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When we see how a people love, marry and have a family, we get an impression of their national character, etiquette, lifestyle and culture. Korea has made a great variety of romance films that have moved the hearts of audiences around the world. We live our romances under spell - they bloom, out of control, into different shapes, colours and smells. Some are beautiful, ugly, or both. But no matter, romantic love is one of the most intense and flavourful human experiences. As part of an annual cultural event in autumn, Festive Korea, Hong Kong Arts Centre and Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong co-present The Look of Love: Korean Romance Film Showcase to let you experience the diversity of love with eight films and chat with filmmakers.

The co-presenters are most honoured to have invited film master of Christmas in August, Hur Jin-ho (A Normal Family, A Good Rain Knows, One Fine Spring Day) to virtually give a Masterclass on Romance; and actress of Strangers Again, Cho Eun-ji, to attend the virtual after-screening talk of her popularly and critically acclaimed directorial debut, Perhaps Love. Don’t miss out!

Love is for all ❤

Programme Schedule

*With Virtual After-Screening Talk  |  ^With Virtual After-Screening Masterclass

Programme Details

장르만 로맨스
Perhaps Love

27/10/2023（Fri）7:45pm

Director Cho Eun-ji will attend virtual after-screening talk. Conducted in English and Korean.

Director: Cho Eun-ji

Cast:  Ryu Seung-ryong, Oh Na-ra, Kim Hie-won, Lee You-young, Sung Yu-been, Mu Jin-sung

Korea | 2022 | 113 mins｜DCP｜Colour｜In Korean with English subtitles

Awards
Audience Award, New York Asian Film Festival 2022
Best New Actor and Popularity Award (Oh Na-ra), Grand Bell Awards 2022
Best Supporting Actress, Blue Dragon Film Awards 2022
Best Supporting Actress and Best New Actor, Chunsa Film Art Awards 2022

Nominations
Best New Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress, Grand Bell Awards 2022
Best New Director and Best New Actor, Blue Dragon Film Awards 2022
Best New Director, Chunsa Film Art Awards 2022
Best New Director and Best Music, Buil Film Awards 2022
White Mulberry Award, Udine Far East Film Festival 2022

Love is reality. Life is generic.

Strangers Again marks the directorial debut of actress Cho Eun-ji. In this romantic comedy, she portrays the complexities of relationships and biases between people with sharp wit, garnering praise from film critics and audiences worldwide!

Ryu Seung-ryong (Moving, Kingdom and Extreme Job) plays the role of Kim Hyun, a washed-up novelist. Once hailed as a genius bestselling author, Kim Hyun has been in a creative slump for seven years. After a divorce, he finds himself entangled with his ex-wife and discovers she is dating his best friend. His son is also confused by his parents’ relationship, and while he should be focused on his studies, he develops a crush on a neighbour. Kim’s life revolves around checking university lecture attendance, teaching, and giving out assignments. One day, something shakes him to the core: one of his male students confesses his feelings for him. As a straight male teacher, he is thrown off but cares about the talented student. The various ambiguities and pressures force him to reevaluate his life.

About Cho Eun-ji (Korean director and actress)

Born in 1981, Cho Eun-ji debuted with the film Tears (dir. Im sang-soo) in 2000. She has acted in notable works, including The Concubine (dir. Kim Dae-seung, 2012), The Villainess (dir. Jung Byung-gil, 2017), and her latest feature, Conversation (dir. Kim Duk-joong, 2023). Her latest K-drama series includes Strangers Again (dir. Kim Yang-hee, 2023) and Lost (dir. Hur Jin-ho, 2021). Her directorial debut in feature filmmaking was marked by Perhaps Love, underscoring her exceptional talents as both an actress and a director.

김씨표류기
Castaway on the Moon

29/10/2023（Sun）3:30pm

Director: Lee Hey-jun

Cast: Jung Jae-young, Jung Rye-won, Park Young- seo

Korea | 2009 | 116 mins｜Digital｜Colour｜In Korean with English subtitles

Awards

Best Screenplay, Busan Film Critics Association Award 2009
Best Screenplay, Chunsa Film Art Awards 2009
Audience Award, New York Asian Film Festival 2010
Black Dragon Audience Award, Udine Far East Film Festival 2010
Best Film, CinemAsia Film Festival 2010

Nominations
Best Screenplay, Grand Bell Awards 2009
International New Talent Competition, Taipei Film Festival 2010
Best Actor, Baek Sang Film Awards 2010

He goes up the creek without a paddle.

Her call echoes and gets it all handled.

Kim Seong-geun, gets laid off by his company, and abandoned by his wife. He attempts suicide by jumping into the Han River. He survives but gets washed up on Bamseom, an isolated pair of islets in the centre of the Han River in Seoul. With his phone out of power, he becomes a "modern-day Robinson Crusoe." After unsuccessful attempts to leave the island, he gives up on the idea of suicide, relying on scavenged waste and hunting for survival. One day, he receives a message in a bottle carried by the waves...  

Jung-yeon, a homebody who does not work nor leave her room, spends time updating her online persona, taking 10,000 steps a day, and photographing the moon. She captures a photo of "hello" written by Kim on the sandy shore of Bamseom. Inspired, she starts sending bottled messages into the sea, even sending him jajangmyeon.

They begin to venture beyond their comfort zones, seeking for each other. Who are you, really?

Directed by Lee Hey-jun, known for Ashfall and Like a Virgin. Castaway on the Moon is his solo directorial debut, full of dark humour in observing urban life. Lee explains that the film is not just about communication itself, but about the will and intention to communicate. In a world of abundant words, how much willingness and sincerity lie between the lines?

건축학개론
Architecture 101

29/10/2023（Sun）7:30pm

Director: Lee Yong-zoo

Cast: Uhm Tae-woong, Han Ga-in, Lee Je-hoon, Bae Su-ji

Korea | 2012 | 118 mins｜DCP｜Colour｜In Korean with English subtitles

Awards
Best New Actor and Popular Star, Blue Dragon Film Awards 2012
Best Film of the Year, Best Screenplay of the Year, and Best New Actor of the Year, Cine21 Movie Award 2012
Fantasia Actor Award, Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival 2012
Best Screenplay, Buil Film Awards 2012
Best Music, Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 2012

Nominations
Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best New Actress, Best New Actor, Grand Bell Awards 2012
Best Screenplay, Best New Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Lighting, Blue Dragon Film Awards 2012
Best Film, Best New Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best New Actor, Buil Film Awards 2012

Etude of memory

The 35-year-old architect Seung-min receives a design project, and to his surprise, the client is none other than his unrequited love from his days studying "Architecture 101" in university: the music major student Soo-yeon. Due to his youthful insecurity and shyness, Seung-min could not express his feelings for Soo-yeon, leading their relationship to fade away. Soo-yeon has been living an unfamiliar life in Seoul and wants to rebuild her ancestral home in her childhood hometown of Jeju Island.

This marks Seung-min's first major architectural project, as he designs a new home tailored for Soo-yeon. While he delves into understanding her lifestyle and habits, the memories of their past heartaches and sweet moments resurface. This pure love story became a huge success in the history of Korean romantic films when it was first released, breaking box office records and sparking a craze for first love stories in Korea. Director Lee Yong-zoo, who himself studied architecture, wrote the screenplay for the film and was also part of the directing team for director Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder.

로망
Romang

4/11/2023 (Sat) 3:30pm

Director: Lee Chang-Geun

Cast: Lee Soon-jae, Jung Young-sook, Cho Han-cheul, Bae Hae-sun 

Korea | 2019 | 112mins｜DCP｜Colour｜In Korean with Chinese and English subtitles

Nomination
In competition, Udine Far East Film Festival 2019

Festival
Shinfilm Art Film Festival 2019

The forgotten cannot be forgotten

75-year-old Jo Nam-bong has always made a living as a taxi driver. He is known for his short temper, and his relationship with his 71-year-old wife, Lee Mae-ja, is not exactly gentle. After 45 years of marriage, they have been through the struggles of daily life, focused on the mundane tasks of survival. Nam-bong does not particularly like the other members of his family either: his son holds a PhD but refuses to settle down with a stable job, his daughter-in-law is brutally honest, and his mischievous granddaughter adds to the chaos. However, when Mae-ja is suddenly diagnosed with dementia, Nam-bong makes a firm decision to take care of her. During this time, he also starts to notice that his own memory is not what it used to be. As their memories begin to fade, they resort to recording each moment on paper, and in doing so, they rediscover the romance and dreams of their past. Determined to make the most of their time together, Nam-bong decides to embark on a new journey with his wife...

While the storyline might seem familiar, it touches upon a universal issue that every family must confront: how to navigate life's final journey when old age sets in. The stellar performances of Lee Soon-jae and Jeong Yeong-suk, two veteran actors, bring to life the complex emotions of love, care, and companionship within a marriage, leaving a deep impact on audiences.

두 번의 결혼식과 한 번의 장례식
Two Weddings and a Funeral

4/11/2023 (Sat) 7:30pm

Director: Kimjho Gwang-soo

Cast: Kim Dong-yun, Ryoo Hyoun-kyoung, Song Yong-jin, Jung Ae-youn

Korea | 2012 | 106 mins｜Digital｜Colour｜In Korean with English subtitles

Nomination
Best New Director, Buil Film Awards 2012

Festivals
Seattle International Film Festival 2013
Frameline: San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2013
Busan International Film Festival 2012
Opening Film, Hong Kong Gay and Lesbian Film Festival 2012

Death won’t do us part

Director Kimjho Gwang-soo is one of the few Korean openly gay filmmakers, and Two Weddings and a Funeral is his debut feature. This comedy explores the prejudices and taboos that exist in Korean society regarding homosexuality.

Gay man Min-soo and lesbian woman Hyo-jin are close friends and both work as doctors at the same hospital. They decide to enter into a marriage, not with other people, but with each other: Min-soo wants his parents to stop meddling with his life, and Hyo-jin, who has been in a relationship with a woman for ten years, hopes to adopt a child. On the surface, Min-soo and Hyo-jin appear to be a model couple, but behind closed doors, they maintain separate lives with their true loves as neighbours. However, their lives take a turn when Min-soo's parents unexpectedly visit, and Hyo-jin's relationship is exposed. How long can they keep their secrets hidden?

8월의 크리스마스
Christmas in August
With virtual after-screening Masterclass on Romance with Director Hur Jin-ho

5/11/2023 (Sun) 2:00pm

Director: Hur Jin-ho

Cast:  Han Suk-kyu, Shim Eun-ha

Korea | 1998 | 97 mins｜Digital｜Colour｜In Korean with English subtitles

Awards
Best New Director and Best Original Screenplay, Grand Bell Awards 1999
Best Film and Best Cinematography, Blue Dragon Film Awards 1998
Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Cinematography, Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 1998
Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Cinematography, Asian Film Critics Association Awards 1999

Nominations
Best Film, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Grand Bell Awards 1999
Best Actor, Blue Dragon Film Awards 1998
Best Asian Feature Film, Singapore International Film Festival 1999
Best Director and Best Actor, Asian Film Critics Association Awards 1999

Festivals
Cannes Film Festival 1998
Toronto International Film Festival 1998
Vancouver International Film Festival 1998

Snow falls in a summer

30-something photographer, Jung-won, runs a photo studio tucked in a quiet corner of Seoul. He relishes his quotidian moments, smiling and gazing at his customers who want to have their fond memories captured. On a sunny summer day, he meets a traffic officer, Darim. She hangs around his studio - enjoying ice-cream, cooling down, dozing off… with blooming affection between the two. One day, the studio is closed, and Jung-won is nowhere to be found. Darim waits for him every day, but he does not appear. She eventually smashes his show windows out of raging sadness.

As snow falls on a Christmas Eve, the church bells toll from afar, Darim returns to the door of the studio again - it is still closed, with a photo of her smiling on display…

Christmas in August is one of the most popular romance classics of contemporary Korean cinema. In the late nineties before hallyu took the world by storm, Hur Jin-ho’s debut feature swept off the audiences’ feet. Introduced to our city by the Hong Kong Arts Centre, the film had a three-month run with full houses, marking new impressions of Korean cinema for Hong Kong audiences. Thereafter, Hur made co-productions with the Greater Chinese region, including One Fine Spring Day produced by Peter Chan, A Good Rain Knows starring Gao Yuanyuan, and his first Chinese film, Dangerous Liaisons.

Masterclass on Romance

Guest: Hur Jin-ho, Film Director

Conducted in Cantonese and Korean.

For a richer taste of romance, this masterclass on romance with film master Hur Jin-ho will delight your palate. Director Hur will share his experience of creating romance films from conceptualisation to finish: How is romance different from other film genres? What are the important elements of romance?

About Hur Jin-ho (Korean director)

Born in 1963, Hur Jin-ho graduated from the Korean Academy of Film Arts, and was first known as a film critic in the late eighties. In the early nineties, he made his own short films and worked in various positions on several films. He eventually went on to direct his own feature debut Christmas in August (1998), which became an instant classic and won major awards. Hur demonstrates his versatile directorial style and ability in various romance films including One Fine Spring Day (2001), April Snow (2005), Happiness (2007), A Good Rain Knows (2009) and Dangerous Liaisons (2012) amongst his many films of other genres also. In 2021, he co-directed television drama series Lost, starring Jeon Do-yeon and Ryu Jun-yeol. With his numerous nominations and wins at Korean and international film awards including the Cannes, Rotterdam, Busan, Tokyo, San Sebastián and Chicago film festivals, the Korean Grand Bell Awards and the Blue Dragon Awards, Hur has established himself as a reputable Korean director capable of creating compelling works.

Hur served as the director of the Jecheon International Music and Film Festival between 2013 and 2019.

His most recent film A Normal Family (2023) is premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this year.

남과 여
A Man and a Woman

12/11/2023 (Sun) 3:30pm

 A Man and a Woman has been rated as a category III film and can only be viewed by persons over the age of 18.

Director: Lee Yoon-ki

Cast:  Jeon Do-yeon, Gong Yoo

Korea | 2016 | 115mins｜Digital｜Colour｜In Korean with Chinese subtitles

Award
Grand Prize (Gong Yoo), Korean Film Actor's Association Awards 2016

Festivals
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival 2017
Florence Korean Film Fest 2017
Shanghai International Film & TV Festival 2016

I don’t want to pass you by

Sang-min accompanies her autistic son to a special camp for training in Finland, and meets an architect on dispatched duty, Ki-hong, with his daughter with child depression. Coincidentally on the same excursion, the quiet man and woman become attracted to each other. As a snowstorm hits on their return to the city, they take shelter in a forest cabin by a lake, carried away by irresistible passion. They go their separate ways without knowing each other’s names on the next day and continue their married lives. One day, they run into each other in Seoul.

After Lee Yoon-ki's My Dear Enemy (NETPAC Award, Berlinale, 2008), Jeon Do-yeon stars in this film by Lee again. The intricate and subdued performances of Jeon and Gong Yoo breathe life into this serene and minimalistic work, and won critical acclaim from many.

오직 그대만
Always

12/11/2023 (Sun) 7:30pm

Director: Song Il-gon

Cast:  So Ji-sub, Han Hyo-joo

Korea | 2011 | 105 mins｜Digital｜Colour｜In Korean with Chinese subtitles

Nomination
Most Popular Actor, Baek Sang Art Awards 2012

Festival
Opening Film, Busan International Film Festival 2011
Beijing International Film Festival 2012

Fight for love

Cheol-min has once been an invincible boxer, but has faded into oblivion after an unfortunate incident. He keeps a low profile and works as a delivery man in the daytime, and as a parking lot security guard in the nighttime. When a severely blind young woman, Jung-hwa, goes to find an old security guard, she realises that he has been replaced by Cheol-min, from there they accompany each other in the quiet nights. Love grows as reserved and cheerless Cheol-min spends days with kind and lively Jung-hwa, and the two start to depend and confide in each other. To heal Jung-hwa’s eyes and to improve their lives, Cheol-min turns to boxing again for the lucrative prize money. As he leaves, he discovers that his destiny has long been tied with Jung-hwa before they have met… Can Cheol-min protect Jung-hwa?

During Always’ release, Koreans were captivated by the film - a showing accommodating 2,000 in the audience was quickly sold out within seven seconds. The film was later remade in Japan, India, Turkey, and the Philippines. While it might sound like a typical melodrama, the film is inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights. The director hopes to remind its audiences of the true value of love.

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Co-Presenters:
Hong Kong Arts Centre, Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong

Media Partners:
Asian Movie Pulse, DL, Film Pilgrimage, Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association, P-articles Literature, Todayscreening

Special Thanks:
Women In Work