Happy Chuseok, all — a holiday so big, even the news stops happening. No complaints from me, though, as I’ll enjoy a bit of free time. Anyhow, on with the morning links:

  • Han Jae-rim’s Face Reader is definitely the big film of Chuseok. After just one week, it has already pulled in 3.2 million admissions and made nearly 23 billion won ($21 million). Great cast, great-looking movie. (KOBIS)
  • Bored over Chuseok? Many of Korea’s best museums are open. Many of them for free. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • Seopyeonje was one of Im Kwon-taek’s most famous and successful movies, about a family of traveling pansori singers. Before it was a movie, it was also a book. And since then it has been made into a musical. Now, famed theater director Yun Ho-jin has turned Seopyeonje into a changgeuk, or a traditional-style opera. Even more strangely, he’s gotten rid of the idea that the father blinded the daughter to teach her han and make her a better pansori singer; now there’s incest. The mind boggles. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • A Q&A with leading liberal commentator (and art theory guy) Chin Jung-kwon (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • Does Chuseok feel less crazy than it used it? That’s because it is. Holiday travel down 19 percent over last 15 years. (Korea JoongAng Daily)

Regarding the de-crazification of Chuseok … You can totally feel the difference in Seoul. Chuseok used to turn the capital into a ghost town, but now it feels more like a quiet Sunday morning. It’s still a nice holiday, but not jaw-dropping. On the other hand, my newspaper isn’t publishing for  four days, so it’s obviously still a big deal (with the time off, I’m not complaining).

Oh, here are a couple more pics from Face Reader, which stars Song Kong-ho, Lee Jung-jae, Kim Hye-soo, Baek Yoon-shik: