5 films we can't wait to watch on this new Korean movie channel

Korean dramas have become relatively easy to access with the likes of dramafever.com and viu.com, but Korean movies? Not really. Or at least not until now. 

Singapore screenings of Korean movies have been few and far between, and usually only the big-budget films have made their way here. But that's set to change with the launch of the Tvn Movies channel on Starhub, putting the best of Korean cinema well within reach. 

This new channel (Channel 818 on Starhub TV) is wholly dedicated to Korean movies ─ in high definition, and around the clock. For existing subscribers on the Qiang Dang Yu Le Pack, Tvn Movies is already available. Otherwise, Starhub TV customers can add the new channel for $8.56 a month.

Undecided on taking the plunge? Well, there's always the free preview that's running from now till January 31 (noon). Here are five movies we are raring to watch on Tvn Movies. 

Go to Starhub.com for full subscription details.

A MAN AND A WOMAN

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Two words: Gong Yoo. Now, that should get your attention! 

In the harsh winter of Finland, a man and a woman cross paths while sending their respective kids – for Sang Min (Jeon Do Yeon), her autistic son; and for Ki Hong (Gong Yoo), his daughter who's battling depression – to a camp for children with special needs.  

The two strangers, both of them struggling with their families, share a connection over their sense of emotional and physical isolation in a faraway land. Forced to seek shelter in a deserted cabin when a snowstorm hits, they give in to their mutual attraction, only to go their separate ways the next day without even exchanging names. Until they cross paths again in Seoul, drawn to each other but constantly held back by the weight of their responsibilities. 

In lesser actors, the sensitive subject matter might have overshadowed the story, but Gong Yoo and Jeon Do Yeon's nuanced acting and director Lee Yoon Ki's melancholic cinematography make for a moving exploration of the fuzzy boundaries between love and infidelity. 

HWAYI: A MONSTER BOY

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Saddled with an infant after a botched kidnapping, a notorious gang raise the boy their way: by imparting him with all the skills necessary for the underworld, from sharp getaway car-manoeuvring, to martial arts and marksmanship. 

But only after his first kill job does Hwayi (Yeo Jin Goo) realises that he's not quite the ruthless assassin that his five adoptive fathers have primed him to be. Struck by the double whammy of his real identity, Hwayi finds his life unravelling as he tries to reconcile his internal conflicts with his upbringing. 

Since Korean crime thrillers have never been one to stint on violence, brace yourself for a steady stream of blood and gore, and breakneck car chases. 

MISS GRANNY

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A foul-mouthed, overbearing old widow (Shim Eun Kyung) chances by a photo studio that promises to make their customers look 50 years younger. On a whim, she decides to sit for a photo for the funeral that she feels is looming, only to be mysteriously transformed into a fresh-faced young woman. 

She decides to dive headlong into the adventure, remaking herself as Oh Doo Ri (the name inspired by her idol, Audrey Hepburn). A riot of hijinks ensue, from fulfilling her teenage music ambitions by fronting a band with her unsuspecting grandson; to getting caught in an awkward love "square" between her grandson, a handsome music producer and a long-time friend who knows about her age reversal secret. 

Shim Eun Kyung is absolutely adorable here, going all out to embrace her title role. She's got Oh Doo Ri down pat with oodles of sass and the eccentricities of an old soul, alternately delivering laughs and poignant moments. 

AGE OF SHADOWS

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Uh yeah, here's another Gong Yoo film to go moony-eyed over. #sorrynotsorry. 

In this gorgeously styled spy thriller set in the time of Japanese colonial rule over Korea, Kim Woo Jin (Gong Yoo) is a prominent member of the resistance who's using his antiques shop as a front for nationalist activities. 

Kim approaches Lee Jung Chool (Song Kang Ho), a Korean police captain who's acquiescent to the Japanese machinery, appealing to Lee to recover what's left of his loyalty to the motherland and accommodate the rebellion's plans. The plot twists and turns with subterfuges and betrayals, and quite often with excruciatingly cold-blooded brutality.

Surprisingly, what impresses even more than Gong Yoo's charisma, is Song Kang Ho's endearing portrayal of Lee Jung Chool as a keep-his-head-down policeman who's uncomfortably and reluctantly trapped in the political intrigue. 

TIME RENEGADES

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After near-death experiences, two men start to gain flashes of each other's lives through their dreams.

The genre-mashing romance-cum-crime-thriller-cum-fantasy movie stars Cho Jung Seok as Ji-Hwan, a music teacher living in 1983; and Lee Jin Wook as Gun Woo, a detective in the modern-day timeline. Their respective love interests Yoon Jung/So Eun (1983/2015) look uncannily like doppelgangers. 

The crossing dreams lead Gun Woo to discover that Yoon Jung will end up murdered soon. However, the men's frantic efforts to prevent the murder in the 1983 timeline end up turning the tables on So Eun, putting her in mortal danger. It's a race against time for the duo to unknot the consequences of their time-meddling and save the women they love.