Korea Fines Google $177 Million for Operating System Dominance

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefJames Bond franchise film “No Time to Die” opened in top spot at the box office in South Korea on Wednesday. But the opening score on its commercial debut won’t require a rewrite of the local record books.The film earned $663,000 (KRW785 million) from 104,000 ticket sales, according to data from the Kobis box office service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Rebecca Souw Barunson E&A, one of the production companies behind South Korean Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” will work with director Bong Joon-ho on two additional Korean films.The Seoul-based company provided no further details of the Bong projects, but announced an expanded production slate spanning films and TV series and hinted at overseas expansion.Barunson, which was producer of the smash hit KBS series “Descendants of the Sun,” previously worked with Bong on his 2009 drama “Mother,”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKorea Telecom has unveiled plans to inject $150 million into its media unit allowing it to expand its content production capacity. The move comes at a time when already high competition for Korean content is set to intensify further.KT said that it will buy new shares in KT studio Genie, the unit formed earlier this year to house all its media activities.

Korean American rapper BM, aka Big Matthew, steps walks out of the Sunnei fashion show while wearing the brand during Milan Fashion Week on Friday (September 24) in Italy.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefLocal thriller “On The Line” held on to top spot at the South Korean box office charts. But its weak total showed that the boost to cinemas from the Chuseok holidays had been short-lived.“On the Line” managed $1.56 million in its second weekend, a score which was only 28% down on its debut, according to data from Kobis, the box office tracking service provided by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Jennifer Yuma editorNetflix announced “The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea” will premiere Oct. 22.The three-part docuseries follows Yoo Young-chul, a notorious serial killer who came to light as a psychopath to the Korean public in 2004.

EXCLUSIVE: Guido Rud’s Argentina and Spain-based sales outfit FilmSharks has scored a pair of deals on its slate with Korea buyers.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNew titles arrived in Korean theaters in time for the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday period, headed by locally-made thriller “On The Line,” which took top place from “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” But box office over the weekend preceding the big break remained subdued, totaling just $6.16 million.“On The Line” earned $2.16 million from 1,294 screens between Friday and Sunday and accounted for 35.1% of nationwide box office, according to data