Donghwa, a poet in his thirties, drops off Junhee, his girlfriend of three years, at her house and marvels at how large it is. He intends to look around the front yard and then leave, but by chance he runs into Junhee’s father, and ends up spending the entire day with Junhee’s family. From this … [Read More]
On Screen: Film and TV (page 3)
Ahn Jae-huun’s Gill (아가미) screens at Frightfest
Gon was on the verge of death when suddenly, gills started to grow and he could breathe again. Kang Ha and his grandpa rescue Gon, and together they become an odd family. Jae-huun Ahn is the director of Meditation with a Pencil, a Korean animation studio, whose previous critically-acclaimed works, including GREEN DAYS and THE … [Read More]
Seoul Arts Centre on Screen: Shim Chung
Back by popular demand, Shim Chung returns to the Korean Cultural Centre UK as part of the SAC on Screen series. This beloved ballet, performed by the Universal Ballet Company, retells the timeless Korean folktale of a devoted daughter who sacrifices herself to restore her blind father’s sight — and is miraculously reborn in a … [Read More]
In introduction to the KCCUK’s 여운 | Lingering Fragments summer screening season
As in other recent summers, the KCC is collaborating with Birkbeck in curating a season of experimental and documentary films. The press release introducing the season is reproduced below. The season comprises the following programmes: 18 June: Han Okhi and Kaidu Club: A Cinema of Outsiders 25 June: Korean War Commemorative Screening: Forbidden Fatherland 2 … [Read More]
Lingering Fragments season: Writing Poems at the End of the World
The final evening of Lingering Fragments brings together three contemporary works by young Korean artists and filmmakers who challenge the conventions of cinematic practice with striking, deeply personal films—all making their UK premiere. These works speak to one another in subtle and surprising ways, offering contrasting perspectives and tones while reflecting on themes of memory, … [Read More]
Lingering Fragments season: Women’s Oral Histories
This programme brings together two films that speak from vastly different moments in Korea’s feminist and queer history yet are bound by a shared insistence: to speak, to witness, and to survive. In Lesbian Censorship in School 1 (2005), director Lee Young offers a raw, first-person account of teenage queerness and institutional repression. Told through … [Read More]
Korean War Commemorative Screening: Forbidden Fatherland
Forbidden Fatherland focuses on listening to memories, pain, and the lived experiences of those forced to leave their families behind. It gives voice to those who grew up with absent relatives, to families marked by the trauma of displacement, and to the enduring sense of longing that persists 75 years later. The filmmaker, Kim Lyang, is … [Read More]
Han Okhi and Kaidu Club: A Cinema of Outsiders
There are two prejudices in cinema as it exists: filmmaking is only a man’s job, and movies should be a box office success. We, as outsiders, will break these two stereotypes – Kaidu Club, Chosun Ilbo, March 30, 1974 In 1974, Han Okhi and a group of fellow students from Ewha Women’s University in Seoul … [Read More]
K-Pop Demon Hunters starts streaming on Netflix
A world-renowned K-Pop girl group balance their lives in the spotlight with their secret identities as demon hunters. Credits: Directors: Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans Cast: Arden Cho, Ahn Hyo-seop, Ken Jeong, Lee Byung-hun, Daniel Dae Kim, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Kim Yunjin, Joel Kim Booster, Liza Koshy Writers: Danya Jimenez, Hannah McMechan, Maggie Kang, Chris … [Read More]
The Silenced (경성학교: 사라진 소녀들): screening + Forever Girls reception
This special screening of Lee Hae-young’s queer horror film The Silenced, in partnership with the Korean Cultural Centre UK, marks the upcoming paperback publication of Jinhee Choi’s Forever Girls: Necro-Cinematics and South Korean Girlhood. Jinhee will introduce the screening, which will be followed by a drinks reception in The Atrium Bar, kindly sponsored by King’s … [Read More]
Korean films at SXSW London
The organisers of the first London edition of the SXSW festival have done a great job in securing some enticing Korean movies – including two UK premieres and a world premiere – and scheduling them so that you can get to see them all. Here’s hoping there are sufficient interesting movies left for the festivals … [Read More]
Spring Night (봄밤) screens at ICA
Yeong-gyeong first meets Su-hwan at a wedding party. She is an alcoholic and he suffers from chronic arthritis. He carries her home after she passes out drunk, in an act of lissom grace. His health complications, her illness and debt, both of their failed marriages and ritualised self-destruction bind them, and the slim promise of … [Read More]
Yadang: The Snitch (야당) – UK theatrical release
“From now on, you’re my snitch.” Navigating both the criminal underworld and law enforcement agencies, professional snitches called “yadang” provide covert information about the drug world to prosecutors and police. When a drug bust at a party attended by high-profile second-generation VIPs entangles those involved into a dangerous conspiracy, a seasoned yadang must do everything … [Read More]
Holy Night: Demon Hunters – UK theatrical release
Seoul descends into chaos as a devil-worshipping criminal network emerges. In a desperate plea for salvation, the police are forced to enlist ‘Holy Night’, a trio of demon hunters armed with supernatural powers. Can ‘Holy Night’ conquer the devil’s reign and restore order to the city? Screening at: London: ODEON Haymarket / Kingston / Greenwich … [Read More]
Jason Verney’s SEWOL: Sealed Eternally With Our Love screens at Kingston Int’l Film Fest
Three years after his short film Reparation screened at the Kingston International Film Festival, Jason Verney’s debut feature film will be at this year’s festival. Having been on the ‘frontline’ as an activist for the Sewol Ferry cause since that tragedy in 2014 and having visited Korea on many occasions over the last decade, film … [Read More]
Ilrhan Kim’s “Edhi Alice” closes 2025 Queer East festival
In Edhi Alice (에디 앨리스, 2024), director and queer activist Ilrhan Kim interrogates how documentaries about trans communities are made: the creative decisions, relationships, and ethical questions involved. The subject of the documentary is Edhi, who works as a counsellor for LGBTQ+ teens in Seoul, and has decided to undertake gender reassignment surgery. Edhi’s story intertwines … [Read More]