Lee Chang-dong, Yeon Sang-ho films head to Toronto

Two of South Korea's most celebrated directors are taking their new films to Toronto. Lee Chang-dong's "Possible Love" and Yeon Sang-ho's "Paradise Lost" have been invited to the Special Presentations section of the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, organizers announced Monday. A noncompetitive showcase for new work by major directors, Special Presentations has previously hosted "Parasite" (2019) and "Decision to Leave" (2022). The selections bring the Korean count to three across the fe

2026-07-21 14:06:05:00

'Hope' is on a roll at the Korean box office. Viewers are arguing over what they just watched

Everyone is talking about "Hope." Nobody seems to agree on it. Na Hong-jin's big-budget creature farce blew past 2 million admissions Sunday afternoon, five days into its run and faster than any film released this year, according to Korean Film Council data. Its running total stood at 2,129,723 as of Monday morning. That pace beats "The King's Warden," which opened earlier this year and went on to sell 16.9 million tickets, becoming the highest-grossing Korean film ever made. It also outruns Yeo

2026-07-20 15:04:43:00

'The King's Warden' makes African premiere in Ivory Coast

"The King's Warden," the historical drama that became the highest-grossing Korean film of all time, has premiered in Ivory Coast. The film opened the 2026 Korean Film Festival in Abidjan on Thursday. The Korean Embassy hosted the event to mark 65 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries, the embassy said Monday. Kim Soo-jin's horror film "Noise" also screened. Both titles went on to open in Ivorian theaters through a local distributor, the first Korean period drama and horror film to r

2026-07-20 11:16:09:00

When heritage meets pop culture: K-cinema

When the World Heritage Committee convenes in Busan on Sunday, much of its attention will fall on the celebrated physical legacies of Korea's dynastic past, from the royal tombs to the fortresses and palaces of the Joseon era that dot the country's list of World Heritage sites. Impressive as those monuments are, they tell only half the story. What brings that past to life like nothing else is the vast paper trail that came with it. The Joseon Dynasty kept records with a thoroughness that borders

2026-07-18 10:00:00:00

Hoyeon conquered fashion and 'Squid Game.' Now comes the big screen

By her mid-20s, Jung Ho-yeon was a fixture in New York high fashion. She had walked exclusives for Louis Vuitton in Paris, shot Chanel campaigns lensed by Karl Lagerfeld himself and sat on Models.com's ranking of the world's top 50. It was, by any measure, a modeling career firing on all cylinders. The paper version, as she tells it, was the problem. "People liked the shiny version of me, but I knew I was mostly made of other things," she said in a 2021 interview with W Korea. Worse, working ove

2026-07-14 14:25:21:00

Heavy rain to move in Tuesday, but the heat stays

Heavy rain is expected across South Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday as the tail end of Typhoon Bavi sweeps in from China, though forecasters said the wet weather will not break a heat wave now entering its third day. The Korea Meteorological Administration said Bavi fizzled out over inland China at 3 p.m. Monday and weakened into a tropical depression. The storm is still packing plenty of moisture and is expected to track across the Shandong Peninsula and pass near Pyongyang, North Korea, on Tues

2026-07-13 22:06:21:00

Prosecutors file new charges against Shincheonji leader's alleged plot to sway party primaries

South Korean prosecutors on Monday filed additional charges against the 95-year-old leader of a religious sect over an alleged yearslong effort to funnel his followers into a political party. A joint investigation team comprising prosecutors and police said Lee Man-hee, the founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, was charged with pressuring followers to join the party and with interfering in the party's affairs. Lee is already in custody and awaiting trial after his arrest last month on rela

2026-07-13 21:32:02:00

Christopher Nolan, Matt Damon booked for Korea's biggest talk show

Christopher Nolan and Matt Damon will appear on tvN's "You Quiz on the Block" when they visit South Korea next month to promote "The Odyssey," the network said Monday. The taping is timed to their Aug. 3 arrival in Seoul, ahead of the film's Korean release on Aug. 5, according to tvN. An air date has not been set. The appearance is part of a promotional run that also includes a press conference and a red carpet event, with co-star Charlize Theron joining the director and actor in Seoul. The trip

2026-07-13 15:36:40:00

Korea's most expensive movie ever opens Wednesday. It can't afford to flop

Two days ahead of its opening, "Hope" is already the only story at the local box office. As of Monday morning, Na Hong-jin's Cannes-premiered alien epic accounted for 62.1 percent of all advance tickets sold nationwide, racking up nearly 390,000 bookings, according to the Korean Film Council's tracking service. The film shot to No. 1 faster than any release this year and hasn't budged since; its share now runs nearly four times that of the runner-up, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," which opens July

2026-07-13 14:37:17:00

This thriller starring Shin Min-a opened soft. Now it's outdrawing 'Toy Story 5' in Korea

When "The Eyes" opened on June 24, almost nobody was betting on it. Homegrown thrillers have had a rough few years at the box office, and director Yeom Ji-ho's remake of the 2010 Spanish chiller "Julia's Eyes" looked like more of the same: A mid-budget genre picture destined to slip out of theaters and onto streaming within weeks. The one real draw was Shin Min-a, in a dual role as twins — a ceramic artist who dies under murky circumstances and a photographer who investigates the death as her ow

2026-07-10 17:33:33:00