JEONJU Intl. Film Festival

Korean Cinema

As in the Korean Competition section, the Korean Cinema section introduces several new films by directors who have previously presented their works in JEONJU. KO Bongsu, a regular at the JEONJU IFF, once again displays his signature style of depicting the lives of the average citizens in a humorous yet sad manner in his film DEBT. With an unsparing gaze, the film tells the story of a small neighborhood supermarket owner who is behind on his bills, let alone have money to pay alimony to his ex-wife, as well as his incompetent son, his daughter, who often criticizes her father and brother, and a small local business owner who continues to buy cigarettes on credit without ever making payments. JUNG Hyungsuk, who won the Grand Prize in the Korean Competition section with The Land of Seonghye at the 19th JEONJU IFF, makes his fourth visit to the festival this year, following the 20th with Ensemble and last year with One’s Family Gravesite. His latest film Persona a strange girl is about a theater troupe preparing to stage a play. It tells an intriguing story that centers on a screenwriter who feels his inspiration depleting as he prepares to write a new play and a new troupe member who is a prestigious Seoul National University graduate. NOH Young-seok, who won the Grand Prize in Korean Competition (JJ Star Award) with his debut film Daytime Drinking at the 9th JEONJU IFF, returns to JEONJU for the first time in 15 years. The Nature Man is a bizarre yet humorous story that unfolds as a YouTuber who runs a paranormal channel travels to a place deep in the mountains with a dancing YouTuber friend to capture a ghost on camera. It is a sharp satire of the modern media world that shows how deeply YouTube has penetrated our daily lives. HONG Jiyeong, who presented the queer experimental film Blessedness: Monsters and Specters in the Korean Competition at the 21st JEONJU IFF, also returns with her latest film THE WAVES, THE SAND, AND TWO LOVERS IN THE MIDDLE OF.... While embracing the message of her previous work, this film presents a more sentimental and lucid world through varied cinematic attempts and narrative experiments. KIM Bowon’s latest film Stars in the Ordinary Universe will be screened this year and it also has a connection with JEONJU IFF. His short film Bizarre Research of A High School Girl, which competed in the Korean Competition for Shorts at the 20th JEONJU IFF, was the basis for his latest film. This film hides a twinkling truth in the comical development of three intertwined stories. It was also screened at the Slamdance Film Festival this year. The latest films by established filmmakers also made strong impressions. At the 24th JEONJU IFF, KIM JHO Gwangsoo, who has steadily worked on queer films, showcases the film The New Employee: The Movie, based on the series Super Rookie, aired on the Korean OTT platform service Watcha. Director KIM has turned the original web novel and webtoon series of the same title by Moscareto into a drama series in his style and further developed it into a feature film. The film version includes scenes that were not part of the series. Omeul, who has demonstrated the varied voices of Jeju through the films such as Jiseul, Nostalgia, and Bbongdol, presents the film Pamir, which directly addresses the Sewol ferry incident. Based on the short film of the same title he released in 2017, it paints the heartbreaking story of the people who directly and indirectly experienced the Sewol ferry incident. Watching the film, the audience realizes their wounds are still raw, even though nearly ten years have passed since the incident. LEE Donku drew attention with his depictions of the infernally dark world within human relationships in films such as Fatal, Entangled, and Fanfare. He even stepped into the mainstream with When Spring Comes. He returns to the indie film world with Unknown. The film starts with a series of absurd events and seems aligned with his previous works due to the dark atmosphere. However, as the story develops, it reveals its unique mix of sci-fi imagination and melodrama. JANG Gun-ho began his career in film CG in Hollywood and made his directorial debut with the fantasy animation Heavenly Sword; he received the spotlight when his film MIMIST won the Grand Prize at the 2021 Jecheon International Music & Film Festival. In terms of style, his latest film Shit Can is similar to MIMIST, which combines the documentary and drama about the mime artist Yu Jin-Kyu. Shit Can tells the story of a chance encounter between two men and two women on Ganghwa Island and ultimately touches on the meaning of life and the identity of artists. The documentary lineup is intriguing, too. In Architecture & Cats, directors Ricky junhyung CHO and Lee Kyuyiol record JUNG Yunjae, film producer and the owner of the coffee shop Beans Road, and his wife JANG Younsun building their house. While building a home, the conflict grows between the enthusiastic ‘cat mom’ wife and the husband, who feels uncomfortable about the wife’s activities. The audience ruminates deeply over how people and stray cats may coexist. AHN Jeehwan’s At the Peak of Our Own Story records the story of the Monday Artist Mountain (MAM) mountaineering club made of actors. This mountaineering group, led by SON Byung-ho, has about 100 registered members and climbs Bukhan Mountain every Monday. The club is a great comfort to lesser-known stage actors living in financial and mental poverty. Oksoonlog, directed by KIM Nayeon and LEE Dong-han, is about Kim Nayeon’s grandmother, who has dementia, and her family. It records Nayeon’s sadness about her grandmother as a woman begins to lose her memories and the pain of her family who lives with her grandmother. The film also shows us that sometimes it is less painful not to be able to remember. Audiences with family members suffering from dementia would strongly identify with the family in this documentary. KIM Jihwan and HEO Min’s JAURIM, The Wonderland is a must-watch for fans of the Korean supergroup JAURIM. Documenting JAURIM’s journey to prepare for their 25th-anniversary album and concert last year, the film reviews the band’s history from start to now and listens to various stories among the members. It also contains the thoughts of BAE Cheol-soo, IM Chin-mo, BAE Soon Tak, Rooftop Moonlight, and actor SEO Hyeon-jin on JAURIM. There are also films starring famous and recognizable Korean celebrities. Starring KWON Yu-ri, Gil Hae-yeon, and HYUN Woo-seok, Dolphin by BAE Duri questions the meaning of family. Living in a small seaside town, the protagonist Nayeong and her family seem happy on the surface. Yet when Na-yeong’s mother tries to sell the house after her second marriage, ruptures begin to surface, and the family faces a crisis. KANG Dongin, whose film Goodtime was screened in the Korean Competition for Shorts section of the 21st JEONJU IFF, returns with his debut feature LOST, starring LEE Soohyuk, HA Younkyoung, and KWON Daham. The main character, Taehwa, suffers from congenital lung disease and receives a lung transplant from his brain-dead father, who had committed a hit-and-run. Taehwa feels guilty and searches for the victim of the hit-and-run accident. Starring LEE Donghwi, KANG Shinil, and YU Jae-myeong, MORA by KIM Jin-tae tells a story about a bridegroom about to be married struggling to pay for his father’s surgery after he suffers from a stroke. As he has to shoulder the burden of a massive sum for the operation alone due to a complicated family history, the protagonist has to make his father a basic livelihood security recipient. It takes a glimpse into a man’s mind who grew up in a broken home dreaming of his perfect family. There are also eye-catching short films in the Korean Cinema section. First, KIM Doyoung, who directed the well-known film KIM JI-YOUNG, BORN 1982, presents her short film Camel in the tent. The film was original to be released before KIM JI-YOUNG, BORN 1982, but the postproduction took much longer due to her feature work, and it is now ready to be screened. It tells the story of the ultimate solidarity between two women with remarkable harmony between the director and the actors. Jjigae is a short film by Jéro YUN, who directed films such as Mrs.B. A North Korean Woman, FIGHTER, and Song Hae 1927. He is introducing his latest feature Breath at this year’s JEONJU IFF. Jjigae tells the story of Amy, a Korean adoptee traveling to Seoul for her birth mother. Yet instead of her mother, who passed away shortly before her visit, Amy encounters her mother’s Jjigae (Korean stew) and another woman who calls Amy’s birth mother ‘mom.’ Using Jjigae as a medium, this film questions the meaning of family and compels the audience to ruminate over the importance of relationships. Programmer MOON Seok

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