Filmart 2023: Korea buzz titles

As the film industry emerges from the doldrums of the pandemic, South Korean film exports rose to $71.4m in 2022, up 47% year-on-year, according to the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

The return of physical film festivals and markets, as well as the fact global OTTs have heightened viewers’ interest in Korean content around the world, are credited with the resurgence. Asia remained the biggest buyer of completed films, making up 48% of the total with $34.4m in sales.

Titles being showcased here in Hong Kong include horror fantasy The Sin, mystery drama While You Were Sleeping by award-winning director Chang Yoon-hyun, and romantic comedy Honeysweet written by Lee Byeong-heon, the director of South Korea’s second biggest box-office hit of all time, Extreme Job.

2 Percent
Dir Moon Sin-koo
After 2018’s award-winning Original Sin, director Moon returns with this drama about a first-time filmmaker who has managed to land a famous movie star for her debut feature. But when the star disappears a few days before the start of the shoot, the director has to lie and find the actor or lose this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The cast includes Nam Myeong-ryeol, Hur Ji-na, Kang Ji won, Gwon Hae-sung and You Da mi. Produced by MSK Contents, the film is planned for release this year.
Contact More In Group

Bear Man
Dir Park Sung-kwang
This action comedy is directed by former comedian Park and stars Park Sung-woong (New World) and Choi Min-soo. Based on the traditional Korean tale of a bear that transforms into a human, the film follows a retired policeman who is a ‘bear man’ as he goes up against a terrorist — who closely resembles him — threatening the world with a deadly virus. Now in post-production, the film is due for local release later this month.
Contact Julie Sung, kt alpha

Flowers Of Mold
Dir Shim Hye-jung
Starring former K-pop group Rainbow member Kim Jae-kyung and Hyun Woo, this drama from director Shim (A Bedsore) was an Asian Project Market 2020 selection. It centres on a betrayed woman who rummages through her neighbours’ garbage every night, believing it reveals more about people than they outwardly share. She starts to approach her next-door neighbour after detecting a sense of refinement in his trash. Produced by Sinae Film, Flowers Of Mold is looking at a local release in the second or third quarter.
Contact Jason Chae, Mirovision/Studio Bonanza

Honest People
Dir Kim Moon-Kyeong
This drama with tinges of black comedy stars Choi Bo-Yoon, Ryu Lee-Jae and Ki Se-Min. It follows a ghostwriter of résumé self-introductions that have a 99% acceptance rate, who suddenly receives complaints from a client for the first time in her life and is involved in an unexpected accident. Produced by J Plus B, the film is due for a local release in the third quarter of 2023.
Contact Jason Chae, Mirovision/Studio Bonanza 

Honeysweet
Dir Lee Han
This romantic comedy is directed by Lee Han, whose credits include Innocent Witness and Punch, and written by Lee Byeong-heon, director of South Korea’s second-biggest box-office hit Extreme Job. It stars Yoo Hai-jin (Confidential Assignment 2: International) as a gifted food developer who has grown sick of his daily routine, and Kim Hee-seon (Wanee And Junah) as a loan company spam caller. Coincidence brings the two together and they begin to share a side of life they never knew existed. Produced by Movierock (Be With You, Innocent Witness), Honeysweet is in post-production and due for local release this year.
Contact Barunson E&A

The Nature Man
Dir Noh Young-seok
This black comedy is from the director of Intruders (2014) and Daytime Drinking (2009), both of which played at Toronto, and stars Byun Jae-sin of Netflix’s Sweet Home season two and Jung Yong-hun from Zombie Fighter. It centres on two ghost-seeking YouTubers who are contacted by an old man who insists he sees ghosts deep in the forest where he lives. But the old man starts to act strangely after they meet him, and escape is not as easy as it seems. Produced by STONEwork, The Nature Man is completed and in the process of setting a release date.
Contact Finecut / festival@finecut.co.kr

She’s From Another Planet
Dir Koo Sang-Beom
Former K-pop group Gugudan member Shin Bo-ra stars in this romance drama as a young woman who believes she is a cosmic being and attempts to communicate with space every day from the park. Baek Seo-bin plays a young man who visits the park to seek revenge after his friend is hospitalised by the woman, but he falls for her the moment he sees her. Produced by Warm Front Film Productions, the film is looking at a local release in the second half of the year.
Contact Jason Chae, Mirovision/Studio Bonanza 

The Sin
Dir Han Dong-seok
Kim Yoon-hye stars in this horror fantasy about a woman who has been chosen to play the lead role in an experimental art film centred around her dance major. She and a college friend perform geometric dance routines as part of a shamanic ceremony according to the bidding of the film’s director, but their world is turned upside down after a team member falls from the roof and the seemingly lifeless body begins to move. The Sin, in post-production, is due for release in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Contact Julie Sung, kt alpha 

A Tour Guide
Dir Kwak Eunmi
The feature directorial debut of Kwak Eunmi stars Lee Sul (The Cursed: Dead Man’s Prey) as a North Korean defector in her twenties who secures a tour-guide interpreter’s licence in South Korea because of her ability to speak Chinese. After a good start, challenges arise as she loses touch with her brother and the number of Chinese tourists decreases due to political tension between South Korea and China. The film also features Oh Gyeong-hwa (Miracle) and Park Se-hyun (The Anchor). Produced by the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA) with the backing of the Korean Film Council (Kofic), the film is set to world premiere at the 2023 Florence Korean Film Fest.
Contact Finecut / festival@finecut.co.kr 

While You Were Sleeping
Dir Chang Youn-hyun
From the award-winning director of Hwang Jin Yi and The Contact, this mystery drama features Netflix stars Choo Ja-hyun of Little Women and Lee Mu-saeng from The Silent Sea. It revolves around a woman living with amnesia after an accident, who traces her novelist husband’s steps after he dies tragically while on a trip. She is shocked to discover certain aspects of his life but the process helps regain her memory. Produced by Logline Studio, the film is set for release later this year.
Contact Finecut / festival@finecut.co.kr

• Filmart 2023: Hong Kong and China buzz titles