From aliens to animation, Korea's box office has you covered

New films opening in theaters in Korea are "Alienoid 2," "Citizen of a Kind," "Wish" and "Dumb Money."

A scene from ″Alienoid 2″ [CJ ENM]

Alienoid 2 (12)Fantasy / 122 mins. / Korean / Jan. 10

In the second part of the “Alienoid” films, time-traveling swordsmen and Taoists are brought together around a holy sword as the story from the first film comes to a close.

Actor Ryu Jun-yeol plays Mureuk and Kim Tae-ri portrays Lee Ahn, two of the central characters in “Alienoid 2,” set in the present and in the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). Aliens have been trapped inside human bodies in the present time, while a time portal has been opened in the past that allows characters to travel to the future. Only 48 minutes are left until the portal is closed again and an alien material blows up all of human civilization.

“Alienoid 2” comes from director Choi Dong-hoon, who made the first “Alienoid” film and is behind some of the biggest hits in recent Korean film: “The Thieves” (2012) and “Assassination” (2015), which both garnered more than 10 million ticket sales, as well as numerous other hits including “Tazza: The High Rollers” (2006), which attracted 6.84 million viewers, and “Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard” (2009), which saw 6.13 million.

A scene from ″Citizen of a Kind″ [SHOWBOX]

Citizen of a Kind (15)Drama / 114 mins. / Korean / Jan. 24

What would you do if you got voice-phished by scammers who swindle you into wiring thousands of won but the police aren't bothering to help? One ordinary, middle-aged woman in real life went and actually caught the culprits herself — and that is what “Citizen of a Kind” is based on.

Actor Ra Mi-ran plays the central character Deok-hee in “Citizen of a Kind,” a laundromat employee with two children who struggles to make ends meet. When she gets voice-phished and is robbed of nearly all her savings, she reports the case to the police. They virtually ignore her case, so Deok-hee, with the help of a tip from one of the insiders of the voice-phishing crime ring, goes to China to chase down the bad guys herself.

Ahn Eun-jin, Park Byung-eun, Lee Moo-saeng, Yeom Hae-ran and Gong Myoung play supporting characters alongside Ra, and “Citizen of a Kind” is directed by newcomer Park Young-ju, for whom this is her first commercial blockbuster.

A scene from ″Wish″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

Wish (All)Animation / 95 mins. / English / Jan. 3

Anyone can make a wish upon a star, but who knows if or when it will get answered. One girl's wish was answered by a star so powerful that it changed the destiny of an entire nation.

A young girl named Asha makes a wish that is answered by a cosmic force named Star, and with Star’s help Asha must save her kingdom from an evil king who traps the desires of his people, holding them hostage. Asha rallies her friends and they plan a plot to overthrow King Magnifico’s corrupted government.

Actor Ariana DeBose voices Asha, while Chris Pine lent his voice to the character of King Magnifico. Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral and Victor Garber also play the voices of supporting characters. “Wish” is co-directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn. Buck previously directed numerous other animation features, such as “Tarzan” (1999), “Surf’s Up” (2007), “Frozen” (2013) and “Frozen II” (2019).

A scene from ″Dumb Money″ [GREEN NARAE MEDIA]

Dumb Money (15)Comedy, drama / 105 mins. / English / Jan. 17

A regular guy sinks all of his live savings into one stock, and when his social media starts gaining traction, the stock stars shine on him and his fortune starts to multiply.

Inspired by the real-life GameStop short squeeze case and based on the 2021 book “The Antisocial Network” by Ben Mezrich, “Dumb Money” follows main character Keith Gill, a lower-middle-class man working as a financial analyst in Massachusetts. He buys GameStop stocks and frequents a subreddit on buying stocks. When the stocks Keith buys skyrocket, his life is changed overnight and Wall Street’s big guys start poking into the case.

Actor Paul Dano plays Keith, with an ensemble supporting cast including Shailene Woodley, Pete Davidson, Kate Burton, America Ferrera and Clancy Brown. “Dumb Money” is directed by Craig Gillespie, known for directing “Lars and the Real Girl” (2007), “I, Tonya” (2017) and “Cruella” (2021).

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]