Korean “Disaster” Films: 연가시 / Deranged

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 …

Continue Reading

Upcoming Korean SF Film: AM 11:00

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 …

Continue Reading

Seoul SF&F Library — Relocated!

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 …

Continue Reading

미래경 (Futuroscope) #3 Has Arrived

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 …

Continue Reading

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

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 …

Continue Reading