Ko-pick : Cases of Cooperation Between Hollywood Studios & Korean Film Companies

Korea’s film market saw enviable growth in the early 2000s and especially in the 2010s when the local market share hit more than 50 percent and admissions to Korean films surpassed 100 million between 2012 and 2019. It’s an industry that like China, India and ...

Ko-pick : International Co-productions Between Korea and Overseas

International co-productions can come in various forms. It’s often when film production companies from different countries are involved in creating a film. It’s also related to the complex role of financing. Indeed, some productions will be shot overseas using...

Ko-pick : Where will K-Zombies go in 2025 & 2026?

Since Yeon Sang-ho’s Train to Busan (2016) zombies have become a running feature of Korean content, especially on streaming platforms. It began with Netflix’s Kingdom (2019) spanning two seasons and a spin-off that was a gamechanger for the industry with OTT ...

Ko-pick : Korean Films that Survived in the OTT era

The era of streaming has brought about transformative effects for the whole content industry with people watching more films at home while there has also been a shift towards limited series as directors are helming more shows. Kim Seong-hun was one of the fir...

Ko-pick : The Development of Costume Design and Makeup in Korean Films

Putting together a production is a collaborative effort involving a variety of different professions.Directing, writing, visual effects and cinematography often attract much of the attention but behind the scenes there are also talented designers working in di...

Ko-pick : The Rise of Female Directors in Korean Film Industry

The Rise of Female Directors in Korean Film Industry The South Korean film industry - not unlike much of the wider global industry – is dominated by male figures. Indeed, Korea’s leading auteurs are male, while narratives in Korean cinema are also frequently ...

Ko-pick : Technological Innovation in the Korean Film Industry

The release of Woo Min-ho’s colonial-era drama Harbin (2024) signified yet another achievement for Korean cinema as it was the first Korean film to be produced in the IMAX format. While Korean films has been released on IMAX screens before they were not able t...

Ko-pick: Upcoming Korean Films of 2025

Last year the box office saw mix results as a clearer picture is emerging of where the industry is heading. Total admissions hit 123.13 million in 2024, a 1.6 percent drop on the previous year while box office revenue declined by 5.6 percent compared to 2023 w...

Ko-pick: Plight of South Korea’s Democracy through Cinema

The news of Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed attempt at instigating martial law shocked the world. With live news feeds on outlets including the BBC, it dominated the global news cycle as South Koreans tried to make sense of what had happened. Ultimately, it was short l...

Ko-pick: Introducing Squid Game’s New Faces

The second season of Squid Game directed and written by Hwang Dong-hyuk has unsurprisingly performed very well for Netflix becoming its third most-watched season ever with 152.5 million views. It was also the streaming platform’s biggest TV debut ever with 68 ...