Animals and Agents Dominate 2020’s 1st Holiday Season

Just a few weeks into the 2020s and the first holiday season is already upon us, with the Lunar New Year holidays falling on Saturday, January 25 this year. After ASHFALL (2019), Start-Up (2019) and Forbidden Dream (2019) pulled in the crowds through the end-o...

Breakout Stars of 2019

Each year brings with it a new crop of Korean films, but along with all the returning directors and stars we also get a number of new names – or faces that we weren’t quite familiar with before – that really grab our attention. As we look back over 2019, we ca...

A Decade in Korean Film

10 Landmark Korean Works from the 2010s With just a few days left in the year, it’s time to look back over what has been a landmark decade for Korean cinema. Though some yearn for the halcyon years of the early 2000s, when the industry was coming into its own...

Korean Blockbusters Seek New Thrills Overseas

As the Korean film industry continues to grow, so too does the geographical scope of its productions. While Korean filmmakers have long sought out overseas locations for their films, of late a number of large-scale productions have been looking to foreign land...

New Blockbusters Look to Heat Up Theaters During Winter Season

An eventful year for Korean cinema, which marked the industry’s centenary celebrations and produced the most successful and globally acclaimed Korean film of all time, is preparing to wind down but not before it unleashes its final wave of box office hopefuls ...

PARASITE Marks New Milestone for Korean Films in America

Months after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it became the first ever Korean film to walk away with the coveted Palme d’Or prize, BONG Joon-ho’s PARASITE continues to gain traction overseas as it begins its theatrical releases in several wester...

Forward-Facing Busan International Film Festival Wraps 24th Edition

Following 10 days packed with 300 films from 85 countries, a parade of stars, a busy industry market and a wide-arranging selection of special events, this year’s 24th Busan International Film Festival closed its doors on October 12. 189,115 attendees were cou...

From Stage to Screen, K-pop Stars on the Move

One of Korean cinema’s chief assets has long been its formidable stable of screen performers. Many of the industry’s leading lights have come from the stage (such as SONG Kang-ho), while many others got their start working on the small screen (including JEON D...

Film Directors Migrate to the Small Screen

Much like we’ve witnessed in several western markets over the past decade, the lines between the film and TV worlds are also beginning to blur in Korea. Major Hallyu stars have frequently crossed this line, but the content creators have largely remained in the...

The Spirits Are Strong as Occult Films Invade Local Screens

Last month, just shy of the two thirds mark of the year, the Korean box office welcomed its third mainstream occult film. Metamorphosis became the second of these to top the charts (after SVAHA : THE SIXTH FINGER) as the genre becomes an increasingly common fi...