Presidential election season is in full swing as the two main opposing parties level an endless stream of allegations at each other to win over more votes. This is a rough description of what happens in hit maker Byun Sung-hyun’s new political film “Kingmaker,” as well as what is happening in the Korean political scene right now. The film’s main lead Seol Kyung-gu, who played opposition party politician Kim Woon-beom, said that the movie’s release date was not in

Two homegrown movies will hit local theaters next week to lure film buffs and holiday shoppers ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. "Kingmaker" and "The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure" will open Wednesday, three days before the five-day Lunar New Year holiday begins. The first day of the new year based on the lunar calendar falls on Feb. 1 this year. The political film "Kingmaker" depicts the subtle relationship between Kim Woon-beom (Seol Kyung-gu), an

Special Delivery (Korea) Opened Jan. 12 Action Directed by Park Dae-min Special delivery driver Eun-ha (Park So-dam) mainly works for a criminal group. She delivers anything that cannot be delivered legally. One day, Eun-ha receives a mission to deliver Seo-won (Jung Hyeon-jun), a young boy that a criminal group is chasing after. When she decides to save him, she becomes a target of not only the crime group, but also associated corrupt police officers. Sing 2 (US) Opened Jan. 5 Animation Direc

Oscar-winning filmmaker Bong Joon-ho will likely come back with an English-language movie based on an unpublished US science-fiction novel on clones, with Hollywood star Robert Pattinson likely in a starring role, US media outlets reported Thursday. According to Deadline and other news media, the South Korean director is preparing to adapt Edward Ashton's upcoming novel "Mickey7" into a film with Warner Bros. Robert Pattinson, one of the most-sought after actors in Hollywood, is in t

South Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo will compete at the Berlin International Film Festival for the third year in a row. 　 　According to the lineup for the 72nd edition announced Wednesday, Hong‘s 27th feature, “The Novelist’s Film,” was listed as one of the 18 movies that will vie for the Gold and Silver Bears at the festival scheduled for Feb. 10-16. 　 　It is the third consecutive year that a Hong Sang-soo film has been invited to the competition section of the Berlin fes

Kang Ha-neul is returning to the big screen as a trouble-making swordsman in “The Pirates: Goblin Flag” directed by Kim Jung-hoon. Director Kim’s new movie is set in the Joseon era and revolves around a journey by pirates looking for hidden treasures of a Goryeo Kingdom that no longer exists. “When I first read the script, I thought of Muchi (the character played by Kang) as a troublemaker, so it was important for him to stay somewhat hyper most of the time. I thought o

Jeonju International Film Festival’s organizing committee announced that the annual film fest will be held for 10 days from April 28 in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The 23rd Jeonju IFF committee also added that it is hoping to return nearly to how it previously operated the international film festival before the pandemic. There will be 18 sections and 230 films will be screened during the festival, which shows the committee’s determination to host an event just how it was before

A female captain character is not only rare in Korean films but also for actress Han Hyo-joo, who is widely known for her roles in romantic movies. But Han said she enjoyed greatly playing the role of pirate captain in “The Pirates: Goblin Flag” directed by Kim Jung-hoon. “(Although it is set in the Joseon era,) I did not consider it as a period film but rather as a fantasy adventure movie so I could do everything freely and I really enjoyed it,” Han said. “When de

“The Pirates,” which attracted an audience of more than 8.6 million eight years ago, has returned as “The Pirates: Goblin Flag” directed by Kim Jung-hoon. Although it is the sequel of the hit Korean pirate film, those who have not watched the first movie can enjoy the film without much difficulty as everything -- from the director, plot to all of the cast in the film -- is new. “The Pirates: Goblin Flag” revolves around a journey by pirates looking for hidd

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Special Delivery (Korea) Opened Jan. 12 Action Directed by Park Dae-min Special delivery driver Eun-ha (Park So-dam) mainly works for a criminal group. She delivers anything that cannot be delivered legally. One day, Eun-ha receives a mission to deliver Seo-won (Jung Hyeon-jun), a young boy that a criminal group is chasing after. When she decides to save him, she becomes a target of not only the crime group, but also associated corrupt police officers. The Policeman’s Lineage (Korea) Ope

Global streaming service Netflix has confirmed the casting for its original series “Goodbye Earth,” Thursday. Actors Yoo Ah-in, Ahn Eun-jin, Kim Yoon-hye and Jeon Seong-woo will star in Netflix’s new apocalypse movie, according to the company. “Goodbye Earth” revolves around the stories of individuals who are left with only 200 days to live before an asteroid hits Earth. The series is a highly anticipated project. It is director Kim Jin-min’s third Netflix

The Korean film industry as a whole weathered a tough year in 2021, with only a few movies opening in theaters amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Looking at the list of films that did get a cinematic release, once again, it is hard to ignore the conspicuous absence of female actors. On the list of 20 highest grossing films in Korea last year are five Korean films --“Escape from Mogadishu, “Sinkhole,” “Hostage: Missing Celebrity,” “Hard Hit” and &ldq

The upcoming documentary “Sewing Sisters” is a film recommended by the nation’s top filmmakers Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook. “Sewing Sisters,” co-directed by Kim Jung-young and Lee Hyuk-rae centers around three women who used to work for textile companies at Peace Market in the 1970s. “Parasite” director Bong appeared on stage before the film’s pre-screening event held on Jan. 4 and said, “I came here as a supporter and fan of the movie

A South Korean movie and a TV series have been officially released in Chinese theaters and via a local streaming platform for the first time in about six years, raising cautious hopes that the yearslong cultural freeze between the neighboring countries is thawing. The comedy film "Oh! My Gran" (2020), starring veteran actress Na Moon-hee, hit Chinese theaters in December, becoming the first Korean-made film released in China since the period action movie "Assassination" in 2