Streaming services present their latest Korean shows

Ballerina (Image: Busan International Film Festival) 

The Busan International Film Festival has unveiled its selections for the popular Korean Cinema Today – Special Premiere and On Screen strands.

The On Screen section, introduced in 2021, showcases series and this year boasts six world premieres – five from Korea and one from Indonesia.

Tving show I Am a Running Mate, about an ordinary student trying to become student president marks the directorial debut of Han Jin-won, winner of best original screenplay as a co-writer for Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite. The series merges the coming-of-age genre with elements of a political drama, and stars Yoon Hyun-soo, Lee Jung-sic, Choi Woo-sung, Hong Hwa-yeon and Lee Bong-jun. Three of the nine episodes will screen at the festival.

The Deal, a Waave original series, is a tale of criminal intrigue in which two young men kidnap their friend and demand KRW10 billion ($7.5 million) as ransom. The cast features Yoo Seung-ho’s streaming debut alongside Kim Dong-hwi, Yoo Su-bin and Lee Jooyoung. Three of the series’ eight episodes will screen at Busan.

Disney+ series Vigilante, based on a popular webtoon, depicts a scholarly student from the police academy who dispenses justice to crafty adversaries eluding legal boundaries. It stars Nam Joo-hyuk, Yoo Ji-tae, Lee Jun-hyuk and Kim Sojin. Three of the eight episodes will screen.

Tving’s A Bloody Lucky Day, directed by Pil Gam-sung, is also based on an acclaimed webtoon and follows a happy-go-lucky taxi driver crossing paths with a young murderer as a long-distance passenger. The cast includes Lee Sung-min, Yoo Yeon-seok and Lee Jung-eun. Three of the eight episodes will screen.

Tving’s LTNS is a whimsical comedy that tracks the journey of a young couple’s transformation from indifference to becoming an unlikely blackmailing duo. Lim Daehyung (Moonlit Winter) and Jeon Gowoon (Microhabitat) jointly co-wrote and co-produced and the series reunites the Microhabitat on screen pair of E Som and Ahn Jae-hong. Two of the six episodes will screen.

As previously announced, the first two episodes of Netflix’s five-episode Cigarette Girl by Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah, which delves into the life of a female protagonist entwined with the 1960s Indonesian cigarette industry, will premiere at the festival as part of a focus on Indonesia.

The Korean Cinema Today – Special Premiere section, which was introduced last year to much acclaim, showcases mainstream Korean commercial films. Netflix’s Believer 2, the sequel to 2018 hit Believer, which had over five million admissions, will world premiere at the festival. Directed by Baek Jong-yeol (The Beauty Inside), Believer 2 features dynamic action sequences and a star-studded cast, including Cho Jin-woong, Cha Seung-won, Han Hyo-joo and Oh Seung-hoon.

Another world premiere, Netflix’s Ballerina, directed by Lee Chung-hyun (Call), is a tale of revenge centered around a protagonist driven by the pursuit of retribution for a late friend who had been unjustly accused. Charismatic actor Jun Jong-seo portrays a formidable female warrior.

Hopeless, selected for Un Certain Regard at Cannes earlier this year, will have its Asian premiere at Busan. The feature debut of director Kim Chang-hoon is an addition to the Korean film noir genre, starring Hong Xa-bin alongside Song Joong-ki.

The 28th Busan International Film Festival takes place Oct. 4-13. The 18th Asian Contents & Film Market runs Oct. 7-10.

By Naman Ramachandran 

Link: https://variety.com/2023/film/asia/parasite-oscar-busan-korea-1235703524/