December Movie Night – “May 18”

December 15, 2007 (Saturday) 7:30 p.m.Adroit College, Conference Room
1851 McCarthy Blvd. Milpitas, CA 95035

May 18, 1980 is a date etched in Korean history, the date of the Gwangju Uprising. From May 18 to 27, the southern city of Gwangju became the battleground for a democracy movement against the Chun Doo Hwan military regime, a protest that was brutally suppressed and is now remembered as one of the most important events of modern Korean history. Sketching characters based on real people, director Kim Ji Hoon takes the viewer to those fateful ten days, detailing the motivations and emotional bonds that inspired and empowered ordinary people to take to the streets. The film assembles an extraordinary cast consisting of Ahn Sung Ki, Lee Jun Ki, Kim Sang Kyung, Lee Yo Won, Park Cheol Min, and Na Moon Hee. May 18 is a powerful and emotionally wrenching ode to the legacy of the Gwangju Uprising, and moviegoers have answered its call, making it one of the highest grossing films of 2007.

*Reservation is required due to the limited seats. (408-716-8443, info@adroitcollege.org)

*Korean snacks and teas are provided.

July Korean Movie Night – Big Bang

July 28, 2007 (Saturday) 7:30 p.m.
Adroit College, Conference Room
1851 McCarthy Blvd. Milpitas, CA 95035

2006 was an important year for Gam Woo Sung and Kim Su Ro. Though Lee Jun Ki may have acquired more screaming fans, it was Gam Woo Sung who went home with the Best Actor statuette at the 43rd Daejong Awards for his jester role in King and The Clown. Kim Su Ro, meanwhile, finally found leading man status and box office success with the quirky hit comedy Vampire Copy Ricky. These two versatile actors, following their previous collaboration in the 2005 comedy A Bold Family, team up again in 2007 for Big Bang. At the helm is Park Jeong Woo, director of Dance with the Wind and screenwriter of Attack the Gas Station and Break Out. With such a talented trio of names, expectations are high, and the film delivers with a Big Bang. A kinetic action comedy of errors, Big Bang is filled with chaotic energy, high-speed chases and shootouts, and the kind of sharp, biting social satire that Park Jeong Woo has become known for. Sealing the package is of course Gam Woo Sung and Kim Su Ro, whose screen chemistry and dynamic performances alone place the film a cut above the rest.

*Reservation is required due to the limited seats. (408-716-8443, info@adroitcollege.org)

*Korean snacks and teas are provided.

October Movie Night – Hwang Jin Yi

October 27, 2007 (Saturday) 7:00 p.m.
Adroit College, Conference Room
1851 McCarthy Blvd. Milpitas, CA 95035

Based on the novel by North Korean writer Hong Suk Joong, Hwang Jin Yi tells the story of a 16th-century geisha with the mindset of a modern 21st-century woman. Raised as an aristocrat in an era when class status dictated one’s destiny, Jin Yi (Song Hye Kyo) discovers a shocking secret about her birth: she was born in the lower class. After much thought, she gives up her aristocratic status and becomes a geisha. She spends her first night with a man named Nom Yi (Yoo Ji Tae, Old Boy), and gradually falls for him. Though she is constantly surrounded by an entourage of aristocratic men showering her with gifts and admiration, Jin Yi lives a solitary life of tragic isolation. She finds herself traveling a bumpy road, faced with a dilemma that will alter her destiny forever.

There is no arguing that Song Hye Kyo is loved by many fans around the world, and she takes a huge leap in her career to play a femme fatale that departs greatly from her previous image. Having clearly come into her own as an actress, she successfully captures the character in her inimitable style. Beyond Song Hye Kyo’s impeccable beauty, the film is accentuated by a variety of beautiful Joseon era costumes and the picturesque surroundings of the Geumgang Mountains, situated in North Korea.

*Reservation is required due to the limited seats. (408-716-8443, info@adroitcollege.org)

*Korean snacks and teas are provided.

April Korean Movie Night – 200 Pounds Beauty

April 28, 2007 (Saturday) 7:00 p.m.
Adroit College, Conference Room
1851 McCarthy Blvd. Milpitas, CA 95035

Lighthearted, witty, and bitingly funny, surprise box office hit 200 Pounds Beauty has become one of the top ten grossing films of all time and the highest grossing romantic comedy ever. Based on a Japanese comic by Suzuki Yumiko, the film revolves on a topic all too familiar in Korea: plastic surgery. Kim Ki Duk previously covered plastic surgery in Time, but director Kim Yong Hwa takes a decidedly different spin with the scalpel in the crowd-pleasing 200 Pounds Beauty. Poking fun at society’s obsession with appearances and, ironically, disdain for plastic beauty, the film made an overnight star out of lead Kim Ah Jung (When Romance Meets Destiny), whose sassy, yet vulnerable performance opposite Ju Jin Mo (Musa) endeared her to both male and female moviegoers alike. Even the film’s soundtrack has become a big hit, particularly Kim Ah Jung’s rendition of Maria. Is beauty more than skin deep? Find out in Korea’s newest comedy sensation 200 Pounds Beauty!

*Reservation is required due to the limited seats. (408-716-8443, info@adroitcollege.org)

*Korean snacks and teas are provided.

March Korean Movie Night – Tazza: The High Rollers

March 24, 2007 (Saturday) 7:00 p.m.
Adroit College, Conference Room
1851 McCarthy Blvd. Milpitas, CA 95035
Please note new location!

“When you’re playing cards, there are no friends nor eternal enemies.” Be it poker (Hollywood) or mahjong (Hong Kong), the world of gambling always walked hand in hand with cinema, and it was only a matter of time before Korea would join the game. The blockbuster Tazza: The High Rollers, a.k.a. War of Flowers, brings some distinctive cultural touches to the gambling table. Unlike other films of the genre, Tazza: The High Rollers wraps its mind games around hwatoo, a traditional Korean flower cards game with its own hidden language and tricks (“tazza” means “Master of Tricks”). After the critical and popular success of The Big Swindle, director Choi Dong Hoon, one of the most exciting talents in Chungmuro, comes back with another winner. Based on the popular comic book Tazza by Heo Young Man (whose Damo and Duelist have also been successfully adapted to television and film), Tazza: The High Rollers is possibly the most realistic cinematic portrayal of hwatoo ever. Director Choi met with several experts in the field to perfect shooting techniques and capture the impact of the game on film, and his efforts have more than paid off. Tazza: The High Rollers ended its box office run with over six million tickets sold, making it one of the top ten grossing Korean films of all time.

*Reservation is required due to the limited seats. (408-716-8443, info@adroitcollege.org)

*Korean snacks and teas are provided.

February Korean Movie Night – Chunhyang

February 17, 2007 (Saturday) 7:00 p.m.
Adroit College, Conference Room
1010 Corporation Way, Palo Alto

Director Im Kwon Taek is regarded by many as the father of modern Korean Cinema and certainly the first Korean director to receive global critical acclaim. With around a hundred films to his credit, in a career spanning over four decades, Im has crafted some of Korea’s most revered and successful films. Chunhyang received its World Premiere at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first Korean film to ever to be selected for the official competition.

Based on a classic Korean tale, Chunhyang tells the story of a privileged governor’s son, Mongryong (Cho Seung Woo – Marathon), who falls in love with the beautiful Chunhyang (Lee Hyo Jung), the daughter of a proud former courtesan. The two fall in love and marry in secret. Soon afterwards, Mongryong is ordered back to Seoul to complete his schooling. He leaves his betrothed reluctantly, promising to return as soon as he has completed his studies. However, while he is away the evil and vindictive governor takes an instant liking to Chunhyang. When she refuses his advances, the governor imprisons her and sentences her to death. Chunhyang’s only hope is that Mongryong will return from Seoul in time to save her. Like with his classic film Sopyonje, Im again employs the ancient Korean tradition of pansori to retell this classic story. The effects are dazzling and Chunhyang helped introduce a new wave of Korean cinema to the rest of the world.

*Reservation is required due to the limited seats. Please reply by February 15.(408-716-8443, info@adroitcollege.org)

*Korean snacks and teas are provided.

December’s Movie – Family Ties

December 2, 2006 (Saturday) 7:00 p.m.
Adroit College, Conference Room
1010 Corporation Way, Palo Alto NOTE: new location

Family Ties is an ensemble drama from Kim Tae Yong, the co-director of chiller Memento Mori. The film tells three seemingly unconnected stories in a trilogy of distinct segments. The first part is the story of a woman (Moon So Ri – Oasis, A Good Lawyer’s Wife)) who has to deal with her long-lost brother’s surprise visit. After having been missing for several years, the brother (played by Um Tae Ung – Revenge) appears and moves in, with his new wife in tow – a much older woman, Mu Shin (Ko Doo Sim – More Beautiful Than A Flower). The second story features a searing performance from Gong Hyo Jin (Memento Mori) as a short-tempered young woman, who discovers that her estranged mother (Kim Hye Ok), with whom she has had a falling out, is terminally ill. Part three examines the relationship problems faced by a young couple (Bong Tae Gyu from See You After School and Jeong Yu Mi from Blossom Again).

*Reservation is required due to the limited seats. (408-716-8443, info@adroitcollege.org)

*Korean snacks and teas are provided.

October’s Movie – Hanbando

October 27, 2006 (Friday) 7:00 p.m.
Adroit College 1st Floor Conference room
830 Stewart Dr, Sunnyvale, CA

South and North Korea are on the verge of reunification, and the best way to celebrate this momentous occasion is the re-opening of the Gyunghuiseon Line. But Japan, claiming ownership of the line, interrupts the festivities with a contract signed by the last Joseon Emperor, Gojong, a move which drives both Koreas into a crisis. With Two Cops in 1993 he brought commercial filmmaking back from the abyss of the early 90s, and then in 2003, a little film called Silmido became the first ever Korean production to sell more than 10 million tickets. Kang’s new film Hanbando follows the same path as his previous films: it’s very controversial and it’s a big spectacle. The huge cast is highlighted with experienced actors, including Ahn Sung Ki (Musa, Duelist) as the Korean President, Moon Sung Keun (Princess Aurora) as the skeptical Prime Minister, and finally Cha In Pyo (Hong Kong Express) and Cho Jae Hyun (Bad Guy, Piano) as the agents trying to get to the truth. The 10 billion won blockbuster Hanbando polarized viewers because of its strong political themes, and drew close to 4 million people to the theaters. Now is your chance to see what caused all that fuss.

*Reservation is required due to the limited seats. (408-716-8443, info@adroitcollege.org)
*Korean snacks and teas are provided.

August’s Movie – The King and the Clown

Saturday, August 28, 2006
7:00pm
Adroit College, 1st Floor Conference Room
730 Stewart Drive, Sunnyvale

The surprise success story of 2005, King And The Clown shocked everyone by coming out of nowhere to become the highest grossing film of the year in Korea. The movie dominated at the 43rd Daejong Awards, picking up 10 awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Script, Best Photography, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. Gam Woo Sung was crowned Best Actor, while Lee Jun Gi, the androgyenous-looking lead who shot to stardom with this film, received the Best New Actor Award.

A modestly produced feature, with a cast featuring no A-list performers, the film is set during the reign of infamous king Yeon-San. Two performing clowns (Lee and Gam Woo Sung from Spider Forest) produce a satirical play, which criticizes the country’s ruler. While this makes them highly popular amongst the common people, it gets them into a world of trouble with the authorities.

*Reservation is required due to the limited seats. (408-716-8443, info@adroitcollege.org)

*Korean snacks and teas are provided.

September’s Movie – Forbidden Quest

September 29, 2006 (Friday) 7:00 p.m.
Adroit College, 1st Floor Conference Room
730 Stewart Drive, Sunnyvale

Life: entertainment, sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll, sex, and more sex. We live in an indecent world, don’t we? All the naughty stuff excites us the most. If that’s how we feel today, just imagine how things were when times were changing and erotic literature started to hit the streets a few hundred years ago with the advent of Japanese woodblock (Ukiyo-e) prints or the earlier Karma Sutra (not to mention “The Kinky How to Impress Girls with the Essence of Yak”, which was subsequently banned within hours of its release). During the latter part of the Chosun period in Korea, erotic novels were making the rounds, depicting deliciously lurid artwork and featuring descriptions that quite easily raised eyebrows. It’s here that Forbidden Quest takes place, around the 18th century, as scholars engage in a secretive battle to see who can become the master of erotic literature.

*Reservation is required due to the limited seats. (408-716-8443, info@adroitcollege.org)

*Korean snacks and teas are provided.