Top 10 Korean Films of 2014

2014 was an interesting year for Korean cinema. From a financial standpoint, the industry remained strong and produced its most successful film of all time (Roaring Currents), even if sales weren't quite able to reach the peaks of the preceding two years. However, from a qualitative angle, the picture was far less rosy. Early in the year, studio slates looked promising but many of the finished products, while undeniably polished, felt overworked and lacked originality. This speaks to growing concerns over corporate influence in the industry's current creative streak. Some feel that talented and especially younger filmmakers aren't being afforded the freedom they used to.

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News: Three Wins for South Korean Cinema at this Year's Berlin Film Festival

By Rex Baylon

As the Berlin International Film Festival closes its doors for another year Korean cinema was not completely left out of the loop, even if no films from South Korea made it into the main festival competition. Two documentaries A Dream of Iron and Non Fiction Diary both took home a NETPAC Prize for Best Asian Film and Sprout was awarded the Crystal Bear for Best Short in the Generation Kplus section.

Having both premiered at last year’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Non Fiction Diary, a harrowing documentary about South Korea in the early 1990s when true democracy was still in its infancy, won the Mecenat award for Best Documentary and Sprout, a charming tale of a little girl’s quest to get some bean sprouts for her grandfather’s funerary rites, received a special mention for the Sonje Award. While A Dream of Iron, a stylishly done picture about the POSCO steelmaking factory in Pohang, had its world premier at this year’s Berlinale Forum section.

Last year, other South Korean films like Cheong, Shin Su-won’s Pluto (2012), Hong Sang-soo’s Nobody’s Daughter Haewon have all received awards and accolades at the Berlin Film Festival and this year continues the trend, proving that South Korea’s indie film scene is still going strong.

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Korean Docs Split Berlinale's NETPAC Prize

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Berlinale 2014 Review: Grand and Hypnotic, A DREAM OF IRON Won't Soon Be Forgotten

Part of MKC's coverage of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.

By Pierce Conran

Early on in A Dream of Iron, a new documentary premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival this year, director Kelvin Kyung Kun Park shows us images of whales moving through the vast blue expanse of the ocean - enormous creatures that were once considered grand and mysterious. Soon after, Park brings us to the expansive POSCO steel-making plant on the coast of Southern Korea and proceeds to show us the process of shipbuilding through a series of arresting visual tableaux. Gargantuan in size, these vessels demonstrate the soaring ambition of the human race, as enormous components are each readied for assembly with minuscule laborers dotting their surface.

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Berlinale 2014: Overview - Strong Korean Lineup in Berlin

Part of MKC's coverage of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival and the 18th Busan International Film Festival.

By Pierce Conran

Long recognized as one of the bastions of independent and foreign cinema, the Berlin International Film Festival, also known as the Berlinale, will kick off its 64th edition later today. Korean cinema has become an increasingly prominent fixture at the event and in recent years has featured in Berlinale lineups with anywhere up to a dozen titles. This year there will be seven Korean films on show, one short and six features, which is a little below average. Yet, in this writer's opinion, it is also one of Korea's strongest lineups to feature at the fest.

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