11. Hostage: Missing Celebrity (dir. Pil Kam-sung)
Massive box-office draw Hwang Jung-min will be seen in two different projects this year. While “The Point Men” which we spoke about in our list last year has been postponed to this year, the other title “Hostage: Missing Celebrity” is an interesting one, a realistic thriller that sees Hwang play himself, a superstar who gets kidnapped after a VIP movie premiere. He first thinks that someone is playing pranks, but the kidnappers' cruelty helps him realise that the abduction is no joke. He tries to find his way out, while the kidnappers demand him a huge amount of ransom within 24 hours. Director Pil Kam-sung says the project is envisioned as a roller coaster of various sentiments.
12. INTRODUCTION (dir. Hong Sang-soo)
It's not really a calender year if a Hong Sang-soo film doesn't creep up on your unannounced! “Introduction” screened at the Berlinale earlier this year, but a wider release is anticipated in the coming months.
13. The Match (dir. Kim Hyeong-joo)
Kim Hyeong-joo may only be one-film-old as a director, but that has not stopped him from enlisting a mouthwatering leading duo of Lee Byung-hun and Yoo Ah-in for his sophomore effort “The Match”. The story revolves around the traditional board game Go and Lee plays Cho Hun-hyun, a 9-dan Go player and one of the greatest to ever play the game and a match in which he was pitted against his apprentice Lee Chang-ho, played by Yoo Ah-in.
14. Soulmate (dir. Min Yong-keun)
A remake of Hong Kong director Derek Tsang's debut feature “SoulMate” sees two best friends fall in love for the same guy. A key part of the appeal of the original was its excellent central pairing of Zhou Dongyu and Ma Sichun and director Min Yong-keun will be hoping that his inspired casting of rising starlet Kim Da-mi (“The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion“), who takes the role played by Zhou Dongyu, and Jeon So-nee, who impressed in “After My Death“, will be able to recreate the same magic in his Korean adaptation.
15. The Pirates: Goblin Flag (dir. Kim Jeong-hoon)
Bye bye Son Ye-jin and Kim Nam-gil, Hello Kang Ha-neul and Han Hyo-joo! “The Pirates” released in the wake of the massive success of “The Admiral” back in summer 2014, but ended up being a hit. The much delayed sequel completely changes things around, with a new cast, director and story. Production wrapped in January this year and a late release in anticipated for this action comedy.
16. Confidential Assignment 2: International (dir. Lee Seok-hoon)
Speaking of “The Pirates”, one of the reasons the original director did not return is because he had another sequel on his hands, that of the smash hit action comedy “Confidential Assignment“. Once again, the sequel sees Hyun Bin's North Korean detective Im Cheol-ryeong and South Korea's bumbling detective Kang Jin-tae, played by the inimitable Yoo Hae-jin, team up to take down a brutal and elaborate criminal organisation, this time with the help of US FBI agent Jack, played by Daniel Henney. Yoon also joins in on the fun.
17. In the Name of the Son (dir. Lee Jeong-gook)
This is an interesting title for a few reasons. Veteran star Ahn Sung-ki return to the thriller genre with a film that incorporates the Gwangju Uprising into the narrative. Ahn plays a man who was a riot police officer during the May 18 pro-democracy movement, repenting after suffering from a sense of guilt, and avenging for those who were responsible during that time. The film is scheduled for a May, 2021 release and may coincide with the 41st anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising.
18. Remember (dir. Lee Il-hyeong)
Some more OAP revenge, this time coming from Lee Sung-min, whose character lost everything because of someone during the Japanese occupation of Korea era. The old man decides to take revenge on the person who caused his pain. A younger man, played by Nam Joo-hyuk, helps the old man in his plan. This will be Lee Il-hyeong second feature after the Hwang Jung-min and Gang Dong-won starring “A Violent Prosecutor”.
19. The Policeman's Lineage (dir. Lee Kyoo-man)
Choi Woo-shik builds on the “Parasite” hype, this time teaming up with Cho Jin-woong for a police procedural about two cops with different methods forming a team to investigate a case that turns the police force upside down.
20. King Maker (dir. Byun Sung-hyun)
Sol Kyung-gu rvteams with “The Merciless” director Byun Sung-hyun for the political drama “King Maker”, which sees Lee sun-hyun's campaign manager help Sol Kyung-gu's politician become the President of the country. If the leading men are reason enough to watch this, their supporting cast is equally exquisite, with both Yoo Jae-myung and Jo Woo-jin playing important roles.
21. One Win (dir. Shin Young-shick)
Song Kang-ho opts for a change of scenery, moving from tentpole films to indie cinema as he joins hands with indie supremo Shin Young-schik for not one but two different projects. The first to be released will be “One Win”, another sports drama this year which sees Song play an unsuccessful volleyball coach who takes on the challenge of leading a woman's volleyball team that is in search of just one crucial win on the court. Park Jung-min co-stars, as does Song's “Parasite” co-star Park Myung-hoon and Jang Yoon-joo in her first leading role, who's coming off the back of a much-praised performance in “Three Sisters“.
