DAEJEON--The Cultural Heritage Administration and Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency on Tuesday jointly announced that 11 suspects who attempted to smuggle out 92 valuable Korean cultural artifacts have been caught. The two agencies also unveiled the items the suspects allegedly tried to take out of the country during a press briefing held at Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency on Tuesday. “We started working together with the CHA from 2018,” Kim Jae-chun, an official from Daejeon

Not all expectant mothers experience a “pregnancy glow,” says director Kim Hye-mi, who hopes to highlight the tumultuous journey some pregnant women go through in her animated horror film “Climbing.” “I wanted to show that pregnancy not only has bright sides to it but a dark side to it as well. And I wanted to show is that we don’t have to always view it only positively,” Kim said during a recent interview with The Korea Herald. “I wanted to focu

Walt Disney Korea on Monday announced that Marvel superhero film “Black Widow” will be released globally on July 7, in theaters and its streaming service Disney+. Movie fans have long been waiting for news of the film’s release, its trailer was unveiled in March 2020. The release date of the film has been delayed multiple times due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Popular Avengers character Natasha Romanoff, known as Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) appears in the new film

At the far end of a long, spooky hallway, a girl with long hair in a school uniform is standing still. As the creepy atmosphere conquers the space, the girl swiftly moves toward the audience. The well-known scene comes from the first “Whispering Corridors” movie, which came out in 1998. The signature scene was re-created in the upcoming “Whispering Corridors 6: The Humming,” which marks a return to the series after 12 years. “As I was making the film, I mostly us

The Visit Korean Heritage campaign, which began last year, is back, and this time with some new global projects, according to its co-organizers the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation. “We can sense people’s sentiment toward Korean culture changed recently through contents like BTS’ Daechwita, band Leenalchi’s Korea promotional videos and Minari,” Kim Hyun-mo, head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, said during a press

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (US) Opened June 3 Horror Directed by Michael Chaves In 1981, 8-year-old boy David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard), possessed by a demon, stabs his father’s leg. Demonologists Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) try to help the boy but it is not easy. During an exorcism, Arne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor), boyfriend of David’s sister, invites the demon to enter his body instead of David’s. Cruella (US) Opened May 26 Drama

Korean short films made during the Japanese colonial period can now be viewed online. Four short films -- “Geulloui Kkeuteneun Ganani Eopda,” “Ondol,” “Gyeongseongsosik” and “Manjueseoui Jeontu” -- discovered through KOFA’s Cinematheque KOFA Restoration project were converted into a digital format and made available on the Korean Classic Film YouTube channel and Korean Film Archive’s KMDb website. The 19-minute film titled “Geu

Bad news for moviegoers -- watching films will get more expensive at Lotte cinemas from July 1 onwards. The ticket prices are going up by 1,000 won, six months after the multiplex chain raised fees in December, claiming the move was necessary to keep the business afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Moviegoers who want to watch 2D films at Lotte cinemas will now have to pay 13,000 won for their tickets during weekdays and 14,000 won on weekends. “We are sorry to announce the change in o

For filmmaker Sun Hee Engelstoft, who was born in South Korea in 1982 and sent to Denmark for adoption when she was 4 months old, it was shocking to witness the reality facing unmarried mothers in Korea. “In the West and where I grew up in Denmark, there is this idea that all Korean women just easily give away their children because there are so many adoptees,” Engelstoft said during an interview with The Korea Herald. Korea has sent more than 200,000 children abroad since the 195

Na Hong-jin, who has directed multiple South Korean thrillers and met with both commercial and critical success, is coming out with a new Thai movie in July, according to local distributor Show Box on Thursday. In September last year, the Korean film distributor announced that Na had teamed up with popular Thai filmmaker Banjong Pisanthanakun to make “The Medium,” a horror film set in rural Thailand. “The Medium” shows three months in the life of a family that has inher

Cruella (US) Opened May 26 Drama, Comedy Directed by Craig Gillespie Estella Miller (Emma Stone) is a rebellious child with a talent for fashion. After Estella causes some trouble in school, Estella’s mom Catherine (Emily Beecham) decides to move to London. On the way, she stops at a party hosted by Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson) to ask for financial assistance. At the party, Estella witnesses her mother being pushed off a cliff to her death by Dalmatians.  Pipeline (Korea) O

Tablo of South Korean hip-hop band Epik High has penned a new comedy series for Amazon Studios’ with Emmy-winning producer Jason Kim. Tablo has been working on creating the story, with Kim, producer of HBO series “Barry” (2018), over the past two years. He recently concluded a deal with Amazon Studios to create the show, called “Neon Machine,”, according to the Korean Canadian rapper’s agency Hours Entertainment on Monday “Excited to announce my first

New Netflix rom-com “Sweet & Sour,” directed by Lee Gye-byeok, begins with a cliched but popular question: Does love have an expiration date? “When dating someone there are not just sweet and sour moments. There are also bitter moments. I wanted to show that realistic side in the movie,” the director said during an online press conference Tuesday. Jang-hyuk (played by Jang Ki-yong) and Da-eun (played by Chae Su-bin) are a couple who embark on a long-distance relati

Media giant CJ ENM has earmarked 5 trillion won ($4.49 billion) for content creation over the next five years to boost growth of its streaming platform Tving. The Korean company has also set its sights on becoming a worldwide leader in the entertainment industry, it said Monday. “We will establish a sound IP creating system and infrastructure, so we have decided to inject more money into creating content,” CJ ENM CEO Kang Ho-Sung said during a press event held in Sangam-dong, Seou

Dutch architect Jos de Krieger, who has been a partner at architecture firm Superuse Studios since 2013, stressed the importance of going global with local architectural projects that reuse old and used materials. “The building industry is one of the biggest polluters and the reuse of building material can help to bring down the ecological footprint on the environment,” De Krieger said in a recent email interview with The Korea Herald. He explained how projects that reuse old and

With a distinctive reggaeton beat, K-pop artist AleXa and Kuwaiti-Saudi-based singer Bader AlShuaibi sing back and forth about their affection for each other in three different languages in their new collaborative single “Is It On.” “It is a mix of culture. We have Arab side from Bader, then we have me singing in Korean and English,” AleXa said during her interview with The Korea Herald. “I tried multiple times to figure out what my interpretation of the song is.

  Veteran director Yoo Ha’s new film, “Pipeline,” has a completely different vibe from his previous hits. While he’s best known for serious crime films such as “Little Odessa,” “Gangnam Blues” and “Spirit of Jeet Keun Do -- Once Upon a Time in High School,” this time he has come out with a black comedy. “I have the mindset of a nomad. I like challenging myself by directing new genres that I haven’t done before,”

Pipeline (Korea) Opened May 26 Crime Directed by Yoo Ha Pindol (Seo In-guk), the best pipeline-drilling technician in South Korea, decides to take up an offer from Gun-woo (Lee Soo-hyuk), heir to a large conglomerate, to be part of a dangerous oil heist. For the job, Gun-woo rounds up a team of four thieves -- Jeobsae (Eum Moon-suk), Manager Na (Yoo Seung-mok), Keunsab (Tae Hang-ho) and Counter (Bae Da-bin). Voyagers (US) Opened May 26 Science Fiction Directed by Neil Burger In 2063, the fut

Director Yoo Ha’s latest movie “Pipeline” does not follow the rules of traditional heist movies, according to actor Seo In-guk who stars in the film. “The biggest difference is that the main characters are not professionals,” Seo said during an interview with a group of reporters on Monday. “Except for my character Pindol, all of them are ordinary people. Even Pindol who has experience being part of oil theft, only did the drilling. They are a ragtag group o

The Seoul Independent Film Festival will introduce Korean independent movies during the 4th Indie & Doc Korean Cinema Fest, which will be held from June 1-13 in Madrid, Spain. To mark the 10th anniversary of the Korean Cultural Center in Madrid, Spain, this year’s annual Korean indie film fest will double in size and screen 18 movies, according to the event organizer. The fourth edition of the festival will have three sections -- a short films section with the theme of people and t