In the West, a number of Korean filmmakers have become well-known, among the most prominent of which is Kim Ki-Duk. This is despite the fact that Kim is not well-received by either critics or audiences in Korea itself. But because of his international reputation, he has continued to make films. Although I think Kim Ki-duk is a fraud and one of the most overrated directors in the world, the fact that his films get distribution would not really bother me if it didn’t also limit the availability of much more talented directors. But, unfortunately, given the current marketplace, it does. In my opinion, the real provocateur of Korean cinema is not Kim, but rather Jang Sun-woo, who has been inactive since the critical and financial disaster of his 2002 film RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL. Unfortunately, Jang’s work is mostly unavailable, with a couple of exceptions: LIES, his only film to receive wide DVD distribution in North America, and ROAD TO THE RACETRACK, released on DVD as part of the Korean Film Retrospective series. Two of his most well-known works, A PETAL and TIMELESS, BOTTOMLESS BAD MOVIE (aka BAD MOVIE) remain very difficult to find. There was a Jang retrospective last year at the Chungmuro Film Festival, so hopefully his whole oeuvre will eventually become as widely available as the other New Korean Cinema auteurs. (more…)

H1N1 has definitely been on the radar this week. The rising number of high students diagnosed with H1N1 led to isolation rooms at the nationwide College Scholastic Aptitude Test (CSAT) yesterday, with some patients taking the test at hospitals. Also on Thursday, an additional 150,000 students received the H1N1 vaccine, after an initial 200,000 on the first day of the national vaccination program.  However, medical workers don’t seem to be getting the shot. Apparently, only 24% of  medical workers at state hospitals have been vaccinated. Today, twelve more H1N1 related deaths have been reported, bringing the total to 64. (more…)

From Nov. 10th to 29th, there is a 23 film program of contemporary French cinema at the Seoul Cinematheque. The schedule is available here. 13 of the 23 films are listed as having English subtitles, but unfortunately many of the more well-known and highly regarded films do not. Nevertheless, this is a great collection of films by many of best filmmakers currently working in France, including Olivier Assayas, Andre Techine, Arnuad Desplechin, Bruno Dumont, Luarent Cantent, Gaspar Noe, and Phillipe Grandrieux. Below is a complete listing of the films, divided into subtitled and not subtitled and with links to each film’s imdb page for more information. (more…)

The 48 Hour Film Project took place October 24th to 25th, but the winners have yet to be announced. April Salchert participated in the event and gave us a look at the international indie-film competition’s first year in Korea.

The independent movie god smiled kindly on South Korea this year, bringing the 48 Hour Film Project to Seoul for the first time in the event’s nine year history. Teams around South Korea banded together to attempt the near impossible: write, film, and edit a 7 minute short-film in a mere 48 hours. This venture required stamina, forethought, teamwork, energy, creativity, style, wit, and most importantly, a lot of caffeine. The event gave locals and expats alike the opportunity to put their cinematographic genius on the big screen and compete in an international contest where the prize is a spot at the Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner in 2010. (more…)

What: “Lazy Lime”  ready-made lime juice.

Where: Lotte Department Store, Miasamgeori Station (Line 4), Exit 1. (Mia-dong, Gangbuk-gu)

Why:  Actual limes are difficult to find outside of select international supermarkets.

Thanks to chrisinsouthkorea for sending us this week’s Spotted!. If you spot something hard to find in Korea send a photo and details to info@theoneonefour.com and we’ll post it on The One One Four.