[Kulture Issue] Horror and female-centered K-movies in the spotlight this summer

Korea's movie theater landscape appears to be undergoing some change this summer season.

Instead of the classic male-dominated summer blockbusters, audiences are opting for horror films with young female leads.

While female-centered horror movies have been around for a long time, they have recently had a resurgence with fresh material.

For more, we invite Jae Soh, professor and filmmaker at Seoul Institute of the Arts into the studio. Welcome back!

Q1. Professor Soh, before we get into our main topic, there has been some welcome news at the Korean box office regarding a couple of movies we've been anticipating for a long time, right?

Q2. Now it's going to get a little scary with our main topic.

Right, summer season calls for horror movies! This summer, female actresses in their 20s and 30s are notable as the main characters.

Please tell us more Professor.

Q3. While it's often assumed that commercial movies with female leads are a box office risk, do you think the releases this summer can be seen as an attempt to break that perception?

Q4. Female-centered plots in horror movies are nothing new, but what can you infer from the recent attention these movies are gaining?

Q5. Another interesting aspect we're seeing in recent horror productions are storylines based on real-life social issues, from noisy neighbors to social media.

Why do you think audiences are drawn to these types of movies?

Q6. At the same time, there seems to be an increasing diversity of styles within the horror genre lately.

Are there any works you're keeping an eye on?

Q7. There seems to be a preference for films that bring real-life horror and social anxiety to the forefront.

In your opinion, how is this different from past scary movies, and will horror productions lean more toward these real-life based themes from hereon?

Thank you Professor Soh for your insights. Have a wonderful weekend.

Thank you Bella, have a great weekend and see you next week.