Park Seo-joon returns to small screen with 18-year love story

Park Seo-joon hasn't done a proper romantic drama in five years. Ever since he sparked a cultural moment as the dogged underdog Park Sae-ro-yi in "Itaewon Class," he's kept busy with bigger-budget fare — a cameo in Marvel Cinematic Universe's "The Marvels," Netflix's period horror "Gyeongseong Creature," and the apocalyptic "Concrete Utopia." But sitting before a room full of reporters at a hotel in Seoul's Guro-gu on Thursday, the 37-year-old seemed ready to scale back down. "I've been working

Dec. 4, 2025

Lee Jun-ho finds second life in country's collective memory

Lee Jun-ho has had quite a ride living through 1997 — fumbling with pager messages, sporting old-school leather coats and keeping a small trading firm from falling apart through South Korea's worst financial crisis. Not literally, of course. The 35-year-old actor was 7 during those years when the International Monetary Fund bailout gutted the South Korean economy. For "Typhoon Family," the tvN period drama that wrapped its 16-episode run Sunday with a series-high 10.3 percent viewership, that is

Dec. 3, 2025

Young survivors navigate a brutal apocalypse in 'Concrete Market'

"It's its own film," Hong Ki-won said. He'd been fielding variations of the same question since sitting down at Lotte Cinema World Tower on Monday afternoon — what does this have to do with the other works within the franchise, especially 2023's "Concrete Utopia"? The director of "Concrete Market" seemed ready for it. "We share the post-earthquake setting. That's it. New characters, new space, new story." The franchise in question did leave a mark. "Concrete Utopia" dropped viewers into the rubb

Dec. 2, 2025

'The Nonsense' is a study in unsettling ironies

If the enduring popularity of the classic crime thriller through an age of diminished attention spans lies in its promise of closure — the reassurance that the world can be sorted into guilty and innocent, the satisfaction of an order restored — then "The Nonsense" might be a hard sell. Director Lee Je-hui's debut feature, which made its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival in October, will confound those seeking tidy resolutions with its cryptic tale, one that complicates

Nov. 29, 2025

Yeon Sang-ho doubles down on low-budget filmmaking as industry seeks new footing

Yeon Sang-ho, the director behind the zombie blockbuster "Train to Busan" and Netflix's "Hellbound," is returning to micro-budget filmmaking with "Paradise Lost" (working title, translated from Korean), his second ultra-low-cost project in as many months. CJ ENM announced Thursday that the mystery thriller has locked in its cast and will begin shooting in December. Kim Hyun-joo, who has starred in several of Yeon's previous works, including "Hellbound" and "Jung_E," will lead the film alongside

Nov. 28, 2025

Wattpad bets big on Hollywood with 'Chasing Red' adaptation

A US-based online fiction platform under South Korean portal giant Naver is pushing deeper into Hollywood with plans to adapt one of its most popular stories, "Chasing Red," into a feature film starring Madelaine Petsch and Gavin Casalegno. The project, announced Tuesday, is the latest effort by Wattpad and its parent company Webtoon to transform its web novel into mainstream entertainment. Production is scheduled to begin in Saudi Arabia in early 2026, with Mackenzie Munro directing from a scre

Nov. 28, 2025

Drive-in movies, hansik cooking, and light-space exhibition

There's something about watching a movie through a windshield — engine off, seat reclined, snacks within arm's reach — that no multiplex can replicate. Jayu-ro Drive-in Theater, perched beside Paju's scenic riverside route in Gyeonggi Province, delivers that intimate, retro comfort with a modern polish. The theater moved to its current location in 2022, spreading three screens across a spacious lot that welcomes cars and pets alike. A snack bar stocks old-school favorites: baked squid, dried fil

Nov. 28, 2025

Movies in theaters this week

"Zootopia 2" (US) Opened Nov. 26 Comedy/Drama Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard Bunny-fox duo Judy and Nick investigate a mysterious pit viper who becomes the first reptile to enter Zootopia in over a century, in this sequel arriving nine years after the original. "Wicked: For Good" (US) Opened Nov. 19 Musical/Fantasy Directed by Jon M. Chu The second part of the Broadway musical adaptation follows Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) as they take opposite sides in Oz's polit

Nov. 28, 2025

Hybe's vampire webtoon 'Dark Moon' is getting a sequel

Hybe will roll out "Dark Moon: Two Moons," the follow-up to a popular webtoon that featured the members of K-pop act Enhypen as characters, in six regions starting Friday. The South Korean entertainment conglomerate said Wednesday that the sequel will go live in Korea, North America, Japan, Latin America, Indonesia and Thailand. Korean readers can access it through Naver Webtoon's Saturday lineup at 10 p.m. Ten episodes will be available on the release day, with new installments arriving each we

Nov. 26, 2025

Why Park Jeong-min is going viral as Korea's most down-to-earth star

At last week's Blue Dragon Film Awards, Park Jeong-min walked away empty-handed despite dual nominations for best actor and best supporting actor. It was a disappointing outcome, as many had expected him to take home at least one trophy after delivering standout work as both father and son in Yeon Sang-ho's experimental thriller "The Ugly" and as freedom fighter Woo Deok-sun in the period epic "Harbin." Rather than sulking, Park bounded onto the stage to join singer Hwasa for a performance of "G

Nov. 25, 2025