With 2013 winding down to a close, it’s time to look back at what made this past year the most successful in the history of Korean cinema. Following a record 2012, Korean films reached a new benchmark last month and total viewers to domestic films currently stand at 119.91 million, as of December 22nd. While a few films played a big part in the huge haul, such as Miracle in Cell No. 7, with its 12.8 million admissions (making it the third highest grossing Korean film of all time), as well as BONG Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer and HAN Jae-rim’s The Face Reader, which both went over the nine million admissions mark, this year’s success came down to a broad array of films appealing to large crowds. However, a few trends were evident upon this year’s marquees.
 
Korean cinema is known for its versatility in genre filmmaking and this year was no different with a time traveling sci-fi (AM 11:00), a Mixed Martial Arts drama (Fist of Legend) and a 3D film about a baseball-playing gorilla (Mr. Go) among the diverse studio lineups. Eclectic as the fare on offer was, some particular genres stood out.
 
Most visible was the significant presence of North Korean spies. North Korea has long been a popular theme at the Korean box office, driving such hits as Swiri (1999), TaeGukGi: Brotherhood Of War (2004) andWelcome to Dongmakgol (2006) over the years but North Korean protagonists have changed significantly during that time. This year’s crop featured spies who end up going against their own government, either alone (Commitment and The Suspect) or in groups (The Berlin File, Secretly Greatly and Red Family).
 

Thrillers in general had a very strong year beginning with spies (The Berlin File) in January, moving on to gangsters (New World) in February and then to serial killers in spring (Montage) before things kicked up a notch in summer. Cold Eyes was a successful surveillance thriller that reached theaters in July, but the genre really made its mark in August, when a quartet of homegrown thrillers spurred the industry to its strongest month ever. Post-apocalyptic sci-fi Snowpiercer and bomb scare thriller The Terror, LIVE bowed at the beginning of the month before making way for epidemic thriller The Flu and the surprise success of Hide and Seek, a murder mystery-horror. Autumn had more in store with comedy thriller The Spy: Undercover Operation, JANG Joon-hwan’s dark return Hwayi: A Monster Boy and gangster sequel Friend: The Great Legacy all crossing two million admissions.
 
Though less popular than last year, horror films remained a staple of the industry, and as with years past, 2013’s crop of K-horrors all played during the summer. In fact, Killer Toon, Doctor, A Puppet and Horror Stories 2 all bowed during June, a feat of tight programming that may have hurt their respective prospects. Nevertheless, the webtoon-themed Killer Toon became the first Korean horror to attract over a million viewers since 2008. Other films with strong horror elements included the aforementioned Hide and Seek andThe Fives, based on webtoon The 5ive Hearts.
 

One prominent trend that failed to draw big crowds was the prevalence of films about filmmaking. Numerous self-reflexive hit screens this year but none left a large impression on audiences. Titles included Playboy Bong, Behind the Camera, Cheer Up Mr. Lee, How to Use Guys with Secret Tips, Top Star and Rough Play.
 
A lot of attention has been paid to the importance of casting in the last few years as ensembles have become a successful trend, which peaked with the enormous success of The Thieves last summer. 2013 kicked off with a bang with The Berlin File, featuring HA Jung-woo, HAN Suk-kyu, JUN Ji-hyun and RYOO Seung-bum. Later in the year, period hit The Face Reader, which featured SONG Kang-ho, KIM Hye-soo, LEE Jung-jae, JO Jung-suk, and others, also drew huge crowds. But while those films might have been expected to do well, the more surprising success featured well-calibrated trios of performers. These included New World (LEE Jung-jae, CHOI Min-shik and HWANG Jung-min), Cold Eyes (SEOL Kyung-gu, JUNG Woo-sung and HAN Hyo-joo) and particularly the teen-heartthrob gathering of KIM Soo-hyun, LEE Hyun-woo and PARK Ki-woong in Secretly Greatly.
 
While many films with only one or two stars have suffered in recent years, a few actors were still able to demonstrate their clout. Outside of The Berlin File, HA Jung-woo headlined The Terror, LIVE, a big hit for which the star spent most of the running time as the only person on screen. SONG Kang-ho, with his supporting role in Snowpiercer and lead role The Face Reader, also had a huge year and it looks like it'll only get better as his new film The Attorney had one of the biggest opening of the year and is expected to continue doing well. Combined, his films will have taken in well over 20 million admissions this year.

 

Though much of the year’s success may have come down to the wide variety of strong commercial films on offer, another very important factor was the widening of audience demographics. Young viewers remain a strong and consistent block of spectators, but it was older audiences that drove the industry to its biggest year ever. People in their 30s were the largest block of theatergoers while significant gains were recorded for those in their 40s and 50s as well.

 

While films and audiences are gradually evolving, so to is Korean cinema as a whole. The industry has been going global as it made its biggest push into foreign territories this year, with films such as CJ Entertainment’s Wedding Invitation and Showbox’s Mr. Go racking up solid box office receipts in neighboring China. Filmmakers have also been shuttling around the globe, with KIM Jee-woon, PARK Chan-wook and BONG Joon-ho all directing their English-language debuts, The Last Stand, Stoker and Snowpiercer, respectively. Things have also been moving within Korea as both the Korean Film Council (KOFIC, Chairman KIM Eui-suk) and the Korean Media Ratings Board (KMRB) moved down to Busan in October. KOFIC had previously spent the last 40 years in Seoul.

 

Looking ahead to next year, another versatile lineup of Korean films can be expected but one trend already seems like it will dominate in the new year – period films. Showbox’s The Huntresses will be unveiled in the first quarter, while Kundo: Age of the Rampant will come out in the summer. Also out in summer will be CJ’s The Battle of Myeongryang. Meanwhile, Lotte Entertainment have three period works on the way, including Memories of the Sword, King’s Wrath and Pirates. Following a record year and a lot of changes, many will be looking forward to what the Korean film industry cooks up in 2014.

 

By Pierce Conran