The “Korean Wave” section presents 13 films, including two features, that highlight the achievements and trends of Korean independent cinema over the past year.

From devastating wildfires in Ulju this March to unprecedented climate crises and unrelenting wars, disasters have become part of our daily reality. The collapse of communities, the grief caused by the loss of loved ones, and the moments that our hopes for a good life are shattered are all captured in films. They look squarely at these moments, reflecting our difficulties and emotions.

But this is not the end of the world. These films confront the reality of the wreckage and crises, tune into the breath and voice of others, and find the way toward healing. Present and past, fiction and non-fiction, the experiential and the transcendental, Earth and cosmos, sorrow and joy, seriousness and lightness, beginning and end, dreams and reality, life and death… Crossing these countless boundaries, the films capture the fragments of our lives with sincerity, acuity, humor, and daring imagination. We invite you to reflect on the persistence of the everyday and the power of recovery.

― Park Hye-mi, Programmer​