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HONG KONG, May 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In one generation, South Korea’s film and TV industry has gone from censorship to winning Oscars and breaking streaming records. In this episode of CNN Original Series K-Everything, host and executive producer, Daniel Dae Kim, looks at this period of rapid change, and how it is driving a new wave of storytelling. Through conversations with some of the country’s most celebrated creators, Kim finds out why themes that preoccupy Korean creatives are resonating with audiences worldwide.
Daniel Dae Kim goes behind the scenes of South Korea’s dynamic TV and movie industry in CNN Original Series K-Everything
To kick-off, Kim explores the rise of Korean cinema’s power, depth, and beauty with film critic Darcy Paquet. An American living in Korea for almost three decades, Paquet has translated English subtitles for over a hundred Korean films, including Parasite, the first non-English language film to win best picture at the Academy Awards in 2020.
At the Busan International Film Festival, Korea’s leading man, Lee Byung-hun, is on the circuit for his latest movie, No Other Choice, directed by Korean auteur, Park Chan Wook. Arguably the country’s most prolific actor, Lee’s career has spanned thirty years and multiple genres across Korean and Hollywood cinema and drama, including playing the Front Man in the blockbuster, Squid Game. Kim sits down with Lee in Seoul to hear about his dedication to the craft and his pride in Korean cinema’s meteoric rise.
With zombies a mainstay of K-movies and drama, Kim visits Technical Art Studio CELL, founded by Hwang Hyo-kyun, widely considered to be one of Korea’s top zombie special effects artists. Kim also meets up with Yeon Sang-ho, the director behind the zombie classic Train to Busan to discuss why many Korean filmmakers tend to explore such dark motifs, and why they resonate with global audiences.
One of Korea’s most prolific screenwriters, Kim Eun-sook has been credited with developing rich, nuanced characters and dynamics that explore hefty emotional themes. Kim catches up with her in Seoul’s picturesque Ikseon-dong hanok village to learn how to create a compelling K-drama and why love stories have such universal appeal.
Kim takes a trip to a uniquely Korean invention – the 4DX cinema – for a multisensory cinematic experience. He then talks to Vice Chairwoman of CJ Group, Miky Lee, a pioneer of the Korean entertainment industry, who helped create the infrastructure of the Korean film industry through building cinemas and nurturing top Korean film talent.
K-Everything continues the legacy of CNN Original Series’ host-led storytelling that examines global culture and the human experience, joining an award-winning library of premium programming streaming on the CNN app.
The CNN Original Series is sponsored by one of South Korea’s largest companies, Hyundai Motor Company, a global brand deeply rooted in Korean heritage whose growth has mirrored the country’s own journey of innovation and progress.
K-Everything episode 2 (K-film) premieres Saturday, May 16 at 8pm HKT and replays on Sunday, May 17 at 8am and 11pm HKT and Monday, May 18 at 3am HKT on CNN International. The 4-episode series will stream live for CNN International pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps weekly. It will be available on demand beginning Saturday, May 9 to CNN’s streaming subscribers in the US via CNN.com and CNN connected TV and mobile apps. The series will also be available to stream on HBO Max, where available.
Kim is repped by UTA, Linden Entertainment, Narrative PR and Gang Tyre.
K-Everything (K-film) trailer: http://bit.ly/4wkGxxl
K-Everything (K-film) images: https://bit.ly/4eZ95WU
K-Everything microsite: http://edition.cnn.com/world/k-everything
Airtimes for K-Everything (K-film) Episode
Saturday, 16th May at 8pm HKT
Sunday, 17th May at 8am and 11pm HKT
Monday, 18th May at 3am HKT
About CNN Originals
The CNN Originals group develops, produces and acquires original, long-form unscripted programming for CNN Worldwide. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, oversees the award-winning CNN Originals portfolio that includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, CNN Films, CNN Presents, and the newly formed CNN Studios, an internal production studio which creates long-form programming for CNN’s global platforms. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 45 multi-part documentary series and 60 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 110 awards and 445 nominations for the cable network, including CNN Films’ first Academy Award® for Navalny. Acclaimed titles include the Peabody Award winning and 13-time Emmy® Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; five time Emmy® nominee, Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller; Emmy® nominated Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; the Emmy® Award-nominated “Decades Series”: The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, The 2000s, and The 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; Grammy® Award nominee Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; This is Life with Lisa Ling; Primetime Emmy® and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; See It Loud: The History of Black Television, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight in partnership with the BBC; the Producers Guild Award and three-time Emmy® Award-winning Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, to stream via a CNN All Access subscription, on the CNN Original Hub on HBO Max and discovery+, on the CNN Originals FAST channel, and with a pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.
About CNN International
CNN’s portfolio of news and information services is available in seven different languages across all major TV, digital and mobile platforms, reaching more than 379 million households around the globe. CNN International is the number one international TV news channel according to all major media surveys across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific region, and Latin America and has a US presence that includes CNNgo. CNN Digital is a leading network for online news, mobile news and social media. CNN is at the forefront of digital innovation and continues to invest heavily in expanding its digital global footprint, with a suite of award-winning digital properties and a range of strategic content partnerships, commercialised through a strong data-driven understanding of audience behaviours. CNN has won multiple prestigious awards around the world for its journalism. Around 1,000 hours of long-form series, documentaries and specials are produced every year by CNNI’s non-news programming division. CNN has 36 editorial offices and more than 1,100 affiliates worldwide through CNN Newsource. CNN International is a Warner Bros. Discovery company.
