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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.

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Content from SCMP's Specialist Publications

Park Ji-hoon (second from left) and Yoo Hae-jin in a still from The King’s Warden, which is fast becoming one of South Korea’s most popular films at the box office.

The 10 most-watched Korean films of all time, including The King’s Warden

Can The King’s Warden overtake The Admiral: Roaring Currents and Extreme Job to become the most-viewed South Korean film of all time?

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Profile | Who is Seo In-guk, star of Netflix K-drama Boyfriend on Demand?

14 Mar 2026 - 4:15PM

Profile | Who is Shin Hye-sun, star of Netflix K-drama The Art of Sarah?

14 Feb 2026 - 5:15PM

What is it like to win the lottery? These 10 Asian movies have the answers

Winning the lottery can change your life forever, for good or bad. These 10 films from across Asia explore luck, wealth and greed.

11 Feb 2026 - 6:15PMvideocam

Bill Tung and Lydia Sum (first and second from right) play the heads of a materialistic Hong Kong family in the Lunar New Year comedy It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World (1987). Photo: D & B Films Co

The 10 most successful Korean art-house films of all time

As Yoon Ga-eun’s The World of Love hits Hong Kong cinemas, we look at Korean indie films that conquered the box office as well as festivals.

27 Jan 2026 - 4:15PMvideocam

Why M+ and Chanel are bringing rare Asian avant-garde films to Mubi

Streaming platform Mubi teams up with Hong Kong’s M+ museum and Chanel to put the spotlight on 10 films, including a John Woo short.

22 Jan 2026 - 4:51PM

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Profile | Who is Go Youn-jung, rising star of Netflix’s Can This Love Be Translated?

After starting out as a model, Go rose to K-drama stardom in series such as Alchemy of Souls and Moving. Now she leads her first romcom.

17 Jan 2026 - 5:15PM

Go Youn-jung in a still from Can This Love Be Translated?. Photo: No Ju-han/Netflix.

Loved Back to the Past? 10 Asian time travel gems you may also enjoy

After the success of Louis Koo’s Back to the Past, here are 10 other Asian time-travelling movies that are well worth checking out.

15 Jan 2026 - 7:15PMvideocam

Korean film icon Ahn Sung-ki remembered: 5 of his best films

Known affectionately as ‘The Nation’s Actor’, South Korea’s Ahn Sung-ki starred in more than 100 feature films during his long career.

5 Jan 2026 - 7:45PMvideocam

South Korean ‘nation’s actor’ Ahn Sung-ki dies at 74

Ahn collected over 40 major movie awards in his lifetime, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times.

5 Jan 2026 - 3:58PM

South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends the 11th Busan International Film Festival in 2006. Photo: AP

The 12 best Asian films of 2025: Ne Zha 2, Kokuho and more

Our pick of the best Asian films of the past year includes a record-breaking animation and a movie that is nothing short of breathtaking.

30 Dec 2025 - 4:15PMvideocam

Ryo Yoshizawa in a still from Kokuho, one of the Post’s best Asian films of the past year. Photo: Shuichi Yoshida/ASP

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.

15 Dec 2025 - 8:15PMvideocam

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

Kim Woo-bin, who is marrying fellow K-drama star Shin Min-a this month, has proved he has the acting chops to match his good looks.

13 Dec 2025 - 12:15PM

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

Following last week’s tragic fire at a Tai Po estate in Hong Kong, we look at films in which humanity endures through the darkest of hours.

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Arata Iura (left) and Ryo in a still from Distance (2001), which was conceived in the aftermath of the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, carried out in March 1995 by the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult.

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.

15 Nov 2025 - 8:30PM

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

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.

14 Oct 2025 - 7:15PMvideocam

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.

11 Oct 2025 - 5:15PM

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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.

1 Oct 2025 - 12:45PMvideocam

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.

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.

23 Sep 2025 - 11:29AMvideocam

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.

22 Sep 2025 - 6:22PM

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.

22 Sep 2025 - 4:15PMvideocam

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

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.

19 Sep 2025 - 12:15PMvideocam

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

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.

15 Sep 2025 - 7:05PMvideocam

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.

20 Sep 2025 - 11:21AM

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.

9 Sep 2025 - 5:23AMvideocam

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

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.

1 Sep 2025 - 10:50AMvideocam

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?

26 Aug 2025 - 8:00PM

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.

26 Aug 2025 - 6:15PMvideocam

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