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The era of streaming has brought about transformative effects for the whole content industry with people watching more films at home while there has also been a shift towards limited series as directors are helming more shows.

Kim Seong-hun was one of the first directors to make the transition with Kingdom (2019) and this continued with other filmmakers like Hwang Dong-hyuk Squid Game (2021) and Han Jun-hee D.P. (2021).

The changes instigated by Netflix with increased budgets and its ability to lure talent both behind and in front of the camera led to local streamers like Tving and Coupang Play along with the likes of Disney to follow suit. Through its Star brand, Disney has produced more than 30 Korean-language shows since 2022 – some of which involve Korean filmmakers. Kang Yun-sung The Outlaws (2017) directed Big Bet (2022), while Shin Yeon-shick One Win (2024) directed and wrote Uncle Samsik (2024).

Indeed, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated many of the changes that were underway as people were forced to social distance with cinemas struggling to survive. Furthermore, with increases in ticket prices (the average price hit over 10,000 won in 2022), trips to the cinema have become less frequent for many even after the pandemic subsided with OTT (over-the-top) subscriptions seen as more economical.  The fact that Korea’s box office is still around 40% below pre-pandemic levels (2019) suggests that viewing habits have changed and that the industry is having to evolve with the new ecosystem.

Discounts and promotions by exhibitors, for instance, have meant the average price of a ticket dropped in 2024 to under 10,000 won in attempt to attract moviegoers. But the content itself is key and looking at what works with audiences during the OTT era does provide us with an indication of what kinds of films are able to resonate with audiences going ahead.

Therefore, this week we will examine some of the films and characteristics that are shaping the current industry. It will begin with The Roundup (2022-2024) films before it turns to 12.12: The Day (2022) and Exhuma (2024) that are some of the more high-budget films that have performed well. But many of the titles that are striking a chord are less expensive so we will also examine titles such as 6/45 (2022), Love Reset (2022) and Hidden Face (2024) that have surpassed expectations.  

The Roundup Films (2022-2024)

The Roundup franchise starring Don Lee (aka Ma Dong-seok) as the muscular detective with a killer punch who brings down different nefarious villains provided the Korean film industry with much needed optimism that it was mounting a comeback.  

Sequel to Kang Yun-sung’s surprise hit The Outlaws (2017), The Roundup (2022) directed by Lee Sang-yong and also starring Son Suk-kyu sold more than 12 million tickets in the spring of 2022 becoming the first film to do so during the pandemic.

Lee Sang-yong’s The Roundup: No Way Out (2023) released just a year later accumulated more than 10.6 million viewers, while Heo Myeong-haeng’s The Roundup: Punishment accrued 11.5 million admissions making it the most successful franchise in Korean box office history.

Don Lee’s macho persona is evidently a crucial ingredient to the film’s success together with the film’s mix of action set-pieces and comedy, but the actor is also credited as a producer and co-writer on all three films underscoring the role he has played in the building of the franchise.

Initially with the success of The Roundup along with Confidential Assignment 2: International (2022) and Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022) - the second installment of the Admiral Yi Sun-sin trilogy - it perhaps looked like the industry was becoming reliant on sequels and existing IP to entice in viewers, echoing Hollywood. However, as the industry has evolved this has become less apparent – though, remakes, and some sequels and spinoffs have proved quite popular. The animation, Heartsping: Teenieping of Love (2024) based on the Korean TV character accrued 1.2 million admissions.

12.12: The Day (2022)

Korean blockbusters have long adopted local backdrops often dealing with Korea’s turbulent history.  From Kim Han-min’s The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014) to Jang Hoon’s A Taxi Driver (2017) and Jang Joon-hwan’s 1987: When the Day Comes (2017) Korean filmmakers have brought together some of the elements associated with blockbuster tentpoles and adapted them for Korean audiences.

Kim Sung-su’s 12.12: The Day (2022) that hones in on the events following Park Chung-hee’s assassination in 1979 as Chun Doo-hwan seeks to launch a military coup in many respects is part of this tried and tested formula.  It features an ensemble cast led by Hwang Jung-min and Jung Woo-sung and it is impeccably staged in riveting fashion. But with less melodrama than most blockbusters, its emotional arc is a different one. In focusing on the individual decisions made by Chun and those around him, it fueled much anger from audiences with some viewers posting comments about their heart rates spiking.

The film would turn into a gargantuan box office hit amassing 13 million admissions at the end of 2023. It was seen by a range of demographics including elementary students accompanied by their parents as they learned about Korea’s past. It also topped Netflix’s chart in Korea in December 2024 in the wake of Yoon Suk-yeol’s failed martial law declaration.   

Exhuma (2024)

One of the films that generated genuine excitement in 2024 was Jang Jae-hyun’s Exhuma that exhibits many of the qualities that has helped Korean cinema to connect with both local and international audiences. Combining different genres and influences, Exhuma follows shamans, a feng shui master and an undertaker as they excavate a grave. In doing so, the film delves into religion, the occult and history.

Featuring Kim Go-eun, Choi Min-sik, Yoo Hae-jin and Lee Do-hyun, the film opened to strong numbers selling 2.6 million tickets in its first five days. While its cast certainly gave the film visibility and Kim Go-eun was lauded and awarded for her role winning Best Actress at the Blue Dragon Awards, it was Jang’s growing prominence following The Priests (2014) and Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019) – along with its occult themes- that also drove its strong performance in its first few days. Electric word-of-mouth then carried it to 11.9 million admissions.   

In what was undoubtedly one of the most talked about Korean films of the pandemic and post-pandemic era, it was a reminder of the draw that occult horror films have. Although the heyday of Korean horror in the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s is long over, the success of titles like The Wailing (2016) and Exhuma (2024) demonstrate the potential these films have when in the right pair of hands.

6/45 (2022)

A striking trend over the last two years has been the moving away from tentpole blockbusters to films with lower budgets following the underperformance of films like Han Jae-rim’s Emergency Declaration (2021) and Choi Dong-hoon’s Alienoid (2022). While Ryoo Seung-wan’s Smugglers (2023) and Um Tae-hwa’s Concrete Utopia (2023) were more commercially successful accruing 5 million and 3.8 million admissions, respectively, as summer blockbusters they were not generating the level of profit compared to films in the pre-pandemic era. A successful summer title would often hit somewhere near or in excess of 10 million admissions.

6/45 written and directed by Park Gyu-tae is not a blockbuster but in many respects, it characterizes both where the industry had come from and where it was heading. Dealing with inter-Korean relations, a common theme in Korean blockbusters Swiri (1998), Joint Security Area (2000), it tells the story of North and South Korean soldiers working together to cash in a winning lottery ticket after it blows into the North.

Paying homage to Park Chan-wook’s now seminal Korean blockbuster JSA, it features the bonding and friendship that develops between the troops played by Go Kyung-pyo, Lee Yi-kyung, Eum Moon-suk and Kwak Dong-yeon. But compared to more contemporary blockbusters with budgets significantly higher it isn’t as driven by spectacle. Instead, its appeal is in the characters, the chemistry they share and through the comedy they develop.

Budgeted at 5 billion won, it turned a profit selling 1.9 million tickets following its release in August 2022 in what was a sign of what was to come over the next few years with less expensive films hitting their break-even points.  Eight of the thirteen features in 2024 that a generated a profit were titles that cost less than 10 billion won to make.

Love Reset (2022)

A key cinema-going demographic has been younger audiences, chiefly teenagers and those in their twenties. In 2023 data suggests this remained the case with 83.2% of respondents aged between 13 and 19 saying they had visited a movie theater in the previous year. It was 83.9 percent for those in their 20s according to Statista  - the two highest demographics of those surveyed (from 13 through to those over 80).

In a separate survey conducted by web magazine Korean Cinema in collaboration with Korea’s leading cinema chain CJ CGV, it found that 95.4 percent of 412 respondents (aged between 10 and 19) selected cinemas as their preferred way to watch films. OTT platforms came second with 47.1 percent.  

Targeting young people, therefore, with films like Love Reset (2022), a 12-rated romantic comedy has been a successful formula. Directed by Nam Dae-joong, Kang Ha-neul and and Jung So-min star as a couple who fall in love and get married but quickly soon despise each other and seek a divorce. When a car accident leads them to suffer from amnesia, their family members construct a plan to finalize their divorce and recall all those painful memories.

Amusing throughout with comical performances by the leads, the film is an effective crowd pleaser that was particularly popular with audiences in their 20s. According to CJ CGV, 35 percent of those who reserved a ticket were in their 20s with 60 percent of all viewers female. A similar trend was also found with the melodrama Secret Untold Melody (2025) that also broke even selling 800,000 tickets after its release at the end of January. Cho Sun-woo’s Hear Me: Our Summer (2024) also pulled in over 800,000 viewers and was similarly resonating with younger audiences.

Hidden Face (2024)

Illustrated through the melodramas Hear Me: Our Summer (2024) and Secret Untold Melody (2025) that are both based on Taiwanese films is the continued popularity of remakes. In 2024 alone several successful films were such titles: Handsome Guys (2024), Pilot (2024) and also Hidden Face (2024). This trend, indeed, is not new with films like Believer (2018), Confession (2022) and Remember (2022) that are all Korean remakes but the enduring success of these features suggests they will continue to feature as part of the industry going ahead.

Kim Dae-woo’s Hidden Face would become the first 19-rated Korean film to surpass one million viewers in the post-pandemic era.  It is based on the Spanish-Columbian film of the same name by Andres Baiz that centers on the relationship between an orchestra conductor (Song Seung-heon), his fiancée (Cho Yeo-jeong) who suddenly disappears and a cellist (Park Ji-hyun) who replaces her in the orchestra.

Akin to many of the other local remakes, Hidden Face is distinguishable from the original in both its visual style and how the narrative comes together as it focuses less on the male protagonist and more on the two central female characters.

Dark Nuns (2024) and Hitman 2 (2023)

The lunar new year period along with the summer, Chuseok (Korea’s thanksgiving) and end-of-year were peak seasons at the multiplexes prior to the pandemic. This has since changed – The Roundup films and Exhuma were released in the Spring and many tentpole features during the holidays haven’t hit the heights of the 2010s when total admissions to Korean films would hit 100 million every year between 2012 and 2019.

A case in point is Woo Min-ho’s Harbin (2024) that sold 4.9 million admissions following its release in December 2024 falling just short of its breaking even point of 5 million. While not a commercial disaster, it is again illustrative of how blockbusters are no longer driving the industry in the same way they once were.

But the lunar new year in January provided further evidence of how the industry is evolving and adapting. Both Kwon Hyeok-jae’s Dark Nuns (2024) and Choi Won-sub’s Hitman 2 (2023) broke even generating 1.6 million and 2.5 million admissions, respectively. The former, a spinoff of Jang Jae-hyun’s The Priests, underlined the appeal occult thrillers and the latter that ultimately had more longevity at the box office owing to audience reactions is illustrative of how important it is to make films enjoyable and entertaining but within the parameters of more modest budgets. 

Written by Jason Bechervaise

Editted by kofic