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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.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM
Neville Sarony at his office in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: Tracy Wong

Barrister by day, jazz singer by night – and that’s only half the story

The British barrister tells of his years in the Gurkhas, long career in law, and singing at Ned Kelly’s in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Reading Time:6 minutes
An old Shanghai-style flat. Photo: courtesy hoo

This refurbished home is a love letter to old Shanghai

Reading Time:3 minutes
Chef Yoshiteru Ikegawa uses Kishu binchotan, a revered type of charcoal from Wakayama prefecture. Photo: courtesy Torikaze

He wasn’t allowed to grill for years. That’s how he mastered yakitori

Reading Time:3 minutes
The streets outside the KR (Krishna Rajendra) Market. Photo: Getty Images

Insider’s guide to Bengaluru: from flower markets to late-night bars

Reading Time:4 minutes
The “Monet – Moment and Memory” section of the “Into the Modern: Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston” exhibition at the National Gallery Singapore Photo: courtesy National Gallery Singapore

Singapore Art Week invites the world to take a closer look at the city’s art scene

Reading Time:4 minutes
Pete Sabine, aka DJ Fabsabs (right), and Joshua Wolper DJ a Cantomania set at the after party for the Black Eyed Peas’ gig at the AXA x Wonderland, in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, on November 19 last year. Photo: Alan Yiu Photography

Where Hong Kong’s teens and an 88-year-old share the dance floor

Reading Time:6 minutes
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John Woo in a still from “Dead Knot” (1969), which is streaming on Mubi as part of its partnership with M+ and Chanel.
Asian cinema

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.

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

Asian cinema

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

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Asian cinema

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.

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Ahn Sung-ki poses on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the 26th Busan International Film Festival in 2021. Photo: AFP
South Korea

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.

Asian cinema

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.

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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.

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Yuumi Kawai in a still from Two Seasons, Two Strangers
K-drama news

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.

Asian cinema

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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K-drama news

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.

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

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.

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Lee Byung-hun in a still from No Other Choice.
K-drama news

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.

Asian cinema

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.

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Asian cinema

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.

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Lee Hanee (left) and Ha Jung-woo as noisy neighbours in a still from The People Upstairs (category TBC), a Korean film directed by Ha Jung-woo, and co-starring Gong Hyo-jin and Kim Dong-wook.
Asian cinema

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.

South Korean director Park Chan-wook (right) reacts with actress Son Ye-jin on the red carpet at the 30th Busan International Film Festival in Busan in September 2025. Photo: AFP
Asian cinema

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.

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Asian cinema

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.

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Asian cinema

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.

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Park Jeong-min in a still from The Ugly.
K-drama news

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.

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.

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Asian cinema

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.

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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?

South Korean acts such as Blackpink – seen here performing at Coachella in 2023 – have driven the Korean wave, but it risks fizzling out, according to experts. Photo: Getty Images for Coachella
Asian cinema

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.

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TV shows and streaming video

Why KPop Demon Hunters director is so keen to promote Korean culture

When Maggie Kang immigrated to Canada as a child she was shocked at how little people knew about Korea. Now she’s putting that right.

Asian cinema

Review | My Daughter Is a Zombie: hit Korean comedy displays few signs of life

Starring Jo Jung-suk, Lee Jung-eun and Choi Yoo-ri, My Daughter Is a Zombie is South Korea’s most successful domestic release of 2025.

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Choi Yoo-ri (left) and Jo Jung-suk in a still from My Daughter Is a Zombie (category IIA, Korean), directed by Pil Gam-sung. Lee Jung-eun co-stars.
South Korea

When Dragon Ball met K-pop: in South Korea and Japan, culture bridges the divide

Eighty years after South Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, a younger generation’s shared passions are creating a new intimacy.

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A man walks past an advertisement featuring Japanese and South Korean flags outside a shop in Tokyo. Photo: AP
K-drama news

Profile | Who is Kim Nam-gil, star of K-dramas Trigger and The Fiery Priest?

Heartthrob Kim Nam-gil debuted in the series School in 1999, waited five years for his next role, and has not looked back since then.

Asian cinema

5 rising Korean women filmmakers and the movies that shaped them

Kim Se-in, Kim Cho-hee, Yoon Ga-eun, Yoon Dan-bi and Lim Oh-jeong will all get the spotlight in a special section at the Busan film festival.

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