Left: Human comedy-drama "Miracle in Cell No.7" tells the story of a mentally challenged man who is wrongfully put in a prison full of notorious criminals. Right: "Man on the Edge" centers on a gangster who leads a double life as a shaman after an accident. Provided by NEW/ Showbox

Hollywood blockbusters like "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" and "Les Miserables" have recently hit Korean theaters, but there are still a number of Korean flicks that are worth checking out in the new year. Two heart-warming comedies are perfect for a frigid winter night: "Miracle in Cell No.7" and "Man on the Edge".

Lee Hwan-gyeong's latest film "Miracle in Cell No.7", which is readying for a Jan. 24 release, tells the story of a mentally challenged man, Yong-gu (Ryoo Seung-ryong), who is wrongly convicted of a crime while purchasing a gift for his beloved daughter Ye-seung (Gal So-won)...More

Controlling investment, production, distribution and screenings, so-called "film chaebol" dominate the Korean cinema with such films as (top, from left) "A Werewolf Boy", "The Thieves" and "Masquerade". At a disadvantage are small producers of films like (bottom, from left) "Pieta", "Touch", "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and "Searching for Sugar Man".

* This is the second and last of a two-part series on the state of Korea's film industry, focusing on the expanding control of conglomerates.

For the Korean movie industry, 2012 has been a very good year...More

"A Werewolf Boy" amassed over 1 million viewers in the first week since its release (photo courtesy of CJ Entertainment).

Some people may call it a Renaissance of Korean films. Locally produced films have been sweeping the box office lately, dominating charts.

Last weekend, the new James Bond film Skyfall featuring Daniel Craig gave away its top spot to A Werewolf Boy, a Korean film starring heartthrob Song Joong-ki, only one week after the spy action thriller ended Masquerade's six-week dominance at the box office. It remains to be seen whether Korean films will continue to dominate.

With Koreans watching more locally produced films, the annual number of local viewers watching domestic films is expected to exceed 100 million this year for the first time. According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the number of local viewers of Korean films stood at 93.5 million from January 1 through November 4, surpassing the previous record of 91.7 million for the whole of 2006...More

From left, Lee Byeong-Heon, Ryoo Seung-ryong, Jeong Jae-yeong, Hwang Jeong-min and Park Hee-soon. Each actor has become a well-known figure in the Korean film industry, and each was born in 1970.

Do these names ring any bells? Lee Byeong-Heon, Ryoo Seung-ryong, Kim Soo-ro and Hwang Jeong-min.

If they don't yet, they will soon. These booming actors have all starred in lead roles in 2012 films or soon-to-be-released flicks. And apart from their exceptional acting talents and sharp looks, they share one other commonality: They were all born in 1970...More

So Ji-sub stars as a "salaried" contract killer in "A Company Man", which is currently playing in theaters nationwide.

By Baek Byung-yeul

Playing protagonist Ji Hyeong-do, So Ji-sub doesn't actually utter these words, but all his actions and body language amounts to that one sentence that puts in a nutshell the toils and agonies of any salaried worker in Korea Inc.

But heartthrob So plays no ordinary salaried worker. As Ji in "A Company Man", he is a hired killer under the cover of a legitimate business.

Ji works for New Continental Metal Incorporated as a section chief of the 2nd sales section, but the main business of this company is contract killing. An otherwise unsuspicious beautiful office housed in a gigantic skyscraper is stashed with an assorted array of lethal weapons, with a separate clandestine conference room...More