Slow and Steady

Missed Because It's Obvious, The Familiar Comfort of Family Movies There are movies where the ending is clearly drawn just by looking at the poster or reading a few lines of the synopsis. We often devalue such movies by calling them "cliché-ridden" or "sinpa" (forced tear-jerkers). However, ironically, at the decisive moment when we visit the theater, we often need the comfort provided by this familiar taste. The movie Number One is a work that accurately penetrates that point. As the genre of family movies usually does, this movie also chooses a direct approach of building up the characters' emotional lines one by one rather than shocking twists or flashy techniques. Like the saying, "Development is more important than content," this movie runs toward an obvious ending, but the detailed layers of emotion derived from that process have the power to move the audience's hearts. The Paradox of the Title 'Number One', A Countdown Toward the...

From 'Action Kid' to 'Action Master', The Path Ryoo Seung-wan Has Walked Director Ryoo Seung-wan is a craftsman who has explored the two words "Action" more tenaciously and passionately than anyone else in the Korean film industry. For audiences who remember the raw sound of breathing and the scent of blood from his debut film Die Bad, which made his name widely known to the world, the filmography he has walked is a process of dynamic evolution. If his early works focused on the explosive energy emitted by unpolished gemstones, the current Ryoo Seung-wan has established himself as a box-office director who adds sophistication based on massive capital and seasoned directing skills. However, the important thing is that he has not lost his "action instinct," which is his root, just because the scale has grown. Rather, he is proving himself why he is synonymous with Korean action movies by presenting more precise impact and scale with the wings of capita...

The Mystery of the Time Capsule Sealing a Hideous Murder Weapon A time capsule, which should be a symbol of pure childhood innocence, has returned as a tool for a gruesome murder. The TV Asahi Tuesday drama Reunion, released through Netflix, stimulates viewers' curiosity intensely with this shocking setting alone. Usually, a time capsule is used as a touching subject where people bury childhood dreams, precious treasures, or letters to their future selves to open and laugh about later. However, this drama twists that cliché, highlighting that what was sealed was not a simple memory but a lethal weapon: a "handgun." This ominous medium connecting the past and the present shakes the lives of the protagonists who were living ordinary lives to their core, summoning the ghosts of the past they wanted to forget. The Dignity of an Edogawa Rampo Award Winner, Meeting Yokoseki Dai's Debut Work Again The solid story of this drama stems from a verified original work. It is based...

The Absolute Ruler of 8 PM, The Iron Fortress of KBS Weekend Dramas That Never Crumbles When discussing the "guaranteed check for viewership ratings" in the Korean broadcasting industry, KBS weekend dramas are indispensable. Even now, when the media environment is changing rapidly and OTT platforms have become the mainstream, blurring the concept of watching live broadcasts, Saturday and Sunday at 8 PM is still undeniably KBS's exclusive stage. In an era where dramas on other broadcasters or time slots are evaluated as "doing well" if they pass 5% and cheered as a "jackpot" if they pass 10%, KBS weekend dramas show numbers on a different level from the start. This is because, beyond simply the fun of the drama, sitting around the TV with the whole family or eating dinner while watching the drama on weekend evenings has established itself as a lifestyle pattern and culture. This powerful fandom, called the "concrete viewer layer," is the force...