Possible Love: Lee Chang-dong's First Film in 8 Years Is Heading to Netflix

The last time Lee Chang-dong put a film in front of an audience, it was 2018, and "Burning" walked away from Cannes with the highest score any film had ever received on the festival's critics' grid — and still lost the Palme d'Or. Eight years is a long time for any director to stay quiet, but for Lee, who has never made a film quickly and has never made one that didn't get talked about for years afterward, the silence has felt especially loud. That silence breaks this fall. "Possible Love" is Lee Chang-dong's first feature since "Burning," and Netflix has now locked in exactly how the rest of the world will get to see it — starting on the biggest stage in international cinema and ending, a few months later, on every Netflix screen on earth at once.

🎬 Quick Facts

Director	Lee Chang-dong — first feature since "Burning" (2018), an 8-year gap
World premiere	Main competition (Golden Lion) at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, September 6, 2026 — his first Venice appearance since "Oasis" won Best Director (Silver Lion) in 2002
North American premiere	Confirmed to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival; exact date not yet announced (TBA)
Theatrical rollout	Korea: Sept. 23 \| Australia: Oct. 22 \| US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Japan: Oct. 23
Global Netflix streaming date	November 6, 2026 — confirmed directly by Netflix's own newsroom (Tudum)
Cast	Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung, and Cho Yeo-jeong ("Parasite")

Empty movie theater with red seats facing a projector screen, evoking an arthouse cinema premiere — Photo via Unsplash

Why Lee Chang-dong's Return Is Such a Big Deal

To understand why "Possible Love" is generating this much attention before a single audience has seen it, it helps to know how rare a new Lee Chang-dong film actually is. He's directed exactly six features since his 1997 debut "Green Fish," and each one has arrived years apart: "Peppermint Candy" (1999), "Oasis" (2002), "Secret Sunshine" (2007), "Poetry" (2010), and "Burning" (2018). That's roughly one film every four to eight years, from a director widely regarded as one of the defining voices of Korean cinema — someone who came to filmmaking after a career as a novelist and a stint as South Korea's Minister of Culture and Tourism in the early 2000s. When a filmmaker with that track record announces a new project, and Netflix announces a same-year global release plan around it, it's a meaningfully different kind of event than a typical festival title.

The Venice Premiere: Lee's First Trip Back Since "Oasis"

"Possible Love" will have its world premiere in the main competition — competing for the Golden Lion, Venice's top prize — at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 6, 2026, according to the festival's official 2026 lineup as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. That competition slot alone would be notable for any film, but it carries extra weight here because of Lee's own history with Venice: his 2002 film "Oasis" won the Silver Lion for Best Director there, and he hasn't brought a film back to the festival since. A 24-year gap between Venice appearances, closing with a competition slot rather than a sidebar screening, tells you how the festival's programmers are positioning this film within 2026's lineup.

Toronto, Then a Global Theatrical Run

After Venice, "Possible Love" is confirmed to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival for its North American premiere — though as of this writing, TIFF has not published the exact screening date, so treat that detail as "confirmed to happen, date still TBA" rather than locked in. What is locked in is the theatrical release calendar that follows: the film opens in Korean theaters on September 23, 2026, then rolls out internationally with Australia on October 22 and the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, and Japan following on October 23. That's a genuinely global day-and-date-adjacent theatrical strategy for an arthouse auteur film — the kind of release pattern usually reserved for much bigger commercial titles, and a sign of how much confidence Netflix and its theatrical partners are putting behind this one.

The Netflix Date: November 6, 2026

The detail most readers actually want is simple and, unusually for a film this early in its rollout, already confirmed by the most reliable source possible: Netflix's own newsroom, Tudum, states that "Possible Love" streams globally on Netflix starting November 6, 2026. That's roughly six weeks after the wide theatrical release begins — a short theatrical window by traditional studio standards, but a familiar pattern for Netflix's prestige international titles, which typically use a limited theatrical run to qualify for festival buzz and awards consideration before moving to the platform where most of the eventual audience will actually watch. For readers outside the markets getting a theatrical release, November 6 is the date that matters most — it's when "Possible Love" becomes watchable everywhere Netflix operates.

Who's in It: A Reunion of Korean Cinema's Biggest Names

The cast list alone would make "Possible Love" a must-watch even without Lee Chang-dong's name attached. Jeon Do-yeon — who won Best Actress at Cannes for Lee's own "Secret Sunshine" in 2007 — leads the film, marking a reunion between actress and director nearly two decades after that award-winning collaboration. She's joined by Sul Kyung-gu, who starred in both "Oasis" and "Peppermint Candy" for Lee and remains one of his most frequent collaborators, alongside Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong, the latter best known internationally for her role in Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning "Parasite." Plot details for "Possible Love" remain closely guarded ahead of the Venice premiere, which is standard practice for a film this anticipated — expect a fuller picture once early reviews start landing out of Venice in early September. Some early trade coverage, sourced to industry outlet World of Reel rather than a studio or major trade publication, has reportedly cited a runtime around 2 hours and 44 minutes; treat that figure as unconfirmed until Netflix or the festival publishes an official runtime.

FAQ

When does Possible Love come out on Netflix?
Netflix's official newsroom confirms a global streaming date of November 6, 2026 — the same date across all Netflix markets worldwide.

Is Possible Love in theaters first?
Yes. It opens in Korean theaters September 23, 2026, followed by Australia on October 22, then the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, and Japan on October 23 — all ahead of the November 6 Netflix streaming date.

Who stars in Possible Love?
Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung, and Cho Yeo-jeong. Jeon and Sul are both frequent Lee Chang-dong collaborators from earlier films like "Secret Sunshine," "Oasis," and "Peppermint Candy."

Is this Lee Chang-dong's first film since Burning?
Yes. "Burning" premiered in 2018, and "Possible Love" is his first feature film in the eight years since, making its world premiere in competition at Venice 2026.

How long is Possible Love?
A runtime of roughly 2 hours and 44 minutes has been reported by industry outlet World of Reel, but this has not been confirmed by Netflix or the Venice Film Festival directly, so it should be treated as unverified until an official runtime is published.

Search This Blog

Hallyu101