Actress Kim Hye-soo (“Coin Locker Girl”), actor Ahn Sung-ki (“Revivre”) and director JK Youn (“Ode to My Father”) have been chosen by the Asia-Pacific Producers Network to win this year’s APN Award.  The award is given to those in the film industry to recognize achievements that further the advancement of Asian cinema. Kim Hye-soo (BiFan) Ahn Sung-ki (BiFan)The awards will be given on July 18, during the 10th APN Congress to be held from July 17-19 at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Fes

South Korea reported an additional death from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome on Sunday, bringing its death toll to 32.However, the number of people diagnosed with the potentially deadly disease continued to stand at 182 as the country reported no additional infection case overnight, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.The deceased was a 55-year-old patient, whose identity was withheld for privacy reasons.Ministry officials said the death marked one of the rare cases with the deceas

The year is 1933. A female sniper, a gun expert and a bomb expert are pulled into an unlikely ragtag team by a political mastermind to assassinate two key figures in the Japanese regime governing Korea. Their plan is slipped to a ruthless paid assassin, who begins to hunt them down.The plot of the upcoming film “Assassination” is thrilling enough in and of itself to be a box office success, but according to director Choi Dong-hoon, the aim of the movie is to tell the story of those who fought fo

Singer-songwriter Hong Dae-kwang rose to fame through the TV star discovery program “Superstar K4,” but that wasn’t his first experience performing for the public. On the show, he created buzz by talking about his extensive experiences busking on the street, and he says that those experiences influenced the way he approached his third EP, “With You.”“I worked with a team that is really experienced and talented at creating really commercial albums,” Hong said in a conversation with The Korea Hera

With lush green mountains, pretty schoolgirls dressed in uniforms, a beautiful boarding school and an impeccably styled Uhm Ji-won, “The Silenced” offers many visual delights. The plot, however, is a messy hodgepodge, the result of overreaching on the part of screenwriter and director Lee Hae-young.“I wanted to create a mystery film set in a girls’ boarding school in the 1930s, full of girlish emotions,” Lee said at a press preview at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University on June 9. “But I wanted to po

This year’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival will take place under the theme of “Love, Fantasy and Adventure” and screen 235 films of various genres from 45 countries, including 64 films making their world premiere.According to the organizing committee, BiFan (formerly known as PiFan) differentiates itself from other fantasy film markets by broadening its definition of genre films beyond horror and the grotesque to include sci-fi, suspense and action.“As a premium genre film showcas

You can’t make a movie out of the tragicomic novel “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” without the perfect, terminally-ill final third character in that title. The film’s director, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon cast about and found someone in a genre that both he and she are well-versed in ― horror.“It’s a very expressive genre,” says Gomez-Rejon, who directed episodes of TV’s “American Horror Story” and the big screen “The Town That Dreaded Sundown.” He found his “Dying Girl” on TV’s “Bates Motel.” But youn

“A Midsummer’s Fantasia” is being marketed as a romance movie, but its director, Jang Kun-jae, thinks of it as more of a road movie. “That’s what I intended,” he said in an interview. The film, set to open in local theaters this week, takes place in Gojo, a sparsely populated city in Nara prefecture, Japan. It was a collaborative project between Jang and Cannes-acclaimed Japanese director Kawase Naomi, who joined as a producer. Although Kawase had lived and filmed in the area for many years, Jan

Artists of all genres often fall into the trap of taking themselves too seriously.Electronic band Idiotape is not one of those artists.“Describe our music? It’s music for women, the grown-up kind,” joked drummer DR with a wiggle of his eyebrows as Idiotape began a conversation with The Korea Herald at a cafe in Seoul. Perhaps a joke is the only way to answer a question about how to describe Idiotape’s unusual music. The three-member band consists of two DJs (Dguru and Zeze) and a drummer (DR), b

Two of K-pop’s biggest acts, Big Bang and Beast, held sold-out concerts in China and Taiwan over the weekend.Big Bang hit the stage at the Beijing MasterCard Center on June 5 and 6 on their “MADE” tour. The 25-song set list included past hits like “Tonight” and “Bad Boy,” as well as “Loser” and “Bae Bae” from their “M” EP and “Bang Bang Bang” and “We Like 2 Party,” the two songs from their most recent “A” EP released a week ago. Beijing was the first city to see “Bang Bang Bang” performed live o

A survey of 10,447 moviegoers conducted by Maxmovie on May 11 and 12 showed that actors Song Kang-ho and Jeon Do-yeon were considered the best actors by Korean audiences.In the male category, Song Kang-ho (known for films like 2013’s “Snowpiercer”) was followed by Choi Min-sik (“Oldboy” from 2003) and Ha Jung-woo (2013’s “The Berlin File”). In the female category, Jeon Do-yeon, whose movie “The Shameless” was recently screened at the Cannes Film Festival‘s Un Certain Regard section, was closely

Nelson, Haggard uninspired on 4th collaborative discWillie Nelson and Merle Haggard“Django and Jimmie”(Sony Legacy)The two grand old men of country music, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, are among the last living ties to an era when giants like Ernest Tubb and Bob Wills filled honky tonks. Nelson is 82 and Haggard is 78, and while their warm voices show some mileage, their range of expression remains remarkable, and their phrasing often is impeccable.On their fourth album together, “Django and

Perfect Proposal (Korea)Opened June 4Romance. Directed by Yoon Jae-guJi-yeon (Lim Soo-jung) is a woman at the end of her rope. Having been betrayed by her friend, she is pursued by loan sharks when she meets Seong-yeol (Yoo Yeon-seok), an assistant to the head of a powerful casino group. Seong-yeol suggests that Ji-yeon captivate the group’s president and become a real-life Cinderella, offering her help in exchange for half her inheritance if she succeeds. Ji-yeon is drawn to Seong-yeol’s perfec

During the recent Jeonju International Film Festival, everyone who visited Jeonju seemed to have the same souvenir in mind: a box of bakery PNB’s famous choco pies. The bakery’s bright orange shopping bags were ubiquitous around its branches, and hourlong lines snaked around corners.PNB (also known as Pungnyeon Jegwa) first opened in 1951 in Jungang-dong, Jeonju, and has been passed down through three generations. Instead of choosing to continuously change and expand its offerings, the bakery ha

“Beauty is only skin deep, and it is the beauty inside that matters.”The upcoming film “The Beauty Inside” challenges itself to reinvent this time-old statement in a fresh, intriguing way on the big screen.Directed by the visual artist and advertisement director Zong Baik (who goes simply by Baik), the film is about a woman named Yi-soo (Han Hyo-joo) who develops a romance with a man (Woo-jin) whose appearance changes every morning. Each morning, he may wake up as a man, a woman, young or old, o

Korean-American chef Corey Lee, the mastermind behind the three Michelin-starred restaurant Benu in San Francisco, has packed his debut book, “Benu,” to the brim. “It’s ultimately a cookbook first, but also a book that was trying to communicate the inspiration behind the restaurant and meditation on the menu,” he said.The book is stunning, a big, white hardcover with over 250 pages of recipes, essays, and breathtaking photography.  Corey Lee, chef and patron of Benu. (Phaidon 2015, www.phaidon.c

According to director Yoon Jae-gu, “Perfect Proposal” is two movies in one.“The first half is a classic romance, while the second is a thriller,” he said at a press preview at CGV Wangsimni on May 28.Unfortunately, the film fails to deliver on both counts.Adapted from Catherine Arley’s story “La Femme de paille (Woman of Straw)” published in the 1950s, “Perfect Proposal” follows a young woman named Ji-yeon (Lim Soo-jung), a tour guide-turned-bartender trying to pay off her debts in Macau. Just w

Perfect Proposal (Korea)Opening June 4Romance. Directed by Yoon Jae-guJi-yeon (Lim Soo-jung) is a woman at the end of her rope. After being betrayed by her friend, she is being chased down by loan sharks when she meets Seong-yeol (Yoo Yeon-seok), an assistant to the head of a powerful casino group. Seong-yeol suggests that Ji-yeon captivate the group’s president and become a real-life Cinderella, offering her help in exchange for half her inheritance if she succeeds. Ji-yeon is drawn to Seong-ye

Whitesnake delves deep into Purple past on new albumWhitesnake“The Purple Album”(Frontiers)Who says you can‘t go home?David Coverdale delves deep into his Deep Purple background on the new Whitesnake album, which redoes songs from his tenure fronting the legendary classic rock outfit.“The Purple Album” begins with a more bottom-heavy version of the classic rock anthem “Burn,” on which Coverdale previously shared lead vocals with Glenn Hughes on the original track. And while the remake misses Hug

Singer Jung Joon-young, known for his rise to widespread fame through the audition program “Superstar K” and his more recent work as an MC and actor, is returning to the stage as the frontman for the new quartet Jung Joon-young Band.“When I first signed with my company, it was agreed that I would eventually work with a band,” Jung said at a media showcase held at the MUV Hall in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Wednesday. “Since I started music with a band, it was actually hard for me to bring out my true style