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The introduction of fantasy and science fiction into North and South Korean cinema came late. This delay, symptomatic of a major sociological issue, relates to a difficult acclimatization with traditional imagery, which is being recast in resonance with foreign influences. In the North, Fantasy first appeared (with Bulgasari and Hong Kil-dong) only when the regime, concerned about its own legitimacy, wished to present itself as a “magic” and supernatural force while reducing the usual positivist discourse. In the South, anti-positivism and post-Westernism have influenced the revival and acclimatization of the traditional fantasy in a series of films in the late 1990s (from Gates of Destiny to Soul Guardian). This allowed the new political hegemony arising from the economic miracle to position itself in relation both to the West and to the country’s own history. However, the transition towards sci-fi films based on technological and scientific imagery (from Natural City to Snowpiercer) deliberately fuelled by local popular grievances targeting the new oligarchy has now passed the stage of catharsis for passive cinemagoers, and the films proved prescient regarding the social and political crisis of the winter of 2016.