South Korean Films That Were A Box Office Success In 2013

A decade ago, going to the movies in South Korea meant choosing from mostly international imports but by 2005, things had changed. Films made in South Korea became more popular than imports. Not only hs that trend continued but many of the nation's hit films are now being seen and praised by international audiences.

According to the Korean Film Council, the average Korean saw at least two locally made movies this year. This means that more than 100 million South Koreans have seen films made in South Korea during 2013. And several of the top-selling films were shown in or sold to other countries.

Here are a few of the year's biggest films at the box office.

1) "Miracle in Cell No. 7," a sentimental family drama, directed by Lee Hwan Kyung, tells the story of a father's love and sacrifice for his daughter. The film, which stars Ryu Seung Ryong, had 12.8 million viewers, making it the third best-selling Korean film in history.

2) "The Berlin File," an action spy film by director Ryu Seung Wan, attracted seven million moviegoers. It was invited to several international film festivals and stars Jun Ji Hyun, Ha Jung Woo, Han Suk Gyu and Ryu Seung Bum.

3) "Secretly, Greatly," the film about three undercover North Korean spies broke South Korean box office records. It had the highest single opening day for a domestic film, most tickets sold in a day for a domestic film, the biggest opening weekend, and was the highest-grossing webtoon-based film. Ultimately it sold almost seven million tickets. Invited to several film festivals, it stars Kim Soo Hyun Park Ki Woong and Lee Hyun Woo as North Korean spies who enjoy their undercover assignment until their own country decides to eliminate them.

4) "The Face Reader," a historical film about a man who can read people's personalities in their facial features sold more than seven million tickets within the first two weeks of its release. The film, starring Song Kang Ho, Lee Jung Jae, and Baek Yoon Sik, reached the seven million mark two days sooner than previous box-office hits such as "Snowpiercer," "Miracle in Cell No.7" and "Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King." 

5) Bong Joon Ho's science fiction film "Snowpiercer" was released on Aug. 1 and passed the six million admissions mark that night. With its international cast and unique vision, the film also became the quickest South Korean film on record to pass the four million ticket sales mark. "Snowpiercer" stars Tilda Swinton, Chris Evans, Jamie Bell and Song Kang Ho.

5) "New World," directed by Park Hoon Jung and starring Choi Min Shik, Hwang Jung Min and Lee Jung Jae sold almost five million tickets. Described as a film noir, "New World" tells the story of cop who went undercover to put the mafia behind bars. But the fact that he's a cop doesn't mean he's a good one.

Next time you're looking for an entertaining film, you may want to check out some of the year's most popular kmovies.