Concept artwork for “The Host 2″

The Host [괴물] is one of Korea’s top box office hits of all time, and now a sequel AND a video game have been announced, to be produced simultaneously. Given the success of the predecessor, it appears producers are going all-out — their plan is to release The Host 2 in 2011 as a blockbuster film as well as on online, console, and mobile gaming platforms. Producing the movie version is film company Chungeorahm, while Queen’s Soft takes on the game.

Queen’s Soft is commencing development to correspond with the film’s release; the game features mutant humans with special skills as a first-person shooter. It is a 10 milllon dollar “global project” which has already raised 2 million dollars in investments from Singapore’s Media Development Authority. This past July, MDA also revealed it would invest in the film sequel through Boku Films, the nation’s largest film company.

The CEO of Chungeorahm Films, Choi Yong-bae, said, “There are instances where the game is made after the film has been completed, but this is the first time in Korea that both are being made at the same time.” The film’s script is in the finishing stages, and soon the director and casting will take place in order to begin production early next year.

I dunno… I know that The Host was a big hit, but you’ve got to attribute much of that to its director Bong Joon-ho (who went on to direct Mother), as well as actors like Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doo-na… Without them, I’m not sure how much you can count on a follow-up to recapture that success. We shall see.

Via CBS.co.kr

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Shin Sae-kyung, Seo Shin-ae, Daniel Choi

I wasn’t excited to hear about the upcoming Season 2 of family sitcom Unstoppable High Kick, which would cast an entirely new crop of actors (the only exception being veteran Lee Soon-jae, the grandpa of the original series, who will be in the second season as well).

But I may have to rethink it now that the rest of its cast has been announced, and among them are Thank You’s precocious and adorable Seo Shin-ae, The World They Live In’s endearing screw-up Daniel Choi, and up-and-comer Shin Sae-kyung (most recently of Queen Seon-deok and Ogamdo).

The story has 19-year-old Shin Sae-kyung and 10-year-old Seo Shin-ae playing sisters who, on account of their debt-ridden father, come to Seoul on the run. The two sisters enter Lee Soon-jae’s household as maids, while Daniel Choi plays Lee Soon-jae’s son.

[Read more →]

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The young cast of “Unstoppable High Kick” Season 1

Hmm….. When it was announced that the popular family sitcom Unstoppable High Kick was thinking of another season, I was skeptical that it would actually happen, if only because a great part of its charm was its hot young cast of new faces, and they’ve all gone on to bigger things. They include: Jung Il-woo (Return of Iljimae), Kim Bum (Boys Before Flowers), Kim Hye-sung (Boy Meets Boy), and Park Min-young (Ja Myung Go).

And yet, production is indeed under way for a second season, and will bring back gruff grandpa Lee Soon-jae — but switch the rest of the actors. Among them are Jung Bo-seok (La Dolce Vita, Dae Jo Young) in the dad’s role (acted in the original by comedian Jung Jun–ha) and Oh Hyun-kyung (First Wives Club) in the mom’s role (originally acted by musical actress Park Hae-mi). Grandma Na Mun-hee will not return, and the season will start fresh with new storylines. The series is currently auditioning for its new set of fresh faces.

Season 2 is not yet on MBC’s official fall schedule, but it looks like a promising follow-up to the currently airing sitcom Tae-hee, Hye-gyo, Ji-hyun.

I don’t know about this. I have a lot of affection for Unstoppable High Kick, but without any of my favorite characters returning, it seems like just a weak excuse to slap a successful name onto a new sitcom, doesn’t it?

Jung Bo-seok, Oh Hyun-kyung

Via JK News, OSEN

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It was announced a while back that the 2007 hit film Le Grand Chef (which spawned the successful drama series Gourmet) would be coming out with a sequel, which has been cast with a new set of actors.

The original film starred Kim Kang-woo, Im Won-hee, and Lee Hana; the sequel, Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi War, stars Kim Jung-eun (Forever the Moment, General Hospital 3) and Jin Gu (Mother). It wouldn’t be Le Grand Chef without main character Sung-chan, who has been portrayed by two different actors already, Kim Kang-woo in the film and Kim Rae-won in the drama. Jin Gu will give the character his own spin as the third Sung-chan.

Interestingly (to me, at least), despite being one of the main leads, Kim Jung-eun hasn’t been cast as Sung-chan’s love interest but rather his older half-sister. The two were entrusted with differing kimchi-preparing techniques by their separate mothers, and as you may know, kimchi-making can be a fiercely competitive thing (the older the ajumma/grandma, the fiercer the pride, it seems). Sounds like a simple plot, but both the drama and film were able to find success for its lovely execution, so perhaps Le Grand Chef 2 will prove to be enjoyable, if not strictly necessary.

To prepare, Kim has been busy with cooking lessons; she explains that she enjoys cooking as a hobby, and is fairly comfortable with her way around a kitchen. The film begins shooting in mid-July, and is aiming for release later this year.

Via Sports Khan

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I’d heard some rumblings for a while about a sequel to uber-Hallyu smash hit Dae Jang Geum being in the works, but I kind of figured it was one of those constant rumors. However, the production announced on June 3 that the drama project is not canceled, and despite initial plans to produce a Dae Jang Geum 2 this year, they have merely pushed it back to sometime next year instead.

On the other hand, it was also recently announced that Lee Young-ae will NOT be reprising her lead role, so I’m not sure how much of a sequel it’ll be when its title character is absent.

Attached to the project is the original series’ director, PD Lee Byung-hoon, while the scripts will be written by Yi San writer Kim Yi-young.

Via Asia Economy

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