With An Enormous Line-Up

 The year 2022 is shaping up to be a big year for the Korean film industry, with an enormous line-up of films coming to theatres. These include a number of delayed blockbusters rescheduled for release in 2022 because of the pandemic, such as Emergency Declaration, Life is Beautiful and Hero.

New releases by directors like Kim Han-min, Choi Dong-hoon and Kim Yong-hwa will provide viewers with a wider selection. Some actors will also expand their talents behind the camera for their feature directorial debuts.

Long-awaited movie sequels will be among the biggest releases of 2022.

The Pirates: Goblin Flag, a sequel to the 2014 action film, The Pirates, will be coming to theatres on January 26. The upcoming film, featuring Kang Ha-neul and Han Hyo-joo, promises a new adrenaline-pumping storyline and a cast of fresh faces. The previous movie, starring Son Ye-jin and Kim Nam-gil, garnered about 8.7 million in ticket sales in 2014.

The Roundup, the sequel to the 2017 crime action film, The Outlaws, is slated for release in the first half of 2022. Ma Dong-seok, also known as Don Lee in the US, will appear in a reprise of his iconic role as Ma Seok-do, while Son Suk-ku will newly join the cast as the villain. The Outlaws attracted more than 6.9 million film-goers in 2017.

Confidential Assignment 2, a follow-up to the 2017 action comedy flick, Confidential Assignment, will be arriving this year. It revolves around North Korean detective Lim Cheol-ryung (Hyun Bin) who joins hands with South Korean police detective Kang Jin-tae (Yoo Hai-jin) to complete a secret mission. The first instalment racked up 7.8 million ticket sales in 2017.

A few films that involved overseas filming during the pandemic will finally be released.

The Point Men, featuring actors Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin, is based on a real event in Afghanistan that took place in 2007, when 23 South Korean missionaries were captured and held hostage. The film production of the hostage crisis drama, shot at least partly in Jordan, had been delayed due to the spread of the coronavirus. It is expected to hit theatres in the second half of 2022.

Crime drama film Bogota: City of the Lost, featuring Song Joong-ki, will be unveiled this year. It experienced production disruptions due to the pandemic. As the film tells the story of Koreans who migrated to Colombia in the 1990s in search of a better life, the filming began in January 2020 in Colombia. However, the production team shut down production a few months later, as the pandemic forced film and TV shoots to pause their work. The production resumed in June of last year in Korea and finished filming in October.

Choi Dong-hoon, the director behind the commercially successful films, The Thieves (2012) and Assassination, (2015) will present sci-fi crime flick Alien, a two-part blockbuster about aliens living in Korea that travel back in time to the Joseon era (1392-1910). The leading cast includes Kim Tae-ri, Ryu Jun-yeol and Kim Woo-bin.

Director Kim Han-min, the mastermind behind Roaring Currents (2014), is returning with another naval epic, Hansan: Rise of the Dragon, that centers on the legendary historical figure, Admiral Yi Sun-sin. Roaring Currents (2014) is by far the highest-grossing film in Korea, having garnered over 17 million film-goers.

Kim Yong-hwa, the director behind the success of the Along with the Gods franchise, will return with The Moon, a sci-fi blockbuster that features an all-star cast, including Seol Kyung-gu, Kim Hee-ae and Exo’s D.O.

Kang Je-kyu, whose early film Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War (2004) drew 10 million viewers, will bring out a new film, Boston 1947, which chronicles the stories of Korean athletes during the Boston Marathon in 1947.

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae and actor Jung Woo-sung, who most recently produced Netflix’s original series, The Silent Sea, will make their directorial debuts this year, respectively.

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In his debut action film Hunt, set in the 1980s when the authoritarian regime was at its peak, Lee will play elite agent Park Pyung-ho, who chases after a North Korean spy while coming to terms with the truth about his country.

Jung’s debut film Guardian follows the story of a man who tries to protect his estranged daughter, who is kidnapped by a killer for hire.