Korean cinema turns to AI, low budgets as industry slump continues

A scene from director Yeon Sang-ho’s “The Ugly” / Courtesy of Plus M Entertainment

Filmmakers are turning to micro-budget production and using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to inject vitality back into the industry, as Korean cinema faces a sharp decline in output, soaring costs and weak box office returns.

Director Yeon Sang-ho is among the filmmakers leading this experimental shift. Known for "Train to Busan" (2016) and the Netflix series "Hellbound," Yeon achieved unexpected success this year with "The Ugly," a film made on an exceptionally small budget. He plans to apply the same low-budget strategy to his upcoming project.

Produced on a budget of around 200 million won ($136,275), "The Ugly" attracted over 1 million moviegoers and grossed approximately 11 billion won, achieving a return more than 50 times its production cost.

Building on that success, CJ ENM and Yeon’s production company, Wowpoint, recently announced that the director will make a new film, "Paradise Lost," with a budget of around 500 million won.

The new project will center on a mystery surrounding a boy who returns nine years after his disappearance. It will star veteran actor Kim Hyun-joo, who previously worked with Yeon on “Hellbound” and the Netflix movie “Jung_E” (2023).

The project is attracting attention as the nation’s top distributor, CJ ENM, is handling its release. The upcoming film also signals that major companies are increasingly pursuing projects with low financial risk and quick production turnaround.

Director Yeon expressed his intention for his experimental approach to become more systematized, enabling a wider range of film genres to reach theaters.

"When I was young, I was inspired by legendary Asian films, and most of those films were low-budget movies. There is a power that only low-budget films have," Yeon said after premiering “The Ugly” in Seoul, Sept. 10.

"I became ambitious about whether attempts like 'The Ugly' could be systematized, rather than just being a one-time experiment. I believe we need a new standard for making films, different from the criteria we've used so far, and I hope that standard can become systematized."

A poster for director Kang Yun-sung's "Run to the West" / Courtesy of CJ ENM

AI helps filmmakers cut costs, production time

Another significant experiment was made by director Kang Yun-sung, known for the hit crime movie “The Outlaws” (2017), as his latest work, “Run to the West,” utilized AI technology to drastically reduce production time and costs.

Starring actors Byun Yo-han and Kim Kang-woo, the 60-minute film is the first feature-length film that extensively used AI, particularly for visual effects in chase scenes, car explosions and building collapses.

Kang highlighted the efficiency of the technology, noting that a car explosion scene that would take four to five days to realize with computer graphics was completed in around 10 minutes with AI. Thanks to the technology, its total production cost was estimated at around 1.5 billion won.

Kang emphasized that leveraging AI technology was intended to reduce financial risks while showcasing its wide range of applications.

"I started the project because I wanted to prove that when making a film with AI, it is possible to implement blockbuster-level computer graphic effects even with a small budget," the director said during a press conference for the movie, Oct. 13.

"Existing films can cost upwards of 10 billion won. Also, securing investment becomes difficult. That forces creators to limit their imagination and narrow their genres to fit within the budget they can secure."

However, Kang’s attempt appeared to fall short of audience expectations. Released in theaters on Oct. 15, the film only garnered 27,996 admissions—far below its break-even point of at least 200,000. This disappointing box office performance suggests that, while technological innovation can reduce financial risk and accelerate production, the ultimate success of such experimental models still depends on meeting viewers’ high standards for story and quality, regardless of budget.