge – check it out above.Based on Hwang Dong-hyuk’s Korean survival drama, the reality show sees 456 contestants from around the world compete in various challenges inspired by the series for a $4.56million cash prize.A synopsis reads: “As they compete through a series of games inspired by the original show – plus surprising new additions – their strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them.”As shown in the trailer, the show’s anmatronic doll returns for Red Light, Green Light, while the elevated glass bridge and honeycomb games from the series are also represented.It also shows some of the dynamics between contestants, as one remarks: “You can’t trust anybody in here.”The 10-episode season debuts on November 22, with new episodes premiering weekly through to December 6. The series is produced by Studio Lambert and The Garden.The streaming service announced a second season of Squid Game was in development in June last year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Along with the expansion of streaming, among the unintended consequences of COVID and the SAG-AFTRA actors strike has been global consumers’ growing consumption of non-English-language films and TV shows. That in turn has elevated familiarity with and acceptance of Asian local shows and Asian performers – not just those riding the Korean wave.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lee Sun-kyun, star of Oscar-winning Korean film “Parasite,” is being investigated by police over his alleged drug use, Korean news media report. “Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency had begun an investigation into eight people, including the actor and the offspring of a chaebol [major family-controlled conglomerate], over allegations they took illegal drugs multiple times this year,” the publicly-owned Yonhap News Agency reported on Friday afternoon. The news outlet also reported that “while the police have not officially named Lee as a suspect, they are said to have discovered a lead in connection with the actor’s illegal activities.” There has been no explanation of what substances Lee is alleged to have used.

Castaway Diva, starring Park Eun-bin of Extraordinary Attorney Woo fame.Castaway Diva follows Seo Mok-ha, a crass countryside girl who has pipe dreams of becoming a pop star. One fateful day, as she’s making her way to Seoul city in order to make her dreams come true, Mok-ha somehow finds herself stranded on an uninhabited island, where she remains for the next 15 years.The new trailer introduces the eccentricities of Mok-ha, who speaks in a heavy dialect synonymous with rural South Korean towns and is extremely vocal about her dreams, despite being well aware of the fact that she “sounds hopeless”.

South Korean auteur Chung Ji-Young came to the eighth London East Asia Film Festival on Wednesday night with his latest film The Boys, which opens in its homeland on 1 November. Based on real events, which saw three innocent country boys imprisoned in 1999 for a callous murder-robbery in North Jeolla Province, the film stars Sol Kyung-gu as detective Joon-cheol. Once known as “Mad Dog”, Joon-cheol has mellowed over time, and when he receives information many years later that suggests the real criminals have gone free, Joon-cheol begins a crusade for justice — bringing down the wrath of the area’s corrupt lawmakers, who begin a campaign of intimidation intended to destroy his career and credibility.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho’s 2006 monster movie “The Host” is among Paris-based distributor The Jokers Films’ recently releases, made available for the first time ever as a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition. The Jokers’ other new French release, the 4K restoration of Bruce Weber’s 1988 Chet Baker doc “Let’s Get Lost,” also screened at the Lumière Festival in Lyon with Weber in attendance. Describing the film’s sound and 4K restoration as “sublime,” The Jokers head Manuel Chiche says, “‘Let’s Get Lost’ is now a timeless classic not only about life but also about art and creation.” “Let’s Get Lost” is due to hit French theaters in summer 2024.

When Netflix announced in April that it’s planning to spend $2.5 billion on Korean content across the next four years, on top of the more than $1 billion already spent since 2016, it made the world sit up and take notice.

The Wrestler, directed by Bangladeshi-Canadian filmmaker Iqbal H. Chowdhury, and September 1923, from Japan’s Tatsuya Mori, picked up the New Currents Awards as Busan International Film Festival wrapped a busy 28th edition on October 13. 

HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk has revealed that BTS will release an album marking the 10-year anniversary of their 2015 series ‘The Most Beautiful Moment In Life’.The album series – which is often called ‘HYYH’ in reference to its Korean name, ‘화양연화’ – was released in two parts, with the first arriving on April 29, 2015 and the second on November 30. A repackaged record, ‘The Most Beautiful Moment In Life: Young Forever’, was released on May 2, 2016.During an appearance on Bloomberg Screentime, Bang shared news of the upcoming anniversary album.

Naman Ramachandran Distributor, Day for Night has acquired a trio of Asian titles for U.K. and Ireland at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Contents and Film Market. Day for Night is acquiring the late Pema Tseden‘s “Snow Leopard” from Rediance.

NiziU is heading to South Korea!

Naman Ramachandran Korean powerhouse CJ ENM is set to continue its already extensive investment in Indonesia. The company will announce a slate of Indonesian films imminently. It is also planning to produce films and series that can be remade in other international territories, said Justin Kim, head of international productions at CJ ENM, which has production and distribution businesses in Indonesia.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The growing media and entertainment connections between Korean Americans and those Koreans living in Korea may be changing both communities, a public discussion at the Busan International Film Festival on Friday heard. “Being in a room full of fans, feels like they accepted me as a member of the family. It feels like, culturally, Korea [may be in] a moment of transition,” said John Cho. He was joined in the debate by actor-director Justin Chon (“Gook”), director Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”) and actor Steven Yeun, who are all either first or second generation immigrants to the U.S. They were careful not to speak about their current movies or projects out of respect for SAG strike protocols, but the avoidance of promotional niceties permitted a wider-ranging and more philosophical discussion. It touched on issues of identity, generational change and the development of the post-pandemic, streaming-era global village. “The reception I’ve had [in Busan] feels connective, not foreign, like living in a global reality,” said Yeun.

Valerie Wu editor Elsie Choi, a film and TV development veteran who has worked for such producers as Dan Lin and Bruce Willis, has joined Los Angeles-based CJ ENM America as executive VP and head of scripted TV. CJ ENM is a South Korean entertainment company that has produced content such as Oscar-winning film “Parasite” and popular Korean fantasy drama series “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God.” Among the company’s recent productions are the romantic drama “Past Lives” with A24. It’s also the company behind the annual KCON Korean pop culture conference and concerts held in downtown Los Angeles in August.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Issues of cultural diversity, different Asian diaspora populations and the quest for the Asian cinematic identity came up for discussion on Thursday as the New Currents competition jury at the Busan International Film Festival prepared to get down to work. Filmmaker and academic Jung Sung-il, who is set as the jury president, appeared to invite a degree of dispute that might get the blood racing. “I have high hopes, hope for controversies and good conversations among the jurors,” he said in opening remarks.

League of Legends World Championship anthem featuring NewJeans.According to a press release, ‘Gods’ marks the first time a K-pop act has sung the League of Legends World Championship anthem. The song also marks the 10th anniversary of anthems for the annual esports tournament.“The 2023 Worlds music video follows the story of Korean pro player Kim ‘Deft’ Hyuk-kyu, from his discovery of League of Legends in high school, to his run at Worlds 2022 alongside his team that overcame all odds to become World Champions,” the press release reads.‘Gods’ performed by NewJeans, and was written by Riot Games’ principal composer Sebastien Najand along with Mako’s Alex Seaver.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Anthony Chen (“The Breaking Ice”) is attached to direct and Shinho Lee to write “Sunset Park” for Barunson C&C, a film and TV production subsidiary of Barunson E&A, the Korean company that produced Oscar-winning hit “Parasite.” “Sunset Park” recounts a surprising journey in the U.S. made by a Korean father with his son’s room mate, after the man receives tragic news about his son.