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Time of India
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Kim Go Eun and Ah Eun Jin show their bond: The ‘Good Bad Mother' actress shares anecdotes from their college days - Deets inside!
Kim Go Eun and Ahn Eun Jin have been friends since their days in college. In a recent variety show appearance, Go Eun opened up about her life and career and how everything has been. Ahn Eun Jin, who connected on the show over a call, even shared a secret about her close friend as well! Kim Go Eun and Ahn Eun Jin showcase their bond Kim Go Eun from 'Exhuma' recently appeared for a variety show episode on the online channel 'Aglory'. The actress opened up about her life and career in acting. During the interview, the hosts and other guests of the show shared that Go Eun's longtime friend Ahn Eun Jin from ' Good Bad Mother ' was also supposed to be starring on the show; however was unable to join. Go Eun and Eun Jin have been friends since they both studied at the Korea National University of Arts . One of the hosts then also ends up calling Eun Jin so that the two friends can bond and exchange a few words. He also promoted the actress to share a secret about Go Eun as well. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Global MBA for executives. Study online. IIMK UWA Undo Eun Jin laughed and took some time to decide. After careful consideration, she shared how popular Go Eun was during her days in college, and at the time, it often felt like she was being 'used'. She added during her call, If I were to thoroughly reveal from my perspective, because of her immense popularity, I've chased her around more than just a couple of times…It feels like she used me, now that I think about it'. She also added a hilarious anecdote about how, due to the 'Goblin' actress's popularity, men from their college would come up to her to talk in order to know more about Go Eun, making everyone laugh. Go Eun added her own part and shared that she and Eun Jin used to be inseparable during their time as students, and would always be found around each other, making everyone smile.
Korea Herald
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Box office suffers historic first-half decline as theaters adapt survival strategies
Revenue plunges 33 percent while multiplexes pivot to exclusive programming and government hands out discount coupons It's almost a truism at this point to say that movie theaters are in deep trouble, and Thursday's midyear report from the Korean Film Council confirmed it once again with hard numbers. According to the report, box office revenue declined 33 percent year-on-year to 408 billion won ($293 million) in the first half of 2025, with attendance dropping 32.5 percent. Only two films managed to break the 30 billion won threshold: Tom Cruise's Hollywood blockbuster "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning" led with 32.9 billion won from 3.36 million admissions, followed closely by local crime thriller "Yadang: The Snitch" at 32 billion, which drew 3.38 million viewers. No release came close to the 10 million admission mark — the traditional benchmark for mega-hit status in Korea. Compare that to last year's first half, when "Exhuma" raked in 115 billion won from nearly 12 million tickets and "The Roundup: Punishment" pulled similar numbers. Local productions took the biggest hit, plunging 43 percent to 203.8 billion won. Foreign films fared better but still declined 19 percent, with the international box office take dropping to 204 billion won. Survival mode: multiplexes go niche Faced with this new reality, multiplex chains are throwing out the old playbook. Instead of banking on wide releases, they are getting creative with curation and exclusive programming that caters to dedicated fanbases, the report also showed. Megabox launched "Mega Only," a monthly exclusive release program targeting niche audiences with specialized content. Its exclusive screening of the hit anime franchise "Attack on Titan: The Last Attack" made 9.5 billion won with 920,000 admissions, setting a record for single-theater releases. The program expands next week with an exclusive screening of "First Summer," Heo Ga-young's student short that won top prize at Cannes' La Cinef competition. Lotte Cinema, which announced its merger with Megabox in May, scored with the animated short "Magic Candies" in May, earning 500 million won from 100,000 viewers to rank third all-time for short films. Market leader CGV is doubling down on its premium formats to showcase fandom-targeted content, particularly concert films. The chain's panoramic ScreenX theaters hosted "IU Concert: The Winning" in January, capturing the K-pop star's world tour encore. July brought "Hybe Cine Fest in Asia," a sprawling showcase of BTS, Seventeen and other Hybe acts where fans could sing along during screenings. Signs of hope, but no guarantees Can the second half turn things around? For one thing, the government's betting on it. Starting July 25, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism rolled out 6,000 won discount coupons to slash ticket prices. Early signs look promising — "My Daughter is a Zombie" scored the year's biggest opening day on July 30 with 430,000 admissions to become the fastest 2025 release to break one million tickets over the weekend. Even "F1," in its sixth weekend, saw its biggest Saturday yet with 158,633 admissions, topping its opening Saturday's 146,966 in defiance of typical box office patterns. Heavy hitters wait in the wings for the second half of 2025. Auteur Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice," starring Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin, arrives in September fresh from this year's Venice competition. Set for release at the end of the year, Hollywood sequels "Avatar: Fire and Ash" and "Zootopia 2" could provide major boosts as well. The previous "Avatar" film drew 10.8 million admissions in 2022-2023 despite a slow COVID-19 pandemic recovery, while the original "Zootopia" sold 4.7 million tickets in 2016 with limited marketing.
Hindustan Times
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Listicle: 10 horror movies Hollywood wishes it had made
When Evil Lurks (2023). The Spanish supernatural drama was jointly produced by Argentina and the US. Brothers Pedro and Jaime discover that a man in their village has been infected by an unborn demon. But in trying to contain the threat, they release a dark entity. What follows is paranoia, featuring dismembered corpses, possessed villagers, and disturbing transformations. Plenty of jump-scares here, and lots of gore. But also despair and a sense that no one can really be trusted. The Spanish film When Evil Lurks is full of paranoia, dismembered corpses and possessed villagers. In Raw, Justine, a vegetarian, tries rabbit kidneys and starts craving human flesh. Uh-oh. Raw (2016). Before there was Substance, there was this French gem. Justine, a vegetarian, tries rabbit kidneys for the first time at veterinary school. Uh oh! Soon, she's developed a craving for human flesh. Everyone looks delicious. As she navigates classes, the peer pressure and hazing rituals throw life into chaos. Dance parties turn savage, dorm rooms are awash in blood. And amid it all, her sister has dark secrets of her own. The horse scene will NOT remind you of The Godfather. The Korean film Exhuma explores the consequences of opening up an ancestor's grave. Exhuma (2024). Korean horror is its own special hell. What does a rich family do when their newborn son falls mysteriously ill? They heed a shaman and (it's right there in the title) open up an ancestor's grave. Big mistake. It unleashes a malevolent entity and suddenly the baby is the least of anyone's problems. Cue bloody rituals, balls of fire, ominous rain, secrets buried under secrets and ghouls that must be vanquished. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is based on a real-life psychiatric institution that's believed to be haunted. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018). Based on a real-life psychiatric institution that South Koreans have long believed to be haunted. It's also a movie about a movie: A web crew goes looking where they shouldn't, when two boys go missing in the abandoned wards. What starts as an attention-seeking stunt soon turns eerie. There are whispers in the dark, doors slam shut on their own. Bad vibes all around. Can they hold on to their sanity? And to their cameras? The line between civility and cruelty blurs in the film Speak No Evil. Speak No Evil (2022). The 2024 remake, with James McAvoy, is just a polite version of the OG. A Dutch couple invites a Danish family to spend the weekend at their house. So far, so safe. But as the weekend unfolds, the hosts make stranger and stranger requests, crossing more and more lines – and it seems rude to refuse. The line between civility and cruelty blurs as we realise that evil thrives not on gore, but on the lack of resistance. The Tamil mindbender Black is both nerdy and scary. Black (2024). The Tamil mindbender is both nerdy and scary. A couple decides to escape to a quiet peaceful town to work out their problems. But wait. What's happening? Responses come to calls that were never made, mysterious gifts shatter on their own and reappear whole, and the house next door shows signs of human activity when it's not supposed to. It's two stories in one, each influencing the other. Plus, a statue of an angel that's more than it seems. In the Mexican-Peruvian tale Huesera: The Bone Woman, pregnancy turns into something terrifying. Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022). Pregnancy is hard. But in this Mexican-Peruvian tale, it's horrifying. Valeria's problems start as soon as she announces her first pregnancy. Why is she obsessively cracking her knuckles? Did she see a woman jump out the window? How is she still walking? Did she just hear her bones snapping again? Is it just stress? It's more than a metaphor for commitment phobia – there are real monsters involved. The Wailing is about a Korean village infected by a mysterious illness, followed by a series of murders. The Wailing (2016). When a stranger arrives in a small Korean village, a mysterious illness spreads, followed by a series of brutal murders. As corpses are reanimated and more locals get possessed, a local police officer turns to a shaman, with mixed results. His own daughter's health hangs in the balance. It's one man against a pandemic. And every saviour could be a wolf in disguise. The film's deleted ending has its own fandom on Reddit. No surprise there. Lupt, a Hindi indie, follows a family that's on the verge of losing it after their trip goes awry. Lupt (2018). You know things are going to get weird when a workaholic dad grudgingly takes time off to take the family on vacation in this Hindi indie. Getting there is half the fright: Inexplicable sightings, disturbing visions of ghostly children, and a mysterious hitchhiker that seems to be following the family everywhere. The scarier things get, the more the family starts to crack. Dad realises that the haunting isn't random. It's tied to an old truth that no longer wants to be ignored. The Medium, a Thai mockumentary, follows the niece of a shaman who might be posessed. The Medium (2021). The Thais mixed horror with mockumentary for this one. When the niece of a shaman shows signs of possession, the family believes that she is being controlled by the same goddess that supposedly possessed him. But this is no ordinary spirit; the girl acts stranger and more disturbing by the day. Time for a boss-level ritual. It backfires. She just gets crueller. Perhaps the goddess had nothing to do with the possession? From HT Brunch, July 05, 2025 Follow us on
The Star
03-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Great hex-pectations for polls
The outcome of this week's presidential elections in South Korea may still be unknown, but shaman Yang Su-bong says the winner came to her in visions years ago. South Koreans go to the polls today to choose their next president, a snap vote triggered by ex-leader Yoon Suk-yeol's disastrous declaration of martial law in December. And for Yang, a traditional Korean 'mudang', it's clear that liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung will emerge victorious – a prediction that chimes with all major opinion polls that put Lee well ahead in the presidential race. The latest Gallup survey show 49% of respondents viewing Lee as the best candidate, while Kim Moon-soo, from the conservative People Power Party (PPP) was trailing on 35%. 'From the beginning, I've seen Lee Jae-myung becoming president,' Yang said at her office in the western port city of Incheon. 'I saw a presidential aura,' she explained, adding that she faced 'criticism and even threats' for her prediction. 'But I can't lie about what I see.' Shamanism has shaped culture and belief on the Korean peninsula for centuries. South Koreans still regularly turn to them for advice on everything from their love lives to important business decisions and cities, and the registrar of the country's largest shamanic organisation lists 300,000 practising in the country. But the folk religion has also come under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons – two presidential impeachments have been linked to undue influence allegedly wielded by shamans. Former President Park Geun-hye was removed from office in 2017 in an influence-peddling scandal involving claims of, among other things, participation in shamanistic rituals. Ousted ex-leader Yoon and his first lady Kim Keon-hee have also been accused of turning to sketchy shamans when making decisions – including, it is alleged, the fateful martial declaration. Claims like that provoke an 'intense emotional reaction' in South Korean society – in part because the country's history is full of leaders led astray by unscrupulous spiritual advisers, Lee Won-jae, a sociologist at South Korea's KAIST university, said. 'When it comes to dramatising politics, there's nothing quite as effective as invoking shamanistic themes,' he said. 'Mudang' or shaman act as intermediaries between the world of spirits and everyday life. Their elaborate 'gut' ceremonies can be hours-long affairs, with cacophonic music, singing and prayers used to ward off evil spirits or hope for a good harvest. Hit thrillers like last year's Exhuma – which features a group of shamans fighting an ancient evil spirit – have piqued public interest. And some shamans now even turn to social media to ply their craft, livestreaming on YouTube and offering advice over video calls. Shaman Lee Dong-hyeon, who goes by Ohbangdoryeong – 'guardian of the five directions' – says he was approached by local politicians after predicting Yoon's untimely fall three years ago. 'To become a truly great person, you must learn to carry burdens,' he said. Yoon 'lacks that destiny', he said. And 'despite his age, he lacks judgement', he said. Ohbangdoryeong engages in 'sword rituals' – licking the sharp blade of a knife in a bid to receive messages from deities. He isn't so sure that frontrunner Lee will help end South Korea's political turmoil. 'Things will stabilise for two years, but then there will be bloodshed – political purges,' he darkly predicted. Fellow shaman Hong Myeong-hui agreed that turbulent times could be ahead. She said conservative contender Kim Moon-soo has a 'quiet fire' in him. But liberal Lee's 'energy is fast and consuming, like a wildfire in spring', she said. 'His term will be stormy,' Hong said. 'Prophecy isn't for pleasing people – it's for truth. And truth can be uncomfortable.' No matter if the predictions ring true, what is clear that the new president will have to helm South Korea through a period of economic turbulence, as the trade-dependent nation will be facing steep tariffs from the United States while struggling with sluggish demand at home. — AFP
The Sun
02-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Great hex-pectations: Shamans divided on South Korea's political destiny
INCHEON: The outcome of this week's presidential elections in South Korea may still be unknown, but shaman Yang Su-bong tells AFP the winner came to her in visions years ago. South Koreans go to the polls on Tuesday to choose their next president, a snap vote triggered by ex-leader Yoon Suk Yeol's disastrous declaration of martial law in December. And for Yang, a traditional Korean 'mudang', it's clear that liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung will emerge victorious -- a prediction that chimes with all major opinion polls that put Lee well ahead in the presidential race. The latest Gallup survey show 49 percent of respondents viewing Lee as the best candidate, while Kim Moon-soo, from the conservative People Power Party (PPP) was trailing on 35 percent. 'From the beginning, I've seen Lee Jae-myung becoming president,' Yang told AFP at her office in the western port city of Incheon. 'I saw a presidential aura,' she explained, adding that she faced 'criticism and even threats' for her prediction. 'But I can't lie about what I see.' Shamanism has shaped culture and belief on the Korean peninsula for centuries. South Koreans still regularly turn to them for advice on everything from their love lives to important business decisions and cities, and the registrar of the country's largest shamanic organisation lists 300,000 practising in the country. But the folk religion has also come under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons -- two presidential impeachments have been linked to undue influence allegedly wielded by shamans. Former President Park Geun-hye was removed from office in 2017 in an influence-peddling scandal involving claims of, among other things, participation in shamanistic rituals. Ousted ex-leader Yoon and his first lady Kim Keon Hee have also been accused of turning to sketchy shamans when making decisions -- including, it is alleged, the fateful martial declaration. - 'Intense emotions' - Claims like that provoke an 'intense emotional reaction' in South Korean society -- in part because the country's history is full of leaders led astray by unscrupulous spiritual advisors, Lee Won-jae, a sociologist at South Korea's KAIST university, told AFP. 'When it comes to dramatising politics, there's nothing quite as effective as invoking shamanistic themes,' he said. 'Mudang' or shaman act as intermediaries between the world of spirits and everyday life. Their elaborate 'gut' ceremonies can be hours-long affairs, with cacophonic music, singing and prayers used to ward off evil spirits or hope for a good harvest. Hit thrillers like last year's 'Exhuma' -- which features a group of shamans fighting an ancient evil spirit -- have piqued public interest. And some shamans now even turn to social media to ply their craft, livestreaming on YouTube and offering advice over video calls. Shaman Lee Dong-hyeon, who goes by Ohbangdoryeong -- 'guardian of the five directions' -- says he was approached by local politicians after predicting Yoon's untimely fall three years ago. 'To become a truly great person, you must learn to carry burdens,' he told AFP. Yoon 'lacks that destiny', he said. And 'despite his age, he lacks judgement', he said. - 'Truth can be uncomfortable' - Ohbangdoryeong engages in 'sword rituals' -- licking the sharp blade of a knife in a bid to receive messages from deities. He isn't so sure that frontrunner Lee will help end South Korea's political turmoil. 'Things will stabilise for two years, but then there will be bloodshed -- political purges,' he darkly predicted. Fellow shaman Hong Myeong-hui agreed that turbulent times could be ahead. She said conservative contender Kim Moon-soo has a 'quiet fire' in him. But liberal Lee's 'energy is fast and consuming, like a wildfire in spring', she said. 'His term will be stormy,' Hong said. 'Prophecy isn't for pleasing people -- it's for truth. And truth can be uncomfortable.' No matter if the predictions ring true, what is clear that the new president will have to helm South Korea through a period of economic turbulence, as the trade-dependent nation will be facing steep tariffs from the United States while struggling with sluggish demand at home.
