The Nine Lives of Korean Cinema

Kim Dae-jung's Days

Invalid date •Korean

Full Metal Village

April 2007 •German

The film describes the microcosmos of the small village Wacken and shows the clash of the cultures, before and during the biggest heavy metal festival in Europe.

Bitter, Sweet, Seoul

February 2014 •Korean

Over 98 days from August 20th to November 25th 2013, 2821 people from around the world sent 11,852 video featuring many different faces of Seoul. 154 were selected, edited, and made into a movie.

A Dream of Iron

February 2014 •Korean

Korea's past was whale worship; its present is industry. Is the future whales AND industry?

President′s 7 Hours

November 2019 •Korean

The film traces PARK Geun-hye's life back to the 1970s, when the leader-follower relationship began between PARK, who became the first lady of the Yushin regime, and CHOI Taemin, the leader of a pseudo-religion. It then examines the Sewol ferry incident, CHOI Soonsil Gate, candlelight rallies, and finally the impeachment.

All day candles

September 2017 •Korean

The Reservoir Game

September 2017 •Korean

An investigative reporter seeks to expose the whereabouts of a slush fund belonging to the former president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak.

Myeoneuri: My Son's Crazy Wife

January 2018 •Korean

In our 3-year marriage, we have fought on every holiday, on parents' birthdays, during ancestral rituals, and even on Christmas. We argue all the time. The tension between my wife and my mother is killing me.

Arirang

December 2011 •Korean

Documentary on director Kim Ki-Duk looking back at his film career.

Quo Vadis

December 2014 •Korean

The church is the body of Christ. In Greece, the church embodied a philosophy. Then in Rome, it became an institution. Spreading throughout Europe, it became one with the culture there. Traveling to the US, the church became a business. And when it arrived in Korea, it became a conglomerate. The top five largest churches in the world are located in Korea. However, Christ has long been absent in the nation. So then, what is the church? Who is Jesus Christ? What kind of world do Christians want? If the church is indeed the body of Christ, then we must ask the questions point-blank. Where do we stand in all this? And where exactly are we headed? Korean churches—“Quo Vadis?” Korean society—“Quo Vadis?”

Cheonggyecheon Medley

October 2010 •Korean

Cheonggyecheon is a small industrial area in the city of Seoul where small metal workshops are located. Cheonggyecheon had played a key role in the industrialization of South Korea from the remnants of colonialism and war. Following the liberation of the country from Japanese rule in 1945, many industrial complexes became abandoned, resulting in a flood of scavenged machine parts on the market.. In the 1960s, Vietnam War veterans brought many machines into Cheonggyecheon, initiating small-scale production and what’s now considered “copy” production unique to the economies of developing nations. In the past five years, the business on Cheonggyecheon has declined as the surrounding neighborhood is in the process of renovation and gentrification, as part of a beautification initiative by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Repatriation

March 2004 •Korean

In 1992, political prisoners from North Korea settled in the South Korean town where filmmaker Dong-won Kim lived. Sent to South Korea as spies during the war, they spent 30 years in jail. How did they endure the many years of torture? What will become of them now that they have been released? Twelve years in the making, Repatriation is a very personal view of a country divided by an ongoing cold war.

Land of Sorrow

May 2018 •Korean

Foulball

April 2015 •Korean

Army

October 2018 •Korean

"You belong to the country for the next two years." The film describes Woo-cheol's struggles with becoming part of a group while trying to maintain his individuality throughout his military service period. A humorous yet cynical portrait of military groupism.

Project Cheonan Ship

September 2013 •Korean

Interpreting an event of ROKS Cheonan corvette, torpedoed and sunken by North Korea, this documentary rebuilds the event with a different insight. No one can tell if the investigation of Cheonan has reached compelling conclusion. But the film tells and reveals how unreasonable Korean society is.

Rememberance of MB

October 2012 •Korean

The public yearns for a hero who will solve the economic crisis, and MB bursts onto the scene. However, what made voters excited now makes them disappointed. How the then voters were seen from the MB’s perspective? A political documentary that makes people laugh and cry.

Mrs. B., a North Korean Woman

February 2017 •Korean

Portrait of Mrs. B., a tough charismatic North Korean woman who smuggles between North Korea, China and South Korea. With the money she gets, she plans to reunite with her two North Korean sons after years of separation.

Unforgettable: The Korean War

June 2010 •English

Documentary directed by Tom Kleespie inspired from Korean War veterans who recall memories both painful and patriotic, putting a human face on an often forgotten conflict. Stories include wartime recollections, such as one soldier's first moments seeing a MiG fighter up close, and veterans' often-tragic experiences returning home, where Americans largely neglected to welcome them back.

Citizen Roh

May 2019 •Korean

In 2008, late President Roh Moo-hyun returned to his hometown Bongha village after his retirement and was joined by supporters as he recreated his hometown and began to clean up the Bonghae Mountain, cultivating Bongha Mountain, and cultivating environmentally friendly rice.