North Korea Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Korean rights sales firm Finecut is to handle the international distribution of “A Traveler’s Needs,” which on Monday was confirmed as debuting in the main competition section of next month’s Berlinale. Remarkably, it is director Hong Sang-soo’s sixth selection for Berlin since 2020. The picture is also the third time that French acting icon Isabelle Huppert stars in a film by the Korean veteran director, following their previous joint efforts “Claire’s Camera” and “In Another Country.” A synopsis provided reads: “She came from France.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran filmmaker and industry administrator Park Kwang-su has been nominated as the next chairman of the Busan International Film Festival, following a period of behind-the-scenes turmoil. The event, however, has not yet begun the process of selecting a new festival director.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Time traveling-fantasy-adventure movie “Alienoid 2” was a comfortable winner at the South Korea box office over the weekend. But with few fresh films on release the cinema-going market slowed. “Alienoid 2” earned $2.06 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That was down by 42% compared with its opening session a week earlier and leaves it with a total of $7.96 million after 12 days on release. The first instalment of “Alienoid” was one of the biggest flops of 2022.

Mean Girls, A Star Is Born, and Godzilla: King Of The Monsters are among the films showing on terrestrial/freeview TV today (January 19).Those looking for some Friday night entertainment don’t need a subscription to a streaming service to find plenty of variety, as a wide selection of choices will be available during prime time hours.One of the standout options is the original Mean Girls movie (airing on Film4 at 9pm), which is being broadcast to coincide with the cinematic release of Tina Fey’s new musical adaptation of the film.The Millie Bobby Brown-led Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, Kill Bill: Volume 2, and A Star Is Born are other notable options, all of which also begin at 9pm on separate channels.Below is a selection of films that will be available to watch on terrestrial and Feeview television tonight:If you are looking for something more recent, streaming services will be the way to go, what with a number of new and award-winning titles being added in the past few weeks.Emerald Fennell’s satirical comedy Saltburn, which has taken the internet by storm, recently dropped on Amazon Prime Video, while Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon – starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro – is now available to stream on Apple TV+.Viewers can also rent Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer – winner of 13 Golden Globes including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Cillian Murphy) – on Amazon Prime Video from £4.99, while acclaimed Korean drama Past Lives is available to rent on the same service from £5.49, or buy to keep for £5.99.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ‘Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning,’ a Korean-made animated horror film, has been added to the European Film Market slate of sales agent Finecut. The picture is derived from a novel and webtoon that are among the most successful in Korean history, about four individuals bestowed with special powers rooted in religion, the supernatural, and legend. The book sold 10 million copies and recorded 238 million views online. The film’s narrative is an origin story and recounts the first adventure of the foursome – an excommunicated priest, a young woman with telekinesis, a man who lost his sister to a malevolent spirit, and a child prodigy skilled in arcane magic.

Badland Hunters director Heo Myeong-haeng and lead actor Don Lee have opened up about working together on the upcoming movie.Next week, Netflix will premiere its new original Korean film, the post-apocalyptic Badland Hunters led by Don Lee (also known as Ma Dong-seok). In a press conference for the upcoming film, the actor shared that he was the one who had proposed working with director Heo Myeong-haeng.Heo had been the stunt coordinator behind the hit The Roundup movie franchise, which Lee also starred in.

Warning: The following post contains spoilers about tonight’s fifth season finale of FX’s Fargo, “Bisquik”

that broke the beauty internet over the past couple of years, it's the . Heading into 2024 however, aurora nails look likely to steal the crown. The trend takes the bits that made it's glazed sis a hit (glowy, cute, eye-catching), but adds a modern update to keep things interesting.One dreamy rendition we saw on the Instagram account of LA based, Korean American nail artist, , has us hooked.

UK’s Jack Thorne-Backed TV Access Project Finds New Lead

Ellise Shafer “Love Lies Bleeding” starring Kristen Stewart and Netflix’s “Supersex” series have been added to Berlin Film Festival‘s Special lineup. A romantic thriller centered on a bodybuilder and gym manager, “Love Lies Bleeding” is directed by “Saint Maud” helmer Rose Glass and will have its world premiere at Sundance this month.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Korean film sales agent Finecut has picked up international distribution rights to “Noise,” a contemporary horror film by first time director Kim Soo-jin. The film will be launched next month a the European film Market in Berlin. The story follows a woman with a hearing impediment who is haunted by sounds linking to her sister’s disappearance and the presence of a malevolent spirit.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sci-fi fantasy comedy “Alienoid 2” opened on top of the South Korean box office with $3.57 million on a weekend that otherwise saw five animation titles and a political documentary in the top ten. The big-budget, time-traveling “Alienoid 2” earned $3.57 million between Friday and Sunday with a market share of 39% and $4.77 million over its opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. Imax reports that some $370,000 of the film’s total was earned from 24 Imax screens. The film was made as a two-parter.

Charles Melton has had a good year; although saying farewell to Riverdale hit him hard, he went head-to-head with Natasha Lyonne for an episode of Poker Face and earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role in Todd Haynes’ May December. Sandwiched between Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, the U.S.-born actor with Korean roots handled himself impeccably, playing the husband of Gracie (Moore), an older woman once sent to prison for molesting him as a minor. Melton brings a diffident grace to the part, which is crucial to the film’s unfolding when actress Elizabeth Berry (Portman) turns up.

Hunter Ingram SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from “Perestroika,” the Season 4 finale of For All Mankind, now streaming on Apple TV+. Believe it or not, no astronauts died tragically in the Season 4 finale of “For All Mankind.” One just almost died tragically. The near death and subsequent happy ending of Mars’ Happy Valley commander Dani (Krys Marshall) is a welcome respite for fans who have endured a lot of loss during the Apple TV+ series’ run. But that doesn’t mean the finale wasn’t without its turmoil, challenges and surprises.

One night, writer-director Celine Song found herself in an East Village bar in New York. On one side of her sat her husband, on the other her childhood sweetheart from Korea. As she translated the words between the two, she realized she was translating between two versions of her own life: what she had chosen and what might have been; her Korean self and her American self.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” dominated the nominations for the 17th edition of the Asian Film Awards. Both picked up six nominations, including those in the best film category. The nominations were announced on Friday afternoon in Hong Kong, ahead of a ceremony on March 10, that will return to the city’s West Kowloon Cultural District and the Qiyu Centre.

Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feature, Evil Does Not Exist, and the period action pic 12.12: The Day, from Korea, lead the nominations at this year’s Asian Film Awards. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Parasite” director Boon Joon-ho led a press conference in Seoul on Friday, following the death by suicide of actor Lee Sun-kyun at the end of December. Lee had been investigated by police in Incheon for possible recreational use of drugs and was at the center of a maelstrom of media and social media commentary for the two months prior to his death.

Dr. Shaun Murphy is canceling his appointments and retiring from San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.ABC said its veteran hospital drama “The Good Doctor,” starring Freddie Highmore, will end after its upcoming seventh season, which premieres Feb.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief KCON, the Korean pop music and culture convention operated by CJ ENM, will hold five editions in 2024, organizers said on Thursday. The first of the year will be Hong Kong, a new destination for the convention series, before moving on to KCON Japan in May 10-12 and KCON LA July 26-28. Other editions will be held in Saudi Arabia and Europe at unspecified dates in the second half of the year. The Hong Kong edition will be held at March 30-31 at the AsiaWorld Expo, a 10,000 seater venue adjacent to the airport.

South Korean arts and culture organizations, artists and filmmakers, including Bong Joon-ho, have joined together to call for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of actor Lee Sun-kyun. Lee, whose credits include Bong’s Oscar winning Parasite, died last month in an apparent suicide at the age of 48.

Single’s Inferno is reportedly “still under discussion”, according to its producers.On Tuesday (January 9), Netflix premiered the final two episodes for season three of the Korean reality dating show. The series’ inaugural season first premiered in December 2021.In a new interview with Korea JoongAng Daily, Single’s Inferno producers Kim Jae-won and Kim Jung-hyun revealed that season four of the show is not set in stone and is “still under discussion”.While the duo did not give specific details of what aspects of the fourth season are still under discussion, they hinted that if the reality dating series does return, it would “change drastically from the third season”.“There are so many dating reality shows out there these days, but I think that Single’s Inferno has made a mark on the genre, and it could continue for many more seasons if we keep on striving to differentiate it and attempt new themes and tones,” Kim Jung-hyun said.“What the next season would look like would be decided if and once it’s greenlit,” she added.

K-pop girl group FIFTY FIFTY has expressed her plans to continue releasing music through the group.In a press release earlier this week per The Korea Times, Keena shared that she is “gearing up to share more love, hoping we can walk this path together in the future.” The rapper is currently the only remaining member of the group following a dispute between its former members and label Attrakt last year.The label previously announced in November 2023 that it plans to add new members to FIFTY FIFTY, and for the group to continue as a four-member act. Keena echoed this sentiment in her statement, saying: “Once again, I’m preparing to entertain and demonstrate my hard work with FIFTY FIFTY’s songs.”Attrakt also reportedly expressed its intention once again to search for new members for FIFTY FIFTY, adding that “this opportunity has been made possible by Keena’s return [to the agency].”The rapper had notably co-written some of the group’s past songs, including their debut single ‘Higher’ and the Korean version of their Tiktok viral hit ‘Cupid’.The girl group first debuted in November 2022 with the line-up of members Saena, Sio, Keena and Aran.

K-pop girl group aespa made a recent appearance on an episode of Anderson .Paak’s Apple Music series, .Paak’s House.In a new promotional clip released by Apple Music, the girl group were tasked by Paak’s son, Soul, with putting together a drum set. “I’ll give you five minutes,” he instructed in Korean, as the members commented that it was too short a time.After struggling for some time, the .Paak joined them in the studio.

Ben Croll Running Jan. 19-Feb.

IVE have announced their upcoming new single ‘All Night’, a collaboration with American rapper Saweetie.Today (January 9), IVE dropped the first teaser for ‘All Night’, their upcoming collaboration with Saweetie. The song will be released next Thursday (January 18) at 7pm ET / Friday (January 19) at 9am KST, and is available for pre-save now via Apple Music, Spotify and iTunes.Notably, ‘All Night’ appears to sample or be a remake of Icona Pop‘s hit 2013 single of the same title, with IVE singing the chorus of the latter in their new snippet: “With the love this deep, we don’t need no sleep / And it feels like we could do this all night”.A post shared by IVE 아이브 (@ivestarship)IVE recently won big during the Korean awards season, bringing home an Album Bonsang at the 38th Golden Disc Awards, a Best Artist at the 2023 Asia Artist Awards and Album of the Year at the 2023 Melon Music Awards, among others.The girl group also previously announced the stops and dates for their 2024 ‘Show What I Have’ world tour, featuring legs in Japan, Southeast Asia, North America and Europe.In related news, Icona Pop released ‘Club Romantech’, their first album in 10 years, in September 2023.

ADOR CEO, creative director and producer Min Hee-jin has spoken about her vision and goal for K-pop girl group NewJeans.In an interview for Japanese broadcasting corporation NHK’s documentary Songs that resonate around the world~ A new era of Korean and Japanese pop music (literal translation), Min discussed her motivations behind the creation of the five-member group, per Newsis.Min shared that she had wanted to showcase concepts and styles that had not been seen and proven to succeed in the mainstream. She went on to point out an “intangible value” of sincerity that “cannot be seen, but is felt by everyone”.“Rather than [having NewJeans’ image] being driven by business, I wanted them to look like their age.

Gyeongseong Creature starring Han So-hee and Park Seo-joon, will air this year.Today (January 8), Netflix announced that season two of Gyeongseong Creature will premiere sometime in 2024. It comes just days after the streaming service release part two of the first season on January 5.According to a press release, the second season of Gyeongseong Creature will be set in modern-day Seoul, 78 years after the events first season.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Disney animation film, “Wish” topped the South Korean box office on its opening weekend. It toppled local epic “Noryang: Deadly Sea,” which had dominated over Christmas and New Year. “Wish,” which has slowly been rolling out worldwide since a late November start in North America, made a respectable $3.29 million debut between Friday and Sunday according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). After five days on release in Korea, it has garnered $4.57 million. “Noryang,” which released on Dec.

Addie Morfoot Contributor This year’s Oscar feature documentary shortlist is made up of a group of 15 films that, by and large, big streamers aren’t interested in sharing with subscribers. Six films that made it to the shortlist — Lea Glob’s “Apolonia, Apolonia,” Nancy Buirski’s “Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy,” Kaouther Ben Hania’s “Four Daughters,” Maciek Hamela’s “In the Rearview,” Luke Lorentzen’s “A Still Small Voice” and Sam Green’s “32 Sounds” — have theatrical distribution, but were not picked up by a major streaming company such as Netflix, Amazon or Apple TV+.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Choi Min-sik, the veteran Korean actor who previously starred in “Oldboy” and Korea’s all-time box office record breaker “Roaring Currents,” heads the cast of upcoming mystery-thriller film “Exhuma.” The title, which will debut in Korean theaters in February, also released its first-look images and an atmospheric trailer. Choi appears as an exorcist who unleashes unexpected supernatural forces. According to a synopsis supplied by Showbox, “A wealthy family living in Los Angeles calls on a pair of young shaman, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun, to save their newborn child after they are visited by a series of paranormal events. [The shaman duo] senses that the dark shadow of an ancestor has latched on the family, a so-called ‘Grave’s Calling’.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean film and TV director Kim Hong-sun has signed with U.S. talent agency Creative Arts Agency (CAA) for representation. A prolific director and producer, Kim specializes in genre television, including action, thrillers and horror.

A whole selection of new TV shows and documentaries are dropping on Disney+ this January. From fascinating nature documentaries to action-packed fantasy, there's something for everyone to get stuck into as the longest-seeming month of the new year rolls out.

Pledis Entertainment‘s latest boyband, TWS, have dropped their first pre-release single, titled ‘OH MYMY : 7S’.The song and its accompanying visual were released yesterday (January 2). It features the band’s six members – Shinyu, Dohoon, Youngjae, Hanjin, Jihoon and Kyungmin – speaking about the anxiety they feel as they prepare for debut, intercut with footage of the group practicing choreographies and recording songs.The group then launch into what looks like a monthly evaluation, with a panel featuring the likes of SEVENTEEN, HYBE founder and chairman Bang Si-hyuk, SEVENTEEN producer BUMZU and more.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A strong December for local films helped make up for an otherwise miserable 2023 at the South Korean box office – previously the fifth largest cinema territory worldwide. And while theatrical markets in other major territories have recovered to reach at or near pre-pandemic levels, Korea finished 44% below 2019. Data from the Korean Film Council’s Kobis tracking service showed annual gross revenues of KRW1.261 trillion ($964 million at Jan 2024 rates of exchange) in 2023. That represented a gain of 9% on 2022, but it was far below the KRW1.91 trillion ($1.46 billion) recorded in 2019, the last pre-COVID year. The bleak trend was mirrored in terms of attendance or ticket sales, which remains the country’s preferred performance measure.

Korean historical action drama 12.12: The Day has grossed $90.5M and sailed past the 12 million admissions mark at the Korean box office over the Christmas holiday period to become the highest grossing film of 2023.