Former teen star promotes Japanese adult films

November 7, 2008 by J!-ENT

Chosun reported:

Ju Hee, 38, has not changed much in 20 years. Many people remember her big, wide eyes and articulate speaking manner. Ju Hee, a teen star in the 1980s, made a comeback as a film festival programmer after finishing her studies in Japan. She is now an executive of a Cinus multiplex and a planner of the 2008 Pink Film Festival, which opened last Saturday.

The Pink Film Festival, which was launched last year, is the only women’s film fest showcasing low-budget Japanese adult movies in Korea. The festival runs from Nov.1 to 28 in four Cinus theaters in Isu, Seoul, Busan, Daejeon and Paju (the one in Seoul ends next Tuesday).

“Last year, we held the festival as a limited test-run, and sold 83 percent of seats,” said Ju.

After she quit acting in 1991, Ju began a graduate film studies program in Nihon University, Japan the following year. While studying for her master’s and doctorate degrees, she won Japanese government scholarships that covered all her tuition fees.

She began to take interest in adult films when preparing for her doctorate dissertation. “My topic for the dissertation was research on the mentality of Japanese people as seen through ‘yakuza’ gangster movies.