After a stellar 2016, many are keen to see if Korean cinema can muster the same quality lineup in 2017. However, though I've highlighted a few more titles than last year, I'll say right now that this year is unlikely to rival the last, when we were treated to terrific new outings from Kim Jee-woon, Park Chan-woo and Na Hong-jin, among many other outstanding new discoveries.
That said, many interesting films are on the way and a few incoming trends are noticeable. This list is very subjective and omits many films that I'm personally not excited about or may not have heard of. As always, many of the year's best films will surely be independent productions that will remain off my radar until they secure festival premieres.
Some of you may have heard that Lee Chang-dong is making a new film, but I'm sorry to inform you that due to a large production snag, that project that may never come to life, so has been omitted here.
Enjoy and please let me know if I've missed anything and what you're most looking forward to this year!
It's taken some tinkering but, finally, we've finished the new Upcoming Releases page. While many excellent databases exist online with information on future Korean films, many are hard to navigate or far from comprehensive. We wanted to provide an easy to use resource listing all Korean films on the horizon and we believe we've been able to do that.
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.
This week finally offers a little more variety in the cinematic landscape, with no less than four films: a romance, an animated movie for children, an action thriller and a mystery drama.
The Berlin File (베를린)
North Korean secret agent Pyo Jong-seong is on a mission to Berlin to conclude a deal on the sale of weapons when he a price is out on his head and that of his wife by their own government for treason. Jung Jin-soo, a South Korean agent, is also on site to investigate the contract, but faces off with Pyo Jong-seong, an unknown enemy.
Whilelast weekwehad twocompletely different visionsofsexuality andextramarital affairs, this weekseemsrather toadoptthe theme ofmental disability,and once more with aproduction forgeneral audiences on one hand and an independent film on the other.The Korean animationis also set to disrupt the schoolyards, since it isnone otherPororo, the president of children, who celebrates his 10th birthday.
Despite all the snow that has recently covered the Korean peninsula, there will be no need this week to adjust the radiators to warm up all the movie-goers. By a strange coincidence that only the distribution companies bosses can explain, the two Korean movies opening this week are adults-only, due to their racy content. It will be very interesting to compare their approach and the resulting public reception. In fact, I could have also included in this article the co-produced (China, Korea and Japan) Speed Angels, but I hesitated as it is more of a Chinese film shot in South Korea, and anyway the critics have reported that it’s not indispensable.
After a first week which left the field open to independent productions, CJ Entertainment and Showbox enter into the dance with two medium-budget films that should have difficulty unseating The Tower from its box office perch.
My Little Hero (마이리틀히어로)
A music director opportunistically acceptsto lead the rehearsal ofa troupe for the musical adaptation ofKingJungjo’s life. To cast themain role, he organizes a competition on a national TV channelin whichapplicants areauditionedblindlyand thus selected solely on the basis of their voices. He iscompletelytaken abackwhen he realizesthat the chosen boy, Young-kwang,is actuallya mestizo. Whileteaching himthe choreography, the music director begins to become more interestedin hisPhilippine origins.
Each week on Modern Korean Cinema you may carefully follow the evolution of the Korean box office, and you certainly see many film titles as you scroll through but they may not be very evocative. To remedy this and to allow for a better monitoring of the current releases in Korean theatres we have decided to establish a new weekly feature for the new year, presenting each new Korean film as it makes its way into theaters, accompanied by a commentary on my expectations for their success and quality, all with a full dose of subjectivity of course. I hope I can keep the pace, but moreover that it will be worthy of your interest in the long term.
This year begins quietly with no big releases but under the best auspices, since a few independent productions will perhaps give us an opportunity to discover some new talents. Two feature films and a medium-length film are in the program for the opening of this new column.
Sister (누나)
A woman, Yoon-hee, has suffered since childhood from a dramatic event that happened then. In order to save her from a flooding river, her younger brother paid with his life. Her ailment keeps her from improving from her precarious situation, as she cannot set foot outside her home during heavy rains and therefore is regularly getting fired from every part-time job she manages to find. She also undergoes the systematic wrath of her husband who beats her. While working as a waitress in a cafeteria of a high school, she comes face to face with Jin-ho, a teenager who earlier stole her wallet. Each one suddenly realizes their need for the other to overcome their demons.
Coming from the prolific Korean Academy of Film Arts, Lee Won-sik signs a first feature film that appears to run on several dramatic situations, which in my opinion may run the risk of doing just too much. The film owes its achievement in the supporting fund for the preproduction that was awarded by the Seoul Christian Film Festival in 2009. It was also during this festival that the guest of honor and actress Seong Yoo-ri, known as a former singer of the pop band Fin.K.L and then for her dramas, decided to provide crucial support by accepting without asking any fee to endorse the lead role, giving some much-needed exposure to a film that would have otherwise no chance of scoring high in the box-office. Filmed during the fall of 2010, the film seems to have encountered difficulties to find a distributor until now. The early opinions from the Korean media are for the moment quite positive.
Moksha : The World or I, How Does That Work? (모크샤)
A man in his forties wakes up one morning in the middle of a small public park, with his ankle attached to a steel chain. He has absolutely no idea how nor why he has ended up in this situation. However much he calls for help, there seems to be no one around there to help him. A saw innocently placed near him is getting more and more appealing.
Here is exactly the kind of original idea that stings my interest. Koo Seong-joo had hitherto realized as the dispensable Long and Winding Road in 2005, a road-movie following the long march of a mother to a far city only to attend the wedding of her daughter. But with what seems to be a sour metaphor for life, the director seems to be trying an experimental way to convey his message. Although it will likely be welcomed only with limited success in theaters, it is should be shown in several festivals around the world.
A young woman with hearing loss, Mo-re, meets a Japanese man, Hiro, on a dating website with whom she soon gets in the habit of talking to every evening after returning from her modest job in a factory. In order to meet him in real life, she strives to raise the money needed to pay for her trip to Sapporo.
With its 40 minutes, this film is positioning itself in a niche particularly dangerous financially, as it’s too long to be screened prior to a feature film, but also considered too short to justify for the general public a trip to the movies. But on the other hand, it’s a very appreciated move that the production has avoided to artificially lengthen the duration of the film like too many Korean movies that try to fill the regular two hours of running time. Director Kim Seong-joon debuted in 2009 with his feature film Audition, which already featured a hearing impaired woman seeking contact away from her comfort zone, by embarking that time in the break-dance scene. It will be interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two stories, the first film having been criticized by some critics for its lack of depth in the exploration and depiction of a handicapped person.
New Korean Films is a weekly feature which provide an in-depth look at new local releases in Korea. For film news, external reviews, and box office analysis, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update, Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Korean Reviews, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (Korean Standard Time). Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site.
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This monthly features previews the coming month's attractions in Korean cinema. All of these monthly posts are available in an archive on the Upcoming Releases page.
September 6 Grape Candy
Pieta
Wedding Scandal
September 13
Fighting! Family
Han Kyung-jik
Too Old Hiphop Kid September 20 Masquerade September 27 Jinsuk and Me
This monthly features previews the coming month's attractions in Korean cinema. All of these monthly posts are available in an archive on the Upcoming Releases page.
July 5
Deranged
July 12
Bloody Fight in Iron-Rock Valley
Dangerously Excited
Sex, Lies and Videotape
Two Moons
Venus in Furs
July 19
Tears of the Antarctic
The 5-Million-Dollar Man
Ukelele Love Together
This monthly features previews the coming month's attractions in Korean cinema. All of these monthly posts are available in an archive on the Upcoming Releases page.
June 6
The Emperor's Concubine
June 7
Superstar
June 21
2 Doors
Miss Conspirator
The Heaven Is Only Open to the Single
The King of XXX-Kissing
Two Weddings and a Funeral
This monthly features previews the coming month's attractions in Korean cinema. All of these monthly posts are available in an archive on the Upcoming Releases page.
May 3
As One (aka Korea)
Just Friends
May 10
Du-re Sori Story
I Am
The Strangers
May 17
All About My Wife
Granny Is in 1st Grade
The Taste of Money
May 24
Children of Heaven
Hello!
U.F.O.
May 31
Don't Click
In Another Country
Runway Cop
Still Strange
May TBC
Rosa
Tummy
As One (aka Korea)
Director: Moon Hyun-sung
Cast: Ha Ji-won, Bae Doo-na
Synopsis: As One chronicles the victory of the first inter-Korean team at the 1991 Chiba Worldwide Table Tennis Championships.
Release date: May 3
There's a lot of buzz surrounding this project, especially with its two big female stars and theme of rapprochement of the divided Korean nations. It the film clicks with audiences it may be one of the highest-grossing films of the year.
Just Friends
Director: Ahn Cheol-ho
Cast: Oh Yeon-so, Lee Young-hoon
Synopsis: Just Friends is a romance about an unemployed art school graduate who has recently been dumped but meets an aspiring musician at a concert
Release date: May 3
I Am.
Director: Choi Jin-sung
Synopsis: A documentary of SM Entertainment's recent Madison Square Garden concert. Release date: May 10
Du-re Sori Story
Director: Cho Jung-rae
Screenplay: Baek Jong-min
Cast: Kim Seul-gi, Jo Ah-reum, Ham Hyeong-sang, Choi Eun-yeong
Synopsis: Two friends at the National High School of the Traditional Arts take a special class taught by a teacher with conflicting western influences. The class will compete as a chorus in contest.
Release date: May 10
The Strangers
Director: Choi Yong-seok
Cast: Yeo Hyeon-soo, Han Soo-yeon, Kim Joong-ki
Synopsis: Yeon-hee returns to her hometown following the death of her mother in a fire and there she meets Seok who has lost in father in the same accident. They bond and attempt to overcome their grief while Yeon-hee revisits the reason she left in the first place.
Release date: May 10
All About My Wife
Director: Min Gyoo-dong
Screenplay: Min Gyoo-dong
Cast: Im Soo-jeong, Lee Seon-gyoon, Ryoo Seung-yong
Synopsis: A romantic comedy about a man who, in a bid to cleanly divorce his wife, hires a playboy to seduce his spouse.
Release date: May 17
The Taste of Money
Director: Im Sang-soo
Screenwriter: Im Sang-soo
Cast: Kim Kang-woo, Kim Hyo-jin, Baek Yoon-shik, Yoon Yeo-joong
Synopsis: A woman divorces a salaryman and becomes wealthy. A tale of greed and sex in the upper strata of Korean society
Release date: May 17
Im Sang-soo's new film wrapped in January and looks to be another fascinating exposé of our darkest desires. The film will have its world premier at Cannes where it is in the main competition vying for the Palm d'Or. The Taste of Money will also feature a small role for the founder of koreanfilm.org and MKC contributor Darcy Paquet.
Granny Is in 1st Grade
Director: Jin Kwang-gyo
Cast: Kim Jin-goo, Shin Chae-yeon
Synopsis: A 70-year-old woman loses her son but she can't read the final letter he sent her so her 7-year-old granddaughter teaches her how to read.
Release date: May 17
Children of Heaven
Director: Park Heung-shik
Cast: You Da-in, Park Ji-bin, Kim Bo-ra
Synopsis: A new teacher begins a three month stint at a school for troubled children. She hopes to involve some of new students in a talent contest by staging a musical.
Release date: May 24
U.F.O.
Director: Kong Quee-hyun
Screenwriter: Kong Quee-hyun
Cast: Lee Joo-seung, Kim Chang-hwan, Kim Tae-yoon
Synopsis: A group of students catch sight of an alien spacecraft and decide to travel to UFO mountain but on the way there they are warned to turn back.
Release date: May 24
This sci-fi comedy opened last July at the Puchon International Film Festival and has since played at the Digital Seoul Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival.
Hello!
Director: Lim Tae-hyeong
Cast: Lee Sang-bong
Synopsis: Documentary chronicling the lives of 14 blind schoolchildren
The new Hong Sang-soo film stars a major French actress and will be premiering in Cannes ahead of its Korean release, not to be missed.
Don't Click
Director: Kim Tae-kyeong
Screenwriter: Kim Tae-kyeong
Cast: Park Bo-young, Joo Won, Kang Byul
Synopsis: Bizarre events occur after a pair watch a mysterious video.
Release date: May 31
This sounds like a blatant ripoff of The Ring (1998), given the poor quality of last summer's horrors, I'm not expecting much from this one. Also, as you'll notice on the poster, Don't Click was scheduled for release last August but got pushed back, never a good sign.
Runway Cop
Director: Sin Tae-ra
Cast: Kang Ji-hwan, Sung Yu-ri, Kim Young-kwang, Lee Soo-hyuk
Synopsis: In order to break a case, a determined detective goes undercover in the fashion world.
Release date: May 31
Still Strange
Director: Lee Hong-jae
Screenwriter: Kim Tae-kyeong
Cast: Jang Si-won, Kim Soo-woong, Lee So-hee
Synopsis: An old couple and their grown up children gather during the first New Year's Day following their only son's death.
Release date: May 31
Rosa
Director: Maeng Gwan-pyo
Cast: Ruzmetova Dayana, Jo Ha-seok
Synopsis: 16-year-old Uzbeki ballet dancer Diana loses her chance at a scholarship as the iron curtain rolls back. She then goes to Korea with a stranger in the hope of following her dreams.
Release date: May
Tummy
Director: Park Bo-sang
Cast: Cheon Ho-jin, Lee Mi-sook, Seo Yoon, Ye Hak-yeong
Synopsis: A sex comedy about a family's romantic entanglements. Release date: May
This film was made in 2008 and is finally seeing the light of day.
This monthly features previews the coming month's attractions in Korean cinema. All of these monthly posts are available in an archive on the Upcoming Releases page.
April 5
Mother
April 11
Doomsday Book
The Scent
April 19
Duet
April 26
Eungyo (A Muse)
Rain and Rain
Red Maria
Spring, Snow
April TBC
The Peach Tree
Mother
Director: Tae Jun-seek
Release date: April 5
A documentary about an elderly woman and her impact on the people with difficult lives. Mother has screened at a number of documentary festivals including the DMZ International Documentary Festival.
Doomsday Book
Director: Yim Pil-seong, Kim Jee-woon
Cast: Kim Kang-woo, Kim Gyoo-Ri, Ryoo Seung-beom, Song Sae-byeok
Synopsis: Three unique stories of human self-destruction in the modern high-tech era. In a hope to restore the humane compassion in the insusceptible modern age, the film displays an alternative form of genuine humanity. And thus you are stepping into the world of future, where a series of unexpected stories awaits you. All these stories originate from the earth. From the very earth you live on.
Release date: April 11
An eagerly anticipated omnibus film which initially went into production in 2006 but halted due to financing problems, recently the project was put back on track. and will sate us as we await Kim Jee-woon's debut American feature in 2013. This will be Yim Pil-seong (Antarctic Journal, 2005; Hansel and Gretel, 2007) first work in 5 years. Han Jae-rim was initially to directed a segment before the production shut down. The final segment was recently completed with Yim Pil-seong directing and Kim Jee-woon in a supporting role. I am not certain about the release date, since no trailer has appeared to date the film may be pushed back.
The Scent
Director: Kim Hyung-jun
Cast: Park Hee-soon, Park Si-yeon, Joo Sang-wook, Cha Soo-yeon
Synopsis: A woman asks a detective, who does some PI work on the side, to investigate her husband whom she suspects is having an affair. When the husband winds up dead it's the detective who becomes a suspect.
Release date: April 11
Kim Hyung-jun's second feature following 2010's No Mercy.
Duet
Director: Lee Sang-bin
Writer: Lee Sang-bin
Cast: Ko Ah-sung, James Page
Synopsis: Nanye is a young musician who takes a 15-day trip to England and meets James who becomes her guide.
Release date: April 19
Eungyo
Director: Jeong Ji-woo
Cast: Lee Paul, Yeom Hyeon-joon, Kim Sae-byeok
Synopsis: Lee Juk-Yo, a respected poet, is an old man who cares fondly for his younger disciple Seo Ji-Woo. When a teenage 17-year-old enters their lives, their lives are turned upside down. Release date: April 26
Jeong Ji-woo, the director of Happy End is back with an adaptation of popular novel Eungyo starring Park Hae-il, hot off his multiple Best Actor wins for War of the Arrows, who will portray a 70-year old man. This vaguely reminds me of 2010's Moss which featured Jeong Jae-yeong under layers of makeup and also starred Park.
Spring, Snow
Director: Kim Tae-gyoon
Cast: Yoon Seok-hwa, Lim Ji-gyoo, Lee Kyeong-yeong, Kim Ha-jin
Synopsis: A drama about a typical mother Soon-ok and her family's process of getting ready to say goodbye.
Release date: April 26
Red Maria
Director: Kyung-soon
Cast: Yoon Seok-hwa, Lim Ji-gyoo, Lee Kyeong-yeong, Kim Ha-jin
Synopsis: A documentary that follows suffering women across Asia who work in the sex trade, as immigrants, are homeless and more.
Release date: April 26
Rain and Rain
Director: Kim Nam-kyung
Cast: Im Chang-jeong, Yu In-young, Lee Kyeong-jin
Synopsis: A romance story between musicians Soo-Hyun and Ji-eun.
Release date: April 26
The Peach Tree
Director: Ku Hye-sun
Cast: Nam Sang-mi, Ryu Deok-hwan, Cho Seung-woo
Synopsis: A complicated love triangle of siamese twins who fall for the same girl.
Release date: April
The Peach Tree bowed at the Busan International Film Festival last October.
I recently finished reading Keigo Higashino’s The Devotion of Suspect X, a book I
picked up by chance in London Luton Airport as I was trying to offload my last
10 pounds following my trip to the East Winds Festival and Symposium earlier
this month. Truth be told, I
rarely read modern fiction anymore and much less do I purchase physical
paperbacks. However, as I browsed
the WHS Smith, I didn’t find any classics so I resignedly drifted over to the
general fiction section and after a thorough perusal of the shelves I elected
to get Dance Dance Dance (1988), one of the
few novels I hadn’t read from Haruki Murakami, one of my favorite authors,
but as I made my way to the check-out a book buried deep in a display table
caught my eye. I was immediately
drawn to it and quickly changed my mind about Murakami. I didn’t know what it was but I later
realized that I had come across its name in passing as it is happens to be an
upcoming Korean film project, though I knew nothing beyond its title. I certainly wasn’t aware that it was
based on this popular Japanese crime thriller.
Not too long ago I read Natsuo Kirino’s Grotesque and Cut back to
back and was quite taken with their effortless style chronicling extraordinary
and often horrific events. From
its opening pages, The Devotion of
Suspect X gripped me and turned out to be the very definition of a
page-turner as I devoured it in two sittings. When I put down the book I was filled with a nervous energy
and I’m sure its devastating ending will stay with me for a long time. Suddenly I’ve become terribly excited about
the forthcoming Korean version of this 2005 novel, which was already made into
a cult 2008 Japanese film. The
premise, the characters, the atmosphere and the underlying themes make it a
natural fit for Korean cinema and if done right it could well become one of the
breakout hits of the year.
Ryoo Seung-beom
The story, taken from the backpage blurb of the
English-language Abacus edition, is as follows:
“Yasuko lives a quiet
life, a good mother to her only child.
But when her ex-husband appears at her door without warning one evening,
her comfortable world is shattered.
When Detective
Kusanagi of the Tokyo Police tries to piece together the events of that night,
he finds himself confronted by the most puzzling, mysterious circumstances he
has ever investigated. Nothing quite makes sense…”
Though not referred to in the above synopsis, the principal
character of the novel is actually Yasuko’s next-door neighbour Ishigami, a
high school math teacher who sets in motion the extraordinary story. Before making the connection to the
forthcoming Korean film, I was already picturing the burly and jovial Ko
Chang-seok as this formidable and fascinating character. When I remembered the upcoming Korean film I
hoped he was playing him, though it would have been a long shot as he is not a
top leading man. Indeed that
did turn out to be the case but I was no less excited by the actor selected in his place.
Lee Yo-won
Ryoo Seung-beom played the punk kid for years in Korea
cinema (often in his brother Ryoo Seung-wan’s films) until he was finally cast
in meatier roles in The Servant (2010) and The Unjust (2010) among others. Now he is one of the industry’s leading
lights and at 31, he still has a lot ahead of him. He’s about 20 years younger than the character (who has been
renamed to Suk-go for the Korean film) so it remains to be seen whether the
teacher’s age will be changed or if Ryoo will be subjected to hours of makeup
everyday like Jeong Jae-yeong and Park Hae-il were for the recent Moss (2010) and the upcoming Eungyo (2012). In any case I
think Ryoo is a great choice and while he will certainly set himself apart from the
protagonist presented in the book I think he has just the right combination of
charisma, intelligence and paranoia to pull it off.
Playing the role of Yasuko (renamed Hwa-sun) will be Lee
Yo-won who most recently starred in The Recipe (2010) and the K-Drama 49 Days
(2011). Her beauty and demureness should be advantageous for the role and though I am not overly familiar with
her work she seems like a strong choice.
Bang Eun-jin
Leading the whole affair will be Bang Eun-jin, who was
primarily known as an actress before she turned to the director’s chair with
Princess Aurora, one of the best genre efforts to come out in 2005. Her sophomore film is a much more
ambitious affair but given the nature of her first outing and the way she handled
herself, I am confident that she is the right person for the job.
I think it’s fair to say that The Devotion of Suspect X (I
imagine this title will subsequently change) is one of my most anticipated Korean films,
not too far below Bong Joon-ho’s Snow Piercer (2013), Lee Hae-joon’s My Dictator (2013), Im
Sang-soo’s The Taste of Money (2012) and Ryoo Seung-wan’s The Berlin File (2013). I hope this has whetted your appetite
as well!
While no release date has been confirmed as of this writing, filming, which began in December 2011, should be completed. I imagine the film is being prepped for an autumn or winter release.
For more information on this and other films, visit MKC's Upcoming Releases page.
This monthly features previews the coming month's attractions in Korean cinema. All of these monthly posts are available in an archive on the Upcoming Releases page.
March 1
Eighteen and Nineteen
Stateless Things
March 8
Helpless
Romance Joe
Mirage
Taking Architect
The Dearest
Sympathy for Us
Chocked
March 15
Russian Coffee
Fighting Family
Pink
The Beat Goes On
Home Sweet Home
March 22
Planet of Snail
Architecture 101
Hand in Hand
March 29
Over Her Dead Body
Eighteen and Nineteen
Director: Bae Gwang-soo
Cast: Yoo Yeon-seok, Baek Jin-hee
Synopsis: Eighteen and Nineteen chronicles the youthful scandals of Hoya and Seoya, fraternal twins who are going through their last winter before becoming adults.
Release date: March 1
Stateless Things
Director: Kim Kyung-mook
Cast: Lee Paul, Yeom Hyeon-joon, Kim Sae-byeok
Synopsis:Stateless Things crosscuts between the lives of two young men, one an illegal immigrant from North Korea stuck in dead-end jobs, the other the kept boy of a married businessman stifling in a swanky apartment. Release date: March 1
Stateless Things premiered at the Venice Film Festival last September and has received a number of positive notices since that time as well as screenings at many other prestigious events.
Synopsis: When a woman (Kim Min-hee) disappears overnight. Her nervous, cartoonist boyfriend (Lee Sun-gyun) searches for her, only to come across some dark secrets.
Release date: March 8
Judging by the below trailer Helpless could be another solid addition to Korea's crime thriller genre. Based on the Japanese novel Kasha by author Miyuki Miyabe, known as the Queen of Crime Fiction.
Synopsis: Romance Joe is an assistant director but after an actress commits suicide, he quits his job. He returns to his hometown after suicidal thoughts begin to creep into his mind. At home he meet a boy whose mother is in Japan and happens to be his first love.
Release date: March 8
Romance Joe had its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival last October during which it won a Citizen Reviewers' Award and has subsequently been featured in the Seoul Independent Film Festival and the International Film Festival of Rotterdam. The film is Lee Kwang-kuk's debut as a feature filmmaker after having worked as an assistant director on a number of Hong Sang-soo films.
Mirage
Director: Jang Jung-ho
Screenplay: Jang Jung-ho
Cast: Mun Jeong-ung, Kim Chang-hwan, Sin Jae-seung, Kim Tae-yoon
Synopsis: One day, Dong-jo wakes up drunk on a subway on his way to his hometown, where he is to receive an award from an annual spring literary contest. But then he soon he's lost his bag. He visits an old friend to borrow money and suddenly his old memories return.
Release date: March 8
Talking Architect
Director: Jeong Jae-eun
Synopsis: A documentary about an architect and his fight to create a better society through architecture.
Release date: March 8
The Dearest
Director: Kim Sun-ah, Park He-sui
Screenplay: Kim Sun-ah, Park He-sui, Shin Hye-jin
Cast: Hwang Eun-jin, Han Hyo-jeong, Jeong Yoo-jeong, Sang Hyeon-joo
Synopsis: In-hye and Sun-mi visit their hometown only to discover that their old friend Eun-sil died while giving birth. While the town is in an uproar over the orphaned child, it is up to In-hye and Sun-mi to look after it.
Release date: March 8
Sympathy for Us
Director: Choi Young-seok
Screenplay: Choi Young-seok
Cast: Lim Joon-sik, Lim Chae-seon, Kim Sang-ho
Synopsis: Three friends play a concert at a restaurant in order to surgically remove a spot on for Yo-da's face. But after messing up the show, Yo-da takes a job at a deep-sea fishing vessel.
Release date: March 8
Choked
Director: Kim Joong-hyun
Synopsis: The story of a family fraying at the seems.
Release date: March 8
Kim Joong-hyun's first film, previously an assistant director on Family Ties (2006), premiered at Busan in 2011 and has since been showcased at the Seoul Independent Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival.
Russian Coffee
Director: Jang Yoon-hyeon
Cast: Joo Jin-mo, Kim So-yeon, Park Hee-soon, Yoo Seon
Synopsis: A tale of the attempted assassination of the 26th king of the Joseon Dynasty, King Gojong (Park Hee-soon). A Russian rifleman and a beautiful barista are tricked into carrying out the hit.
Release date: March 15
Russian Coffee, which is based on the novel of the same name by Kim Tak-hwan was initially a very big affair, with a 10 billion ₩ budget but after some delays and casting changes the budget was ultimately halved. The film does still boast an all-star cast and was in production for five months across 16 locations on two continents.
Fighting! Family
Director: Hong Ji-young, Kim Seong-ho, Lee Soo-yeon, Shin Su-won
Cast: Kim Ji-young, Seon Woo-seon, Lee Myeong-haeng, Jeong In-gi
Synopsis: An omnibus movie created by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to increase the nation's interest in low birth rates. The four-part story tells us the reality of our society.
Release date: March 15
Fighting! Family is a new omnibus feature which will debut in March.
Pink
Director: Jeon Soo-il
Cast: Lee Seung-yeon, Seo Kap-sook, Kang San-eh, Lee Won-jong
Synopsis: Pink is rundown bar run by Ok-ryun and the film chronicles the characters that come through it.
Release date: March 15
Jeon Soo-il, a festival favorite, returns with his 8th feature.
The Beat Goes On
Director: Byeon Seong-hyeon
Cast: Bong Tae-gyu, Lee Young-hoon
Synopsis: Korea's first hiphop film!
Release date: March 15
Home Sweet Home
Director: Moon Si-hyun
Cast: Kim Young-hoon, Yoo Ae-kyung, Kim Jong-soo
Synopsis: A young man puts his life on the line when he underwrites a friend's debt. Things go from bad to worse as he must escape debt collectors and gets in with the wrong people.
Release date: March 15
Home Sweet Home had its world premiere at last year's Puchon International Film Festival.
Planet of Snail
Director: Yi Seung-jun
Screenwriter: Jo Young-chan
Synopsis: Young-Chan is blind and death and goes about life with the aid of his feeling touch. Soon-Ho suffers from stunted growth after long-ago accident. They see the beauty in each other and help one another achieve their dreams.
Release date: March 22
Documentary Planet of Snail premiered at last year's Jeonju Film Festival and has since played at many others.
Introduction of Architecture
Director: Lee Yong-joo
Screenwriter: Lee Yong-joo
Cast: Uhm Tae-woong, Han Ga-in, Lee Je-hoon, Bae Suzy
Synopsis: An architect (Uhm Tae-woong) is asked to design a house by a former classmate (Han Ga-in). As the house goes up, the pair fall in love.
Release date: March 22
I've been very excited about Lee Yong-joo's follow up to the phenomenal Possessed (2009) since it was announced but upon learning that it was a romance film and looking at the trailer below I admit that I'm not as excited as I was. Lee previously studied architecture which led me to think it might be incorporated in an interesting way here, not sure how it figures in the final product though. However, the presence of Lee Je-hoon, who was remarkable in last year's Bleak Night and The Front Line, is encouraging.
Hand in Hand
Director: Choi Jong-tae
Screenwriter: Choi Jong-tae
Cast: Joo Hyeon, Ye Soo-jeong, Chae Min-hee, Kim Bong-geun
Synopsis: Min-ho (Joo Hyeon) and Hee-jeong (Ye Soo-jeong) have been together for 40 years and one day Min-ho has a heart attack. He survives the crucial moment but the danger is not past.
Release date: March 22
Over My Dead Body
Director: Woo Sun-ho
Cast: Lee Beom-soo, Ryoo Seung-beom
Synopsis: Hyun-Chul (Lee Beom-soo) is a a researcher who fights against a group attempting to steal core technology from an important semiconductor chip. That group uses corpses in their crime. Jin-Woo (Ryoo Seung-beom) is a man who faked a suicide for the insurance money. Hyun-Chul then unintentionally pulls out the body of Jin-Woo who is pretending to be dead. This is how their relationship begins...
Release date: March 29
Filming for Over My Dead Body finished in September and with its high-concept comedy plot and charismatic stars like Lee and Ryoo, could prove to be a springtime hit.
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