An AI-themed film from Yeon Sang-ho and an occult thriller from the team behind blockbuster Exhuma are among the titles being launched in Busan by Korean sellers.
Festival
Beach Fictions
Dir. Lim Ha-yeon
This drama, playing in Busan’s Competition section, follows a young woman who flees to a seaside town, meeting strangers on her journey including a novelist, a street magician and a fortune teller. The film, starring Park Han-sol (Moving), Kim Woo-kyum (Next Sohee) and Ye Su-jeong, marks the feature debut of director Lim, who also wrote the screenplay. It is produced through the Korean Academy of Film Arts.
Contact: Hive Filmworks
Cattle Run
Dir. Kim Ji-hyun
Two brothers who run separate ranches are forced to reunite after 30 years apart when both are caught up in an unexpected crisis. Cattle Run plays in the Korean Cinema Today section, and the cast is led by Ryu Seung-ryong (Life Is Beautiful) and Park Hae-jun (Yadang: The Snitch). Yongfilm produces the feature debut of Kim, who is better known as a TV drama director with credits including Splash Splash Love.
Contact: Lotte Entertainment
Earbug
Dir. Kim Hyomi
This animated fantasy follows an aspiring novelist who struggles to write her story about an alien in search of love because she herself does not understand the feeling. The voice cast is led by Jeong Ji-in, Beom Do-ha, Kim Dha-sol and Lee Kyoung-do. Playing in Vision — Korea, it marks the directorial feature debut of Kim, whose 2022 short Tarantuner screened in competition at Busan International Short Film Festival. Earbug is produced through the Korean Academy of Film Arts.
Contact: M-Line Distribution
Final Interview
Dir. Kim Jeong-hoon
Based on award-winning Japanese novel The Final Six by Akinari Asakura, this thriller centres on six college students who are up for a job at a global company. Mysterious envelopes arrive on the day of the final interviews, each containing one of their secrets, as suspicion spreads among the group. The ensemble cast comprises Cho Yi-hyun, Kim Jae-won, Shin Seung-ho, Kang You-seok, Kwak Dong-yeon and Bae Gang-hee. Playing in Korean Cinema Today — Panorama, it is produced by Covenant Pictures with a local release planned in November.
Contact: Contents Panda
Long Long Night
Dir. Youm Kyu-bock
Playing in Competition, this 3D animated feature follows a rhino who forms an unlikely bond with a penguin as they set out on a journey towards the ocean. The story is based on an award-winning 2020 Korean novel by Ru Ri, which sold 800,000 copies and has been adapted into a stage musical. The voice cast is led by pop star Suzy, whose Seven O’Clock Breakfast Club For The Brokenhearted competed at Busan last year. The animation marks the feature debut of director Youm.
Contact: Finecut
Nowhere To Lay My Eyes
Dir. Hong Sangsoo
After winning three prizes at Locarno in August, including best director, the 35th feature by Hong lands in Busan’s Icons section. The Jeju Island-set drama centres on a family reunion that grows increasingly awkward as time passes. It reunites Hong regulars Choi Myeonggil and Kim Minhee. Produced by Jeonwonsa Film, a local release is set for October 21.
Contact: Finecut
Paradise Lost
Dir. Yeon Sang-ho
Director Yeon’s second film of the year, after action horror Colony, receives a Gala Presentation here. The thriller follows a mother who recreates her deceased son using AI, only for the real child to return nine years later. The cast is led by Kim Hyun-joo and Bae Hyeon-seong, both from Yeon’s Netflix series Hellbound. The director previously won three prizes at Busan with animation The King Of Pigs in 2011. Produced by Yeon’s Wowpoint, Paradise Lost will receive a local release on October 21 through CJ ENM.
Contact: CJ ENM
Sapiens
Dir. Lee Hu-bin
A man who shares his body with four different identities wakes up with blood-soaked hands and the word ‘Run!’ scrawled on a mirror. He becomes the prime suspect after the disappearance of a wealthy man and must interrogate his own identities to reveal the truth. Playing in Korean Cinema Today, the Twinfilm-produced thriller stars Jung Sung-il (The Glory), You Chea-myung (Harbin) and Park Myung-hoon (Parasite). Director Lee’s credits include Disney+ series No Way Out: The Roulette.
Contact: Hive Filmworks
Shaving
Dir. Kim Jung-hoon
A traumatised writer and her lover confront a monstrous presence from her nightmares in this horror feature, which plays in Competition. The cast includes Roh Jeong-eui (Badland Hunters), Show Kasamatsu (Good News), Byun Yo-han (Hansan: Rising Dragon) and Shin Ryu-jin from K-pop group Itzy. It is Kim’s second feature after Tinker Ticker, which premiered at Tokyo in 2013, and is produced by Star Platinum, the banner behind Netflix black comedy Good News. A release is planned before the end of the year.
Contact: Contents Panda
Sinner
Dir. Hong Sung-min
Playing in Korean Cinema Today — Panorama, this drama follows a nominee for minister of justice who begins to uncover the truth behind a closed case linked to a letter written by Korea’s last death-row inmate. The cast is led by Jung Sung-il and includes recent International Emmy nominee Park Ji-hyun from You And Everything Else and Lee Jun-young. It marks the feature directorial debut of Hong.
Contact: Redice Entertainment
Still Shining
Dir. Song Il-gon
This drama interweaves the story of two teens during the 1940s Japanese colonial period with their elderly lives in the present day. Screening in the Korean Cinema Today — Panorama section, it stars Kim Hye-ja from Bong Joon Ho’s Mother alongside Park Seo-kyung. Still Shining is the first fiction feature in 15 years from director Song, whose romantic drama Always opened Busan in 2011. A local release is set for October 21.
Contact: M-Line Distribution
Market
Devotion
Dirs. Yeon Sang-ho, Yoon Young-woo
After an influencer vanishes on a camping trip, her sister stumbles on the abandoned ruins of a shadowy cult as reality begins to unravel. Moon Geun-young reunites with Hellbound creator Yeon in her first lead film role in nine years. Co-directed by debut filmmaker Yoon, Devotion also stars Ko A-sung (Snowpiercer) and Kim Si-a (Kill Boksoon). It is in post ahead of a planned release in 2027.
Contact: Showbox
Guardians Of The Video Game
Dir. Uhm Young-sik
This 3D animated adventure centres on a secret organisation that protects the world of video games. It follows an exiled ‘guardian’ who must aid the hero of an old gaming title. Kim Da-ol and Shin Yong-woo lead the voice cast, and the story is based on a Naver webtoon by Gasfard, which ran from 2014‑21 with 345 million views. Uhm co-directed Red Shoes And The Seven Dwarfs, which sold worldwide in 2019.
Contact: Finecut
Killing Time
Dir. Jang Jun-yeop
This horror thriller centres on a YouTuber crew’s quest for viral fame, but their sensationalist content takes a dark turn when mysterious figures make a dangerous proposal. Killing Time, starring Ryu Hye-young (The Mayor) and Nam Yoon-su (TV’s Love In The Big City), premiered at Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in July and is set to release locally on October 21. Director Jang’s credits include 2018 drama After Spring.
Contact: Redice Entertainment
Maiden Home
Dir. Sinn Kirin
This Korea-Indonesia occult horror stars Indonesian scream queen Abigail Asmara of Impetigore and the Satan’s Slaves franchise as well as Stone Turtle. The story centres on a mail-order bride whose older Korean husband takes their family back to her village in rural Indonesia, only to find the balance of power between husband and wife shift in supernatural ways. The debut feature of director Sinn is in pre-production.
Contact: Plus M Entertainment
My Killer Crush
Dir. Kim Jin-hwa
This quirky romance centres on a high-school senior who wants to die and asks a mysterious transfer student to arrange the perfect accidental death. The cast is led by rising stars Kim Jae-won of Yumi’s Cells season three and Chung Su-bin from Berlinale 2024 award winner It’s Okay. Kim directs and co-writes her second feature following 2022’s Missing Yoon. It is produced by Acemaker Movieworks with co-producers Andmarq and Initium Corporation. A release is planned for 2027.
Contact: Barunson E&A
Snow In June
Dir. Kim Hyung-hyupIn this fantasy romance, a man unexpectedly meets his first love — a woman who died in a car accident three years earlier. Realising the past and present have become intertwined, he takes her on an impossible journey across Mongolia. The cast is led by Jeong Jin-woon, seen in recent box-office smash The King’s Warden, and Tselmeg Tserendulam. It is Kim’s second feature after 2025’s Choir Of God and is a rare Korea-Mongolia co-production. A local release is set for November 28.
Contact: Redice Entertainment
Stoneborn
Dir. Lee Deok-chanThe team behind horror blockbuster Exhuma returns with an occult mystery starring Jongseo Jeon (Burning) and Sul Kyung-gu (Possible Love). The story centres on a mysterious stone said to grant any wish, which torments a grieving woman who returns to her hometown where she uncovers a disturbing truth. Stoneborn is the debut feature of writer/director Lee. Produced by Cinematic Moment and Pinetown Production, it is in post-production ahead of a local release in 2027.
Contact: Barunson E&A
Tazza: The Song Of Beelzebub
Dir. Choi Kook-heeThe fourth and final instalment in the hit Korean crime franchise follows two best friends-turned-enemies, set against the backdrop of the international poker circuit. The cast is led by Byun Yo-han (Hansan: Rising Dragon), Roh Jae-won (Squid Game), Ayaka Miyoshi (Dance With Me) and Jo Woo-jin (Harbin). Released over the Chuseok holiday on September 23, The Song Of Beelzebub has proved a box-office hit, crossing one million admissions and earning $7.5m in its first week.
Contact: CJ ENM
Teen Cop
Dir. Yang Jun-hoThis action comedy follows a young-looking undercover detective and an older-looking student who team up to investigate a hit-and-run at a high school. Yoon Kyung-ho (My Daughter Is A Zombie) stars alongside Kim Hye-yoon (Salmokji: Whispering Water). Producer Sanai Pictures was behind 2013 hit crime thriller New World, on which Yang Jun-ho was assistant director. Teen Cop marks his feature-directing debut, and is in post ahead of a local release later this year.
Contact: Contents Panda
The Uninvited
Dir. Heo JungAfter newlyweds move into a new home, a shaman reveals one of them is possessed. The starry cast is led by Byun Yo-han (Hansan: Rising Dragon), Ahn Jae-hong (The King’s Warden) and Ha Yoon-kyoung (Undercover Miss Kong). Heo directed 2013’s Hide And Seek and 2017’s The Mimic. The Uninvited is produced by A-Lister Studio and B.A. Entertainment, the banner behind The Roundup franchise and this year’s box-office leader The King’s Warden. Now in post-production, a release is set for later this year.
Contact: CJ 4DPlex
White Blast
Dirs. Hong Eui-jeong, Park Sun-wooThis thriller marks the second feature from Hong after Voice Of Silence, which won best film at Fantasia in 2021. Co-directed with debutant Park, White Blast is set at a remote train station where a veteran station master awaits his replacement. News breaks that local convicts have escaped, just as a man arrives claiming to be the new employee. The cast includes Kim Yun-seok (Escape From Mogadishu) and Koo Kyo-hwan (Colony). It is in post-production ahead of a release in November.
Contact: Showbox
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