Acclaimed director Lee Chang-dong’s new film, “가능한 사랑” (Possible Love) — starring Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Jo In-sung, and Jo Yeo-jeong — is set to premiere on Netflix rather than in Korean theaters, despite reportedly having originally been developed with a theatrical release in mind, after domestic investors expressed reluctance to back a traditional theatrical run.
The film’s route to streaming, notwithstanding its prestige pedigree — a celebrated arthouse director paired with four of Korean cinema’s most bankable stars — illustrates just how constrained Korea’s theatrical film financing environment has become: even a project with this level of talent attached apparently could not secure the domestic investment confidence needed for a conventional theatrical release path.
Netflix’s 2026 Korean film slate includes several other high-profile titles alongside “Possible Love,” including “파반느” (Pavane), a drama about three emotionally closed-off people finding light in each other, and “남편들” (Husbands), a comedic action film about an ex-husband and current husband teaming up to rescue a kidnapped woman — part of a broader pattern of Netflix absorbing mid-to-large-budget Korean film projects that might have gone the traditional theatrical route in earlier years.
Industry observers have described Korea’s film financing crisis in blunt terms this year, with veteran director Kim Han-min (“Roaring Currents”) stating plainly that the industry has “almost collapsed” post-pandemic, and some estimates suggesting fewer than ten non-independent Korean films may reach theatrical release in 2026 at all — a dramatic contraction from the industry’s pre-pandemic output levels.
For a director as internationally celebrated as Lee Chang-dong to have a starry passion project migrate to streaming rather than cinemas underscores how thoroughly the balance of power between theatrical and streaming financing has shifted in Korea, even for auteur-driven prestige filmmaking that has historically been theatrical cinema’s strongest remaining domain.
Source: Netflix Korea 2026 film slate announcement; Korean film-industry financing crisis coverage, 2026.
