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Fans of Korean movies have a lot to look forward to in 2022. As streamers like Netflix continue investing in South Korean content and projects with stacked casts get U.S. distribution, new Korean films ranging from sweet rom-coms to thrilling spy flicks to heart-wrenching dramas are making their way to our screens. Ahead, the best movies to look out for this year (and once you’ve made your way through them, consult our guide to the best K-dramas).
‘Love and Leashes’
Two idol actors (Girls’ Generation’s Seohyn and U-KISS’ Lee Jun-young) star in this rom-com about two co-workers pursuing a BDSM partnership. Ji-woo is forming a crush on new colleague Ji-hoo when she accidentally receives his package, containing a human-sized dog collar. Instead of freaking out, she becomes interested in BDSM, and Ji-hoo asks her to enter a dominant/submissive relationship. Will the pair stick with BDSM, or take their relationship to a romantic level?
‘The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure’
This remake/sequel to the hit 2014 film follows another group of swashbuckling antiheroes in 14th century Korea. When self-proclaimed “good bandit” Wu Mu-chi (Kang Ha-neul) and his men are marooned in the middle of the ocean, they’re rescued by pirate captain Hae-rang (Happiness‘ Han Hyo-joo) and her crew. The two groups stumble upon a map to a lost royal treasure and band together to recover it, going up against a mercenary crew lead by the villain Bu Heung-soo (Kwon Sang-woo).
‘Yaksha: Ruthless Operations’
Squid Game‘s Park Hae-soo and GOT7’s Jin-young co-star in this spy-against-spy action thriller set in a northeastern Chinese city. Former lead prosecutor Han Ji-hoon (Park) is recently demoted to a legal aid position with Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS). While working in a city near the North Korean border, he gets wrapped up into a world where spies from the north, the south, China, Japan, Russia, and even the US wage war over government secrets. The titular Yaksha, played by Sol Kyung-gu, is the city’s ruthless NIS’ operative who brings Ji-hoon onto his team.
‘Midnight’
Before he portrayed a hero cop on Squid Game, Wi Ha-jun played a deranged serial killer in this 2021 thriller that’s just hitting VOD in the U.S. Do Shik’s latest target is Kyung Mi (Jin Ki-joo), a young deaf woman who lives with her deaf mother (Kil Hae-yeon), and witnesses him in the process of killing another victim. The unique thriller tells the story from Kyung Mi’s perspective, using sound mixing and sign language to show how the heroine evades the killer’s hunt.
‘Carter’
(Image credit: Netflix)
This upcoming film from action director Jung Byung-gil (The Villainess, Confession of Murder) follows Carter, a top intelligence agent who wakes up one day having completely lost his memory. He’s then thrown into a huge mission, as he works through his amnesia while trying to unravel the mission’s countless mysteries.
Premiere: TBD on Netflix
‘JUNG_E’
(Image credit: Netflix)
This dystopian thriller from Train to Busan and Hellbound director Yeon Sang-ho takes place on a 22nd century Earth that’s no longer inhabitable due to climate change. In the middle of desolation, a war between survivors breaks out in the humans’ only shelter. The only way to win and end the war lies in cloning the legendary mercenary JUNG_E into an immortal robot.
Premiere: TBD on Netflix
‘Seoul Vibe’
(Image credit: The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images)
This action-packed film takes place in 1988, on the day of the Seoul Summer Olympics’ opening ceremony. In the middle of the festivities, the Sanggye-dong Supreme Team are investigating the movement of illegal slush funds. Seoul Vibe‘s all-star cast includes Hellbound and Burning star Yoo Ah-in, Reply 1988’s Ko Gyung-pyo, and Extracurricular‘s Park Ju-hyun.
Premiere: TBD on Netflix
’20th Century Girl’
(Image credit: Netflix)
This rom-com starts in 1999, when 17-year-old Na Bo-ra (Lovers of the Red Sky‘s Kim Yoo-jung) meets her first love, Hyun Jin (Hospital Playlist‘s Park Jung Woo). Years later, after their sweet but heartbreaking relationship, she meets him again, and it revives the teenage romance that was almost forgotten.
Premiere: TBD on Netflix
‘Broker’
(Image credit: THE FACT/Imazins via Getty Images)
Esteemed Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu will release his first Korean film this year, depicting a series of unexpected encounters surrounding a baby box, a small space where parents can leave behind their babies anonymously. The movie’s highly anticipated for its all-star cast, including Parasite star Song Kang-ho, IU, Kingdom and Sense8 star Bae Doona, Gang Dong-won, and Itaewon Class‘ Lee Ju-young.
Premiere: TBA (world premiere at Cannes Film Festival)
‘Decision to Leave’
(Image credit: Han Myung-Gu/WireImage)
Returning with his first Korean film since 2016’s The Handmaiden, Park Chan-wook directs this story about a police officer (The Host‘s Park Hae-il) investigating a crime that took place in the mountains. When he meets the victim’s wife, played by Tang Wei, the officer develops mixed emotions of both suspicion and interest.
Premiere: TBA (world premiere at Cannes Film Festival)
‘The Hunt’
(Image credit: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae makes his directoral debut and stars in this 1980s-set spy thriller. As an elite South Korean agent (Lee) hunts for a North Korea spy, he becomes increasingly aware of his own country’s dark truths. Innocent Witness star Jung Woo-sung, who co-founded the entertainment agency Artist Company with Lee, also stars.
Premiere: TBA (world premiere at Cannes Film Festival)
‘Concrete Utopia’
(Image credit: Han Myung-Gu/WireImage)
Another film highly-anticipated for its jam-packed cast, the disaster-action film Concrete Utopia is expected to come out this year. After a massive earthquake demolishes Seoul, survivors gather in the only apartment building that’s still standing. Squid Game’s Lee Byung-hun, Itaewon Class‘ Park Seo-jun, and Strong Woman Do Bong-soon‘s Park Bo-young lead the cast.
Premiere: TBD
‘Wonderland’
(Image credit: The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images)
Another highly-anticipated film, Wonderland depicts a virtual world of the same name, where people to reunite with a person they may not meet again by using artificial intelligence. The cast includes Squid Game‘s Gong Yoo, Miss A’s Bae Suzy, Record of Youth‘s Park Bo-gum, Parasite‘s Choi Woo-shik, and Tang Wei.
Premiere: TBD
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