CJ Entertainment London Korean Film Festival
Unfortunately, due to unforseen circumstances, the CJ Korean Film Festival has been cancelled. However, a Korean Film Festival, which is to take place in November in London and beyond is confirmed and I will keep you updated in due course.
History of London Korean Film Festival
This was the first festival in the UK, which has focused exclusively
on Korean films. It has been running since 2002 when it was started by
the University of London Korean society. At first it screened DVD's to
audiences in Central London and then continued to do the same the
following year with titles such as Oldboy and Memories of Murder. Then following the huge success of Oldboy and Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring the
festival managed to get significant funding from LG and CJ
Entertainment, which meant they could screen the films on 35mm
(conventional cinematic format) via a projector. Therefore in 2005 the
London Korean Film Festival moved to the Prince Charles Cinema where it
attracted in excess of 7,000 people. We had to turn away almost 800
people of the screening of Taegugki.
LIkewise in 2006 (Programme and photos below) the festival saw a similar line of success, which saw hundreds of people queuing right into the heart of Leicester Square.
So where do I fit into all of this? Well, for the past two years I have been the marking/PR Manager for the Festival and I plan to continue fullfilling this role during my time in the UK. It has been invaluable experience and I have had the chance to work with great people. It also means I can keep you updated with all the latest information regarding the festival, which is likely to take place next May. We have big plans next year and a few possible changes, which will inevitably benefit those who attend. If you didn't make this year's, have a look at what was on offer and try and make next years. It will be well worth it.
2006 Archive
London Korean Film Festival (22nd - 26th May)
at the Prince Charles Theatre, Leicester Sq, LONDON
It's May again and like last year I am the PR/marketing Manager again for this festival. It is the biggest Korean festival in the UK and is even fast becoming one of the biggest Korean festivals in Europe with 8 or 9 Korean films seeing premiere releases.
Here is the schedule:
MON: 20.30 OH-RO-RA-GONG-JOO (PRINCESS AURORA) (18)
TUE : 18.00 BARK-SU-CHIL TTAE TTEO-NA-RA (MURDER TAKE ONE) (15)
TUE: 20.40 NAE SAENG-AE GA-JANG AH-REUM-DA-UN LL-JU-IL (ALL FOR LOVE) (15)
WED: 18.30 DELKOM SALBEOLHAN YEON-IN (MY SCARY GIRL) (18)
WED: 21:00 BANG-GWA-HOO OCK-SANG (SEE YOU AFTER SCHOOL) (15)
THU: 18:30 SSA-UHM-UI-GI-SEUL (ART OF FIGHTING) (15)
THU: 20:50 SARANGEUL, NOCHIDA (LOST IN LOVE) (15)
FRI: 18:30 YEON-AE (LOVE IS A CRAZY THING) (18)
FRI: 21:00 YEON-AE-UI MOK-JEOK (RULES OF DATING) (18)
Please note, this is the revised schedule, since Rules of Dating had to be moved to Friday, due to some technical diffculties. Princess Aurora was put in its place. And what a brilliant that film is!!!
TICKETS ARE FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE. UNFORTUNATELY THERE WILL BE NO PRE-BOOKED TICKETS. I SUGGEST YOU GET TO THE CINEMA WELL IN ADVANCE.
ALTHOUGH I CANNOT PREDICT AS SUCH WHAT FILMS WILL BE POPULAR, I HAVE A STRONG FEELING 'MY SCARY GIRL' AND 'PRINCESS AURORA' WILL GO VERY QUICKLY. KOREANS ARE VERY INTERESTED IN THESE FILMS, SO JUST BE WARNED. THAT SAID, HOWEVER, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN, BUT AFTER THE CHAOS OF TAEGUGKI LAST YEAR I THOUGHT I WOULD WARN YOU.
All these films have been released in the last year, so there will be alot of Koreans interested in attending. I just dont want you guys to miss out, so please make sure you allow some time to wait for your ticket.
Last year saw in excess of 7,000 visitors attending the festival, which was a great success. There was a range of films including Brotherhood (태극기 휘날리며) and Rikidozan (역도산) by Song Hae-Seong (송해성), who actually attended the screening. Last year, all films were 'free' to get into, which obviously aided the success. This year will remain the same and SAMSUNG are sponsoring the event so they may be giving away televisions and phones.. Dont quote me on that, but that is what I heard.
Further Details....
Rules of Dating
연애의목적 (Yeon-ae-ui Mok-jeok)
2005 ㅣ 121min ㅣ 35mm ㅣ 2.35:1 ㅣ Color ㅣ Dolby Digital SRD ㅣ Drama
Domestic Release Date: June 10, 2005
Production SIDUS FNH Corporation
Cast PARK Hae-il ㅣ KANG Hae-jung
LEE Yu-rim is a high school teacher. He’s cute, he’s clever… and shameless. CHOI Hong is a student teacher. She’s sarcastic but somehow alluring by the same token. When they go out for drinks one night, Yu-rim suddenly confesses to Hong that he wants to have sex with her. Hong is hardly impressed, and that sets off a tug of war as Yu-rim and Hong battle wills and wits, unsure of what the other wants – and what they themselves want. Dating and desire mix explosively, changing our preconceptions of the motives behind of dating and relationships.
Director HAN Jae-rim 한재림 Producer TCHA Sung-jai 차승재 Screenplay KO Yun-hee 고윤희 ㅣ HAN Jae-rim 한재림 Cinematography PARK Yong-soo 박용수 Editors PARK Gok-ji 박곡지 ㅣ JUNG Jin-hee 정진희 Lighting SONG Taek-jun 송택준 Music LEE Byung-woo 이병우
Awards & Festivals
2005 18th Tokyo Int’l Film Festival, Competition ㅣ 제18회 도쿄국제영화제 경쟁부문
About the Director
Director HAN Jae-rim was born in 1975 and graduated from the Seoul Institute of Arts. HAN worked as an assistant to the director on NATURAL CITY in 2002 and made his feature debut with RULES OF DATING in 2005, which won the Screenplay Competition award from the Korean Film Council in 2003.
Murder, Take One 
박수칠떠니라 (Bark-su-chil Ttae Tteo-na-ra)
2005 ㅣ 115min ㅣ 35mm ㅣ 1.85:1 ㅣ Color ㅣ Dolby Digital SRD ㅣ Thriller / Mystery
Domestic Release Date: August 11, 2005
Director JANG Jin 장진 Producer LEE Taek-dong 이택동 Screenplay JANG Jin 장진 Cinematography KIM Jun-young 김준영 Editors KIM Sang-bum 김상범 ㅣ KIM Jae-bum 김재범 Lighting JUNG Young-min 정영민 Music HAN Jae-gwon 한재권
Production ANOTHER SUNDAY
Cast CHA Seung-won ㅣ SHIN Ha-gyun
Synopsis
An attractive copywriter is found dead in a five-star hotel room. The suspect is no other than her younger brother Young-hoon, and he is arrested on the scene for murder. But with lie detectors seem to prove his innocence and a series of events confuse the matter for prosecutor CHOI Yeon-ki, it seems like the answer is never to be found. On top of an actual murder case, CHOI has to deal with a producer keen to highlight the case television. But a small clue and an unexpected shamanic ritual turns things around, and the final say doesn’t exactly belong to prosecutor CHOI.
All for Love
내 생애 가장 아름다운일주일 (Nae Saeng-ae Ga-jang Ah-reum-da-un Il-ju-il)
2005 ㅣ 138min ㅣ 35mm ㅣ 2.35:1 ㅣ Color ㅣ Dolby Digital SRD ㅣ Drama / Romance / Comedy
Domestic Release Date: October 7, 2005
Production DOOSABOO Film ㅣ Soo Film
Cast UHM Jung-hwa ㅣ YIM Chang-jeong ㅣ KIM Soo-ro ㅣ HWANG Jung-min
Director MIN Kyu-dong 민규동 Producers YOON Je-gyun 윤제균 ㅣ HUR Tae-gu 허태구 ㅣ MIN Jin-soo 민진수 Screenplay YOO Sung-hyup 유성협 ㅣ MIN Kyu-dong 민규동 Cinematography OH Seung-hwan 오승환 Editor MOON In-dae 문인대 Lighting KIM Ki-moon 김기문 Music LEE Byung-woo 이병우
Synopsis
A stubborn owner of a movie theater, KWAK secretly admires Mrs. OH, the owner of a coffee shop within the theater. Mrs. OH is displeased by the heartless and disgruntled KWAK, but does seem to enjoy his interest towards her. Sexy and proud psychiatrist Yoo-jeong argues strongly against arrogant detective NAH in a live television debate, and comes across him again when she loses her purse and visits the police station to retrieve it. Former basketball player Seong-won gives up the sport after his girlfriend leaves him, and he suddenly finds himself facing the daughter that he never knew about. Seven intertwined relationships in one love story, where the people experience the most beautiful week of their lives.
My Scary Girl 달콤, 살벌한 연인 (DalkomSalbeolhan Yeon-in) 
Directed by SON Jae-gon 2005, 110min, HD, 1.85:1, Color, Dolby
Cast PARK Yong-woo (HWANG Dae-woo), CHOI Kang-hee (LEE Mi-na), JO Eun-ji (BAEK Jang-mi)
Executive Producer TCHA Sung-jai, KIM Mi-hee Producer YOON Seok-jun
Screenplay SOHN Jae-gon Cinematography HA Jae-young Editing SHIN Min-kyeong
Lighting KIM Geun-soo Music NA Ha-na Recording OH Se-jin Sound 정영하
Art WON Hye-jeong Costumes KIM Ah-jeong Make-up KIM Yu-im
Release Date April 6, 2006 - THIS FILM IS STILL MAKING MONEY AT THE KOREAN BOX OFFICE. PRESENTLY IT HAS MADE $13,208,391 ( May 5-7 2006) (KOFIC)
EXPECT CHAOS!
Synopsis
A timid college lecturer, Dae-woo, who is smart but has never been in love, meets a mysterious but charming lady, Mi-na. With no skills to win a date, he asks her out awkwardly. To his own surprise, she gives him a date. And as a first time lover, he behaves very unnaturally. But she little by little gets to know his pure and truthful feelings toward her, and they start a passionate relationship. However, as they fall in love, Dae-woo discovers some weird things about Mi-na. She said that she likes reading in her free time and majored in the fine arts, yet she doesn’t even know Crime and Punishment of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, nor Mondrian, one of whose pictures she has in her living room. Also, Mi-na’s roommate, Jang-mi makes Dae-woo feel uneasy, even worse, Mi-na’s bossy ex-boyfriend appears and tries to get her back. Dae-woo also finds out that her real name is not Mi-na but Mi-ja. Mi-na’s real identity makes him more confused…
SEE YOU AFTER SCHOOl 방과후옥상 (Bang-gwa-hoo Ock-sang)
2006 | 103min | Format :35mm Feet : 9,270 ft | 2.35:1 | Dolby SRD
Directed by LEE Seok-hoon
Cast : BONG Tae-gyu (NAMGOONG Dahl), KIM Tae-hyun (MA Yeon-seong), JUNG Goo-yeon (Min-ah), HA Seok-jin (Jae-koo)
Release Date/Scheduled Release Date 16 Mar, 2006
For Koong-dahl, nothing has gone right during his entire life. In attempts to rid of his ‘loser streak,’ he signs up for a year- long psychological therapy program which he immerses himself into, full gear. Right out of the clinic and with high hopes for the future, Koong-dahl makes a fresh start into the high school battlefields. Koong-dahl manages to spot some losers who were bullying the school’s gorgeous heartstopper, Min-ah. But, alas! Koong-dahl’s lack of information of the school’s food chain and the school’s super cool dude, Jae-koo who is at the top of it, has Koong-dahl mistake Jae-koo as his prey. Naturally the tables are turned and Koong-dahl is challenged for a duel on the school rooftop.
5th Pusan International Film Festival New Currents FIPRESCI Award
Art of Fighting 싸움의기술
(Ssa-Uhm-Ui-Gi-Seul)
2006 95min 35mm 1.85:1 Dolby SRD
Directed by SHIN Han-sol
Cast BAEK Yoon-sik(OH Pan-su), JAE Hee(SONG Byung-tae)
Release Date January 2006
Synopsis (줄거리)
A coward by nature, Byung-tae has hard days of enduring bullies in school. One day, he meets Pan-su, an expert at martial arts, and under Pan-su’s guidance, he learns how to fight back. He quickly absorbs how to avoid physical violence on him, but will he succeed in beating others?
Lost in Love 사랑을 놓치다 (Sa lang ool no he da)
2006 Jan. 118min Directed by Chang-min Chu
Sypnosis
Sobbing drunk or cursing the love that has left you…
Or going off to the military to escape from reality…
Or getting into a rebound relationship to avoid loneliness…
Have you ever let go of the love of your life?
Have you suffered heartache for losing ‘the one’ because of your indecisiveness?
Is there anyone you picture in your head once in a while?
Here… there is a man and a woman who had no idea about their feelings for each other.
They’ve been friends, without knowing the feelings they’ve had deep inside their hearts.
Or maybe they’d known but could not confess. And they eventually meet again after years gone by.
The movie <Lost In Love> is about such love.
And about ‘them’ who have suffered from such love.
About the never-ending relation in which they meet, separate and meet again.
Love is a Crazy Thing 연애
(Yeon-ae)
2005 ㅣ 100min ㅣ 35mm ㅣ 1.85:1 ㅣ Color ㅣ Dolby Digital SRD ㅣ Drama
Domestic Release Date: December 8, 2005
Production SIDUS FNH Corporation
Cast JEON Mi-sun ㅣ JANG Hyun-sung ㅣ OH Yoon-hong
Director OH Seok-geun 오석근 Producers TCHA Sung-jai 차승재 ㅣ KIM Mi-hee 김미희 Screenplay SUH Shin-hye 서신혜 Cinematography PARK Sang-hoon 박상훈 Editor KIM Sun-min 김선민 Lighting LEE Dong-sub 이동섭 Music SONG Byung-joon 송병준 ㅣ KIM Bong-soo 김봉수
Synopsis
Au-jin’s life is a series of boring days, one after another, until she receives a call from a stranger offering her relief from her crushing monotony. To a woman suffocating in a listless routine, the stranger – whom she knows only by voice – is her only outlet, a personal friend she can pour her heart out to. However, her life takes an unexpected turn when a certain Madam KIM rescues her from her predicament, and she meets a seemingly debonair Min-su along the way.
Awards & Festivals
2005 10th Pusan Int’l Film Festival ㅣ 제10회 부산국제영화제
18th Tokyo Int’l Film Festival ㅣ 제18회 도쿄국제영화제
Princess Aurora 오로라 공주
Oh-ro-ra-gong-joo
2005 ㅣ 106min ㅣ 35mm ㅣ 2.35:1 ㅣ Color ㅣ Dolby Digital SRD ㅣ Thriller / Drama
Domestic Release Date: October 28, 2005
Production EAST Film
Cast UHM Jung-hwa ㅣ MOON Sung-geun
Director BANG Eun-jin 방은진 Producer MYUNG Kay-nam 명계남 Screenplay SEO Min-hee 서민희 ㅣ PANG Eun-jin 방은진 Cinematography CHOI Young-hwan 최영환 Editor KIM Hyun 김현 Lighting KIM Sung-kwan 김성관 Music JUNG Jae-hyung 정재형
Synopsis
A woman gets killed in a department store. No one imagines this could signal the first in a serial murder, but two days after the first murder, another homicide occurs. A woman is suffocated to death and the only evidence left at the crime scene is a sticker of the toy character “Princess Aurora.” A veteran detective, OH suspects an attractive and lively woman named JUNG Soon-jung as being the murderer. However, he does not tell anyone – not even his partner – that JUNG also happens to be his ex-wife. Again and again, the Princess Aurora sticker is found… each with a dead body. However, the remaining question is why? What is the murderer’s purpose?
About the Director
Director PANG Eun-jin was born in 1965. PANG is a veteran actress and was cast in films such as 301 302, FAREWELL MY DARLING, PUSH! PUSH!, and ADDRESS UNKNOWN. PANG turned into a director beginning with a short film, NOT A HOUSEKEEPER. PANG’s debut as a feature director was PRINCESS AURORA in 2005.
As well as a Film Festival, there is also other things happening, which includes Korean Art and Music. For further details, please refer to the CNE website (Below).
The festival is being organised by KACC (Korean Anglican Community Centre), which is based in Warren Street, LONDON. Their website is www.kacc.org.uk
You can have a look at last years website at: www.kacc.org.uk/LKF/film.htm
This year's site can be found at www.cne-uk.com