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Kim Go-eun's versatility shines through in her diverse roles, from bubbly Eun-tak in Goblin to the sinister In-joo in Little Women. Despite tonal inconsistencies in Monster, Kim Go-eun's portrayal of Bok-soon is both heart-warming and intense, showcasing her acting skills. In Yumi's Cells, Kim Go-eun's performance as Yu-mi balances humor and sincerity, making the K-drama a joy to watch with its relatable nature.

Since her on-screen debut in 2012, Kim Go-eun has continued to show her versatility as an actor through incredible and varied performances in both K-dramas and in movies. Born in South Korea in 1991, Kim Go-eun stumbled into the world of acting by chance, yet has not looked back since. Now over a decade into her career, Kim Go-eun has been involved in some of the best K-dramas and South Korean movies to date and does not show any signs of slowing down.

Kim Go-eun's commitment to...

Issues of cultural diversity, different Asian diaspora populations and the quest for the Asian cinematic identity came up for discussion on Thursday as the New Currents competition jury at the Busan International Film Festival prepared to get down to work.

Filmmaker and academic Jung Sung-il, who is set as the jury president, appeared to invite a degree of dispute that might get the blood racing. “I have high hopes, hope for controversies and good conversations among the jurors,” he said in opening remarks. Later he added that he’d be open to championing a “glorious failure” as prize-winner if it contained a truly original scene or section over a slicker, but less innovative title.

Other jurors are: Han Junhee, Korean director of “Coin Locker Girl” and “Dp”; Eva Cahen, head of the Semaine de la Critique section at Cannes; Indonesian director Edwin (“Blind Pig Wants to Fly”); and Korean American...

The Busan International Film Festival put aside many of its recent internal and local political problems to Tuesday unveil a large selection ranging from bleeding edge art titles to international festival favorites.

“The difficult times are not behind us, but hard work has made this year’s festival better than ever,” said programmer and interim festival chief Nam Dong-chul, speaking at an online press conference.

International guests expected to attend the festival include Luc Besson, Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing, Japanese directors Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and Korean Americans Justin Chon (“Gook”) and Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”).

Hong Kong-based superstar Chow Yun-fat has been named as Busan’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year and will be in person to receive the award. The Korean Cinema Award will presented to the late Yun Jung-hee, the actress who starred in “The General’s Mustache” and Lee Chang-dong’s 2010 drama “Poetry.

After much anticipation, the Squid Game season 2 cast has been revealed, and while many of these characters haven't been given names or backstories yet, they'll likely be the latest batch of contestants to compete in the horrific Squid Game. The Korean series Squid Game became a breakout international hit when it premiered on Netflix in 2021, garnering critical acclaim as audiences from all over the world tuned in to watch Gi-hun fight his way to the top and lose plenty of people along the way. With the reveal that the elderly Oh Il-nam created the game, audiences are surely wondering how it will continue after his death.

The Squid Game season 1 ending seemed to wrap up the plot nicely, save for Jun-Ho's death fakeout. However, the series was so well-received that it seemed like a bad idea for Netflix and creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk not to continue the series. When audiences last saw Gi-hun,...

Leading Korean entertainment conglomerate Cj Enm is to break the theatrical window in the world’s fourth largest movie market with a simultaneous cinema and streaming release for “Seobok,” one of the year’s hottest Korean movies.

The group said that it will distribute the sci-fi actioner in theaters on April 15 and also make it available on its own streaming service, Tving.

While Hollywood studio Disney has chosen to release titles such as “Mulan” with simultaneous premium video and cinema releases, and WarnerMedia is planning the same for its entire 2021 Warner Bros. slate, holdbacks have remained in place through much of Asia.

Directed by Lee Yong-joo (“Architecture 101”), “Seobok” features “Train to Busan” star Gong Yoo as an intelligence agent charged with transferring the first human clone from a laboratory to a safe place in the real world. Park Bo-gum stars as the eponymous clone.

“Seobok” had been set for...

South Korea’s Cj Entertainment, the studio behind multiple Oscar-winner “Parasite,” confirmed that it is leading its AFM sales slate with “Decision to Leave,” the newly announced title by another master director, “Oldboy” helmer Park Chan-wook.

The studio is pitching the film as a crime-romancer with dialogue in Korean and Chinese. The story involves a detective, to be played by Park Hae-il (“Memories of Murder”), who develops romantic feelings for a woman, played by China’s Tang Wei, who should be the prime suspect in a murder case he is investigating.

The studio provides no other updated information on delivery, production budget or supplementary casting. When Cj announced the film last month, it said that it would be investor and local Korean distributor of the film, but told Variety at the time that it had not settled on the international sales agency role.

In many recent instances, Cj has held...

Opening on Wednesday, locally-made melodrama “Tune in for Love” landed on top of the South Korean box office over the weekend. The Cgv Arthouse release earned $4.54 million from 685,000 admissions over five days. Directed by Jung Ji-woo (“4th Place”), the drama depicts the story of a young couple who repeatedly crosses paths and parts ways over 10 years. It stars young stars Kim Go-eun (“Coin Locker Girl”) and Jung Hae-in (Heung-boo: The Revolutionist”).

Korean horror, “Metamorphosis” slipped to second from the previous weekend’s top spot. It earned $2.67 million between Friday and Sunday, for a total of $10.6 million after two weekends on release. Cj Entertainment’s “Exit” remained in third. The comedy earned $2.1 million to extend its five-weekend total to $61.9 million. The top three films accounted for some 60% of the country’s total weekend box office.

“Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” slipped to fourth, with a week-on-week drop of 56%. The Upi...

The London Korean Film Festival 2019 presents the UK Premiere of “Default” at Regent Street Cinema, Monday 20th May

“The poor get poorer… unemployment becomes the norm…

we must not choose that world.”

Recent years have witnessed a boom in political dramas in Korea, with hits such as “A Taxi Driver” (2017) and “1987: When the Day Comes” (2017) bringing in audiences in their millions. The second teaser in our showcase, based on the true events of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, adds the dimension of a fast-paced financial thriller to this popular genre. Default is an affecting film that considers the human impact of the crisis alongside acerbic commentary.

The crisis occurred when large companies, aspiring to compete globally, began to take out massive loans for expansion projects. When these investments failed to achieve returns, a domino effect began that would result in nationwide debt and the impending crash of the economy…

Set...

More Zombies attacking Korean cinemas, only this time we get to see their funny side as director Lee Min-jae brings us an undead comedy with his debut feature “The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale”.

Synopsis

Man-deok runs a gas station in a peaceful country village. He has three adult children: Joon-geol, Min-geol and Hae-geol. Man-deok only thinks about spending the rest of his life in Hawaii.

Oldest child, Joon-geol, is married to Nam-joo. He loves his family, but he doesn’t express his feelings to his family. Min-geol is the middle child in the family. He is the only one from his family to have graduated from a university. He gets fired from his company and comes back to his hometown. Hae-geol is the youngest child in the family.

One day, a strange man appears in the country village. Due to him, Man-deok’s family and the entire village is shaken.

Hoping to bring a “The Fast & The Furious” vibe to South Korean cinema is director Han Jun-hee (“Coin Locker Girl”) with his latest action film “Hit-and-Run Squad”.

Synopsis

Eun Shi-yeon is a police lieutenant. She is demoted to a hit-and-run investigation team from the regional investigation unit at the National Police Agency. At the hit-and-run investigation team, Eun Shi-yeon works with Police Constable Seo Min-jae, who has a knack for cars, and Woo Sun-young . They try to catch Jung Jae-cheol. He is the first Formula One racer in South Korea, but he suddenly retired as a race car driver. He is now businessman.

Han Jun-hee has been able to call upon an able starcast for the project. Gong Hyo-jin, who was recently seen in the hit urban thriller “Door Lock” as well as in a special appearance in “Be With You” earlier last year, plays Eun Shi-yeon. Ryu Jun-yeol, who...

Director Lee Joon-ik is perhaps best known for historical dramas like “The King and The Clown” and “The Throne”. After “Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet” and “Anarchist From the Colony”, he is back with his latest film “Sunset in My Hometown”, which is marketed as the third film in his “Youth Trilogy”.

Synopsis

Underground rapper Hak-soo has challenged TV audition programmes for 6 years but never gets into the finalist. On the day that he fails his 7th audition, he receives a call from his hometown that his father is in the hospital. He rushes to his hometown Byeonsan, which he has left since high school only to find it is his father’s plot to bring him back to Byeonsan. He immediately heads back to Seoul, but circumstances lead him back to Byeonsan, the small, boring suburb where he meets his school friend Seon-mi.

After “Dongju: The Portrait of...

Don Lee (aka Ma Dong-seok) who has headlined films such as Train To Busan and The Outlaws, stars in debuting director Kim Min-ho’s Unstoppable.

South Korean distributor Showbox has picked up sales rights to crime actions films Unstoppable and Hit-And-Run Squad.

Don Lee (aka Ma Dong-seok) who has headlined films such as Train To Busan and The Outlaws, stars in debuting director Kim Min-ho’s Unstoppable. He will play a legendary gangster trying to clean up his act to live an ordinary life with his wife Ji-soo, played by Song Ji-hyo (New World), who keeps getting tricked into bad business decisions.