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Korean filmmaker Kwak Kyung-taek has responded to calls to boycott his latest feature Firefighters, sparked by recent political unrest in the country.

The film has come under fire from an angry public as the director’s brother is Kwak Gyu-taek, a member of South Korea’s People Power Party (Ppp), who failed to attend the parliamentary vote to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol.

In a statement, director Kwak said: “Recently, my younger brother, representative Kwak Gyu-taek of the People Power Party, did not participate in the impeachment vote in accordance with the party’s stance, which has led some people to criticise the film Firefighters.

The opening night of the 29th Busan International Film Festival (Biff) saw a starry audience of more than 4,500 guests in fits of laughter as well as reduced to tears at a ceremony tonight (October 3).

Staged under the illuminated roof of the Busan Cinema Center in South Korea, directors, actors and producers from more than 70 films in Biff’s official selection walked the red carpet, including Thai star Billkin from blockbuster How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, India’s Banita Das from Village Rockstars 2 and Filipino director Brillante Mendoza. Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae was also in attendance as well as Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes,...

Hospital Playlist season 3 is the long-awaited follow-up to the second season of the Korean drama from 2021. The Korean medical drama TV show, Hospital Playlist, premiered in 2020 with season 2 coming a year later in 2021. The show is the second installment of the Wise Life series, following Prison Playbook, which premiered in 2017 for one season. Hospital Playlist follows five doctors well into their careers, working at the Yulje Medical Centre. The doctors began as friends in school and since have remained close over the years.

As the name suggests, and what makes the show particularly unique, is Hospital Playlist's soundtrack, which features covers of popular songs performed by the cast. The music, medical drama, and ever-evolving relationships between the characters, which run deeper than what's shown in the show, make for an engrossing and charming K-drama. Season 2 aired the last of its 12 episodes in September 2021, and since then, there's been little...

Concert film, “Lim Young Woong Im Hero The Stadium” was the top-grossing film at the South Korean cinema box office over the latest weekend, ahead of conventional narrative movies ‘Alien: Romulus” and “Pilot.”

Data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic) show “Im Hero” to have earned $1.89 million between Friday and Sunday and $3.47 million over its five-day opening frame. “Alien: Romulus” earned $1.66 million in its third weekend and has a 19-day cumulative of $12.5 million.

However, local convention allocates chart ranking according to spectator numbers. According to that logic, “Alien: Romulus” held its lead for a third weekend, having sold a further 223,000 tickets, compared with the 87,000 tickets sold for “Im Hero.” The difference is explained by the concert film’s significantly higher ticket prices.

Lim, who mostly sings ballads and trot songs, emerged on to the scene in a 2020 TV talent show. With good looks and a wholesome,...

“Alien: Romulus” claimed a second weekend victory at the South Korean theatrical box office in another quiet session that may signal the end of the summer season.

The horror-action franchise film collected $2.70 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). After 12 days on release, it has a cumulative of $9.81 million.

The film’s weekend performance represented only a modest 24% week-on-week decline compared with its opening frame. And the film’s share of the weekend market remained steady at 28%.

That meant that the overall market trended downwards too – by 23% — delivering the first weekend with aggregate box office below $10 million for ten weeks. A lack of significant titles arriving in cinemas may further be signalling the end of the summer season – a vibrant season in previous year, often dominated by horror titles. Big local titles, such as “Veteran” sequel “I, The Executioner...

Busan International Film Festival has announced a Special Program in Focus, ‘In Memory of Lee Sun-kyun’, honoring the Korean actor who died in December 2023.

The program will screen six of the actor’s works including Parasite, four other films and an episode of TV series My Mister, as well as feature Special Talk events.

The late actor has also been selected to receive this year’s Korea Cinema Award, given to filmmakers who have contributed to promoting Korean cinema globally.

“Through the program, the festival aims to reflect on and commemorate the achievements of the late actor, whose diversified and profound performances have represented the Korean film scene,” the festival said.

Lee died in December 2023 in an apparent suicide at the age of 48, after which industry figures, including Parasite director Bong Joon Ho, called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

Three of the films in the Busan...