Discoveries from South Korea World Cinema

A carefree Japanese cat! A proud Taiwanese Cat! A witty Korean cat?! I want to be happy too! A road movie about stray cats seeking happiness.

In the summer of 2007, Gahye realizes that her younger brother Gwanghyeon is the class president. She is planning to steal a motorcycle and sell it with her friend Gangseop so she could buy her brother a hamburger on the last day of school before the summer break starts.

Ji Hoon, who showed great promise as an athlete, is released from jail after serving time for his friend Dong Jin's crime. Dong Jin is now the head of a mob organization and he tries to lure Ji Hoon to work for him. Ji Hoon tries to start over and begins a job in a stable and refuses to work for Dong Jin when Dong Jin's men approach him. But Dong Jin is relentless in his pursuit of his old friend. He will do what it takes to bring Ji Hoon into his organization. As Ji Hoon continues to refuse his offer, Dong Jin gets his one and only sister involved. By using Soo Ah as bait, Dong Jin tries to convince Ji Hoon to come to him. Meanwhile, Dong Jin's father ridicules his younger brother, Dong Suk, being a good-for-nothing ingrate. Dong Suk, in an attempt to prove himself to his family, takes things too far. He takes his brother's men on a raid of a local nightclub.

The story begins with Tae-seong (Choi Won-yeong) and Yeon-hee (Ryoo Hye-won) heading for the child care facility with the hope of meeting the child they lost 6 years ago. They are divorced now but they were a married couple and had a child. They should have been happy but Tae-seong and Yeon-hee weren't. Min-goo (Kang San) is also confused about this situation. He's happy that he found his parents whom he thought never existed but he's also very careful about the situation. The three of them spend a night at a motel around the center. Tae-seong suggests to Yeon-hee, now that they found Min-goo, to forget about the past and live together again as a family. However, Yeon-hee refuses. Not only that, the next morning, she leaves without a word to Tae-seong and Min-goo. Tae-seong isn't sure he can take care of Min-goo so he returns the child to the child care center and runs back to Seoul. Can these three become a family again?

Sua is a poor girl who dreams of being a fashion designer. After demonstrating her genius design skill, she gets the opportunity to be an auditor at the world-class fashion university, K-School. She must prove herself to her classmates as more than just a charity case. When the whole school competes to have their designs displayed during Fashion Week, will Sua rise to the top?

Four brothers live together and share the duties of a single household while trying to set their eldest brother up with the perfect woman.

The Christians of North Gando lose their country and leave their hometown, but gain the Gospel. The cross they hold in their hands is the symbol of daring for independence and a royal summon of the generation they have to endure. Historian Sim Yo Han retraces the footsteps of the late Father Moon Dong Hwan and finds meanings of the anti-Japanese independence movement hidden in various parts of North Gando.

The South Korean city of Gwangju, will commemorate the May 18th 1980 uprising in style. They will stage a grand re-enactment of the scenes of the May uprising 25 years earlier, when martial law troops killed civilians, including women and children.

It is year 2011 and the government still talks of economic growth through medical care under the table. In reality, common people cannot afford to go to a hospital. They are nothing but extra casts in a promotional film for showing. The reality is a white jungle where medical care has become the market of extreme commercialization and doctors and patients are just too familiar with the physiology of jungle life. New rules and regulations must be practiced in this jungle. The film finds a solution by looking at medical care not as a personal means of production but community welfare.

Based on the famous Korean folk tale, a young princess makes a drastic decision in order to save her father's eyesight.

A life story of a man named Roh Hoechan who practiced progressive politics without taking a rest in order to make the same between dream and reality, and chose the exhausting way due to his ground that he couldn’t give up respect and faith toward human dignity.

Meet Mr. Lee Sang-ho, a resident of Ulleungdo who has lived there his entire life. For 74 years, Mr. Lee has worked hard to earn a living without causing harm or burden to others. He is what we call a "neighborhood fool," but his unwavering positivity and genuine spirit bring hope and joy to the people of Wollongdo, reminding them to appreciate life's simple pleasures. Join us in following Mr. Lee's happy and humble life, as he continues to chase his dreams in his 70s.

Grindcore punks Bamseom Pirates make music suitable for a sick society.

A powerful Minister Oh sends his political enemy Governor Jeong to exile and takes his son Jeong junior as a hostage. Oh's widowed daughter becomes in love for Jeong junior but he rejects her saying he is engaged with Bae Baeng-Yi who is a daughter of a noble family in Jeong Seung Gol village. Lady Oh is driven mad at jealousy of Bae Baeng-Yi. She disguises as a shaman and invites Bae Baeng-Yi to a mountain where she kills the girl. At her funeral as Bae Baeng-Yi's coffin doesn't move, a shaman holds an exorcism and asks Jeong junior to soothe for her spirit and fidelity. Finally funeral service is over without problem. By the way lady Oh, who is annoyed by Bae Baeng-Yi's resented spirit, falls from a cliff to death in a half-mad state. Those who exploited illicit and superstition die out.

When a doctor's beloved wife passes away, he puts her in a glass tub and revives her by injecting fresh blood to her every night. In return, he has to kill a number of other lives, including one of his friends. The victim's daughter suspects the death of her father and gets a job as a nurse at the doctor's office. She discovers the terrible secret and takes revenge for her father.

'Ocean Like Me' is a healing food romance between Han Ba Da, a young entrepreneur who dreams of starting an udon restaurant with a beach in the background but finds serving customers difficult. Ba Da then meets Tommy, a failed musician who returns to his hometown after wandering and has a new dream. Together, both of them step towards their dreams.

A man haunted by a lost love. A spirit who begins to feel too much. As fate draws their worlds together, love begins to blur the line between dream and reality.

In Jeju Province, located off the southern coast of Korea, are the women of the sea, those who hold breath for life. These women still exist and they still dive the old way, without tanks. They go into the waters of 10- to 20-meter depth to harvest seaweed and shellfish to make a living. They make a living in the same sea, but each haenyeo’s sea of life is different. The community is divided into three tiers- Group A, B and C, based on skills and capabilities. One’s rank is determined by sum or breath. Sum, is pre-determined at birth. Therefore, sum is desired. However, the ocean is harsh. May you desire! But seek what is not yours, the ocean will devour you. Life, for these women of the sea, is about holding one’s breath, and containing and controlling one’s desire. The film is a six year record of the lives of the haenyeos in Udo, an islet in the province of Jeju, known to be the birthplace of haenyeo. It is a close look into the lives that stand on the boundary of life and death.

Partly a symphony of a city, partly an experimental film and, to some extent, a fake documentary. A set of images show the centre of Santiago at night, to retrace the steps of an absent an anonymous character. Different background voices try to describe this person through unconnected stories and they often contradict each other. The result is the vague reconstruction of an absent man. He is a stranger who embodies a déclassé and careeism character rooted in the depths of Chilean society. A desire to exercise power over the rest shown through different forms of violence.

The father, who insists on receiving formal New Year's bows in hanbok even in the U.S., is clearly unimpressed by his Korean American son-in-law, whose Korean is shaky at best. The mother, though proud of the son-in-law, is not so fond of her own son’s Mexican American girlfriend. Their two children, on the other hand, are more comfortable speaking English than Korean and prefer hot dogs over traditional Korean holiday food.

The late artist Kim Tschang-yeul built his deep world of works around one motif: water drops. An artist's enigmatic world and a collaboration with his son, the film's co-director, who seeks to understand it, has created this meditative yet serene film. His water drops are a symbol representing the sad history of Korea and Asia, and they quietly but powerfully resonate with the world through his lifelong works and lives with his family.

A group of elite soldiers is sent across the border to South Korea to destroy a military base.

The Lotte Giants is a huge part of Korean professional baseball's history. 30 years have passed since their last win in 1992. Now, they are tired of self-dissing mixed with resentment against the club and players. But, why can't they leave even though they know? Why won't the 'Talde effect' work? Why do they get excited when spring comes? Why are they so sure the win rate will be over 50%? Now here, nevertheless, with fans moving to Sajik Baseball Stadium, the 40-year history of the Giants unfolds centered on former and current Lotte Giants players.

Round and Around is an audio-visual project planned and produced to observe modern Korean history on multiple levels. By associating video and exhibition based on archived references, Round and Around intends to overview Korean society in the 1980s based on various non-linear axes of time and space. Jang Minseung's brilliant directing and Jeong Jaeil's choir music created with the excerpts from psalms lead the audience to experience 'Gwangju in May 1980.'

A woman arrives in Korea and makes her way to her ancestral home to learn the mysterious history of an ornate silver dagger in her possession.

An omnibus queer movie about three fathers with families. Part 1: ‘My Father’s Desire’ is about a father who feels desire because of his son. Part 2: ‘My Father’s Truth’ is about father and son, who are drawn to one man. Part 3, ‘My Father’s Secret’ talks about a father who finds a gay magazine in his kindergartener son’s bag.

Kyu-il does not like to do the first kiss on the spot

Hero, a reclusive loner with severe pandemonium, is a regular customer at a convenience store. Sana, a part-timer at the store, keeps talking to him when he comes to buy the same bread every day. Hero is puzzled and uncomfortable with her interest. Hero′s heroic tale is encouraged by the faint connection between the socially displaced.

As the novel 『LimGeojeong』 becomes a great success, the publisher and the writer's bereaved family in North Korea meet to solve the copyright problem. Their exchanges between South and North Korea create another novel-like story that condenses issues in various fields including politics, economy, and culture together with concerns and hospitality.

Jin-ho is a man who was framed, but served 15 years in prison because no one believed him. He goes home, but it's gone and he can't reach his family. Jin-ho is eating at a restaurant when a customer's wallet goes missing, and he's blamed for it. Eun-soo happens to be eating next to him and she stands up for Jin-ho. That's how they first meet. Aimless and hopeless, Jin-ho follows Eun-soo to the sea. Eun-soo is diagnosed with terminal cancer and she was on her way to the sea, where she went with her family when she was young. They slowly walk to the sea and get to know each other's emotional scars...

The 10-year struggle of the families who lost their children from the Sewol Ferry Disaster.

As a sole witness of the theft, Yubin secretly finds it amusing when Yerim, the most popular girl, loses her laptop. Yubin approaches Gayoung, the culprit, and volunteers to help her out.

Unable to adapt to his stepfamily, Seung-won leaves home on turning 20, to live in a small theater company in pursue of his dream of becoming an actor. Years later, while continuing his life at the theater company, he hears the news of his father's death, who he had not met for seven years. He impulsively leaves the theater company and returns to the house where his biological family used to live. One day, his stepsister Ga-hyeon visits Seung-won to ask him to return to his stepmother's house, so that she could leave home to prepare for the civil servant exam. Seung-won feels anxious about his family and dream again.

In the future where virtual reality has become a thing of daily life, Soomin works as a counselor in her own virtual reality. One day, a strange man, Cheolwoon, comes to Soomin's virtual space. Cheolwoon asks Soomin to come to his space, where Soomin goes to find Cheolwoon's hidden dark secret. A look into our future, intertwining escapism and transhumanism.

Yoonhee, waiting for her best friend Soojin, goes into Soojin's house only to encounter Soojin's boyfriend, Hyunsoo.

A pirate ship arrives at the Porong Porong Forest. Realizing that they weren't on Treasure Island, and they kidnap everyone except for Pororo and Eddy to recoup their losses. Will they be able to rescue their friends safely?

‘Are games art or not? Or something else?’ The question is answered in a fresh and humorous way under the theme of real-time internet broadcasting. One of the famous Youtube creators with 2.16 million subscribers, Calm-Down Man, hosts the documentary. The program interviews different experts in the game industry and shows comments from real-time viewers, which offers us something worth thinking about. It is the last episode titled We Out Here Gaming of the EBS Docuprime trilogy.

For a thousand days from 2015 to 2018, JANG captured the magnificent scenery of Jeju Island in his film. It doesn’t contain plot or dialogue, but its beautiful images and music, composed by Okja music director Chung Jaeil, will engage your eyes and ears.

Professor Kim develops a Realizer, a virtual reality experiencing device, but he can't find a market for it. Assistant Kim suggests they organize a free trial and try selling them. Four Czech women come in and experience four different kinds of virtual sex.

Jaeseong, who was just a close older brother for a long time. As soon as he revealed the news of his enlistment, Mingyu feels strange. When the puzzle of emotions, which was subtle, is woven under the reason that "I like him," Mingyu confesses to him. Actually, the subtlety that Mingyu felt was Jaeseong's. The two check each other's minds.

Dunchon Jugong Apts. at the edge of the metropolis, Seoul. It has been over 10 years since discussions of rebuilding these old apartment complexes began. The inhabitants tell us about their soon-to-be-demolished houses and apartments. Some of them have spent long spans of time here and some of them short. Some people are now raising daughters in the house they lived in since their childhood, some families came from other places and struggled to adjust. Each add their different forms of love to this space in their own way. As the long-postponed reconstruction nears reality, the day-to-day scenery of the apartment complexes and households is quietly coming to a close.

Young-Chan comes from planet of snail where deaf blind people live slow and quiet lives. When Young-Chan came to Earth, nobody understood his language and he was desperate. Then an angel walked into his life. Soon-Ho knows how it is to be lonely and soon becomes an inseparable part of his life. Young-Chan also discovers an amazing world under his fingers as he learned to read books with braille. Hopes began to grow and he dreams of writing a book. However, Soon-Ho cannot always be there for him because of her own problem of spine disability. The couple now should learn to survive alone. While Soon-Ho uneasily spends her first day waiting for his return, Young-Chan goes out for the biggest adventure of his life.

A remake of Na woon-gyu's 1928 silent film "Looking for Love".

What if a marriage bureau existed in 1930s in Gyeongseong? It was a chaotic period when Western culture and the concept of romantic and liberal relationship flushed in. This drama was produced based on the fact that the modern men and women’s biggest problem was having a relationship. It started with the thought of what if a marriage bureau that satisfies romantic relationship as well as marriage conditions

A boy finds an unconscious woman by the sea and brings her home.

Summaries An architecture student and a daughter of a bank branch manager are in love with each other. The love cools down as she gets to know his family ancestors were butchers. He spends his life in obscurity cursing his destiny of being born as a child of butchers. One day his father tells him a moving story of himself, describing how he overcame the handicap of being a butcher and has built up his business to a success. Then, he realizes his stupidity, decides to forget her and harbor a hope in his mind.

In May 5th, 1991 when the 10th murder case of Hwaseong serial killing occurred, a girl goes missing in Hwaseong (homophone of Mars in Korean). Then there is Chun-hee in Seoul, 2009, living with the eyes of the missing girl. With some help (?) from her father Chun-hee‘s corneas were donated to her in 1991. Yet corneas donation must happen postmortem, a gift coming from somebody’s death. Today Chun-hee works at a real estate agency, showing houses and lands for development. One day she is given the task of introducing lands in Hwaseong, a misfortunate place of past but being developed into a high-tech industrial city now. Then she finally sets foot there in Hwaseong.

In an isolated mountain village dominated by Manchul, a villain, appears Dongryul, a martial artist who is equal to Manchul. As Dongryul gets rid of Manchul, the villagers warmly welcome him. But soon Dongryul changes his heart.

YouTuber, Miss Terry’s team plans a new item to find an abandoned theater for the homeless, and head over there to cover the story. But they run into another crew who have beaten them to it, and they witness an unexpected shocking scene together. This is a kind of epoch report criticizing YouTuber’s behavior, and voicing a number of views regarding morality and humanity.

The woman of the present who seeks desire, the woman of the future who tries to keep her feelings, A woman who realizes the past was a wound, a woman who lives with past memories - The story of women living in the past, present and future.

A film about the precarious friendship and catastrophe of childhood friends who have dark and intertwined memories.

A high school girl falls from a pedestrian overpass and dies while her boyfriend witnesses everything that happens.