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Tutor Yishu H. 's Column

The loss of actor Lee Sun-kyun casts a chill shadow over Korea’s film world

Donnerstag, 28. Dezember 2023, 09:14

Hello, and welcome to Speak Good English with me, Yishu. Today I’d like to share an article on Guardian with you. 

 

The following is an excerpt. You can click the link to read the whole article. 

https://www.theguardian.com/film/commentisfree/2023/dec/27/the-loss-of-actor-lee-sun-kyun-casts-a-chill-shadow-over-koreas-film-world

 

The loss of actor Lee Sun-kyun casts a chill shadow over Korea’s film world

                                                                      —Peter Bradshaw

 

Lee, who has died aged 48, was a homegrown star who graduated to global fame in the multi-award-winning Parasite

 

homegrown: 地元出身の、地元産の

e.g. homegrown corn

 

graduate to: 次の段階‧上のレベルなど〕に進む

e.g. graduate to pain 

 

multi-award-winning: 数々の賞を獲得した

e.g. multi-award-winning musical

 

 

 

K-class, K-prestige and K-artistry found their apogee in the movies with Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning 2019 smash Parasite – and this colossally successful South Korean social satire certainly found a place for one of that country’s biggest stars.

 

In his 40s and in his prime, with a string of blue-chip movie credits and a home-turf household name due to his TV work, Lee Sun-kyun displayed in Parasite his discreet charisma and sleek movie-star handsomeness with a sexual presence that could be dialled up or down.

It was a supporting role, and his character – destined here to be upstaged – was the karmic opposite of the star, Song Kang-ho, who played Kim, the rackety head of a predatory family of petty criminals who infiltrate a wealthy household as an apparently unrelated bunch of live-in servants. Their employer is Mr Park, played by Lee, a well-to-do man with a picture-perfect lifestyle who is, perhaps, Jekyll to Kim’s Hyde, but Lee’s performance radiated a kind of smugness in the glamour.

 

in one’s prime: 最盛期の

e.g. in her 40s and in her prime

 

blue-chip: 一流品

e.g. blue-chip movies/companies 

 

home-turf: 地元の

household name: どこの家庭でも通じる名前

e.g. She immediately became a household name when she won the gold medal. 

 

 

rackety: noisy 騒々しい

e.g. The rackety voice started up again. 

 

predatory: 〔動物が〕捕食性の、肉食の

e.g. predatory animals

 

infiltrate: ~に〕潜入[侵入]する

e.g. He has infiltrated a terrorist organization.

 

well-to-do: wealthy

e.g. a well-to-do family 

 

a picture-perfect lifestyle 完璧な

e.g. a picture-perfect plan 

 

 

 

Fans of Lee might well have savoured the residual aura of sexuality that he brought with him – from movies where he played a married man having (or ambiguously about to have) a forbidden relationship.

 

….

 

Lee was an A-lister of the Korean film industry – his sad death is a chilling event in Korean cinema.

 

savor: 味わう、楽しむ、味わう

e.g. She savored the taste of the ice cream as she ate it.

 

A-lister: 大スター

e.g. She is a A-lister of the Japanese music industry. 

 

a chilling event: a frightening/scary event

 

 

Thanks for reading! That's what I wanna share with you guys today. If you also feel related to this article, how about a chat with me? I'm looking forward to talking to you all~

 

Yishu

This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

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