Undoubtedly, October 31 was the day of the Korean film “Masquerade,” the biggest winner of the 49th Daejong Film Awards.

In addition to the best picture award, the “The Prince and the Pauper”-inspired palace intrigue garnered the best actor and popularity awards for its star, the inimitable Lee Byung-hun, and twelve other honors, including the best director, the best screenplay, and the best music. In fact, it won the most number of awards in history – fifteen - and every category it was nominated. This was not the only record set by “Masquerade.” It had attracted more than ten million moviegoers in just 38 days after its release, becoming only the seventh Korean film to break past the ten million mark and signaling the beginning of the second Renaissance for the Korean film industry.

But “Masquerade” was not the only Korean film to enjoy such immense popularity. Star-studded “The Thieves,” released earlier, also drew more than ten million moviegoers, an unprecedented feat for the Korean film industry. Here’s movie critic Oh Dong-jin to tell us more.

“Masquerade” and “The Thieves” opened a new Renaissance for the Korean film industry by each attracting more than 11 million people. It is great to have two well-made movies to drive the renewed rush. Frankly, 2007 and 2008 had been bad years for Korean films, but this year we saw a series of great commercial films with fresh ideas. This year really was a new turning point for Korean films.

“The Thieves” became the highest-grossing film with more than 13 million tickets and “Masquerade” is nipping at its heels with 11.79 million receipts, as of November 12, and it’s still showing in the theaters.

- I came to see it because it’s a huge hit and won 15 awards. Lee Byung-hun is my favorite actor and the movie is said to have some funny parts.
- The plot is really tightly written. It’s based in the Joseon era and takes an interesting look at how the social status system was overcome at the time.

The year 2012 was a boon year for Korean-made films. Let’s take a look at past Korean movies that recorded more than ten million box office receipts. The first up is “Silmido.”

The 2003 film is based on a true story of Unit 684, a team of misfits and convicts trained on the island of Silmido to assassinate North Korea’s Kim Il-sung.

In the following year “Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War” earned the box office acclaim by telling a tragic story of two brothers fighting on the opposite sides during the Korean War.

A heartbreaking historical drama about two clowns and a despot, “King and the Clown” released in 2005 became the next film to draw ten-million-plus moviegoers.

A home-grown monster flick, The Host,” achieved the same feat in 2006. The next blockbuster hit came three years later, with “Tidal Wave” billed as Korea’s first disaster film.

Inspired by the devastating tsunami that destroyed Indonesian coasts in 2004, “Tidal Wave” showed what would happen if a gigantic tsunami hit the coastal city of Busan.

Another three years passed before Korea made another film that recorded ten million ticket receipts. In addition to “The Thieves” and “Masquerade,” the Korean film industry enjoyed a bumper crop year, with a number of local movies averaging three to four million moviegoers and winning positive critical reviews. It is not easy even for the Japanese movie market with an audience three or four times bigger than Korea’s to break the ten-million mark. Here’s movie critic Kang Yu-jeong.

The year 2012 was a peculiar year. Starting with director Byun Young-joo’s mystery thriller “Helpless,” nostalgic drama “Architecture 101” and insightful romantic comedy “All about My Wife” were seen by more than three million people. Most of number one box office hits during the many weeks of 2012 were Korean movies, which is very unusual. In the past Hollywood blockbusters or foreign movies used to top the box office records in May, during the Chuseok holidays, and the slow weeks in September, but not this year. This year the top spots were anchored by locally made movies.

What is more surprising and meaningful is that “The Thieves” and “Masquerade” were not based on a huge event or big-scale productions. That fact is very significant for the Korean film industry. Here’s movie critic Kang Yu-jeong again.

Attracting more than ten million viewers means a quarter of the Korean population have seen the movie. “King and the Clown” was released before the presidential election and “Silmido” and “Taegukgi” dealt with the major events in Korean history worthy of extensive public interest. But this year’s “The Thieves” was different. It was purely a commercial film, about a heist and the selfish pursuit of individual happiness and wealth. “Masquerade” also played up the comical elements and the humane side of tight-laced Joseon society. Although these movies did not deal with some profound and grand themes, they still ranked among the most beloved movies of all time. That’s what made these films different from other ten-million-plus movies.



“The Thieves” is an “Ocean’s Eleven”-type caper film about ten Korean and Chinese thieves scheming to steal a multimillion-dollar diamond named “Tear of the Sun,” hidden in a Macau casino. The film won public attention even before the shooting began, for its tight-knitted script written by director Choi Dong-hoon of “Tazza: The High Rollers” and “The Big Swindle” fame and the star-studded cast. Here’s movie critic Oh Dong-jin to tell us more.

“The Thieves” is a well-planned movie. Of course it had an exceptional director in Choi Dong-hoon, but no other Korean movie had so many top names and enticed so many investors. This production was a well-calculated commercial film with terrific directing and acting.

The stellar cast members were each given a role tailored to their personality. The criminal mastermind Macau Park, safecracker Pepsi, alcoholic thief Chewing Gum, sexy cat burglar Yenicall, and the nervous sidekick Andrew – these are just a few of characters who made the movie more gripping and suspenseful. Here’s movie critic Kang Yu-jeong again.

Most of the Korean films used to revolve around events, not character-driven like “The Thieves.” In heist or caper films distinct and engaging characters are key to success. In that regard, “The Thieves” was a stylish genre piece. Korean audiences were able to identify Pepsi with Kim Hye-su and Yenicall with Gianna Jun, because the moviegoers were able to match the existing images of the actors with the characters they play.

Touted as an unabashed commercial film from the beginning, “The Thieves” surprise industry insiders by becoming the highest-grossing film with such often-seen materials. Here’s movie critic Kang Yu-jeong again.

The audiences accepted and enjoyed “The Thieves” as a fun heist movie. It’s unusual for a Korean crime-action movie to gain more than ten million moviegoers. Top box office performance for such films had been reserved for Hollywood movies like “Ocean’s Eleven.” But the surprising performance of “The Thieves” demonstrated that home-grown commercial movies or crime movies can succeed in Korea.

“Masquerade” was inspired by Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper” and Hollywood’s “Dave.” Fearing assassination, tyrannical King Gwanghae finds a double, a performer named Ha-seon, to take his place in the bed chamber during the night. But the king gets poisoned and is whisked away to a hiding place until he can recover. Meanwhile, Ha-seon is pressed into impersonating the king full time. The movie portrays how the lowly clown is transformed into a king in the truest sense.

The film is further upgraded by its superb cast, headed by always remarkable Lee Byung-hun playing the double role of King Gwanghae and his doppelganger Ha-seon. Movie critic Kang Yu-jeong explains more.

“Masquerade” was at the center of attention from early on, because it was Lee Byung-hun’s first historical piece. Also, he played a comical character, something different from his usual serious and taciturn roles. Movie lovers were allowed to just sit back and enjoy Lee’s acting. Moreover, Lee’s portrayal of Ha-seon, an unintended king, presented what a king should be, someone humane, kind-hearted, and humorous. With the Korean presidential election only a short time away, people found a true leader in the character Ha-seon.

“Masquerade” caused great sensation ahead of the December 19th presidential election, powering its ascent to the rank of top-grossing films.

- In the run up to the presidential election the movie had a message for ordinary Koreans. I realized that ordinary people like us should champion real politics with our political views and commitment. Lee Byung-hun’s character began to transform into a real king when he starts really caring for people and gets angry over political feuds. I was really moved when Ha-seon gave the court officials an impassioned speech about his love for the people.

“The Thieves” and “Masquerade” won global recognition as well. The seventh Korean Film Festival in Paris that opened on October 30 showed “Masquerade” as its opener and “The Thieves” at its closing. The Korea Film Festival in London, the largest Korean film celebration in Europe, also book-ended the festival with the same two films. Korean superstar Lee was more than touched by the overseas attention.

The 37th Toronto International Film Festival featured “The Thieves” from September 13 through 16, and “Masquerade” was invited to the Abu Dhabi Film Festival on October 16 and opened the Korean Film Festival in Vietnam on October 18.

The year 2012 will long marked as an unforgettable year in Korean film history. It started off with director Kim Ki-duk’s “Pieta” winning the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice International Film Festival and the surge continued with the number of monthly ticket receipts in October topping ten million for four months straight. At this rate, the total number of receipts for the year would surpass 100 million. The rush of promising films is not likely to slow down, since big name directors, such as Bong Joon-ho of “The Host” fame and internationally renowned Park Chan-wook, are ready to release their next films. Korean movie lovers have a lot to look forward to in the year 2013.