I recently discovered that the independent film "후회하지 않아" ("No Regret") was available through a US distributor. It is purportedly the first feature film to be produced in Korea by a gay director, and is one of the few Korean films to focus on queer relationships in Korea. Furthermore, one of the leads is played by the popular actor Kim Nam-gil, albeit under a pseudonym.

I had been trying to track this movie down for years, but it unfortunately passed out of currency within a few years of it's release. Hopefully it will become more available now that director Kim Ji-woon is getting more attention. The only version available through Netflix, and apparently Amazon, is the Chinese dub (what the hell?) and I never ran across it when I was browsing video stores in Korea.

I haven't been keeping up with my 130 Korean movies project, but I have seen some movies over the summer and fall (the last time I posted on it). I will try to make a brief comment on each.

4. "프란다스의 개" ("Barking Dogs Never Bite" or "The Dog of Flanders")

I'm really lagging on the 130 K movies/year project, I know. Since I'm going to be studying in Korea during the summer hopefully I'll be able to really pick up the pace.

This weekend I watched the Korean gangster movie "비열한 거리", or "A Dirty Carnival". It is an attempt to make a gangster movie that is less romantic and more sympathetic to the subjects. The story starts out strong, with a protagonist who becomes a gangster due to the necessity of caring for his family but not having the means to get a good job. He is intensely loyal to his friends and underlings, but after he's cheated by his superior he is hard pressed to make ends meet.

Recently the Korea Times (the most popular English-language newspaper in Korea, which is slightly more relevant than the most popular Swahili-language newspaper in Canada) recently printed an article about a guy from Taiwan who, in the course of his study of Korean, watched 130 movies in one year.

Since I have nothing else to do but study Korean and watch movies, I figured I might as well give it a shot. I will try to watch 130 Korean movies within 365 days.

Taken in my kitchen. Yay, tropics! This is the only picture that really came out -- little bastard was fast.

From a pro-Dokdo campaign.

I say this without expressing any opinion on the actual Dokdo issue, but merely as a critic of media advertising.

That shit's funny.

Apologia on Tibet.

The tricky part of colonial studies is dealing with claims of development. The imperial apologists always make a point of showing the Signs of Progress, or how the Advanced Nation helped it's lesser brethren, albeit by the barrel of a gun. And, they usually are able to produce evidence of postive change.

This was a "Farly Tale".

Title: The Teddy Bear's Travel

Contents:
Boomi is the teddy bear's name.
Boomi find the friend.

Boomi: Where is my friend? Do you know my friend?

Bee: Yes, I know. He went to the hospital.

Boomi: Um . . . I don't know. How can I go to the hospital?

Rabbit: I know! I know!

Boomi: Really? How can I go to the hospital?

Rabbit: Hmm. Go street, and turn right at the flower bank. But minutely I don't know.

Boomi: Oh, thank you very much!

Rabbit: I'm sorry. Good-bye.

Dog: Hey! Hey! I know, I know.