Will director Lee Sang-il’s Japanese hit film ‘Kokuho’ find success in Korea?

Korean Japanese filmmaker Lee Sang-il’s latest film, “Kokuho” (meaning national treasure in Japanese), is set to make its highly anticipated debut in Korea later this year, following a phenomenal run in Japan that captivated audiences and critics. Released on June 6 in Japan, “Kokuho” quickly became a box office sensation, drawing an incredible 7.47 million viewers in just 73 days and grossing 10.5 billion yen ($71 million). This overwhelming success has secured its place as the third-highest-grossing live-action film in Japanese cinematic history, surpassing the 1998 hit “Bayside Shakedown: The Movie.” The movie’s local importer Media Castle and distributor NEW said Wednesday that they decided to release “Kokuho” in Korea as the film has brought “a significant shift in the landscape of Japanese cinema for the first time in 27 years.” The film tells the story of Tachibana Kikuo (Ryo Yoshizawa), a boy born into a yakuza family during Japan’s period of high economic growth, who is adopted into a family of Kabuki actors. He devotes his life to mastering the intricaWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times