Tag: SERIES: SF IN SOUTH KOREA

Korean “Disaster” Films: 연가시 / Deranged

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This entry is part 56 of 72 in the series SF in South Korea

I guess I blinked a week or two ago, as I missed Cabin in the Woods’ very brief release in Korea. This suggests it was a probably a good film, since good films here are rarely shown more than a week. Resignedly, Miss Jiwaku and I schlepped it down to the local cinema to watch 연가시 (apparently known in English as Deranged, which is not the best title choice, but then, it’s not the best movie so I don’t think the foreign title’s a problem). Deranged is, just barely, Korean science fiction, so I figured I’d give it a review here. In …

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Upcoming Korean SF Film: AM 11:00

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This entry is part 55 of 72 in the series SF in South Korea

Well, there have been a few Korean SF film projects going on lately, and the most recent film in process now is a time-travel effort titled AM 11:00. I don’t know when it’s supposed to come out, though I feel like I saw an ad for it already — but that can’t be, as they only started shooting in May, right? Anyway, according to Hancinema, here’s the deal: “AM 11:00” is about a scientist who invented a time machine and went to the next day’s 11:00 AM, but witnesses a mass murder of his colleagues and comes back to the …

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Seoul SF&F Library — Relocated!

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This entry is part 54 of 72 in the series SF in South Korea

So, recently, the Seoul SF & Fantasy Library relocated to Mapo-gu. The new location is near Hong-Ik Dae University, and is a wonderful space: large, bright, and very versatile, as well as above-ground — it is on the third floor of the building in which it is located. I was meaning to take some photos of the wonderful place, but it slipped my mind before I left, so that will have to await an update for this post. I attended a reception there, where many of Seoul’s SF fans, authors, and other personalities were in attendance, and we celebrated the …

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미래경 (Futuroscope) #3 Has Arrived

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This entry is part 53 of 72 in the series SF in South Korea

It’s been one of those weeks, seriously it has — and today, during my office hours, I was flooded with visitors (which is to be expected, as it’s Teacher’s Day today). In any case, one of the visitors came by to drop off a package that had been accidentally delivered to the wrong office. In it was my contributor’s copy of the Korean “mook” (magazine-book) fanzine 미래경 (Futuroscope) #3 (Spring 2012), which contains my article “Outside Looking In” (translated to Korean by Insu Hong). (For those interested, I’ll see if I can post a copy of the piece in English sometime …

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New Korean SF Movie(s)! 인류멸망보고서 / Doomsday Book

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This entry is part 52 of 72 in the series SF in South Korea

I haven’t added anything to the SF in South Korea series, in part because I’ve been consumed with other things, but also because I haven’t heard much of the doings about town. However, last night Miss Jiwaku and I took in the newest Korean SF offering —  titled 인류멸망보고서 (and Doomsday Book in English) and despite our worst fears from the advertising and marketing, the film is actually pretty good! (Miss Jiwaku even went so far as to say she felt it suggested a “way forward” for SF cinema in Korea. More about that later.) The reason we were worried was …

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Cantico del Seoul

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This entry is part 51 of 72 in the series SF in South Korea

by Gord Sellar The thought of what Korea would be like If space opera had a wide circulation Troubles my sleep, The thought of what Korea, The thought of what Korea, The thought of what Korea would be like If space opera had a wide circulation Troubles my sleep. 빨리 나가라! Now lettest thou thy professor, Now lettest thou thy professor Drink in peace! The thought of what Korea, The thought of what Korea, The thought of what Korea would be like If space opera had a wide circulation… Oh well! It troubles my sleep. (With no apologies to Ezra …

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Invasion of Alien Bikini, or, I Feel Sick

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This entry is part 50 of 72 in the series SF in South Korea

So, I mentioned the Korean SF film Invasion of Alien Bikini a few weeks ago. Miss Jiwaku and I saw it tonight, and, well, to say it ruined out evening would be an understatement. I am going to tell you the whole plot here, so that you don’t have to see it, and know why you should not, in fact, spend a single won on it. The thing is, the film really didn’t have to suck. The opening section was actually really interesting: I felt like I was seeing Seoul represented in a film in a way I’d never seen …

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Gunpla Advertisement Analysis, and 우뢰매!

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This entry is part 49 of 72 in the series SF in South Korea

Gunpla Ad Analysis: While it’s a side of SF fandom that, like filk, I just don’t quite “get” — mostly just because I know so little about Japanese anime SF, I suppose — Gundam fandom is something that is, at least, visible here. Gundam merchandise in shops is, in fact, more common here than RPG game products ever were in shops in the North American cities I’ve lived in, and there’s definitely some serious interest in anime here. (Indeed, Korea’s Robo-Taekwon V was quite obviously a response to Japanese battlebot-suit anime frnachises like Mobile Suit Gundam; see here for more …

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Coming Soon: “Invasion of Alien Bikini”

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This entry is part 48 of 72 in the series SF in South Korea

Well, Miss Jiwaku just surprised me with the trailer a few days ago (when we were booking tickets for Cowboys and Aliens; the trailer was for what appears to be a Korean SF sex-comedy to be released toward the end of this month: Apparently, a guy steps in and saves a woman from some thugs, only to discover that she is in fact a lovely little sex-hungry alien. She wants to rob him of his virginity, and for some strange reason, he refuses… so she tortures him. No matter how cheaply done, no matter how confusing, this is definitely bound …

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Some Notes For Korean Film Companies Considering an SF Film Project

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This entry is part 47 of 72 in the series SF in South Korea

After the debacle that is 7광구, which I discussed here, I figured I might write up a few suggestions for Korean film companies considering undertaking an SF project. After all, I’m someone who has studied Korean SF films carefully, picked out their pitfalls and how and why they failed — either domestically, or internationally — and I have a few thoughts based on my own frustration with the way Korean SF film has gone, and is going. I think there are a few very simple things that production companies in Korea need to realize, if they want to start putting …

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