2022 was yet another banner year for high-quality Korean film and television.
But more than that, it was a year where Korean entertainment experimented boldly across genres and themes, with each title vying to outdo the next.
From the emotionally intense and revenge-fueled Eve,
To My Liberation Notes, which turned the quiet despair of everyday life into poetry,
To Anna, which on the surface is a scheming rise-to-power drama, but beneath it all, is a scathing portrait of Korean society’s obsession with:
Money, status, and appearances.
In this world, good looks and a good figure let you abandon someone without guilt.
Those who covet wealth and beauty will lie, cheat, and steal identities —
and still be glorified as society’s elite.
There’s also Why Her?, where the lead character Oh Soo-jae subverts every expectation of a K-drama female lead.
Or Juvenile Justice, featuring a judge who is both authoritative and deeply nuanced —
challenging the stereotype that female figures must approach troubled youth with empathy and forgiveness.
Even at the Cannes Film Festival, Korean cinema shone with two standout titles:
Decision to Leave and Broker.
Both centered on women living on society’s fringes:
One, a mysterious woman entangled in a murder case;
The other, a troubled young woman pregnant out of wedlock.
