{ "id": "epv584p649", "slug": "hi-five-2025-film", "title": "Hi-Five (하이파이브) (2025 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": 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"https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Hi-Five (하이파이브) is a 2025 South Korean comic action film written and directed by Kang Hyoung-chul, in which five strangers who receive organs from one donor gain superpowers and fight a cult leader.", "snippet": "Hi-Five (하이파이브) is a 2025 South Korean comic action film written and directed by Kang Hyoung-chul, in which five strangers who receive organs from one donor gain superpowers and fight a cult leader.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-6.fantasy-films-of-the-2020s", "markdown": "# Hi-Five (하이파이브) (2025 film)\n\n**Hi-Five** (하이파이브) is a 2025 South Korean comic action film directed and written by Kang Hyoung-chul, in which five strangers who receive organ transplants from a single mysterious donor gain superpowers and form a team to fight a cult leader who received the donor's pancreas and can drain life energy.[1](https://wellgousa.com/films/hi-five) It was released in South Korea on May 30, 2025, runs 119 minutes, and was rated 15 by the Korean rating system.[2](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20211791)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / writer | Kang Hyoung-chul, his first commercial feature in seven years[2](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20211791) • [3](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=458647&id=&lang=c&menu_cate=) |\n| Release | May 30, 2025 (South Korea); June 20, 2025 (North America, per Well Go USA)[2](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20211791) • [1](https://wellgousa.com/films/hi-five) |\n| Running time / rating | 119 minutes; rated 15 in South Korea[2](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20211791) |\n| Main cast | Lee Jae-in, Ahn Jae-hong, Yoo Ah-in, Ra Mi-ran, Kim Hee-won, Oh Jung-se, Shin Gu, Park Jin-young[2](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20211791) |\n| Box office | 1 million admissions in 9 days; 1,893,717 total admissions and $12,750,695 gross on 1,343 screens (as of Sep 16, 2026)[4](https://www.soompi.com/article/1750543wpp/hi-5-becomes-5th-korean-film-of-2025-to-surpass-1-million-moviegoers) • [2](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20211791) |\n| Production | Annapurna Films; music Kim Jun-seok; cinematography Choi Chan-min[5](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2026/films/hi-five) |\n| Festival | Fantasia International Film Festival 2025 selection[2](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20211791) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise\n\nThe film opens with a donated body disintegrating into ashes on its way to organ harvest. Five recipients of that donor's organs, a heart, corneas, lungs, liver, and kidneys, then develop supernatural abilities: a teenage girl gains immense strength, a hipster manipulates electromagnetic waves, a novelist summons powerful gusts of wind, a factory manager can heal others, and a woman develops a strange, initially unidentified ability.[1](https://wellgousa.com/films/hi-five) The recipients recognize one another through mysterious tattoo-like marks that identify transplant recipients with supernatural gifts.[6](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10496778)\n\nThe five characters are Park Wan-seo (Lee Jae-in), a taekwondo-trained teenager with the heart; [Park Ji-sung](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-ji-sung) (Ahn Jae-hong), an aspiring writer with enhanced lungs; Kim Seon-nyeo (Ra Mi-ran), a yogurt seller; Huh Yak-seon (Kim Hee-won), a factory manager with healing powers; and Hwang Ki-dong ([Yoo Ah-in](https://www.edgepedia.org/yoo-ah-in)), an unemployed hipster who controls electronics with finger snaps.[3](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=458647&id=&lang=c&menu_cate=) • [6](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10496778) Their antagonist is the cult leader Seo Young-chun, played by Shin Gu and later [Park Jin-young](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-jin-young), who received the pancreas and gains the power to drain life energy; he hunts the other recipients to steal their abilities.[1](https://wellgousa.com/films/hi-five) • [7](https://contrazoompod.com/reviews-hi-five-from-fantasia-festival-2025/)\n\n## Production and release\n\nKang Hyoung-chul had earlier directed the box-office hits *Scandal Makers* (2008) and *[Sunny](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunny-2011-film)* (2011); *Hi-Five* was his first commercial feature in seven years.[6](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10496778) • [3](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=458647&id=&lang=c&menu_cate=) The film was produced by Annapurna Films, with [Anna Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-lee) as producer, Choi Chan-min as cinematographer, Nam Na-young as editor, and music by [Kim Jun](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-jun)-seok.[5](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2026/films/hi-five)\n\nThe release was delayed because of a drug scandal involving lead actor Yoo Ah-in, along with his film *The Match*; both films were eventually released and performed respectably.[8](https://stats.koreanfilm.org/kfilm25.html) *Hi-Five* opened in South Korea on May 30, 2025.[2](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20211791) Well Go USA's North American release page lists June 20, 2025.[1](https://wellgousa.com/films/hi-five) The film was selected for the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, where it had its Quebec premiere, and was later screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2026.[2](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20211791) • [9](https://joshatthemovies.com/2025/07/28/fantasia-2025-hi-five/) • [5](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2026/films/hi-five)\n\n## Box office\n\nAccording to the Korean Film Council, the film drew 383,334 viewers nationwide in its first three days and briefly topped the Korean box office, overtaking *Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning*.[10](https://lsf.go.id/en/film/hi-five/484) It surpassed 1 million admissions on June 7, 2025 at 4:12 p.m. KST, nine days after release, making it the fifth Korean film of 2025 to reach that mark, after *Hitman 2*, *Dark Nuns*, *The Match*, and *YADANG: The Snitch*.[4](https://www.soompi.com/article/1750543wpp/hi-5-becomes-5th-korean-film-of-2025-to-surpass-1-million-moviegoers) Cumulatively it recorded 1,893,717 admissions and a gross of $12,750,695 on 1,343 screens, as of September 16, 2026, ranking eighth among 2025 Korean releases with a gross of 17.55 billion won.[2](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20211791) • [11](https://www.acfm.kr/eng/html/areport/reportRead.asp?mode=H2&page_num=9&piffcode=2025)\n\n## Reception\n\nAudience scores in South Korea were strong: CGV and Lotte Cinema average ratings both exceeded 90 out of 100, though critics noted the visual effects as a weak point.[3](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=458647&id=&lang=c&menu_cate=) Festival reviewers at Fantasia responded warmly. The Contra Zoom Pod review rated it 4/5, praising writer-director Kang's use of modest, oddball powers closer to *Mystery Men* than *X-Men*, and highlighting the theme of family, both the found family of the five and the dysfunctional family at the heart of the cult.[7](https://contrazoompod.com/reviews-hi-five-from-fantasia-festival-2025/) Reviews on Reels gave it 3.5/5, calling it proof that a superhero film does not need a $200 million budget to entertain, while noting weaker effects and familiar plot beats.[12](https://reviewsonreels.ca/2025/08/19/hi-five-fantasia-2025/) A Korea Herald review was more critical, describing a goofy superhero ensemble whose greatest virtue is its refusal to dawdle, with the protagonists discovering their powers and finding each other in under 10 minutes of runtime, but judging the comedy uneven.[6](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10496778)\n\nThe film has been available on streaming and digital platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Rakuten Viki, Apple TV, and free ad-supported services, with rental prices starting at $3.99 on Rakuten Viki as of October 2026.[13](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/hi5/hNfYAmXWYP3z3OmMz2uPG4/where-to-watch/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Hi-Five – Official Movie Site, Well Go USA](https://wellgousa.com/films/hi-five)\n2. [HI-FIVE (2025), Korean Film Council / KOFIC database](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20211791)\n3. [HI-FIVE (하이파이브), KBS WORLD](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=458647&id=&lang=c&menu_cate=)\n4. [\"Hi-5\" Becomes 5th Korean Film Of 2025 To Surpass 1 Million Moviegoers, Soompi](https://www.soompi.com/article/1750543wpp/hi-5-becomes-5th-korean-film-of-2025-to-surpass-1-million-moviegoers)\n5. [Hi-Five, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2026](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2026/films/hi-five)\n6. [Review: 'Hi-Five' struggles to find its superpowers, The Korea Herald](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10496778)\n7. [Reviews: Hi-Five from Fantasia Festival 2025, Contra Zoom Pod](https://contrazoompod.com/reviews-hi-five-from-fantasia-festival-2025/)\n8. [Korean Movie Reviews for 2025, koreanfilm.org](https://stats.koreanfilm.org/kfilm25.html)\n9. [Fantasia 2025: Hi-Five, Josh At The Movies](https://joshatthemovies.com/2025/07/28/fantasia-2025-hi-five/)\n10. [Hi-Five film page, Indonesian Film Censorship Board (LSF)](https://lsf.go.id/en/film/hi-five/484)\n11. [Top 10 Films in Korean Box Office (2025), Asian Contents & Film Market](https://www.acfm.kr/eng/html/areport/reportRead.asp?mode=H2&page_num=9&piffcode=2025)\n12. [Hi-Five (Fantasia 2025) Review, Reviews on Reels](https://reviewsonreels.ca/2025/08/19/hi-five-fantasia-2025/)\n13. [Hi-Five – Where to Watch, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/hi5/hNfYAmXWYP3z3OmMz2uPG4/where-to-watch/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 2020s › Fantasy films of the 2020s*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/hi-five-2025-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/hi-five-2025-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Hi-Five (하이파이브) (2025 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/hi-five-2025-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Hi-Five (하이파이브) (2025 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/hi-five-2025-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/hi-five-2025-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/hi-five-2025-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Hi-Five (하이파이브) (2025 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/hi-five-2025-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Hi-Five is a 2025 South Korean comic action film written and directed by Kang Hyoung-chul, in which five strangers who receive organs from one donor gain superpowers and fight a cult leader." }