In 'My Name' Yeom Hye-ran dances through grief, toward futureYeom Hye-ran believes even a film dealing with historical tragedies should find something, however slight, that is forward-looking. She carried that thought into a scene where she dances, or rather moves deep in sorrow, in a barley field at sunset, with the barley swaying gently in the wind, a scene she described as "the highlight" of the drama film "My Name." "It was a very difficult scene, so complex and multilayered, but the bottom line was I wanted to talk about the future," Yeom said in an interview with a group of reporters in Seoul on Tuesday. "I thought the scene shouldn't just be sad, but should give a sense of direction for what comes next," she said of the scene, which she said took a long time to film and demanded intense discussion with director Chung Ji-young. While filming, she talked quietly to herself to bring out the scene's layered emotions. "I quietly said 'I am sorry' to the victims. Other times I said, 'I wish you rest in peace.' And still other times, I said, 'I remember you.'" "I wanted the message to be not about blaming someone but pointing the way forward." In thApr 14, 2026By Yonhap
Horror hit ‘Salmokji’ turns filming site into late-night hot spotThe horror film “Salmokji: Whispering Water” is creating a phenomenon in the local film industry as its box office popularity spreads to the real world, turning its actual filming location into a popular destination for late-night thrill-seekers. According to data from the Korean Film Council on Monday, the film, which was released on April 8, topped the box office last week, drawing 724,029 viewers. The film notably drew more than 530,000 viewers from Friday to Sunday, marking the highest opening weekend for a horror film since “Metamorphosis” (2019), which attracted around 570,000 viewers. “Salmokji: Whispering Water” follows a film crew that visits a reservoir to reshoot scenes after a mysterious figure is captured on a road view map. There, they encounter an unidentifiable entity lurking in the dark waters. Directed by Lee Sang-min and starring Kim Hye-yoon and Lee Jong-won, the film is set and filmed at a real reservoir in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province. Salmokji was originally an ordinary reservoir built in 1982 to supply water to local farms. However, the location laApr 14, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
'Salmokji' debuts atop weekend box office chartThe horror thriller "Salmokji: Whispering Water" led the box office, drawing over 530,000 moviegoers in its opening weekend, data showed Monday. The Korean film recorded 536,454 admissions from Friday to Sunday, bringing its total audience number to 724,039, according to the Korean Film Council. Premiering last Wednesday, the movie follows a filming crew, led by Soo-in (Kim Hye-yoon), who travel to a location to complete a shoot within a deadline -- only to find themselves sinking deeper into an inescapable, swamp-like terror as time runs out. The filming location, Salmokji, is a reservoir in Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province, long rumored among locals to be a paranormal hotspot with a history of reported ghost sightings. Hollywood sci-fi "Project Hail Mary" came in second with 274,733 viewers for the three days to push its cumulative audience past two million since its March 18 release. "The King's Warden" attracted 175,342 viewers, bringing its cumulative total to 16.39 million. On Saturday, it became the second most-viewed movie of all time in South Korea.Apr 13, 2026By Yonhap
Korea returns to Cannes with ‘Hope,’ ‘Colony’ after year of absenceKorean cinema is making a return to the Cannes Film Festival this year, with two films selected for the official lineup of the 79th edition, after its absence last year raised concerns about the sustainability of the local film industry. The executive committee of the Cannes Film Festival announced Thursday that director Na Hong-jin’s “Hope” was invited to the Competition section, while director Yeon Sang-ho’s zombie thriller “Colony” secured a spot in the Midnight Screening section. This marks the first time in four years that a Korean feature has returned to the festival’s prestigious Competition section since Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave” in 2022. The two films’ invitation is significant, given that no Korean feature films were included in last year’s lineup. Industry observers pointed to the shift toward streaming platforms and a prolonged slump in the domestic movie market as key factors behind the absence, Korea’s first in 12 years. “Hope,” which will compete for the Palme d’Or alongside films from some of the world’s most celebrated directoApr 12, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
'The King's Warden' becomes Korea's 2nd most-viewed film ever"The King's Warden" has become the second most-watched film in Korean cinema history, its distributor said Saturday. The film has attracted a cumulative audience of 16.28 million as of Saturday morning, outperforming the 16.26 million recorded by the 2019 comedy action "Extreme Job," the previous second-place holder, according to Show Box. "The King's Warden" is now only behind the 2014 war epic "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" which holds the all-time record with 17.6 million admissions. In box office revenue, however, it has already became the biggest earner, grossing 156.9 billion won (US$10.56 million), well above the 135.7 billion won earned by "The Admiral: Roaring Currents." Whether it can close the admission gap with "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" remains uncertain. On Friday, "The King's Warden" ranked third in the local box office, with 38,000 tickets sold, behind the mystery horror "Salmokji" with 111,000 and "Project Hail Mary" with 56,000. Directed by Jang Hang-jun, "The King's Warden" reimagines historical events through a fictional lens, following the unlikely friendship beApr 11, 2026By Yonhap
Na Hong-jin's sci-fi film 'Hope' heads to Cannes main competitionDirector Na Hong-jin's new film, "Hope," will compete for the top honor at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The sci-fi film was named one of the 21 titles invited to the competition section of the 79th edition of the festival, organizers said Thursday, marking the first Korean film in four years to vie for the Palme d'Or. The last Korean entry in the same category was Park Chan-wook's "Decision to Leave" in 2022. The selection means every feature work by the Na has now been invited to Cannes, starting with his debut, "The Chaser," which was screened in the Midnight Screenings section in 2008, followed by "The Yellow Sea" in Un Certain Regard in 2011. "The Wailing" was also invited to the festival's noncompetition section in 2016. Set in a small seaside village, "Hope" reunites Na with "The Wailing" star Hwang Jung-min, who plays a police officer investigating the sudden appearance of mysterious entities in the area. The star-studded Korean cast also includes Zo In-sung and "Squid Game" star Jung Ho-yeon. Hollywood actors Michael Fassbender of "Shame" (2011) and "Steve Jobs" (2015), and AApr 9, 2026By Yonhap
Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway return for ‘Devil Wears Prada’ sequel after 20 yearsHollywood legend Meryl Streep said she never expected the 2006 movie "The Devil Wears Prada" to resonate as widely as it did, expressing hope that the long-awaited sequel will do the same. "I always knew it would be very popular with women and girls, but its larger success with a bigger audience completely shocked me," she said Monday at a press event in Seoul. "Men came up to me and said they understood my character. That meant a lot." The sequel took 20 years after the release of the first film, with Miranda Priestly, played by Streep, still at the helm of Runway magazine as it tries to survive in a rapidly changing media world. Anne Hathaway also returns as Andy Sachs, now a seasoned investigative journalist, who ends up working with Priestly again. Hathaway said the 20-year gap between the two films was not too long and that the sequel came at exactly the right time. "Andy is 22 in the first film, full of ideas but a little light on life experience," she said. "In this film, she has had 20 years to go out and live the life she wanted. She has acquired skill, point of view and a fair bApr 8, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
Action-romance 'Humint' claims top spot on Netflix's chartDirector Ryoo Seung-wan's action film "Humint" debuted atop Netflix's non-English movies chart, the streaming giant said Wednesday. The movie, which was released on the platform last Thursday, garnered 11 million views in the week ending Sunday. Short for human intelligence, "Humint" follows Manager Cho (Zo In-sung), a South Korean national intelligence officer who forms an unlikely cooperation with Park Gun, a North Korean intelligence officer, to save his crucial informant Chae Sun-hwa (Shin Se-kyung). Premiering in Korea on Feb. 11, the film attracted 1.98 million moviegoers, far short of the estimated 4 million admissions needed to break even. The action film was overshadowed by box-office sensation "The King's Warden," which opened in local theaters a week earlier and has since drawn over 16 million.Apr 8, 2026By Yonhap
Actor Jang Dong-yoon steps behind camera with ‘The Yeast’Actor Jang Dong-yoon is making his directorial debut with "The Yeast," a warmhearted coming-of-age story centered on a traditional Korean ingredient to offer audiences courage and comfort. "It did not start from some grand ambition," Jang said after a premiere of the movie, Monday. "As I continued working as an actor, my desire to create grew naturally, and that led me here." "The Yeast" follows Da-seul (Kim Seung-yun), an 18-year-old girl who loves makgeolli, a traditional Korean alcoholic beverage, and is the daughter of a local brewery family. When she notices the taste of the makgeolli has changed one day, she sets out on a journey to find the missing yeast behind it. Jang wrote the screenplay and directed the film, which previously screened at the 29th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. Jang, who starred as an actor in many series and movies such as Netflix's 2023 series "Daily Dose of Sunshine" previously tried his hand at directing with the 2023 short film "Please Be My Ear," but "The Yeast" marks his first feature. The director said the idea of the movie came to him duApr 6, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
'Train to Busan' director returns to zombie genre with star-studded ‘Colony’Director Yeon Sang-ho, best known for the global zombie hit "Train to Busan” (2016), is back with another zombie film, gathering big-name stars in Korean cinema. "Zombie films are a great genre for revealing the latent fears of society," Yeon said during a press conference in Seoul, Monday. "Just as 'Train to Busan' tried to capture the fears of its time, I hope audiences will see 'Colony' as the fear I feel now, 10 years later." "Colony" is set inside a sealed building where survivors trapped by a mysterious infection must fight back against evolving infected beings. The film stars Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Shin-rok and Go Soo. The film marks Jun’s return to the big screen after more than a decade, following "Assassination" in 2015. "I am so excited to be back," she said with a bright smile. "I have always been a fan of Yeon, and I was happy to join knowing I would work alongside such outstanding actors." Yeon said the wide spectrum she showed in films like "My Sassy Girl" (2001) and "Assassination" appears in a more concentrated form in "Colony," dApr 6, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
