Category: South Korea (Page 7 of 13)

Globalizating TV

March 22, 2012 / Mark / 1 Comment

There is an interesting and insightful article about Fox Networks’ new show TOUCH, which stars Kiefer Sutherland (and reportedly features a surprising lack of torture). TOUCH is going to roll out in 100 countries at pretty much the same time, the kind of international push that is common for blockbuster movies, but less common for television.

From the article:

To Tim Kring, the show’s creator, the shift is stark. In spring 2007, six months after his show “Heroes” started in the United States, he watched hundreds of “Heroes” fans line up for an event in Paris, even though the show had yet to be seen on television in France.

“Every single person there had seen every episode. They had all gotten it illegally off the Internet,” he said in an interview. It was then, he said, that he realized, “Audiences will find these shows no matter where they are.”

The article points out that the king of simultaneous roll-outs of WALKING DEAD, which airs in 120 countries around the same time.

Now, I have little doubt that TV execs are mostly doing this because they have to, trying to make a virtue out of a necessity. But that is how and why a lot of big changes happen. And frankly the change was way overdue. Shows like LOST and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, with their rabid fan bases, would not only get uploaded immediately to the Internet, they would also get translated within hours. It was pretty mind-blowing (and funny, as the instant translations often were error-filled, along with the occasional apology by the translator for not understanding sections).

One of the first big examples of this change in TV releasing that I can recall was THE TUDORS. It was quite popular in Korea at first, but the distributor was getting screwed by piracy. So for the show’s second season, Sony set up a secure server where the Korean translator could watch the show and do her work a couple of weeks ahead of time, ensuring the show was ready to go with Korean subtitles almost immediately.

It’s a big change from when I first arrived in Asia, when terrible, long-since-canceled US television series rules the airwaves. It was incredible how much MR. BELVEDERE and ALF you could find, even in the late 1990s.

Of course, the Internet and globalization have not only forced Hollywood to give more respect to local audience around the world; they are the same forces that are allowing local cultures to get out of their home countries and find audiences elsewhere. Korean TV and music being the examples I am most familiar with. Some people complain that the world’s cultures are being homogenized; sorry, but from where I sit, I see people getting access to more choices from more places, and that’s a good thing.

Mammoth Science

March 13, 2012 / Mark / 0 Comments

So, everybody’s favorite cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk is apparently going to help some Russian scientists clone a Woolly Mammoth. Sweet. That’s just brilliant on so many levels.

K-Pop Fun

March 5, 2012 / Mark / 0 Comments

I just had a new story about K-pop — “Bringing K-Pop to the West” — appear in the International Herald Tribune (first page of the business section) and New York Times (last page of the biz section, or so I’ve been told). It is kind of interesting to be running in the business section, instead of my usual Arts & Culture, and interesting to co-write a story with someone. I mean, having written for Billboard and other trade magazines for so long, I am quite familiar with culture business writing; but getting into the IHT‘s business pages felt a bit different. Anyhow, I’m happy with how the story turned out and the feedback it has been getting.

There have been a lot of stories appearing in the Western media asking “What is K-pop?”, but for this story I more wanted to ask “Why now?” Artists from all over the world are constantly trying to break into the American and Western market, and usually they don’t have much to show for it. Even Korean pop labels have tried several times.

I also talk a bit more about my thoughts and music in general over at Korean Indie, if you are interested. But there is so much more to address, especially about how the world’s music and culture markets are changing these days. Hopefully I should have some more stories coming soon talking about globalization and other big trends.

Catching Up With American Forces Radio & Television in Korea

February 14, 2012 / Mark / 1 Comment

I really like Thomas Whetson’s great website AFRTS Archive, all about the history of the American Forces Radio & Television Service all over the world. However, life gets busy, one gets distracted, and somehow a long time passed without my checking in on his website. Apparently a lot of Korea-related stuff has been posted in the interim.

Here is a post about the first American radio broadcasts in Korea, before AFRTS started. Back then it was called the Far East Network, and started with WVTP in Seoul in 1945 (broadcasting out of the old Bando Hotel), before adding Jeonju and Busan at least by 1947; Jeonju and Busan would close in 1948, and Seoul in 1950. But I loved this scan from Whetson’s site, of the FEN Seoul inaugural broadcast:

Here are a couple more posts I liked:
– A Camp Casey broadcast in 1977 by Thom, just months after the infamous North Korean axe murder of two US Army officers in the JSA. US forces in the area were moving south to Uijeongbu, but they wanted the local radio station to broadcast as if nothing was out of the ordinary, so Whetson did a show for an empty camp.
– A practical joke at the AFKN that caused a nation-wide freakout that North Korea was doing something very bad.

Kimchi and Chorizo

February 1, 2012 / Mark / 0 Comments

Last week was the MadridFusion gastronomic conference in the Spanish capital. I’m sure it was a foodie heaven, and Spain is well known for its experimental and high-end dining these days.

But what I did not know until reading this article is that this year’s guest country was South Korea. It talks about chef Yim GiHo who has a highly regarded restaurant called Sandang — I have never been there, but it looks quite promising. The website is full of food porn, if you are into that sort of thing. I don’t consider myself a super-foodie, but I bet it would have been lots of fun to have attended MadridFusion. Besides, Europeans are pushovers for any type of Asian “fusion.”

Out of This World

February 1, 2012 / Mark / 0 Comments

Apropo of nothing, but I just cannot stop listening to the old song “Space Vacation” (우주 여행), by the Bunny Girls — identical twins Gho Jae-sook and Gho Jung-sook. They performed it on Shin Joong-hyun Sound Vol. 1 (1971), their first recording, a very good Shin record that was filled with a variety of new singers. On “Space Vacation,” the Ghos sing all these strange echo and flanging effects … and no one knows whether they did it for fun or because they did not know how to make the real effects in the studio. Either way, it’s just too much fun.

And if I’m going to get musical on today of all days, I guess I have to include Girls’ Generation’s appearance on David Letterman last night:

There was a “Woah” from Regis Philbin and a “Kamsahamnida” from Letterman himself. As for the quality of the Girls’ performance … well, it was standard lip-syncing K-pop. Well done, of course. My wife thought they looked nervous, causing their dance moves to be a little weak. I assumed they were just hungry.

Meanwhile, we have a rainy day today here in Spain; I’ll be on the lookout for falling frogs.

Oh, and The Atlantic had a piece on K-pop the other day, asking “Does Korean Pop Actually Have a Shot at Success in the US?“. It is not a bad article, as these things go — a tad long-winded, but I think he notes the important thing, that K-pop this time is aiming for the Tween market, where it has the best potential for success. But he really should have discussed the Kim Sisters, a Korean group that did very well in the United States for years, albeit more on the live circuit than in the charts. Here is an article titled “Kim Sisters Can — and Do — Just Anything” from Billboard in 1964.

Anyhow, no signs of Girls’ Generation on the iTunes charts (yet … although they are doing well on the Billboard Heatseeker chart). Not that it matters so much. I think SNSD is getting their name and sound out quite effectively, regardless of how they do on the charts.

More Korean Box Office 2011

January 31, 2012 / Mark / 0 Comments

It looks like the official box office results for 2011 are out, and they look pretty close to what I estimated at the beginning of January. Key numbers:

– 158 million admissions
– ￦1.23 trillion ($1.10 billion) in revenue
– South Korean films were 52% of tickets sold, 49.8% of revenue
– 166 local titles released, versus 320 foreign titles
– CJ E&M Corp (née CJ Entertainment) was the top distributor (no surprise), with 37.5% of the box office, six of the top 10 movies, and 44 titles released overall.
– Top movie was Transformers 3, with 7.9 million admissions, good for ￦74.8 billion ($66.7 million) — proving, once again, that Koreans love robots
– Top Korean movie was War of the Arrows (최종병기 활), with 7.5 million admissions, but just ￦55.8 billion ($49.8 million).

(Thanks, as always, to Film Biz Asia for their great work).

Holiday Movie Roundup

January 15, 2012 / Mark / 0 Comments

I went on a pretty good movie spree over the last few weeks, so I thought I would add my brief opinions on some of them. Spoilers here, so beware (more spoilers of tone than plot, though):

Tin Tin – B-

Mostly harmless. Spielberg not trying usually brings out his best.

Mission Impossible 4 – F

Terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible. Stupid, mindless, annoying, and decidedly second-rate action. Maybe objectively it was not the worst film of the season, but because I expect so much more from director Brad Bird, I give it an outright fail.

Sherlock Holmes 2 – D-

Basically Transformers, minus the robots — that is, senseless noise for two long, long hours. Not sure why I am not giving it an outright F … perhaps Robert Downey’s acting? Perhaps the occasional flash of creativity in a couple of action sequences? Maybe I have no taste? Anyhow, really, really bad.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – B

I really wanted to like this — John LeCarré’s spy novels are a great antidote to the mindless action of James Bond or 24. I quite liked the book, although not overly so (so I think I could watch the movie objectively). But in the end, I did not like it much. It ended up feeling way too disjointed and dull. George Smiley actually does talk and communicate, unlike in this movie, where he just stares into nothingness. Still, deserves a decent grade for not being a non-stop noise fest and having some thoughtfulness.

The Descendants – B+

After so many noisy action films, it was good to see a story with something approaching human characters and human emotions. But it was also pretty formulaic in its own way, especially the saccharine ending.

Drive – B

For the first hour of this movie, I thought it was a sure A. Then I thought it was probably an A-. But after the end, just a B. If a movie is called “Drive,” and the characters repeatedly talk about what a special driver the main character is, you kind of expect his driving skills will be a big part of the story, maybe even the finale. But a better title for this film would have been “Stab.” Anyhow, great soundtrack.

The Day He Arrives – B+

Yeah, it is not really a holiday film, but I just saw it so I’ll include it anyway. Hong Sang-soo really shines in black and white. As he said for Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (Hong’s first black and white movie, and still my favorite of his), black and white helps audiences concentrate on the story and not get side-tracked by less important details.* Regardless, it is certainly Hong’s best-looking film, with some gorgeous shots of Bukchon in the snow.

Being a Hong Sangsoo film, I guess a plot recap isn’t really necessary — people drink too much, hook up, have awkward conversations, patterns repeat, etc. If there is anything that makes The Day stand out, perhaps it is the surreality of the film, as characters swirl about without any sense of time really passing or events occurring. Is it one day we’re seeing, like Groundhog Day?

The snow adds to that surreality, as Hong’s filming style does not really allow for a lot of continuity — snow appears and disappears, seemingly at random. But that’s okay, because as in many HSS films, characters also appear and disappear at random. Actress Kim Bo-kyeong plays two different characters, also adding to the swirling sense of dislocation you get watching the movie.

Ultimately, though, Hong Sangsoo continues to disappear ever deeper into his own navel, and his films all suffer. The Day He Arrives may be one of his best variations — light, fun, and interesting — but it is still a variation on the same theme. After 12 movies, I would not mind if he tried some different themes.

*(Not that I didn’t get hopeless distracted by his locations anyway. I was so happy to see Hong return to that great Insa-dong fish restaurant, where so much of Virgin Stripped Bare takes place).

Korean Box Office 2011 — Still Setting Records

January 5, 2012 / Mark / 0 Comments

I thought I would add a quick note about the Korean box office for 2011. Numbers are still preliminary, but they certainly look very good. According to KOFIC:

– It was the biggest year every for overall box office in Korea, with 1.24 trillion won ($1.07 billion) in revenues and 160 million admissions.

– With 51.9% of the box office going to Korean movies, it was the best year for domestic cinema since 2006 — or 82.9 million admissions. And according to Kofic, 612 billion won would make it the best year ever for revenues (although I suspect the numbers for 2006 might have been incomplete).

– With 622 billion won for non-Korean movies, it was the second-best year for international cinema in Korea.

So big congratulations to everyone who helped make the year so good. And I hope 2012 will continue to be so strong.

Old Movie Billboards in Korea

December 8, 2011 / Mark / 0 Comments

Yonhap has a great feature about one of the artists who used to paint the movie billboards for cinemas around Seoul (using what I believe is the Britishism “hoarding” instead of billboard). Before multiplexes dominated, Korea had mostly small theaters, with one to three screens, and they advertised their movies with large, hand-painted posters out front. Especially for the major theaters, those billboards could be really big and impressive.

The artist in the Yonhap story, Park Chun-tae, started painting movie billboards in 1959, when he was just 15 years old (!), and produced thousands and thousands of signs until he retired in 2005. It’s an interesting bit of Korean movie history and a good article — although it is a bit of a shame the writer let it end in the typical old-guy-bitterly-complains-modernity-lacks-the-soul-of-the-old-days cliche.

I’m pretty sure there are not any theaters in Seoul that use painted billboards anymore (although the Dream Cinema was using them for its retro-revival film series a while ago). But I like how you can still come across the occasional old, faded movie billboard on the side streets of Korea, indicating where an old theater used to be. Sometimes they might even be the poster for an old “ero” theater, where they used to screen soft-core porn — it always amused me to discover ancient, sun-bleached smut lingering on, years after a seedy theater closed, haunting an alley like an erotic (if sad) ghost.

Anyhow, if you want to check out some old movie billboards, some paintings by Park and a couple of other artists are on display at the Chungmu Art Hall (near Dongdaemun) until the end of the month.