Thank you to everyone who submitted their precious projects to the 26th JEONJU International Film Festival’s Korean Competition.
Announces 10 Selection of Titles for Korean Competition
This year, 9 narrative films, 1 documentary were selected.
We have selected the following works to screen at the 26th JEONJU International Film Festival’s Korean Competition.
Official Korean Competition Selection (10 titles, in Korean alphabetical order)
1) 3670 (PARK Joonho) | Korea | 2025 | 124min | DCP | Color
2) Drifting (JUNG Kihyuk) | Korea | 2025 | 123min | DCP | Color
3) Winter Light (CHO Hyun-suh) | Korea | 2024 | 89min | DCP | Color
4) All Is Well, I Love You. (KIM Junseok) | Korea | 2025 | 95min | DCP | Color
5) Colorless, Odorless (LEE Eunhee) | Korea, Taiwan | 2024 | 55min | DCP | Color
6) SAVE (BANG Miri) | Korea | 2025 | 113min | DCP | Color
7) The Sound of Life (LEE Eunjung) | Korea | 2025 | 91min | DCP | Color
8) Where is My Father? (KIM Taeyun) | Korea | 2024 | 75min | DCP | Color
9) Summer's Camera (Divine SUNG) | Korea | 2024 | 83min | DCP | Color
10) Sua's Home (YUN Simkyoung) | Korea | 2025 | 110min | DCP | Color
Commentary on Korean Competition
Programming for the 26th JEONJU International Film Festival’s Korean Competition section was the most difficult to date. This was due to the increase in submissions from 134 titles the previous year to 165 titles this year, but also because the films were overall better in quality. The mainstream film industry is in a slump which has an influence on the indie film industry, while all kinds of support programs are downsizing. Considering the current situation, it’s encouraging news that the Korean independent films knocking on JEONJU IFF’s door have grown in numbers as well as quality. It could also be because many festivals are financially struggling due to reduced government subsidies, and both theaters and streaming platforms are in a slump. When we take these external factors into consideration as well, we feel a bigger sense of responsibility.
In sum, it was a very difficult task to select 10 films for the Korean Competition. The titles that were selected and or passed were very close in terms of quality, and this was the same case for Korean Cinema, our non-competition section. JEONJU IFF would like to sincerely thank all the filmmakers who made films and submitted them despite the difficult situation.
A trend that stood out the most this year was the large number of LGBTQ films and alternative family dramas that incorporated solidarity for women. Especially in terms of LGBTQ films, many were submitted to the Korean Competition for Shorts as well. Time will tell whether this a natural phenomenon due to the internal changes in Korean society, a reflection of what filmmakers hope for, or if directors intentionally chose the subject while taking film festivals’ tastes into consideration. LGBTQ selections include 3670 and Summer’s Camera. Director Park Junho's 3670 tells the story of a young gay North Korean defector who is an extreme reclusive in the South Korean society. The protagonist named Cheoljoon feels lost between the North Korean community and the LGBTQ community, as the melodrama touches on his love story with Youngjoon. Divine Sung’s Summer’s Camera follows the life of a teenage girl named Summer. It is a coming-of-age story that combines her fluttering feelings for a schoolmate named Yeonwoo with her mission to track down her father’s mysterious past. Unlike the usual dark and gloomy LGBTQ films we saw in the past, what is notable about these films is that they are light and hopeful.
The theme of alternative families is a common subject at film festivals, but this year, it was combined with women’s solidarity. It makes one wonder if female films were developed in this direction after many of such screened at various festivals like JEONJU IFF and other major film festivals after the #MeToo Movement. Firstly, Bang Miri’s SAVE puts forth the story of a girl named Sejeong who is about to be let out of an orphanage. While anxiously living her life with an unstable future, she meets a middle-aged woman named Eunsook who claims to have saved Sejeong’s life when she was a baby. Together, they team up to find the swindlers who committed rental fraud to retrieve Sejeong’s deposit. In Lee Eunjung’s The Sound of Life, three generations of women form a solidarity. A young woman struggling with her work in Seoul returns home to Jeju Island. It is the story of the simple lives of this woman in her 20s, her mother, and her grandmother. Yun Simkyoug’s Sua's Home could also be a part of this group although it deals with the theme more loosely. 15-year-old Youngsun who was abandoned by her adoptive parents becomes the tennis coach of Sua, the daughter of a rich family. In the film, Youngsun forms a close bond with Sua’s mom, Jiyoung.
In this year’s Korean Competition, several titles underline the shining energy of their cast. Drifting and All Is Well, I Love You. are such films, and although both might not have the most recognizable cast, the actors successfully draw attention with their great individual performances and their chemistry as ensembles. The central character of director JUNG Kihyuk's Drifting is Hyeja, a woman who works at the call center of an insurance company in Seoul. Because of her wild personality, a characteristic of Busan women, she often gets into conflicts with the customers. In this rugged but strong road movie, Hyeja returns to her hometown Busan and travels here and there to secure money in order to get herself a studio room in Seoul. Using the theater industry as the backdrop, Kim Joonseok’s All Is Well, I Love You. shares the art and lives of a couple of married actors. Sora took a break from acting to raise their child and is now trying to get back in the field, while Joonseok has the desire to act but is unable to openly show it. Their funny but sad situation unfolds through generous humor.
Winter Light and Where is My Father? don’t necessarily have a specific element tying them together like the aforementioned films, but they’re worth paying attention to. Teenage boy Dabin in Cho Hyunseo’s Winter Light intends to stop his schooling because of their family’s circumstances and his questionable future. He does all he can to realize his only dream which is to go on an overseas exchange training program with his girlfriend, but the reality is that it’s not so easy. In Kim Taeyoon’s Where is My Father?, a young man named Yoon tries to leave his hometown Jeju Island for Seoul. As he’s about to set off, his father goes missing. While traveling the corners of Jeju Island, Yoon searches for his father’s whereabouts while puzzling together the true identity of his father he never knew before.
Meanwhile, only one documentary was selected for the Korean Competition this year. There were a number of polished documentaries with interesting subjects, but most had conventional narratives and some were not strong enough in highlighting their subjects. As for Lee Eunhee’s Colorless, Odorless, the subject matter and the make of the film were both impressive. For years, workers and laborers have been frequently exposed to fatal illnesses including cancer because of industrial accidents at semiconductors and display factories. Based on records and archival data of workers affected by such incidents, this film points to the problem that lies underneath the social phenomenon.
As usual, the three programmers of JEONJU IFF participated in reviewing the films for the Korean Competition. Once again, the festival sincerely thanks all the creators who sent in their works. We hope JEONJU IFF will become the starting point for Korean films to shine.
Programmers Moon Seok, Sung Moon, and Chun Jinsu
