GI Joe: Retaliation’s Australian Premiere with Lee Byunghun

As the Autumn chill took hold, Sydney had a special treat with some hot stars flying down for the Australian premiere of “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” at George Street, Event Cinemas. This famous venue will be the location for this years Sydney leg of the Korean Film Festival, KOFFIA and was a buzz with the red carpet laid out for GI Joe. Among the cast in attendance was Korea’s very own Lee Byunghun, who reprised his role as Storm Shadow from “G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra”. 

We managed to catch up with Lee Byunghun, and he tells us that he was honoured to be able to play Storm Shadow again, and thankful that his character survived the 1st film! Check it out below. 

Lee Byunghun says hello to his Aussie fans!

Interview: "My Cinematic Separation" with Park Seung-min

As part of our indie cinema month at Cinema on the Park this April, we will be showcasing 3 features and 3 shorts. We will have interviews with the filmmakers here on the KOFFIA blog so keep checking for more great content. 

First up is an interview with Park Seung-min, director of the delightful short MY CINEMATIC SEPARATION. A funny, heartfelt love story of how one overcomes a lost love. Read on below!

My Cinematic Separation, April 4th at Cinema on the Park in Sydney

Review: Nowhere to Hide / 인정사정 볼 것 없다 (1999)

'Nowhere to Hide' recently screened at the Korean Cultural Office's weekly film night program Cinema on the Park, with special guest introduction by Russell Edwards (SBS Film). Read on below to check out film blogger Paul Bramhall's thoughts on the film. Feel free to comment below on your views on the film.

‘Nowhere to Hide’ has a unique place in my own personal history of becoming a Korean movie fan. While it was ‘Sympathy for Mr Vengeance / 복수는 나의 것’ which secured my love for the industry in 2002, I actually viewed ‘Nowhere to Hide’ a whole year earlier back when it was released on DVD in the UK. At that point in time I was still very much the definitive Hong Kong action movie fan, and the Western world as a whole had become familiar with Asian film-making in a way that it never had before. Suddenly people knew Yuen Woo Ping’s name thanks to his action choreography on ‘The Matrix’, and John Woo had also become a household name through the recently released ‘Mission: Impossible II’.

Interview: "Flying Accident" with Shin Dong-hyun

Once again we have a special interview for our audience here on the KOFFIA blog, this time with the director of short film "Flying Accident" Shin Dong-hyun. The short animation recently screened at the Korean Cultural Office's weekly film night program called Cinema on the Park. It's a fast passed action-packed short animation with a heart of gold. Read on below!

Review: My Girlfriend is an Agent / 7급 공무원 (2009)

Made four years later, ‘My Girlfriend is an Agent’ is the Korean version of the 2005 Hollywood movie ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’, about a couple who are actually both secret agents, but neither of them are aware of the others real identity. While that movie may have garnered only average reviews, clearly the formula was an attractive one for it to be remade, and in one of the movie worlds ironies, it’s now the Korean version of the concept which is being remade as a Bollywood movie, ’22 Tango’, also four years after its original release.

Reuniting the on-screen pair of Kang Ji-hwan (‘Rough Cut / 영화는 영화다’) & Kim Ha-neul (‘You Pet / 너는 펫’), who previously worked together on the 2006 drama ’90 Days, Time to Love / 90일, 사랑할 시간’, ‘My Girlfriend is an Agent’ makes for a lively and fun ride under the direction of Sin Tae-ra, who couldn’t be making a more different movie than his previous effort, the 2007 horror ‘Black House / 검은 집’.