Stream K-Dramas at OnDemandKorea

Korean Short Movies to be Featured at Asia-Europe Film Festival

A rare opportunity for Washingtonians to watch some Korean creative and independent films is soon to come. The Korean films will be showcased at the Asia-European Film Festival, which will be held from June 19 to 30 in Washington DC.

The films, including many of the Korean films, depict the lives of the current younger generations who struggle to find their identities and reconcile differences with their families and society. They will also urge viewers to ask themselves whether the current world is shrinking into cultural homogeneity or whether youth have embraced new patterns of identity, under the current condition wherein each European and Asian region has a distinct identity, which is just one part of a larger cultural mosaic.

Each evening, various films from Europe and Asia (Germany, China, France, Korea, Italy, and Japan) will be shown and will be followed by brief discussions presented by experts related to each country's film.

The following Korean movies will be shown during the festival:

"Oh! Beautiful Life" and "A Vital Activity" will start at 6:30pm on June 26 at the Alliance Francaise (2142 Wyoming Ave., NW).

"Oh! Beautiful Life" was produced by Kim In-suk in 2003. This movie starts with a scene in which a young girl, Eun-suk, is in the middle of a job interview. She introduces herself through a rap performance, which makes people think her life is great. However, beneath her splendid rapping, there is a bitter reality.

"A Vital Activity" was produced by Oh Jeoum-kyun in 2003. This movie is devoted to the life of a couple in their early twenties, who are searching for peace and serenity without much money or time.

On June 29, "The 'Weight' of Her" will be shown at 6:30pm at the Goethe-Institut (812 Seventh St. NW). This was directed by Yim Soon-rye in 2003, and it addresses human rights issues in describing the lives of high school girls who feel compelled to undergo plastic surgery in order to find work.

Of particular mention is the final evening of the festival on June 29, during which many movie experts, including Min Hyun-jun from the University of Maryland, will participate in a discussion entitled "Coming of Age in a Shifting World: Youth Culture of Rebellion and Conformity in East Asia and Europe".

The festival will be joint-sponsored by the Chinese Embassy, the Korean International Trade Association, the Japanese Information and Cultural Center, the Alliance Francaise, the Italian Institute of Culture, and the Goethe-Institut.

For more information about the films Oh! Beautiful Life and A Vital Activity, contact to 202-234-7911, or 202-289-1200 (ext.169) for The "Weight" of Her.

By Min Hjojin

Advertisement

❎ Try Ad-free