The 23rd JEONJU International Film Festival starts on April 28

- Opening Ceremony to be held in-person in JEONJU Dome in three years, including 170 red-carpet guests.

- After Yang selected for the Opening Film, director Kogonada´s message will follow.

- Festival Chairman KIM Seung-su to announce the opening, promising to host a successful and safe in-person film festival.

The 23rd JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, Festival Director LEE Joondong) kicks off on Thursday, April 28. Actors Jang Hyun-sung and Yoo In-na will host the Opening Ceremony.

The Organizing Committee promises to host a safe and successful festival. They said, "after three years, we will return to JEONJU Dome for the Opening Ceremony. For this reason, we wanted to find the best hosts we could invite. Jang and Yoo are well known for their outstanding performance and are wonderful and gracious hosts. I hope the team will help continue JIFF´s success."

Jang is renowned for his solid and charismatic performance, with witty and captivating speech. He successfully hosted an SBS TV show entitled Kkokkomu, proving his solid hosting skills. Yoo starred in several TV shows and movies and hosted various TV and Radio shows. She is exceptional in delivering her message with empathy, rendering the high popularity of her radio show for years. These two beautiful hosts will surely make the Opening Ceremony a great event.

The Opening Ceremony will start at 7 pm, on Thursday, April 28 at JEONJU Dome. The event will start from having 170 guests on the red carpet; an Opening announcement by Kim Seung-su, festival chairman, will follow. Then, festival director, Lee Joondong, will introduce the jury for each section. Finally, they will have a thank you message from director Kogonada and a screening of the Opening Film, After Yang by him. It questions the meaning of life and death through a story of an android human-aid robot that has very personal memories. Kogonada cannot be physically present for the Opening Ceremony, but the audience can still meet him via a video. He directed Apple TV+´s original series Pachinko (2022), which is loved worldwide.

As of April 18 (Mon), the Korean government relaxed the social distancing measures. However, JEONJU IFF still puts public health and safety as their top priority by mandating masks and proactively recommending hand sanitization. The organizing committee promised regular disinfection between screenings and a no food consumption (except for beverages) policy. They also decided to have a committee dedicated to ensuring public health and safety, comprised of health professionals, including staff of Jeonju City Public Health Center and local pulmonologists. After the committee meeting, they finalized specifics for COVID-19 prevention measures for the festival, which will go through another round of review by the local festival review committee of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.

You can enjoy the festival from Thursday, April 28 to Saturday, May 7 around Jeonju Film Street. The online screening will be available via ONFIFN (https://onfifn.com).