A scene from director Bong Joon-ho's film "Parasite," which became one of the buzziest films of the year, setting award-winning records and nominations in international awards. Courtesy of CJ ENM |
By Lee Gyu-lee
This year has been full of notable remarks on the Korean film industry, both positive and negative. Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, Korean cinema has witnessed a big leap forward to the global market as evidenced through the meteoric rise of the film "Parasite" and actor Ma Dong-seok.
Always in competition with Hollywood films, the new wave of independent films, with notable representation of feminist-oriented films, brought diversity to the highly competitive local box office, whereas a handful of the big-budget films failed to bring in the expected turnout.
Here are this year's Top 10 movie news stories that made headlines.
1. Bong Joon-ho "Parasite" craze
There is no doubt that Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" was the talk of the town this year, not only in Korea but also worldwide.
Since winning the title of the first Korean Palme d'Or at Cannes in May, the black comedy has continued to perform outstandingly. The film is shortlisted for best international feature film at the forthcoming Oscars 2020 and for three nominations in the Golden Globes, with high hopes to become the first Korean film to win at those awards.
The downright realistic yet cleverly knitted story of two economically polarized families was highly acclaimed by film critics and moviegoers around the world, grossing over $122 million in the worldwide box office. The film also became the highest-grossing international film of the year in the U.S. grossing $21.2 million.
2. Nation in shock for two Songs
Actress Song Hye-kyo, left, and actor Song Joong-ki settled their divorce, July 22, ending their 20-month marriage. Yonhap |
When the couple from 2016 hit drama "Descendants of the Sun" announced their marriage in 2017, the news excited fans around the world as their TV romance became reality. Nicknamed "Song-Song," actors Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo shocked fans once again with their divorce news this June ending their 20-month marriage.
Actor Song Joong-ki made a statement through his attorney saying he has filed for divorce from Hye-kyo on June 26. Hye-kyo's agency UAA released a statement soon after confirming the divorce. "The reason for the divorce is a difference in personalities. The decision came because the pair could not overcome the difference," the statement wrote.
The two went their separate ways after they settled the divorce on July 22. Joong-ki recently wrapped up shooting the forthcoming sci-fi film "The Victory," and Hye-kyo has been traveling overseas for brand promotion events as a model.
3. Centennial of Korean cinema
The year 2019 has another special meaning to Korean cinema, as the centennial of its birth.
A century has passed since Korea's first film "The Righteous Revenge," directed by Kim Do-san, was screened at Dansungsa Theater in central Seoul, on Oct. 27, 1919. To celebrate this memorable milestone, the Korean Film Council formed a special committee to organize various events throughout the year, including academic seminars, special screenings and a 100 short film project by 100 Korean directors. The finale of events was the two-day cultural festival held in Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, Oct. 27, which hosted an exhibition and film soundtrack musical performance.
Aside from the committee, various local film festivals held special screenings to highlight the history of local cinema and the state-run Korean Film Archive organized exhibitions to walk through the past years in different themes.
4. Ma Dong-seok's Hollywood breakthrough
Actor Ma Dong-seok, left, and Angelina Jolie, who are starring in Marvel Studio's upcoming film "The Eternals," speak at the San Diego Comic-Con International 2019. AP-Yonhap |
Once sought as a rising star, actor Son Seung-won, 29, received final sentencing of 18 months in prison, this August, for driving under the influence, his second offense within four months, in December 2018. The actor was caught in a hit-and-run drunk driving incident while his license was revoked for his earlier offense. He appealed after receiving a year-and-a-half prison sentence from the first trial but failed to overturn the lower court's ruling.
This year highlighted the 15-year acting career of actor Ma Dong-seok, also known as Don Lee, as he became the first Korean actor cast to play a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
His casting in Marvel's "The Eternals" was confirmed in July, when he was announced to be playing Gilgamesh, along with main cast members including Angelina Jolie and Richard Madden. The actor has traveled to England and is in Spain, currently, to shoot the film which will premiere in November 2020.
Ma's Hollywood debut will be followed by a Hollywood remake of his recent crime thriller film "The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil" in which he will reprise his gangster role from the original one. In May, the film's production BA Entertainment announced that they have signed a contract with Sylvester Stallone's Balboa Productions for an English adaptation. The remake's production schedule has not been disclosed.
5. TroublemakersEvery year, a handful of celebrities make the list of troublemakers. And this year was no different. Actor Kang Ji-hwan was taken into custody after raping and molesting two staff members after drinking with them at his home in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, July 9. The actor, 42, admitted to the allegations and was sentenced to two and a half years in jail suspended for three years on Dec. 5. However, the prosecutors' office filed an appeal a week later asking for a harsher punishment.
Director Kim Bo-ra./ Courtesy of ATNINE Film |
6. Female director's successful feature debut A wave of well-made independent films hit the theaters this year, and amidst them was director Kim Bo-ra's directorial debut film "House of Hummingbird." The coming-of-age film received over 40 awards from international and local film festivals, including Berlin International Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival. The film was highly recognized by critics and audiences for its meticulous, realistic depictions of male-dominated and competitive society from the perspective of a teenage girl in 1990s Korea. The film has sold over 140,000 tickets which is a great success for an independent film. The success of this film became more meaningful as woman-centered films have been gaining upper hand this year with an increasing emphasis on women's roles in film production. 7. Downfall of big-budget filmsWith the rise of independent films came the fall of big-budget and major-studio films. A number of large budget films showed disappointing turnout in the box office, proving that star-studded blockbusters do not always bring success. The biographical film "Race to Freedom: Um Bok Dong" spent about 15 billion won ($12.9 million) on the production and starred Hollywood-credentialed actor Jung Ji-hoon as the main lead. However, the film saw a devastating record of about 170,000 ticket sales. Other films with budgets of over 10 billion won ($8.6 million) failed to meet the break-even point, including the crime drama sequel "Tazza: One-Eyed Jack," mystery film "The Divine Fury" starring veteran actor Ahn Sung-ki and war blockbuster "The Battle of Jangsari," starring Hollywood's Megan Fox. "As many Korean films became conventional, a lot of movies continued to come out with similar settings, storylines and genres….. So audiences were attracted to films that told different and more refreshing stories," Kim Seong-hee, a film critic, put forward as the reason for big-budget film failures in the box office this year. 8. Disney sensation all year long
A scene from Disney's film "Frozen 2." The film topped the local box office for four consecutive weeks following its Nov. 21 premiere. Courtesy of Walt Disney Korea |
The live-action remake of "The Lion King" saw 4.7 million ticket sales, and Pixar's "Toy Story 4" scored 3.9 million ticket sales. Worldwide, Disney reached record revenues this year at the box office, grossing around $11.4 billion.
This year has been the year of prosperity for Walt Disney, making record-breaking success with its films in Korea. With "Frozen 2" topping the box office for four weeks since its Nov. 21 premiere, the Disney sensation has been sweeping the box office from the beginning to the end of the year.
Three of Disney's films ― "Avengers: Endgame," "Frozen 2" and "Aladdin" ― made the list of the five films that recorded over 10 million tickets sales in 2019. The latest Avengers movie that hit theaters in April became the highest ticket-selling foreign film of all time in Korea.
Cinematographer Jung Il-sung./ Courtesy of Busan International Film Festival |
9. Respect paid to renowned cinematographer The first retrospective section dedicated to a Korean cinematographer was held during the 24th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in October. The festival honored the legendary cinematographer Jung Il-sung as the curator of this year's Korean Cinema Retrospective to look back on over 60 years of his work. Jung, 90, has been highly respected for his distinctive flair for filmmaking employing unique angles and colorful aesthetics, which was especially highlighted in "Woman of Fire" (1971) directed by Kim Ki-young. During his career, he has worked with 38 directors on 138 movies, including Cannes-winning director Im Kwon-taek. One of his works with director Im, "Mandara" (1981), became the first Korean film to be screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1982 in the Panorama Section. This year, seven of his films were selected to screen throughout the 10-day festival. 10. Times tough for the historical filmThe expectations were high for the historical tent-pole "The King's Letters" set to hit theaters as Song Kang-ho's first work since "Parasite." However, the expectation soon becomes a series of bad news with the lead actress Jeon Mi-seon's death and the public accusation that the film distorted history. This came about a month before the film's premiere, with the actress found dead in a hotel room on June 29. Her agency revealed in a statement that she had been receiving treatment for depression. Despite the tragedy, the film faced criticism from moviegoers when it premiered on July 24. People accused the film of downplaying King Sejong's his role in instituting Hangeul (Korean script) ― and questioned the emphasis on Buddhist monk Shinmi as a key figure behind its creation. Although director Jo Chul-hyun released a statement denying the accusation, the 13 billion won ($10 million) budget film only sold about 950,000 tickets.