Something for everyone as Netflix Korea announces 2025 K-film lineup

Netflix Korea held a press event, dubbed “Next on Netflix: 2025 Korean Films,” last week at Park Hyatt Busan in tandem with the 29th Busan International Film Festival. During the event, the Korean film lineup for next year was unveiled, with directors of the upcoming projects introducing their works.

The upcoming seven films are the occult thriller “Revelations,” the thriller “Wall to Wall,” the teen romance “Love Untangled,” true-story based “Good News,” the natural disaster film “The Great Flood,” the action film “Mantis” and the animated film “Lost in Starlight.”

“Personally, I thought of creating the works slated to be released next year by using very little CGI,” Yeon said. “I believe that ‘Revelations’ will be that one. I think the film will be complete through a totally different approach from my previous works.”

The director also praised actors Ryu and Shin for their dedication to the film, saying, “Both actors were committed to portraying the raw emotions in the film, that they even insisted on appearing with almost no makeup, putting tremendous effort into achieving a high level of realism.”

A thriller film that viewers should expect next year is “Wall to Wall,” directed by Kim Tae-joon. The film follows the story of Woo-seong, who purchased a house by going all in, but the happiness of owning a home shortly turns into a nightmare as he faces mysterious noises from his neighboring floors. Actors Kang Ha-neul and Yeom Hye-ran are set to appear in the film.

As the film touches on a common issue in Korean society, inter-floor noise, and within an apartment, a very standardized area, director Kim said that he put a lot of thought into making the main stage realistic but also cinematic.

“The apartment space is quite standardized, and the structure and finishes are, from a cinematic perspective, rather uninteresting,” director Kim said. “So, we aimed to express this space as diversely as possible while maintaining a realistic tone, which our staff and I did a lot of research to achieve.”

Another thriller set for release on Netflix is a true-story-based film tentatively titled “Good News.” The film, directed by Byun Sung-hyun, who was behind the Netflix film “Kill Boksoon” (2023), is set in 1970 and follows the story of three people planning a suspicious operation to land a hijacked airplane. The film features actors Sul Kyung-gu, Hong Kyung and Ryoo Seung-bum.

The film is actor Sul and director Byun’s fourth collaboration following films “The Merciless” (2017), “Kingmaker” (2020) and “Kill Boksoon.”

“When first meeting with Sul through the film ‘The Merciless,’ I had a strong desire to straighten out the wrinkled Sul by dressing him in a suit to look sharp at the time,” director Byun said. “However, these days, he seems too straightened out, which sparked my ambition to crumple him up again, and I plan to do so with this film.”

Science fiction disaster film “The Great Flood,” directed by Kim Byung-woo of films “The Terror, LIVE” (2013) and “Take Point” (2018), is also slated to be released next year on Netflix. The film is set on the last day of Earth when a great flood sweeps the planet. Actor Kim Da-mi and Park Hae-soo are slated to appear in the movie.

The film might start off with a natural disaster but will not end with it, according to the director, hinting at the film’s deep message, though he avoids telling more details due to spoilers.

“My initial idea was to explore a story that can be very complex, but also that can be incredibly simple through the genre of disaster,” the director said.

Additionally, Netflix’s “Kill Boksoon” returns with a spinoff next year, tentatively titled “Mantis.”

Directed by Lee Tae-sung, the action film revolves around an ace assassin Mantis, who returns to the hired killer industry after a vacation. The film will feature Yim Si-wan, Park Gyu-young and Jo Woo-jin.

For those who don’t like to sit on the edge of their sofa, Netflix also prepared two love story films, “Love Untangled” and “Lost in Starlight.”

“Lost in Starlight” will be Netflix’s first-ever Korean animated film, directed by Han Ji-won, who is well-known in the Korean indie animation scene and competed in the Sundance Film Festival in 2023 with her animated short “The Sea on the Day When the Magic Returns.” (2022)

The animation is set in 2050 and tells the long-distance love story between a scientist and a musician. The characters’ voices were acted by actors Kim Tae-ri and Hong Kyung.

“It has been quite rare to see Korean animations in theaters specifically made for adults or older teens,” director Han said, explaining its release being an animated film for a more mature audience after a long time.

Director Namkoong emphasized that viewers should look forward to the high synchronization of the characters and actors, saying, “They truly seem like people who were born to play those characters.”

As seven films are slated to be released, Netflix Korea’s director of content for films revealed its two values when selecting next year’s films: entertainment and viewers.

“Our team is dedicated to finding stories that are universally entertaining yet have a unique spark, and based on this philosophy, we select, decide on, and invest in films that align with these values,” he said.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]