Korean pop culture giants cross paths The twin towers of Korean pop culture, "K-Pop" and 'K-Film," crossed paths in Australia last week. As the leader of 'Gangnam Style', Psy, headlined the Future Music Festival, he traded texts with his friend, Lee Byung-hun, in town for the premiere of his film GI Joe: Retaliation. The Psy story and his horsey dance is imprinted on every Australian's brain as the K-pop phenomenon crosses from an expat audiences into the mainstream. Lee heads, with Ahn Sung-ki, the Hollywood moves from a Korean film sector that has been one of the most vibrant local film industries in the world of recent times The star of TV and Korean film blockbusters including Joint Security Area and A Bittersweet Life, appreciates the head of steam Korean culture has globally. "I can feel that, I can feel it definitely," he smiled. That's why we had the world premiere (of GI Joe) in Seoul. Hollywood appreciated the wave some time ago. There were too many strong films, across all genres and budgets, emerging from South Korea not to notice. As Lee was snapped up to star in the first GI Joe action film (and also now in the sequel to RED, starring Helen Mirren and Bruce Willis), a number of directors are moving from Korea into the mainstream. For instance Park Chan-wook, the director of the thrilling Oldboy, is about to release his US thriller starring Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Jackie Weaver, Stoker. "They're smart, Hollywood is taking advantage of (Korean talent)," Lee said. And in the opposite way, Im taking advantage of them. That's a natural thing, I guess. Yet unlike Australian talent, which seems to head for the Hollywood hills and, for the most part, stay there, Korean talent only moves into the Western mainstream for curiosity. Lee noted Korean media celebrate the success of their own on the global stage because they know they will always remain faithful to their own culture. "They know I'm not going to do what I've been doing until the end in Korea," he said. I'm not going to throw (Korea) away because that's what I have to do until the end. Challenging Hollywood is just a bonus to me. I'm not moving. Even though I studied hard, it's not my language and not my culture. I'll try as much as I can but it's not going to be my final goal.