London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

June’s daytime films at the KCCUK share a Kangwon-do theme

Why Kangwon-do? Because it’s Dano time, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. And the place most associated with the Dano festival is Gangneung, Kangwon-do, whose festival rites have been listed at UNESCO.

Don’t expect to see the most obvious film associated with Kangwon-do though — the one by Hong Sang-soo — because there are too many adult themes in it, and these screenings are downstairs in the library area. But there’s plenty of others to choose from. For myself, I really want to see Daytime Drinking.

The schedule is as follows:

Monday 12 noon: Daytime Drinking. 3pm: The Windmill Palm Grove
Tuesday 12 noon: Springtime. 3pm: Take Off
Wednesday 12 noon: Radio Star. 3pm: Daytime Drinking
Thursday 12 noon: Take Off. 3pm: Springtime
Friday 12 noon: The Windmill Palm Grove. 3pm: Radio Star

Daytime Screening at the KCCUK!
Exploring Traditonal Gangwon-do Province

Gangwon-do is a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. Before the division of Korea in 1945, Gangwon and its North Korean neighbour, Gandwon-do formed a single provnice. Click on the link for the province’s official website: http://eng.gwd.go.kr.

Gangwon-do is an extremely important province, culturally, for Korea hosting many traditional festivals. One of the biggest is the Dano Festival, also called Surit-nal, which is a Korean traditional holiday that falls on the 5th day of the fifth month of the lunar Korean calendar. The festival has been designated by the UNESCO as a “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” in 2005 and an ‘Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 13’ in 1967.
The festival includes; folk performances, ssireum wrestling, swing riding, and tug-of-war competitions. During the Danoje Festival, visitors are also invited to participate in various events such as; watching a traditional wedding ceremony, making surichui rice cake, washing their hair in iris-infused water, and drinking alcohol offered to the gods.

The films shown over the next month begins at 12.00 and 15.00 each day (Mon-Fri) in our library. The screenings are free and there are plenty of sofas for you and your friends. You don’t have to book your place. Just pop in and watch great films!

The following films will be screened:

Daytime Drinking posterDaytime Drinking (2008)
(Filmed in Jeongseon)
Director: Noh Young-seok
Cast: Song Sam-dong, Tak Seung-jun, Yuk Sang-yeop
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Certificate: 12 (South Korea)
Running Time: 115 mins

Synopsis: Hyuk-jin has broken up with his girlfriend and decides to take a trip to Jeong-seon in Gangwon-do province. The next day his friends are too hungover to wake up, so Hyuk-jin makes his way on his own. A trip of opportunity takes a cruel and unexpected turn as misunderstanding after misunderstanding keeps happening with hilarious consequences.

Radio Star posterRadio Star (2006)
(Filmed in Youngwol)
Director: Lee Joon-ik
Cast: Park Jung-hun, Ahn Sung-ki, Kim Hyun-ah
Genre: Drama
Certificate: 12 (South Korea)
Running Time: 115 mins

Synopsis: The eighties saw a lot of fads from fashion to music and washed-up rock star Choi Gon is one of them. After a one hit wonder he quickly became involved in drugs and fights finding himself now singing in a cafe in the country. After one fight too many he finds himself in jail, needing bail money his manager decides to send him far away to be a DJ with a radio station paying his bail.

The Windmill Palm Grove posterThe Windmill Palm Grove (2005)
(Filmed in Gangneung)
Director: Jonathan YU, You Sang-uk
Cast: Kim Min-jong, Kim You-mi, Cho Eun-suk
Genre: Drama
Production Year: 2005
Certificate: 12 (South Korea)
Running Time: 107 mins
Synopsis: Sung-ju, a high-ranking executive, becomes attracted to a man, In-seo, she meets on a blind date, and travels to Gangneung with him. Confronted with her aggressive means of proposing marriage, the man confesses to her that he has one burden on his mind and begins to tell Sung-ju a story that has haunted him for a couple of years.

Springtime posterSpringtime (2004)
(Filmed in Chuam Beach)
Director: Ryu Jang-ha
Cast: Lee Min-a, Lee Dong-jin, Choi Min-shik
Genre: Drama
Certificate: 12 (South Korea)
Running Time: 126mins

Synopsis: To Trumpeter Hyun-woo, life seems to remain forever locked in winter. Out of desperation, Hyun-woo signs up for a position teaching a children’s wind ensemble at a small junior high school in Dogye village. Worn-out instruments, tarnished trophies and frayed certificates testify to the poor conditions of this ragtag group. This leads Hyun-woo, with his students, to take on a seemingly impossible challenge.

Take Off posterTake Off (2009)
(Filmed in Pyeongchang)
Director: Kim Yong-hwa
Cast: Ha Jung-woon, Kim Dong-wook, Seong Dong-il
Genre: Sports Comedy
Certificate: 12 (South Korea)
Running Time: 137 mins

Synopsis: Its 1996 and a small Korean town undergoes a large scale transformation to prepare for their Winter Olympics bid. In the middle of construction, the local committee hears word that they don’t have enough athletes to compete. They decide to form a ski jump team to fulfill the requirements. A former American Junior Alpine Skier, Bob, an adoptee who is in Korea searching for his mother. With four other non-experienced athletes, he forms the first Korean ski jump team.

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