Jang Hyuk

  • Sung-su Kim – Gamgi AKA The Flu (2013)

    2011-2020ActionCrimeSouth KoreaSung-su Kim

    It begins with a cough in the darkness. It ends with barricades, guns and threats of war. In between, there is worse – but that’s ‘flu for you. It’s the risk we all face.

    An epidemic movie made in South Korea is a very different proposition from the sort of thing we’re used to in the West, whether it’s Perfect Sense or [film]28 Days Later[film]. Hot and humid for much of the year, surrounded by places where humans, pigs and chickens live side by side, its gleaming cities are likely first targets for any major outbreak of disease, and we’re still at least five years away from a universal ‘flu vaccine. Facing this very real threat, it’s unsurprising that the country’s filmmakers have no time for the nonsense that Hollywood likes to deliver on this subject. There’s melodrama and oodles of sentiment, but the science is (mostly) strong, the protocols realistic, the brutality of its scenario unapologetic.Read More »

  • Seung-koo Jhung – Pen-teu-ha-woo-seu Ko-kki-ri AKA Searching for the Elephant (2009)

    2001-2010AsianDramaSeung-koo JhungSouth Korea

    Three childhood friends in Seoul grapple with mental illness, addiction, and infidelity as adults. Their secrets surface, escalating personal battles. The climax forces them to face adulthood’s trials after turbulent youths.Read More »

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