A movie that could relate with the audiences, NEW YEAR BLUES tells the stories of four couples spending a week right before the new year. The four couples, each facing a different story of anxiety such as the most common issue of our lives (career, relationships, and marriage), will convey the message of hope that the new year will bring them and dispel what have made them suffered the whole year.
Couple #1 – Revive the Thrill of Romance
Kim Kang-woo plays the divorced homicide detective Ji-ho, while Yoo In-na plays the rehab trainer Yo-young. Both coming out of failed marriages, Ji-ho and Hyo-young are not open for the possibilities of a new love. A week before the new year, will they be able to get over the trauma and embrace this new love?
Couple #2 – Refresh from the Burned-out Past
Heartbroken after being dumped, Jin-ah (Lee Yeon-hee) heads to the other side of South Korea and encounters Jae-hun (Yoo Yeon-seok) who has also left Seoul behind. A week to the new year, can they find a turning point in their lives and love?
Couple #3 – Reset Your Love-Translator
Yong-chan (Lee Dong-hwi) and Yaolin (Chen Du-ling) are an international couple soon to get married. But their already-growing marriage blues begin to get worse as Yong-chan is swindled out of his wedding savings. A week to the new year, will they be able to finally set up a real family?
Couple #4 – Remember The Moment She Said “Yes”
A Paralympic snowboarder Rae-hwan (Yoo Teo) pops a question to his long-time girlfriend Oh-wol (Choi Soo-young). They are a perfect match in their eyes, but not in other’s point of view. A week before the new year, can this long-term couple keep their love strong?
NEW YEAR BLUES is set to open in Singapore cinemas on 11 February 2021, offering energy for the new year as well as a warm message of cheering to audiences who had gone through particularly difficult times in 2020. Check out the movie trailer below!
Title: NEW YEAR BLUES Genre: Romance Cast: Kim Kang-woo, Yoo In-na, Yoo Yeon-seok, Lee Yeon-hee, Lee Dong-hwi, Chen Du-ling, Yeom Hye-ran, Choi Soo-young, Yoo Teo Directed by: Hong Ji-young Singapore Release Date: 11 February 2021 Runtime: 115 minutes
Steel Rain: Summit is set to make its premiere in Singapore cinemas on 6 August 2020. Unlike the usual sequels that follow the story of the prequel, Steel Rain: Summit will not continue its story from the 2017 Steel Rain film. Instead, this film will share an extended view of the issues of the prequel that the Korean Peninsula is headed towards a peace regime, but faced with a political upheaval in North Korea that could mean a threat of war.
Starring Jung Woo-sung, Kwak Do-won, Yoo Yeon-seok and Angus Macfadyen, Steel Rain: Summit is a steppingstone to the ultimate hope of establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula. The four actors’ steel-strong chemistry will shine through the confrontation, reconciliation, conflict, and arguments while remaining stuck inside a nuclear submarine that could explode at any time.
Film Synopsis:
Leaders of South Korea, North Korea, and the U.S. hold a summit in Wonsan, North Korea to discuss North Korea’s nuclear issue and peace in the Korean Peninsula. Interrupted by some North Korean hardliners who have raised a coup, the leaders of the three countries are abducted and taken away on a North Korean submarine. As the North Korean hardliners, the U.S., Japan, and China each set up their own plans for war, how will President Han (played by Jung Woo-sung) of South Korea, who is trapped inside a submarine, overcome this crisis?
Title: Steel Rain: Summit Genre: Action, Drama Cast: Jung Woo-sung, Kwak Do-won, Yoo Yeon-seok, Angus Macfadyen Directed by: Yang Woo-suk Singapore Release Date: (NEW) Sneaking 7-10 August | Opening 13 August Rating: NC16 (Some coarse language) Runtime: 132 minutes
Byun Yo-han, Lee Byung-hun, Kim Tae-ri, Kim Min-jung, Yoo Yeon-seok at the Seoul press conference for Netflix Original series Mr. Sunshine on June 26, 2018. (Photo Credit: Jinyoung Kim for Netflix)
As one of the most popular and talked about K-dramas of today, Mr. Sunshine, created by the writer and director of Descendants of the Sun and Goblin (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God), is grabbing the attention of audience through a beautiful yet sad story of the Choseon era in Korea while highlighting the romance between the characters in the period of change and confusion. New episodes of Mr. Sunshine are available every Saturday and Sunday on the same day of broadcast, only on Netflix.
The story of the series focuses on Shinmiyangyo, or the U.S. expedition to Korea in the late 19th century, where a boy born into a family of slaves runs away to board an American warship after witnessing his parents forced to death. He returns 30 years later as a U.S. marine officer to his home country that had abandoned him but now in need of his help.
Lee Byung-hun and Kim Tae-ri in Mr. Sunshine. (Photo Courtesy of Hwa&Dam/Netflix)
Along with the dazzling cinematography by the all-star creators of Kim Eun-sook and Lee Eung-bok, Mr. Sunshine has also been praised by the strong cast it features. The five main cast of the series all have a unique yet connected story of their own and are intertwined in love and hatred, appealing to the wider audience.
Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi in Mr. Sunshine (Photo Courtesy of Hwa&Dam/Netflix)
Lee Byung-hun, known as Storm Shadow in the G.I. Joe series and Han Cho Bai in Red2, plays the role of U.S. Marine officer Captain Eugene Choi, who was originally born into the family of slaves and had no choice but to run away after witnessing his parents forced to death in front of him.
Eugene comes back as a U.S. Marine officer filled with hatred towards his mother country, but ironically falls in love with Ae-sin, daughter of an aristocrat and a member of the resistance. While Eugene had no intention to protect the troubled Choseon, he feels his love for Ae-sin becoming bigger than his hatred towards Choseon.
Kim Tae-ri as Go Ae-sin in Mr. Sunshine (Photo Courtesy of Hwa&Dam/Netflix)
Kim Tae-ri, who came into the spotlight as Sook-hee in The Handmaiden, plays Go Ae-sin, the noble aristocrat’s daughter and a member of the resistance whose love for the country overweighs anything else. Ae-sin falls in love with Eugene as she is fascinated at the Korean looking American by his confidence and how Eugene can take action on what he feels is right.
Ae-sin lives a double life, both as a calm aristocrat’s daughter during the day and a resistance member at night, pulling the trigger for what she feels in right.
Yoo Yeon-seok as Gu Dong-mae in Mr. Sunshine (Photo Courtesy of Hwa&Dam/Netflix)
Yoo Yeon-seok, who made an impactful debut in Oldboy and took on popular roles including Chilbong in Reply 1994, is the fearful Gu Dong-mae, the leader of Musin Society, which is a Japanese samurai group.
Dong-mae was born into a butcher’s family which was sometimes considered lower than slaves and harassed by everyone in his childhood. Ae-sin saves Dong-mae’s life as Dong-mae was being hunted down, and he later runs away to Japan to later return to Choseon as the leader of a samurai group that will do anything for money.
Kim Min-jung as Hina Kudo in Mr. Sunshine (Photo Courtesy of Hwa&Dam/Netflix)
Kim Min-jung, who has been in numerous titles debuting when she was a young child, plays Kudo Hina, the owner of Hotel Glory that becomes an important location for all characters in the series.
Hina is a woman who stays strong against any threat and befriends Dong-mae for protection, while at the same time developing a feeling of love towards Eugene Choi. She is the daughter of Lee Wan-ik, a pro-Japanese who sold her over to an old Japanese man for marriage, and she shows her hatred towards her father continuously.
Byun Yo-han as Kim Hui-seong in Mr. Sunshine (Photo Courtesy of Hwa&Dam/Netflix)
Byun Yo-han, popular for his role in Misaeng: Incomplete Life, plays Kim Hui-seong, who is Ae-sin’s fiancé and at the same time the grandson of the aristocrat that is responsible for the death of Eugene’s parents. While originally taking no interest in the life in Choseon, he immediately falls in love with his fiancé, who was pre-arranged by his parents, and fights hard to show and protect his love towards Ae-sin.
Have you been catching up the series of Mr. Sunshine? New episodes of the hit drama will be aired every Saturday and Sunday on the same day of broadcast, only on Netflix.
Upcoming K-drama Mr. Sunshine will premiere exclusively on Netflix starting July 7, with episodes streaming on the same day of its Korean broadcast in the U.S. and Asian territories excluding Korea. The series will also premiere in Japan on July 8 and the rest of the world on July 19.
Anticipations have been rising for Mr. Sunshine, a drama that is written by Kim Eun-sook (known for her works “Goblin”, “Descendants of the Sun”, “The Heirs”, “Secret Garden”, and many more) and directed by Lee Eung-bok (known to have directed “Goblin”, “Descendants of the Sun”, “School 2013”, “Dream High 2”, “Dream High”, and many more). The drama will also mark the continuing partnership between writer Kim and director Lee.
Based in Shinmiyangyo, or the US expedition to Korea in the late 19th century, Mr. Sunshine tells the story of a Korean boy born into a family of a house servant running away to board an American warship, later to return to his homeland as a US marine officer. He ironically falls in love with an aristocrat’s daughter and discovers the dark scheme to colonize the country that he once ran away from.
(Source: Netflix)
Veteran actor Lee Byung-hun will take on the role of the US marine officer Eugene Choi, while Kim Tae-ri who came into the spotlight with The Handmaiden, will play the aristocrat’s daughter, Go Ae-sin. Yoo Yeon-seok, Kim Min-jung, and Byun Yo-han also join the cast playing key roles within the story.
Be sure not to miss the premiere of Mr. Sunshine on Netflix this July 7 for Singapore Netflix subscribers!
