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| A scene from film "Peninsula" / Courtesy of NEW |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
The COVID-19 pandemic has sent the Korean film industry into unprecedented crisis, but several big name film studios are sticking to their original plans to release new movies this summer.
In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, which has infected more than 10,000 and claimed more than 200 lives in Korea, the film industry is grappling with a sharp drop in audiences. The number of moviegoers has hit an all-time low as people avoid multiplexes due to fear of contracting the disease.
The summer season is expected to include a lot fewer blockbuster films as many companies are postponing the release of their movies ― a slate of Hollywood films have had their release dates pushed back.
Paramount Pictures has postponed the release of "Top Gun: Maverick" from June to December, and Sony Pictures pushed back the release dates of "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" and "Morbius" to 2021 from July this year.
Amid such a crisis, however, film studio Next Entertainment World (NEW) has initiated its months-long promotion for the upcoming zombie thriller "Peninsula."
According to the film producer and distributor, the blockbuster will be released in Korea and several other countries in the summer.
Director Yeon Sang-ho's "Peninsula," the sequel to "Train to Busan," is set in the zombie-hit world created in the 2016 original, and is set four years later. The story follows a group of survivors who are still fighting the zombies, who are now more powerful than before. The film stars A-list actors Gang Dong-won and Lee Jung-hyun.
"After the first official trailer was released online, we've been getting a great reaction from domestic and international fans. The film Peninsula will be full of large-scale action sequences and explosive thrills," an NEW official said.
Director Yeon also hinted that "Peninsula" has a much wider scope of movement compared with "Train to Busan," which was shot in narrow spaces inside a train.
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| Poster for film "Hero" / Courtesy of CJ Entertainment |
A remake of the popular musical theater piece of the same title, "Hero" dramatizes the final years of Ahn's life.
Director Yoon Je-kyoon, best known for his previous works "Ode to My Father" and "Haeundae," produced the film. Actor Jung Sung-hwa from the original musical, who played the historical figure from when the show opened in 2009 until last year, plays Ahn in the film as well.
Meanwhile, Lotte Entertainment will gear up to release action crime film "Mogadishu," featuring Kim Yoon-seok and Jo In-sung.
Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, the film depicts the life-or-death escape of South Korean and North Korean embassy workers stranded in the midst of the Somali Civil War that took place in the 1990s.
Sci-fi fantasy film "Lightning Ship" (tentative title), featuring Song Joong-ki and Kim Tae-ri, is also expected to open in July or August. The film distributor is reportedly monitoring the COVID-19 situation before confirming a release date.
