It’s only a few days left till the winners of this year’s Korean Music Awards will be announced and today we wrap up our series introducing all the albums, songs and artists nominated for the awards in various categories as we have a look at the nominees for Best Soundtrack, or Best Movie & TV Music as is the more accurate translation of the awards category. If you haven’t done so already, now’s a good time to let us know who you think will win through our reader’s KMA predictions poll for a chance to win a CD set.
Duresori : The Voice of East (두레소리)
Music drama Duresori, based on a true story, opened in May 2012 with the soundtrack released a month earlier. The movie’s tag line “Oriental sound meets Western harmony” summarizes the music as well as the plot of a teacher schooled in western music being assigned to a Korean traditional arts high school. Music director for the music drama was Ham Hyun Sang, who also acted the part of the teacher.
Nameless Gangster (범죄와의 전쟁: 나쁜놈들의 전성시대)
Cho Youngwook has been the music director for a number of high-profile movies throughout the years, best known internationally for his work for Park Chan Wook‘s revenge trilogy with the soundtrack for Lady Vengance (친절한 금자씨) winning Best Soundtrack at the Korean Music Awards in 2006. Nameless Gangster is a gangster movie set in Busan in the 80’s, released in February 2012. While Cho Youngwook took care of the score, Chang Kiha & The Faces‘ cover of Jung-A Ham & Yankees‘ groovy “풍문으로 들었소” brought the soundtrack some extra attention.
The Heaven is Only Open to the Single ! (설마 그럴리가 없어)
Romantic indie movie The Heaven is Only Open to the Single ! came out in June and starred a total of thirty five musicians, including Sister’s Barbershop guitarist Lee Neung Ryong who not only was the male lead but also the music director of the film. Among the many indie artists that can be spotted on the screen are Roller Coaster‘s Lee Sang Soon, Lim Ju Yeon, Baik Hyunjihn, Mongoose‘s Mongu and Chang Kiha & The Faces bassist Jeong Jung Yeop.
Forest of Time (시간의 숲)
Documentary Forest of Time takes the viewer to the Unesco World Heritage Site and “Princess Mononoke” forest of Japanese island Yukushima, to visit a 7200-year-old tree. It came out in April 2012, as did the soundtrack made by Joong-Han Chung. To accompany the footage of a majestic and serene forest the music is solemn and healing, according to the KMA selection committee. Joong-Han Chung has previously worked primarily with the score for American documentaries and short films, winning an award for his work on Do You Want The Elephant Music in 2006.