korean Archive

  • A group of deadly assassins kidnap a hostage in the hope of getting a high ransom but when they manage to lose themselves in a forest and end up spending the night in a haunted house they manage to disrupt the plans of the ghosts to descend to heaven. The...

    Review: Romantic Warriors (Yun Je-gyun, 2003)

    A group of deadly assassins kidnap a hostage in the hope of getting a high ransom but when they manage to lose themselves in a forest and end up spending the night in a haunted house they manage to disrupt the plans of the ghosts to descend to heaven. The...

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  • “It was the one military practice, the one token of martial skill, which ever held its own among a people who for thousands of years have preferred silks, pictures, poems and music, the stately crane in the paddy fields and the knarled [sic] pine on the mountainside.” —Historian J. L....

    “It’s technically very difficult getting a tiger into a film:” a conversation on Kim Han-min and his film, War of the Arrows

    “It was the one military practice, the one token of martial skill, which ever held its own among a people who for thousands of years have preferred silks, pictures, poems and music, the stately crane in the paddy fields and the knarled [sic] pine on the mountainside.” —Historian J. L....

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  • The boss of a gang of smugglers discovers that his wife Yeon-sil has been having an affair so, in line with the law of the gang he arranges for her to be thrown out of his house and for her face to be cut so that she’ll never be attractive...

    Review: Black Hair (Lee Man-hee, 1964)

    The boss of a gang of smugglers discovers that his wife Yeon-sil has been having an affair so, in line with the law of the gang he arranges for her to be thrown out of his house and for her face to be cut so that she’ll never be attractive...

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  • A police investigation into a serial killer targeting school children is proving fruitless and the situation worsens when the prime suspect is shot dead, leaving little evidence and a dead end. In order to resolve the situation Police Chief Kang enlists the help of Captain Choi in a deal that...

    Review: The Unjust (Ryoo Seung-wan, 2010)

    A police investigation into a serial killer targeting school children is proving fruitless and the situation worsens when the prime suspect is shot dead, leaving little evidence and a dead end. In order to resolve the situation Police Chief Kang enlists the help of Captain Choi in a deal that...

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  • Theeeeey’re baaack!… Following last years hugely successful launch of the Korean Film Festival In Australia (KOFFIA), the organizers have recently announced the full details the second year of the event, and they’ve taken things up another notch – or three. Not only will the festival be back at Dendy Cinemas in Circular...

    KOFFIA 2011: Korean Film Festival In Australia

    Theeeeey’re baaack!… Following last years hugely successful launch of the Korean Film Festival In Australia (KOFFIA), the organizers have recently announced the full details the second year of the event, and they’ve taken things up another notch – or three. Not only will the festival be back at Dendy Cinemas in Circular...

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  • An elementary school in Seoul, the present. Six-year-old Jin spends her penultimate day at elementary school learning about time and playing with friends. Later that evening, she is chastised by her mother for failing to take Bin, her four–year-old sister, off the neighbours’ hands when she was supposed to. While...

    Review: Treeless Mountain (Kim So-yong, 2008)

    An elementary school in Seoul, the present. Six-year-old Jin spends her penultimate day at elementary school learning about time and playing with friends. Later that evening, she is chastised by her mother for failing to take Bin, her four–year-old sister, off the neighbours’ hands when she was supposed to. While...

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  • [New York Asian Film Festival 2011 Review] A mystical and magical concoction, much like the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) dish that it revolves around, Lee Seo-goon’s second feature The Recipe hinges on a brilliant bit of narrative misdirection. Choi Yu-jin (Ryoo Seung-ryong), the producer/host of a sensationalistic TV expose...

    Review: The Recipe (Lee Seo-goon, 2010)

    [New York Asian Film Festival 2011 Review] A mystical and magical concoction, much like the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) dish that it revolves around, Lee Seo-goon’s second feature The Recipe hinges on a brilliant bit of narrative misdirection. Choi Yu-jin (Ryoo Seung-ryong), the producer/host of a sensationalistic TV expose...

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  • The night before he is released from prison Gwang-pil tells a fellow inmate the story behind his ten year incarceration. As a young boy Gwang-pil ran the streets with his friends Dal-soo and Sang-moon, picking pockets and stealing to make their money. During a failed attempt to rob a warehouse...

    Review: Forever With You (Yoo Hyeon-mok, 1958)

    The night before he is released from prison Gwang-pil tells a fellow inmate the story behind his ten year incarceration. As a young boy Gwang-pil ran the streets with his friends Dal-soo and Sang-moon, picking pockets and stealing to make their money. During a failed attempt to rob a warehouse...

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  • AKA Jeon Woo Chi: The Taoist Wizard The world comes close to being thrown into complete chaos when the ‘Pipe of the Prophecy’ is lost by a group of Taoist monks who manage to accidentally free a group of demons who can only be restrained by the instrument. Trickster, schemer...

    Review: Woochi – The Demon Slayer (Choi Dong-hun, 2009)

    AKA Jeon Woo Chi: The Taoist Wizard The world comes close to being thrown into complete chaos when the ‘Pipe of the Prophecy’ is lost by a group of Taoist monks who manage to accidentally free a group of demons who can only be restrained by the instrument. Trickster, schemer...

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  • In the eight years since its original release Kim Jee-woon’s A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) has established its status as a classic of Korean cinema. It’s been remade by Hollywood as The Uninivited (Charles Guard, Thomas Guard, USA: 2009) and its director has consistently delivered crowd-pleasing projects within various...

    Blu-ray Review: A Tale of Two Sisters (Kim Jee-woon, 2003)

    In the eight years since its original release Kim Jee-woon’s A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) has established its status as a classic of Korean cinema. It’s been remade by Hollywood as The Uninivited (Charles Guard, Thomas Guard, USA: 2009) and its director has consistently delivered crowd-pleasing projects within various...

    Continue Reading...