When Korean actor Park Hye-il, 45, entered the cafe in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, where an interview with a group of reporters was to take place Thursday, he immediately started wiping the table with a tissue, although it was perfectly clean. When reporters pointed out that it seems like something that his detective character, Hye-jun, in Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave” would do, the actor smiled shyly and agreed. “It seems like some of the character remains (

Director Choi Dong-hoon, known for “The Thieves” (2012) and “Assassination” (2015), which attracted over 10 million viewers, is returning this summer after a seven-year break from the industry with “Alienoid,” an extraordinary film that combines science fiction with Korean folklore. “When I was a kid, I used to wonder about the existence of aliens. It made me excited and, at times, also frightened. Imagining aliens made my childhood more entertaining. I

The Korean War, which broke out 72 years ago on June 25, 1950, is a tragedy that divided the Korean Peninsula into South and North Korea, a division that remains to this day with the two countries still technically at war. It is no surprise that the war and postwar situation of Korea have become common subject matters for numerous films of various genres. Most Korean War-related movies tend to be serious and aim at showing the difficulties that people faced during and after the war. The amb

Lightyear (US) Opened June 15 Drama Directed by Angus MacLane While spending years attempting to return home, legendary Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear encounters an army of ruthless robots commanded by Zurg, who aims to steal his fuel source. To fight against Zurg, Buzz Lightyear embarks on an adventure alongside ambitious recruits Izzy, Mo, Darby and his robot companion Sox.  The Witch: Part 2. The Other One (Korea) Opened June 15 Action Directed by Park Hoon-jung So-nyeo (Shin Shi

Cannes-winning director Park Chan-wook said his new film “Decision to Love” shows what he considers to be mature love between two adults. “I started the movie thinking I would like to tell a story that only experienced people will understand,” the director said during a press conference at Yongsan CGV on Tuesday. “When we are young, we show all our emotions and express them, but as we get older, due to different situations and circumstances, it is difficult to b

Hollywood star Tom Cruise on Monday said he hopes long-waiting Korean fans of “Top Gun” who watched the action film as kids back in 1986 will fully enjoy the new sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.” “Grown-up man, you can enjoy that film, and you can cry  in that movie, and that‘s OK. It’s for you and it’s for everybody, so enjoy,” Cruise said during a press conference held at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Monday. Along with Cruise, four of the sta

Two Cannes-winning movie stars -- Song Kang-ho and Jeon Do-yeon -- are returning to the big screen in the highly anticipated aviation disaster flick “Emergency Declaration,” directed by Han Jae-rim. Song became the first Korean male actor to win an acting prize at the 75th Cannes Film Festival this year for his role in “Broker,” directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. In 2007, Jeon won the award for best actress at Cannes for her performance in “Secret Sunshine,” d

An idea of two total strangers -- a grandmother with a spare room and a college student -- becoming a “family” might be as novel as it sounds, but it is an actual experimental room-sharing program that inspired director Lee Soon-sung for his upcoming film “My Perfect Roommate.” The room-sharing project has been running since 2013 in the northwest district of Nowon in Seoul and connects university students that are looking for a place to stay with elderly people who li

The Witch: Part 2. The Other One (Korea) Opened June 15 Action Directed by Park Hoon-jung So-nyeo (Shin Shi-a), who possesses special powers, is the lone survivor of a secret laboratory that was attacked by intruders. After she escapes from the lab, So-nyeo meets Kyung-hee (Park Eun-bin) and saves her life. Guided by her new friend, So-nyeo learns about life outside of the lab. Meanwhile, the chase is on to capture So-nyeon. Among those hunting her are Dr. Baek (Jo Min-soo), who returns to

Showbox CEO Kim Do-soo held a media day event at Seoul Dragon City in Yongsan-gu, Seoul to share the company’s vision for global expansion with Silicon Valley-based investment company Maum Capital Group on Wednesday. The event came after Showbox -- one of the “big four” Korean film investment distributors -- in April announced that it had secured a 140 billion won ($108 million) in funding from MCG. The US investment firm was established last year by Koo Bon-woong, also know

Some viewers may criticize documentary film “Please Make Me Look Pretty” for failing to give the whole picture, but that was the intention of the film’s director and Seo Dong-il. Seo, the father of the protagonist Jung Eun-hye, said he intended to only feature the bright side of his daughter’s life. Jung has Down syndrome. “There are many documentary films about people with disabilities. They usually feature them with their parents and describe them as people who

Ordinary Hanyang University student Shin Si-a’s world was turned upside down when she was selected out of 1,408 actors to play protagonist So-nyeo in “The Witch: Part 2. The Other One.” The film is the sequel to Park Hoon-jung’s hit “The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion,” released in 2018. In her very first group interview with local reporters, the 25-year-old actor recalled the moment she heard from director Park after the audition. “I knew that if I go

Disney+ on Monday announced that “Oldboy” actor Choi Min-sik and rising star Son Suk-ku will star in the upcoming drama “Casino.” According to Disney+, this is Choi’s first performance in a drama series in 24 years, when he appeared on MBC‘s “Love and Farewell” (1997-1998). Since then he has only worked on big-screen projects, including “Oldboy” directed by Park Chan-wook, “Nameless Gangster” directed by Yoon Jong-bin and &

Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival on Friday announced that it will hold in-person events at the festival year, slated to take place from July 7 to 17. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the fest had been holding opening and closing ceremonies, as well as a red carpet event at various locations in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, such as Bucheon City Hall and Bucheon Gymnasium. During the last two years, the fest had been downsized with all in-person events without audiences, and the openin

South Korea’s biggest cinema chain CJ CGV will hold special screenings of seven movies with Cannes-winning director Park Chan-wook and actor Song Kang-ho, from Thursday to June 29. “To celebrate director Park Chan-wook and actor Song Kang-ho winning the awards, we created this special screening event to share a meaningful achievement of Korean cinema which raised its reputation,” CGV official Yeo Kwang-jin said in a statement released Thursday. “I hope audiences can take

Broker (Korea) Opened June 8 Drama Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda So-young (IU) leaves her child in a baby box in front of a church. Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) and Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won) secretly steal the baby to sell him to a family who cannot legally adopt. So-young returns to the church the next day to retrieve the baby and finds out that Sang-hyun and Dong-soo have taken the child. Soon, So-young and the two men agree to look for the right parents for the baby together. After Yang (Ko

After appearing in Oscar-winning “Parasite” (2019), as well as becoming the first Korean to win best actor award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival for his role in “Broker” (2022) in May, Song Kang-ho is now at the center of global attention. Song, however, said he does not have any plans to do projects overseas, adding that he decided to perform in “Broker” because it is being produced in his home country. “After ‘Parasite’ I got lots of o

Korean actor Bae Doo-na, 42, expressed regret over not being able to take part in promotional events for “Broker,” as she is currently filming Zack Snyder’s new sci-fi saga for Netflix, “Rebel Moon,” during an interview with local reporters via Zoom on Wednesday. Bae also could not be present at the 75th Cannes Film Festival where Song won the award for best actor for his role in “Broker.” “It is too bad that I could not make it to Cannes this

Director Park Hoon-jung’s “The Witch” universe is expanding further with new characters, upgraded special powers and storyline in “The Witch: Part 2. The Other One.” Park’s “The Witch”, released in 2018, features the story of a seemingly ordinary girl named Ja-yoon (Kim Da-mi) who wins top prize on a TV audition program. After her victory, a series of unusual people enter Ja-yoon’s life, including the mysterious scientist, Dr. Baek. The s

Seoul Independent Film Festival will take part in film screening events to introduce Korean independent movies in Spain and Hong Kong. The SIFF will introduce selected independent Korean films at Korea Fest BCN 2022, held at Cinemes Boliche in Barcelona, Spain for five days from June 15 to 19. There will be an Indie Seoul section during the film festival in Spain, which will screen five selected works among films that were screened at the SIFF, including “Fighter,” directed by J