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'King and Clown' Chosen for Academy

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

South Korea's second most viewed film "The King and the Clown" will be submitted to next year's Academy Awards.

The historical piece by director Lee Jun-ik was picked as the nation's contender in the foreign film category at the Oscars, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) announced yesterday.

Other candidates on the final list were the monster film "The Host" by Bong Joon-ho and the low-budget art film "Time" by Kim Ki-duk.

As the Academy has never nominated a Korean movie, KOFIC said they chose the film they thought would appeal most to the Academy.

The jury members included Park Ki-yong, director of "Motel Cactus" (2002); Shin Chul, president of production company Shin Cine; Kim Young-jin, senior editor of weekly magazine Film 2.0; and Yu Wun-sung, programmer at the Jeonju International Film Festival.

"The King and the Clown" set in the Choson Kingdom during the late 15th century revolves around street clowns who have become court jesters for the notorious tyrant King Yonsan.

"The Host", which is now screening nationwide and breaking box office records, is the story of a family fighting a monster from the Han River, and "Time" is a story about a woman who gets plastic surgery as a way to overcome a relationship crisis with her boyfriend.

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