Jeon Do-yeon (전도연)

Enemies conquer poverty to rekindle love

Source | 2008/09/30 | Permalink |

Love and hate, as the saying goes, are two sides of the same coin. This is nowhere more apparent than in Lee Yoon-ki's "My Dear Enemy", a story which explores the way love can create hatred and vice versa.

The film's two main characters, Hui-soo (Jeon Do-yeon) and Byung-un (Ha Jeong-woo), share a tempestuous relationship.

Hui-soo, single, jobless and poor, is desperate for money. While searching for ways to earn a living, she remembers the 3.5 million won ($3,073) that her ex-boyfriend Byung-un borrowed from her a year ago.

She asks him for the money but he's in equally dire straits. He is also jobless and worn out.

He got married after breaking up with Hui-soo but divorced two months later. His business failed, miring him even deeper in debt. His bad luck forces him out onto the streets.

Despite the breakdowns, Byung-un is optimistic. He still dreams of becoming a jockey and opening a makgeolli, or rice wine, shop in Madrid.

While the two dispute over money, their lo...| More

Low Budget Films Gaining Popularity With Good Storylines

Source | 2008/09/24 | Permalink |

With a growing number of big production Korean movies struggling to make a hit at the box office the trend these days is to make quality films on low budgets.
For instance, take a look at this horror film "Death Bell" released this summer.
The movie was made at a considerably low cost but most importantly it managed to attract 1.5 million viewers twice more than the 700,000 it needed to break even.
Another low-budget film "Rough Cut" featuring two A-list actors debuted just last week and it has already been seen by over a million people.
And some highly anticipated films made on a tight budget are about to hit theaters.
Starring Jeon Do-yeon who won best actress at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and another well-known actor Ha Jeong-woo "My Dear Enemy" was produced on just two billion won which is about 1.7 million US dollars.
Up next is "Truck" a thriller that cost 1.8 billion won.
And this movie "Miss Carrot" was made on a budget of a mere one billion won.
Industry analysts sa...| More

[ChanMi's movie news] Jeong Do-yeon and Ha Jeong-woo thankful for each other

Source | 2008/09/24 | Permalink |

New movie "My Dear Enemy" will be released this 25th for which the press conference was about.

Two celebrities, Ha Jeong-woo and Jeon Do-yeon have never filmed at the same place twice for a scene. So this film required a lot of moving around....| More

Queen of Cannes' Is Back With Lighter Fare

Source | 2008/09/22 | Permalink |

The Queen of Cannes is back. Jeon Do-yeon seemed somewhat overwhelmed by the title, given to her after her winning the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007 for her role in "Secret Sunshine", but she knew she would have to get used to it. The Chosun Ilbo met her for an interview at a café in Apgujeong-dong on Friday afternoon. "This won't go away until someone else gets the Best Actress award, right? I want to break people's preconception that I peaked at 'Secret Sunshine'", she says.

Jeon is back on the screen with "My Dear Enemy" directed by Lee Yoon-ki, which is to be released this Thursday. She stars as Hee-soo, an unmarried woman who goes to her ex-boyfriend a year after their breakup to collect W3.5 million (US$1=W1,137) that she had lent him. It is a much lighter, and perhaps duller, character compared to the dramatic Shin-ae in "Secret Sunshine", a mother whose child was abducted and found dead. "Because the role of Shin-ae was so difficult, I wanted to do s...| More

Jeon Do-yeon on Pregnancy, Post-Cannes Film

Source | 2008/09/21 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Actress Jeon Do-yeon seems to have it all, having won the Best Actress award at Cannes last year and about to enter motherhood. In time for the release of her latest movie "My Dear Enemy", the 35-year-old, five months pregnant but looking svelte in a colorful construction dress, met with The Korea Times in a private press meeting Friday.

"I'm super healthy, I actually wish I had morning sickness", joked Jeon, who is expected to deliver her first child at the end of January. The actress rose to international prominence for her role in "Secret Sunshine" as a woman traumatized by her son's death. "I was afraid I was portraying a stereotypical mother figure in `Secret Sunshine', but the director (Lee Chang-dong) assured me that my interpretation is probably right. If I were to tackle the role again after having my own child, it would probably be different", she said.

"`Secret Sunshine' was challenging because the director left everything completely u...| More