North Korea Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Dahomey. The Golden Bear, the first to be awarded to a black filmmaker in the festival’s history, is about the return of 26 royal treasures of the Kingdom of Dahomey from Paris to their country of origin, the present-day Republic of Benin.MUBI has acquired the rights to the film for both the UK and the United States, among other territories.On the night Diop had the following to say when she collected her award:Kenyan-Mexican actor Lupita Nyong’o was president of this year’s jury.Elsewhere, the runner-up prize, the Silver Bear Grand Jury went to Korean filmmaker Hong Sansoo’s Yeohaengjaui pilyo (A Traveler’s Needs), while the Silver Bear Jury Prize was awarded to Bruno Dumont’s L’Empire.Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias scooped the Best Director award for Pepe, while the two main acting awards went to two performances in the English language.

Korean content is having its moment, but Pyramid Game will be the only title from the country at next month’s Series Mania.

AOA member Choa has opened up about the reason behind her departure from the group in 2017.Choa recently appeared on singer Lee Ji-hye’s YouTube channel, during which she and the rest of the main cast of television show Diva Sisters – Ivy, Chae Rina, Narsha and Lee herself – were filmed gathering for drinks to celebrate Lee’s birthday.In the midst of discussions about the women’s experiences in the Korean entertainment industry, Ivy asked Choa whether she “left [AOA] for [her] own good”. Choa then admitted that at the time of her departure from AOA, she “still wanted to be part of this industry”, per SBS Star. However, Chae Rina noted that it “almost seemed like you were done with this industry”, adding that “the public probably felt the same way”.

Wedding Impossible, starring Moon Sang-min and Jeon Jong-seo.Wedding Impossible stars Moon Sang-min and Jeon Jong-seo in an adaptation of a web comic of the same name. It follows a chaebol heir Lee Ji-han (Moon), who proposes a fake marriage to unknown actress Nah Ah-jeong (Jeon) for mutual benefit.Despite her acceptance of Ji-han’s offer, his brother, Do-han (Kim Do-wan) goes above and beyond to put an end to their fake relationship, resulting in clashes between him and his future sister-in-law.Other members of the Wedding Impossible cast also include the likes of Bae Yoon-kyoung (Crash Course in Romance, The King’s Affection), Kwon Hae-hyo (Vigilante, Flex X Cop), Park Ah-in (Moonshine) and more.Prime Video released a teaser for Wedding Impossible on February 22.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief In Berlin with “The Roundup: Punishment,” part four of the action movie series that he created and stars in, the larger-than-life Korean American Don Lee finds himself simultaneously in multiple timely and lucrative businesses. These include the Marvel superhero business, the Korea-to-Hollywood remake business, “The Roundup” franchise and its multiple spinoff possibilities. Lee may even be in the business of saving Korean cinema, which is currently having one of its periodic wobbles.

BIBI has released the music video for ‘Sugar Rush’, featuring appearances by (G)I-DLE‘s Soyeon and Choi Yena.In the clip, BIBI performs the song in a colourful, candy-covered set, while wearing outfits that resemble sweet confectioneries. Meanwhile, Choi Yena and (G)I-DLE rapper Soyeon make special cameos as controllers of a claw machine that feed BIBI candies.“I’m sweet, like candy / You could look don’t touch / Don’t try to get handsy / You get sugar rush,” BIBI sings on the chorus of ‘Sugar Rush’.

Physical: 100. The streamer announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) earlier today (February 21) that Physical: 100 season two will premiere next month on March 19.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief North American digital distributor Echelon Studios has come on board “12.12: The Day,” the highest grossing film from Korea last year. The film has been on theatrical release in North America, through 815 Pictures since last year and grossed over $1 million.

Marry My Husband actress Song Ha-yoon has revealed why she isolated herself on the set of the hit Prime Video K-drama series.Marry My Husband follows ordinary office worker Kang Ji-won (Park Min-young), who gets a second chance at life after she dies at the hands of her cheating husband Park Min-hwan (Lee Yi-kyung) and treacherous best friend Jung Soo-min (Song Ha-yoon).In a new interview with South Korean media, Song Ha-yoon says that because of the villainous nature of her role, she “usually kept to myself while on set”, per SBS Star. The actress explained that it “didn’t feel right to form close relationships with other actors while playing the character”.“It was necessary because when actors are close to each other, it is noticeable in a scene.

Mickey 17, has received a new release date, set for 2025.On Tuesday (February 20), Warner Bros. Pictures announced the sci-fi film’s new release date of January 31, 2025 per a report from The Hollywood Reporter.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “Money Heist” spinoff series “Berlin” has been renewed for Season 2 at Netflix. The second season will once again see Pedro Alonso returning as the title character, along with fellow cast members Michelle Jenner as Keila, Tristán Ulloa as Damián, Begoña Vargas as Cameron, Julio Peña Fernández as Roi, and Joel Sánchez as Bruce. The Spanish-language series serves as a prequel to the events of “Money Heist” (a.k.a “La casa de papel”).

Lee Hi will be holding a “mini-live performance” in Singapore next month, as part of Marquee Singapore’s ‘OH-K!’ event.The nightclub announced the details for its ‘OH-K!’ event today (February 20), revealing Lee Hi as its special guest performer. The event is being billed as one that “spotlights a diverse and eclectic mix of Korean artists and DJs”.Lee Hi will be performing at Marquee Singapore on March 16, with tickets on sale now via the nightclub’s official website.

Korean director Hong Sang-soo is such a Berlinale favorite that his film in competition, featuring Isabelle Huppert as an apparently penniless tourist trying to scrape together a living in Seoul, is his sixth film to be invited to the festival since 2020 — remarkably, that’s not even his entire output over that time. He hits this pace by keeping things simple, shooting each film in just a couple of weeks with very few crew and small casts, most of whom have been his collaborators for years, and covering many of the key technical jobs himself.

Guy Lodge Film Critic Iris, the petite enigma at the center of “A Traveler’s Needs,” dresses at once to be noticed, and to disappear. Over a bright sundress, spattered all over with red and violet blossoms, she wears a cardigan of a most assertive, eye-searing green.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Streaming platform Disney+ will add four new Korean-language original series to its 2024 lineup. Its “Blood Free,” “Unmasked,” “The Tyrant” and “Gangnam B-Side” land in addition to a third season of “The Zone: Survival Mission” and the previously announced “Uncle Samsik” and “Light Shop” from webtoon pioneer and creator of the platform’s 2023 series hit “Moving.” “Blood Free,” which is to star Ju Jihoon (“Kingdom”) and Han Hyojoo (“Moving”), follows a former bodyguard haunted by the failures of his past. He finds himself recruited to protect the CEO of a controversial lab-grown meat company who is also a survivor of the fateful attack that changed his life. Set in modern-day Seoul, “Unmasked” follows a group of investigative journalists who are fighting for their careers after broadcasting a controversial story.

“This might sound very irresponsible, but I don’t know what I’m doing,” South Korean filmmaker Hong Sangsoo told a Berlinale presser this afternoon when quizzed on his unique directing style. 

Greek weird wave director Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film, “Poor Things,” has been nominated for a whopping 11 Oscars, including Best Picture. And while the comedic Frankenstein-esque drama isn’t expected to win a lot of major awards other than Emma Stone for Best Actress (she won the BAFTA yesterday, so she is in good shape), Lanthimos is in a great position to pick whatever he wants to do next.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ ENM has appointed Jung Jhong-hwan, as president of content, global business. He is expected to spearhead growth of global content production and distribution and continue the group’s multi-studio approach to business.

Disney+ has unveiled a slate of Korean originals, as the streaming platform opts for a more targeted strategy in Asia.

Poor Things” director Yorgos Lanthimos will reteam with Element Pictures on a remake of South Korean fantasy comedy “Save the Green Planet,” Variety has learned. Lanthimos — whose latest film, “Poor Things,” is nominated for 11 Oscars and just won five BAFTAs (including best actress for Emma Stone) — is expected to start shooting the movie in the U.K. and New York this summer.

Squid Game.Sarandos recently visited the headquarters of Netflix Korea, located in the heart of Seoul, South Korea. During a press conference held during his visit, the Netflix CEO shut down rumours that an American remake of Squid Game is in the works.“That’s just a rumour,” he said, according to South Korean news outlet SBS Star.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief France’s Isabelle Huppert, one of the leading actors of her age, has crafted a unique relationship with Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo. Hong’s “A Traveler’s Needs,” which premieres this week in competition at the Berlin Film Festival, is the third time that Huppert has starred in one of his unique pieces of minimalist cinema. She says she hopes the partnership can go much further. Huppert plays a footloose and intense French woman at large in Korea and vaguely making ends meet as an untrained language tutor with eccentric methods.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Production firm Movierock and rights sales outfit Hive Filmworks are in advanced production on “Hear Me: Our Summer,” a Korean remake of hit 2009 romance film “Hear Me” from Taiwan. The story involves a motorbike delivery man who falls in love with a hearing-impaired younger woman. Comparing themselves with water birds and trees the pair slowly try to break through the barriers in their relationship, pursue their dreams and take things to the next level. The retread stars Hong Kyung, who has a recent string of appearances including Netflix’s “D.P,” “TV’s Revenant” and “Hero,” and the upcoming “Troll Factory.” Co-star Roh Yoon-seo has credits in “Crash Course in Romance” and “Our Blues” and is currently one of the most ubiquitous faces in Korea thanks to her position as the face of the Paris Baguette bakery and café chain. Stylistically, the adaptation aims for the feel of Iwai Shunji’s pan-Asian hit “Love Letter,” and is directed by Jo Seon-ho, who previously made “A Day.” Movierock previously produced a 2018 Korean remake of 2004 Japanese hit “Be With You.” The film is already being pre-sold to multiple territories in Asia.

“It’s been really interesting to talk about the film in this personal way, because it really was never meant to be so personal,” Elemental director Peter Sohn said at Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees panel Saturday.

Netflix viewers have been left baffled by the trailer for new Korean comedy series Chicken Nugget, which may be even more bizarre than Squid Game.The chaotic new show sees a young woman, Min-ah, turned into a sauce-covered chicken nugget after stepping into a mysterious machine, promoting her father, Seon-man, and her admirer, Baek-joong, to embark on a desperate quest to transform her back.The official synopsis reads: “A woman steps into an odd machine and becomes… a chicken nugget?! Now, it’s up to her father and admirer to embark on a zany quest to bring her back.’Chicken Nugget was originally a highly popular Naver web series, created by Park Ji-Dok, commonly known as PJD, but has now been acquired by the streaming platform.The 12-episode mini-series is yet to arrive on UK Netflix but the surreal trailer has got fans equally bemused and excited.“We will be seated,” posted one viewer on X (formerly Twitter), while another joked: “What a horrible idea and it looks bad … we’ll watch it.”“Netflix needs to be stopped,” said another as a fourth person added: “This is so absurd that I might actually watch

F.T. Island member Song Seung-hyun has announced his retirement from the Korean entertainment industry.Song Seung-hyun took to his personal Instagram page yesterday (February 15) to announce his official retirement from the Korean entertainment industry.

(G)I-DLE have dropped a music video for ‘Revenge’, a cut from their most recent studio album ‘[2]’.Released on February 15, (G)I-DLE’s new visual for ‘Revenges’ marks the third track from ‘[2]’ to receive a video treatment following pre-release single ‘Wife’ and title track ‘Super Lady’.In the music video for ‘Revenge’, the five K-pop idols come together to plot a murder and get their revenge on an unseen person. It all culminates in a hotel, where the quintet, in various disguises, carry out their plan in fiery fashion.“Meaningless pleasure at that kind of ordinary life / Struggling to get paid at priceless price / Nevertheless, the obvious reason why I can’t give up / Your pain is the only medicine for this scar,” Soyeon sings on ‘Revenge’.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taipei and Los Angeles-based Organic Media Group has picked up rights to U.S.-produced classical music documentary title “Crescendo” and will be launching it at the European Film Market, which accompanies the Berlin Film Festival. The picture had its first commercial release in South Korea in December and became the highest grossing foreign documentary in the last three years.

Past Lives, the Oscar-nominated Korean drama, is now available to stream on Netflix UK.READ MORE: Oscars 2024 nominations – see the full listKorean-Canadian writer and director Celine Song’s debut movie is nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at next month’s Academy Awards.The widely acclaimed film was released in UK cinemas in September, but is now available to watch on Netflix at no extra cost for subscribers in the UK and Ireland.Starring Greta Lee (The Morning Show) and Teo Yoo, Past Lives follows the characters of Nora and Hae Sung, two childhood friends in South Korea who are torn apart when Nora’s family moves to Canada. Decades later, the pair reconnect via social media and, after meeting up in New York, ponder their romantic compatibility.NME named Past Lives as its top film of 2023, placing it above Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer.In a glowing five-star review, we wrote: “Past Lives possesses quiet power.

Naman Ramachandran Streaming subscription growth in the Southeast Asia region slowed dramatically in 2023, but revenue from those subscriptions grew at a robust rate, a new study has found. The report from data analytics company AMPD, that is part of consultancy and research firm Media Partners Asia, shows that the region – that includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – added only 1.3 million net new SVOD subscribers in 2023, compared with 11 million in 2022. But subscription revenues grew at 12.5% to $1.4 billion.

A Killer Paradox director Lee Chang-hee has opened up about why he decided to use deepfake technology in the new Netflix K-drama.During a recent interview with Korea JoongAng Daily, Lee spoke about how the production utilised deepfake technology in A Killer Paradox to create the scenes where the cast had to portray childhood versions of themselves.“A child actor played [Son Suk-ku’s part] and the face was recreated by collecting photos of Son when he was younger and adding special effects – ‘deepfake’, to be precise – to it,” Lee explained. “We didn’t have many photos of him when he was younger, so we drew image models.”The director said that while the process was expensive, he felt it was necessary to use deepfakes “for the sake of reality”.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief U.S-Asian sales company EST N8 has picked up the international rights for “30 Minutes,” a Korean sci-fi thriller film that is currently in production. The story revolves around a middle-aged man trapped in a time loop, repeatedly reliving the Christmas Eve of his murder.

Chicken Nugget, starring Ryu Seung-ryong. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming series.Choi Min-ah is accidentally turned into a chicken nugget after an accident involving a storage machine invented by her father Choi Seon-man.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A three-year run of poor box office performances is sure to hurt the South Korean sales companies touting their new titles at the European Film Market — but not by that much. Certainly, the box office malaise undermines the ability to market some titles on the strength of their theatrical earnings back home. But the Korean film industry still has numerous other calling cards.