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Asian cinema: Korean films

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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.
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A TV screen showing an image of the late South Korean actress Kim Sae-ron at Seoul Railway Station. Photo: AP
South Korea

Petition in South Korea demanding laws against celebrity bullying gains traction

Prompted by the death of K-drama star Kim Sae-Ron, the petition has garnered enough signatures to warrant a review by a committee.

Asian cinema

Review | Revelations: Ryu Jun-yeol leads Yeon Sang-ho’s disappointing Netflix thriller

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Profile | Who is Park Bo-gum, IU’s co-star in Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines?

What's hot in Korea

Twice’s Dahyun aims to bring joy with You Are the Apple of My Eye role

The K-pop singer, who makes her acting debut in Korean remake of a Taiwanese romance, wants to ‘take on more roles and grow as an actress’.

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Dahyun of Twice at the VIP premiere of You Are The Apple of My Eye. Photo: Instagram/mrmdbu
Cinema

Bong Joon-ho on the message of sci-fi Mickey 17, starring Robert Pattinson

Korean director hails Pattinson’s ‘excellent’ playing of two versions of his character in a film about persistence in the face of adversity.

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Asian cinema

Review | What Does that Nature Say to You: Hong Sang-soo finds humour in domesticity

Korean director’s film examines, with humour, the difficulties of artistic life through the lens of a man meeting his girlfriend’s family.

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Cinema

Why 2000 movie Joint Security Area resonates still, and why that’s ‘sad’

Park Chan-wook’s 2000 film Joint Security Area told a controversial story of friendship between North and South Korean soldiers.

Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun and Shin Ha-kyun in a still from Joint Security Area, directed by Park Chan-wook.
K-drama news

Kim Sae-ron the latest in a long line of Korean stars bullied to death

Korean celebrities may be loved by their fans, but make one slip-up and the online abuse starts, often fuelled by mass media.

Asian cinema

Review | Forbidden Fairytale: bubbly Korean sex comedy is closed-minded and prudish

Park Ji-hyun plays a youth protection officer who starts writing pornography to pay for car repairs in this non-risqué erotic comedy.

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Asian cinema

Review | Mickey 17, wild sci-fi satire from Parasite’s Bong Joon-ho

Robert Pattinson plays the titular Mickey, a loser sent into space, where he is cloned with hilarious results in this cult-novel adaptation.

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Robert Pattinson as Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 in a still from Bong Jooh-ho’s sci-fi comedy Mickey 17, screened at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival. Naomi Ackie and Mark Ruffalo co-star. Photo: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Obituaries

South Korean actress Kim Sae-ron found dead at her home in Seoul

Police said there was no sign of foul play. Kim, 24, is best known for her role in the 2010 film The Man from Nowhere.

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Kim Sae-ron at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong in 2017. The South Korean actress was found dead at her home in Seoul on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Asian cinema

Review | Dark Nuns: Korean exorcism horror with Song Hye-kyo, Jeon Yeo-been

Two nuns resort to extreme measures, including exorcism, to save the life of a possessed boy, and in the process defy their church superiors.

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Cinema

Ha Jung-woo on ‘tremendous anger’ behind his new film Nocturnal

Korean actor talks about Nocturnal director Kim Jin-hwang’s unique vision, working with new people and connecting with fans on social media.

K-drama news

Why Dark Nuns actress Song Hye-kyo is taking on darker roles

Back on screen in Dark Nuns, movie about nuns saving a boy who is possessed, Korean actress says The Glory reignited her passion for acting.

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Song hye-kyo as Sister Junia in a still from Dark Nuns.
What's hot in Korea

Korean actress Kim Min-hee pregnant with first child at 42

Director Hong Sang-soo, 64, left his wife for actress Kim Min-hee in 2015. The child she is carrying will be the first for both of them.

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Korean actress Kim Min-hee and film director Hong Sang-soo, who it has been revealed are having a child together, who will be the first for both of them. Photo: Instagram/hong.sangsoo, Reuters/Pool
Asian cinema

Review | K-Family Affairs: how a family endured 30 years of Korean political turmoil

Nam A-rum’s documentary is an intimate study of her family, her civil servant father and former activist mother, told through home movies.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Exhuma, Twilight of the Warriors lead Asian Film Awards nominations

Both movies are up for best picture at the 18th Asian Film Awards, as are All We Imagine as Light, Black Dog and Teki Cometh.

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Asian cinema

Best movie roles of Squid Game season 2’s new players

Do they look familiar? From Park Sung-hoon to Kang Ha-neul, we look at films new Squid Game actors were in before entering the deadly arena.

Kang Ha-neul as Kang Dae-ho, or player #388, in a still from Squid Game season 2. The actor is among those in the new series with impressive portfolios. Photo: Netflix
TV shows and streaming video

Where Squid Game creator gets his inspiration, his ‘darker’ next project

The young Koreans buying cryptocurrency and gambling online inspired some of the new characters in Squid Game season 2, Hwang Dong-hyuk says.

What's hot in Korea

Song Joong-ki opens up on Bogota struggles and why he supports Hyun Bin

Song, whose new film Bogota: City of the Lost was heavily delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, says he is driven by a sense of challenge.

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What's hot in Korea

‘I’m second,’ says South Korean star Hyun Bin on life now he’s a dad

Hyun Bin says his son and his wife, Crash Landing on You co-star Son Ye-jin, are his priorities, and reveals the pressures of making Harbin.

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Korean actor Hyun Bin with his wife Son Ye-jin. The couple married in March 2022 and had their son in November the same year. Photo: Instagram/hyunbinactor
Asian cinema

Review | Hidden Face, a Korean erotic thriller, serves up scandalous fun

This sexy K-movie follows a conductor who sleeps with the replacement player for his cellist fiancée, who seems to have disappeared.

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Park Ji-hyun as Mi-ju (left) and Song Seung-heon as Sung-jin in a still from Hidden Face.
K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

Are Winner’s Song Min-ho and Korean actress Park Ju-hyun dating?

‘Impossible to verify’ report the K-pop star is dating actress, his agency says. ‘Difficult to confirm’ a relationship, her agency says.

Asian cinema

The 12 best Asian films of 2024, including The Last Dance

From a Thai tear-jerker to a Korean cross-dressing romcom and a hand-drawn Japanese anime, our pick of the best Asian films of the past year.

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Cinema

Will these films draw Koreans back to cinema after protests over Yoon?

Cinema-going fell in South Korea amid mass protests after President Yoon Suk-yeol’s martial law declaration. Distributors hope for a rebound.

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Lee Hee-joon (left) and Song Joong-ki in a still from Bogota: City of the Lost, one of two big domestic productions distributors hope will draw South Koreans back to cinemas. Photo: Plus M Entertainment and Watermelon Pictures
K-drama news

Profile | Meet Lim Ji-yeon, star of K-dramas The Glory and The Tale of Lady Ok

Lim found fame in steamy drama Obsessed, stopped being typecast after her role in The Glory, and has not looked back since.

Lim Ji-yeon in a still from The Glory. Photo: Netflix
Fame and celebrity

Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung on fame and her sense of humour

Youn Yuh-jung, who won an Oscar for her role in Minari, shares her views on celebrity, and what makes her laugh.

K-drama news

AI-driven K-dramas, movies ring in new era of freedom for creators

Producers in Korea use ChatGPT and similar software to script dramas and films, and do AI editing. It cuts costs but there are still hurdles.

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