남우주연상 (Best Leading Actor)
너는 내 운명 (You Are My Sunshine), Hwang Jung-Min

여우주연상 (Best Leading Actress)
너는 내 운명 (You Are My Sunshine), Jeon Do-Yeon

남우조연상 (Best Supporting Actor)
달콤한 인생 (A Bittersweet Life), Hwang Jung-Min

여우조연상 (Best Supporting Actress)
웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol), Kang Hye-Jung

신인감독상 (Best New Director)
웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol), Park Gwang-Hyun

신인남우상 (Best New Actor)

댄서의 순정 (Innocent Steps), Park Geon-Hyung

신인여우상 (Best New Actress)
여자, 정혜 (This Charming Girl), Kim Ji-Soo

촬영상 (Best Cinematography)
형사 (Duelist), Hwang Gi-Seok

조명상 (Best Lighting)
형사 (Duelist)>, Shin Kyung-Man

각본상 (Best Screenplay)
웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol), Jang Jin/Park Gwang-Hyun/Kim Joong

편집상 (Best Editing)
내 생애 가장 아름다운 일주일 (All For Love), Moon In-Dae

미술상 (Best Art Direction)
혈의 누 (Blood Rain), Min Eon-Ok

시각효과상 (Best Visual Effects)
혈의 누 (Blood Rain), Shin Jae-Ho

음악상 (Best Music)
웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol), Hisaishi Jo

음향상 (Best Sound Effects)

혈의 누 (Blood Rain), Kim Seok-Won/Kim Chang-Seop

After four months of impressive growth, with the domestic market share always around the 70%, Korean films had a significant decrease last November. IM Pictures published a report last December 1st, noting that the domestic market share fell from October's 74.5% to last month's 59.4%, a 15.1% decrease. 3,077,500 people went to the movies in Seoul during the month of November, with 1,827,520 opting for Korean films. With foreign films like Tim Burton's 'Corpse Bride', Terry Gilliam's 'The Brothers Grimm', and the latest Jodie Foster film 'Flight Plan' ranking number one at the box office, the 14 weeks long box office domination by Korean films suffered a brief halt. But, compared to last year's result in November, there's been an increase in total admissions of 6.3% (2,893,520 people went to theaters in November 2004). Although some in the media are talking about a 'big decrease', it's pretty obvious domestic films couldn't hold that impressive 70% for much longer. And, given the result of the first few Hollywood blockbusters (the latest Harry Potter just sold 1.2 Million tickets on its first weekend of release), it's likely December could go a little worse.

Jang Seo-Hee has been cast in 소풍가는 날 (Picnic), the human drama which already cast Jung Jae-Young a few weeks ago. The film, directed by Song Chang-Soo and produced by ZinInSa Film, attracted the attention of Chungmuro's big suits ever since its script entered a KOFIC contest. Jang has been a popular figure in TV Dramas for a long time, starting her career as a child actor in the early 80s, and developing into one of the most solid character actresses in Korea. Her 2002 Daily Drama 인어 아가씨 (Mermaid Girl) made her a star, not only in Korea, but also in China. Her latest film was the comedy 귀신이 산다 (Ghost House) with Cha Seung-Won. Jung has become one of the most sought after actors in Korea, after the success of 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) and the good start his latest film 나의 결혼원정기 (Wedding Campaign) made at the box office. The film will release in the first half of 2006.

TV DRAMA NEWS

Yoo Ho-Jung has been cast in the new KBS2 Weekend Drama 인생이여 고마워요 (Thank You, Life) -- written by Park Eun-Ryeong and produced by Kim Sung-Geun -- which marks her return to the small screen after two years. The show, which already cast Oh Ji-Ho, Kim Yoon-Seok and Park Ye-Jin, will follow the popular Weekend Drama 슬픔이여 안녕 (Goodbye To Sadness), airing from January 7. Yoo's last drama was 로즈마리 (Rosemary), which aired on KBS2 in 2003. She will play a working woman with kids, who suddenly finds out she has cancer (mmmh... that sounds familiar, something about 'life' and 'pink' maybe?), and uses that to rekindle the relationship with her first love. Sure, it sounds familiar and even predictable, but we're talking about good actors -- Yoo herself, Oh is improving, and Kim Yoon-Seok was impressive in 부활 (Rebirth) -- and writer Park Eun-Ryeong has already shown a capable hand in painting realistic (yet breezy) portraits of 'independent women', in Dramas like 두번째 프러포즈 (The Second Proposal) and 앞집 여자 (The Woman Next Door).

For the first time in history, a Korean TV company has reached the US$ 20 Million in distribution contracts. KBS Media announced that after selling 13.9 Billion Won's worth of distribution contracts last October 2004, they reached 28.8 Billion this year, for a 207% increase. Top sellers included 풀하우스 (Full House) with Song Hye-Gyo and Rain, 오! 필승 봉순영 (Oh! Feel Young) with Ahn Jae-Wook and Chae Rim, and 미안하다, 사랑한다 (I'm Sorry, I Love You) with Im Soo-Jung and So Ji-Seop. The most successful PD for KBS has been, predictably, Yoon Seok-Ho, responsible for all the 'Season Dramas'. In another report by KBS Media (collecting data from July 2004 to June this year), Yoon's 2002 Drama 겨울연가 (Winter Sonata) was listed as the most successful, making 11.9 Billion Won. Second was another of Yoon's Dramas, 2003's 여름향기 (Summer Scent) with Son Ye-Jin and Song Seung-Heon, making 1.4 Billion Won. Yoon completes the top three with his 2000 Drama 가을동화 (Autumn Fairy Tale) [1.2 Billion Won], while 첫사랑 (First Love) [1.02 Billion Won], 풀하우스 (Full House) [863 Million Won], and 애정의 조건 (Terms of Endearment) [826 Million Won] completed the Top 6. Along with the usual suspects (Chinese speaking market, South East Asia, Japan), sales to Europe and South America increased as well.

Some interesting news for the future: Olive Nine, the company behind 프라하의 연인 (Lovers in Prague), signed a contract with Jung Hyung-Soo, the writer of 다모 (Damo), 상도 (Sang Do) (assisting Choi Wan-Gyu) and one of the parts of the omnibus Drama 떨리는 가슴 (Six Love Stories). The company announced Jung -- alongside the great Choi Wan-Gyu -- is already preparing his first Historical Drama for the company, MBC's 삼한지 (三韓志, The Three Kingdoms), a 28 Billion Won Historical Drama (set in the Korean Three Kingdoms Period) based on an extremely popular series of novels by Kim Jung-San, with a set reported to be 15 times bigger than the one for 대장금 (Dae Jang Geum). It will be produced by Lee Joo-Hwan of 'Mermaid Girl', and its 50 episodes will start airing in April. This continues Olive Nine's policy of recruiting some of the most famous writers in the country, including Kim Eun-Sook and Kang Eun-Jung -- who wrote the 'Lovers' series (Paris and Prague) -- along with Hwang Joo-Ha of 해신 (Emperor of the Sea). Olive Nine's next project will be 청년성공시대 (The Golden Age of the Young), produced by Lee Kyung-Gyu.

Seems like 무영검 (Shadowless Sword) is doing wonders for Lee Seo-Jin. After being cast in a Turkey/Korea co-produced TV Drama, he's also been cast in the upcoming Drama 프리즈 (Freeze). Producers Yellow Film announced this will be a 'Cinematic Drama' in line with PD Jung Jae-Hoon's style -- Jung is a famous Music Video and CF director, making his TV Drama debut here. Park Han-Byul, who debuted in the 2003 horror 여우계단 (Wishing Stairs), will play the other leading role. The Drama is expected to enter production around early January.

It was supposed to become one of MBC's major projects in their attempt to return to their past glory, but 내가 나빴다 (I Was Bad), the Drama starring Go Hyun-Jung, written by In Jung-Ok, and produced by Pyo Min-Soo has finally been postponed (that's the official version, I'd say canceled, realistically). The project, funded by Kim Jong-Hak production, would have put together one of the biggest stars on TV (Go), with one of the best writers (In) and most popular PDs (Pyo), but due to internal problems, everything went belly up. It seems the main problem was between PD Pyo -- a rather 'populist' but still talented PD, the man behind 풀하우스 (Full House), but also a regular PD of Noh Hee-Kyung's Dramas, like 고독 (Solitude) and 거짓말 (Lie) -- and writer In Jung-Ok, who not only wrote excellent TV Dramas like 네 멋대로 해라 (Ruler of Your Own World) and 아일랜드 (Ireland), but also the first two films of the 'High School Horror' series 여고괴담 (Whispering Corridors) and 여고괴담 두번째 이야기 (Memento Mori).

In, one of the most talented writers in Korea, is known for very unique and eclectic Dramas, more in tune with the sensibility you often find in indie films than the more mainstream writing of TV Dramas. The script was developing at snail pace, because the views of the writer and producer didn't match. PD Pyo announced he'll start preparing a new Drama, Go could be cast in Pyo's new Drama once again, and if things proceed according to plan, this might become MBC's follow up to 'Young-Jae's Heydays', after all. But even more interesting is the news that Go liked how In's script was proceeding, even if it was late. So we could have a situation where the station and PD want to do something, and the writer and main star want to work together on something else. Since the March Drama for this slot is currently under production -- 궁 (Palace) with Yoon Eun-Hye -- MBC will have to take care of this issue pretty quickly.

TV DRAMA WRAPUP

In the past, even up to a few months ago, Dramas shown during the week -- either the Monday/Tuesday or Wednesday/Thursday shows -- would completely dominate the ratings. But things are starting to change, and are doing so pretty quickly. All three Mon/Tue Dramas are doing OK, but not a single one of them could be considered a success. KBS' 이 죽일 놈의 사랑 (A Love to Kill) is recording ratings of around 15%, while MBC's hilarious 달콤한 스파이 (Sweet Spy) ranges from 10 to 13. The only 'winner' of those Mon/Tue Drama so far seems to be Lee Byung-Hoon's Historical Drama 서동요 (The Ballad of Seo Dong), which despite average acting is starting to flesh its muscles in other areas, namely the unique brand of intrigue generated by the genre (details about the past, historical events, etc. etc.) and generally higher production values. I can't say 'Seo Dong' can reach the heights of Lee's past Dramas, like 허준 (Hur Joon), 상도 (Sang Do) or even 대장금 (Dae Jang Geum), but it's nice to see his talent has overcome SBS' usual casting limitations (young, pretty stars always rule the roost there).

Now, Wednesday/Thursday Dramas are another story. Some of the biggest successes of the year, both on the popular and artistic sphere, have come from that weekly slot. KBS' 장밋빛 인생 (Life in Pink) recently hit the 50s, and 부활 (Rebirth) was able to get out of 내 이름은 김삼순 (My Lovely Sam-Soon)'s -- another huge hit -- shadow to become what's probably this year's best Drama. But the current three-tiered war during the middle part of the week isn't making much noise. SBS' 사랑은 기적이 필요해 (Love Needs a Miracle) rebounded well after the end of 'Life in Pink', and is now consistently recording ratings around the 15% mark. KBS' 황금 사과 (Golden Apple) still has a lot of potential, as the episodes with the adult actors will start after a while. Finally, MBC's 영재의 전성시대 (Young-Jae's Heydays), despite arguably being the best of the three, is having a hard time even reaching ratings around the 10%, another disappointment for the former 'Drama Kingdom'.

So then what's setting Korean viewers on fire? Weekend Dramas. Of course Daily Dramas are doing well, especially KBS' 별난여자 별난남자 (Weird Man, Weird Woman) and SBS' 들꽃 (Wild Flower), which recently had a surge in viewership. But two weekend dramas are often fighting each other to top the weekly ratings. KBS' 슬픔이여 안녕 (Goodbye To Sadness) and SBS' 하늘이시여 (Dear Heaven) are not only doing well, but often reaching and surpassing the critical barrier of 30%. Out of the race the usual suspect MBC, whose 신돈 (Shin Don) is doing OK, with ratings around the 13%, but certainly nothing compared to the other two competitors. It might be the fact there's more episodes (generally around 50, against those weekly miniseries' 16 to 24), more fleshed out characters, and the focus is usually on older veterans instead of inexperienced youngsters, but it seems for a while things will remain as they are. Even SBS' new 'Joe Millionaire' Drama, 백만장자와 결혼하기 (Marrying a Millionaire) bounced back, with ratings close to the 20%.

Hard to predict what will happen in the following months, but since there hasn't been a major success since 'Life in Pink', it's likely this trend of Weekend Dramas doing better than Miniseries aired during the week will continue for quite a while.

TV DRAMA RATINGS
11/28~12/04

01. 33.7% 슬픔이여 안녕 (Goodbye To Sadness)
Weekend Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Park Sun-Young, Kim Dong-Wan, Oh Yeon-Soo]

02. 32.4% 별난여자 별난남자 (Weird Man, Weird Woman)
Daily Drama - KBS1 [Cast: Jung Joon, Kim Ah-Joong, Go Ju-Won]

03. 23.3% 하늘이시여 (Dear Heaven)
Weekend Drama - SBS [Cast: Yoon Jung-Hee, Lee Tae-Gon, Jo Yeon-Woo]

04. 19.2% 백만장자와 결혼하기 (Marrying a Millionaire)
Special Project - SBS [Cast: Kim Hyun-Joo, Go Soo, Son Tae-Young]

05. 17.1% 사랑은 기적이 필요해 (Love Needs a Miracle)
Wed/Thu Drama - SBS [Cast: Kim Won-Hee, Lee Gyu-Han, Kim Soo-Mi]

06. 17.0% 들꽃 (Wild Flower)
Daily Morning Drama - SBS [Cast: Lee Ah-Hyun, Seonwoo Jae-Deok, Kim Jung-Hak]

07. 16.9% 서동요 (The Ballad of Seo Dong)
Historical Drama - SBS [Cast: Lee Bo-Young, Jo Hyun-Jae, Ryu Jin]

08. 16.9% 황금 사과 (Golden Apple)
Wed/Thu Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Park Sol-Mi, Park Ji-Bin, Jung Chan]

09. 16.0% 다이아몬드의 눈물 (Tears of Diamond)
Friday Drama - SBS [Cast: Hong Eun-Hee, Yoon Hye-Young, Kim Sung-Min]

10. 15.8% 이 죽일놈의 사랑 (A Love To Kill)
Mon/Tue Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Rain, Shin Min-Ah, Kim Sa-Rang]

Sources

Film2.0: 1
Yahoo Korea: 1, 2, 3, 4
Star News: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6