
This season focuses on bringing contemporary Korean documentary to Sheffield and showing the breadth of films that are emerging in the Korean documentary market.
Experience modern Korea through the lens of these captivating stories that explore diverse topics from cats to football, from North Korean politics to LGBTQ+ parenting.
From the streets of Seoul to the forgotten countryside, each documentary delves deep into the challenges, triumphs, and complexities of contemporary Korean society.
Discover stories of kindness, passion, family histories, communities, hope, and resilience that help us understand this captivating nation in this series of documentaries.
Brought to you with the Showroom Cinema and The Centre for Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield.
For more details and updates: www.showroomworkstation.org.uk/koreandocseason
Home Ground (홈그라운드)
Dir: Kwon Aram (2022, 78 mins)
Tuesday 16 April 2024, 18.30 | Book here
In the mid-1990s, the first openly lesbian bar in South Korea, LesBos, opened its doors in Sinchon, Seoul. This documentary follows one of the bar’s proprietors, Myong-woo, whose witty commentary prompts a broader reflection on Seoul’s lesbian scene, and the evolution of the city’s queer spaces over the past five decades.
In her feature debut, Kwon Aram documents generational change as she makes connections between past and present: from the 1976 police raid on Chanel, a women-only café that existed in Myeong-dong in the 1970s, to the more recent threat posed by Covid-19 to community solidarity.
This is a film about a shared sense of belonging, and shared environments of kinship. Offering a rare insight into Seoul’s often-hidden lesbian history, Home Ground reveals the vibrancy and endurance of South Korea’s queer culture.
Coming to you (너에게 가는 길)
Dir: Byun Gyu-ri (2021, 93 mins)
Tuesday 16 April 2024, 20.30 | Book here
Byun Gyu-ri’s groundbreaking documentary focuses on the lives of working-class mothers Nabi and Vivian, whose lives and perspectives were drastically altered when their respective children came out to them — Nabi’s child as trans, and Vivian’s as gay.
Despite their initial reluctance, both women underwent a profound transformation, evolving into activists within Parents, Families and Allies of the LGBTQ+ community.
In South Korea, where legal protections for queer individuals are lacking and gay marriage remains illegal, neither woman had previously considered LGBTQ+ rights or the burgeoning advocacy among younger generations.
Their initial reactions exposed deep-seated discriminatory beliefs about queerness, reflecting a common sentiment in South Korean society. However, their subsequent evolution is remarkable — both Nabi and Vivian not only came to fully accept their children’s gender and sexuality but also embraced their roles as allies. This compelling film portrays their journey with unflinching honesty, demonstrating the power of transformative allyship and love.
Cats Apartment (고양이들의 아파트)
Dir: Jeong Jaeeun (2020, 96 mins)
Wednesday 17 April 2024, 18.00 | Book here
When a prominent apartment complex in Eastern Seoul was marked for redevelopment, compensation and the desire to live in a new and more modern apartment meant many people quickly agreed to reallocate, leaving a vast nearly deserted complex.
This abandoned area quickly became a haven fora flourishing community of stray cats. Concerned citizens took it upon themselves to provide food and care for the animals in their temporary, tranquil feline sanctuary. However, the imminent arrival of the construction crews places this thriving community under threat.
This thoughtful and carefully observed documentary was directed by renowned filmmaker Jeong Jaeeun. We see a captivating portrayal of the cats as equal partners in society rather than mere recipients of care from affectionate humans. In a city marked by perpetual creation and destruction, this documentary emphasises the roles that we all play, animal and human, in the world around us.
FC Sukhavati (수카바티) + Q&A
Dirs: Hobin Sun, Baru Na (2023, 102 mins)
Friday 19 April 2024, 17.30 | Book here
A tale of growth, solidarity, joy and sorrow, is presented in this intimate, authentic and vibrant film. The football club Anyang LG Cheetahs maintained a developed fan group known as RED.
To their loyal fans’ delight in 2000 the Cheetahs topped the K-league, but in 2003 their happiness turned to devastation as they learnt the club was relocated to Seoul, leaving them behind. FC Sukhavati tells the story of this group of devoted football fans who decided to fight back and found a new club in Anyang.
The filmmakers showcase the history, culture, and daily lives of the fans’ affection with humour as they fight to develop a citizen-owned club in Anyang. A must see for anyone passionate about football, friendship and the power of a community.
This screening will be followed by an in-person Q&A with directors Hobin Sun and Na Baru.
Fanatic (성덕) + Q&A
Dir: Seyeon Oh (2021, 87 mins)
Saturday 20 April 2024, 17.30 | Book here
The Korean Wave or Hallyu has taken the world by storm, from BTS to Blackpink, from Squid Games to Parasite, Korean popular culture has achieved unprecedented levels of success. The K-pop industry as a core part of Korea’s global success, is a highly curated and controlled ecosystem that places young people through intensive, gruelling training with the aim of developing the latest stars and bands.
This is an industry that is fuelled by an intensive global fan base where groups of ardent fans curate, debate, defend and obsess over every lyric, look or rumour. A former fan herself, Oh Seyeon’s Fanatic follows what happened to the fans when the objects of their affection are mired in scandal.
Oh herself was a ‘seongdeok’ — a Korean term to reference fans of former singer-songwriter and entertainer Jung Joon-young. Jung was sentenced to six years in prison in 2019 for rape and ‘molka’, or illegal filming, and Oh was left bereft as a star she had devoted endless time, love and attention towards was found to be a criminal. With humour, energy, and remarkable personal reflection, this is a radical look at the lives of former fans and what it means when people stop believing in their idols.
This screening will be followed by an in-person Q&A with director Seyeon Oh.
Defectors + Q&A
Dir: Hyun Kyung Kim (2023, 84 mins)
Sunday 21 April 2024, 17.30 | Book here
Combining a humorous and affectionate family portrait with a questioning look at both national histories and the search for identity, Defectors confronts the impact of the Korean War on different generations.
Filmmaker Kim Hyun-kyung grew up surrounded by the legacy of the Korean War, a conflict that left an indelible mark on her family and country. Whilst her mother turns to hoarding items she finds on the streets of Seoul as an emotional response to the director’s sister’s death, her father retreats into books on the Korean War, crafting his own historical account as a means to confront the past.
As Kim Hyun-kyung delves into her parents’ lives, she coincidentally meets a former diplomat who defected to the United States. Abandoning his family in North Korea, he drifts between Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Contemplating her own experience of leaving Korea to establish herself in the United States, the director’s quest to comprehend the past is presented in a courageous and intimate documentary.
This screening will be followed by an in-person Q&A with director Hyun Kung Kim.