This year's Korean Competition reveals two striking trends: a surge in LGBTQ narratives and a wave of chosen-family dramas centered on female solidarity. LGBTQ stories, which had been relatively scarce in Korean independent features until recently, appeared in such numbers that several films that did not even make the final competition featured LGBTQ stories. The two titles that were selected for Korean Competition are 3670 and Summer's Camera. Director Park Joonho's 3670 explores the unique challenges faced by a gay North Korean defector—arguably the ultimate outsider in Korean society. The film portrays protagonist Cheol-jun's struggle to find a sense of belonging in both defector and gay communities while developing romance with Yeong-jun. Director Divine Sung‘s film Summer's Camera offers a refreshingly upbeat coming-of-age story about a high school girl named Summer experiencing a crush on her classmate Yeonwoo while discovering her father's secret past. Both films mark a welcome departure from the often-dark-and-melancholic tone that has characterized previous Korean LGBTQ films.

Although chosen-family narratives are festival staples, this year's entries feature female solidarity at their core—perhaps evolving from the women-centered storytelling that emerged in the wake of the #MeToo movement, screened at JEONJU IFF and various other film festivals as well as in the mainstream film industry. Filmmaker Bang Miri's SAVE follows a girl named Sejeong as she prepares to leave the orphanage system. While navigating the uncertainties of her future, she meets Eunsuk, a middle-aged woman who claims to have saved Sejeong's life, and together they form an unlikely partnership to recover the housing deposit lost in a rental scam. Director Lee Eunjung‘s Sumbisori explores intergenerational bonds through three women on Jeju Island—a young woman in her twenties who returns home after failing to settle in Seoul, her mother, and her grandmother—as they rebuild their relationships. Director Yun Simkyoung's Sua's Home could be considered a narrative about women's solidarity, albeit loosely connected. The film tells the story of 15-year-old Young-sun, abandoned by her adoptive parents, becomes a tennis coach for wealthy teenager Sua and forms a meaningful connection with Sua's mother, Ji-young.

A couple of films in this year's Korean Competition showcase exceptionally powerful ensemble acting from relatively unknown yet remarkably talented performers. Director Jung Kihyuk's Drifting features a woman named Hye-ja who works at an insurance company's call center in Seoul whose brash ‘Busan woman' personality constantly lands her in trouble with the customers. This film becomes a gritty road movie with raw, powerful energy as it follows Hye-ja to various places in her hometown seeking money for an apartment in Seoul. Director Kim Junseok's All Is Well, I Love You. depicts a married couple of theater actors—Sora, trying to return to the stage after years of raising a child, and Jun-seok, whose ambition for acting remains trapped as he is unable to openly express his creative desires. The film follows them as they navigate their bittersweet reality with warmth and humor.

Two additional standouts that are not necessarily tied to certain trends deserve special mention—Winter Light and Where is My Father?. Director Cho Hyunsuh's Winter Light follows high school student Da-bin, who struggles with his family's financial situation and uncertainty for his future. His efforts to realize his only dream—to participate in an overseas exchange program with his girlfriend—collides with harsh economic realities. Director Kim Tae-yun's Where is My Father? tells the story of Yoon, a young man who is leaving his hometown of Jeju Island and moving to Seoul. When his father fails to return home as he is about to leave for Seoul, Yoon searches for his father around Jeju Island, piecing together aspects of his father he never knew.

Only one documentary made the Korean Competition this year. While many submissions had promising subjects and production quality, they often relied on conventional narratives or failed to fully develop their themes. Director Lee Eunhee's Colorless, Odorless stands out for its exceptional execution and subject matter, examining industrial accidents in semiconductor and display factories that have exposed workers to deadly illnesses like cancer. The film meticulously analyzes this social issue through work records and archival materials, revealing the systemic problems underlying these workplace tragedies. (Moon Seok)