Kang Soo-youn Dies: Pioneering South Korean Film Actress Was 55

Broker, starring singer-actress IU, was given a 12-minute standing ovation at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.Broker, the first-ever Korean-language film by Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, recently premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on May 27. Once the screening had concluded, the fil received a 12-minute-long standing ovation from those in-attendance, according to a report from Korean news outlet Edaily.The publication also claimed that the standing ovation began with Cannes Film Festival’s executive director, Thierry Frémaux.

The Palme d’Or can be a blessing and curse, a gold-plated sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of filmmakers lucky enough to claim it. After the first waves of shock and joy recede, and their subsequent year-long victory lap reaches the finish line, those same filmmakers are left alone with one troubling thought: What’s next? Director Hirokazu Kore-eda offers a fine case study in how that question might trip someone up.

Forbes has officially unveiled the 2022 edition of its annual 30 Under 30 list for Asia, with acts such as aespa and Jung Ho-yeon making the entertainment and sports category.The annual list highlights 300 individuals below the age of 30 that have made significant strides and impact in their respective fields, categorised by entertainment and sports, science and entrepreneurship, among others.Included in this year’s 30 Under 30 list for Asia under the Entertainment And Sports category are K-pop girl group aespa, who are notably the only South Korean music act to be included on the list. Meanwhile, Squid Game actress Jung Ho-yeon was also featured on the list as the only South Korean thespian to be included this year.The 2022 list also included Indonesian 88rising rapper Warren Hue, Thai singer-songwriter Pyra, Singaporean hip-hop artist Yung Raja, Malaysian rap artist SYA, ‘Chicken Tendies’ singer Clinton Kane, New Zealand duo Broods, Sydney duo Seaforth and ‘Josh’ singer Peach PRC.Last year’s edition of the same Forbes list saw Hong Kong’s Jackson Wang of GOT7 fame featured on the list, alongside other South Korean musicians such as MAMAMOO’s Hwasa and IU.The entertainment and sports category of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list was judged by ONE Championship Group President Hua Fung Teh, Infinite Studios CEO Mike Wiluan and Caldecott Music Group’s founder and chief executive Kuok Meng Ru.

Kang Daniel is here!

EXCLUSIVE: has cast Alicia Hannah-Kim for Season 5 of the hit Netflix series as the formidable South Korean sensei Kim Da-Eun who factors into Terry Silver’s (Thomas Ian Griffith) plans for accelerating Cobra Kai’s expansion. Dallas Dupree Young, who joined the show last season as Kenny Payne, has been upgraded to a series regular.

Hirokazu Kore-eda‘s next directorial effort is the baby-napping (kidnapping for babies) drama “Broker” which stars Song Kang-ho, who previously played the patriarch in the Best Picture winner “Parasite” and is a fixture of South Korean cinema. Kore-eda, a Japanese filmmaker, made waves in the film awards circuit with his fantastic 2018 drama “Shoplifters” which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and even etched out a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination.

Kang Daniel has made his much-anticipated comeback with his first full-length studio album ‘The Story’, alongside a music video for title track ‘Upside Down’.In the new visual, the K-pop idol makes his way through a myriad of vibrant sets, accompanied by a team of dancers. His journey starts in neon-lit a barbershop, before he heads to a rooftop carpark, and stops by a laundromat for the dance break.“Just imagining it tires me out / Wanna know the reason, I don’t know / I feel like I’m the only one moving backwards / I need to change it back, turn everything around,” he sings on the new laidback track.‘The Story’ features ten new tracks, all co-written by Kang, alongside contributions from labelmate K-R&B singer Chancellor, who features on the song ‘Mad’.

South Korea may have made big inroads on American TV recently with “Squid Game” and “Pachinko,” and the country’s intriguing film and television industry also has a stronger-than-usual presence at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae’s political thriller “Hunt” premiered as a midnight screening early in the festival; Davy Chou’s “Return to Seoul” landed a pre-Cannes deal with Sony Pictures Classics and is one of the hits of the Un Certain Regard sidebar; and Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda is in the main competition with “Broker,” his first film shot in South Korea in the Korean language.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSurprising as it may sound, the Korean film industry has had a rough time over the past couple of years. Get ready for a comeback.Just at a moment when Korean film producers might have expected to capitalize on the unprecedented multi-Oscar success of “Parasite” (and the previous year’s Korean-language “Minari,” COVID closed down Korean cinemas , stifled production and extinguished Korean audiences’ willingness to venture into cinemas.

Sony Pictures International Productions (SPIP) is set to remake Ariel Winograd’s Argentinian comedy Mama Se Fue De Viaje (Ten Days Without Mom) in Turkey and South Korea.

Rebecca Souw Four films, “Decision to Leave,” “Broker,” “The Hunt” and “No Return” selected for this year’s Cannes Film Festival shed rays of hope for a positive uptake in the Korean film industry, severely damaged due to the COVID pandemic. Juxtaposed against a fruitful run in 2019, the year Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” won the Palme d’Or, the massive slow down of the industry saw box office sales plummeting, sizable shrinking of the business, theater closures and a backlog of unreleased filmsAt last year’s Busan Film Festival’s Asian Contents & Film Market veteran film director Park Chan Wook said the release date for “Decision to Leave” was uncertain and as no one is rushing, the team is constantly retouching parts of the film.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticOn Oct. 26, 1979, South Korean president Park Chung-hee was assassinated by the chief of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency — a coup that ended the autocrat’s 16-year grip on a country that has wrestled with corruption and scandal ever since.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefEpic Pictures Releasing has licensed North American rights to Korean action film “Hot Blooded,” from leading Seoul-based film sales agency Finecut. The deal is one of several struck by the agency ahead of Cannes, where it is also launching sales on Critics’ Week title “Next Sohee.”Starring Bae Doona and Kim Si-eun, “Next Sohee” is directed by Jung July, whose acclaimed “A Girl at My Door” played in Un Certain regard in 2014.

EXCLUSIVE: Omar Sy’s star continues to burn bright on Netflix, as the French star’s thriller The Takedown comfortably held on to top spot in the streamer’s non-English language film chart.

Creative Artists Agency announced on Monday that CAA Moebius, its annual screening series showcasing diverse graduate student filmmakers, will return as an in-person event from May 18-19.

Manori Ravindran International EditorIn one of the first major deals of the Cannes market, Sony Pictures Classics has swooped on Un Certain Regard title “All The People I’ll Never Be.” The distributor has picked up rights in North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.The film, which is written and directed by Davy Chou (“Diamond Island”), will be re-titled as “Return to Seoul.” It premieres in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday.The pic centers on 25-year-old Freddie, who impulsively returns to South Korea for the first time, where she was born before being adopted and raised in France. The headstrong young woman starts looking for her biological parents in a country she knows so little about, taking her life in new and unexpected directions.

B.I is back!

Marta Balaga “Face Off” helmer John Woo will receive a Career Achievement Award during Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival, about to celebrate its 26th edition. The Hong Kong filmmaker is currently working on “Silent Night,” starring Joel Kinnaman and Kid Cudi.“I defy anyone to watch ‘Bullet in the Head,’ ‘Hard Boiled’ or ‘The Killer’ and not walk away wanting to break down the shots and make a movie.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefIn the early years of the 21st century, bankers to the film industry set their eyes on East Asia and headed for Hong Kong and Beijing. They could see that mainland China’s decision to open the film business to the private sector had the potential to be a game-changer.

admitted to a hospital in Seoul on Thursday (May 5) following a sudden cardiac arrest.Kang’s memorial service has been set up at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul. Her funeral ceremony will be held on Wednesday (May 11) and will be broadcast live through the Korean Film Council’s YouTube channel, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.The funeral committee will be led by Kim Dong-ho, former chairperson of the board of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).“Kang broke boundaries with her fearless performances.