A promising sign for Korean films.

Despite the rise of online platforms, Korean films remain popular in Southeast Asian markets, including Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Song Hye Kyo's Korean drama "Dark Nuns" is well-received in the Southeast Asian market. Photo: Producer.

"Dark Nuns" is the latest film from Song Hye Kyo and Jeon Yeo Bin. The film was released in theaters on January 24th in South Korea and quickly topped the domestic box office for 3 days (from January 24-26).

However, the number of viewers attending theaters decreased significantly over time. The main reason stemmed from controversies surrounding the script and dialogue, despite Sister Junia being a breakthrough role for Song Hye Kyo in terms of her image.

Despite receiving mixed reviews at home and only recently surpassing its break-even point of 1.6 million tickets sold, the film has been well-received by audiences in Southeast Asia.

According to distributor New, the film topped the box office in the Philippines for two consecutive weeks.

In Indonesia, “Dark Nuns” achieved the highest opening weekend ever for a South Korean film and quickly surpassed 1 million viewers. The film is now scheduled for release in Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the romantic remake of the popular Taiwanese film "You Are the Apple of My Eye" (2011) is also stepping up its promotion in the Southeast Asian market, especially in Indonesia.

Earlier, the two main actors, Dahyun (TWICE) and Jung Jinyoung (B1A4), had a Q&A session with the media and fans in Jakarta and received positive feedback.

In addition, another South Korean film, “Nocturnal,” starring Ha Jung Woo and Kim Nam Gil, was released in Thailand on February 6th and is scheduled to be released in Singapore and Malaysia on February 27th and in the Philippines on March 26th.

According to Korean news reports, Hallyu (the Korean Wave) still has a significant influence in the Southeast Asian market. This is also the reason why many dramas... Korean movies The goal is to launch in this market to reach the break-even point early and increase revenue.

"To be profitable, in addition to the domestic market, high-budget films must target overseas markets, and considering various factors, Southeast Asia is an indispensable market. Many countries there have also remade popular Korean films," the Korean newspaper quoted.

Meanwhile, Sorasitch Leelanukij, a content creator for The Standard (based in Thailand), said that the popularity of Korean stars is one of the reasons why their works receive attention here.

For example, take Song Hye Kyo – an actress beloved by Thai fans after the success of the revenge series "The Glory".

“In Southeast Asia, the Hallyu phenomenon has been developing for decades, from television dramas and films to K-pop. The fact that Korean content continues to attract a large following shows that audiences are always looking for quality content,” said Sorasitch Leelanukij.

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