By Woo Jae-yeon
Korean films saw a resurgence in 2024, with Jang Jae-hyun’s supernatural thriller “Exhuma” and “The Roundup: Punishment,” the fourth installment of the action-crime franchise starring Ma Dong-seok, both surpassing 10 million admissions nationwide.
However, this milestone wasn’t repeated last year. While “My Daughter is a Zombie” was the biggest domestic hit with 5.64 million viewers, highly anticipated films like Bong Joon-ho’s “Mickey 17” and Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” underperformed, attracting 3.1 million and 2.94 million viewers, respectively.
These figures highlight challenges faced by the South Korean film industry.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, annual admissions were consistently above 200 million, reaching a peak of 226 million in 2019, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).
This number dramatically decreased to 51 million in 2020. While there was partial recovery to 115 million in 2022, it slipped again to 106 million last year.
Positively, mid-sized films targeting niche audiences performed well last year, showcasing the potential for a more diverse cinematic landscape with a broader range of genres and styles.
Yeon Sang-ho’s ultra-low budget film “The Ugly” attracted 1.07 million viewers, and the indie film “The World Of Love” drew 200,000 viewers, a strong result for an independent film.
The success of “The King’s Warden” after a disappointing year for Korean cinema is hoped to inject momentum into upcoming domestic film releases.
Upcoming releases include Na Hong-jin’s sci-fi mystery “Hope,” starring Hwang Jung-min and Zo In-sung. This marks Na’s return after “The Wailing” (2016), revolving around mysterious events in a demilitarized zone port village.
Also anticipated is Im Sang-soo’s “Heaven: To the Land of Happiness,” the story of an escaped convict (Choi Min-sik) and a patient (Park Hae-il) on an unexpected journey after acquiring a large sum of money.
“The King’s Warden’s” success, with its 10.5 billion won (US$7.11 million) production budget, highlights the importance of government support for mid-sized films.
With increasingly polarized box office returns and a slow post-COVID recovery, the government introduced its first support program for mid-budget productions last year.
The budget has been doubled to 20 billion won this year as part of wider efforts to revitalize the Korean film industry and reinforce what KOFIC Chairman Han Sang-joon calls the “backbone of Korean cinema.”
Whether “The King’s Warden” represents a turning point or just a fleeting success remains to be seen. However, it offers a positive reminder of the impact of well-told stories on the big screen for an industry seeking signs of optimism.
