south-korea

Lee Sun-Kyun, Oscar-Winning “Parasite” Actor, Dead At 48

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Lee Sun-kyun, best known to Western audiences as the rich Park family patriarch in Parasite, has died aged 48. He was found unconscious in his car in Seoul amid weeks of intense scrutiny about his alleged drug use. Lee was being investigated by police after allegedly using drugs at the home of a bar hostess. However, Lee claimed that he had been tricked into doing drugs as part of a blackmail scheme. At the time of his death, Lee was seeking legal action against the two people he was accusing of blackmail. While South Korea’s drug laws are incredibly strict, there has been a steady rise in the number of drug-related arrests in recent years.

However, the scrutiny around the allegations and now Lee’s death, has sparked massive debate in South Korea. “Lee faced some allegations but they haven’t been formally verified. But the media has been assertively reporting about Lee’s private life … and I think that’s something wrong,” media professor Kang Youn-gon told the Associated Press. There has been a spate of high-profile suicides in South Korea in recent years. This includes several K-Pop stars and other major celebrities.

Read More: Andre Braugher, Captain Holt Of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” Dies At 61

Who Is Lee Sun-kyun?

While best known to Western audiences for his Oscar-winning role in Parasite, Lee was a superstar in South Korea. He found his breakout in 2007 with the medical drama White Tower and rom-com Coffee Prince. He would build a name for himself over the coming years, including in a trio of projects with acclaimed director Kwon Seok-jang. This led to 2018’s My Mister before Lee was cast in Parasite. Parasite would go on to become the first non-English language film to win the Best Picture Award at the Oscars.

The cause of Lee’s death has not been confirmed. South Korean police have refused to provide details beyond confirming that they found Lee in his car. However, several South Korean outlets reported his death as a suspected suicide. Outlets such as Yonhap have reported that Lee’s family told police that the actor had left a suicide note before he disappeared last week. This remains a developing story.

Read More: Sir Michael Gambon Dies At 82

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“The Little Mermaid” Asian Box Office Slump Blamed On Racism

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Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has received a warm reception in the United States. Critics have received the film fairly warmly, and it holds a 67% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Furthermore, critics have praised the performance of Halle Bailey while noting that the film as a whole is a fairly bland and visually underwhelming remake. However, audiences have loved the film. The Little Mermaid holds a 96% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has grossed $327 million worldwide.

However, the film has some underwhelming international markets, namely those in Asia. According to Endata, the film has grossed just $3.7 million in Mainland China, which counts as the second-largest box office in the world. Similarly, the film has grossed just $4.4 million in South Korea. Meanwhile, the film is yet to open in Japan but is expected to suffer from the same issues. Additionally, these muted figures have been attributed to a problem that has plagued the film time and time again.

Anti-Black Racism Blamed For “The Little Mermaid” Slump

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – MAY 25: Halle Bailey greets fans during the Family and friends screening of The Little Mermaid at Regal Atlantic Station on May 25, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Joi Stokes/Getty Images For Disney)

China and South Korea both harbor long histories of racial discrimination. Anti-Black racism has been common in China since the 1970s, when the nation began its expansion of financial diplomacy into Africa. Furthermore, much like how the rest of the world blamed China for COVID-19, China in turn saw a spike in anti-Black discrimination. Meanwhile, South Korea is infamous for a culture of denying service to non-Koreans. Furthermore, research has shown that Black individuals are more likely to experience overt racism than white individuals.

These sentiments appear to be fueling the cold reception to The Little Mermaid. On the Chinese film review website Douban, users have rated the film as a 5.1 out of 10. Meanwhile, several reviews left on the review site and box office tracker Maoyan made direct and discriminatory references to Bailey’s skin color. Similar trends have been observed in South Korea, where the Instagram hashtag ‘NotMyAriel’ has trended numerous times. Furthermore, Japanese film-goers have also expressed a cool reception ahead of the film’s June 9 premiere.

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2024 MLB Season To Start In South Korea

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Seven MLB seasons in the league’s 120-year history have begun outside the US and Canada. The first season to leave the home of the league’s 30 teams was 1999, when the season opener was played in Mexico. Five seasons have started in Tokyo, Japan, most recently in 2019. Finally, the 2014 season got underway in Sydney.

International games are becoming more and more common as the MLB attempts to replicate the success of the NFL in attracting a wider international audience. The MLB played games in London for the first time in 2019 and has returned several times after that. This year the Cubs and Cardinals will play in the British capital. What is unique about the MLB is that, unlike the NFL, there are premier baseball leagues located outside the United States. Now they will be heading to a brand new country next year.

Dodgers And Padres To Play In Korea

SAN DIEGO, CA – MAY 1: Ha-Seong Kim #7 of the San Diego Padres hits a three-run home run in the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds May 1, 2023 at Petco Park in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

According to a source who spoke with ESPN, the MLB will play its first-ever games in South Korea in 2024. Korea is a major baseball nation and serves as home to the KBO League. Furthermore, there are currently five active Korean-born players on MLB teams. However, the MLB has never played games in South Korea. That is all set to change in 2024. NL West rivals Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will face off in a two-game series in Korea. The location of the games has not been announced but it is likely that Seoul will be the venue for the two games. Sources also told ESPN that the games would be played early enough in the year to minimize the disruption for the Dodgers and Padres ahead of the rest of the season.

Of the two teams chosen, the Padres currently have Korean player on their roster. Infielder Ha-seong Kim has played with the team since 2021. Prior to joining the Padres, Kim played for six seasons in the KBO. The last time that the Dodgers had a Korean player on the roster was in 2019. That was last of six seasons that pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu spent in Los Angeles. KBO players are able to join MLB teams through a process called posting. The posting system allows MLB teams to bid on Japanese and Korean players as free agents. Are you excited to see the MLB head to Korea?

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Snoop Dogg Offered Features In Exchange For Weed In Korea, Ben Baller Says

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It’s a rare sighting to see Snoop Dogg without a blunt in his hand, even in places where cannabis is prohibited. The Death Row owner smoked inside the White House during Barack Obama’s time as president. 50 Cent previously suggested that he tried to stop Snoop from smoking weed on the set of BMF. Snoop Dogg will go to extreme lengths to get stoned no matter where he’s at in the world.

Ben Baller recently appeared on No Jumper where he discussed his friendship with Snoop Dogg. The conversation eventually led to the infamous tale of the rapper’s visit to South Korea. Baller explained that he told Snoop he would set him up with whatever he needed during his stay. However, there wasn’t enough weed in South Korea for the rapper. This led Snoop Dogg to get creative in his attempt to score more weed in Asia. 

Snoop Dogg Feature For Weed

Ben explained that he already discussed the type of hotels and the best places to smoke weed. By the time Snoop Dogg got to his hotel, Ben kept to his word and had weed waiting for him, though it wasn’t enough. “I pretty much got all the weed possible in the entire country of Korea to his hotel,” Baller explained, revealing that it was less than two ounces. Even though the quality was to Snoop’s liking, he got through the bag quickly and needed another supply.

“So Snoop goes on his social media, and he goes, ‘I don’t give a fuck who you are. Anybody in Korea right now, bring me whatever weed you have.’ And his manager got mad about the shit because what he offered was absolutely insane,” Baller said of Snoop Dogg. “Snoop goes ‘I’m doing features right now for weed, and I’m signing off on the clearance.’” Even Ben said that it was an offer that was difficult to pass on for any Asian artist. “If I was a rapper in, like, Indonesia or somewhere else, I would’ve flown to Korea [and] took the chance because, bro, the hardest part is the clearance right?” Check out the clip above.