In late August the Indian film Kill (2023) went on release in Korea, which has garnered attention for its action sequences. Directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2023 where it was the runner-up in the People’s Choice Award for Midnight Madness. It has since become an instant hit with genre fans across the world.

Akin to Korea’s own Train to Busan (2016), it takes a simple premise and dials up the action to full throttle as it tells a story of an army commando (Lakshya) who boards a New-Delhi-bound train with his colleague to derail an arranged marriage between the commando’s long-term girlfriend and another man. In so doing they come up against a gang of thieves who are terrorizing innocent passengers.

Korean action choreographer Se-young Oh was involved in the film collaborating with Indian action director Pravez Shaikh. The pair were credited for the film’s audacious action set-pieces by critics and programmers. Oh has an impressive list of credits to his name spanning more than two decades including Dream of a Warrior (2001), Blades of Blood (2009), War of the Arrows (2011) and Snowpiercer (2013). This week, therefore, we will profile some of the titles he has been involved in as we explore his career.

We will also examine some of the work of his peer Yoo Sang-seob who as a leading action choreographer in the Korean film industry has worked on films such as The Chaser (2008), Assassination (2015) and Hostage: Missing Celebrity (2021).