North Korea: Last News

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Busan International Film Festival will further honor its co-founder and former programmer Kim Jiseok, who died suddenly in 2017, by expanding the existing prize in his name into a fully-fledged competitive section. Previously, the Kim Jiseok Award was given to one of ten films selected from the ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ sidebar which introduces new films from significant Asian directors, defined as those who have each made more than three films.  “Starting this year, the Kim Jiseok Award nominees have been sorted into a section of their own, namely the ‘Jiseok’ section. Also, Korean films will be included in the ‘Jiseok’ section,” Busan organizers said. “This program section aims to both reinforce the spirit and determination of [Kim], who devoted himself to the growth and support of Asian films, and direct attention to the nominated works.”

Echoes, a mystery limited series from up-and-coming Australian TV creator Vanessa Gazy has surged in viewing in its first full week of release. Launching with little fanfare, the series, starring Michelle Monaghan and executive produced by 13 Reasons Why‘s Brian Yorkey, logged 68.5M hours viewed during the week of Aug. 22 jumping from #5 last week to #2 in Netflix’s weekly Top 10 for English-language series. It pushed The Sandman (53.8M) to #2 in its fourth week after a three-week reign at #1.

William Reynolds, who portrayed Special Agent Tom Colby for six seasons on the television series The F.B.I., died August 24 from non-Covid pneumonia complications, his son Eric Regnolds confirms. He was 90.

Korean actor Song Kang-ho, who starred in Parasite and won best actor at this year’s Cannes film festival for his role in Broker, is set to make his debut in a Korean series with Uncle Sam Shik for Seoul-based production company Slingshot Studio.

Parasite star and this year’s Cannes Best Actor winner Song Kang-ho has been confirmed for his first-ever Korean drama role of his 32-year career.On August 30, production company Slingshot Studio announced that Song has accepted a role in its upcoming K-drama series titled Uncle Sam Shik.The upcoming role will mark the critically acclaimed actor’s first-ever K-drama role of his acting career, which first began in 1990. Song spent the first six years of his career starring in theatre productions before making his film debut in 1996 with The Day a Pig Fell into the Well.According to Asia Gyeongje, the upcoming 10-episode series will follow the “bromance” between a pair of longtime friends, Sam Shik and Kim San, who survived South Korea’s turbulent 1960s period together.Uncle Sam Shik will be directed by Shin Yeon-shik, whom Song recently worked with on upcoming films One Win and Cobweb, which are currently in post-production.Best known for his roles in the films Thirst, Memories of Murder, Snowpiercer and Parasite, the 55-year-old became the first South Korean male actor to win the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his recent drama film, Broker.The film, directed by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and also starring K-pop idol IU, received a 12-minute standing ovation after its premiere screening at the festival earlier this year.“Winning an award from such a prestigious festival as Cannes is a great and happy moment, an unforgettable turning point of my life,” said Song during a recent interview.However, the actor added: “I have won the award, but that itself cannot become the purpose.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Song Kang-ho, known for his roles in “Memories of Murder” and “Parasite,” has signed up to make his TV series debut. He will star in indie-produced drama “Uncle Sam Shik.” “Uncle Sam Shik” is a 1960s-set tale of two men, their pride, greed and bromance, local Korean media reports. Song’s co-lead actor has not been disclosed. The series is to be directed by Shin Yeon-shick, with whom Song has recently shot feature films “Coweb” and “One Win.” Both films have completed physical production but have not yet been released. The series is reported to be a ten-episode drama, produced by Slingshot Studio. A broadcast or streaming partner has not yet been announced.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief More than 600 buyers from companies in 30 countries are expected to be in Seoul, South Korea from Wednesday for the in-person return of the Broadcast WorldWide convention, better known as BCWW. Although BCWW bills itself as Asia’s largest broadcasting content market, given the strength of the Korean wave, much of the focus will be on Korean content and the business of working with Korean companies. Registered buyers and potential partners include Amazon Prime, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, PCCW the Hong Kong-based owner of Viu, and China’s iQiyi, all of which have already become purveyors of K-programming. “For the past 22 years, BCWW has served as a foundation for K-content to garner the global attention it is getting today,” said Cho Hyun-rae, president of the government-backed Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA). He added that he expects KOCCA and BCWW to “provide continuous support for K-content.”

HYBE subsidiary ADOR has released a lengthy statement addressing the controversy surrounding the lyrics of ‘Cookie’, a single by the label’s artist and rookie girl group NewJeans.On August 27, the label uploaded a statement to its official website in Korean and English addressing concerns surrounding the lyrical content of ‘Cookie’, which is part of the group’s debut EP ‘New Jeans’.After its release on August 1, the song came under fire by listeners criticising the lyrics as “sexual” and inappropriate due to the ages of NewJeans’ members, which range from 14 to 18 (15 to 19 years in Korean age). Some lines listeners singled out from the lyrics include “Looking at my cookie / Do you ever smell it different? (Taste it) / What’s with a bite, isn’t enough?”.

BLACKPINK took the stage for their first MTV Video Music Awards performance on Sunday, and they shut it down. Rosé, Lisa, Jennie and Jisoo — dressed in matching black and pink crop tops and shorts with chunky boots — belted out their first comeback single in nearly two years, “Pink Venom,” to a crowd of screaming fans.

BLACKPINK took the stage for their first MTV Video Music Awards performance on Sunday, and they shut it down. Rosé, Lisa, Jennie and Jisoo — dressed in matching black and pink crop tops and shorts with chunky boots — belted out their first comeback single in nearly two years, «Pink Venom,» to a crowd of screaming fans. Making their long-awaited return to the stage, the foursome — who won their first Moonman earlier in the evening for Best Metaverse Performance — made their VMAs debut count as they showcased their vocals, rap talent and dance on the MTV stage.Stars in the audience could not get enough of BLACKPINK's performance, with VMA winner Taylor Swift and Dylan O'Brien hyping up the K-pop stars by singing along and grooving to «Pink Venom.»One thing blackpink's gonna do is tear up a performance and make sure the crowd is hyped!pic.twitter.com/QvdBvXKu5xEarlier in the evening, the Korean girl group, who is also up for Group of the Year, hit the red carpet at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards -- making their U.S. awards show debut -- for the very first time, and they did not disappoint.BLACKPINK rocked head-turning black outfits as they strut their stuff on the VMAs carpet at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey ahead of Sunday's show.BLACKPINK wasn't the only act to make their VMAs debut Sunday night.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Intra-Korean espionage actioner “Hunt” claimed a third weekend as the top film at the South Korea box office, while “Bullet Train” managed only a fourth-place opening. “Hunt,” directed by and starring “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, earned a lowly $2.91 million in its third weekend of release. The figure was a 48% weekend-on-weekend decline and saw the film’s market share decline to 33%, down from 47% the previous weekend. “Hunt” now has a cumulative of $28.7 million, making it the fifth-highest grossing film of the year to date and the third biggest Korean title.

BLACKPINK has officially made their VMAs debut! The Korean girl group hit the red carpet for their first U.S. awards show at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards Sunday night, and they did not disappoint.BLACKPINK stunned in four different all-black looks as they strutted their stuff on MTV's black carpet at New Jersey's Prudential Center.

From Netflix, the streamer behind Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias, comes Partner Track, a new contemporary comedic drama series that combines the romance of Virgin River, the friendship of Sweet Magnolias with the corporate intrigue of HBO’s Succession.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lee Jung-jae, the star of hit Netflix series “Squid Game,” is to reprise his role as a manic killer in “Ray,” a TV series spun off from 2020 Korean action-horror film “Deliver Us From Evil.” Korean media sources report that Lee will star in and co-produce the series through his own Artist Studio company and Hive Media, producer of “Deliver Us From Evil.” Variety has reached out for further details. In the original movie, Hwang Jung-min played In-Nam, a former black ops agent who travels to Thailand to investigate an abduction. There he is pursued by Lee’s character Ray, a Korean-Japanese ruffian whose brother had been killed by In-Nam. Both heavily tattooed and charming, Ray embarks on a bloody rampage of revenge.

After a hiatus, we’re back with a new episode of Deadline Hallyuwood. Joining us is actor Jang Hyuk, star of the movie The Killer: A Girl Who Deserves to Die. 

JYP Entertainment has announced it has taken legal action against “malicious”, defamatory posts made about 2PM singer and actor Lee Junho.On August 24, the South Korean label issued a statement via Korean news outlet OSEN, responding to widespread “defamation of character” against Junho and announcing its strict measures against its perpetrators, including “strong legal action”, per translations by Soompi. JYP Entertainment did not detail the posts and statements that are the subject of the criminal complaint it says it has filed.“We previously announced in the past that the spreading of false rumours and malicious posts about our artist would be subject to strong legal action,” the statement read.

Narco-Saints. Created by The Spy Gone North filmmaker Yoon Jong-bin, Narco-Saints stars Ha Jung-woo (Ashfall, Entourage) as protagonist Kang In-su, an modest entrepreneur who lands in Suriname for business and ends up getting framed by a Korean drug lord operating in the country and sent to prison.As he’s beginning to serve his sentence, In-su is roped into a secret mission by Choi Chang-ho (Squid Game’s Park Hae-soo), an agent of the Korean National Intelligence Service. Their goal is to eventually snare Jeon Yo-han (Hush’s Hwang Jung-min), the head of a notorious drug cartel and the one responsible for In-su’s imprisonment who is moonlighting as a pastor as a cover for his operations.The trailer begins with the conversation between Chang-ho and In-su as they discuss the details of the secret mission and what the latter needs to do for the NIS.

Arden Cho rocks a bold blue suit for the premiere of her new Netflix series, Partner Track, in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (August 23).

Selome Hailu SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you haven’t watched Season 1 of “Mo” on Netflix. As I finish interviewing comedian Mo Amer and ask him if there’s anything else he’d like to talk about, he says, “I don’t have a lean addiction, nor have I ever been addicted to lean. I keep saying that every chance I can, because it gets weird out here.” It’s an important distinction to make, as the mixture of prescription cough syrup, soda and candy has killed many, especially in Houston, where Amer grew up. He is the co-creator, executive producer and star of “Mo,” a comedy-drama series that heavily draws from his true experiences as a refugee — his parents were displaced from Palestine to Kuwait where Amer was born, before the whole family fled to Texas during the Gulf War. Several of the show’s most painful moments — like when, 20 years after his father’s death from a heart attack, is looking over paperwork with his immigration lawyer (Lee Eddy) and finds out for the first time that his father was captured and tortured during the war — are lifted directly from Amer’s life. But when Mo begins sipping lean to cope with an injury he sustains in Episode 1 — Amer says that’s all for the plot.

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movie, but she had a message for fans who are sad about her character's absence. The upcoming Paramount+ movie reunites the majority of the original series cast, minus key alumni such as Cho and Dylan O'Brien. Cho, who headlines Netflix's new workplace series , confirmed in an interview earlier this summer that her decision not to appear in the movie was due to significant pay disparity with a few of her co-stars.Nonetheless, Cho expressed her gratitude to the fans for their support and love for her character, Kira.