23 Most Anticipated Korean Films of 2015

By Pierce Conran

Last year was a rough one for Korea's mainstream industry, at least creatively speaking. There were some big hits but not a lot of memorable fare, though the independent sector thrived. Thankfully, 2015 has a much more exciting lineup right off the bat. Major filmmakers like Park Chan-wook, Na Hong-jin, Ryoo Seung-wan, Im Sang-soo and Choi Dong-hoon are set to return and though period films and thrillers once again dominate, many upcoming projects feature promising combinations of talent and content.

Of course films don't always turn out the way you want them to and some of the following are bound to disappoint and, hopefully, some films that don't look like much now could surprise us during the year. This list reflects my own tastes and there are plenty of major pictures not included, such as a pair of war films, a number of period dramas and some big holiday releases. Also missing are a ton of independent films we still now nothing about, but many of which will undoubtedly rank among the year's best when all is said and done.

It's hard enough to rank completed films we've seen so a list like this, being a mixture of speculation, expectation and plenty of bias, ought to be taken with a grain of salt. That said, I hope it can give you a taste of what's to come for Korean cinema in 2015 and I'd love to hear what you're most excited about!

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