Jun (KWON Sang-woo), once a legendary hitman and now a successful webtoon artist, leads a quiet life and processes his past through his series “Agent Jun”. But when his webtoon begins to receive criticism and his new episodes suddenly manifest as real-life terrorist attacks, he becomes entangled in a series of unexpected events involving figures from his past. As the lines between reality and webtoon begin to blur, an international crisis unfolds.

HITMAN 2 is the sequel to CHOI Won-sub’s previous film Hitman: Agent Jun (2020) and is one of the most successful movies in South Korea this year. The film combines the contemporary medium of webtoons with a mix of action, comedy, and family-friendly storytelling.

Content note: depicition of violence

Small business owner Bau (MA Dong-seok) didn’t choose an easy job: together with exorcist Sharon (Seo-hyun) and intern Gun (LEE David), he goes hunting for demons. The whole of Seoul has been infiltrated by the lords of hell and their acolytes, who are now spreading mayhem everywhere. It’s time for Bow to let his fists fly once again. But when the team is hired to take on the case of the possessed Eun-seo (JUNG Ji-so), they are faced with a diabolical adversary who seems almost invincible and will require all of their strength. To Bau, however, this pure evil seems strangely familiar. Have the demons of his past returned?

Boasting incredible star power, LIM Dae-hee’s debut film delivers first-class action fun. But the film also delivers some pretty intense scares.

Content note: depiction of violence, blood, death

Tae-bong (JO Bok-rae) is an informant working undercover within a criminal organisation. What initially sounds exciting has become a tedious office job for him, particularly because his police contact, Nam-hyuk (HEO Sung-tae), is a complete failure. That’s why Tae-bong has been saving money in the hopes of escaping his dangerous and precarious life soon. But just as he is about to make his exit, his cover is blown. When Nam-hyuk attempts a rescue, he kicks in the wrong door, behind which another gang is waiting with a hostage. With so many hornets‘ nests stirred up, chaos is inevitable as the detective and his informant try to escape unscathed.

KIM Seok’s feature film debut maintains a breakneck pace and provides excellent entertainment with its unpredictable twists and turns and absurd action sequences.

Content note: depiction of violence

After her sister Ju-hee (HAN Su-ah) disappears from her apartment without a trace, Ju-young (LEE Sun-bin), who has a hearing impairment, decides to move into her apartment to find out why she disappeared. Ju-hee’s boyfriend, Ki-hoon (KIM Min-seok), helps her. Shortly after moving in, Ju-young is confronted by the resident of the apartment below her, who complains about the loud noises coming from her place. And when she begins to sense a mysterious presence in her apartment, she starts to doubt that her sister disappeared under normal circumstances… 

In her feature film debut, director KIM Soo-jin skillfully portrays the claustrophobia of Korean apartment buildings and creates an unique atmosphere through the film’s sound-design. An absolute must-see for all horror fans!

Content note: depiction of violence, gore

KIM Dok-ja (AHN Hyo-seop) is the sole reader of the webtoon “Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World”. When the final chapter is published, he leaves the author a comment expressing his dissatisfaction with the ending. In his answer, the author encourages Dok-ja to write his ending, but he doesn’t get this far: The webtoon’s apocalyptic story suddenly becomes reality, with Dok-ja smack-dab in the middle. In order to prevent the narrative’s catastrophic ending, he decides to warn the main character Joong-hyuk (LEE Min-ho.) To do so, he himself has to fight his way through a few scenes. His knowledge of the story should help him, but not everything happens as he expects…

With this film, director KIM Byung-woo adapts Sing Shong’s successful and popular web-novel Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.

Content note: depiction of violence

LEE Kang-soo (KANG Ha-neul) is in prison after involuntarily consuming drugs due to external influences. He makes a deal with prosecutor KOO Gwan-hee (YOO Hae-jin): In exchange for a reduced sentence, he has to gather information behind bars to help Gwan-hee uncover drug rings.. This collaboration clashes with the work of drug investigator OH Sang-jae (PARK Hae-joon). This is also the case at a drug party involving actress Soo-jin (CHAE Won-bin) and Jo-hoon (RYU Kyung-soo), the son of the presidential candidate. To protect his son, Joo-hoon’s father proposes a corrupt deal to Gwan-hee. This has serious consequences for Kang-soo, Sang-jae, and Soo-jin…

Yadang: The Snitch is one of the most successful films of the year in South Korea. While researching for the film, director HWANG Byeong-gug was even accidentally arrested and had to take a drug test himself.

Content note: depiction of violence, drug use

Following a wrist injury, promising young pianist Yu-jun (DOH Kyung-soo)  puts his professional career on hold and returns to his hometown in Korea to study at a music academy. One day, he is drawn to the practice room by the haunting sound of a piano –  and meets the mysterious Jung-a (WON Jin-ah). Encouraged by Jung-a, Yu-jun slowly begins to play again. As the two grow closer, Jung-a’s behavior becomes increasingly strange: she repeatedly stands him up, doesn’t own a mobile phone, and no one else at the academy seems to know who she is. Disillusioned, Yu-jun begins to pull away until he discovers her secret…

After delving into the thriller genre in her debut Recalled (2021), director SEO Yoon-min blends romance with subtle elements of fantasy and sci-fi in her second feature film.

Who said it was easy to be an elementary school student? Definitely not Dong-chun (PARK Na-eun), who is overwhelmed by schoolwork and countless extracurricular activities. When she discovers a talking rice wine bottle on a school trip, Dong-chun is taken on a bizarre journey to decipher its messages and to discover answers to the world’s mysteries.

Creatively told from a child’s perspective, FAQ combines social criticism with the whimsicality of kids’ imagination. KIM Da-min’s directorial debut immerses viewers in a charming fantasy world and shows the dark side of South Korean private education.

Sun-woo (SOHN SU-hyun) and Hee-suh (PARK Ga-young), a couple of nine years, have just moved into their new apartment. While Hee-suh works as a pharmaceutical sales rep, Sun-woo is stuck at home due to an injury. Soon she notices a strange smell in the building. As the property management shows no interest, she starts investigating on her own, which leads her to enter a neighbor’s apartment. At the same time, growing tensions with the neighbors, financial stress, and their different ways of dealing with their queerness begin to strain Sun-woo and Hee-suh’s relationship.

KANGYU Ga-ram has long been active as a feminist documentary filmmaker, known for her sharp eye on marginalized perspectives. Her fiction feature debut premiered at the Jeonju International Film Festival and has since screened at various international festivals.

Hee-yeon (JANG Yoon-joo) is a homeroom teacher of an all-girls high school and learns about her student Yu-mi’s (CHOI Soo-in) pregnancy. To find a quick solution for her situation, she suggests for Yu-mi to skip the school year before others find out about her pregnancy. But Yu-mi continues her school. As pressure from others increases, Yu-mi considers having an abortion. After her father kicks her out of her home because of her pregnancy and Yu-mi subsequently stops coming to school, Hee-yeon, who becomes pregnant herself, begins to worry. When Yu-mi, now heavily pregnant, asks for help, Hee-yeon begins to understand her situation and offers support in her own way.

My Best, Your Least is the second feature film by director KIM Hyun-jung and tells the story of human solidarity that emerges through the shared experiences of two women.

Content note: mention of abortion

Yeong-eun (KWAK Sun-young) is a single mother struggling to raise her seven-year-old daughter So-hyun (GI So-yoo), who repeatedly exhibits aggressive behaviour towards others, including Yeong-eun herself. When So-hyun’s violent tendencies continue to escalate, Yeong-eun finds her life quickly spiraling out of control. Twenty years later: Min (KWON Yu-ri) and Hae-Young (LEE Seol), both orphans, meet at work and grow closer. As Min learns more about Hae-young’s past, she begins to suspect that the other woman is hiding something. 

This haunting, female-centric thriller explores loneliness and the yearning for familial connection. The film gained second place at the Korean box office after its opening day.

Content note: depiction of violence, animal cruelty

Yeong-gyeong (HAN Ye-ri) is an alcoholic, Su-hwan (KIM Seol-jin) is suffering from crippling rheumatoid arthritis. The two social outcasts meet at a wedding party: she gets drunk and he carries her home — marking the start of their all-consuming, desperate relationship. As both of them seek treatment for their respective problems, a tale of two broken beings unfolds, as they seek comfort in each other’s presence.

Spring Night is inspired by the eponymous novel written by KWON Yeo-sun. In this devastating story of addiction and human connection KANG Mi-ja creates an ethereal yet realistic drama about two lost souls incapable of change. Its simple cinematic style is contrasted with heartbreaking acting by the two main leads — HAN Ye-ri‘s acting has been recognized with an award at the Seoul Independent Film Festival.

Content note: depiction of alcoholism, mental illness

Young poet Dong-hwa (HA Seong-guk) and his girlfriend Chun-hee (KANG So-yi) visit her family home in the countryside for the first time as a couple. He is impressed by its beauty and grandeur. Chun-hee’s father (KWON Hae-hyo) invites Dong-hwa inside the house, where he meets Chun-hee’s entire family and stays for dinner. They discuss everything from poetry to his life plans. Dongh-wa gets so drunk that, in a fit of emotion, he spills everything that has been building up in his soul…

This drama about the connection between humanity and nature was screened in the main competition at the 2025 Berlinale – HONG Sang-soo’s eighth appearance at the festival. In his signature minimalist style, the director shows humorously how class inequality can disguise itself as a pastoral paradise.

 

Cheol-jun (CHO You-hyun) is in his late twenties and has recently started a new life in Seoul as a North Korean defector. His days are filled with university prep courses alongside other North Korean students. While he and his friends try to navigate South Korean society, Cheol-jun is also dealing with something else: he’s gay. Though he occasionally has one-night stands, he longs for a deeper connection to the queer community. At a get-together for gay men, he meets Yeong-jun (KIM Hyeon-mok), and a friendship begins to form. Through Yeong-jun’s friend group, Cheol-jun starts to feel more at ease with his identity. At the same time, he must learn to navigate insecurities and emotions like jealousy – while finding his place between two very different worlds.

In his debut feature, director PARK Joon-ho offers a sensitive character study of a young man searching for belonging and identity.

In post-apocalyptic United Korea, the sky is red and the sea is full of toxins. A giant wall separates the population of United Korea from the Omegas, people with fin-like mutations who must clean the sea of garbage and poison. Su-jin (KIM Pu-reum) is a new operative in an agency that hunts escaped Omegas. Mia (YEON Ye-ji) works in a colorful fish shop, selling her customers nostalgic memories of the sea when it was still clean. The lives of these two lonely souls intersect in the industrial landscape of United Korea and they slowly begin to question the  ideologies of their state.

PARK Sye-young’s first film, The Fifth Thoracic Vertebrae (2022), was an underground hit at the 12th Korean Film Festival Frankfurt. With The Fin, he has created a unique post-apocalyptic world that is both terrifying and dreamlike.

Content note: depiction of violence, gore

Yong-jun (HONG Kyung) works as a delivery boy in his parents‘ restaurant because he isn’t quite sure what he wants to do in his life after graduating. When he makes a delivery to a swimming pool, where deaf girls are training, he sees Yeo-reum (ROH Yoon-seo) and instantly falls in love with her. As luck would have it, the two meet again on the street and Yong-jun helps Yeo-reum with her broken scooter. They communicate using sign language. The two begin to get along well and do more and more things together. They realize that they are at similar points in their lives and have to ask themselves what they want to achieve in life and what their dreams are. But at some point Yeo-reum begins to distance herself from Yong-jun.

Hear Me: Our Summer, a Korean remake of a Taiwanese film from 2009, is a coming-of-age  story about  love and self-discovery.

Content note: depiction of ableism

The young fisherman Yong-su (PARK Jong-hwan) lives in a small village on the South Korean coast, where he works on the boat of grumpy fisherman Yeong-guk (YOON Joo-sang). One day he goes overboard, which causes quite a stir. While many in the village search for him, his mother (YANG Hye-kyun) refuses to accept that her son could be dead. In doing so, she almost disrupts her son’s carefully thought-out plan, through which he intended to fake his own death with Yeong-guk’s help in order to get his life insurance money. While Yeong-guk desperately tries to convince Yong-su’shis mother of her son’s supposed death, the web of lies tightens ever tighter…

The Land of Morning Calm is PARK Ri-woong’s second film following after The Girl on a Bulldozer (2022). In the film, he explores the lengths people will go to in order to create a better life for themselves and their loved ones.

Content note: depiction of violence, racism

YANG Jae-wan (SOL Kyung-gu) and YANG Jae-gyu (JANG Dong-gun) are two brothers whose lives could not be more different from each other. Jae-wan is a successful lawyer who is willing to help his wealthy clients get away with murder, while Jae-gyu is a pediatrician who values integrity and honesty. On the surface, each brother seems to have a normal family and despite their differences, their two children appear to get along well. However, as their children become involved in a viral scandal Jae-wan and Jae-gyu soon find their moral values tested and their homelife turned upside down.

In this chilling family drama, award-winning director HUR Jin-ho explores the extremes parents are willing to go to for their children. The film reflects on the thin line between right and wrong and how easily one’s conscience can falter when it comes to family matters. It is an adaptation of Dutch author Herman Koch’s bestselling novel The Dinner.  

Newly ordained priest Do-woon (SHIN Seung-ho), who was abandoned by his parents as a child, is confronted with a sinister revelation during his first confession: A young man confesses to gruesome acts and mentions Do-woon’s deceased mother in connection with them. Shortly thereafter, the man falls into a coma, and Do-woon embarks on a dangerous search for the truth. He stumbles upon a mysterious cult characterized by dark beliefs and bloody rituals. For Do-woon, the search for truth becomes an ordeal between his faith and the past.

A shocking mystery thriller from director BAEK Seung-hwan that begs the question: How far would you go for the people you love, and what are you willing to sacrifice to bring the truth to light?

Content note: depictions of violence, gore

Three young people embark on a journey to Jeju Island together to make up for a missed trip from their high school days. All three are failed K-Pop idols whose traumatic pasts haunt them and affect their lives to this day. When something unexpected happens on their first day, the unfortunate trio is forced to take on work on a tangerine farm while reflecting on their past, present and future.

Time to Be Strong is the second feature film by filmmaker SUN Namkoong and was commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission of South Korea. The film provides an exploration of the downside of the South Korean idol industry and its long-term consequences for idols. With minimalist storytelling and picturesque shots of Jeju Island, it is a bittersweet yet hopeful tale of seeking individual freedom.

Content note: depiction of suicide

Translator Taek-seon (BAE Doo-na) is in her thirties and has little interest in romance – until her mother and sister persuade her to go on a blind date with the chaotic doctor NAM Su-pil (SON Suk-ku). The meeting shows no spark and ends abruptly due to an emergency in Su-pil’s lab. When they run into each other again that same evening, Su-pil suddenly seems obsessed with her and even proposes marriage. Soon, Taek-seon notices unsettling changes in herself – and learns she has contracted a deadly virus from Su-pil that triggers uncontrollable feelings of love. Her only hope lies with Dr. LEE Kyun (KIM Yoon-seok), who is working on finding a cure.

KANG Yi-wan’s Virus was completed in 2019, but ironically its release was delayed by the real-life pandemic. It finally hit Korean theaters in May this year.

Places, films, memories – this found-footage documentary traces the ideology of anti-communism in South Korea, from its roots during the Korean War, to its consolidation under President PARK Chung-hee in the 1960s and 70s, to the present day. Director KIM Moo-young assembles footage from newsreels, educational films, propaganda and feature films, and also guides us through the remnants of anti-communist architecture. The Sense of Violence powerfully shows how people’s fears and concerns can breed violence and what role the media plays in the spreading of ideologies.

KIM Moo-young’s inspiration for the style of The Sense of Violence were the films of the German essay filmmaker Harun Farocki. The film clips KIM uses come from the archives of Korea TV (KTV).

Content note: depiction of violence, war

Nine people, all of different ages and all with different jobs, are the protagonists of this documentary about life and work within late capitalism. They recycle plastic, build mannequins, repair radios, take care of their children, work in a salt field, in a beer factory, in an office, in a snack bar. The workers‘ leisure time is also shown, during which they mostly consume various media content and avoid personal contacts. Looking to the future, this documentary also addresses increasing concerns about artificial intelligence, falling birth rates and global warming.

The title Works and Days refers to the epic didactic poem of the same name by the Greek poet and farmer Hesiod. The film is a collaboration and PARK Min-soo’s first documentary, while AHN Kearn-hyung has been making experimental documentaries since 2008.

Married detective JANG Hae-joon (PARK Hae-il) is investigating a fatal climbing accident. To solve the case, he interrogates the deceased’s much younger wife, SONG Seo-rae (TANG Wei), a chinese immigrant. Hae-joon suspects that she may have had something to do with his death, but Seo-rae has an alibi. Led by his intuition, Hae-joon observes her and slowly begins to feel attracted to the mysterious woman. The two grow closer, but the suspicion that she might have something to do with her husband’s death persists. When Seo-rae’s next husband dies a year later, Hae-joon once again finds himself caught between a murder case and his complicated feelings for Seo-rae.

Decision to Leave is PARK Chan-wooks homage to one of the greatest masters of cinema, Alfred Hitchcock. PARK’s neo-Noir film also features a seductive femme fatale, an obsessed police officer, and an exploration of moral boundaries.

Korea in the 1930s, under Japanese occupation: Conman Fujiwara (HA Jung-woo) recruits pickpocket Sok-hee (KIM Tae-ri) for a high-stakes scheme. Disguised as a maid, she is to help him win the hand of wealthy heiress Hideko (KIM Min-hee) so he can claim her fortune and have her committed to an asylum. But inside the opulent, secluded estate ruled by Hideko’s tyrannical uncle (CHO Jin-woong), an unexpected bond begins to form between the two women. What starts as a deception turns into a moral dilemma for Sok-hee – and both women hide secrets that could change everything.

Park Chan-wook’s gripping thriller premiered at numerous festivals before its theatrical release – including the 5th Korean Film Festival Frankfurt. With its intricate multi-perspective narrative, lavish production design, and stellar cast, the film continues to captivate audiences nearly a decade after its debut.

Content note: depicition of violence, death, suicide, explicit content