Korea Pop Wars

PIFF Report and Random Notes

2008-10-07T07:36:00.005+09:00

Kind of a strange Pusan International Film Festival this year. Usually the festival opens on a Thursday, and the Asia Film Market then opens the following Monday. The result is that the first three days of the festival are more about the movies, with film fans flooding the theaters and snatching up all the tickets, then the business stuff kicks in.

But this year, with the Film Market running Friday to Monday, the business was going on during the busiest days of the festival, overshadowing the movies and making tickets extremely hard to find. I have returned to Seoul now, but from what I have heard, the festival is quiet empty now. I think PIFF made a mistake moving the Film Market and have disrupted the event's equilibrium. My vote (not that I have one) is to move things back the way they were.

On the other hand, the weather this year was almost perfect. Aside from a little rain on Sunday afternoon, the weather was sunny and warm by day, slightly cool at night. Just right.

Park Jin-young and Lee Byung-hun were the main celebrities to show up this year, attending the opening party briefly. Moon Bloodgood was there but the Marmot was not (nyeh). There were plenty more actors, of course (like Kelly Lin), but I am more a dork for directors and producers than for actors, so missed most of the actor-heavy events.

I think Kim Jung-eun got the biggest response on the red carpet walk during PIFF's opening ceremonies. I was a little surprised, as I never really considered her A-list, but people really went nuts when she showed up.

Also, there was so much construction going on in Haeundae, I was really surprised. Had not seen the area like that before. That neighborhood is going to be totally transformed (yet again) in a couple more years. Minus -- losing the old character, and many cheaper lodgings. Plus -- losing the old character and lousy lodgings, and gaining a much better selection of bars and restaurants.

Rumor has it that the "technical difficulties" that occurred during the outdoor screening of THE SKY CRAWLERS was actually the equipment operator forgetting to gas up the generator that powered the outdoor projector.

I also heard someone say that the Busan city government has told the Pusan Film Festival folks to get with the times and start spelling the festival the same way as the city. Which would make it the Busan International Film Festival, or BIFF.

MODERN BOY is not a good film. At all. I wanted it to be good. I hoped it would be good. It is not good. It looks wonderful -- great re-creations of Seoul in the 1930s. But the story is shallow, the history puddle-deep (typical 386 generation nonsense), and the editing a mystery. Plus Kim Hye-soo is totally wrong for her role.

This KUNSTHALLE artist thingy looks like it could be interesting. Certainly a well made website.

John McCain is the shortest candidate for US president since 1920. If he won the race, he would be the shortest president since William McKinley in 1900.

Random Notes - Vol 3, No. 5

2008-10-01T15:54:00.005+09:00

Just getting ready to head down to this year' Pusan International Film Festival. Which for me principally means ironing a lot of shirts, then stuffing them into a suitcase to get all wrinkled anyway.

I was thinking that I would be able to cut back on my time there this year, just go for a few days during the film market, but some additional work suddenly turned up and now I need to go down for the opening night, too. But for various reasons, my workload should not be too bad. I might even have the time to watch a few films (what a crazy thought).

At the moment, the weather forecast for Busan says warm (but not brutally hot) and sunny... at least until Sunday or Monday, when that typhoon down by Hong Kong now might start moving up this way.

The Chosun Ilbo recently had an article on the grand old Dansungsa movie theater going bankrupt. Except that it was not the grand old Dansungsa, at least not in my mind. The original building was one of the great movie theaters (I saw BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS there, soon before it was torn down), but the ugly multiplex that replaced it was not. Anyhow, here is a pic of the original theater and its replacement.

PJ O'Rourke has cancer. Odds are he will survive it, but in the meantime, it is good to see him tackling the subject with all the wit and bad taste that O'Rourke is famous for. In fact, that is probably the best column of his that I have read in years.

Korea Weekend Box Office - Sept. 26-28

2008-09-30T12:02:00.004+09:00

After three weeks of being the bridesmaid, MAMMI MIA was at last the bride last weekend. Or, to be less annoyingly cute, MAMMA MIA took over the top spot in the box office after three weeks of landing in second, behind THE DIVINE WEAPON. Pretty amazing staying power for the ABBA tribute film and yet another sign of the power of the musical in Korea. Just imagine how well the film might had done if Pierce Brosnan could sing?

Just 60,000 admissions behind THE DIVINE WEAPON, could MAMMA MIA end up being the more successful film by the time their runs are over? Oh well, I guess the horserace really does not matter much... but still, it has been fun to watch.

As for new films, TRUCK, HELLBOY 2 and MY DEAR ENEMY all opened this weekend, with TRUCK doing the best. Not surprising HELLBOY 2 did not do so well, as the theater I saw it in was pretty much empty. Still, it did much better than the original HELLBOY, which opened in seventh with just $250,000, and dropped out of the top 10 less than two weeks later.

This Week	Title............................................	Release Date	Screens Nationwide	Weekend Revenue (bil. won)	Total Revenue (bil. won)
1.	Mamma Mia	9.04	413	1.84	20.68
2.	Truck (Korean)	9.25	337	1.41	1.66
3.	Divine Weapon (Shingijeon - Korean)	9.04	439	1.41	21.67
4.	Hellboy 2	9.25	355	1.20	1.36
5.	My Dear Enemy (Meotjin Haru - Korean)	9.25	389	1.15	1.36
6.	Rough Cut (Yeonghwaneun Yeonghwada - Korean)	9.11	305	0.92	7.60
7.	Our English Teacher (Ulhakgyo Iti - Korean)	9.11	219	0.21	4.08
8.	Don Quiote	9.25	87	0.18	0.19
9.	Mirror	9.18	245	0.14	1.28
10.	In Bloom	9.25	128	0.10	0.12

(Source: KOBIS - Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

Plenty of interesting looking Korean films at the moment, but I am going to try to catch them at PIFF, I think. If I have any strong opinions about them, I will try write about them soon.

Korea Weekend Box Office - Sept. 19-21

2008-09-26T10:03:00.004+09:00

Another neck-and-neck weekend for THE DIVINE WEAPON and MAMMA MIA!, with WEAPON winning by just 12,000 admissions and only $10,000 (I guess WEAPON sold more student tickets, giving MAMMA MIA a revenue advantage). After three weeks, both films are doing quite well, both on the verge of zipping past the 3 million attendance mark.

Similarly, OUR ENGLISH TEACHER beat THE MIRROR by attendance, but since I rank by revenue, THE MIRROR came out on top. THE MIRROR is, of course, the Hollywood remake of that goofy Korean horror film INTO THE MIRROR.

I wonder how HELLBOY 2 will do in Korea. I saw it last night and the theater was just about empty.

Johnny To and Wai Ka-fai's violent cop thriller MAD DETECTIVE opened in 15th, so did not make this chart. Just $15,000 on 8 screens.

This Week	Title............................................	Release Date	Screens Nationwide	Weekend Revenue (bil. won)	Total Revenue (bil. won)
1.	The Divine Weapon (Shingijeon - Korean)	9.04	568	2.74	19.34
2.	Mamma Mia!	9.04	468	2.73	17.52
3.	Rough Cut (Yeonghwaheun Yeonghwada - Korean)	9.11	367	1.61	5.99
4.	The Mirror	9.18	248	0.76	0.89
5.	Our English Teacher (Ulhakgyo Iti - Korean)	9.11	360	0.75	3.67
6.	The Children of Huang Shi	9.18	278	0.46	0.57
7.	Loner (Oetoli - Korean)	9.18	241	0.29	0.35
8.	Earth	9.04	149	0.14	1.2
9.	Flower Over Boys	9.11	190	0.11	0.81
10.	Bangkok Dangerous	9.11	196	0.11	1.25

(Source: KOBIS - Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

Late...

2008-09-24T23:22:00.001+09:00

Sorry for not updating. Crazy week. Hopefully I will have more time tomorrow evening to do the box office and make a couple of comments.

But if you must know, THE DIVINE WEAPON and MAMMA MIA are once again neck-and-neck at the box office. Both are doing quite well.

C'est Fini

2008-09-18T11:42:00.004+09:00

At long, long last, it looks like I finally finished my book, POP GOES KOREA. I mean, sure I had "finished" it several times before... But there is finished and then there is finished, if you know what I mean. There are so many phases to making a book, it can be a little drawn out and frustrating.

First you finish your writing. Then you finish the editing (or answering your editor's questions). Then you finish the color insert. And just now, I finished going over the galleys and re-checking everything.

By the way, the color insert looks really great. It took a little work and some back-and-forth, but the final product looks sharp and cool. I like the design concept for the section, and, despite space restrictions, I think we did a decent job at getting a large array of actors, singers and other entertainment icons in there.

Now POP GOES KOREA is off to the indexer, which will likely take a couple more weeks. Then my publisher, Stone Bridge, just needs to prep the book for actual printing.

Current plan calls for the printed book to be ready by November, and on store shelves by December. In time for the Christmas gift season (hint hint).

I'm Being Eaten by a Boa Constrictor

2008-09-17T15:45:00.003+09:00

Well, looks like Boa is finally ready to make her big push into the United States. The teaser video for her first American song and video is online. It's called I'll Eat You Up.

American Version:

Asian version:

Or you can go here for the American version. Or here for the Asian version.

Certainly respect in the American market has been the Holy Grail of the Korean music industry for some time. But with the exception of the reggae singer Skull (and, back in the 1950s and 60s, the Kim Sisters), there has been very little success by Korean pop singers over there.

I cannot claim to understand the tastes and trends of hip young people anywhere in the world, so I will refrain from speculating about how Boa's American promotion will go. But best of luck to her.

Korea Weekend Box Office - Sept. 12-14

2008-09-16T16:28:00.002+09:00

Much like last weekend, THE DIVINE WEAPON and MAMMA MIA! fought neck-and-neck for the top spot at the box office. And just like last weekend, THE DIVINE WEAPON won (although for some strange reason, Variety and Hollywood Reporter box office stories claimed that MAMMA MIA won. But not true).

FINAL CUT, the movie-within-a-movie tale of gangsters in the film business, had an okay opening, landing in third. Kim Soo-ro's latest comedy was fourth.

Two Japanese films in the top 10 -- 20TH CENTURY BOYS in sixth and BOYS OVER FLOWERS in seventh.

Looks like THE DARK KNIGHT is pretty much finished. But it did crawl past 4 million admissions, for a solid showing (although far, far from the records it set in North America).

WALL-E fell out of the top 10 this week, coming in at 11th. WALL-E's run in the theaters is nearly finished, but at least the film topped 1 million admissions. Would be a crime for a film that good to have done anything less.

This Week	Title............................................	Release Date	Screens Nationwide	Weekend Revenue (bil. won)	Total Revenue (bil. won)
1.	The Divine Weapon (Shingijeon - Korean)	9.04	598	3.97	12.04
2.	Mamma Mia!	9.04	516	3.70	10.83
3.	Rough Cut (Yeonghwaneun Yeonghwada - Korean)	9.11	402	1.85	2.23
4.	Our English Teacher (Ulhakgyo Iti - Korean)	9.11	383	1.23	1.41
5.	Bangkok Dangerous	9.11	231	0.53	0.64
6.	20th Century Boys	9.11	269	0.45	0.64
7.	Boys Over Flowers	9.11	185	0.27	0.34
8.	Dark Knight	8.07	121	0.20	26.48
9.	Earth	9.04	213	0.17	0.77
10.	Star Wars: Clone Wars	9.04	249	0.098	0.48

(Source: KOBIS - Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

Oh, Hell(boy) Yeah

2008-09-12T10:01:00.004+09:00

I was pleasantly surprised a couple of nights ago when I suddenly started to see a flurry of ads on TV for HELLBOY 2. I was getting worried the film might not be released in Korea.

Anyhow, here is a little list of some notable films coming out in the next couple of months:
Sept. 18
- Mad Detective

Sept. 25
- Hellboy 2
- My Dear Enemy (the new Jeon Do-yeon film)

Oct. 2
- Burn After Reading
- Gogo 70s
- Modern Boy

Oct. 8
- Dream (the new Kim Ki-duk film)

Oct. 16
- Sagwa (will the three-year-old film finally see the light of day?)

Oct. 23
- Body of Lies

Nov. 5
- Quantum of Solace

Btw, I am really curious about a lot of the coming Korean films. MY DEAR ENEMY is the latest by Lee Yoon-ki, who directed the much praised THIS CHARMING GIRL and the absolutely lousy LOVE TALK (and AD-LIB NIGHT, but I did not see that). So I consider MY DEAR ENEMY to be something of a tie-breaker. In ENEMY, Jeon Do-yeon plays a jobless, broke 30-year-old who tries to collect some money from an ex-boyfriend. But he is broke, too, so together they meet up with his various ex-girlfriends and try to get money from them. Intriguing set up and Jeon looks great in the trailer.

Why MODERN BOY and GO-GO 70'S are being released head-to-head, I have no idea. They are both looks back at Korea's past -- MODERN BOY at the 1930s and GO-GO 70'S at the 1970s (obviously).

I was really looking forward to MODERN BOY when I first saw some still images in the spring. Plus I quite like its director ~~Song Hae-sung (FAILAN)~~ Chung Ji-woo (HAPPY END). However, advanced word I heard from the film was not good, which is allegedly why the film's release was delayed five months. Regardless, I think the trailer for MODERN BOY looks pretty promising -- great cgi of Seoul from the 1930s, great clothes and production design. I still have hope for this film.

The trailer for GO-GO 70'S does not inspire confidence. The music sounds way more like Korea's 1980s music than 1970s. And the clothes and concert scene looks like a hyperactive cabaret. Very, very dubious.

As for SAGWA, I saw it at the Tokyo Filmex in 2005 and quite enjoyed it. Not a great film, but definitely worth a watch. Moon So-ri is great, as always. No idea why it took Chungeorahm so long to get it into the theaters.

Korea Weekend Box Office - Sept. 5-7

2008-09-09T14:24:00.002+09:00

Whoops. Forgot to click "Publish" after writing this post. It has been sitting on my browser for hours.

Anyhow, CJ Entertainment's historical drama THE DIVINE WEAPON was the top film in its opening weekend, taking in a respectable $4 million. Well, quasi-historical. The hwacha was a pretty interesting piece of military hardware that was cooked up in the 15th century. But it was not terribly effective on the battlefield. Personally, I was more impressed by those big wooden spike cannons that the Joseon armies used to use.

THE DIVINE WEAPON has now topped 1 million admissions, including the advanced screenings that were held last weekend. With Chuseok holiday weekend coming and no major competitors on their way, THE DIVINE WEAPON could end up a decent haul.

The screechy giggle-fest MAMMA MIA! also had a pretty decent opening (and, like THE DIVINE WEAPON, had many advanced screenings the previous weekend), with $3.5 million over the weekend to bring its total to $5.3 million. But I have ABBA bred in the bone, so I enjoyed it. Especially the encores at the end (Pierce Bronson's voice, not so much).

I was pleasantly surprised to see the documentary EARTH open in No. 4. Few documentaries do well in Korea these days, so it was nice to see do well. If you like that sort of thing, be sure to check out the EBS Documentary Film Festival, opening Sept. 22.

This Week	Title............................................	Release Date	Screens Nationwide	Weekend Revenue (bil. won)	Total Revenue (bil. won)
1.	The Divine Weapon (Singijeon - Korean)	9.04	667	4.15	6.56
2.	Mamma Mia!	9.04	516	3.68	5.49
3.	Dark Knight	8.07	333	0.92	26.07
4.	Earth	9.04	211	0.45	0.51
5.	Star Wars: The Clone Wars	9.04	261	0.31	0.34
6.	Wall-E	8.07	175	0.20	6.70
7.	Blood Bell (Gosa - Korean)	8.07	175	0.14	10.24
8.	An Eye for an Eye (Nunenuen Nun Ieneun I - Korean)	7.31	111	0.083	13.39
9.	The Good, the Bad, the Weird (Joheun Nom, Nappeun Nom, Isanghan Nom - Korean)	7.17	132	0.084	45.84
10.	Midnight Meat Train	8.14	84	0.053	1.94

(Source: KOBIS - Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

Random Notes - Vol 3, No. 4

2008-09-04T23:04:00.005+09:00

An interesting little story on Mongolian hiphop in the UB Post. Unfortunately, it does not mention many bands (just Tartar and Har Sarnai, who have been around forever). But interesting to hear that hiphop continues to spread its influence.

The first time I went to Mongolia, back in the 1990s, the live bands were mostly rock. But each time I go back to Ulaanbaatar, it seems like there is more and more hiphop. I can still remember sitting beside my van once, in the middle of nowhere Mongolia, as this family on horseback rode by; the teenage kid in the family takes one look at me and reflexively said "Yo, gee!" and made a bunch of hiphop-esque sounds.

I'm sure you have heard by now, but the Wonder Girls have been named by Virgin Media as one of the top up-and-coming girl groups to watch. Kind of neat that they are getting noticed abroad. The cynic in me will try to overlook the difference between "groups to watch" and "groups to listen to."

Congratulations to Sangsang Madang, the arts space in Hongdae that is run by the Korea Tobacco & Ginseng. Until Sept. 7, Sangsang is holding the Sangsang Festa, featuring outdoor concerts, art exhibitions, movies and more.

What the heck? I just went to the Sangsang Madang website and found a post for a free Hongdae tour for foreigners. The tour is Sept. 28 at 1:30 and goes to 5pm. Tour will be lead by the singer for Band the Mu:n (never heard then, although I have heard of them, I think). Tour is limited to 20 people, and you need to apply by Sept. 15.

Tale of Two Festivals

2008-09-02T18:30:00.003+09:00

A couple of big festivals coming up this week -- the CHUNGMURO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL IN SEOUL and the GWANGJU BIENNALE. Both are looking quite good this year. You can read more about them over at the Korea Gig Guide.

Korea Weekend Box Office - Aug. 29-31 (Philip K. Dick edition)

2008-09-02T14:30:00.003+09:00

A very strange box office report this week -- the No. 2 and 3 films have not been released yet. Officially, they hit the theaters on Sept. 4. I guess their distributors decided to take advantage of the weak competition and open them a week early.

Either that or else the Matrix of our reality just accidentally revealed how our whole fabric of existence is just a preplanned, preordained sham, a shell covering our base programming. As if Time were Out of Joint. I guess it depends on what numbers KOBIS gives us next week.

Anyhow, THE DARK KNIGHT held on to the top spot for one more week. And, I suspect, one last week. MAMMA MIA, No. 3 in pre-release, is doing very well in advanced registrations for the coming weekend. It has been a big musical hit in Korea (several times), and I would not at all be surprised if it does really well in the theaters.

THE DIVINE WEAPON looks a little more dicey, although it has the potential to be a decent mid-range hit, especially with the big Chuseok weekend coming soon.

Hey, GOSA has an English title -- BLOOD BELL. I had missed that. Anyhow, fixed it for this week.

This Week	Title............................................	Release Date	Screens Nationwide	Weekend Revenue (bil. won)	Total Revenue (bil. won)
1.	Dark Knight	8.07	503	2.02	24.42
2.	The Divine Weapon (Shingijeon - Korean)	9.04	405	1.50	1.58
3.	Mamma Mia!	9.04	272	0.94	0.99
4.	Wall-E	8.07	331	0.55	6.35
5.	Blood Bell (Gosa - Korean)	8.07	328	0.51	9.92
6.	CJ7	8.21	334	0.38	1.80
7.	Eye for an Eye (Nuneneun Nun Ieneun I - Korean)	7.31	217	0.33	13.07
8.	Midnight Meat Train	8.14	296	0.35	1.73
9.	The Good, the Bad, the Weird (Joheun Nom, Nappeun Nom, Isanghan Nom - Korean)	7.17	284	0.32	45.55
10.	Mummy 3	7.31	321	0.24	26.19

(Source: KOBIS - Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

Since summer is over, perhaps it is worth summarizing the top films of the summer season:
1. The Good, the Bad, the Weird - 45.6 billion won
2. Kung Fu Panda - 29.3 billion won
3. Another Public Enemy - 28.3 billion won
4. Iron Man - 27.8 billion won
5. Mummy 3 - 26.2 billion won
6. Indiana Jones 4 - 26.1 billion won
7. Dark Knight - 24.6 (and rising)
8. Wanted - 19.8 billion won
9. Hancock - 17.9 billion won
10. Eye for an Eye - 13.1 billion won

Why do I think I am forgetting something? Anyhow, Kim Jee-woon's Manchurian Western was easily the most popular film of the summer. Then there were only two other Korean films in the top ten, Kang Woo-suk's ANOTHER PUBLIC ENEMY and the hardboiled thriller AN EYE FOR AN EYE. There were a lot of Hollywood superheroes. KUNG FU PANDA became the most successful animated film ever in Korea. And I would rather not contemplate the meaning behind the success of WANTED...

Another odd action film, TAKEN did very well, with about 15 billion won. But it was released in April and made only 5.9 billion won since May 1, so it did not make the summer chart.

All together, 16 movies pulled in over 1 million admissions, but only five Korean films. Korean films now account for 40 percent of the boxoffice for 2008, up from June, but still their worst year since 2002 or so.

R.I.P. AFKN

2008-08-27T17:54:00.004+09:00

Well, it came several months late, but at least AFN Korea has been taken off of my cable dial.

I wrote in the beginning of the year about how AFN Korea was getting removed from Korean cable TV services because the cable service operators are not licensed to retransmit the channel. AFN was supposed to be all gone by May, but it continued to linger, at least on my cable system.

Some time a few months ago, my analog cable service stopped carrying AFN (not sure exactly when, as I very rarely use the analog service). And finally on Tuesday, the digital cable channels were all rearranged, and in the process, AFN Korea was removed from it, too.

I use C&M Cable, which is the biggest cable company in Korea, so this looks pretty final. No more AFN for me ... unless I buy a big ole' antenna, so I can get it free-to-air for another three or four years. But I doubt that is going to happen.

I have so many found memories of AFN Korea, from when I first moved to Seoul. Back when Korean TV was truly dire. In the 1990s, there were very few cable channels, and few of them had much in the way of foreign programming. Deathly dull.

Back then, AFN offered a whole bunch of first-rate American programs, usually within months of being broadcast in the United States. For special broadcasts, like the last episode of Seinfeld, they would show the program just a few hours later. We also got to watch plenty of sports, most of the NCAA basketball tournament, most of the NBA playoffs, and a whole lot of football. (And oodles of NASCAR, but that is not really my thing). Plus there was all those old, heavily edited movies AFN played from 1am until 5am on weekdays.

Gradually, however, American TV execs got pissed off that people like myself (ie, non-military types) were watching all that US programming for free. Even worse, they really were upset that the cable companies were making money off of programs that were supposed to be only for US servicemen. When the Korean TV industry was tiny, no one cared, but as the 1990s went on, it began to grow into a much more lucrative market. So the US television companies started to deny AFN Korea the right to retransmit their programs. The sports quickly dried up. The TV programs grew older and lamer until there was seemingly nothing but Star Trek Voyager and Judge Judy. Then the news disappeared, too. For the last few months, FAMILY GUY and the other Tuesday animated shows (and GENERAL HOSPITAL) were just about the only reason I watched AFN.

So, bye-bye AFN. Thanks for the fond memories. The Anthrax Ninja. The great advice (Don't use a beer bottle as a weapon. Don't ruin OPSEC. Don't waste your tour. Don't commit suicide.) The Eagle. (Btw, who would win in a fight between the AFN Eagle and the Anthrax Ninja?).

Korea Weekend Box Office - Aug. 22-24

2008-08-26T13:25:00.003+09:00

Looks like the Olympics have hastened our descent into the summer doldrums, with no film really doing a whole lot of business last weekend. This was a remarkably equal weekend, with the No. 10 film doing about half the business of the No. 2 film. No one film dominating the theaters. In fact, a couple of films did not even make the top 10, despite appearing in over 200 screens (X-FILES and SUPERHERO).

This Week	Title............................................	Release Date	Screens Nationwide	Weekend Revenue (bil. won)	Total Revenue (bil. won)
1.	Dark Knight	8.07	418	2.86	21.05
2.	Gosa (Korean)	8.07	297	0.95	9.01
3.	CJ7	8.21	288	0.91	1.05
4.	Wall-E	8.07	296	0.79	5.40
5.	Midnight Meat Train	8.14	252	0.79	0.96
6.	Mummy 3	7.31	291	0.65	25.72
7.	The Good, the Bad, the Weird (Joheun Nom, Nappeun Nom, Isanghan Nom - Korean)	7.17	237	0.57	44.96
8.	Dachimawa Lee (Korean)	8.14	291	0.55	3.43
9.	Baby & I (Agi-wa Na - Korean)	8.14	235	0.44	2.16
10.	Eye for an Eye (Nuneneun Nun Ieneun I - Korean)	7.31	191	0.48	12.45

(Source: KOBIS - Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

Digging in the Historical Records

2008-08-22T22:25:00.006+09:00

So I recently picked up an unpleasant habit... potentially more dangerous than drugs, more costly than gambling, more insidious than drinking. I bought a turntable. Worse -- I started buying old records.

Over the past couple of years on this blog, I have written about classic Korean rock music a few times. There is a lot of music from the 1960s and 1970s in Korea that I really enjoy. However, not a whole lot of music from that period has been reissued on CD. Yes, a lot of the biggest names are available on CD, especially from the Shin Joong-hyun family, but there was a heck of a lot of other stuff that never made it to CD.

Then one day, I was strolling through Hoehyeon Underground Mall, near Myeongdong, when I noticed all the used record stores there. I mean, of course I have seen them before, but I never really paid much attention to them. Why would I? But one this one occasion, I decided to ask about old Korean rock and pop music.

What a happy discovery that was. Plenty of interesting stuff to be had. Sure, if you want to buy mint-condition Shin Joong-hyun, you are going to pay a lot of money. But if you go off the beaten track and try out some less famous artists, the prices are not nearly as bad.

I think my best find as far has been The Trippers. Not as psychedelic as I might like, but not bad. Plus hearing a 1971 Korean version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is just too cool (RIP Isaac Hayes).

The Bunny Sisters seem to have not aged well, as wherever I went, there was plenty of their albums for pretty cheap. Sure, they are a little saccharine, but not a bad addition.

I also managed to find a He5 album. Granted, it was not in good condition (hence, I could afford it), but it still feels good to have a big album like that.

Very interesting (and more expensive) was '71 King Hit Album, a compilation featuring songs by Kim Choo-ja, Kim Sang-hee, the Pearl Sisters and a whole bunch of other female singers.

And then there was the totally random. I also picked up some early Lee Soo-man albums, if only to get a sense of the man who would create SM Entertainment and the biggest pop music hit machine in Korea.

Once upon a time, the Daelim Sangga, running down Jongno 4-ga to Toegyero 4-ga, used to be the best place in Korea for old records. Sadly, those days are gone. I know because I took some bad advice and looked all over those concrete bunkers looking for old records. Plenty of people selling old turntables and stereo equipment, but only one person selling old records that I could find (and he was mostly selling old Journey and Judas Priest era albums).

Most of those old shops have moved, either to the Hoehyeon underground shopping arcade, or else to the Yongsan Jeonja Land mall, second floor. A great way to waste some time and money.

Anyhow, I don't mean to bore anyone. But it is rather fun and interesting to have a whole new part of Korea to dive into. Hopefully I will not go overboard.

Korea Weekend Box Office - Aug. 15-17

2008-08-19T22:53:00.004+09:00

Not a lot of change this week in the top-10. The new films -- DACHIMAWA LEE, BABY & I, X-FILES -- all failed to impress audiences, and did little business. DARK KNIGHT, MUMMY 3 and (to a lesser extent) WALL-E and GOSA continued to hold their audiences for a second week.

Looks like THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD is rapidly running out of steam. It might make it to 7 million admissions, which would make it by far the most successful Kim Jee-woon film ever, but would barely be breaking even for its investors.

This Week	Title............................................	Release Date	Screens Nationwide	Weekend Revenue (bil. won)	Total Revenue (bil. won)
1.	Dark Knight	8.07	465	3.63	14.58
2.	Mummy 3	7.31	316	1.49	23.60
3.	Gosa (Korean)	8.07	302	1.37	6.46
4.	Dachimawa Lee	8.14	342	1.09	1.71
5.	Wall-E	8.07	312	0.98	3.78
6.	The Good, the Bad, the Weird (Joheun Nom, Nappeun Nom, Isanghan Nom - Korean)	7.17	296	0.97	40.47
7.	Baby & I (Agi-wa Na - Korean)	8.14	248	0.65	0.97
8.	An Eye for an Eye (Nuneneun Nun Ieneun I - Korean)	7.31	258	0.70	11.12
9.	X-Files	8.14	267	0.57	0.87
10.	Keroro	8.07	67	0.19	0.70

(Source: KOBIS - Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

Not a lot of excitement on the horizon. Will be interesting to see how MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN does next weekend, followed by STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS and MAMMA MIA in early September. MAMMA MIA could be especially interesting, given how well that musical has done in Korea over the years.

Seoul Fringe Festival Kicks Off

2008-08-16T12:00:00.002+09:00

Okay, this post is late, very sorry. But it is not too late to check out this year's Seoul Fringe Festival, taking place right now in Hongdae.

This is the 11th Seoul Fringe Festival, a two-week celebration of independent, underground and sometimes just plain weird art, music, theater and other cultural goodness. Do not expect to see many of Hongdae's biggest bands at Fringe. The whole point of the show is to give unestablished artists a chance to show off. They might be raw and unready (and they might not be any good), but I think it is good to shaking things up from time to time... especially in a place as hierarchical as Korea.

The festival takes place pretty much all over the area around Hongik University, with the bulk of events happening along the "meat street" area (the twisting road/park that runs just behind the LG Palace, KFC, and Soundholic).

You can download a map of Hongdae showing all the Fringe Festival locations from the front page of the English website (sorry, but it is a javascript link, so I cannot link directly to it).

Everything I Learned About Life I Learned From Korean TV Dramas...

2008-08-15T14:22:00.002+09:00

Okay, this is hardly new, but it amused me greatly when someone reminded me of it recently. It is the top 50 things I learned from watching Korean TV dramas.

50 things you can learn from a korean drama

1) Hot, rich, younger men love fat, older vulgar women.

2) If you have a best guy friend, he is in love with you. And secretly you are too.

3) You and your boyfriend will always playfully chase each other on an ice rink, at the beach, or in the leaves. And you'll laugh for no reason and your boyfriend will hit you "playfully" but the force of his push will have you flying across the room. But it's okay. Cuz you're still laughing like a crazy person.

4) Brothers/cousin/uncles-newphews will always love the same girl.

5) You're allowed to make uturns wherever you want in Korea. And there is never traffic on the side you want to u turn to.

6) There is a super quick payment device that allows you to pay a bill quickly enough for a guy to run immediately out of a restaurant after his angry girlfriend storms out.

7) Everyone has cancer.

8) If you're sick, all you need is an IV to make you feel lots better.

9) There is vomit and urine all over Seoul at nights.

10) Fighting at a pojangmacha with a random stranger is merely part of a normal night's event.

11) Soju must cost 10 cents. Everyone drinks it everyday all the time, especially the poor people.

12) If you're rich, you're a jerk.

13) If you're poor, you're an angel.

14) Women sleep and wake up with a full set of makeup on.

15) You're not studying hard enough unless you get a nosebleed.

16) If you have a nosebleed, you most definitely have cancer. And you have no money to pay for the surgery that will save your life. And your liver is missing. We're not sure where it went, but it's making your cancer progress faster.

17) If you work in a sool jeep, you have massively curly hair and wear flashy colors from the early 90's.

18) You always order orange juice or coffee at a cafe. And you never drink it. EVER.

19) You will always call your boyfriend by his job title. Or simply sunbaenim. Never his name. Never. He doesn't have one.

20) If you TRULY love each other, you must die together in the end. Frozen outside instead of finding shelter like sane people. Just frozen....

21) You go to America you come back miraculously successful. You go to England you come back amazingly fashionable. You stay in Korea the only thing that changes is your hairstyle.

22) And if you come back with no apparent reason then it's because you have cancer.

23) Everyone always goes to the same hospital no matter where they are.

24) If you stand out in the rain for more than five minutes, you'll end up with a fever and vertigo and people will rush you to the hospital to get some magic IV. And instead of taking an ambulance or driving they'll race you on their back.

25) Even if you're poor and can't eat, you never wear the same clothes twice.

26) If you play a poor kid, you always have dirt on your face and your hair is always messy.

27) If you're saving someone from being hit from a car, you'll push them out of the way and wait for the car to hit you instead.

28) Everyone has a long lost sister/brother/twin. Usually one they didn't know about.

29) If you don't want to answer your phone, you can't just turn it off. The battery
needs to be taken out.

30) All korean men can drink hard, smoke long, sing well and play piano. Usually all at the same time. And at the same restaurant that has a piano that they let anyone use.

31) If you're in a relationship, you must at one point leave and have your lover tearfully come RIGHT before you board the plane (vice versa applies as well. You can be the chaser). 60% of the time you see each other, the other 40% you're roaming around in circles and pass each other about six times, but miraculously never see them.

32) If you're getting off a plane, you're ALWAYS wearing sunglasses. ALWAYS.

33) All guys wear hideous tracksuits zipped up to their neck. Even if all they're doing is jumping rope.

34) Girls will always storm off because they're mad and the guy will stoically grab them by the arm and swing them back- and by magic, not dislocate their shoulders.

35) Guys always look like they're 6 feet tall, even if they're only 5'10. Thank you camera angles.

36) Guys like to wear foundation, eyeliner and sometimes a smudge of lipliner.

37) You always get stuck in an elevator with someone who makes you feel uncomfortable. Even if there are six different elevators, you'll always be stuck in the same one with that bastard you hate (or just fought with).

38) Unless you're fabulously rich, your in-laws will always hate you.

39) So will your sister-in-law.

40) Your brother-in-law might be pining away for you.

41) There are only 2 ways to kiss. You either press your lips against theirs with your mouth completely shut, and just press away for a very long and uncomfortable time. OR you devour the other person and suck out their soul. In both instances, the world spins.

42) A guy will always get the right size ring, even if you're never held hands.

43) People stare off into space and ponder a lot. They'll just stop in the middle of the road and watch a leaf on a tree for a good three minutes, and just ponder.

44) You'll get pregnant the first time you have sex.

45) You'll get pregnant if he kisses you on the forehead.

46) Hell- you'll get pregnant if you hold hands.

47) If you overcome great obstacles to be together, one of you must die. Probably due to cancer.

48) One Korean man can kick the butts of 6 gangstas. Especially when they all stand in a circle and attack the guy one by one. Then when each of them get their butts OWNED, they wise up and attack the guy at the same time. Then the guy will get pulverized and bleed out onto the dusty concrete floor of the empty warehouse they've found to fight in. There will be a fire in a trashcan somewhere. And the girl will have watched this the entire time, screaming in horror. Instead of calling 119, she'll just watch and cry. But it's okay. Cuz the next day the guy will be fine with a few random bandages and a few face scars. But never a black eye.

49) It ain't a real fight unless the gangstas fight dirty with a stick or switchblade.

50) If you study in the states (perferably Harvard), you are one of the top students and can speak perfect English (as assumed by the reactions of those around you). Why the rest of the world OUTSIDE of the TV can't understand a single word uttered out of your melodramatic mouth is beyond me.

Korea Weekend Box Office - Aug. 8-10

2008-08-13T22:54:00.002+09:00

Sorry for the lateness of the box office again this week. But once again, KOBIS's numbers were not finalized until today.

Lots of strange things to note in the top 10 this week. First of all, how mediocre THE DARK KNIGHT did. Sure it was No. 1, but it barely topped 1 million admissions. I thought it would have been closer to 2 million.

WALL-E also opened rather weakly, although Pixar has not had a huge hit in Korea since FINDING NEMO. Also this week there was a lot of competition.

In the world of positive strangeness, MUMMY 3 continued to kick butt. The movie is doing mad business here in Korea, way out of proportion compared to the rest of the world.

This Week	Title............................................	Release Date	Screens Nationwide	Weekend Revenue (bil. won)	Total Revenue (bil. won)
1.	Dark Knight	8.07	549	5.28	7.78
2.	Mummy 3	7.31	543	3.26	20.80
3.	Gosa (Korean)	8.07	365	2.48	3.57
4.	The Good, the Bad, the Weird (Joheun Nom, Nappeun Nom, Isanghan Nom - Korean)	7.17	382	1.73	38.58
5.	Wall-E	8.07	351	1.57	2.14
6.	An Eye for an Eye (Nuneneun Nun Ieneun I - Korean)	7.31	401	1.65	9.61
7.	Sunny (Nimeun Meon Gose - Korean)	7.24	247	0.44	10.69
8.	Keroro	8.07	84	0.30	0.42
9.	Doremon	7.17	42	0.055	1.80
10.	Space Chimps	7.17	30	0.014	1.55

(Source: KOBIS - Figures represent 97% of nationwide box office)

Korea Weekend Box Office - Aug. 1-3

2008-08-06T09:01:00.002+09:00

Why do Koreans love The Mummy franchise? Despite horrid reviews around the world and a pretty mediocre opening in the United States, THE MUMMY 3 had one of the strongest openings of the year, with about 2.1 million admissions (or about $13.5 million).

Note: THE MUMMY RETURNS has just 2.3 million admissions in its entire seven-week run, back in 2001 (making it the 10th biggest film of the year). MUMMY 3 beat that in about five days. The original THE MUMMY was the second-biggest film of 1999 in Korea (hard to say how well it did, because I only have Seoul numbers, but it probably had around 3 million admissions nationwide).

Kim Jee-woon's THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD continues to do well, if perhaps not quite at THE HOST or D-WAR levels. But it has topped 5.17 million admissions now, making it the biggest film of the year.

Plenty of competition coming soon, but the smartypants over at CJ Entertainment had a pretty good idea -- they have released the Cannes version of GBW, in around 10 theaters around Korea. An interesting way to keep the film a little fresher and encourage repeat business.

(Btw, I have seen both versions, and aside from about minute additional minutes at the end and one brief change in the opening, I do not recall any differences. The Cannes ending was not radically different, just less complete).

The thriller EYE FOR AN EYE had an okay opening, with 865,000 admissions since Thursday. Not bad, but I do not see it sticking around very long.

KUNG FU PANDA gets the longevity award, as it has been in the theaters here since June 5. These days, two months is forever.

PUBLIC ENEMY RETURNS makes its last entry this week, with 4.2 million admissions. That's about typical for a Kang Woo-suk film these days.

This Week	Title............................................	Release Date	Screens Nationwide	Weekend Revenue (bil. won)	Total Revenue (bil. won)
1.	The Mummy 3	7.31	723	9.45	13.41
2.	The Good, the Bad, the Weird (Joheun Nom, Nappeun Nom, Isanghan Nom - Korean)	7.17	569	4.19	34.27
3.	Eye for an Eye (Nuneneun Nun, Ieneun I - Korean)	7.31	555	3.95	5.67
4.	Sunny (Nimeun Meon Gose - Korean)	7.24	433	1.85	9.29
5.	Nim's Island	7.17	236	0.49	3.87
6.	Doremon	7.17	96	0.34	1.60
7.	Space Chimps	7.17	141	0.22	1.45
8.	Red Cliff	7.10	123	0.17	10.06
9.	Kung Fu Panda	6.05	48	0.090	28.94
10.	Public Enemy Returns (Gangcheoljung - Korean)	6.19	33	0.038	27.64

(Source: KOBIS - Figures represent 97% of nationwide box office)

THE DARK KNIGHT opened last night (I know because I saw it), and while it might not break records like it is doing in the United States, I expect it to be very, very big. WALL-E opens tonight, and I fear it is going to be the forgotten film. Then again, Korea is not a great country for Pixar. RATATOUILLE did not even make it to 1 million admissions.

Incidentally, A BETTER TOMORROW opens on Aug. 8 at the old Dream Cinema, by Seodaemun Station (line No. 5). It is the last of the old-style theaters in Korea (big, crappy, one-screen). They have been experiencing a big of a revival, as they await the wrecking ball, by showing a lot of popular older films. First it was DIRTY DANCING. Then THE MISSION did fairly well. They have played some Korean classics, too. Sounds like a fun theatrical experience.

Box Office Slow...

2008-08-05T10:29:00.003+09:00

I want to update this week's box office, but for some reason KOBIS is being really slow this week. The official government site is indicating last weekend's top film, MUMMY 3, had about 240,000 admissions. But Universal Pictures International says that MUMMY 3 sold about 2.1 million tickets (about $13.5 million), which is rather radically different.

Maybe the person in charge of updating the KOBIS database is on summer vacation this week.

Anyhow, hope to post the box office numbers soon.

Galley Slave

2008-08-03T21:17:00.004+09:00

Not a lot of updates again. And, yeah, I know I sound like a broken record about that. But at least my excuse this time is a little more interesting -- I have, at last, received the galleys for POP GOES KOREA. Currently going through them, catching all the errors I can, ponder whether certain items have gone out of date, and trying not to cringe too hard at the writing I do not like.

Actually, I find myself sympathizing with a lot of those celebrity interviews you read in the papers and see on TV -- you know, the ones where the actor is asked about his film, and he says something like, "Well, I finished filming over a year ago, so I don't really remember."

Although I have been working on the book with some frequency, the bulk of the writing was finished almost exactly a year ago. I have added sidebars and answered questions and tracked down photo credits, but for the most part, I was done last August. Kind of strange to be re-reading things that I wrote one, even two years ago. But at a certain point, you just have to let things go, as imperfect as they might be.

The good thing is, though, that the book is nearly done. With a little luck, it should be on store shelves by September.
------

Oh, one more reason I have not been writing much on the blog lately has been some fun projects I have been working on. They have led to a large amount of traveling as of late. I spend so much time in Seoul (and other major cities around Asia) that I really appreciate it when I can head off to the countryside for a few days. Especially when I can check out a part of Korea that I have never visited before.

I might write about some of those trips here soon. Not sure if they fit the theme of this blog, though. Maybe I should ask to guest post of Gusts of Popular Feeling or the Marmot's Hole, which might be more in keeping with what I have in mind.

Korea Weekend Box Office - July 25-27

2008-07-30T01:25:00.003+09:00

Sorry for not writing much these days (yet again). Been very busy with a bunch of fun and interesting projects. Might try to write about some of them some time soon.

But in the meantime, here is the latest Korean box office. As you can see, THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD is holding up nicely. Distributor CJ Entertainment says that the Manchurian Western has toppped 4 million admissions already, after 11 days in the theaters, which is quite solid.

If I were to guess, I might predict GBW will top 8 million admissions. But I doubt it will beat 10 million, unfortunately. Still, a very impressive, solid hit.

On the other hand, Lee Jun-ik's SUNNY did not excite many people. I have not seen it yet, but most people who have seem to think it is underwhelming (not a surprise, judging by the trailer).

For those of you who are concerned about such things, thanks to the latest PUBLIC ENEMY film, SUNNY and GBW, Korean films are now up over 40 percent of the box office for the year again. Yeah, Korean movies.

This Week	Title............................................	Release Date	Screens Nationwide	Weekend Revenue (bil. won)	Total Revenue (bil. won)
1.	The Good, the Bad, the Weird (Joheun Nom, Nappeun Nom, Isanghan Nom - Korean)	7.17	825	5.70	24.58
2.	Sunny (Nimeun Meon Geose - Korean)	7.24	598	3.24	4.32
3.	Red Cliff	7.10	328	0.66	9.41
4.	Nim's Island	7.17	299	0.57	2.53
5.	Doremon	7.17	101	0.37	0.94
6.	Space Chimps	7.17	232	0.29	0.96
7.	Public Enemy Returns (Gangcheoljung - Korean)	6.19	215	0.32	28.36
8.	100 Feet	7.24	168	0.24	0.29
9.	Hancock	7.02	243	0.23	17.67
10.	Wanted	6.26	207	0.25	19.14

(Source: KOBIS - Figures represent 97% of nationwide box office)

Still waiting for WALL-E, though...

Korea Weekend Box Office - July 18-20

2008-07-22T14:18:00.004+09:00

No surprise, THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD was the top film last weekend, pulling in about 2.2 million admissions since it opened on Thursday. That is good enough to be about the third-best opening for a Korean film ever (after D-WAR and THE HOST). It is also behind PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 3 and SPIDER-MAN 3. Still, good company.

John Woo's RED CLIFF put up a valiant fight for its second weekend, adding about $1.57 million to bring its Korean total to $8.14 million.

Otherwise, not a lot of excitement in the box office at the moment. The big question will be how well THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD holds on in the future. Will it fizz out quickly or continue strong?

Next weekend will see another potentially big film opening, Lee Jun-ik's SUNNY, and after that WALL-E and THE DARK KNIGHT will be following closely, so the competition could be tough.

This Week	Title............................................	Release Date	Screens Nationwide	Weekend Revenue (bil. won)	Total Revenue (bil. won)
1.	The Good, the Bad, the Weird (Joheun Nom, Nappeun Nom, Isanghan Nom - Korean)	7.17	954	11.04	14.09
2.	Red Cliff	7.10	389	1.57	8.14
3.	Nim's Island	7.17	331	1.37	1.53
4.	Hancock	7.02	403	0.95	17.12
5.	Public Enemy Returns (Gangcheoljung - Korean)	6.19	305	0.70	27.53
6.	Wanted	6.26	340	0.67	18.60
7.	Space Chimps	7.17	227	0.47	0.51
8.	Doremon	7.17	100	0.40	0.43
9.	Kung Fu Panda	6.05	174	0.27	29.56
10.	Crossing (Korean)	6.26	144	0.17	5.43

(Source: KOBIS - Figures represent 97% of nationwide box office)