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Asian cinema: Korean films

Asian cinema: Korean films
From the stylish blockbusters of Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho to art-house gems by Hong Sang-soo and Kim Ki-duk, this is the place to go for reviews, interviews and features about movies both classic and new from South Korea.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM
A picture of a young Teresa Teng in Bangkok from The Story of Teresa Teng by Billy. A former employee of the Chiang Mai hotel where she lived and died reveals what happened on the day she died in 1995. Photo: The Story of Teresa Teng by Billy

The day Teresa Teng died in Thailand – what the butler saw

Teresa Teng’s untimely death in 1995 sparked many a conspiracy theory. A former employee of the Chiang Mai hotel where the singer lived and died recalls what happened on that fateful day 29 years ago.

Reading Time:12 minutes
A still from the video of Mirror’s “12”, which was released in 2021. Photo: handout

How Cantopop created Hong Kong’s own Christmas soundtrack

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Yau Yiu-wai, owner of Sun Nga Shing Umbrella Store in Hong Kong, which he plans to close after five generations. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

A fifth-gen shop owner on closing the business despite his umbrella obsession

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Joe Wong poses for a portrait after his Joe Wong: The Twin Tariff Show in Hong Kong. Photo: Alexander Mak

Joe Wong, Ronny Chieng and the rise of Asian voices in comedy

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Christmas decorations in Landmark in Central, Hong Kong, in 1988. Photo: SCMP Archives

In pictures: Hong Kong’s Christmas festivities, from the 1970s to 90s

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GN Architects’ Seaside Pavilion, on Chaishan island, Zhejiang province, clinched the Temporary Architecture prize in the 2025 RIBA Asia Pacific Awards. Photo: courtesy GN Architects

Building on waves: a Chinese triumph in temporary architecture

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Yuumi Kawai in a still from Two Seasons, Two Strangers
Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Two Seasons, Two Strangers: a hypnotic ode to writing and travel

Starring Shim Eun-kyung and Yuumi Kawai, Japanese drama Two Seasons, Two Strangers is both fascinating and beautiful.

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Profile | Who is Kim Woo-bin, star of K-dramas Our Blues and Genie, Make a Wish?

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Want to find solace in film? 10 movies that may offer catharsis and hope

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Profile | Who is Ahn Eun-jin, the late-blooming star of K-drama Dynamite Kiss?

Korean actress Ahn Eun-jin made the big time in Hospital Playlist and with her role in romantic drama My Dearest. We look back at her career.

Korean actress Ahn Eun-jin will next be seen in the K-drama series Dynamite Kiss (2025). Photo: Instagram/eunjin___a
Asian cinema

No Other Choice? Why Park Chan-wook and Lee Byung-hun made a comedy

Park Chan-wook’s film reunites the director with Lee Byung-hun after more than 20 years for a darkly funny tale with social commentary.

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K-drama news

Profile | Who is Choi Woo-shik, the handsome star of Parasite and romance K-dramas?

Appearing now in Would You Marry Me, the young-looking, goofy Choi Woo-shik is best known for his roles in Parasite and Train to Busan.

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Asian cinema

12 of the best movies at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2025

Highlights of the 22nd HKAFF include local film Another World, Japanese period epic Kokuho and South Korea’s The World of Love.

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A still from Another World, the opening film of the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2025. The festival runs from October 22 to November 9.
Asian cinema

Review | The People Upstairs: cheeky sex comedy directed by and starring Ha Jung-woo

Ha shows skill on both sides of the camera in his movie with Gong Hyo-jin and Kim Dong-wook as a prim couple seduced by swinging neighbours.

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Can the Busan International Film Festival help Korean cinema stay on top?

BIFF’s new director sees the festival as an antidote to shrinking cinema audiences and a beacon for where Asian cinema is headed.

Asian cinema

Review | The Great Flood: Kim Da-mi can’t save bewildering Netflix sci-fi fantasy

Kim Da-mi stars in what begins as a disaster movie then spins off into science fiction, a move that will surely leave viewers floundering.

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Kim Da-mi (left) and Kwon Eun-seong in a still from The Great Flood. Photo: Netflix
Asian cinema

Review | Good News: hilarious Korean farce based on a real-life 1970s hijacking

Byun Sung-hyun’s riotously entertaining black comedy coming to Netflix features a whip-smart script and deftly judged humour.

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Sul Kyung-gu in a still from Good News, directed by Byun Sung-hyun. Hong Kyung and Ryoo Seung-bum co-star. Photo: Song Kyoung-sub/Netflix
Asian cinema

Review | The Ugly: Yeon Sang-ho’s dark mystery is both intriguing and frustrating

Park Jeong-min, Kwon Hae-hyo and Han Ji-hyeon star in Train to Busan director Yeon’s first cinematic release in five years.

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Profile | Who is Kim Da-mi, the enigmatic star of Itaewon Class and Nine Puzzles?

The reserved Kim, who this year appears in Nine Puzzles, A Hundred Memories and The Great Flood, is a role model for aspiring actors.

American cinema

10 of the best movies from the 2025 Venice Film Festival

You won’t find the Golden Lion winner on this list, which includes harrowing Palestinian drama The Voice of Hind Rajab and British film Ish.

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Lee Byung-hun in a still from No Other Choice, directed by Park Chan-wook.
Asian cinema

Review | No Other Choice: Park Chan-wook takes on corporate culture in dark comedy

Lee Byung-hun stars in this Korean black comedy as a family man who is laid off after 25 years and goes on a desperate quest for a job.

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Lee Byung-hun as a desperate jobseeker in a still from No Other Choice, directed by Park Chan-wook. Son Ye-jin and Park Hee-soon co-star.
What's hot in Korea

Why the K-culture boom may fizzle out, according to experts

Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines and Han Kang’s award-winning novels may all have contributed to the Korean wave, but has it peaked?

Asian cinema

Intrigued by Netflix’s Aema? The 13 best 1980s Korean erotic films ranked

From Mulberry to Between the Knees to Woman of Fire ’82, we rank 13 of the best erotic films to come out in Korea during the 1980s.

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TV shows and streaming video

Why KPop Demon Hunters director is so keen to promote Korean culture

When Maggie Kang immigrated to Canada as a child she was shocked at how little people knew about Korea. Now she’s putting that right.

From left: Mira, Rumi and Zoey in a screen grab from KPop Demon Hunters. Photo: AP
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Review | My Daughter Is a Zombie: hit Korean comedy displays few signs of life

Starring Jo Jung-suk, Lee Jung-eun and Choi Yoo-ri, My Daughter Is a Zombie is South Korea’s most successful domestic release of 2025.

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When Dragon Ball met K-pop: in South Korea and Japan, culture bridges the divide

Eighty years after South Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, a younger generation’s shared passions are creating a new intimacy.

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Profile | Who is Kim Nam-gil, star of K-dramas Trigger and The Fiery Priest?

Heartthrob Kim Nam-gil debuted in the series School in 1999, waited five years for his next role, and has not looked back since then.

Kim Nam-gil in a still from The Fiery Priest
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5 rising Korean women filmmakers and the movies that shaped them

Kim Se-in, Kim Cho-hee, Yoon Ga-eun, Yoon Dan-bi and Lim Oh-jeong will all get the spotlight in a special section at the Busan film festival.

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A still from Lucky Chan-sil, the directorial debut from Korean female filmmaker Kin Cho-hee. Kim is one of five rising female filmmakers in the Korean industry who will be examined in a section of the 2025 Busan International Film Festival.
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How did Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters become such a huge success?

Chart-topping songs, creative animation and fun K-pop Easter eggs all helped KPop Demon Hunters become the year’s surprising success story.

Asian cinema

Review | Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy – Korean fantasy is glossy but uninspired

Featuring Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Min-ho, Chae Soo-bin and K-pop’s Nana and Jisoo, this Korean sci-fi fantasy fails to live up to its ambitions.

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Asian cinema

Review | Wall to Wall: homeowning is a nightmare in Netflix’s Korean thriller

Wall to Wall on Netflix explores Korea’s property woes and neighbourly nightmares – but it sadly loses focus with a clichéd mystery element.

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Kang Ha-neul as new resident Wu-song in a still from Wall to Wall. Photo: Young-uk Jeon/Netflix
Asian cinema

12 best movies of Squid Game’s Front Man, Lee Byung-hun, ranked

Concrete Utopia, Bittersweet Life, Joint Security Area and more – South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun has lit up the big screen for decades.

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Lee Byung-hun in a still from A Bittersweet Life (2005). Photo: CJ Entertainment
Asian cinema

Review | Hi-Five: Korean superhero fantasy with Yoo Ah-in fails to meet its potential

Starring Yoo Ah-in, Ra Mi-ran, Lee Jae-in and with K-pop star Park Jin-young, Hi-Five features a promising premise that it never lives up to.

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K-drama news

Lee Je-hoon on Big Deal, Signal 2, Taxi Driver 3 and future projects

South Korean actor Lee Je-hoon talks about the importance of audience reaction, and working in Hollywood in the future.

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