Korea has been invited as the honorary guest country to Festival de la Fiction TV, a prominent drama festival funded by the French government.It is the first time a non-French-speaking, non-European country has been invited as the festival’s honorary guest. Producers, writers and directors of popular Korean drama series will attend the festival. 　Three Korean drama series have been invited for screening -- MBC’s “W,” a fantasy romance written by Song Jae-jung and directed by Jung Dae-yoon and Pa

Contents conglomerate CJ E&M plans to aggressively expand global film production, the company announced at a press conference Wednesday.CJ E&M, the largest film distributor in Korea, plans to produce and distribute 20 films per year in foreign markets by 2020. Currently, the company funds and distributes some 10 to 15 films in Korea each year. 　“The Korean movie market has reached saturation point,” said Jeong Tae-sung, CEO of CJ Entertainment, the company’s movie arm, in a presentation at The P

Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Taron Egerton from the cast of “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” will be coming to Korea on Sept. 20, 20th Century Fox Korea announced Tuesday.It will be the first Korea visit for English actor Firth, known here for the “Bridget Jones” series, “Love Actually” (2003) and “The King’s Speech” (2010). Welsh actor Egerton and Scottish actor Strong also gained popularity in the 2014 prequel “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” which was a box office hit here. Taron Egerton stars in

An event celebrating Korean-language literature by writers from around the world kicked off Tuesday in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.The 3rd International Congress of Writers Writing in Korean will run until Friday at the city’s Hwabaek International Convention Center.Some 63 writers from 17 countries are participating in this year’s event organized under the theme, “Korean literature, dreaming of peace in the global world,” to discuss Korean-language literature’s significance and globaliz

For the first time in its 22-year history, works by female directors will both open and close the Busan International Film Festival.　Korea’s “Glass Garden,” directed by Shin Su-won and starring actress Moon Geun-young, is set to open the festival, which will run in the southeastern port city of Busan from Oct. 12-21.　 Busan International Film Festival’s Executive Director Kang Soo-youn (left) and Chairman Kim Dong-ho speak to press at the President Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, Monday. (Yonhap)The fi

Ramen -- or ramyeon, as instant noodles are known locally -- is widely recognized as Korea’s soul food. 　 Korea is the leading consumer of ramen per person in the world, each person eating about 76 bowls per year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 　 The dish’s popularity was palpable at the annual Ramen Fair that took place at the Coex Convention and Exhibition Center in Seoul from Sept. 9-11. In its third year, some 80 companies set up 230 booth at the fair

“A Taxi Driver” has become the first film this year to surpass the 12 million-ticket mark as of Saturday, according to the Korean Film Council. 　The film has sold 12,023,670 tickets in total, becoming the 10th most-viewed Korean film in the country. It sold some 40,000 tickets on Saturday alone. 　The ninth most-viewed Korean film is “King and the Clown” (2005) by Lee Joon-ik, with 12,302,831 tickets sold.  Song Kang-ho stars in “A Taxi Driver.” (Showbox)“A Taxi Driver,” directed by Jang Hoon, ha

Korean filmmaker Gina Kim won the best virtual reality story award for “Bloodless” at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, which closed Saturday.The best VR award went to the animation film “Arden’s Wake,” written and directed by Eugene YK Chung, director and founder of Penrose, a US startup that focuses on augmented and virtual reality. “Bloodless,” a 12-minute film about a sex worker’s final moments, is based on the case of a US soldier’s brutal murder of a Korean bar worker in the US

Memoir of a Murderer(Korea)Opened Sept. 6Drama, thriller. Directed by Won Shin-yun Byung-soo (Sol Kyung-gu), a former serial killer, is now an emaciated elderly man suffering from early stage Alzheimer’s disease. His unsuspecting daughter Eun-hee (Kim Seol-hyun) looks after her erratic father, who disappears for lengthy periods into the bamboo forest. During one of his outings, Byung-soo’s car collides into the car of police officer Tae-joo (Kim Nam-gil), who seems to have a corpse hidden in his

Moon Geun-young will return to the big screen with “Glass Garden” (unofficial translation), according to reports.In February, the actress was diagnosed with acute compartment syndrome, which prevents blood flow to the nerves and muscle cells. She has since underwent four surgeries.In the new film, Moon stars as Jae-yeon, a doctoral student who witnesses an odd reality after living a secluded life. Shooting for the film took place from May to July last year.  Moon Geun-young (Herald Pop)Actor Kim

The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Award this year went to the Center for the Study of Learning and Performance at Concordia University in Canada and Rana Dajani from Jordan.The annual award honors outstanding contributions made to literacy. 　The center at Concordia University was recognized for a project that uses technology to develop essential educational competencies in Sub-Saharan Africa. 　The project, which seeks to increase literacy through mobile apps, is being expanded to North America, Br

“I Can Speak” has been marketed as a comedy film. At Wednesday‘s press screening, however, the film was revealed to deal with issues of women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.“I discovered it was about comfort women as I read the script,” said actress Na Moon-hee after the press screening in Seoul. Comfort women is a euphemism used to refer to former military sex slaves.　Veteran actress Na, 75, plays Na Ok-boon, a neighborhood busybody who wants to learn En

After nearly 20 years as an actress, Moon So-ri has now penned and directed a film.　Titled “The Running Actress,” it is a semi-autobiopic about an actress who struggles with her career, family life and public perception. It is a compilation of three shorts that Moon made during her studies at Chung-Ang University School of Art and Technology in 2014 and 2015 as part of her master’s degree program.The film, a comedy, pokes fun at its lead character with self-deprecating humor.　“Humor is a big par

As programs spotlighting alcohol abound on Korean television, concerned viewers are questioning whether there are too many portrayals of uninhibited drinking on the small screen.On Aug. 26, K-pop girl group Mamamoo’s Wheein alarmed viewers by drinking during an online live-streaming and cursing in English. 　The next day, “I Live Alone” showed singer Tony An’s friends revealing his drinking habits. An had been discovered numerous times sprawled next to the door to his home or on his bedroom floor

Electronic duo Glen Check are nothing if not careful in crafting their music. 　It has taken the group four years to drop “The Glen Check Experience” -- a multi-genre EP consisting of five tracks that came out on Aug. 13. It wasn‘t a lack of inspiration or difficulty getting together that led to the substantial gap between the two albums. Glen Check’s Kim June-one, 23, and Kang Hyuk-jun, 22, say that “every single day of the four years” was spent on developing the album’s story, one that could de

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets(France)Opened Aug. 30Sci-fi, adventure. Directed by Luc BessonIt is the 28th century. Species from all corners of the universe have formed a federation and come together to build Alpha, a sort of galactic capital. They live in harmony there, exchanging knowledge and culture. Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are federal agents who keep the order of space. The two set out on a mission to retrieve a rare treasure, and uncover the sec

The Busan International Film Festival announced the nominees for its New Currents category, which awards up-and-coming Asian directors, Friday.　The selections provide distinctive perspectives and themes found throughout east and southwest Asia, BIFF said in a statement. 　Three of the nominated films are Korean pieces that convincingly tell tragedies in different ways. Shin Dong-seok’s “Last Child,” about parents’ ambivalent feelings toward a child who survived an accident that claimed the life o

Power vocalist Lena Park will be debuting as a radio DJ on the program “One Fine Day” on KBS World Radio.　“It’s been my longtime dream to be a DJ,” she told reporters at a press conference Friday at the Yeouido KBS headquarters. 　“One Fine Day” will be delivering Korean music and musicians’ stories to listeners in English. “I want to make a program that can get close to and offer good music to foreigners in Korea and people abroad,” the veteran R&B singer said. 　Park, who married a Korean-Americ

Daniel Dae Kim is widely credited with having broken barriers for Korean-American actors in Hollywood. Since his debut in 1992, Kim has starred in popular series, including “Lost” and “Hawaii Five-0,” and has been outspoken in his advocacy of racial equality in the American entertainment industry.Now, the 48-year-old is branching out into production, in particular Korean titles in the US. Next month, “The Good Doctor,” a remake of the hit 2013 KBS drama of the same name, written by Park Jae-bum,

GFriend will be releasing a repackaged version of its fifth album “Parallel,” titled “Rainbow.”The album will include the fifth album’s lead track “Love Whisper,” which topped various charts after its release on Aug. 1.  A teaser image for GFriend’s upcoming repackaged album “Rainbow” (Source Music)Teaser photos featuring the members posing in rainy summer weather were released Wednesday night. The repackaged album will be dropped on Sept. 13. GFriend, a six-piece group consisting of Eunha, Shin