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Park Chan-wook got shut out of Oscars again. What went wrong?
In 34 years of directing, Park Chan-wook has never received an Oscar nomination. The Academy overlooked "Oldboy," the revenge thriller that rewired action cinema. It passed on "The Handmaiden," his lush, labyrinthine romance that became a cult phenomenon. When "Decision to Leave" won best director at Cannes in 2022, many thought that would be the year. It wasn't. And now "No Other Choice," his darkly comic takedown of late-stage capitalism, came up empty as well. When nominations for the 98th Ac
Jan. 23, 2026 -
Movies in theaters this week
"Project Y" (South Korea) Opened Jan. 21 Action/Drama Directed by Lee Hwan With nothing left to lose, two friends (Han So-hee, Jeon Jong-seo) hatch a plan to steal a crime ring's hidden fortune, but their heist spirals into bloodshed. "Heartman" (South Korea) Opened Jan. 14 Comedy/Romance Directed by Choi Won-sub A washed-up rock front man (Kwon Sang-woo) scrambles to hide his daughter when he falls for an old flame (Moon Chae-won) who cannot stand kids, in this remake of the Argentine comedy "N
Jan. 23, 2026 -
'KPop Demon Hunters' lands two Oscar nods; Park Chan-wook's 'No Other Choice' shut out
Netflix’s animated sensation "KPop Demon Hunters" landed two nominations at the 98th Academy Awards on Thursday, while Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice failed to make the final cut. Directed by Korean Canadian filmmaker Maggie Kang, the animated megahit landed nods for best animated feature and best original song for "Golden." The film will face off against Disney's "Zootopia 2" and "Elio," Pixar's "Arco," and French entry "Little Amelie or the Character of Rain" for best animation. The double n
Jan. 23, 2026 -
HJ Film signs PR partnership to boost global reach
HJ Film, the production and management company led by South Korean actor Shin Hyun-joon, has struck a strategic partnership with Roys Communication, a public relations agency based in Seoul. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday to collaborate on media outreach and marketing initiatives at home and abroad. The first project on the docket is "Wanted," a Korea-Taiwan co-production that stars Shin alongside Taiwanese actress Regina Lei. The action film is currently in
Jan. 22, 2026 -
'The King's Warden' imagines the tragic final days of Joseon's boy king
History offers only fragments about the final days of Danjong, the boy king who ascended the Joseon throne at 12 and was dead by 17. Dethroned by his uncle and exiled to a remote mountain village, he died there under murky circumstances -- some records say he hanged himself, others that he was made to drink poison, as was customary for condemned royals. What the chronicles do record is that his exile stirred something in the collective conscience; commoners and nobles alike risked their lives to
Jan. 22, 2026 -
Netflix's supercharged 2026 Korean lineup
Netflix on Wednesday unveiled its 2026 Korean content slate, underscoring how dramatically the global standing of K-content has shifted over the past decade. Speaking at a press event in Yeouido, Kang Dong-han, vice president of Netflix Korea’s content division, noted that Korean-language programming has risen to become the world’s second most-consumed content category, trailing only English-language fare. Asked whether the Korean Wave had reached its peak, Kang dismissed the notion, saying the
Jan. 21, 2026 -
Han So-hee is done playing pretty
Han So-hee had a diary on the table. Not a planner or a notebook for jotting down schedules — an actual diary, complete with handwritten entries and decorations and the whole bit. Press junkets are typically sterile affairs, a parade of identical questions and rehearsed talking points cycling through the room. But here was Han, flipping through pages of her own private thoughts as a room full of journalists looked on. She balked when asked if she might share a bit of what was inside. "It's mostl
Jan. 19, 2026 -
This is the film that dethroned 'Avatar' in Korea
When James Cameron's "Avatar: Fire and Ash" stormed Korean theaters in mid-December, the race for the box office crown looked all but settled. The $400 million sci-fi threequel shattered milestone after milestone at record pace as global receipts sailed past the billion-dollar mark. Local films, meanwhile, largely stayed out of the way — the holiday slate offered little in the way of domestic competition. Then along came "Once We Were Us." The romantic drama — a remake of Rene Liu's 2018 Chinese
Jan. 16, 2026 -
Movies in theaters this week
"Heartman" (South Korea) Opened Jan. 14 Comedy/Romance Directed by Choi Won-sub A washed-up rock front man (Kwon Sang-woo) scrambles to hide his daughter when he falls for an old flame (Moon Chae-won) who cannot stand kids, in this remake of the Argentine comedy "No Kids." "Good Fortune" (US) Opened Jan. 7 Comedy/Drama Directed by Aziz Ansari A hapless angel (Keanu Reeves) meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker (Aziz Ansari) and a wealthy tech investor (Seth Rogen). "Father Mother Siste
Jan. 16, 2026 -
Kwon Sang-woo, still in the game
Kwon Sang-woo has been here before. Starring in modest-budget comedies that don't have blockbuster marketing muscle behind them, bracing for opening weekend numbers while theaters keep losing audiences, and hoping to beat the odds one more time. "I'm always on edge before a release," he says at a cafe in central Seoul on a Tuesday afternoon. "For about two weeks after opening, I'm a nervous wreck. More than during the actual shoot." This time around, the 50-year-old is back with "Heart Man," whi
Jan. 15, 2026 -
Hong Sang-soo heads to Berlinale with 'The Day She Returns'
The Berlin International Film Festival announced Wednesday that Hong Sang-soo's latest feature, "The Day She Returns," will screen in the noncompetitive Panorama section at this year's festival, running Feb. 12-22. The selection marks the 65-year-old director's seventh consecutive year at the Berlinale and his 13th appearance overall at the festival. Hong has previously screened eight times in competition and four times in noncompetitive sections. His last entry in the Panorama sidebar was "Woma
Jan. 15, 2026 -
With 'Project Y,' Jeon Jong-seo marks end of beginning
Jeon Jong-seo had a dream run through her 20s — almost straight out of a movie. At 23, with almost zero acting experience and barely a week at her new agency, she landed the lead in art house auteur Lee Chang-dong's "Burning" at her very first audition. The mysterious slow-burner premiered at Cannes in 2018 to rapturous reviews, made the Oscar shortlist and announced Jeon as a face for the world to remember. Two years later came "Call," where she made a chilling turn as a psychopath who weaponiz
Jan. 13, 2026 -
'Humint' takes Ryoo Seung-wan's espionage playbook to Vladivostok
Korea's holiday box office belongs to crowd-pleasers -- the kind of films that bring entire families into multiplexes and sweep them up in pure, uncomplicated fun. This year, box office stalwart Ryoo Seung-wan is betting that his brand of propulsive espionage action flick still fits the bill, with a 23.5 billion won ($16 million) production to back it up. "Humint" sends intelligence operatives from North and South Korea crashing into each other in Russia's Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok. I
Jan. 12, 2026 -
'KPop Demon Hunters' wins two Golden Globes
Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters" took home two trophies at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards Sunday night (local time), claiming best motion picture in the animated category after picking up the best original song prize earlier in the evening for "Golden." The global phenomenon -- which has logged over 541 million hours viewed worldwide -- beat out "Arco," "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle," "Elio," "Little Amelie or the Character of Rain" and "Zootopia 2." The film also earned a nominati
Jan. 12, 2026 -
Kwon Sang-woo bets on broad comedy once again with 'Heart Man'
Even as Korean multiplexes keep bleeding audiences, one formula still pays off at the box office: Those broad, leave-your-brain-at-home comedies. The genre made up the handful of domestic productions that managed to stay afloat last year — slapstick sequel "Hitman 2" (2.5 million), buddy cop romp "Boss" (2.3 million) and the year's homegrown miracle "My Daughter is a Zombie" (5.6 million). It's no secret that Koreans have always had a soft spot for this stuff, and with investment drying up and b
Jan. 9, 2026