'Haeundae' Director Set for International Shores

"Haeundae" writer and director JK Youn will direct an English language adventure comedy. The project will be produced by Youn's JK Film which also produced the mega-hit tsunami film that went on to screen at a number of territories around the world as well as pulling in 12 million admissions at home. To further guarantee a Western audience the film will come complete with an American cast and a (U.S) $10 million budget; big by Korean standards but hardly recognizable by Hollywood's.

The unique American/Korean story focuses on children who stay at a temple where ancient Korean ghosts come to visit and statues of Buddha come to life. This true, family film has been compared to other similar films such as Jumanji and the Night at the Museum franchise.

Director Yoon follows the footsteps of other Korean directors like Kim Jee-woon, who after the success of "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" has been recruited to direct an English version of Max et les Ferrailleurs in Philadelphia, with the working title Max and the Junkmen. A handful of Korean actors such as Lee Byung-hun have also taken the lead appearing in English roles on international productions. The Korean film industry has long looked for bridges into English speaking markets and making films in English is the ultimate entry point. In addition, the CG work will be entirely completed in Korea. Although most cinematic CG work in Korea has been out sourced to other countries, as was the case with "Haeundae", the industry here has been steadily rising, making technological advancements and gaining expertise.

Prior to "Haeundae", YOON directed "Sex Is Zero" (2003) and "My Boss, My Hero" (2001).

David Oxenbridge (KOFIC)

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