'Demon Slayer' becomes fastest film this year to hit 1 mil. admissionsThe new Japanese animated film "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Movie: Infinity Castle" surpassed 1 million admissions in its first two days, setting this year's fastest box-office record, data showed Sunday. According to the Korean Film Council, the film, which premiered Friday, attracted over 1.15 million viewers on Friday and Saturday. It became the fastest movie to hit the 1 million admission mark this year, achieving the milestone twice as fast as the previous record holder, "My Daughter is a Zombie," which took four days. The action-adventure film is the first installment of a new trilogy, roughly adapting the final eight volumes of Koyoharu Gotouge's hit manga series. The film had already set a presale record with 920,000 tickets sold before its premiere.Aug 24, 2025By Yonhap
'Authenticity is key to K-content's future,' says 'KPop Demon Hunters' directorDirector Maggie Kang of Netflix's hit animated feature "KPop Demon Hunters" said the future of K-content will be even brighter if the Korean content industry, like her globally successful animation, makes a greater effort to showcase Korean culture without hiding it. "We have to just be confident with our culture and just our point of view. I think, as a filmmaker, I know that anytime you think about what other people are going to think, and you kind of cater to an audience's opinions and not your own, it doesn't feel authentic," the Korean Canadian director said during a press conference in Seoul on Friday. "And the audience knows that, they can smell it. They know exactly. They know that you're doing it, and it's not something that they want to see. They want authenticity." Released on Netflix in June, "KPop Demon Hunters" has become the most-watched animated feature on the streaming platform and is on track to soon become its most-watched movie overall. The film reimagines K-pop stars as demon slayers, with the members of the trio Huntrix — Rumi, Mira and Zoey — using the power ofAug 22, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
'Train to Busan' director takes on micro budget thriller 'The Ugly'Director Yeon Sang-ho, known for "Train to Busan" (2016) and the Netflix series "Hellbound," has taken on a new challenge by making his latest film “The Ugly” with an ultra-low budget of around 200 million won ($143,600). "I've made a lot of films, and with each one, I always think, 'I want to make a new kind of film.’ And one day a thought suddenly struck me — if I want to make a movie with a new soul, it needs a new body,” Yeon said during a press conference in Seoul Friday. "So, I thought, what if I tried making a film in a way that's completely different from what I've done before.” “The Ugly" is a mystery thriller that follows Im Dong-hwan, the son of Im Yeong-gyu, a visually impaired seal engraver. When Dong-hwan discovers the skeletal remains of his mother, who has been missing for 40 years, he begins to dig into the truth behind his mother’s death. Actor Park Jeong-min takes on a dual role, playing both the younger Yeong-gyu and his son, Dong-hwan, while Kwon Hae-hyo plays the older Yeong-gyu. The film is an adaptation of the graphic novel "Eolgul," the Korean wordAug 22, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
‘My Daughter Is a Zombie’ sets record for longest box office reign this yearComedy thriller “My Daughter Is a Zombie” has topped the Korean box office for 23 consecutive days since its release, marking the longest streak at No. 1 for any film this year. Distributor NEW said Friday that the comedy, released July 30, has stayed at the top spot for 23 straight days, surpassing the 21-day record held by “Mickey 17” and “The Match.” The film has already set multiple milestones, including the biggest opening for a Korean comedy, and the fastest climb this year to 4 million viewers. According to the Korean Film Council’s box office data released Friday, its cumulative audience has now reached 4.73 million. That has secured its position as the country’s most successful release of 2025 so far. “My Daughter Is a Zombie” is outpacing the run of the 2023 summer hit “Smugglers” (17 days) and even last year’s “Pilot” (22 days). It has also beaten foreign blockbusters such as “F1: The Movie” and “Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning” to become the top-grossing film of the year, firmly holding its lead at the box office. The success is noAug 22, 2025By Hankookilbo
'Final Semester' tells unspoken story of young workers' livesUnlike students at general high schools in Korea who focus on college admission, vocational high school students do an internship at a factory in their last semester instead of attending classes. Directed by Lee Ran-hee, who gained attention for her 2020 film "A Leave," which portrayed laid-off workers, "The Final Semester" again captures working-class realities, this time from the perspective of youth caught between school and the start of their working lives. The movie centers on Chang-woo (Yoo Lee-ha), a student beginning his final semester internship at a factory. He accepts his teacher's recommendation for the position, which offers perks like special admission to college and exemption from military service, knowing he has to consider his family's precarious financial situation. Instead of wearing a school uniform and heading to classes with friends, Chang-woo now commutes to work, navigating harsh evaluations by his senior colleagues and the constant tension of a work environment where industrial accidents can be fatal. While he silently endures his new environment, fellow internAug 21, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
Will director Lee Sang-il’s Japanese hit film ‘Kokuho’ find success in Korea?Korean Japanese filmmaker Lee Sang-il’s latest film, “Kokuho” (meaning national treasure in Japanese), is set to make its highly anticipated debut in Korea later this year, following a phenomenal run in Japan that captivated audiences and critics. Released on June 6 in Japan, “Kokuho” quickly became a box office sensation, drawing an incredible 7.47 million viewers in just 73 days and grossing 10.5 billion yen ($71 million). This overwhelming success has secured its place as the third-highest-grossing live-action film in Japanese cinematic history, surpassing the 1998 hit “Bayside Shakedown: The Movie.” The movie’s local importer Media Castle and distributor NEW said Wednesday that they decided to release “Kokuho” in Korea as the film has brought “a significant shift in the landscape of Japanese cinema for the first time in 27 years.” The film tells the story of Tachibana Kikuo (Ryo Yoshizawa), a boy born into a yakuza family during Japan’s period of high economic growth, who is adopted into a family of Kabuki actors. He devotes his life to mastering the intricaAug 20, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
DMZ Docs returns with focus on peace, human rightsThe DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, also known as DMZ Docs, a platform that explores global issues like peace, climate change and human rights near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas, is set to return this September. Chang Hae-rang, the festival director, said that this year's edition contemplates its role amid the unresolved violence and hatred in the world. "Through this film festival, we deliberated on how to overcome the issues of violence and hatred that the global society has yet to solve," Chang said during a press conference in Seoul Tuesday. "We prepared this festival with a resolve to take one more step forward and confront these problems." Since its start in 2009, DMZ Docs has become a major event that uses the divided border as a backdrop to discuss global issues like war, climate change, migration, refugees, gender and human rights. This year's event will be held from Sept. 11 to 17 in the DMZ-adjacent cities of Paju and Goyang in Gyeonggi Province. Chang said the festival's theme this year is "A Day We Wish to Live” (tentative English tranAug 19, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
Park Chan-wook finds humor in man's tragic plight in 'No Other Choice'No book has ever inspired director Park Chan-wook's desire to create a film adaptation more strongly than Donald E. Westlake's "The Ax." At a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday, the acclaimed director affirmed once again what it meant to bring the book to the big screen — a project he once described as the one "I've wanted to make the most for so long," now titled "No Other Choice." "It's been almost 20 years since I first thought about it. While I wasn't working on this project exclusively, I had been pursuing it ceaselessly," the director said. "And now the day has finally come to fruition." Both the director and cast members described the upcoming film as simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious. At the press event, Park said he saw ample room for "darkly absurd humor" when adapting the original novel into a movie. "The book brilliantly described how an ordinary man is cornered by the social system. Whenever I revisited the book, I found it very engaging and worth savoring due to its intricate psychological mechanisms," he said. "I also saw the potential to bring a new layer of abAug 19, 2025By Yonhap
Shim Eun-kyung's 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers' wins top prize at Locarno Film FestivalKorean actor Shim Eun-kyung's film, the Japanese production "Two Seasons, Two Strangers," won the Golden Leopard prize at the 78th Locarno Film Festival, with Shim's acceptance speech in Korean garnering attention amid the growing global influence of Korean culture. "Two Seasons, Two Strangers" received the prestigious award at the closing ceremony of the festival in Locarno, Switzerland, Saturday (local time). Shim attended the Independent Jury Award ceremony with director Sho Miyake and shared her thoughts. She began her speech in Japanese, saying, "This is Shim Eun-kyung, who played the protagonist, Lee, in 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers.' I am Korean, so I would like to speak in Korean." She then continued her speech in Korean. "I am grateful to be part of this glorious occasion. This message may not be delivered directly, but so many people are watching from around the world that I wanted to speak in my native language," Shim said. "This film is a very meaningful work to me and I hope it reaches even further through the Locarno Film Festival." Founded in 1946, the Locarno Film Festival isAug 19, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul
'My Daughter is a Zombie' leads holiday box office weekend"My Daughter is a Zombie," starring Jo Jung-suk, maintained its grip on the local box office during the holiday weekend, data showed Monday. According to the Korean Film Council, the zombie drama attracted over 762,000 moviegoers from Friday to Sunday, topping the weekend chart. Friday was the public holiday marking Liberation Day, the end of Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Since its premiere on July 30, the film has been the top box office hit. It has drawn a cumulative audience of 4.5 million, becoming the first movie released this year to achieve the milestone. Coming in second for the weekend was Brad Pitt's "F1," with 375,252 admissions. Released June 25 in Korea, the racing drama has surpassed the 4 million cumulative audience mark. The new romantic drama "Pretty Crazy" debuted at No. 3 with 269,873 admissions on its opening weekend.Aug 18, 2025By Yonhap
