Is the Korean Film Industry Coming Full Circle?

There is undoubtedly much concern and pessimism about the state of Korea's film industry at the moment. The box office figures for 2025 provided little cause for optimism with a total of 106 million tickets sold and a local market share of 41.1 percent. Th...

Korean Films Invited to 2026 Berlinale

The Berlin International Film Festival otherwise known as Berlinale kicked off on February 12th and will continue until the 22nd. One of Europe's most renowned festivals along with Cannes and Venice – collectively known as the "Big Three" – it has ...

The Rise of Female-Centered Authorship Beyond the "Feminist Wave"

In recent years, contemporary Korean cinema is frequently discussed through the label of a "feminist wave", a description that may function as a convenient reference point but does not quite capture what is actually happening. What has become evident, ...

Korean Films Remade in India Productions

In 2024, we took a look at Korean Films Remade in Hollywood, however Korean cinema hasn't only inspired English language remakes, with one of the most popular film industries in the world – Bollywood – also looking towards the Korea's cinematic output ...

South Korean Political Thrillers In Broad Perspective

South Korean culture has had a long history of speaking truth to power. The famed pansori folktale Chunhyangga, after all, is the tale of Chunhyang resisting the advances of a corrupt governor as she awaits the return of her husband. Most accessible to interna...

The World of Children and Young People in Korean Indie Films

Korean cinema often attracts attention for its genre-bending fare but it's a diverse industry with films tackling an array of topics and targeting different audiences. Korean youth films, for instance, have long been aimed at young people who have traditio...

Most Anticipated Korean Films of 2026

2025 for Korean cinema was a year marked by much concern about its future. Indeed, the figures reveal an industry that has significantly contracted. There were hopes in the wake of Covid-19 that it could stage a recovery but it’s now clear as we enter the seco...

Ko-pick: The Emotional Resonance of Korean Films

The Emotional Resonance of Korean Films The popularity of Korean cinema overseas has seen much attention paid to the high production values and how Korean directors tackle social themes tapping into the zeitgeist. Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite (2019) is certainly il...

Ko-pick: Why Food Scenes in Korean Films Resonate with Global Audiences

Korean food is now famous all over the world with restaurants popping up in cities like New York, London and elsewhere while some of its cuisine including Kimchi, fried chicken and ramyeon (instant noodles) is now being found in supermarket shelves even in sma...

Ko-pick: The Appeal of Korean Settings in K-Films

One of the key components behind the success of Korean content and the wider cultural industry more generally has been the Korean elements that they capture – and indeed the ways in which directors are able to tackle them.