Myung Films Art Center, Where movies are embraced

Production and distribution company Myung Films has built their Myung Films Art Center. Located in Paju in the Gyeonggi Province and built by architect Seung H-sang, there’s more to see here than just movies

Written by

Hye Won Kim

Thursday August 20 2015

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1. 1F Café-Moeum

Café-Moeum, which carries books on movies, architecture and design that have all been selected by Myung Films, IROJE (architect Seung H-sang’s office) and PaTI (Paju Typography Institute), is located on the first floor. It doesn’t seem to have enough books or volumes to be merit the title of “book café.” But considering that they have wide tables and that it is located in the tranquil city of Paju, it is most definitely a great place to sit and read. Plus, Seung H-sang’s touch is evidenced in the café’s furniture and the bookshelves were made in the Giljong Arcade. You can use one of the community rooms by making a reservation in advance.

2. B1 Cinema

This theater has a digital 4K projection system (4K resolution is twice as high as 2K, which is widely used in digital movies) and a Dolby Atmos 3D sound system. You’ll definitely notice the difference when you watch a movie with 3D surround sound. As an FYI, the re-mastered Joint Security Area is the only movie that is screened in 4K digital resolution and 3D Atmos sound.

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3. 4F Art Lab

There are two exhibition halls—Art Lab Space 15 and Art Lab Space 28. At Art Lab 15, original images and lines from the animated film Leafie, a Hen into the Wild, which was produced by Myung Films, are on display. And in Art Lab 28, “Crossing Waves” is on exhibit. Six videos produced by Laya Kim and six musicians created soundtracks that were inspired by Laya Kim’s videos. The exhibition is free and open to all.

Myung Films Retrospective: Memories of Twenty Years

“Myung Films Retrospective: Memories of Twenty Years” screens 36 films that Myung Films has produced over the last 20 years and will run until the 16th of September. After each screening, there’s a Q&A session with industry players like actress Suzy, director Lee Yong-joo, critic Jung Sung-il and more.

GV Q&A: Actor Song Kang-ho

Song Kang-ho is the first actor to make a guest visit to the “Myung Films Retrospective: Memories of Twenty Years”. Here is an excerpt from the GV Q&A session after Joint Security Area (JSA) was screened. Myung Films’ representative director, Shim Jae-myung, moderated the event.

What does JSA mean to you as an actor?

I would dare to say that JSA expands the audiences’ emotional boundaries. It looks like the movie is addressing the issue of division, but in reality it focuses more on humanism. I believe that it examines division from the perspective of humanism. I also think that it made a huge impact on the Korean film industry. I was awarded a huge acting honor in this movie and the whole experience was truly rewarding.

Are there any characters that are difficult for you to portray? How do you analyze them?

It may sound cliché to say, but for me—it’s never easy. The Throne will be released soon and I’ll confess that I actually disappeared for a while to secretly practice my acting. I stayed for three days and two nights just with my manager to rehearse and when we were shooting. I pretended that I hadn’t. I’m not saying that practice alone will make you a better actor, as you also need to have innate talent, but practice is necessary and it results in better acting.

You said you need a lot of practice, but how do you bring your emotions to the surface?

No matter if it’s a play or a movie, what matters the most is the scenario. You need to read it out loud. At first, doing so feels very awkward. If you continue reading and work on making it more natural, you’ll have a moment where it suddenly comes together. Personally, I think this is the best way to go about things.

How do you choose scripts?

I focus more on the freshness of perspectives than on the materials. It’s not that I want to do something because I’ve never tried it before. It’s that when the work provides a new point of view on something that seems ordinary, I’m drawn to it. This is the most important barometer for my choices.