Micro-Dramas in Korean Market

Over the last year or so, the subject of micro-dramas comes up repeatedly in conversations with those in the Korean film industry. These "vertical stories" are made for smartphones with episodes lasting between one and three minutes. With the Korean fi...

Udine Far East Film Festival Remains Key Fixture for Korean Cinema

Established in 1999, the Udine Far East Film Festival (FEFF) located in Northeast Italy about 100km from Venice has long been an enthusiastic supporter of Korean cinema. Its growth as one of the leading festivals dedicated to East Asian cinema in Europe and be...

A Brief Survey of 2026 South Korean Films Yet To Come

It is often all too easy to describe South Korean films as a monolith. But theatrical releases in South Korea are often a hodgepodge of unusual genres and independent films, finally cleared for release following a warm film festival debut years prior. In this ...

Spotlight on Korean Women in Animation

On March 15, 2026, Maggie Kang made history as the first woman of Korean descent to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. For this week, we are riding the coattails of the triumphant success ofK-Pop Demon Hunters (2025)to cast a spotlight on other wo...

K-Pop on Screen

The BTS Comeback Concert that broadcasted live on Netflix in March is illustrative of how mainstream K-pop has become, especially one its leading acts: BTS. It came less than a year afterKPop Demon Hunters (2025)shattered records on the platform to become its ...

What the Success of KPop Demon Hunters Means for K-Content Industry

Parasite (2019)Akin to the extraordinary global success ofParasite (2019)andSquid Game (2021–2025)few expectedKPop Demon Hunters (2025)to turn into such a cultural phenomenon. Despite little marketing prior to release, the film took off clocking up a whopping...

The New Wave of Korean Animation

The New Wave of Korean Animation The rise of Korean animation over the last two decades is a development that, while not particularly prolific in terms of numbers, is quite striking in terms of identity and thematic consistency. What I like the most about Kore...

A Look Back at Shiri – Korea's International Breakthrough 26 Years On

Shiri (1999)was director Kang Je-kyu's sophomore feature after 1995'sThe Gingko Bed (1996)(known for being the first Korean production to make significant use of CGI), embracing a directorial style that intentionally leaned into creating bombastic acti...

Korean Classrooms on Screen

The 2026 academic year began in schools and universities across Korea in the first week of March. Education in Korea remains central to one's social standing and Korea's elite universities otherwise known as SKY (Seoul National, Korea and Yonsei) along...

The Enduring Popularity of Yoo Hae-jin

Jang Hang-jun'sThe King's Warden (2026)featuring Yoo Hae-jin has taken the Korean box office by storm having surpassed the all-important milestone of 10 million admissions becoming the first Korean film to do so in two years. It remains strong and is o...