Korean Film Biz Zone - Features

ARCHIVES - Actor Jeon Doyeon

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The tvN series Crash Course in Romance is about to end soon and to allow the return of shining Jeon Doyeon. Playing Nam Haengseon, the owner of the Korean side dish store ‘National Team’, she exhibited the same refreshing candor she had in The Harmonium In My Memory, My Mother, The Mermaid, and You Are My Sunshine, while having us recall the grief-stricken face that she had in Secret Sunshine. After her debut as a model for a commercial in 1990, she learned the basics of playing in TV series and quickly forged strong links with the film industry

Naver Movie is officially closing, but can it live on in Naver's search bar?

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From March 31, 2023, ‘Naver Movie’ (https://movie.naver.com) will be unavailable. This service page from Korea’s leading search engine Naver has been providing information and aggregating audience ratings and critics reviews on new releases since it launched in 2000.

Film Exhibitors Find Survival Strategies for Today and Tomorrow

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Could this hint at a new paradigm for the film exhibition industry in the age of the Covid-19 endemic? Or is it the efforts of the cinema to bring the audience back that are suddenly paying off? Avatar: The Way of Water passed the 10-million-admission mark on January 24 (based on KOFIC’s integrated cinema admission network). It is the first movie to do so this year, and only the second title to achieve this elusive threshold since the beginning of the pandemic after The Roundup last year.

TRIVIA - HERO, Korea's first original musical film

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Hero is the first original musical film to be produced in Korea, based on the original musical of the same name. The film recounts the final year in the life of Ahn Junggeun, a martyr of Korean independence movement against Japan.

ARCHIVES - Actor Kwon Sangwoo

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A young man who picked up a brush early on but suddenly fancied seeing himself on screen. Kwon Sangwoo, who was studying art education as he considered that the saddest thing ever was being forgotten, thought he would be remembered longer if he learned acting, and so he eventually chose the camera over a teaching career.

Three Years Into COVID-19, How are Teenagers Watching Movies?

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For the new year, web magazine Korean Cinema took a look into the hearts of the new generation of movie-goers. With this survey, we tried to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the movie consumption habits of teenagers. A total of 10 questions were asked to people aged 10 to 19, covering a variety of topics such as their preferred mediums of movie consumption, the type of cinemas they tend to visit, as well as their favorite streaming platforms, film genres and running times.

3 Questions to Predict Korea’s Film Industry in 2023

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2022 was the year of recovery. The film exhibition sector, which had collapsed owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, was finally given some time to recover, slowly but surely, starting with the lifting of social distancing rules. In that sense, 2023 should prove to be a trial by fire for Korean films, and to a greater extent, for the world film market.

LOCATION &

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The musical filmLife is Beautifuldepicts the rollercoaster emotions of the middle aged and maximizes the charm of fantasy through music and dance. A tense revenge drama dealing with the subject of pro-Japan,Remembersets itself in a location where clear historical context is revealed even through an ordinary background. Through these two films, we take a look into multiple sides of locations and sets within movies that are newly formed by the genre, theme, and subject awareness. To do so, we talked with the producer ofLife is Beautiful, Lee Yeon Hwa, and the producer ofRemember, Moon Yong Chan.The film that maximized fantasy,Life is BeautifulAfter being diagnosed with cancer, I just kept walking... a beautiful yet lonely path of gingko treesA middle-aged woman, Se-yeon (Yum Jung-ah), finds out that she has cancer and starts walking blankly down a beautiful yet lonesome path of yellow gingko trees. Lost in thought, she even walks righ

Evaluation and Analysis of Korean Theater in 2022

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3 years have passed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and domestic and overseas film festivals have got back to normal while anticipated films have been released one after another. Although we're not free from wearing masks yet, social distancing has gradually been lifted and the scenery of the theater has changed a little. Based on data from Gower Street Analytics, a global box office analysis agency in the U.K., we will look at global theaters and look back at Korean theaters through the settlement of the Korean film industry in November 2022 announced by the Korean Film Council.2022년과 2023년 글로벌 박스오피스Global Box Office in 2022 and 2023올해 글로벌 극장가 상황은 지난해와 비교해 얼마나 나아졌을까. 가워 스트리트(Gower Street)는 지난 12월 10일(현지 시간) 기준 2022년 글로벌 박스오피스 총 수익이 236억 달러로, 이를 바탕으로 할 때 올해 총 매출이 258억 달러에 달할 것이라는 예측을 내놓았다. 지난해보다 21% 증가한 예상치다. <탑건: 매버릭>와 <블랙 팬서: 와칸다 포에버> 같은 작품의 성공이 주효했다는 분석이다.How much better is the situation in global theaters this year compared to last y

The U.S. & the UK, Focusing on Reviewing K-Cinema

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Now, the news of Korean films winning awards at the world film festival is one of the most familiar news. After Bong Joonho’s PARASITE won the Cannes Palme d'Or and 4 Oscars at the Academy Awards, Decision to Leave, directed by Park Chanwook who won Best Director at the 2022 Festival de Cannes, has been selected as a Korean entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 2023 Academy Awards, raising expectations for conquering the Cannes and Academy Awards concurrently.In the meantime, there is a phenomenon of focusing on reviewing Korean films in the United States, the United Kingdom, and North America. The U.S. Academy Museum of Motion Pictures held its first ‘Korean Film Festival’ by screening Korea's leading horror and thriller genre films released after the 2000s. Meanwhile, the BBC, the British public broadcasting company, and the British Film Institute (BFI) also promote interest in Korean films by conducting special reports on Korean cinema. The character

Enjoying Climbing, Tennis & World Cup Games in the Theater

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Korean theaters are putting up new experience-based content to bring back moviegoers to the theater. This is because the number of moviegoers was on the rise since May 2022, which marks the third year of the COVID-19 Pandemic, but the trend of increasing visitors has slowed since the summer.According to the ‘Korean Film Industry Settlement in October’ data released by the Korean Film Council on November 15, the total sales in October were 61.5 billion won and the total number of audiences was 6.2 million. Compared to the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 Pandemic, the sales rate is only 49.7% while the number of audiences is just 41.7%. Compared to September this year, sales fell 39.6% (40.3 billion won) and the total number of audiences fell 37.1% (3.66 million). It is analyzed that the decrease in moviegoers is because no clear box office hits have appeared in theaters since the Chuseok Holiday. Among the films released in October, none of them sold more than 10 bi

“Korean Cinema is Making the Global Culture”

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Overseas influential figures who recently visited Korea are actively expressing their interest in the Korean film industry and their willingness to cooperate. Charles Rivkin, CEO of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), visited Korea in October and held a reception to mark the centennial of the association’s foundation. Hosting a dinner party, Rivkin invited key figures from the Korean film industry, stressing that he would like to cooperate with Korean cinema more actively. In addition, on November 4, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the President of Germany visited the Korea National University of Arts and expressed his deep interest in Korean film education. This is a part that can reaffirm the status of Korean films and the influence of Korean cinema on industries and cultural circles around the world.“Motion Picture Association Wants to Cooperate with Korean Cinema Actively”Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the MPA, attended a reception at the U.S. embassy

Director Park Chanwook’s Decision to Leave, the Oscar Winner After PARASITE?

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Director Park Chanwook's Decision to Leave, the winner of the Best Director at the 75th Festival de Cannes and the Korean entry at the 95th Academy Awards, has been receiving positive reviews from major foreign media since its release in North America on October 14 (local time). Decision to Leave depicts a story that begins when Detective Haejoon (Park Haeil), who investigates a murder case in the mountain, interrogates Seorae (Tang Wei), the deceased's wife, and feels suspicion and interest in her at the same time.2022년 연말까지 이어지는 <헤어질 결심> ‘필름 페스티벌’ 월드 투어The ‘Film Festival’ World Tour for Decision to Leave Continues Till the End of 2022박찬욱 감독과 배우 박해일은 북미와 영국에서 개최된 영화제에 잇달아 참석하고 있다. 두 사람은 9월 30일부터 열리고 있는 제60회 뉴욕 영화제(9/30~10/16)에 참석해 현지 관객들의 뜨거운 환호와 열띤 반응을 끌어모았다. 영화제에 참석한 박찬욱 감독은 “뉴욕 관객들에게 영화를 선보일 수 있어 기쁘다. 재미있다고 생각할 땐 망설이지 말고 마음껏 웃으며 봐 달라”고 소감을 전했고, 박해일 배우는 “뉴욕에 처음 오게 되었는데 박찬욱 감독님의 영화 '헤어질 결심'으로 오게 되어서 정말 감격스럽다”며 소감을 전했다.Director Park Chanwook a

5 Must-watch Korean Films at the 27th BIFF with Full of Audiences in 3 Years

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The 27th Busan International Film Festival, the largest film festival in Asia, opened on Oct. 5 and is in its middle stages. This year, the film festival's goal of holding a ‘normal film festival in every way’ in 3 years after the COVID-19 Pandemic seems to be successful. The theaters, which use all seats without distancing, have been enjoying sellouts every single day, and the audience filling the seats and the filmmakers visiting Busan are actively meeting through many events.The 27th Busan International Film Festival will screen a total of 354 films (243 official invitations from 71 countries and 111 films for Community BIFF Screenings) until the 14th. Among them, we introduce 5 anticipated Korean films that receive hot attention at BIFF this year.Korean Cinema Today-Special PremiereThe Boys, Chung Jiyoung’s New Film, the Master of Korean Social Conscience FilmIn 1999, a robber breaks into a supermarket in a small town, killing an elde

The 14th DMZ Docs Kicked Off a Face-to-Face Festival in 3 Years

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The 14th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival (DMZ Docs, Chairperson Kim Dongyeon, Head of the Committee Jung Sangjin), Korea's leading documentary film festival, kicked off on September 22 and wrapped up its 8-day journey on September 29. The 14th DMZ Docs, which was held as a full face-to-face event 3 years after the COVID-19 Pandemic, screened 137 films submitted from 53 countries. In addition, the number of audiences who participated in the film festival this year recovered to the level before COVID-19.“DMZ Docs Aims for Greater Peace Value”The opening ceremony of the 14th DMZ Docs, which was held at the Pyeonghwa Nuri Outdoor Stage in Imjingak, Paju, Gyeonggi-do on September 22, was attended by 1,500 key figures from the Korean film industry and citizens to celebrate the festival in 3 years. Hosted by Actor Ye Jiwon and Anchor Woman Im Hyunjoo, 1,500 people attended the opening ceremony, including Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dongyeon, Head o

Walk Up, Director Hong Sangsoo’s New Film, Invited to the 70th San Sebastian International Film Festival Competition

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Director Hong Sangsoo's feature film Walk Up has been invited to the official competition section of the San Sebastian International Film Festival, which marks its 70th anniversary this year. Director Hong Sangsoo's 28th feature film, Walk Up, will compete for the Golden Shell for the Best Film, which is the highest award at the festival, with more than 20 films invited to this year's competition, including Winter Boy, French Director Christophe Honoré's new film.Held in San Sebastian, a resort city in northern Spain from September 16, 2022, the festival marks its 70th anniversary this year. The San Sebastian International Film Festival is the most important international film festival in Spanish, which boasts a long history and influence. Along with the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the San Sebastian International Film Festival is one of the major films representing Europe. The San Sebastian International Film Festival has contributed greatly to promoting Direc

The 18th Jecheon International Film Festival Held a Face-to-Face Opening Ceremony in 3 Years

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The 18th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (JIMFF), the largest music film festival in Asia, opened on August 11 and enjoyed the music festival for 6 days. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the festival reduced its scale for the past 2 years, but now, it returned in full force, reviving the specialized quality of the programs as the ‘music film festival.’ The opening ceremony was held on August 11 on the stage of Uirimji Reservoir in Jecheon, Chungcheongbuk-do Province in the rain, with lots of domestic and foreign filmmakers participating. Kim Changkyu, Mayor of Jecheon and Chairperson of the festival's organizing committee, declared the opening of the festival, saying, “Through the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival, I hope you can comfort and heal your tired hearts from COVID-19 and enjoy music films as much as you can.”

The 47th Toronto International Film Festival in Canada Invited 5 Korean films

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On July 28 (local time), the invitation lineup was announced for the 47th Toronto Film Festival in Canada. A total of 5 Korean films, Hunt, Broker, Decision to Leave, A Man of Reason, and Walk Up were included on the list. Especially, Hunt and A Man of Reason, the two directorial debut films from Actor Lee Jungjae and Actor Jung Woosung, have been invited side by side, making headlines.Decision to Leave of Director Park Chanwook, who won the Best Director award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, was invited to the North American Premiere of the 47th TIFF. Director Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Broker, a film in which actor Song Kangho won Best Actor at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, was invited to the Canadian Premiere of the 47th TIFF. Walk Up, directed by Hong Sang-soo, will be unveiled for the first time in the world at the 47th TIFF. Director Lee Jungjae's Hunt was invited to the North American premiere, and director Jung Woosung's A Man of Reason was invited to the To

[Upcoming Films] Megabox Plus M | M-LINE DISTRIBUTION | SHOWBOX CORP. | Studio Bonanza

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Don’t Buy the Seller2022 | ThrillerDIRECTOR Park HeekonCAST Shin Haesun, Kim SungkyunCONTACT Megabox Plus MTel +82 2 3017 3532Email sales@megabox.co.krSoohyun (Shin Haesun), who has recently moved into a new house, buys a second-hand washing machine through a resale app but finds out it doesn’t work. Annoyed by the seller’s scamming behavior, she leaves a comment calling him a con man and reports him to the police. Little does she know that the seller is actually a psychopathic serial killer who uses the online second-hand market to lure his victims. Her negative comment is enough to render his hunt for a new victim all but impossible, so he decides that she should pay the price. She starts receiving obscene phone calls, countless unwanted food deliveries, and strange men come knocking on her door, looking for a good time. A trip to the seller’s address proves deadly serious when the police and Soohyun find a man’s dead body.A producer-turned-director, Park Heekon mad

[Upcoming Films] Indiestory | K-MOVIE ENTERTAINMENT | Lotte Entertainment

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Dream Palace2022 l 115 MIN l DramaDIRECTOR KA SungmoonCAST Kim Sunyoung, Lee Yoonji, Choi MinyoungCONTACT INDIESTORY Inc.Tel +82 2 722 6051Email sales@indiestory.comHyejeong lost her husband in an industrial accident. She tries to take a new lease on life by moving with her son to a newly built apartment complex in a planned city, having been able to purchase one of the apartments with the settlement money. However, she soon notices construction defects in the building. Under the advice of the friend who recommended this apartment to her, Hyejeong decides to petition for a discount on the purchasing price in order to make up for the loss caused by the repairs. Her petitioning is not to the taste of the president of the resident’s association, who accuses her of devaluating their real estate properties. This puts her at odds with the other residents, who start to ostracize her. As the conflict heats up, she has to choose between protecting her apartment and antagonizin

[Upcoming Films] ACEMAKER movieworks | Cinema Dal | Contents Panda (NEW) | Finecut

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Remember2022 l Drama ThrillerDIRECTOR Lee IlhyungCAST Lee Sungmin, Nam JoohyukCONTACT ACEMAKER movieworksTel +82 2 6952 8403Email sales@acemaker.co.krPilju is a former soldier who is now well into his eighties and suffers from Alzheimer’s. He has spent all his life planning his vengeance. Now is the time for him to finally put the plan into action, but while doing so, he unfortunately gets a young man involved, who therefore becomes the prime suspect.Lee Ilhyung comes back with a thriller based on a script of his own, after drawing attention with his first feature A Violent Prosecutor, which he had also penned. He was first noticed for the scripts of Beastie Boys (2008) and KUNDO: Age of the Rampant (2014). His sophomore project sees him team up with Lee Sungmin, who starred as the dictator Park Chunghee in the historical political thriller The Man Standing Next (2019). His co-star Nam Joohyuk is a young actor who recently rose to fame with a Blue Dragon A

AT LAST, THE ACTOR IS PRESENT EXHIBITION : SEOUL

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The highlight of the campaign [THE KOREAN ACTORS 200], ‘THE ACTOR IS PRESENT’ photo exhibition, which presented a deep impression to Korean movie fans around the world, will finally open in Seoul in August to touch your hearts. The photo exhibition, which will be held in Seoul, is an unprecedented photo exhibition where you can meet large portrait photographs of 200 Korean actors representing the past and future of Korean films.[THE ACTOR IS PRESENT EXHIBITION : SEOUL] will be held for 2 months at ‘ARTNINE N-Hapjeong ARTPLEX’ from August 12 (Fri) after pre-opening on August 9 (Tue). The slogan of this exhibition is ‘RE:BOOT K-MOVIES,’ which means that it supports Korean films to fly again after enduring a long tunnel of the COVID-19 Pandemic crisis and welcomes the audience coming back to the theater.The exhibition draws attention in that it is a ‘super-large photo exhibition’ of a Korean actor, which has never been held before. The portraits of 200 Korean actor

Summer in 2022, The Hottest Big 4 Have Appeared!

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Summer in 2022, The Hottest Big 4 Have Appeared!In 2022, the Korean theater district filled with audiences again is hotter than ever after enduring the COVID-19 Pandemic.It is no exaggeration to say that Korean BIG 4 films this summer are the best lineup ever in terms of size and issue. Let’s focus on analyzing the power of Korean BIG 4 films, which burn up the summer of 2022 with their distinct charms as weapons.BIG 1_외계+인 1부 Alienoid‘천만 영화’ 두 편 보유 흥행 마스터 최동훈 감독, 시공간을 뛰어넘는 퓨전 SF 신세계를 열다BIG 1_AlienoidDirector Choi Donghoon, the Master of Two ’10-million-viewer Movies,’ Has Opened a New World of Fusion SF that Transcends Time and Space한국 대표 ‘흥행 마스터’ 최동훈 감독이 7년 만에 내놓는 신작 <외계+인>은 최동훈 감독의 장르적 경험치를 집대성한, 그의 신세계라고 할 수 있다. <외계+인>은 과거와 현대, 판타지와 SF, 도사와 로봇이 총출동하는 기상천외한 상상력을 영화로 옮긴다. 7월

2022 Cannes Market, Korean Cinema Becomes the Power to Revive the World Film Industry

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In the post-COVID-19 Pandemic era, signs of a revival of the film and theater industry are detected everywhere. Compared to before the Pandemic, the 2022 Cannes Market started with 80% of the booths filled, but we could confirm the revival of the global film industry in the field. Especially it is nice to know the fact that Korean cinema is the driving force of the revival.Major film festivals where filmmakers and cineastes from all over the world gather together are not only a place for new works by renowned creators but also a place where you can read the flow of the film industry at a glance. The 75th Cannes Film Festival, which declared its full recovery in the 3rd year of the COVID-19 Pandemic, was also the same. And one more thing, it enabled us to confirm that the film industry, which seemed to be on the decline due to the unprecedented pandemic, is not losing its energy at all. However, the subjects of that energy have only changed a little.Although the

In 2022, Korea's 'International' Film Festivals Recovered & Developed After the Pandemic

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In 2022, not only Korea but also the film festivals around the world are reviving from the pandemic crisis. Major international film festivals in Korea, whose status is gradually increasing globally, are also announcing 'the full recovery of festivals.' At the same time, the film festivals around the world seem to be using the film industry and ecosystem changes they experienced during the last COVID-19 Pandemic as a driving force for new development.International Film Festivals in Korea Declare Back to NormalOn April 28, the 23rd JEONJU International Film Festival opened with the goal of restoring the pre-pandemic level of the events. 217 films from 56 countries around the world were screened, and 244 of the 472 screenings were sold out, recording a 52% selling-out rate. The total number of audiences at the festival, including special screenings and performance audiences, was about 50,000, a three-fold increase from last year. Lee Joondong, Chairperson of

Strategies for the Expansion of Korean Cinema After the Pandemic?

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Even just before Korean content, such as Korean movies, continued to work in the global market, major investment distributors in Korea have been knocking on the door of overseas markets with their own global strategies. Now that the possibility of the content industry has also been confirmed through the COVID-19 Pandemic, each company's strategies are more prominent.As the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients in Korea dropped sharply and social distancing has been eased, the Korean film industry also began to quickly change its attitude. It's because the signs of a revival of the theater district were also clear while we could feel that filmmakers around the world became more interested in Korean content than ever before with 2 Korean films winning the competition sections at Cannes timely.Showbox Global Strategy, a Virtuous Cycle model Centered on CreatorsSince 2 or 3 years ago, the top five major investment distributors in Korea have been trying t

The 26th BIFAN Declared 'Beyond Pandemic' Film Festival Instead of 'Post Pandemic'

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On July 7, 2022, the 26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) started the ‘largest genre film festival in Korea’ by inviting many guests to the opening ceremony at Bucheon City Hall Square in 3 years after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Especially, BIFAN was selected as the ‘Fantastic 7’ at the Festival de Cannes in May, firmly establishing its status as the largest genre film festival in Asia. has put forward its slogan of ‘Stay Strange’ this year. It emphasizes the characteristics of the genre film festival that BIFAN allows all cinematic imaginations to break down the boundaries. At the opening ceremony, Chung Jiyoung, Chairperson of the Organizing Committee, said, "The film festival shrunk considerably over the past 2 years due to COVID-19. This time, the full-face-to-face film festival began, allowing us to meet many audiences in person. We will make it an evolving film festival beyond the Pandemic." While enjoying the film festival fully for the

There is Something Special about the Award-winning Films Directed by Park Chanwook, who Fascinated Cannes

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Decision to Leave, which won the Best Director at the 75th Festival de Cannes, will be released simultaneously in Korea and France on June 29. It is very unusual for a Korean movie to be released in Korea and Europe simultaneously. In addition, the film was pre-sold to 192 countries, including North America, the United Kingdom, Turkey, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Italy. We can see the worldwide interest in Decision to Leave, Park Chanwook's masterpiece that won the Best Director at Cannes, released six years after The Handmaiden.In particular, 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of Park Chanwook's debut as a film director. "It's like a gift from Cannes to celebrate the 30th anniversary of my debut," he said after winning the Best Director. After debuting with the movie Trio in 1992, Director Park has been in charge of screenwriting and directing 20 feature and short films and series so far and has participated in planning and scripting 7 films that he

Back to the Theater! The Roundup, 1st 10-million Viewer Film in 3 Years!

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Finally in 3 years, the first ’10-million viewer film’ was born in the Korean theater district. On June 11th (Saturday), The Roundup (released on May 18th) surpassed 10-million viewers in total in 25 days of its release, announcing the happy ’10-million viewer’ news. Including Korean and foreign films released in Korea, the film became the 28th ’10-million viewer film’ in history and the 20th among Korean films. It is also the first ’10-million viewer film’ in 3 years since Director Bong Joonho's PARASITE, which won the Palme d'Or at the Festival de Cannes in May 2019. It is also meaningful in that The Roundup set the record of attracting ’10-million viewers’ for the first time since the COVID-19 Pandemic that swept the world in February 2020.The Korean film industry, which produced ’10-million viewer films’ every year since 2012, reached its best year in 2019. As if celebrating the 100th anniversary of Korean film history, the good news continued from the beginning of the

Korean Moviegoers Surpassed 14 million in May 2022, Returning to Pre-COVID-19

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In May 2022, the Korean theater district returned to its pre-COVID-19 level. According to the Korean Box Office Information System (KOBIS) of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) on June 1 (Wed), the number of moviegoers for 1 month from May 1 to 31 was 14.55 million. It’s a signal of hope that the number of viewers has almost recovered to the same level before the COVID-19 Pandemic.In February 2020, the number of Korean moviegoers dropped sharply as the Pandemic spread in Korea. From January to June 2020, the total number of moviegoers recorded 32.41 million, the lowest since 2005. Considering that the number of audiences was 16.84 million in January 2020, just before the Pandemic, the total number of audiences from February to June 2020 was smaller than the number of audiences for just 1 month in January.For the next two years, the Korean theater district was almost like a 'pause'. The number of audiences, which reached 227 million in 2019 before COVID-19, fell 73.

K-Movie, Standing at the Center of the 75th Festival de Cannes

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Winning 2 trophies in the major categories, Korean films have conquered the 75th Festival de Cannes.Director Park Chanwook won the Best Director for Decision to Leave, while Actor Song Kangho won the Best Actor for Broker, a Korean film directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu. This is the first time a Korean male actor has won the Best Actor at the Festival de Cannes. It is also the first time that a Korean director won the Best Director at Cannes since Director Im Kwontaek of Chihwaseon.Above all, this is the first time in Korean film history that two Korean films have won simultaneously in the competition category at the Festival de Cannes. 21 films were invited to the Competition section of the 75th Festival de Cannes in 2022. Among them, 2 Korean films were invited to the section, and both were awarded in the major categories. It is a very unusual case even at Cannes and a brilliant result that shows the high status of Korean films.The 75th Festival

The 75th Cannes Int’l Film Festival Confirmed the High Status of 'K-Movie' in and out of the Screen

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The 75th Cannes Film Festival, which is held normally in 3 years due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, confirmed the ‘high status of K-Movie’ in and out of the theater. A total of 5 Korean films, including competition and non-competition sections, have been invited to the festival. Among the 21 films nominated for the competition category at the Cannes Film Festival this year, 2 Korean films have been invited, including Decision to Leave (directed by Park Chanwook) and Broker (directed by Koreeda Hirokazu). Both Director Park Chanwook and Director Koreeda Hirokazu are film masters who have deep relationships with Cannes.Also, a total of 5 Korean films have been invited to Cannes, including HUNT (directed by Lee Jungjae) in Cannes’ Midnight Screenings, Next Sohee (directed by Jung July) as the closing film in Cannes’ Critics Week, and Persona (directed by Moon Sujin), the first Korean short animation invited to the Cannes’ Short Film in Competition. In addition, as a KOFIC Loc

The 23rd Jeonju IFF Restored the Festival with 50,000 Audiences

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The 23rd Jeonju International Film Festival ended on May 7 (Sat) after enjoying the festive mood for 10 days. The closing ceremony held at 7 p.m. in Jeonju Dome was hosted by actors Kang Gilwoo and Lee Sanghee. In the closing ceremony, Lee Joondong, chairperson of the executive committee, said, "The Jeonju International Film Festival, which marks the beginning of the international film festivals in Korea every year, was held this year, declaring the end of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the beginning of the festival, and the restoration of the square. As the distancing rules were completely lifted, many audiences filled the theaters, and we could complete the film festival safely without a single quarantine accident.”On the closing day, the news of Actress Kang Sooyoun’s death was reported, and a special time was arranged to cherish the memory of the deceased actor during the closing ceremony. Kang Sooyoun was the actor who took the lead in introducing Korean films to t

Action Films and Women Directors Out in Front as Korean Talent Returns to Udine

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During the initial onset of the pandemic in 2020, the Udine Far East Film Festival (FEFF) was one of the first major global meeting points for Asian filmmakers to be impacted. This year, FEFF returned to full strength with a lineup of major titles from across Asia, physical screenings and a long list of international guests for its 24th edition in Northeastern Italy.For most of the Korean guests in attendance, this year’s FEFF was their first time attending an international event since the start of the pandemic. For some of them, including Kim Sein and Lee Jaewon, directors of the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA) graduation projects The Apartment with Two Women (2021) and Thunderbird, it was their first-ever international invite.And what an invite it is. Traveling to FEFF generally means flying into Venice about an hour south of Udine (where the concurrently held Venice Biennale offered an attractive post-festival pitstop for some guests). A small mediev

The 23rd Jeonju IFF, Having a ‘Complete Festival’ Aiming for Coexistence of Festival & Quarantine

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From April 28th (Thurs.) to May 7th (Sat.), the 23rd Jeonju International Film Festival is holding the ‘Spring Film Festival’ around Jeonju Film Street. In February 2020, when the COVID-19 Pandemic swept the world, Jeonju IFF, which had been held in May annually, had to rearrange the ‘structure of holding the festival’ overall. After delaying the opening date by about a month, Jeonju IFF drastically reduced the size of the event, with only a minimum of people attending the festival centered on the competition, introducing online screening. At the time, Lee Joondong, the chairperson of the Jeonju IFF’s executive committee, explained about the ‘closed-door’ festival without audiences for the first time in history, “We’ve decided to hold a minimum-sized festival not to risk the safety of people.” Since then, Jeonju IFF had no choice but to think about the ‘format of the film festival in the Pandemic era’ at the forefront.On March 31 this year, Jeonju IFF held the offline press

Korean Films, Decision to Leave & Broker, Invited to the Competition at the 75th Cannes

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The 75th Cannes International Film Festival heralded a lively start in full swing by announcing its official invitations to the competition section. “The world cinema is starting to get back in shape, and this year marks a return to a quasi-normality.” At the official press conference of the Cannes International Film Festival held at the Champs-Elysees in Paris on April 14 (local time), Thierry Frémaux, the artistic director of the festival, announced the official invitations in a hopeful voice.This year, Cannes clearly showed its affection for Korean films. Two directors representing Korea and Japan, who have been favored by Cannes, have been invited to the competition section with Korean films. Park Chanwook's Decision to Leave and Kore-eda Hirokazu's Broker are the main characters. It is the first time in five years that two Korean films have been invited to the competition section together since Bong Joonho's Okja and Hong Sangsoo's The Day After in 2017. Also, it is th

Korean Filming Locations in Global Projects Have Grown in Stature

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It is no longer strange to find the images of Korea in global project films. Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, which was released in 2015, is one of the representative films shot in Korea. Since then, you can also meet Korea in many films, including Black Panther (2018), The Bourne Legacy, the spin-off of the Bourne Series, Colossal starring Anne Hathaway, and Pacific Rim: Uprising, a giant robot blockbuster.할리우드 블록버스터에서 한국의 모습을 짧지만 인상적으로 만났던 시기를 거쳐, 최근 글로벌 프로젝트 속 한국 로케이션의 위상이 달라지고 있다. 이제는 한국 자체가 스토리텔링을 이끄는 중심 무대가 되어, 제2의 주인공 역할을 한다. 2021년 한국에서 개봉한 <#아이엠히어 #Iamhere>는 미지의 여인을 찾아 한국에 온 주인공의 로드무비로, 서울이 영화의 중심 배경이 됐다. 2022년 3월 30일 개봉한 드니 데르쿠르 감독의 <배니싱: 미제사건 Vanishing>의 중심 배경도 한국이다. 이 영화는 한국에서 발생한 살인사건을 추적하는 한국인 형사와 프랑스인 법의

2021 Korean Film Industry Settlement Shows a Ray of Hope

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The COVID-19 Pandemic, which began worldwide in January 2020, has plunged the global film industry into a shock beyond imagination. The report card of the Korean film industry in 2021, the second year of COVID-19, is still apprehensive, but there is also a ray of hope. According to the 2021 Korean Film Settlement Report by the Korea Film Council (KOFIC, Chairperson Park Kiyong), Korean theater sales in 2021 were KRW 584.5 billion (USD 47.9 million), up 14.5% from 2020. The total number of moviegoers was 6,053, up 1.7% year on year. The slight increase in the number of moviegoers compared with 2020, when the Pandemic began, seems to be a hopeful signal.However, the pace of recovery is not fast enough yet. In 2021, the average number of theater visits per capita in Korea was 1.17, slightly higher than in 2020 but less than half compared to 4.37 in 2019. The total size of the Korean film industry in 2021 is about 40% of 2019. In 2019, the total sales of the Korean film i

New Korean Projects Launched at 3rd Online Filmart

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The Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (Filmart) took place from March 14-17 with a large contingent of Korean sales agents presenting their enticing slates of new films. Several brand new projects were launched at the event, beefing up lineups that were already bursting with titles as a number of completed projects have been waiting out the pandemic.While Asia’s largest screen contents market was forced to take place online for the third time in a row, Filmart was able to attract 8,000 participants from 81 countries. Close to 750 exhibitors, an uptick from last year’s 677, showcased over 2,400 film or series titles during the market.Among the Korean projects launched at Filmart this year was M-Line Distribution’s upcoming action-thriller Drive, the debut of director Park Donghee, who previously wrote the script for this year’s action title Special Delivery with Park Sodam. Starring Park Juhyun, Kim Yeojin, Kim Doyoon and Jung Woongin, the film is about a ki

Korean Creators Look at Home for New Content

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With Korean films and dramas in the global spotlight, a lot of attention is also being drawn to the original works on which they are based. Films like Miss Granny (2014) have been reimagined as local productions around the world, while Parasite (2019) is being prepped for a Hollywood remake, but many of the Korean titles that are capturing the global zeitgeist are based on local IP, some with built-in audiences, others brimming with the promise of novel ideas not yet seen on the big screen.Like other film industries, Korea has long looked to its novelists for source material, with book-to-film adaptations being a prominent fixture on release calendars for decades. But after the dawn of the new millennium, Korean filmmakers began to tap into a larger array of mediums to find their next big-screen stories.My Sassy Girl (2001)A series of online blog confessionals became a pan-Asian hit in Kwak Jaeyong’s romantic comedy classic My Sassy Girl (2001), and