Secretly, Greatly
Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 6:30PM
Asia Society
(725 Park Avenue at 70th Street, NYC)
JANG Cheol-soo,
2013, 127 min
KOREAN CULTURAL SERVICE NY and ASIA SOCIETY
announce
Korean Movie Night New York’s
WEBTOON comes to the Big Screen
Screenings at
Asia Society
725 Park Avenue at 70th Street
New York City
Free Admission
The Korean Cultural Service NY and Asia Society are proud to co-present the fourth series of Korean Movie Night New York (KMN), which will run from Wednesday, September 9 to October 20, 2015 at Asia Society’s Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium.
KMN presents the September-October films adapted from Korean webcomics, which are known in their home country as WEBTOONS. The boom of WEBTOONS started in 2003-4, thanks to NAVER and DAUM portals, and as they started to attract large online audience, the most popular WEBTOONS become ripe for film and TV drama adaptations. WEBTOON has become one of Korea’s top national pop-culture media forms, accelerated by the wide spread of digital devices, especially smartphones.
This series will feature the best films based on WEBTOONS by critically acclaimed artists, such as Yoon Tae-ho and KANG Full (aka Kang Pool). To celebrate the inclusion of the English-language version of YOON Tae-ho’s “Moss” WEBTOON in Huffington Post’s Spottoon (first episode posted on August 3rd, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/SPOTTOON/story_b_7838418.html?utm_hp_ref=entertainment&ir=Entertainment), the series will kick off on September 9 with the film adaptation of Moss and will feature live appearance by WEBTOON artist YOON Tae-ho. Next up will be the U.S. Premiere of The Neighbors, a thriller based on KANG Full’s WEBTOON of the same name. The series will conclude with the screening of JANG Cheol-soo’s Secretly Greatly, one of 2013’s biggest box office hits and the most successful WEBTOON adaptation to date, with 7 million admissions.
The series is planned in conjunction with the exhibition of WEBTOON, which will opens on Tuesday, September 8th through October 16th 2015 at The Gallery Korea of the Korean Cultural Service NY (460 Park Ave., between 57th and 58th St.) The opening reception will be held on Tuesday, September 8th at 6:00 PM.
Korean Movie Night New York is an ongoing, approximately twice-a-month film program that introduces the full spectrum of contemporary and classic Korean cinema to New York audiences, from popular blockbusters, independent films, and documentaries to animation and family movies. The series is co-presented by Korean Cultural Service NY and Asia Society.
For information on the series, please visit at www.koreanculture.org or www.asiasociety.org/korean-movie-night. Like us on FaceBook: www.facebook.com/KoreanMovieNY.
All screenings take place at Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue at 70th Street, New York City. All events are free admission, first come, first served. For information, call 212-517-2742.
For stills, please contact Elaine Merguerian at 212-327-9313 / elainem@asiasociety.org or Jean Jo (212) 759-9550 (ext. 207) / jjo@Koreanculture.org.
WEBTOON comes to the Big Screen series schedule (September-October, 2015):
Secretly, Greatly
(은밀하게 위대하게 eun-mil-ha-gae, wi-dae-ha-gae)
Directed by JANG Cheol-soo
2013 | 127 min | In Korean with English subtitles
Starring: KIM Soo-hyun, PARK Gi-woong, LEE Hyun-woo
Tuesday, October 20, 2015, 6:30 PM
A Centerpiece Presentation of the 12th New York Asian Film Festival, and one of the most popular screenings of the past editions of KMN at Tribeca Cinemas, Secretly, Greatly is based on artist HUN’s widely popular WEBTOON of the same name. The film holds the record as the most successful Korean WEBTOON adaptation, with 7 million admissions. A group of elite North Korean spies, trained since youth, has been dispatched to South Korea where they’ve disguised themselves as a fool, an aspiring singer, and a high school student. Asian’s heartthrob KIM Soo-hyun plays Won Ryu-hwan, trained North Korean agent, but undercovers his identity as a village idiot in Seoul. A sequel to “Secretly, Greatly” WEBTOON is currently running on Daum portal.
About Korean Movie Night New York
Korean Movie Night New York (KMN) is a continuing series of bi-weekly film screenings that introduces the full spectrum of both contemporary and classic Korean cinema to New York audiences, from popular blockbusters, independent films, and documentaries, to animation and family movies. Every year, the KMN program consists of 6 thematic series. KMN was launched in 2010 as a successor to Korean Cine Forum, an earlier film screening series that was organized by the Korean Cultural Service in 1996. Keep up with the latest news at: www.Facebook.com/KoreanMovieNY.
Korean Cultural Service NY
Inaugurated in 1979, the Korean Cultural Service New York (KCSNY) is a branch of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) of the Republic of Korea. Under the authority of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in New York, KCSNY works to promote cultural arts exchange and stimulate interest in Korean culture through various opportunities. KCSNY provides diverse activities including exhibitions, concerts, film festivals, and educational programs. KCSNY is located at 460 Park Avenue (at 57th Street), New York City. www.koreanculture.org.
Asia Society
Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational institution. Through exhibitions and public programs, Asia Society provides a forum for the issues and viewpoints reflected in both traditional and contemporary Asian art, and in Asia today. Asia Society is located at 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), New York City. www.AsiaSociety.org.