Discoveries from South Korea World Cinema

Body in Plural moves between bodies and buildings to trace how a single historic event continues to reverberate through time. From a 1988 mass performance in Yugoslavia to today's protests in Serbia, the film questions how freedom can still be imagined, not as possession, but as relation.

Twenty-eight-year-old Gin-hee is an office worker at a used car lot. One day, things around her start to disappear, and even her body begins to rust. She struggles to understand if the world has gone crazy or if she's losing her mind.

The film depicts the reality of Joseon at the time through the conflict between the old and the new generation and the ethics between father and son. Park No-in (Yoon Bong-chun) is a boatman who believes in his profession. He intends to pass the ferry he inherited from his ancestors to his son (Lee Geum-ryong). But he doesn't want to be a boatman. When his father's compulsion grows stronger, one night he goes out alone to the riverside, caresses the oar stained by his father's hands, and then abruptly leaves.

Mother secretly smokes a cigarette in the restroom and feeling sorry for herself because she has spent all her life taking care of her children, but now she still need to take care of her grandson who doesn’t have his mother. To support his son, elder brother works in a subway station, selling subway passes and tickets…

This music documentary follows the path of Yoon Do-hyun Band on its daring adventure of a tour of Europe. During the month-long tour of Europe, sharing a bus with an unknown British rock band, the band members are faced with the challenge of performing for 2 hours in front of an audience of 20. Such experience brings them back to where everything started. What they were faced with was not a new audience but perhaps their own forgotten selves.

Hitomi goes to a friend's house to play, where she is introduced to Mika's husband and son. After some time, she goes to her Mika's house to borrow her cookbook, and her husband confesses that she fell in love with her at first sight. She at first refuses her but she continues and she lets her body eventually allow her to dash to his. Awakened by her forbidden sex, Hitomi finally attacks her friend's son and tries to quench her lust...

Sungjae makes money by selling cigarettes to teenagers. One day he meets an unexpected buyer.

In the 21st century, the powerful nations of the Earth have launched into fierce competition over natural resources found on the newly discovered planet Gradioras. But each time a probe is launched to extract resources from Gradioras, monsters appear and threaten life on Earth. As Baeklim University professor Heinrich Park studies the monsters, he discovers that the monsters are receiving orders from someone through artificial brains which have been implanted in each monster. Professor Park develops a gamma ray in order to defeat the monsters, but Spectre, an international crime syndicate, has other plans. Directed by Yu-soo Yong, the film is a representative work from Korea's animation boom period.

A man in a moment of desperate crisis that everyone experiences! Suddenly, a woman pops out before his urgent steps to find a suitable place to solve the situation, barely countering physiological phenomena. A man and a woman bump into each other like a scene in a romance movie. (2018 22nd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival)

Su-Jin, a screen-writer with a tormented past, reads a newspaper article concerning a murder case involving art curator Lee Mi-Ra. Mi-ra was raped by an artist in a art gallery and then killed her rapist with scissors. She was then found not guilty due to her self-defense claim. Su-Jin believes that maybe the murder was premeditated. She then writes a screenplay based on her what if scenario and also takes actions against the person that raped her many years ago.

"Seventy-Five Twenty-One," that captures the struggles and harmony of young and old alike. Minseok fails the entrance exam for the Korea National University of Arts and moves to Seoul alone to find a place to live. Ara returns to Korea after filming a violin busking abroad. Chunsim, a building owner who dreams of becoming the best silver YouTuber. Their twists and turns on the notifications are a must-see.

A love story of four seasons. “Spring, the first time they met”; The moment Dongjun saw Hyeji, flowers bloomed like it was springtime. He seized the moment and confessed his feelings for her. But Hyeji turns him down, saying they'll meet again if they are meant to be. And just like a miracle, Dongjun runs into Hyeji again. Dongjun’s heart starts beating, and their love blossoms. Their story is follows four more seasons; “Hot, fierce summer”, “Fall, falling out of love”, “Cold, miserable winter” and finally, “Again, Spring”.

Yuna and Jeongsik, employees of the loan company, enjoy a situational skit. One day, Jeongsik begins a situational play in which he steals a large sum of money and asks Yuna to run away with him to South America. However, Yuna can’t shake the feeling that it may be for real this time.

The artist selected five countries at the G8 Summit that he felt had a profound influence on Korea: the UK, Russia, Japan, the US, and France. Five Koreans, ranging from ordinary citizens to opera singers, perform Korean adaptions of each country's national anthem.

Kyungsoo suffers from insomnia because of his struggle in the job market. One night, he goes for a walk in the park, and is captivated by Siyeon’s beautiful singing. At first, he doesn’t even know the title of the song that she’s been singing, but soon finds out from her that it’s a haunted song. Still, he longs to hear the song to soothe his insomnia, and secretly records it···.

Mi-young is playing hide-and-seek with a doll. Oh-gun lives hiding his dark history and Min-su follows Oh-gun to revenge. One day, destiny of these three was entwined, and their story begins.

The Korean Academy of Film Arts has produced an animation for 3 consecutive years through a collaborative project. Considering the severe reality of Korean animation in that it lacks an industrial infrastructure, "The House" demonstrates the possibilities of Korean animation and the efficiency of collective production. While comparing apartments in the downtown core to the shabby environment of a marginalized district, "The House" portrays the collapse of the spirits dwelling at the house. As such the adventure of Ga-young and the spirits in the house becomes a criticism of modern society: enlightenment via animation. Although this animation may not have the most delicate or original style, the 5 animators that worked on this film unleashed their imaginations, ultimately showcasing the power of a collective process and a pleasure of the collective imagination.

Ji Yoo, an acting major, is filming a vlog in the middle of the night, steps out to retrieve some props from the locker when a friend, who hadn’t come along, suddenly passes by without noticing her. Seizing the opportunity to play a prank, she hides around the corner, waiting, only to receive a call from the friend who just disappeared.

Soo-jung and Yun-jung are sisters in their 20s and 30s, both physically challenged since birth. Like other women, romance, sex, marriage, and having children are concerns in their lives. The filmmaker records their social life with a close but unpatronizing gaze, as they fall in love, break up, study porn videos, and dream about having their own children. Conventional Korean values die hard, as we see from the voices of the people around them, while the sisters themselves never cease to smile, to sing, and to try to enjoy life despite the odds.

“Isn’t the moment of liberation coming soon?” (From Anne Frank’s monologue) She spends most of her time sleeping in her room. One day, upon waking up from a dream about her dead aunt, she finds out about an audition being held for the play Anne Frank. She believes that this is the implication of her aunt message “Talitha Koum (Wake up, girl)” and makes it her mission to play the role of Anne Frank.

After receiving a cryptic text about an exhibition in the Shit Can, two men venture to Ganghwa Island. Two women also land on the island in search of a writer. Those who live in the past and those who live for an uncertain future converge in time and space. both groups are unaware of when their day will arrive.

Two professors secretly met at the back of the school with a cup of coffee. The battle of cutting water with a knife begins.

Mangchi is a young boy with few problems and an easy disposition. Living on a building in the middle of the sea, he flies around on his little flying bike looking for adventures and longs for the day when he's finally an adult. So, when a princess named Poplar is being chased by two fighter planes, he rescues her. Little does he know that he will be pulled away from the city he has lived all his life, and dragged by Poplar into an adventure smack dab in between two countries at war and the evil plans of Moonk, usurper to Poplar's throne, who seeks world domination.

My mother is Gong-soon. I was ashamed of her name and spent years looking away. In my thirties, I return home with a camera and begin following her at work.

In the fifth teaser for NCT 127's new album FACT CHECK, an elusive new character paces through an aquarium, cleaning the glass and staring gloomly at the fishes.

Jimin and Hyunsang hold their poetry club meeting in the park. Whether driven by the poem's content or by their increasingly discordant feelings, the two start behaving strangely.

Hae-ri has trouble being accepted at her new school until she befriends the handsome Chang-ha. However she soon drops out to pursue her dream of becoming a dancer. Chang-ha tries to convince her that she needs to return and finish highschool.

The scattered families gather and visit their mother.

After a suicide in the family, mother Hae-sook and daughter Yoon-seul withdraw into separate silences, each carrying grief in her own way. When Yoon-seul returns home after a long absence, the distance between them becomes impossible to ignore. They share the same space yet remain estranged, bound by what neither can fully name. Hae-sook attempts to endure the loss through restless, self-destructive impulses, while Yoon-seul retreats into emotional numbness. As traces of the past surface in their daily lives, they are confronted with the fragile thread that still connects them. An unforeseen incident disrupts the stillness of their days.

The third installment of a Korean seasonal drama is based on Kang Hye-ji's short animation "Michael". This youth-oriented comic thriller follows three friends who, after facing workplace bullying, open a hamburger restaurant on a tight budget. While preparing the site, they discover a skeleton, a bag containing 300 million won, and name the skeleton "Michael." Using the money as "investment funds," they unwittingly entangle themselves in unraveling the mystery of Michael's death.

Kang Hyeok, a world ranked professional boxer, is released from prison after serving time on a false accusation and searches for Director Hong, who reported him. Kang Hyeok is pursued by unknown men after returning home from the hands of Director Hong at the funeral of Daedong Group Chairman Hwang Dong-su. Kang Hyeok, who was falsely accused of murdering Mr. Park, who claimed to be the owner of an entertainment company, and was avoiding pursuit, meets Madame Q, who was betrayed by Chairman Hwang, and learns about Hwang Dong-soo's survival and the full story of the incident. He runs to the villa where he is hiding and urges Hwang Dong-su to turn himself in, but he threatens Su-jan and Kang-hyeok and plots to get them involved. Seo-jan and Kang-hyeok eventually crush their plot and confirm their love.

A young married couple is having a meal, facing each other in awkward silence. With removing packages stacked around the room, they finish their tasteless dinner together. The man feels a sudden burning discomfort in his stomach and soon a most nauseating fills the room.

White flower shoes, a keepsake of the madam, left to the young lady. Midori, the maid, wants to have these beautiful flower shoes.

Simple school teachers Koh Young-woo and Choi Il-yeop love each other and do their best to teach the illiterate. However, he is despised by the village elders. Seeing that their will does not waver at all, the village elders understand and cooperate.

The Korean equivalent of Robin Hood, in which the brave Hong Gil-dong stands up for the poor.

Did one say that humans are animals controlled by hormones? Hong-ki, a middle-aged man, finds it hard to hold himself back due to male menopause. His hormones are stirred up and he gets caught up in emotion at the fact that he can't meet his married daughter at Korea's biggest holiday, Lunar New Year's day... Hong-ki heads to his son-in-law's place where his daughter is.

A middle-aged man is trapped in a time loop, reliving the Christmas Eve of his murder repeatedly.

An exposé on how millennials are changing North Korea, featuring interviews with defectors and footage shot in the country itself.

Hong Sang-soo’s short film made for the 62nd edition of the New York Film Festival.

Announcer Min Kim is threatened by BJ for a minor mistake. BJ's behavior that invades his privacy goes beyond the limits, but BJ knows a lot more about Kim Min than he thinks. As a result of the upheaval, Kim Min finds an even bigger weakness. A work that is reminiscent of the indiscriminate attack on celebrities, which has become a hot topic recently. The nasty behavior of those who attack with anonymity as a weapon unfolds in tension.

Hitmen Flying Dagger and Wild Dog fall for each other while hiding deadly secrets. When truths surface, love puts them on the run from their own bosses.

Hiro and Miu, a doctor couple enjoying a different sex life. My husband enjoys having sex with a hospital nurse in his spare time, A wife who doesn't have a suitable partner has a boring routine. One day, my husband’s college junior is hospitalized, He has a wicked heart and calls his wife. But rather he surprised her aggressive attitude ...

A documentary director, with Aunt Po Wah’s 70-year-old photo, searches Saigon but finds only memories. Her stories of family and longing shared in Teochew, China, intertwine with Vietnam’s present, casting him adrift in a dreamlike reality.

Gi-cheol plans to propose to Mi-young, whom he has been dating for three years. With flowers and a ring in hand. Mi-young is heading to meet Gi-cheol after finishing her heavy workload. Then news flows from the television at Mi-young's company. Time is flowing differently for everyone in the world. Gi-cheol's time begins to flow slower and slower as he tries to reach Mi-young. And Mi-young's time at work begins to flow faster and faster.