Mark James Russell

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Chosen by the Chosun

April 3, 2009 / / 1 Comment

Good news for POP GOES KOREA — I just received my first serious mention in the Korean press. A nice little article about the book (and me) in the Chosun Ilbo. The article concentrates on my feelings about Korea’s music scene, which is a nice angle, I guess. If I have a moment, I might translate a bit of it later.

Sadly, no links in the story to this blog or the Korea Gig Guide. But they mentioned POP GOES KOREA and my publisher, so that is quite decent.

(Warning: The article is accompanied by a photo. And while not quite NSFW, I would not recommend looking directly at it.)

UPDATE: Hey, the Chosun just posted the English translation of the story, saving me some work. Not terribly accurate (in regards to what I told the reporter, or even the Korean-language original), but nice to see something in English so I am not complaining.

Best of all, I am told that my book was spotted recently at Kyobo Books, both in the Gwanghwamun and Gangnam branches. There are not many in stock at the moment, but a new shipment is supposed to be arriving in a month.

Korea Weekend Box Office – March 27-29

March 31, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Sorry, no time for comments this week. But here is the latest box office report, courtesy of KOFIC. Congratulations to SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE for coming in No. 1… despite the pirated DVD being available everywhere in Korea for months. Not a bad achievement.

* * *

One random note, unrelated to anything: South Korea apparently got a “shout out” in gossip-monger Liz Smith’s most recent column. Kind of funny, though:

And if you’re determined to live beyond your means but afraid of being judged, move to South Korea. They love to spend unashamedly there. Time quotes a Seoul graduate student: “Many Korean girls like to have luxury brands. Even if they live in a box, they spend.”

Korea Weekend Box Office – March 20-22

March 24, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Okay, I’m rather late to the game, but I must say that SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is really great. I saw it last weekend and thought it would be okay; but it wasn’t okay, it was great. High recommend.

In Korea, though, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE opened only in the No. 2 spot, with 234,000 admissions and 1.59 billion won ($1.14 million) over the weekend.

In first place was some Hollywood film called PUSH. PUSH had 280,000 admissions and 1.88 billion won ($1.34 million), enough for first place.

Top Korean film was the No. 3 movie MISSING (Siljong), which had 213,000 admissions and 1.49 billion won ($1.06 million). In fourth was A SAD STORY THAN SADNESS (Seulpeum-boda Seulpeun Iyagi, and a bunch of alternative English titles) with 129,000 admissions and 865 million won ($618,000) to bring its total box office to 3.62 billion won.

OLD PARTNER (Wonang Sori) was in sixth, earning another 425 million won to bring its total to 18.3 billion won ($13 million). And that was it for Korean movies, just three in the top-10 again this week.

Actually, no one film particularly dominated last weekend, with the biggest film (SADNESS) on only 355 screens and the smallest (Gran Torino) on 138. Not a big range compared to usual.

K-Music Komes to iTunes

March 23, 2009 / / 2 Comments

At long last, K-pop comes to iTunes. Fifty acts make their debut on Apple’s music service, thanks to DFSB Kollective, starting today.

Actually, most of the acts here are not really K-pop; most of them are more interesting, rock and electronic stuff. Vidulgi OoyoO is there, along with Huckleberry Finn, Sung Kiwan and Cocore, Chang Kiha and the Faces, No Brain, and more. Not a bad selection at all.

On the more pop side, you do have Tasha (aka “T”, aka Yoon Mirae) (who is great, btw), Drunken Tiger, Epik High and bands like that. Oh, and g.o.d and Moon Hee Jun, who are definitely big pop names, although more of yesterday.

For a complete list, you can check out this site. More importantly, buy buy buy, buy their music.

Thirsting for Park Chan-wook

March 23, 2009 / / 2 Comments

Looks like the marketing campaign for Park Chan-wook’s THIRST (aka, Bakjui) is getting started at last. Here are a couple of posters from the film (via the Chosun Ilbo):


And here is the movie trailer:

No signs of a subtitles trailer yet. Will post one if I find it.

Marmot Shrugged — aka Architecture in Korea

March 23, 2009 / / 4 Comments

In keeping with the architectural theme today over at the Marmot’s Hole, I thought I would link to the March issue of Wallpaper magazine, which featured a look at 19 major buildings in and around Seoul, either in the works or recently completed.


Another link is here (almost the same, but also includes a link to a gallery about the Seoul Design Olympiad of last fall). And here is one more story from that issue, but that I could not find on the actual Wallpaper website.


Don’t forget, Seoul is on deck to become the World Design Capital in 2010, taking over from Turin, Italy.

Gladness for Sadness — English subtitles around Korea

March 21, 2009 / / 1 Comment

Lotte Entertainment is presenting its latest melodrama, A SAD STORY THAN SADNESS (Seulpeum-boda Seulpeun Iyagi) in several locations with English subtitles, at least for the next little while.

Locations include the Lotte Cinemas in Myeongdong (the Emmanuel Cinema in the Lotte Department Store), Goyang, Ansan, Miryang and Busan.


I wish I could provide times and advance ticketing information, but the Lotte website is horrible to navigate. But if you live in one of the above locations, you probably know your theaters already.

(Since it is so nice to get new Korean films with subtitles, I will refrain from taking shots at the grammar in that bizarre title.)

A Little Rain Must Fall

March 20, 2009 / / 4 Comments

Pop singer Rain and JYP Entertainment have apparently lost their US court case and have been ordered to pay over $8 million in damages for canceling Rain’s 2007 concert in Hawaii. Ouch!


You can read all about it in The Hollywood Reporter (and many other newswire sources).

Rain and JYP Entertainment must each pay $2.4 million, with an additional $2.3 million for breach of contract and $1 million for damages related to the cancellation.

Because Rain canceled other tour dates that year, this could see a bunch of additional lawsuits. The most pressing one, $30 million for the LA concert cancellation, seems quite different than the Hawaii case and I think Rain should be in better shape.

But even if he wins in LA, that loss in Hawaii has got to hurt.

Korea Weekend Box Office – March 13-15

March 17, 2009 / / 0 Comments

It was neck-and-neck last weekend between the action film DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION and the South Korean melodrama A SAD STORY THAN SADNESS (Seulpeum-boda Deo Seulpeun Iyagi), but in the end, SADNESS won out. Just barely, with 256,649 admissions versus 252,625.

Revenues were a little wider apart, thanks to DRAGONBALL appealing to the kiddies. SADNESS made 1.74 billion won ($1.23 million) over the weekend, and a total of 2.1 billion won ($1.48 million) since Thursday evening. DRAGONBALL made 1.60 billion won ($1.13 million) and 1.76 billion won ($1.24 million) total.

Coming in third was everybody’s favorite cow, OLD PARTNER (Wonang Sori). It made another 1.03 billion won to bring its two-month total to 17.52 billion won ($12.34 million).

WATCHMEN dropped all the way to fifth, earning just 921.9 million won to bring its total box office to 3.64 billion won ($2.56 million).

The only other Korean film in the top 10 last weekend was THE SCAM (Jakjeon), which landed in eighth. It has now made 9.63 billion won ($6.78 million).

Six of the top 10 films last weekend were new releases. Korean films have accounted for 46.8 percent of the box office so far in 2009.

(Courtesy of KOBIS and the Korean Film Council. Figures represent 98% of the nationwide box office).

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