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Can’t wait for My Name is Loh Kiwan? The 10 best North Korea-themed films made in South Korea, from Joint Security Area to The Spy Gone North and 6/45
- Since South Korea’s first action blockbuster, Shiri, hit screens in 1999, a wave of dramas focused on North Korea have seen box office success
- From Joint Security Area, directed by Park Chan-wook in 2000, to 2022’s comedy 6/45, here are our top 10 South Korean films about North Korea
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It wasn’t that long ago that South Korean films featuring North Korea were considered too risky to make. But that changed following the revolutionary success of Shiri, Korea’s first modern action blockbuster.
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The 1999 film was the highest-grossing South Korean film of its time, an achievement that would go on to be eclipsed by three other North Korea-themed films, all of which are among those listed below.
While tales of comradeship and collaboration between spies and soldiers were the dominant theme of films about North Korea until 2017’s Confidential Assignment, more nuanced portrayals of North Korean characters have also appeared in the indie sector and on television, most famously Jung Ho-yeon’s defector in Squid Game.
Ahead of the release in March of the Netflix original film My Name is Loh Kiwan, which sees superstar Song Joong-ki in the role of a North Korean defector, here is our ranking of the 10 best South Korean films about North Korea.
10. 6/45 (2022)
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic there have been precious few Korean box office hits. Perhaps the most surprising film to break that trend was the DMZ comedy 6/45.
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