Youngji Lee Becomes the First Korean Global Ambassador of Coach!

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Nah Yung Suk, one of South Korea’s most successful TV producers, says the content marketplace in his home country has been divided into two distinct eras: “Before Netflix” and “After Netflix.” On the latest episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” Nah Yung Suk offers his observations on the rise of Korean popular culture throughout the world. The producer’s latest series reflects the incredible global growth of content imports and exports: “Jinny’s Kitchen,” an unscripted series for Amazon Prime Video, revolves around the opening of Korean street food restaurant in a small town in southeastern Mexico.

Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, October 4-13) has unveiled its full line-up, including opening and closing films, and announced that Hong Kong star Chow Yun-fat has been named as Asian Filmmaker of the Year. 

Human Rights Watch states the case very clearly: North Korea “remains one of the most repressive countries in the world.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Ten Korean independent films will have their world premiere in the Busan International Film Festival’s Korean Cinema Today section. Selectors said on Friday that this year’s crop are films that “delve into profound themes of life, agony, family affection, and personal introspection, inviting audiences to contemplate their meaning.” They add that, “the imaginative depiction of a diverse array of stories, free from the typical rules of genre, adds anticipation.” Delivery presents a “suspenseful irony” as an affluent couple deal with infertility and a young, financially struggling couple face an unplanned pregnancy. “FAQ” is a comic fantasy where an elementary schoolchild innocently picks up a bottle of Korean rice wine or makgeolli at a field camp and then gets to know the secrets of the world through alcohol.

The Devil’s Plan.The Devil’s Plan will feature 12 contestants of various backgrounds living together for a week and competing through a chain of bizarre events in order to win ₩500million (roughly US$370,000).Netflix’s new trailer introduces the series’ 12 contestants – including SEVENTEEN member Seungkwan, actors Ha Seok-jin, Lee Si-won and Park Kyung-lim and YouTuber Kwak Joon-bin – as they enter the different rooms where their challenges will take place.Scenes of these upcoming challenges, which appear to include card games, pattern recognition challenges and an escape room, are also shown in brief snippets. The new South Korean variety competition series will premiere on Netflix on September 26.The other cast members on The Devil’s Plan are: professional Go player Cho Yeon-woo, announcer Lee Hye-sung, US-based lawyer Seo Dong-joo, Canadian pro gamer and poker player Guillaume Patry, former Blue House policy advisor Kwedo, American orthopedic surgeon Seo Yoo-min and university student and pro poker player Kim Dong-jae.The upcoming series is produced by Jung Jong-yeon, who previously worked on game shows like The Genius and Great Escape.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean actors Lee Je Hoon and Park Eun-bin, star of “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” are set as hosts of the opening ceremony at the Busan International Film Festival. The event will take place on the evening of Oct.

Disney+ has announced that Moving, an adaptation of Kang Full’s popular webtoon, has become the most-watched Korean original on Disney+ globally and Hulu in the U.S. based on hours streamed after its first seven days.

Disney+ has scored the next breakout hit from Asia after “Squid Game.” Star-studded international espionage series “Moving” has become the most watched Korean original on Disney+ globally and Hulu in the U.S., based on hours streamed after seven days. In its first week since launch on Aug. 9, the series also became the most watched series on Disney+ across Asia Pacific, including in Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan – based on hours watched – and the biggest premiere on Disney+ in Korea to date, based on hours streamed in the first week since launch.

Song of the Bandits, starring Kim Nam-gil and Seohyun.Set in the 1920s, the upcoming Song of the Bandits revolves around Koreans who have escaped to the Gando region in China during the Japanese occupation. The series is led by Kim Nam-gil (Through the Darkness) and Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun (Jinxed at First).The new trailer opens with an introduction to the bandits of Gando led by Lee Yoon (played by Kim), a defected Japanese soldier who now steals and kills to protect his countrymen in the region.“Chinese land, Japanese money and Joseon’s people.

Naman Ramachandran The Busan International Film Festival has unveiled its selections for the popular Korean Cinema Today – Special Premiere and On Screen strands. The On Screen section, introduced in 2021, showcases series and this year boasts six world premieres – five from Korea and one from Indonesia. Tving show “I Am a Running Mate,” about an ordinary student trying to become student president marks the directorial debut of Han Jin-won, winner of best original screenplay as a co-writer for Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite.” The series merges the coming-of-age genre with elements of a political drama, and stars Yoon Hyun-soo, Lee Jung-sic, Choi Woo-sung, Hong Hwa-yeon and Lee Bong-jun.

Re-releases reliably dot the theatrical calendar and this week have a standout. Oldboy, the 2004 Cannes prize-winner, re-released by Neon on its 20th anniversary restored and remastered, grossed $235k on Wednesday and $150k Thursday — for a total cume $385k on 250 screens heading into the weekend.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Production begins next month on “Black Tide Island,” a historical drama series that presents a Taiwanese insight into the Korean War. Production is headed by Hakka TV and Go Inside. Halla TV is the local Hakka-language linear satellite television channel operated by Taiwan Broadcasting System.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief South Korean police said on Wednesday that they had found evidence that the box office performance of 323 films over the past five years had been inflated. Seoul Metropolitan Police said that, as a result, they had referred 69 people from major exhibition chains and 24 film distribution companies to prosecutors.

TIFF continues to build out its speaker lineup despite the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes barring a number of participants from this year’s 48th edition.

The Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled its Primetime programme for 2023 which includes the world premieres of Bad Boy and All the Light We Cannot See.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lee Byung-hun-starring disaster movie “Concrete Utopia” topped the South Korean box office over the latest weekend, replacing female led crime caper “Smugglers.” Directed by Um Tae-hwa, “Concrete Utopia” is set in a Seoul that has been largely destroyed by a massive earthquake. One building stands tall among the wreckage and becomes a refuge for those already inside, but the inhabitants must fend of the unwanted attentions of outsiders. It opened on Wednesday, earning $8.40 million between Friday and Sunday and fully $11.3 million over its full opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Back in the 1970s, when Korea was closed to the outside world, locals relied on black market dealers to get their hands on everything from American cigarettes to Ritz crackers. Though this illicit import racket was run mostly by men, it wouldn’t have been possible without half a dozen uniquely talented women — skilled divers known as haenyeo who fished the loot from the sea.

Good afternoon Insiders, it’s been another sleepy yet somehow simultaneously eventful August week here at Deadline International Towers. Read on for investigations, headlines, scoops and anaylsis, as Max Goldbart steers you through the past few days.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Amazon-owned Prime Video has launched “The Killing Vote,” a hardboiled crime drama series from Korea. The 12-part show uses the premise that a text message is sent to ordinary citizens who get to vote for or against the application of the death penalty in individual criminal cases. If more than 50% vote in favor, the criminal is killed by a mysterious character called Dog Mask.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hybe, the Korean music and entertainment firm, achieved record revenues in the first half of the year as album sales climbed and live performances took off. This was achieved despite the hiatus being forced on BTS, the company’s most famous K-pop act, by its band members’ military enlistment. On Tuesday, Suga, who had his first solo music tour earlier this year, became the third member of BTS to begin his compulsory military service.