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Five Korean Disaster Films Beyond Train to Busan and Parasite
South Korea has made many movies about dangerous natural disasters.
Five lesser-known examples feature tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, tunnels, and sinkholes.
Tidal Wave is about a huge wave heading toward Busan.
Pandora shows workers trying to stop a nuclear accident after an earthquake.
Tunnel follows a man trapped inside his car after a tunnel falls down.
Ashfall imagines a volcano erupting near North Korea and China.
Sinkhole is about people escaping after their apartment building drops into the ground.
These movies also include family drama, humor, politics, and suspense.
Tidal Wave (2009), also called Haeundae, follows a mega tsunami threatening Busan.
Pandora (2016) depicts a nuclear plant crisis after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake.
Tunnel (2016) centers on a car salesman trapped after a newly built tunnel collapses.
Ashfall (2019) imagines Mount Baekdu erupting and threatening the Korean peninsula.
Sinkhole (2021) combines comedy and disaster after an apartment complex collapses underground.
- Who
- The films feature characters including a marine geologist, nuclear plant workers, a trapped car salesman, special forces personnel, and apartment residents.
- What
- Five South Korean disaster films portray tsunamis, nuclear accidents, tunnel collapses, volcanic eruptions, and sinkholes.
- Where
- Their stories take place in South Korea, including Busan, and in the case of Ashfall, North Korea and the area around Mount Baekdu.
- When
- The films were released between 2009 and 2021.
- Why
- They are presented as worthwhile Korean disaster films that receive less attention than better-known titles such as Train to Busan and Parasite.
Key facts
- Films covered
- Tidal Wave, Pandora, Tunnel, Ashfall, and Sinkhole
- Release period
- 2009–2021
- Highest reported admissions
- Tidal Wave earned more than 11 million admissions in South Korea
- Pandora earthquake
- A 6.1-magnitude earthquake damages a nearby nuclear plant
- Ashfall setting
- A fictional eruption of Mount Baekdu threatens the Korean peninsula
- Sinkhole scale
- The apartment complex drops 500 meters into a massive sinkhole
- Reported box office
- Pandora earned about $32 million, Tunnel nearly $52 million, Ashfall about $61 million worldwide, and Sinkhole nearly $18 million
