2026 Korean films: Two Must-Watch Films This Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year holiday (January 28-29, 2026) brings a fantastic lineup of Korean cinema to theaters, and Korean expats won’t want to miss these two standout films. Whether you’re craving historical drama or high-octane crime thrills, these releases promise to make your holiday moviegoing memorable.

2026 Korean films: The Man Living with the King (왕과 사는 남자) – February 4

A Sageuk with Heart and Humor

Director Jang Hang-jun, known for his versatility across genres from thriller (Forgotten) to sports drama (Rebound), returns with his first period piece.

The Man Living with the King tells the hidden story of King Danjong’s exile—a chapter of Korean history that cinema has largely overlooked until now.

The Story

Set in 1457 at Cheongnyeongpo, the film explores an unlikely relationship between the young deposed king Lee Hong-wi (the historical King Danjong) and village chief Eom Heung-do.

When Hong-do’s struggling village needs economic revival, the enterprising chief sees an opportunity: make their remote mountain hamlet the official exile site for the fallen king.

What follows is a poignant yet surprisingly warm tale of two souls finding companionship in isolation.

The Historical Context

King Danjong’s story is one of Korea’s most tragic royal tales. Ascending to the throne at just 12 years old in 1452, he ruled for only three years before his uncle, Suyang Daegun (later King Sejo), orchestrated the Gyeyu Coup in 1453 and seized power. The young king was demoted to Prince Nosan and exiled to Cheongnyeongpo in Yeongwol, where he lived under constant surveillance until his death at 17.

While Korean audiences know the broad strokes of this history, what Director Jang discovered in his research was the untold story of Danjong’s daily life during exile. The filmmaker found inspiration in historical records suggesting the exiled king wasn’t completely isolated—locals were assigned to monitor and care for him. This mundane administrative detail sparked the creative question: what if someone actually wanted this job? Thus was born the character of village chief Eom Heung-do, a pragmatic leader who sees royal exile as economic opportunity.

The Cast

Park Ji-hoon takes on the challenging role of the deposed king. For those who know him from his days as a Wanna One member, this marks a remarkable transformation. The 26-year-old has been steadily building his acting credibility, but it was Netflix’s Weak Hero Class series that truly showcased his range. His portrayal of the quiet, deadly student Yeon Si-eun—with those haunting, intense eyes—proved he could carry complex, emotionally demanding roles. That same intensity now serves the melancholic young monarch, though early stills suggest we’ll also see moments of unexpected warmth and growth.

Park’s casting is particularly savvy from a marketing perspective. His dedicated global fanbase (fandom name: MAY) has been eagerly awaiting his big-screen leading role, and the combination of historical gravitas with his proven dramatic chops makes this a perfect vehicle.

Yoo Hae-jin plays village chief Eom Heung-do, and this is where the film’s comedic potential shines. Fresh off the massive success of Exhuma (2024’s biggest Korean hit with over 11.9 million admissions), Yoo has become one of Korean cinema’s most reliable draws. His role in Exhuma as Ko Young-geun, the mortician, showcased his ability to blend humor with heartfelt moments—a skill that will serve this historical dramedy perfectly.

What makes Yoo Hae-jin such a treasured actor in Korean cinema is his everyman quality. He’s the character actor who became a star through sheer reliability and charm. Whether playing a mortician dealing with supernatural forces or a village chief scheming for prosperity, he grounds fantastical or historical stories in relatable human emotions. His comic timing is impeccable, never overshadowing the drama but enhancing it. In an industry that sometimes struggles with tonal balance, Yoo has mastered the art of the tragicomic performance.

The supporting cast is equally impressive: Yoo Ji-tae brings his commanding presence as Han Myeong-hoe, the era’s power broker; Jeon Mi-do plays palace maid Maehwa; and Park Ji-hwan and Ahn Jae-hong add depth to the village community.

---

2026 Korean films: Project Y (프로젝트 Y) – January 21

When Desperation Meets Determination

If sageuk isn’t your speed, director Lee Hwan’s crime thriller offers an entirely different flavor.

Project Y (note: some early reports mistakenly called this The Assassins) pairs two of Korea’s most captivating young actresses in a high-stakes heist that’s already generating international buzz.

The Story

Mi-seon (Han So-hee) works two jobs: florist by day, top-earning hostess at a Gangnam nightclub by night. Do-kyung (Jeon Jong-seo) drives for the same establishment. They’re soulmates, found family, and when they lose everything to a jeonse scam (a uniquely Korean housing fraud), they make a desperate choice: steal the black money and gold bars hidden by their boss, the ruthless To Sajang.

What starts as survival instinct spirals into a dangerous game of cat and mouse, with the brutal enforcer Hwang-so (Jung Young-joo, who underwent a striking transformation with a shaved head for the role) hunting them across Seoul’s glittering surface and grimy underbelly.

The Dynamic Duo

Jeon Jong-seo burst onto the international scene with Lee Chang-dong’s Burning (2018), which premiered at Cannes. She was a complete unknown who landed the lead role just three days after signing with her agency—and held her own opposite Steven Yeun and Yoo Ah-in in one of Korean cinema’s most enigmatic films.

Since then, she’s built a remarkable filmography by consistently choosing roles that could have been disposable but instead became unforgettable. In The Call (2020), she played a time-traveling serial killer with such chilling conviction that she swept Korea’s top acting awards. Her Hollywood debut, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2021), premiered at Venice. The through-line in her work? She gravitates toward characters existing on society’s margins—outsiders, misfits, women pushed to extremes.

Her acting style is naturalistic yet intense. She doesn’t announce emotions; she inhabits them. There’s an unsettling quality to her performances, a sense that violence or tenderness could erupt at any moment. In Project Y, she plays Do-kyung as outwardly tough but inwardly fragile—a woman whose bravado masks deep wounds.

Han So-hee took a different path to stardom. Starting as a CF model in 2017, she built her career through Korean dramas, each role expanding her range. The World of the Married (2020) made her a household name as the “other woman” who was simultaneously villain and victim. My Name (2021) proved she could handle brutal action sequences. Gyeongseong Creature (2023-2024) showed her range in period horror.

What makes Han So-hee compelling is her contradictions. She has the kind of striking beauty that could have typecast her as the delicate heroine, but she consistently chooses characters with grit and darkness. Her performance style is visceral and committed—she famously does much of her own stunt work, and there’s an rawness to her emotional scenes that suggests she draws deeply from personal wells.

In Project Y, Mi-seon appears soft and vulnerable but harbors surprising steel. Han brings both qualities fully to life. Her chemistry with Jeon Jong-seo crackles because they’re old friends in real life (Han reached out via social media after admiring Jeon’s work), and that genuine connection translates on screen as the deep bond between two women who only have each other.

Different Styles, Perfect Chemistry

What’s fascinating about this pairing is how their contrasting acting styles complement each other. Jeon Jong-seo’s performances tend toward the unpredictable and slightly dangerous—you’re never quite sure what her characters will do next. Han So-hee brings emotional accessibility and vulnerability that makes audiences invest in her characters’ fates.

In Project Y, director Lee Hwan uses these qualities brilliantly. The film subverts expectations: Do-kyung (Jeon) seems tough but has a tender core; Mi-seon (Han) appears fragile but possesses unexpected resolve. It’s a buddy movie where the buddies are women surviving in a male-dominated criminal underworld, and that’s still rare enough in Korean cinema to feel genuinely fresh.

International Recognition

Before its Korean release, Project Y premiered at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival’s Special Presentations section in September 2024, where it received enthusiastic responses. It also screened at the 10th London Asian Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival, building anticipation for its theatrical debut.

The film’s international festival circuit suggests confidence from its makers that this isn’t just a domestic crowdpleaser but a work that resonates across cultures. The themes—economic desperation, female friendship, the dream of escape from crushing debt—transcend borders, even as the specifically Korean context (jeonse housing, the Gangnam nightlife economy) grounds the story.

---

Why These Films Matter

Both releases represent Korean cinema’s strengths: The Man Living with the King showcases the industry’s ability to find fresh angles on historical subjects, combining star power with substantive storytelling. Project Y demonstrates Korea’s growing expertise in female-led genre films, following in the footsteps of works like Ballerina and anticipating what we hope is a sustained trend.

For Korean expats, these films offer different flavors of home. One is a warm, melancholic meditation on an impossible friendship between king and commoner. The other is a stylish, adrenaline-fueled chase through modern Seoul’s shadows. One asks you to reflect on history; the other asks you to buckle up and hold on tight.

Both, in their own ways, are perfect for the Lunar New Year season—a time for both honoring tradition and embracing the new. Whether you’re drawn to historical drama or contemporary thrills, make time to support these films at your local theater. Korean cinema continues to deliver stories that surprise, move, and excite, and these two releases exemplify exactly why the industry has captured global attention.

The Man Living with the King opens February 4, just in time for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Project Y opens January 21, getting a head start on the season.

Happy New Year, and happy viewing!

:: Check out other posts ::

• Glass Hair: 3 K-Beauty Products for the Trend That Replaced Glass Skin (2026)
• The Complete Lady Dua Beauty Breakdown – 3 Lip Products, 1 Iconic Look
• Korea House Seoul: The Hidden Hanok Cafe Most Tourists in Subway line 3 Walk Right Past
• BLACKPINK × National Museum of Korea: The Collab That Changed K-Culture
• 13 Seoul R&B NAVY GLOW’s Seoul Night, Got Me In My Zone — A Trapsoul About Being a Foreigner