Editor's note: Starting today, Jeff Chung's K-drama columns will run Fridays in Island Life.

The Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival has six Korean films this year, opening with "The Divine Weapon" and closing with "The Good The Bad The Weird"

The closing night film is sure to be a sellout, especially since the star Jung Woo-sung and director Kim Jee-woon will be in attendance. The film is full of eye candy, including Lee Byung-hun and the comical Song Kang-ho.

Here is my take on the rest of the Korean films to help you navigate through the Korean selections. "The Chaser" has won many awards in the Korean film industry this year, boosting a slumping industry. It's a thriller and gets graphic, so be warned, it's not for the typical Korean-drama lover.

If you are a Korean-drama fan, the movie to watch is "Sunny." Soo-ae ("Emperor of the Sea") joins a band so she can get to Vietnam to find her husband who is serving in the Korean army fighting in the Vietnam War.

If you are in the mood for a good laugh, the movie you want to see is "Dachimawa Lee." Veteran drama actor Cha In-pyo returns to the big screen in "The Crossing," a love story between father and son challenged by the 38th parallel that divides North and South Korea. For a complete listing of films and information, go to www.hiff.org, which offers these synopses:

THE CHASER

Jung Ho, an ex-cop turned pimp, is driving around Seoul, looking for one of his missing girls, Mi Jin. Suddenly, he dents a car in the alley. When he spots blood splattered on the driver's shirt, he senses the man, Young Min (Ha Jeong-woo) may have Mi Jin captive. After an intense foot chase, Jung Ho catches Young Min. But because of Jung Ho's pretense as a cop, they are both taken to the police station.

The deranged Young Min bluntly confesses he has killed many women, including Mi Jin. As the police force is obsessed with a random search for corpses, Jung Ho is the only one who believes Mi Jin is still alive. With only 12 hours left to detain the serial killer without a warrant, Jung Ho's search begins. "The Chaser" resuscitated the dwindling Korean film industry earlier this year, coming out of the gate as a first-rate white-knuckle thriller. Be warned, this film is very graphic, comparable to the U.S. movie "SE7EN."

THE CROSSING (KEUROSING)

Although living in extreme poverty in North Korea, Yong-su and his family find contentment and comfort just being together. When his pregnant wife becomes critically ill, Yong-su secretly sets out to China to find medicine to cure her. Yong-su becomes involved in several life-threatening conflicts in China that force him to flee the country and take refuge in South Korea. Meanwhile back in North Korea Yong-su's family situation becomes dire, and his son Jun is taken to a labor camp. Undeterred by their circumstances father and son travel long distances and suffer hardships having faith that they will reunite.

DACHIMAWA LEE

Suave spy Dachimawa Lee teams up with "Bond girls" Yeon-ja and Mary to find a stolen national treasure that contains a list of Korean freedom fighters wanted by imperial authorities. The globetrotting mission becomes complicated when Lee temporarily loses his memory and a Chinese merchant, a quirky Korean vagabond and a Japanese spy get in the way. "Dachimawa Lee," directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, is a quirky action comedy that mercilessly pokes fun at almost everything related to the genre to which it pretends to belong, resulting in an unpredictable mixture of cheesy parodies, unnerving humor and faux-action sequences.

SUNNY (NIM-EUN-MEON-GO-SAE)

Old-fashioned Soon-yi marries into a country family without love. But when her husband abandons her by enlisting for the Vietnam War (it's estimated that 320,000 Korean men were dispatched to fight alongside American troops), she decides to prove that she is capable of loving him. Using her vocal talent to join a band heading to Vietnam, Sunny sings for the restless soldiers in hopes of meeting her husband while on tour. South Korean director Lee Jun-ik, 48, who marked an important chapter in Korean cinema with "King and the Clown" (HIFF 2006), shows off a different cinematic theme through the Vietnam War love story "Sunny."

THIS WEEK'S K-DRAMA SYNOPSES

'HAPPINESS'

Episodes 41 and 42

Tonight at 6:45 p.m.: Sae-young and Mi-sook drink themselves silly and admit how much they'll miss each other. Chairman Park is fed up with Sang-wook's behavior and orders him to go work in a foreign branch. Ha-kyong asks to work at the company to fill in for her husband.

Tonight at 7:45 p.m.: Ms. Ahn gets cold feet right before the wedding, but Seo-yun talks sense into her and they proceed with the wedding plans. Ha-kyong starts coming around the main office and Seo-yun gets a bit territorial.

'BEST CHEF'

Episodes 17 and 18

Tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.: Bong-joo threatens Sung-chan to just leave and ruin the press conference, but Sung-chan tells Bong-joo that he'll expose everything. But on the day of the press conference, Sung-chan covers for Bong-joo, making him look like a thoughtful brother and leaves on a journey once again, saving Woonam from a disaster.

Tuesday at 7:45 p.m.: Suk-dong and Sung-chan arrive at Suk-dong's mom's house only to find out it was her friend who's been sending him goods. Suk-dong is heartbroken at the news of his mom's death. Joo-hee comes to Wando to see Sung-chan and meets Jin-soo who also came down to see Sung-chan.

'WORKING MOM'

Episodes 9 and 10

Wednesday at 7:45 p.m.: Ga-young realizes she might be pregnant, and remembers that night when Jae-sung came home drunk. Jae-sung's mom tells In-hae she can't watch her kids anymore since she has to watch Jae-sung's boys. Jae-sung begs Ga-young to let him move back in, but Ga-young turns him away.

Thursday at 7:45 p.m.: Jae-sung decides to take the job as Ga-young's live-in housekeeper/ nanny. Ga-young is promoted and is hired as a permanent employee. Jae-sung tells his mother and sister that he's got a job but is mistaken as a kidnapper when he takes the boys out wearing a disguise.

'INTO THE SUN'

Episodes 5 and 6

Friday at 7:45 p.m.: Jae-hyun visits Su-jin's classroom to persuade her not to break up with him, humiliating Su-jin in front of her class. Seung-ha asks Hye-rin's father for Hye-rin's hand in marriage. In the meantime, Suk-min takes Hye-rin to Wu-jin's grave.

Saturday at 7:45 p.m.: Seung-ha, with Hye-rin's father's help, lies to Hye-rin about her father's illness and takes her away from Suk-min's birthday party. Suk-min is told Hye-rin went on a trip with Seung-ha and is heartbroken.