{"id":21937,"date":"2026-08-08T10:06:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=21937"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:21:18","slug":"na-hong-jin-returns-after-a-decade-as-hope-makes-strong-impact-at-south-korean-box-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=21937","title":{"rendered":"<strong>Na Hong-jin Returns After a Decade as \u2018HOPE\u2019 Makes Strong Impact at South Korean Box Office<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Dragon Media News Desk<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin has returned to feature directing after roughly a decade with \u201cHOPE,\u201d a large-scale production combining science fiction, thriller and action elements that has delivered a strong theatrical performance.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Korean Box Office Information System, or KOBIS, operated under the Korean Film Council, \u201cHOPE\u201d was released on July 15 and had attracted approximately 3.52 million admissions by late July.<\/p>\n<p>KOFIC data showed the film generating more than $26 million in box-office revenue during that period. It ranked first in South Korea\u2019s July box office and accounted for more than 42 percent of the month\u2019s theatrical revenue.<\/p>\n<p>The 156-minute feature is Na Hong-jin\u2019s first film as director since his acclaimed 2016 production \u201cThe Wailing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The story is set around a remote village that suddenly becomes isolated from outside communication. Residents are forced to confront an unknown threat, while what initially appears to be a contained emergency gradually develops into a much larger conflict driven by fear, misunderstanding and opposing perspectives.<\/p>\n<p>The cast combines prominent Korean and international performers, including Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender.<\/p>\n<p>The film was produced by Forged Films, with Na Hong-jin serving as both director and screenwriter.<\/p>\n<p>Its combination of a large production scale, strong directorial identity and an international cast is among the project\u2019s defining characteristics.<\/p>\n<p>The commercial performance of \u201cHOPE\u201d further demonstrates the capacity of South Korean cinema to combine distinctive local creative leadership with internationally oriented production and casting while maintaining strong domestic audience appeal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fb-background-color\">\n\t\t\t  <div \n\t\t\t  \tclass = \"fb-comments\" \n\t\t\t  \tdata-href = \"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=21937\"\n\t\t\t  \tdata-numposts = \"10\"\n\t\t\t  \tdata-lazy = \"true\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-colorscheme = \"light\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-order-by = \"time\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-mobile=true>\n\t\t\t  <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t  <style>\n\t\t    .fb-background-color {\n\t\t\t\tbackground: #ffffff !important;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t.fb_iframe_widget_fluid_desktop iframe {\n\t\t\t    width: 100% !important;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t  <\/style>\n\t\t  ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dragon Media News Desk South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin has returned to feature directing after roughly a decade with \u201cHOPE,\u201d a large-scale production combining science fiction, thriller and action elements that has delivered a strong theatrical performance. According to the Korean Box Office Information System, or KOBIS, operated under the Korean Film Council, \u201cHOPE\u201d was &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":21938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,168,160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-movie","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Na Hong-jin Returns After a Decade as \u2018HOPE\u2019 Makes Strong Impact at South Korean Box Office - Dragon Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=21937\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Na Hong-jin Returns After a Decade as \u2018HOPE\u2019 Makes Strong Impact at South Korean Box Office - Dragon Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dragon Media News Desk South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin has returned to feature directing after roughly a decade with \u201cHOPE,\u201d a large-scale production combining science fiction, thriller and action elements that has delivered a strong theatrical performance. According to the Korean Box Office Information System, or KOBIS, operated under the Korean Film Council, \u201cHOPE\u201d was &hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=21937\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dragon Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61560346806474\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T04:21:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/hope.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1171\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dragon Media\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dragon Media\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dragon Media\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cbbc40ba051fb45aeb6f5846f090f5eb\"},\"headline\":\"Na Hong-jin Returns After a Decade as \u2018HOPE\u2019 Makes Strong Impact at South Korean Box Office\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-08T04:21:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937\"},\"wordCount\":273,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/hope.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Entertainment\",\"Movie\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937\",\"name\":\"Na Hong-jin Returns After a Decade as \u2018HOPE\u2019 Makes Strong Impact at South Korean Box Office - Dragon Media\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/hope.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-08T04:21:18+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/hope.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/hope.jpg\",\"width\":1171,\"height\":666},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/?p=21937#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Na Hong-jin Returns After a Decade as \u2018HOPE\u2019 Makes Strong Impact at South Korean Box Office\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u0921\u094d\u0930\u093e\u0917\u0928 \u092e\u093f\u0921\u093f\u092f\u093e\",\"description\":\"committed to true &amp; 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