Jun Ji-hyun opens up about 'Colony' role, timeless beauty praised by viewersActor Jun Ji-hyun spoke candidly about the widespread praise for her appearance following the release of the new zombie thriller "Colony." "There was no intention whatsoever, so it was unexpected that people responded so positively," Jun said in a recent interview. "I only wore jeans and a white T-shirt ... I didn't do anything." Her striking appearance as Se-jeong has drawn widespread praise from moviegoers. "On set, nobody said, 'Because it's Jun Ji-hyun, she needs to look like this.' Everyone wanted to focus only on the narrative, so it was unexpected," she said. "I felt good, but in some ways, I was pleasantly surprised." While she said she still wants to take on action roles, her principle was to avoid flashy action sequences. "I appear as a biotechnology professor, so I thought it would be awkward if I suddenly became good at action," she said. "There was no need to beat down zombies, and I only wanted to show as much as Se-jeong could realistically do." This grounded approach focused on portraying Se-jeong not as a superhero, but as a relatable figure who serves as an anchor and guiJun 10, 2026By Hankookilbo
Bucheon Fantastic Film Festival leaps into AI-driven era for 30th anniv.The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) is ready to lead changes in the movie industry this year, its 30th anniversary, by actively embracing AI and new media while staying true to its identity as a home for genre cinema. As it celebrates 30 years of showcasing unique and imaginative movies, Asia's top genre film festival aims to create a new trend where advanced technology and human creativity come together. This year’s BIFAN, running from July 2 to 12 in Bucheon, just west of Seoul, will feature an all-time high of 321 films from 50 countries. Reflecting the festival's tech-forward vision, the lineup includes 38 AI-generated films and 28 extended reality (XR) projects, alongside 170 feature films and 85 shorts. Director Yuen Woo-ping’s "The Blades of the Guardians" will open the festival. The organizers emphasized that the anniversary is not just a celebration of longevity, but a new beginning for the future of moviemaking. "This is not merely a story of the trajectory of time that has passed, but a moment to reflect on the journey of the past 30 years and to leapJun 9, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
‘Toy Story 5’ returns to face challenge of smart devicesThe beloved toys are back in "Toy Story 5" to face their biggest modern challenge — smart devices. In this fifth installment, the familiar toys face a completely new reality where children put toys away and pick up digital devices. Bonnie, the main child character, gets introduced to Lilypad (voiced by Greta Lee), a smart device that begins taking away her playtime with traditional toys. "Yes, well, one of the biggest advancements in ‘Toy Story 5’ is that we're kind of finally catching up to the truth of childhood today, which is that kids everywhere are playing with iPads and screens and devices all the time," co-director McKenna Harris said during an online conference, Monday. "Bonnie, the main character, or the main child, has been introduced to Lilypad, a device that is really taking away a lot of playtime with the toys, so this is a bigger challenge than any of the toys in the previous films have ever had to face.” Unlike previous films where Woody (Tom Hanks) took the lead, "Toy Story 5" places Jessie (Joan Cusack) at the center of the narrative, a creative decision by direJun 8, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
J-horror meets K-occult in spiritual thriller ‘The Shrine’Singer and actor Kim Jae-joong is making his long-awaited return to the big screen in a unique horror movie that bridges the chilling aesthetics of Japanese and Korean cinema. Directed by Japanese filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, upcoming horror movie “The Shrine” marks Kim’s first movie in 14 years since his appearance in the 2012 comedy “Code Name: Jackal.” “The Shrine” follows the story of three university students who mysteriously disappear after visiting an abandoned shrine in Kobe, Japan. Shaman Myung-jin (Kim) tries to uncover the truth behind the disappearances, but faces a bizarre and terrifying evil spirit. Joining him is Yu-mi (Kong Seong-ha), Myung-jin’s university junior who seeks his help. Kim described the film as a refreshing departure from typical Korean horror movies, largely due to the cross-cultural collaboration. “Even though this is a Korean production, about 90 percent of the crew members were Japanese,” Kim said Monday after the premiere. “Because we worked with a Japanese director, it became a movie where the distinct characteristics of J-horrorJun 8, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
'Colony' tops weekend box-office chart for 3rd weekThe Korean zombie thriller "Colony" ranked No. 1 at the weekend box office for the third straight week following its release, ahead of the comedy "Wild Sing," data showed Monday. The blockbuster had logged 4,727,520 accumulated admissions as of Sunday, adding 603,868 admissions over the weekend, according to the data released by the Korean Film Council, which compiles admissions from Friday through Sunday for its weekend chart. "Colony" is the latest zombie thriller from director Yeon Sang-ho, known for "Train to Busan" (2016). It follows biotechnology professor Se-jeong (Jun Ji-hyun) and a group of survivors who fight to escape a building locked down by a virus outbreak. The blockbuster also stars Koo Kyo-hwan as a lone wolf researcher who controls zombies and Ji Chang-wook and Kim Shin-rok as survivors battling the zombies, alongside Jun. "Wild Sing," another Korean film starring Gang Dong-won, came in second place, attracting 321,190 admissions over the weekend and bringing its total admissions to 543,724. The American sci-fi horror film "Backrooms" ranked No. 3 with 199,817 admissionsJun 8, 2026By Yonhap
InterviewKore-eda explores human nature, imagination in 'Sheep in the Box'Renowned Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda has focused on the concept of unseen imagination as the ultimate message of his new sci-fi film "Sheep in the Box." The movie, which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival last month, follows human parents (Haruka Ayase as the mother and Daigo Yamamoto as the father), who adopt a 7-year-old "humanoid" robot Kakeru (Rimu Kuwaki) to replace their deceased son. The film’s title is inspired by an episode in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novel “The Little Prince,” where a pilot draws a box and tells the prince a sheep is inside to satisfy the boy's imagination. Kore-eda gave the film an ambiguous ending where the parents leave the robot boy in a forest because he believes there should be a certain emotional distance between humans and an entirely different entity, like the adopted humanoid. "The adults do not go into the forest. Instead, they return. It doesn't end with 'everyone lived happily ever after,'" Kore-eda told The Korea Times at film distributor NEW’s office in Seoul, Friday. "But I believed those who returnJun 7, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
Review‘Pilgrims’: Korean SF animation utopia that chooses to fall shortWhat would it take to walk away from a world without grief, illness or heartbreak — and is that kind of paradise even worth staying in? “Pilgrims,” the new Korean animated feature adapted from Kim Cho-yeop’s widely translated short story of the same title, poses that disquieting question. The film centers around a group of young adults who abandon a meticulously utopian planet where pain and sorrow have been engineered out of existence for a flawed and wounded Earth and confront the emotional and ethical costs of a life without suffering. In recent years, Korean SF, particularly by female writers like Kim, has been increasingly recognized for centering questions of care, otherness and the limits of progress. Rather than racing toward distant galaxies or celebrating technological conquests, these works dwell on relationship, fragile bodies and ethical ambiguities of “improvement,” in quiet contrast to the long-dominant strain of Western mainstream SF. The film arrives with substantial anticipation against that backdrop. Kim’s “If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light,” whicJun 5, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
Zombie thriller 'Colony' hits 4 mil. admissionsThe Korean film "Colony" continued its upward streak, drawing more than 4 million admissions since its release last month, data showed Thursday. The star-studded blockbuster reported 4,043,762 accumulated admissions as of Wednesday, adding 331,493 admissions from the previous day, according to the data released by the Korean Film Council. The milestone came on the 14th day of its release, marking the fastest pace by a film released in South Korea this year. "Colony" is the latest zombie thriller from director Yeon Sang-ho, whose previous works include "Train to Busan" (2016). It follows biotechnology professor Se-jeong (Jun Ji-hyun) and a group of survivors who fight to escape a building quarantined due to a virus outbreak. The blockbuster also stars Koo Kyo-hwan as a lone wolf researcher who controls zombies, and Ji Chang-wook and Kim Shin-rok as survivors battling the zombies, alongside Jun. "Wild Sing," a Korean comedy featuring Gang Dong-won, meanwhile, logged 160,760 admissions Wednesday, ranking No. 2 at the box office, according to the data.Jun 4, 2026By Yonhap
Eerily nostalgic liminal spaces become destinations in Korea's crowdsourced 'Backrooms Map'Horror movie "Backrooms" opened in Korea May 27, drawing in nearly 400,000 admissions in its opening week and quickly rising to the No. 2 spot in the box office amid heavy competition with highly anticipated blockbusters. "Backrooms" is a horror movie directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons and based on his miniseries on YouTube of the same title, featuring infinitely sprawling and vaguely nostalgic rooms and passageways — in-between spaces beckoning the foolish and the foolhardy to enter. While the iconic mildewed wallpaper and the hum of fluorescent lighting are hard to find, the aesthetic of liminality — of being in between destinations — is one that has resonated with many viewers. Following the movie's release, a crowdsourced "Backrooms Map" launched, allowing for intrepid urban explorers to visit spaces around Korea that seem transient and half-remembered. Liminal horror draws in younger audiences The concept of the Backrooms, originating in a post to an anonymous image board in 2019, is the face of liminal horror, a modern subgenre of horror that focuses around transitionary spaJun 4, 2026By Kim Young-moo
Can Korean cinema sustain its rebound?After years of struggling to recover from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, Korea's film industry is finally showing signs of life again. Driven by a string of local box office successes led by the historical drama “The King's Warden,” Korean films have regained momentum in theaters this year, raising hopes that the industry may be emerging from one of the most difficult periods in its history. According to data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the nation's theaters attracted 31.9 million admissions during the first quarter of 2026, up 53.2 percent from 20.82 million a year earlier. Total box office revenue rose 58.7 percent year-on-year to 318 billion won ($211.2 million). Korean films accounted for much of that recovery. Domestic films generated 233.3 billion won in ticket sales and drew 24.01 million viewers during the January-March period, more than double the previous year. The biggest contributor was “The King's Warden,” which became a rare phenomenon in the postpandemic era. The film, which opened on Feb. 4, attracted 15.73 million viewers in the first quarter aloneJun 3, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
