Korean Film Week 2021: 웃자 – Let’s smile together

The times are hard for everyone, now. For the past two years, humanity has been facing an invisible enemy that actively threatens the existence of both us and our loved ones, every day. Even though the world has been divided in the past by many things, this is an experience that we share, that connects us. One day, this will all become another story of yet another struggle. But while this struggle remains a story of present, we can still connect in a different way to liberate ourselves from the pain. Let’s watch stories together, and let’s connect through them – let’s find ways to smile together.

Korean Comedy: Films that achieve a unique balance between light-hearted, whimsical scenes and deeply emotional moments. Korean comedies tend to blend other genres into their storylines; one might even think there’s no limit to the sheer variety of genre mixes. Drama, Fantasy, Action, and, of course, Romance – everything’s possible and has probably been done many times before. For the most part, the humour isn’t about stupid one-liners or slapstick. The „Korean approach“ is subtle. The characters frequently find themselves in remarkably ridiculous situations and are left to deal with them. Korean comedy isn’t just hilarious and entertaining, the films also address meaningful topics and make you think.

All 4 films in the selection for this year’s Korean Film Week share a message of hope, beauty, and love for fellow humans that can be found in times of pain.

The Korean Film Week will be opened by Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005), debut film by Park Kwang-hyun, which became a commercial and critical success and was South Korea’s official entry for the Academy Awards in 2005. The film takes place in a remote mountain village in the middle of the Korean War and proceeds to break down any and all barriers of characters and sides involved, through laughter and tears.

The next film in the selection is the 7^th highest grossing Korean film of all time, Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013), a dramedy directed by Lee Hwan-kyung. The film is based on a real-life story of an intellectually disabled man, a single father, who is wrongfully imprisoned for murder, but then builds strong relationships with fellow inmates as he tries to reunite with his daughter.

One of the two newer films in the selection is I Can Speak (2017), directed by Kim Hyun-seok. The film starts off as a generational comedy, but finds it base in a story of a real-life person, activist Lee Yong-soo.

The final film in this year’s selection is Swing Kids (2018), directed by Kang Hyeong-cheol. This musical-based dramedy takes us to a prison camp during the Korean War, where a most unlikely combination of people form a dance ensemble of five, bridging their cultural differences and language barriers through the rhythms of tap dancing.