The setting is North Korea. The day is Christmas in an unspecified near future. The notorious hermit kingdom has collapsed from a coup d’etat.This is the premise of upcoming film “Steel Rain,” set to hit local theaters in December. 　The film stars actor Jung Woo-sung as Uhm Cheol-woo, a top North Korean special agent who flees to South Korea with the North’s leader to escape the uprising. 　 Jung Woo-sung stars in “Steel Rain.” (NEW)The film is written and directed by Yang Woo-seok, who previousl

A roster of top Korean actors including Lee Byung-hun and Kim Yoon-seok and director Hwang Dong-hyuk tackle a painful historical event in the upcoming film “The Fortress.” The film is a period piece that deals with a Chinese invasion which took place in 1636, prompting Joseon’s King Injo to take refuge in Namhansanseong, a mountain fortress located some 25 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Within the fortress’ walls, Joseon officials desperately debated the course of action -- whether to surrender

Award-winning film director Song Hae-sung was charged Sunday with verbally abusing a handicapped female taxi driver while under the influence of alcohol, police said Monday. Song hurled abuse at the taxi driver when she pressed the “extra charge” button on the taxi’s meter at around 11 p.m. Friday while traveling to Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, from Yeouido in Seoul, according to the taxi driver’s testimony, police said.  Director Song Hae-sung (Yonhap)“He saw that my left arm was a prosthetic and

The reality show featuring K-pop diva Lee Hyo-ri’s life on Jeju Island, “Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast,” wrapped up Sunday evening on JTBC.　In the final episode, Lee shed tears after reading a heartfelt goodbye letter written to her by singer IU, who stayed as a guest and helper at Lee’s Jeju home throughout the show. 　"Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast”(JTBC)The show, which kicked off in June, surpassed a 9 percent viewership rating at its peak, according to Nielsen Korea, a new record for JTBC variety sho

Hip-hop trio Epik High will hold concerts in November for its upcoming album, YG Entertainment announced Sunday.The concerts, titled “We’ve Done Something Wonderful,” will take place on Nov. 3 and 4 at Blue Square Samsung Card Hall in Hannam-dong, Seoul. Tickets will be available starting at 8 p.m. on Sept. 28 at ticket.interpark.com.  A poster for Epik High’s upcoming concert (YG Entertainment)The group’s upcoming album will be its first release in three years since “Shoebox” in 2014, which fea

Former Wonder Girls member-turned-solo singer Sunmi confessed that she had initially disliked the choreography for the now-disbanded K-pop group’s 2007 hit track “Tell Me.” “I really didn’t want to do it,” she said Saturday on SBS’ “Party People,” a talk show hosted by singer-producer Park Jin-young, also known as JYP.　Park wrote and choreographed “Tell Me,” a pop tune with a 1980s feel that topped charts with its catchy melody and easy-to-follow dance moves in 2007. 　 Sunmi, Park Jin-young star

Singer Park Joon-hyung expressed on Sunday his feelings on experiencing what seemed to be racial discrimination and attempted pickpocketing in Brussels, Belgium. Park is currently starring in “Looking For Trouble,” a travel reality show where celebrities pay their way by selling odd items to locals.The cast traveled to Brussels in last Thursday’s episode. Park is seen approached by three passersby on the street, who at first greet the singer with a friendly “Hey, what’s up man!” They then surrou

The concept behind “Welcome! First Time in Korea?” a reality show that has been reaching record ratings on a cable channel, is relatively simple. The show features first-time visitors to Korea experiencing aspects of life here -- food, entertainment, history and culture -- and their reactions.The show last month starred a trio from Mexico, friends of Christian Burgos, a Mexican national who stars on the JTBC talk show “Non-Summit.” The friends brought fresh perspectives to everyday Korean pastim

I Can Speak(Korea)Opened Sept. 21Comedy, drama. Directed by Kim Hyun-seokNa Ok-boon (Na Moon-hee) is the elderly neighborhood busybody whose greatest hobby is to file complaints on nearby residents and businesses to the borough office. Park Min-jae (Lee Je-hoon) is a new civil servant at the office, a strict by-the-books worker. The two bicker over Na’s copious complaints when one day, Na discovers that Park is fluent in English. Due to a painful past and a desire to right terrible wrongs, Na is

What happens when spicy tteokbokki -- Korea’s most popular street food -- meets seafood and cheese? It’s elevated to the next level! All the contrasting flavors work so well together to create something incredibly flavorful and comforting. Use any cheese(s) you would use for pizza or pasta. Mozzarella is great, and I also like the pizza blend (provolone, asiago, mozzarella, etc.) in this dish. You can melt the cheese over the stove top, in the microwave, or under the broiler. 　Any combination of

Even the second time round, donning tailor-made double-breasted suits offered satisfaction for the actors of “Kingsman: The Golden Circle.” 　“With regard to fighting in those suits, it has its moments,” said Taron Egerton, who plays headstrong protagonist Eggsy Unwin in the “Kingsman” series, at a press conference at CGV Yongsan in Seoul, Thursday.“But you feel so good in (the suits), and it’s such a flattering style that you don’t begrudge them whilst you’re fighting.”English actor Colin Firth,

A local magazine showed actor Yoo Ji-tae and director Park Chan-wook in an ad campaign for Italian luxury fashion brand Ermenegildo Zegna on Wednesday. Yoo Ji-tae (left) and Park Chan-wook pose in Ermenegildo Zegna. (Namoo Actors)Yoo and Park spoke about their 10-year friendship during the interview that followed the photo shoot. The two also discussed how working together on Park’s renowned 2003 neo-noir film “Oldboy” shaped their careers. The two men are part of the brand’s global campaign tit

Colin Firth, Taron Egerton and Mark Strong spoke to Korean fans via a live stream on Kakao TV, Wednesday afternoon.The three actors are in Korea on a promotional tour for their upcoming film “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” the sequel to 2014’s “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” which was a huge box office hit here.It is the first time for English actor Firth, long popular in Korea for roles in the “Bridget Jones” series and “The King’s Speech,” to visit Korea on a media-covered tour. From left: Mark

Choi Min-sik and Park Shin-hye are set to star in the upcoming thriller “Silence,” which is slated to hit local theaters in November. Acclaimed actor Choi will star as Im Tae-san, the chairman of a conglomerate who possesses wealth, honor, power and love but is at risk of losing it all. “What kind of choice can a person make when faced with the possibility of losing your loved ones?” Choi said in a press release Wednesday.  Choi Min-sik (left) and Park Shin-hye (CJ Entertainment)Park will play a

Busan International Film Festival on Tuesday announced 10 nominees for its new Kim Ji-seok award, honoring the longtime program director of the festival who passed away in May.　Kim began as a programmer of Asian films at BIFF in 1996, and in 2007 went on to serve as the head programmer of Asia’s largest film festival. 　Kim passed away during a trip to France’s Cannes Film Festival. 　The award celebrates the late Kim’s passion for Asian cinema and the discovery of emerging directors. 　The nominat

Ticket sales for Korea’s largest film event, the Busan International Film Festival, will begin next week. Tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies will be available online at www.biff.kr at 6 p.m. on Sept. 26. They cost 20,000 won ($17.75) each. The opening and closing films this year are Korean director Shin Su-won’s “Glass Garden” and Taiwanese director Sylvia Chang’s “Love Education.” It is the first time both the festival’s opening and closing films are helmed by female directors. 　 A

Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford and Denis Villeneuve met with Korean press via video conference Monday evening at CGV Yongsan in central Seoul for the upcoming neo-noir “Blade Runner 2049.” 　The actors and director were calling in from Berlin, Germany. 　Director Villeneuve addressed the Korean letters visible in the trailer clip. 　“There are a lot of influences from Korea and Japan as well, in the first Blade Runner,” Villeneuve said. “In the second one, we added influences from Eastern Europe and I

A handful of Korean cinema’s heartthrobs have taken on villainous roles in recent and upcoming films.　Lee Jong-suk, who played romantic lead characters in drama series such as “Pinocchio” and “I Can Hear Your Voice,” plays an imperious North Korean serial killer in the crime drama “V.I.P.,” which opened in theaters in August. His milky-white complexion and boyish image were able to translate well into an oddly sinister sort of villain, Lee said in an interview last month.  Lee Jong-suk stars in

Is it possible to create a work of art about a murder without any depiction of brutality? Is it possible to convey a female victim’s suffering without exploiting her body? These were the questions director Gina Kim posed to herself during the creation of her virtual reality film “Bloodless.”The work won the award for best virtual reality story at the recently concluded Venice International Film Festival. “Bloodless” is relatively bloodless. However, it is blood curdling, at an entirely different

Baby Driver(US)Opened Sept. 13Action, crime. Directed by Edgar Wright Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a skilled getaway driver, who chauffeurs robbers seeking to flee crime scenes quickly and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He meets a waitress named Debora (Lily James) at a diner, and the two start dating. He begins to dream of ditching his lifestyle and pursuing a normal life. But Baby’s next robbery goes awry and he narrowly manages to evade the police. Baby’s boss Doc (Kevin Spacey), a heist mastermind, fo