Annual women's film festival in Seoul to return with record lineup next month SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - The annual Seoul International Women's Film Festival (SIWFF) will open next month, organizers said Wednesday. Now in its 28th year, the weeklong festival will run from Aug. 20 to 26. It received a record number of submissions this year, with 4,115 films from 125 countries across competitive and noncompetitive sections. In the festival's main competition section for international features, eight films from China, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Kosovo, Mexi July 29, 2026

Netflix's 'The East Palace' rises to No. 2 on global non-English TV chart SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) -Netflix's Korean fantasy series "The East Palace" climbed to No. 2 on the platform's global Top 10 list for non-English television shows in its second week of release, drawing 8.1 million views and entering the Top 10 in 69 countries, according to Netflix's weekly rankings on Wednesday. The eight-part series, which premiered on July 17, stars Nam Joo-hyuk, Roh Yoon-seo and Cho Seung-woo in a supernatural mystery set in a royal palace. It July 29, 2026

Court rejects bid to block wider distribution of box office hit 'The King's Warden' SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - A Seoul court has rejected a bid to block further distribution of The King's Warden, clearing a legal obstacle to the historical drama's release on streaming services, home video and other platforms. The Seoul Western District Court dismissed an injunction sought by the family of a screenwriter who alleged that the film had copied the script of the 2000s television drama Eom Heung-do. The application was filed against co-producers Onda Works and BA July 24, 2026

South Korean coming-of-age drama to compete at Toronto film fest this fall SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - Director Yoon Dan-bi's "The World Before" will vie for an award at this fall's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the film's distributor at9 film said on Wednesday. Her second feature film will compete with 11 other films in the festival's Platform section and have its world premiere at the 51st edition of TIFF, which kicks off its 10-day run on Sept. 10. The festival's only competitive section spotlights "exc July 22, 2026

Netflix's 'The East Palace' debuts at No. 2 on global non-English TV chart SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - Netflix's Korean fantasy mystery series The East Palace debuted at No. 2 on the streamer's global Top 10 list for non-English television after drawing 4.9 million views in its first three days, marking a strong international start for Nam Joo-hyuk's first series since completing military service. Released on July 17, the eight-episode series also topped Netflix's daily rankings in South Korea and entered the Top 10 in 27 markets, including Ho July 22, 2026

Yeon Sang-ho's upcoming thriller invited to film fest in Toronto this fall SEOUL, July 21 (AJP) - Director Yeon Sang-ho's upcoming mystery thriller "Paradise Lost" has been invited to this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the film's distributor CJ ENM said on Tuesday. The 101-minute film will have its world premiere in the "Special Presentations" section of the 51st edition of TIFF, which will run from Sept. 10-20. It will mark Yeon's second consecutive appearance at TIFF after his mystery thriller & July 21, 2026

Korean titles make Netflix's most-watched in H1 SEOUL, July 21 (AJP) - South Korean productions remained among Netflix's biggest global draws in the first half of 2026, with two Korean series breaking into the platform's worldwide top 10 and multiple other titles attracting tens of millions of viewers, according to Netflix's latest engagement report. Legal drama "Teach You a Lesson" followed at No. 6 with 48 million views, making South Korea the only non-English market to place two July 21, 2026

Korean films reach Ivory Coast cinemas in rare west African expansion SEOUL, July 20 (AJP) - Two South Korean films have entered commercial release in Ivory Coast, marking the first time Korean historical and horror films have received regular theatrical releases in the West African country, the South Korean Embassy in Abidjan said Monday. The release represents a rare expansion of Korean cinema into sub-Saharan Africa, where commercial screenings of Korean films have remained limited despite the global rise of Korean popular culture. While Korean f July 20, 2026

Na Hong-jin's sci-fi thriller attracts over 2 million moviegoers in less than a week SEOUL, July 20 (AJP) - Director Na Hong-jin's latest film "Hope" has attracted over 2 million moviegoers less than a week after its release. According to ticket sales data released by the Korean Film Council on Monday, the sci-fi film drew 1.50 million moviegoers over the weekend to top the domestic box office chart, bringing its cumulative attendance to 2.13 million. The impressive start came after the film drew about 330,000 moviegoers last Wednesday, markin July 20, 2026

Na Hong-jin's sci-fi thriller off to good box-office start SEOUL, July 16 (AJP) - Director Na Hong-jin's return to the big screen got off to a strong start, as his sci-fi thriller "Hope" topped the South Korean box office, attracting more than 330,000 moviegoers on its opening day. According to ticket sales data released by the Korean Film Council on Thursday, "Hope" drew about 333,000 moviegoers the previous day, marking the strongest opening of any Korean film released this year. The impressive start surpassed d July 16, 2026