The buzzword in K-entertainment for the New Year of the Year of the Pig can be summarized as ‘all-out war’. K-pop, broadcasting, and movies are all pulling out their ‘sure winning cards’ and vowing to leap to greater heights or relive their glory. Broadcasting is releasing ‘sequels’ that are guaranteed to be successful to a certain extent in dramas and entertainment shows, which are the closest points of contact with the public. In Chungmuro, the rush of masters representing K-movies is noticeable. Directors Na Hong-jin and Yeon Sang-ho, who are considered box office guarantees, and above all, Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho, the two leading figures in Korean cinema, are returning. K-pop is no exception. Amid the ongoing revival of K-pop, which has now become ‘a genre’, the return of Blackpink and BTS is scheduled.

Masters who will revitalize theaters will meet audiences with new films in 2025. Global directors representing Korean cinema, Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook, are aiming for the international stage once again with their next works, ‘Mickey 17’ and ‘Inevitably Happens’, respectively, while directors with solid fandoms, such as Na Hong-jin and Yeon Sang-ho, are also presenting theatrical films after a long time.

Director Bong Joon-ho will finally be releasing his new Hollywood project, ‘Mickey 17’, in theaters in March, six years after ‘Parasite’. Due to COVID-19, the Hollywood actor strike, and other factors, the release date was changed several times, leaving fans anxious, but it has finally been confirmed that it will be released in North America on March 7th. In Korea, the release date is being adjusted to be earlier than in North America.
‘Mickey 17’ is based on Edward Ashton‘s novel ‘Mickey 7’, and tells the unpredictable story of Mickey, an expendable human clone (the Expendables) who is deployed for dangerous work, as he experiences his 17th near-death crisis. It is a mega blockbuster with a production cost of a whopping 150 million dollars (220.7 billion won), and stars Robert Pattinson, famous for the ‘Twilight’ series, as well as Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Naomi Akie, and Steven Yeun.

Director Park Chan-wook is also planning to release his next film, ‘Inevitably’, after ‘Decision to Leave’, sometime this year. Based on Donald Westlake’s 1999 novel ‘The Axe’, the film is known as Director Park‘s ‘life’s project’ that he has been preparing for a long time.

The film depicts the story of a company employee who was living a satisfactory life, who prepares for his own battle to get a new job in order to protect his wife, two children, and the house he worked hard to build after being fired. Following ‘Joint Security Area JSA’ ‘Three, Monster’, Lee Byung-hun, who reunites with director Park, plays the main character Man-su, and Son Ye-jin plays his wife Mi-ri. Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, Cha Seung-won, and Yoo Yeon-seok also lend their support.
Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook are not the only ones knocking on theater doors this year. Director Na Hong-jin will present ‘Hope’, his first film in nine years since ‘The Wailing’. The story of the residents of an isolated port town fighting off mysterious attacks stars Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, and Hollywood actors Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander.

Director Yeon Sang-ho, who has been focusing on Netflix works for a while, will release ‘Face’, his first theatrical film in five years, and the mega-scale SF fantasy ‘Omniscient Reader‘s Viewpoint (Director Kim Byung-woo), starring Lee Min-ho, produced by Realize Pictures, the creator of ‘Along with the Gods’, will also be released this summer.


Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com