Hwang Dong-Hyuk Says Next Film ‘K.O Club’ Is “More Violent” Than ‘Squid Game’

The Masked Singer has found itself in the middle of political controversy during its current seventh season after Deadline revealed that Rudy Giuliani was one of the contestants. Donald Trump’s lawyer was unmasked this week on the Fox reality competition series.

Epik High‘s Tablo has revealed that Big Bang’s Taeyang is his “favourite” person to work with, while hinting at more to come with the K-pop idol.The Korean-American rapper had hosted an “ask me anything” (AMA) session on Twitter yesterday (April 21), where he responded to various questions from fans. “I know you collaborated [with] a lot of artists, but do you have a [favourite]?” asked one fan, to which Tablo responded with Big Bang’s Taeyang, whom he has worked with on several times before.taeyang— tablo (@blobyblo) April 20, 2022The duo first teamed up on Tablo’s 2011 album ‘Fever’s End Pt.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed Korean filmmaker Kim Yong-hwa, one of the most important figures in the Korean screen industry.

Psy is finally back.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefLee Jung-jae, the lead star of Netflix hit series “Squid Game” will be at the Cannes Film Festival this year with the world premiere of his feature directing debut “Hunt.”The film (aka “Namsun”) will be presented next month in the Cannes festival’s Midnight Screening section. Two other films will receive midnight screenings: “Fumer Fait Tousser,” by Quentin Dupieux and Moonage Daydream,” by Scott Morgen. The bulk of the festival’s Offical Selection was announced Thursday at a press event in Paris.“Hunt” is a 1980s-set Korean-language spy thriller that Lee got caught up in after buying the rights and rewriting the screenplay.

Hwasa of MAMAMOO, EVERGLOW, SF9 and more are set to perform at the 2022 edition of K-pop festival HallyuPopFest, to be held in London this summer.A total of six K-pop music acts have so far been announced to perform at HallyuPopFest, a K-pop festival that was previously held in Singapore in 2018 and 2019. HallyuPopFest London 2022 is set to take place on July 9 and 10 at the 12,500-capacity OVO Arena Wembley in London.The first wave of acts announced include MAMAMOO singer Hwasa, girl group EVERGLOW, and boybands ASTRO and ONEUS on day one.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe success of Korean shows “Vincenzo” and “Squid Game” and Japanese anime such as “Attack on Titan” are justifying Netflix’s heavy spending on Asian film and TV content.The streaming giant is forecast to grow its revenues in the Asia-Pacific region by 24% in the current year as subscriber numbers swell by 20%, according to new research, from Singapore based consultancy Media Partners Asia.That optimism stands in contrast to investment sentiment in January when Netflix announced its December quarter and 2021 full year data and a spooked the financial community with a cautious (global) first quarter outlook. Media Partners Asia’ latest note on the company indicates that Netflix could grow APAC revenues by 24% in the current year to December, to $4.1 billion.

WJSN’s Bona has opened up about her love for Twenty Five Twenty One co-star Kim Tae-ri and what it was like to work together.In a recent interview with Newsen, the 26-year-old K-pop idol and actress voiced her deep admiration for Twenty Five Twenty One co-star Kim Tae-ri, and shared more about how the pair grew close on set.“There was a lot I learned through unnie (Korean honorific meaning ‘older sister’),” Bona said of Kim, referring to their meeting as “fate”, as translated by Soompi. “She always asked me, ‘Is there anything uncomfortable? Should I do this for you?’ so thanks to her, I was able to follow comfortably in her steps.”Bona went on to share that both actresses, who trained vigorously for their roles professional fencers in the series, played showed their competitive sides on set.

In the Apple TV+ series Pachinko, Solomon (Jin Ha) speaks Korean, Japanese and English. The show, based on Min Jin Lee’s book, traces four generations of his family from Korea and Japan (as Zainichi Koreans), so all three languages are involved. Ha does not speak Japanese and studied the different dialects with vocal coach Yu-Mi Kang.

Squid Game creator, director and writer Hwang Dong-hyuk and actor Park Hae-soo joined TV editor Peter White for Deadline’s annual Contenders Television at Paramount Studios to discuss what fans might expect from the upcoming sophomore season of the Korean dystopian drama.

BTS.On the most recent episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, was released on April 6, the 41-year-old rapper discussed his thoughts about the K-pop boyband with co-hosts Ice, Ish and Parks Vallely, during which he said: “You can get mad at me… but I hate them BTS n***as.”When asked by his co-hosts to elaborate, Budden said: “Do I need a reason? … I hate them n****s. I don’t have to divulge my reason to you, I just hate them n****s.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKorean-made series have continued to dominate viewership on Netflix, following on from the breakout successes of “Squid Game” and “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” in 2021.For ten of the 13 weeks in the first quarter so far this year, Korean shows have held top spot in Netflix’s global non-English series ranking. Romantic comedy “Business Proposal” is currently the top non-English series for the third week in a row (March 28-April 3, 2022), and is Netflix’s third-ranking series of all origins, behind only “Bridgerton” (seasons 1 and season 2) with over 32 million watch hours.“Business Proposal” has played particularly strongly in Asia, ranking as the top series in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam and in second place in India and Sri Lanka in the last week.

The Sound Of Magic is set to hit Netflix this May.Helmed by Itaewon Class and Love In The Moonlight director Kim Sung-youn, The Sound Of Magic is based on a popular webcomic titled Annarasumanara, written and illustrated by Ha Il-kwon.The upcoming series, which premieres on Netflix on May 6, will feature a star-studded cast that includes Hwang In-youp (True Beauty), Ji Chang-wook (The K2, Backstreet Rookie) and Choi Sung-eun (Beyond Evil). The Sound Of Magic is a fantasy series that follows main character Yoon Ah-yi (Choi), a girl who loses her dreams after facing the harsh realities of life, and Na Il-deung (Hwang), who feels immense pressure to bring his dreams to life. The tale begins to unravel after the pair encounter the enigmatic yet mystical magician Rieul (Ji).The Sound Of Magic was first announced in April 2021.

Netflix’s upcoming original South Korean film Yaksha: Ruthless Operations has arrived.The brand-new visual opens with a shot of the neon-lit Chinese city of Shenyang, as a voiceover briefs special inspector Ji-hoon (played by Squid Game‘s Park Hae-soo) for an assignment that requires him to shadow a secret black ops team.We then dive into the action-packed predicaments of the black ops team, led by Ji Kang-in (Sol Kyung-gu), also known as the Yaksha. The team butt heads with antagonist “D7” Ozawa (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi), a Japanese spy disguised as a lobbyist who has a particularly bad history with the Yaksha.Also starring GOT7‘s Jinyoung (Yumi’s Cells), Yang Dong-geun (Lost), Lee El (Love And Leashes) and Song Jae-rim (Work Later, Drink Now), Yaksha: Ruthless Operations follows the team and their unwilling inspector in search of a high-ranking North Korean official who has gone missing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSuperstar Korean actor and producer Gang Dong-won has signed up with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for representation outside Korea.Gang joins a string of Korean on-screen talent securing international representation as the country’s creative sector is propelled to the fore by films such as “Parasite” and “Peninsula” and by TV shows such as “Squid Game.”He continues to be represented in Korea and Japan by Lee Gi Wook at YG Entertainment. Gang, who has a mechanical engineering degree and was initially scouted as a model, transitioned to acting in 2004 with “Too Beautiful to Lie” and “Temptation of Wolves,” the latter of which earned him the best new actor award at the 24th Korean Association Critics Choice Awards.

Producers Guild of America Awards panel over the weekend, the 75-year-old applauded the streaming service for awarding “unknown actors” the opportunity to helm projects.“A long time ago, it was domestic stars that brought the audience into movies,” Spielberg said. “Today, it’s interesting, unknown people can star entire miniseries, can be in movies.”“Squid Game” is a 2021 South Korean production that shocked viewers and brought in very high ratings for the streamer.“’Squid Game’ comes along and changes the math entirely for all of us,” the “West Side Story” filmmaker added before directing his attention to Netflix’s co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos.