Welcome! First launched by Darcy Paquet in 1999, this site has grown with the help of many volunteers to provide a comprehensive introduction to Korean cinema.

Now Screening in Korea:

Escape
dir. Lee Jong-pil

Director Lee Jong-pil (Samjin Company English Class)'s fifth feature film is about a North Korean soldier desparately trying to defect across the border to South Korea, and the intelligence officer who is determined to stop him. Starring Lee Je-hoon and Koo Kyo-hwan, the film had a modest opening at the box office but has hung on for several weeks thanks to strong word of mouth.

Upcoming Film Festivals

20th EBS International Documentary Film Festival
(Aug 19-25)

25th Seoul International Women's Film Festival
(Aug 24-30)

20th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival
(Sep 5-10)

16th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival
(Sep 26-Oct 2)

29th Busan International Film Festival
(Oct 2-11)

Subtitled Screenings in Korea

Screenings with English Subtitles
(maintained by KOFIC)

Read more about this site and its creators
at the About Koreanfilm.org page

Visit our Links page

Inactive Pages

Site contact: darcy@koreanfilm.org

Personal blogs of our contributors:
Kyu Hyun · Tom

Navigating this Site

Keep up with new reviews and updates to the site on our What's New page

Ask questions, or discuss about Korean films at our Facebook page

Do a Search of Koreanfilm.org

Film Reviews

Browse by year at the links below, or check
our Review Index sorted by title

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2020  ·  2019  ·  2018  ·  2017  ·  2016
2015  ·  2014  ·  2013  ·  2012  ·  2011
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2005  ·  2004  ·  2003  ·  2002  ·  2001

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1990-95  ·  1980s  ·  1970s  ·  1960s  ·  1945-59

Documentaries  ·  "The Korean Connection"
DVDs and Blu-rays  ·  Music Videos  ·  TV Dramas

Special Pages

    Our Film Festival Reports contain impressions of films, retrospectives, and other issues from festivals in Korea and elsewhere. Our most recent report is from the 2022 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.


    If you're searching for Books About Korean Cinema, this page will provide information, summaries and tables of contents for all the major book releases.


    We've done a number of Interviews with Korean Filmmakers over the years. Our most recent interview is Melissa Kim's 2018 talk with director/actor Moon So-ri.


    At the end of each year our Top Ten Lists bring together our thoughts and picks for the best Korean films of the year.


    Visit our Directors' Pages for detailed introductions to the work of a few specific filmmakers.

Highlighted Essays

Still Waiting For Good News: Korean Cinema in 2021
(from the Far East Film Festival)
by Darcy Paquet

Park Chul-soo: South Korea's Neglected Auteur
by Adam Hartzell

Taking in a Few South Korean Baseball Films
by Adam Hartzell

A Short History of Korean Film
by Darcy Paquet

A History of Korean Animation
by Tom Giammarco

Best Films of the 21st Century's First Decade
by various contributors

Click for the Complete List of Essays
at Koreanfilm.org